Ch. 28: Islamic Empires of the Early Modern Era

1. Ch. 28: Islamic Empires of the Early Modern Era

2. Ottomans: From Frontier Warriors to Empire Builders • Mongol invasions & fall of Abbasid Caliphate opened door for Ottomans to build power base in Anatolia (Turkey) • Osman—early leader, dominated other Turkic groups • 1350s--Expansion into Europe • Mehmed II –Conquered Constantinople in 1453, w/ siege warfare, cannons • Then further into Europe—Greece, Albania, Black & Caspian Seas • Mehmed invaded Italy & hoped to capture the Pope, but his successors abandoned the effort after his death Mehmed the Conqueror

3. Ottoman Empire: A State Geared to Warfare • Ghazi--Muslim religious warriors; “sword of God” • Military leaders played prominent role in Ottoman gov’t • The “warrior aristocracy”competed w/ religious leaders for control of bureaucracy • Janissaries--conscripted boys (Christians), military slaves who received special training, learned Turkish language, & converted to Islam • Janissaries pledged loyalty to sultan (his private army)—led to decline in role of aristocrats/cavalry • “Gunpowder Empire”—soldiers were outfitted with primitive gunpowder weapons

4. Ottoman Sultans & their Court • “Absolute” monarchs?? • Sultans dealt with many factions • Ex.: Janissaries vs. religious scholars • Sultans were military leaders & ran an org. bureaucracy • Suleyman the Magnificent • Height of imperialism (conquered Baghdad & Belgrade) • Put pressure on Habsburgs and European vessels in Mediterranean • However, sultans grew distant/secluded; focused on large harems more than political and economic issues Suleyman the Magnificent

5. Flowering of Ottoman Culture • Constantinople—bad scene after 1453 • Mehmed began restoration; converted Hagia Sophia to mosque (Aya Sofya); built new mosques, palaces, hospitals, gardens, etc. • Adapted Byz ideas—aqueducts, concrete domes, markets, walls • Suleymaniye mosque is considered a hallmark of Ottoman architecture • Topkapi Palace housed gov’t offices, residence for sultan and his harem, pleasure pavilion, etc.

6. Flowering of Ottoman Culture • Cosmopolitan markets • Coffeehouses—place for men to gather, smoke, talk politics; key for social & cultural life in Constantinople, poets, scholars • Commerce regulated by Otto gov’t, inspectors, guilds controlled trade/quality/training • Linguistic heritage—Arabic used for law & religion, Turkish preferred for arts & bureaucracy • Artistic legacy—poetry, arabesque mosaics, ceramics, carpet, architecture

7. Ottoman Decline • Ottoman Empire lasted 600 years; long-lived • REASONS for DECLINE: • Limits of expansion by late 17th C—no new conquests, started to lose landslost tax revenue • Corruption among gov’t. officials; local officials kept revenues & squeezed peasants for more rebellions! • Sultans became disconnected (focus on pleasure over governing) • viziers & Janissaries gained more power (were less loyal) • CULTURAL CONSERVATISM—ignorance of European advancements & resistance to printing press • Military technology fell by wayside (Ottomans continued to use large cannons when Europeans adapted light artillery) • The Empire was officially dismantled after World War I

8. Battle of Lepanto

9. OttomanStuff Suleiman Janissary soldier

10. the Safavid Empire: Shiite v. Sunni • Rose from Turkic nomads (post-Mongols & Tamerlane) • “Frontier warriors”—militant Shi’ites • Differences over selection of caliph grew into doctrinal, ritual & legal differenceshostility, violent conflict • Sail al-Din, leader—jihad (campaign to purify & reform Islam) among Turks in early 1300s • Isma’il—was proclaimed shah (emperor); conquered most of Persia

11. the Safavid Empire: Shiite Rule • Shah Isma’il proclaimed Twelver Shiism the offical religion of his realm • Twelver Shiism argued there were 12 rightful imams after Muhammad and the Sunnis has driven the 12th into hiding; Twelver Shiites believed he would return to lead them & spread the “true” religion • Ismail’s followers wore “red hats” w/ 12 pleats to symbolize the 12 imams; these followers became the qizilbash • Battle of Chaldiran, Aug. 1514—battle w/Ottomans in west; strength of religious fervor, prior persecutions on both sides • Ottomans had heavy artillery • Safavids declined to use artillery, dismissing it as “unmanly” and unreliable (they also believed the Shah could make them invincible) • Safavid loss in the battle hindered growth of Shiites • Weakened the Safavid state, Shiite rule became confined to Persia

12. the Safavid Empire: Shiite Rule • Shah Abbas I • Promoted culture & the arts • Isfahan: center of trade & culture • Encouraged trade, regional & even w/ Europeans • Building projects: great mosques (color, artistry), colleges, gardens, baths & rest houses • Arts: miniatures, mosques • Gender roles • Patriarchal • Legal & social disadvantages; few outlets for expression • Seclusion & veiling, imposed on all, but esp elites

13. Safavid map

14. Safavid silk carpet Persian Miniature

15. Shah Mosque Isfahan, 1611-1666

17. Decline & fall of Safavids • Shah Abbas I paranoid: blinded or killed suitable successors • Practice of secluding princesweak leaders • Foreign threats: nomads, Ottomans, Mughals • March-Oct. 1722: Afghani attacks, Isfahan & Safavids fell • Nadir Khan Afshar—winner of post-fall struggles for control; self-proclaimed shah in 1736; short-lived • Region became battleground for stronger neighbors

18. Mughals in India • Babur • Expulsion from steppes = motivation for conquest • Turkic background • Used mobile artillery & cavalry to defeat larger Lodi force; scared the elephants! • outnumbered, defeated Hindu kings • Character: military strategist, fighter, patron of arts & music, writer, musician, designer of gardens • Capital at Delhi Babur’s victory at Panipat, 1526

19. Mughals in India • Akbar • height of Mughal rule • Had a vision for unity in empire • Social reforms: reconciliation w/Hindu princes, ended jizya, Hindus in bureaucracy, allowed widows to remarry, discouraged child marriages, made sati illegal, relief from purdah (seclusion) • Tolerance & universal religion: “Divine Faith” • Hindu warrior aristocrats controlled peasant villages; local controls left to support centralized gov’t • Economy: collected income via tribute, taxes

20. Architecture • Red Fort, Taj Mahal (built by Shah Jahan as a tomb for his wife) • Blends Persian & Hindu traditions (domes, arches, minarets w/ornamentation) • Symmetry, color, creativitycreate paradise on earth Taj Mahal Agra, India 1631-47

21. Decline of Mughal India • Peace & stability weakened by religious tensions between Muslims, Hindus, Sufis, and Sikhs • Sikhism: new sect in NW India, tried to bridge diff bet Hinduism & Islam, but persecution of Sikhs led to a rise in anti-Muslim feelings • From Shah Jahan’s reign on, rulers began to ignore admin., milit., & social needs for reform • Econ production & standard of living declined • Rulers conquered new lands, but spent lots of money & did not grow bureaucracy to govern them • Peasant uprisings, revolts of local Hindu princes • Local officials taking revenues from central gov’t • Invaders • Open to foreign influence—England waiting for economic opportunity & colonization

22. Siege attack on Rajput forces Akbar riding an elephant

23. Madonna and Child Turkey commissioned by Jahangir

24. Shah Jahan’s elephant Indian Bird