The Islamic Empires1500-1800 Three Islamic Empires dominate

from southern Europe to Northern India from 1500-1800 Ottoman Empire (Southern Europe,

Middle East, North Africa) Safavid Empire (Persia) Mughal Empire (Northern India)

Similarities

The peak of Islam’s political and military power

All based on military conquest All from Turkic nomadic cultures All absolute monarchies

Differences

All were Muslim but Mughals ruled over a predominantly non-Muslim population

Ottomans had large Christian minority

Safavids were Shi’ite Muslims

With decline of Seljuk Turks, Ottomans expanded and founded the Ottoman dynasty

1300’s: Ottomans expanded into Balkan Peninsula

Serbian defeat at Battle of Kosovo

Janissaries: young boys taken from the Christian population. Boys were converted to Islam and trained as elite soldiers or administrators to serve the Sultan

Ottomans defeated the Serbs at the Battle of Kosovo

Controlled the Balkan Peninsula

Janissaries

Under the leadership of Mehmet II, the Ottomans laid siege to Constantinople

Fall of Constantinople in 1453 brought end to the Byzantine Empire

The Ottomans made the city their capital renaming it Istanbul Mehmet II enters

Constantinople

Under rule of Sultan Selim I, the Ottomans took control of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Arabian Peninsula with holy cities of Mecca and Medina

Selim declared himself Caliph Ottoman rule spread across North Africa

though by 1600’s this area was semi-independent

Greatest threat to Europe came under rule of greatest of Ottoman rulers, Suleyman I.

Under his leadership, Ottomans seized Belgrade and won victory over Hungarians and occupied the country

Suleyman I

The Ottomans laid siege to Vienna in 1529 Ottoman advance into western Mediterranean

stopped at Lepanto in 1571 by Western coalition led by the Spanish

Ottoman rule The Ottomans copied many aspects of

Byzantine political structure, especially imperial rule

A strong centralized government was established with the sultan at its head in Istanbul.

The position of sultan was hereditary- once in power, a sultan would murder all his brothers.

The private domain of the sultan was called the harem

The imperial bureaucracy was controlled by the sultan through his chief minister, the Grand Vizier

Most high government officials were Muslim by birth and many were chosen based on merit

The Ottomans administered their lands through local rulers called pashas

Pashas collected taxes (giving a percentage to the Ottomans) and maintained law and order

As Caliph, the sultan was the supreme religious leader but he delegated many duties to the Ulema, who administered the legal system and education

Islamic law applied to all Ottoman territory The Ottomans were tolerant of non-

Muslims - head tax Non-Muslim religions were headed by an

official who was responsible to the sultan

Women had greater freedom under the Ottomans than in other Muslim nations

Could own and inherit property, could not be forced into marriage, and were permitted to divorce

Women in the Ottoman court

Safavids descended from Turkic tribesmen in northern Iran

Safavids – Shi’ite Muslims 1501- Safi al-Din Ismail

seized much of what is today Iran and Iraq

Safavid soldier

Selim I, the Ottoman sultan, marched against Safavids and won major victory

After more attempts by the Safavids to take Ottoman lands, the Ottomans forced the Safavid leader, Shah Abbas, to sign peace treaty Selim I

Safavids reached peak of power under Shah Abbas

With help of Europeans, Shah Abbas attempted to take more lands from Ottomans

Shah Abbas and wine boy

The Safavids declined after death of Shah Abbas in 1629

Afghan tribesmen invaded and captured the Safavid capital and forced the royal family to flee to Azerbaijan, their original homeland

Safavid rule comparable to the Ottomans

Safavids had vibrant middle class

Greatest area of productivity in Safavid Empire was textiles

Carpets were prized all over the world

Founded by Babur, descended from Tamerlane and Genghis Khan

Invaded India from Kabul and conquered Delhi

Using that city as his base, he expanded into the subcontinent

Babur

After Babur’s death, his son, Akbar, continued the expansion until most of India was under his control

The Mughal Empire was the greatest empire in India since the Mauryans

Akbar

Although Muslim, Akbar adopted a policy of religious tolerance

Hindus served in lesser positions in his court and even Christians were present in the form of Jesuit advisors

Akbar even took a Hindu bride

Local officials, called Zamindars, administered districts, taking a portion of the taxes as salary

Political stability and peace = period of growth in trade and manufacturing

Much of the trade was handled by Muslim merchants

The Mughal dynasty went into decline after death of Akbar

Akbar succeeded by his son, Jahangir

Jahangir

Shah Jahan, succeeded Jahangir

In order to secure hold on power, he had all rivals murdered

Shah Jahan’s military campaigns and corruption in court impoverished state

His son, Aurangzeb, killed brother and imprisoned Shah Jahan

Shah Jahan built Taj Mahal for deceased wife

Shah Jahan

Aurangzeb tried to eliminate many of India’s social evils including sati

He forced Hindus to convert to Islam and forbade the construction of Hindu temples

Social unrest resulted in a number of revolts

Weakened from within, Delhi was sacked by Persians in 1739

The Portuguese, Dutch, British, and French all sought influence in India

War between British and French Increasing British influence under the

East India Company

Mughals and Hindus created a blended culture

Both Muslim and Hindu cultures restricted women

Purdah adopted by higher-class Hindus

Full purdah

Some Hindus forcibly married Muslim women and converted them to Hinduism

Hindus converting to Islam lost all rights within the Indian family

Mughals married Hindu women and adopted Indian dress