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Chapter 27: The Islamic Empires
Ottomans: 1289-1923: wanted to be ghazisSafavids: 1501-1629: champions of ShiismMughals: 1523-1707: soldiers of fortune
Rise and Fall??
Ottoman Empire (1289-1923)
Ibrahim the Crazy: his own officials deposed and assassinated him
Devshirme? Janissaries? •Osmen Bey (1289), •Mehmed II the Conqueror (1451-1481)•Suleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566) Political control through edicts/taxes
Siege of Chaldiran: 1514
Painting finished in 1584 by the famous Turkish miniaturist Mohammed bey of the 1456 Turkish attack on Belgrade, led by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror (in the center of the painting, with white turban); the bombing of the city by cannons; European army on the walls, calmly awaiting invasion forces; and, at the end - organized withdrawal of the Turkish army (lower right corner). In the river Sava (and on the ground) are depicted numerous corpses; in the river (middle of the right part) a bow of a Hungarian army boat can be seen. During the siege, all necessities and food were transported into the city by boat, which was the main reason for the failure of the siege.
Finally captured by Suleyman the Magnificent 1521.
Siege of Vienna: 1529
Ottoman Empire: Suleyman the Magnificent
Europe is soooooo
backward!
Agrarian economy/ coffee-tobacco/ trade alliances
Mosque: Suleyman the Magnificent
•Osmen Bey (1289), Mehmed II the Conqueror (1451-1481)•Suleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566) •(unbroken succession) of Ottoman rule•Sunni Muslims•Mehmed and Suleyman promoted Ottoman expansion• absolute monarchy (early sultans very active- later vizars took more control)•strong centralized state via religious warriors (ghazi)/ gunpowder•Conquered the former Byzantine Empire (Istanbul)1453•strong military/ strong navy (Suleyman): threatened Vienna 1529•(as the empire expanded into the Balkans) Christian boys were enslaved (devshirme) and used as slave troops (janisseries)•utilized concepts of protected peoples (dhimmi), millet and jizya•tolerant of multi-ethnic empire•empire included Muslims and Christians--------------------------------------------------•Decline: political corruption, Janisseries rebel, insecurity, religious tension, economic disputes (costly unproductive wars with Hapsburgs), lost control of Mediterranean to Spain (Battle of Lepanto 1571), rejection of Western influence, cultural insularity weakened empire by late 18th century
Ottoman Empire (1289-1923)
Happily adopted gunpowder technology but “drew little inspiration from the European religion, science or ideas”Printing Press?? Role of calligraphy here??
Population growth(1500) 9 m – (1800) 24 million
AutonomousReligious
communities
When empires stopped expanding- no wealth from taxes or plunder- government was no longer supported
The first Safavid king was Ismail, who came from Azerbaijan to
conquer Persia.
Shah Abbas the Great defeated the Uzbeks
The Safavid Empire 1501-1629 CE
Isfahan Mosque
“Isfahan is half the world”
The Safavid Empire 1501-1629 CERise and Fall??
Shah Ishmail I
Ishmail’s father ordered The wearing of the red hats
Persian Ambassadors (policy of Shah Abbas) being greeted in Venice, 1599
Shah Abbas II receiving European diplomats
Persian miniature: Safavid polo match
“Their imagination is animated, quick and fruitful. Their memory is free and prolific. They are very favorably drawn to the sciences, the liberal and mechanical arts. Their temperament is open and leans towards sensual pleasure and self-indulgence, which makes them pay little attention to economy or business.”
“The Persians are the most civilized of the peoples of the East, and what the French are to Europe, they are to the Orient... Their bearing and countenance is the best-composed, mild, serious, impressive, genial and welcoming as far as possible. They never fail to perform at once the appropriate gestures of politeness when meeting each other... They are the most wheedling people in the world, with the most engaging manners, the most supple spirits and a language that is gentle and flattering, and devoid of unpleasant terms but rather full of circumlocutions.”
The Safavid Empire 1501-1629 CE
•Shah Ismail (1501-1524): used propaganda to claim power (Claimed Title of SHAH)•Persia and Mesopotamia•Shiia Muslims/ imposed Twelve Shiism on formerly Sunni populations•Twelve Shiism ("red hats“: qizilbash) (distinguish from Ottomans and Mughals
who were Sunnis)(Shiites never had a unified political base until NOW)•no navy or military (gunpowder/firearms initially considered unmanly)•Battle of Chaldiran 1514 vs. Ottomans= devastating loss to Safavids•empire included mostly Muslims/ Prospered through TRADE•tolerant: employed millet system•Shah Abbas I (the Great) (1588-1629): revival of empire
* moved capital to Isfahan/encouraged trade/reformedadministration/reformed military
* increased use of gunpowder/ strengthened army* sought alliances with Europeans against the Ottomans* attacked Uzbeks, Portuguese, Ottomans* NW Iran, Caucasus and Mesopotamia under his rule
•Empire destroyed in 1722: • costly wars with Mesopotamia/ shut out of trade b/c of expansion of European maritime ventures•Afghans seized the capital/cannibalism/ shah abdicated the throne in 1736
DECLINE:Economic woesSunni v ShiaFell under controlof conservative clericsAbbas’ successionfears (blinded son, killed likelySuccessors…)
Hidden imam
Rise and Fall??
Mughal "Mongol" Empire (1523-1707)
(Sultanate of Delhi13th century)
• Babur (1523-1530) loosely knit empire by time of his death• Akbar (1556-1605) (threw Adham Khan out the window!)• Aurangzeb (1659-1707) (expanded the empire to the South)• India: by early 18th C controlled Indian sub-continent• empire ruled mostly non-Muslims (mostly Hindus)• "divine faith": monotheism that glorified the emperor
(syncretism) drew heavily from Islam/ Sufi teachings• no navy or merchant fleet/ not that interested in trade
(+agric)• Permitted trade stations for English, French and Dutch(taxed them)• no millet: Akbar outlawed jizya• Akbar: brilliant, thoughtful, supported religion and philosophy• Aurangzeb: imposed tax on Hindus, no tolerance, religious
tensions between Hindus and Mulsims, empire expanded deep into southern India, deposed Shah Jahan (Taj Mahal) and sent him to prison
Mughal "Mongol" Empire (1523-1707)
DECLINE: costly war with southern India/resistant to the West/ religious intolerance=tensionbetween Hindus and Muslims
Akbar: supportedSikh faith =Hinduism andIslam
Population growth(1500) 105 m – (1800) 190 million
Claimed descent throughTamerlane
Akbar: 5000 Army: 40,000
Shah Jahan:20,000 workers18 years
The name comes from the shape of a throne, having the figures of two peacocks standing behind it, their tails being expanded and the whole so inlaid with sapphires, rubies, emeralds, pearls and other precious stones of appropriate colors as to represent life, created for the Mughal Badshah Shah Jahan of India in the 17th century, which was in his imperial capital Delhi's Public audience hall.
In the allegorical painting on the left, from about 1615, the emperor Jahangir visits with the head of the Chisty order, Shaikh Husain Ajmeri, while the Ottoman sultan, King James I of England, and the painter Bichitr wait their turn. A Persian inscription in the painting’s border relates that, although kings stand waiting before him, the emperor turns to religious men for guidance.
The Islamic Empires: Similarities:
All used gunpowder.All developed bureaucracies from steppe traditions (military)All developed similar, strong, agrarian economic policies. (Coffee and tobacco mainstays of social life)
All developed ambivalence to global trade over time (rarely left borders of their own empires/no ambassadors)
All shared similar model for conquered peoples (status of protected people)All sought ways to maintain harmony among religious and ethnic groups
(in exchange for loyalty and taxes, groups retained personal freedoms)Legitimacy of their regime was seen by their people in the efforts of their rulers
to secure public welfare, support literacy and the artsAll supported empires based on Muslim traditions/Islam/ Holy war to extend their faithAll three empires supported arts and public works:
mosques, palaces, schools, hospitals, etc.Internal tensions characterized all three empires when religious conservatives
abandoned policies of tolerance (Muslim clerics became offended by syncretic religions)
All supported limits on foreign influenceAll had populations that were religiously/ ethnically diverseAll generally did not expend energy on industrialization or on the
development of military technology (too disruptive/ threaten stability)
All declined due to high cost of maintaining administrative/military apparatus (fine when expansion took place and could tax/ difficult with no expansion)
All three empires were strong 16th Century but weakened by the mid 17th CenturyAll three were plagued with problems of succession/ administrative incompetence
The Islamic Empires: Similarities:
All believed women should notplay active role in politics or public affairs but did allow themto play important advisory roles and were well respected (example: Chabi)
