Centuries of Turmoil

Pages 575 to

579

Foreign InvadersNomads from Central Asia dominated ME in the 1000sWanted fertile land of the Mesopotamia

CrusadersPope Urban II called for in 1095Crusade- holy war

Christian and Western regions to lead crusades- (France, Germany, England, & Italy)

Against the MuslimsGoal= Recapture Palestine (the Holy Land)

Why was Palestine the Holy Land?

Because Jesus lived and died there.

1st Crusade1096Crusaders slaughtered Muslim and Jewish residents in order to take over Jerusalem. Set up Christian kingdoms along the Mediterranean

Continued…

Crusades had limited effectWestern Europe less advanced than ME at the timeBrilliant Muslim general, Saladin, drove Christians out of Jerusalem

Saladin: A Noble Warrior1100s

Respected by both Muslims and ChristiansConquered Jerusalem without killing its inhabitantsBroke tradition of making defeated peoples slaves

Ottoman Empire1300s Turkish-speaking people from Central Asia who converted to IslamEmpire stretched from Europe, across the Middle East to North AfricaCaptured Constantinople (Capital of Byzantine Empire)Stunned European Christians

Continued…Ottomans renamed capital IstanbulOE lasted for over 500 yearsHead of gov’t= sultan had a lot of people run empireMen of pen= lawyers, judges, mathematiciansMen of the sword= soldiers/slaves

Role of Ottoman SlavesConquered peoples became slavesConverted Christian slaves to IslamWhen slaves converted they became free

Othman I, Founder of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan 1299-1326 

The Millets

Millets- non-Muslim communitiesOwed loyalty to sultan, but each had its own religious leader

The Safavid Empire (Iran today)

1500s chief rival of OETwo empires waged bloody wars for control of MesopotamiaSafavid= ShiiteOttoman= Sunni

Continued…

Safavid Empire lasted until 1736Ruled by shahs, or kingsIran was ruled by shahs until 1979!