CHAPTER 16The Muslim Empires  

Focus QuestionsThe Ottoman Empire

• What was the ethnic composition of the Ottoman Empire, and how did the government of the sultan administers such a diverse population?

Identifications: Ottoman• Ottoman Turks Queen Mother

• Grand Vezir

• Beys Religious Freedom

• Sultan Millet

• Janisarries Women’s Status

• Factors of Decline

• Harem

• Devishirme

Critical Thinking

• What were the main characteristics of each of the Muslim Empires, and in what ways did they resemble each other?

• How were they distinct from their European counterparts?

The Ottoman Empire

• Seljuk Turks:– Turkic Speaking people who spread westward

from Central Asia, 9 -11th Centuries

• Ottoman Turks– 13th C Osman (1280 – 1326) began to

consolidate power Anatolian Penninsula– Expanded to found the Osmanli Dynasty

• Later known as the Ottoman• Capital at Bursa

Rise of Empire

• Orkhan I (1326 – 1360)– Expanded into Byzantine Empire– Beys assumed position of landlords and

collected taxes from Slavic peasants• Provincial governors in the ottoman empire

“knights”

– Ottoman leader claimed title of Sultan• Sovereign of his domain

Rise of Empire• Murad I succeeded his father, 1360

– Consolidated power in the Balkans• Capital at Edirne

• Defeated Serbs at Battle of Kosovo, 1389– Ended Serbian Hegemony

• Modern Military Administration– Recruited Christians into an elite Guard– Janissaries “New Troops”

• Converted to Islam

• Foot soldiers, administrators

• Loyal to the Sultan

Expansion of Empire: Constantinople

• Bayazid I (1389 – 1402) – Expanded North

• Annexed Bulgaria

• Mehmet II (1451 – 1481)– Controlled Dardenelles– Sieged Constantinople, 1453

• New capital of Ottoman Dynasty

• Renamed Istanbul– Now a dominant force in the Balkans and Anatolia

Peninsula

The Turkish Conquest of

Constantinople

Under Mehmet II became capital of Ottoman Empire:

Istanbul

© The Bridgeman Art Library

Expansion of Empire:Western Asia & Africa

• 1514 Emperor Selim 1 (1512 – 1520)– Consolidated Turkish control over

Mesopotamia & North Africa– 1516, Mamluks defeated in Syria– 1517 Cairo defeated

• Selim, New Caliph or successor to Muhammad

Expansion of Empire: Europe

• Suleyman I the Magnificent (1520 -1566)– 1521, Seized Belgrade– 1526, Battle of Mohacs, Danube

• Major victory over Hungarians

– 1571 repulsed by Spanish forces in Vienna

• Ottoman Empire treated like a European power in the early 17th C– European rulers sought alliances and trade

concessions

Turks fight Christians at the Battle of Moha´cs

© The Art Archive/ Topkapi Museum, Istanbul/Gianni Dagli Orti

Late 17th C: Europe

• Grand Vezirs (Chief Executive)– Began new expansion

• 1683 again repelled in Vienna– Ended Turkish threat in Europe

• Ottoman Survived the 18th C– Under threat of growing Austrian empire in

South Eastern Europe– New Russian Empire in the North

Nature of Turkish Rule• 1. The Role of the Sultan

– Supreme authority, political and military– Hereditary – Administrative Center & residence

• Topkapi Palace, Instanbul

• 2. The Harem “sacred place”– Administrative center & residence

• Status of Queen given to mother of first son– Queen Mother when her son became sultan

» Advisor to the throne & diplomat» Power in affairs of state & administration of imperial

household

Merit system

•sought to recruit its officials on the basis of merit.

•Devshirme/collection’youth selected from the non-Muslim population

•extensive academic and military training.

© The Bridgeman Art Library

Ottoman Ruling Elite

• Sunni Muslims,– sultans claimed the title of caliph or defender

of the faith since the 16th C. • Technically responsible for maintaining Islamic law

or the Shari’a.– Sultan assigned these duties to a supreme religious

authority who administered the law and maintained the educational system

Treatment of Minorities

• Islamic Law and customs were applied to all Muslims in the empire. – Religious Freedom– Loyalty

• Non Muslims: – Orthodox Christian’s – Greek and Slavic, – Jews and Armenian

» head tax in compensation for their exemption from military service

» permitted to practice their religion or convert to Islam. European areas remained Christian, Balkans; (Boznia and Herzegovina today) many converted to Islam.

Millet

• Religious groups organized as a Millet (nation or community) – own patriarch, priest or grand rabbi

• intermediary with the government • administered the community according to its own

laws.– System of justice, educational politics, welfare for needy

• The leaders of the individual nations – responsible to the sultan and his officials for

the behavior of the subjects, – collected taxes for the government.

Social Classes

• Subjects divided by occupation & place of residence– 4 occupational groups

• Artisans – Organized by craft Guilds

• Merchants– Most privileged outside of the ruing elite– Exempt from government regulation & taxes

• Peasants– Tilled land leased by the state/use rights inherited

• Pastoral peoples

Religion and Society:Position of Women

• Women’s Status in the Ottoman Empire

• Non Muslim women – subject to the laws and customs of their own

religions: • Orthodox Christian, Armenian Christian, Jewish

women were spared some of the restrictions applied to Muslim women.

Religion and Society:Position of Women

• Islamic laws as applied to the ottoman empire defined the legal position of women comparatively tolerantly– allowed to inherit property, including their

dowries– Could not be forced to marry– permitted to seek divorce– Politically influential– Senior officials, governors of provinces

17th C factors of decline

• Devshirme system transformed from a meritocratic administrative elite into a privileged and often degenerate hereditary caste– Local administrators were corrupted, Taxes rose– Imperial treasury depleted, wars– Transport and communication networks neglected– interest in science and technology in decline,

• the hallmark of the Arab empire– Decline in competence of rulers– Declining morality – western influence– Diversion of trade routes, price inflation due to

American silver

Focus Question:The Safavids

• What Problems did the empire face and how did their rulers attempt to solve them? How did their approaches compare with other Muslim Empires?

The Safavids

• Dynasty of Persia 16th C

• Shah Ismail (1487 – 1524) he was a descendant of Sheikh Safi al-Din – Safi developed the activist Shi’ite faith

• 1501 claimed modern Iraq & Iran proclaimed himself Shah

• Shah Abbas (1587 – 1629)– Dynasty reached Zenith– Established system similar to Jannisaries– Built up army/expansion and warfare

The Ottoman and Safavid Empires, c. 1683

Safavid Politics & Society• Ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity

• Shi’ite Faith used to unify Iranians & Nomadic Turks

• Merit based appointment system in government

• Shahs involved in commercial and manufacturing, enforced honesty & fairness

• Good transportation and communication

Factors of Collapse of Safavids Succession conflict following Abbas death

(1629)Power of Militant Shi’ite increased

Intellectual freedom curtailed under rise of orthodoxy

Women’s freedoms restrictedVeiling & seclusion imposed

Religious toleration replaced with repressionUnrest and revolt (collapse in 1723)

Focus Question: The Grandeur of the Mughals

• What Role did Islam play in the Mughal Empire, and how did the Mughals approach to religion compare with that of the Ottomans and the Safavids? Explain the similarities and differences?

Mughal Empire: Babur

• Muslims & foreigners brought India to peak of political power & cultural achievements– United continent under one government– Common culture

• Babur founded dynasty through political manuevering & military capability– Greatest empire in 2000 years (Mauryan)

The M

ughal Em

pire

Akbar & Indo-Muslim Civilization

• Socially Sophisticated Ruler– Humane ruler– Respected diversity of Indian Society– Religious Tolerance– Abolished Hindu restrictions

• Sophisticated Administration– Non-Muslims & Hindus appointed– Zaminders collected taxes

Akbar & Indo-Muslim Civilization Legal system

Tolerant Muslims – Shari’a/ Hindu- Dharmashastra Rescinded Jizya (1579) (non-Muslim poll tax) Mild punishment, impartially & efficiently

administered

Harmonious Society Ideal social order Laws of Islam, caste system (Ottoman)

Beginning of DeclineThe Reign of Shan Jahan (1628-1658)

increase in imperial controlDecline in competence & intentions of rulerIncrease in poverty and internal problems

• Rule of Aurangzeb (1658-1707)– Attempted to eliminate some social evils– Reversed previous policies of religious

tolerance• Domestic unrest/revolt

The Taj Mahal, Constructed under reign of Shan Jahan © Ian Bell

Final Decline

• 18th C Internal revolts– Gentry & merchants began to erode power– Poverty & famine– Economic disparity & religious intolerance

• 18th C External – Europeans gained control of regional trade– Influenced internal politics– Divided and overcame empire

Western Power in India

•  England Established textile factories (1616)

• Gained Authority to collect taxes (1757)

• Seized Mughal Emperor (1767)

• By 1858 subcontinent under company control

India in 1805

•By the early nineteenth century, much of the Indian subcontinent had fallen under British domination.