Civilizations in Crisis and Change

1. Civilizations in Crisis and Change Ottoman, Japan, China and Russia

2. The Mongol invasions of the 13th and 14th centuries destroyed theoretical Muslim unity. The Abbasid and many regional dynasties were crushed. Three new Muslim dynasties arose to bring a new flowering to Islamic civilization. • The greatest, the Ottoman Empire, reached its peak in the 17th century; to the east the Safavids ruled in Persia and Afghanistan, and the Mughals ruled much of India. • Together the three empires possessed great military and political power; they also produced an artistic and cultural renaissance within Islam. They contributed to the spread of Islam to new regions.

3. All three dynasties originated from Turkic nomadic cultures; each possessed religious fervor and zeal for conversion. They built empires through military conquest based upon the effective use of firearms. Each was ruled by an absolute monarch and drew revenues from taxation of agrarian populations. There were differences. The Mughals ruled mostly non-Muslim peoples, the Safavids mostly Muslims, and the Ottomans a mixture of Muslims and Christians. The Safavids were Shi'a Muslims; the others were Sunni.

4. Until the 18th century, the Ottoman Empire was one of the greatest empires in the world. It has left a lasting legacy in the Balkans and the Middle East.

6. The gate of the Topkapi Palace, the oldest and largest of the remaining palaces in the world. http://www.bibleplaces.com/istanbul.htm

7. View from the Topkapi palace http://k43.pbase.com/o4/41/581841/1/63898682.BWN3FpOm.Topkapi6.jpg

8. It’s a huge palace - the outer wall surrounding it is 3 miles long. http://www.iconofile.com/events/images/topkapi.jpg

9. A garden within the palace walls www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/Topkapi_garden2.JPG

10. Gold dishes (for eating sweetmeats) www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~history/Pictures2/Yeni/trea1.JPG

11. Golden cradle www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~history/Pictures2/goldencradle_16cc.jpg

12. Jeweled Dagger www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~history/ Pictures2/topkapi_dagger_1746.jpg

13. Courtyard of the palace harem http://www.edwebproject.org/balkans/pics/istanbul.harem.jpg

14. Harem Hall www.dkimages.com/discover/Home/Geography/Asia/Turkey/Istanbul/Istanbul-394.html

15. From Empire to Nation: Ottoman Retreat and the Birth of Turkey • Ottoman decline can be attributed to weak rulers in a system dependent on effective leadership. • With division at the top and the empires’ commercial economy threatened, European neighbors could take advantage of Ottoman weakness. • Russian threats were only countered by Ottoman alliances with other Europeans nations. Serbian and Greek national uprising drove the Ottomans back in the Balkans.

16. Yet the empire survived, in spite of military defeat and territorial loss. This was in part due to European efforts to support the Ottomans against the Russians. • Reforms within the empire only further divided the ruling elites. SELIM III attempted reforms, which were viewed as a threat to the Janissaries and other groups in power. • MAHMUD II was more successful in pushing reform. Intentionally spurring the Janissaries to mutiny, Mahmud then suppressed them. His reforms followed Western precedents.

18. Early Reforms • Attempts to reform taxation, increase agricultural output, and reduce corruption • Sultan Selim III (r. 1789-1807) remodeled army on European lines • Janissaries revolt, kill new troops, imprison Sultan • Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1808-1839) attempts same, has Janissaries massacred • Also reforms schools, taxation, builds telegraph, postal service

19. Being the nucleus of all the standing forces of the empire and reflecting the increasing importance of infantry in combat, the Janissaries became the most important corps in terms of combat effort and remained so until the end of the seventeenth century

20. Tanzimat reforms • The Tanzimat reforms-from 1839 to 1876, included Western-style universities, legal reforms, and establishment of newspapers. Opening the economy to foreigners adversely affected artisans. Pushing reforms against women’s seclusion, veiling, and polygamy had a limited impact.

21. Janissaries www.siue.edu/COSTUMES/ images/PLATE67CX.JPG

22. Janissary band www.turkeyvision.com/turkeyinformation-en/images/Janissaries2.jpg

23. Ottoman Sipahi (cavalry) http://www.osmanischesreich.com/Geschichte/Armee/Heerwesen_I/Sipahi1530.jpg

24. Tanzimat (“Reorganization”) Era, 1839-1876 • Pace of reform accelerated • Drafted new law codes • Undermined power of traditional religious elite • Fierce opposition from religious conservatives, bureaucracy • Also opposition from radical Young Ottomans, who wanted constitutional government

25. The reform movements brought Western-educated Turks to question the role of the sultanate. Abdul Hamid attempted to establish autocratic rule, while still continuing reforms. • The coup of 1908 brought the Young Turks-members of the Ottoman Society for Union and Progress-to power. The constitution-sent aside by Abdul Hamid –was reestablished, with the sultan a figurehead.

26. The Young Turks Program • Pushed for reforms  basic democratic rights: • freedom of speech. • freedom of assembly. • freedom of the press. • Problem of nationalism within (heterogeneous empire).

27. Ottoman Economy • Imports of cheap manufactured goods place stress on local artisans, urban riots result • Export-dependent Ottoman economy increasingly relies on foreign loans • By 1882 Ottomans unable to pay even interest on loans, forced to accept foreign administration of debts • Capitulations: agreements that exempted Europeans from Ottoman law • Extraterritoriality gives tax-free status to foreign banks, businesses

29. Western Intrusions and the Crisis in the Arab Islamic Heartlands • Arabs of the Ottoman Empire had some commonalities with the Turks, especially Islam, but were left undefended from European attacks. • Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798 opened a new era in reforms between the Middle East and Europe. Their defeat by Napoleon was a shock, following as it did centuries of Mamluk military ascendancy. • The conflict brought no lasting gains for France, but it was a watershed.

30. Muhammad Al • Muhammad Ali emerged to lead Egypt following Napoleon’ s departure. He reformed the army along Western lines. Egyptian peasants were forced to grow export crops. His descendants-the Khedives-ruled Egypt until 1952.

31. Egypt and cotton • Muhammad Ali’s reform made Egypt dependent on cotton exports and therefore at the mercy of European markets. European lenders gained control of cotton prices and then shares in the Suez Canal. • Options proposed among Egyptians to solve the problem of weak sultans and khedives included jihad and more borrowing from the West.

32. Khedives • These two approaches were and are essentially at odds. The financial problems of the khedives led to greater financial control of British and French bankers. British financial control began a new era.

33. Territorial Losses • Russia takes territories in Caucasus, central Asia • Nationalist uprisings drive Ottomans out of Balkans • Napoleon’s unsuccessful attack on Egypt spurs local revolt against Ottomans under Muhammad Ali (r. 1805-1848) • British support Ottomans only to avoid possible Russian expansion

34. Territorial losses of the Ottoman empire, 1800-1914

35. Qing Dynasty1644-1911(Manchu or Manchurian)

36. Ming Collapse:1664 CE Invading Manchu armies are resisted by Chinese forces for a while Chinese general decides to switch sides and allies with Manchu forces, surrendering all of Northern China Alternating explanations: Emperor had violated the General’s wife Emperor ordered general’s family killed, mistakenly believing the general was disloyal, and this drove the general to betrayal

37. New Manchurian Dynasty Manchu General enters Beijing and never leaves Declares himself Emperor Qing Dynasty Established 1664 CE “Manchu Dynasty”

38. The Last Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Qing Empire in China • Manchu nomads, north of the Great Wall, were united by Nurhaci in the early 1600s. His banner armies were a powerful force. • For decades, the Manchu learned from Chinese bureaucratic methods and employed scholar-officials. • Called in to help put down a rebellion, they instead took Beijing. Under the dynastic name Qing, they ruled China. • The Manchu elite ruled with few changes to court or bureaucratic procedure. They patronized traditional Chinese arts and Confucianism. • Kangxi was himself an important Confucian scholar.

39. Qing Dynasty Emphasize Manchu Superiority Racial Purity Reserve Manchu homeland for Manchurians only No intermarriage All Chinese men must wear the Manchurian hair style: “que”

40. Minimal changes occurred in Chinese society under the Manchu, except possibly a decline in the status of women. • Rural reforms attempted to bring more land into cultivation and restore the infrastructure of dikes, roads, and irrigation. • These improvements were partially successful, yet did little to mitigate the power of landlords. Merchants did well under the Qing as exporters of tea and silk. • These compradors linked China to the rest of the world.

41. Qing decline went along familiar lines. The examination system ceased to fill its role in bringing forward able administrators. Posts could be bought, and cheating was allowed. The abuses were troubling in a system based on Confucian education, intended to engender concern for the people of China.

42. Again, public works in rural areas were abandoned. In the Shangdong peninsula, the Huanghe river was allowed to flood. Thousands died from famine and disease. Banditry, on the rise, signaled a weakening dynasty. Many expected that a new dynasty would now renew the historical cycle.

43. East Asia in the nineteenth century

44. New Barbarians The new “barbarians” threatening China could not be sinified and absorbed. • In the 18th century, British merchants had turned to opium for export to China. British depended on the trade, but the Chinese saw it as a threat. • As much as one percent of the Chinese were addicted, causing widespread social and administrative problems. Efforts to stop the trade began in the 1820s. • In the 1830s Lin Zexu was sent to end the opium trade. To do so he confiscated opium, destroyed warehouses, and imposed a blockade. The resulting Opium War ended with Chinese defeat.

45. Opium Factory

46. China was forced to open its ports to foreign trade. Hong Kong was developed as a British outpost. British officials oversaw Chinese trade, and the government was forced to accept foreign ambassadors. • Chinese defeat and growing foreign interference led to revolts. The Taiping Rebellion was led by Hong Xiuquan against the Qing. Although successful militarily, the movement fell apart, especially under British opposition. • The Taiping Rebellion challenged not just the Qing government, but also the traditional order. The scholar-gentry thus rallied to the regime .Men such as Zeng Guofan led the self-strengthening movement against Western influence, while embracing Western technology.

47. Manchu attempts at reform were blocked by those resistant to change, such as the dowager empress Cixi.

48. Empress Dowager:Cixi – rules 1861-1898 Royal concubine whose son becomes emperor at age 5 (first wife had no sons) Rules as regent over her son Staunchly conservative, traditional and backward- looking dictator

49. Cixi: The Empress Dowager Empress characterized as: Dictatorial Vicious Reactionary Names 4-year old nephew as new emperor Continues as regent Both co-regents die …?

50. Cixi: The Empress Dowager 1898: Cixi, from her deathbed, orders emperor (nephew) poisoned He dies and she follows within a day China left with another 4-year-old emperor Movie recommendation: The Last Emperor (1987) tells the story of this little boy emperor’s life.