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Chapter 28. The Islamic Empires. The Islamic empires, 1500-1800. The Ottoman Empire (1289-1923). Osman leads bands of seminomadic Turks to become ghazi : Muslim religious warriors Captures Anatolia with light cavalry and volunteer infantry Later, heavy cavalry
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Chapter 28 The Islamic Empires
The Ottoman Empire (1289-1923) • Osman leads bands of seminomadic Turks to become ghazi: Muslim religious warriors • Captures Anatolia with light cavalry and volunteer infantry • Later, heavy cavalry • In Balkans, forced Christian families to surrender young boys to military service: devshirme • Often grew up to be exceptionally loyal Janissaries
Mehmed II (“the Conqueror,” r. 1451-1481) • Capture of Constantinople, 1453 • Renamed Istanbul • Transformation from warrior sultan to emperor of “two lands” (Europe, Asia) and “two seas” (Black Sea, Mediterranean) • Planned to capture Pope, unsuccessful
Suleyman the Magnificent (r. 1520-1566) • Expanded into Asia, Europe • Besieged Vienna, 1529 • Develops naval power
The Safavid Empire • Ismail young military leader, r. 1501-1524 • Orphaned, parents killed by enemies • Becomes Shah, proclaims official religion of realm Twelver Shiism • Twelve infallible imams after Muhammad • 12th imam in hiding, ready to take power • Wore distinctive red hat, called quzilbash (“red heads”) • Empire called Safavid, after Safi al-Din (1252-1334), Sufi thinker
Battle of Chaldiran (1514) • Ottoman Selim the Grim attacks Safavids • Heavy use of Ottoman gunpowder technology give them the upper hand • Ismail escapes, two centuries of ongoing conflict • Shah Abbas the Great (r. 1588-1629) revitalizes weakened Safavid empire • Reforms administration, military • Expands trade • Military expansion
Reading • Report on Persia, Persians, and Abbas I
The Mughal Empire • Zahir al-Din Muhammad (Babur the Tiger), Chagatai Turk, invades northern India for plunder, 1523 • Gunpowder technology gives Babur advantage • Founds Mughal (Persian for Mongol) dynasty • Expands through most of Indian subcontinent
Akbar (r. 1556-1605) • Grandson of Babur • Wins fear and respect after throwing Adham Khan, leader of the army, out the window twice • Second time just to make sure he was dead • Created centralized government • Destroyed Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar • Religiously tolerant, promoted “Divine Faith” • Syncretic form of Islam and Hinduism
Political outlook and how it manifested itself in the empires of the chapter. Video clip of Akbar and the founding of his capital and religion Another video of Akbar that depicts his rule British Museum exhibit of the Mughals Reading
Aurangzeb (r. 1659-1707) • Expands Mughal empire into southern India • Hostile to Hinduism • Demolished Hindu temples, replaced with mosques • Tax on Hindus to encourage conversion
Common Elements of Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal Empires • Empires based on military conquest (“gunpowder empires”) • Prestige of dynasty dependent on piety and military prowess of the ruler • Close relations with Sufism, ghazi tradition • Steppe Turkish traditions • Issuance of unilateral decrees • Intra-family conflicts over power • 1595 Sultan massacres 19 brothers (some infants), 15 expectant women (strangulation with silk)
Women and Politics • Women officially banned from political activity • But tradition of revering mothers, 1st wives from Chinggis Khan • Süleyman the Magnificent defers to concubine Hürrem Sultana • Originally Roxelana, Ukrainian woman • Convinces husband to murder eldest son in favor of her own child
Agriculture and Trade • American crops effect less dramatic change in Muslim empires • Coffee, tobacco important • Initial opposition from conservative circles, fearing lax morality of coffee houses • Population growth also reflects territorial additions and losses • Trade with English East India Company, French East India Company, and Dutch VOC
Religious Diversity • Ottoman Empire: Christians, Jews • Safavid Empire: Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians • Mughal Empire: Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians, Christians, Sikhs • Mughal Akbar most tolerant • Received Jesuits politely, but resented Christian exclusivity • Enthusiastic about syncretic Sikhism, self-serving “Divine Faith”
Status of Religious Minorities • Non-Muslim protected people: dhimmi • Payment of special tax: jizya • Freedom of worship, property, legal affairs • Ottoman communities: millet system of self-administration • Mughal rule: Muslims supreme, but work in tandem with Hindus • Under Akbar, jizya abolished • Reaction under Aurangzeb
Capital Cities • Istanbul cultural capital of Ottoman empire, massive monumental architecture • Rededication of Hagia Sofia church as Aya Sofiya mosque • Ishafan major Persian city • Akbar builds magnificent Fatehpur Sikri • Chooses site without sufficient water supply, abandoned • Taj Mahal example of Mughal architecture
Deterioration of Imperial Leadership • Ottoman princes become lazy through luxury • Selim the Sot (r. 1566-1574) • Ibrahim the Crazy (r.1640-1648) • Attempts to isolate them compounds the problem • Religious tensions between conservatives and liberals intensify • Role of women • Wahhabi movement in Arabia denounces Ottomans as unfit to rule • Force destruction of observatory, printing press • Safavid Shiites persecute Sunnis, non-Muslims and even Sufis
Economic and Military Decline • Foreign trade controlled by Europeans • Military, administrative network expensive to maintain • Janissaries mutiny when paid with debased coinage, 1589, other revolts follow • Unproductive wars • European military technology advances faster than Ottomans can purchase it
Cultural Conservatism • Europeans actively studying Islamic cultures for purposes of trade, missionary activities • Islamic empires less interested in outside world • Swiftly fell behind in technological development • E.g. Jews from Spain establish 1st printing press in Anatolia in late 15th century • But printing of books in Turkish and Arabic forbidden until 1729 • Handwritten books preferred, but weak levels of dissemination
The Ottoman Empire in Decline • Ottoman empire reaches peak of military expansion in late 17th century • Defeated by Austrians, Russians, largely due to European advances in technology and strategy • Elite Janissary corps involved in palace intrigue • Semi-independent local warlords use mercenaries, slave armies to support Sultan in return for imperial favor • Massive corruption, misuse of tax revenues
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) • Nominally subordinate to Sultan, but threatened capture of Istanbul • British support Ottomans only to avoid possible Russian expansion
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
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
Tanzimat (“Reorganization”) Era, 1839-1876 • Pace of reform accellerated • Drafted new law codes • Undermined power of traditional religious elite • Fierce opposition from religious conservatives, bureacracy • Also opposition from radical Young Ottomans, who wanted constitutional government
The Young Turk Era • 1876 radical dissident elements stage a coup, install Abdül Hamid II as Sultan (r. 1876-1909) • Constitution, representative government adopted, but suspended within the year, Many liberals exiled, executed • Principal organization; Ottoman Society for Union and Progress: The Young Turk Party • Founded by Ottomans in exile in Paris • Called for rapid, secular reforms • Forced Abdül Hamid II to restore parliament, then dethroned him in favor of Mehmed V Rashid (r. 1909-1918)
Young Turk Rule • Attempted to establish Turkish hegemony over far-flung empire • Turkish made official language, despite large numbers of Arabic and Slavic language speakers • Yet could not contain forces of decline