CHAPTER 18: Islamic Empires in
Gunpowder Empires
A. Overview
1.
New Muslim world developed in
a.
Cultural center was
b.
Center of wealth, Mughul Empire in
c.
Military might found in
2. All shared Islamic faith, common steppe ancestry, Persian art
a. Built on Turco-Mongol military organization
b. Used gunpowder weapons
c. Crafted cultural synthesis on pre-existing civilizations
d.
Formed part of trading network from
The
A.
1. Origin myth to legitimize kingship, falsified genealogy linking them to Prophet Muhammad
2.
Expansion resumed under Mehmet II
(
3. Ottoman power peaked under Suleiman (1520-1566)
a.
Known in
B. The Empire Under Suleiman
1. Sultan had to delegate authority in large empire, officials totally dependent on sultan
a. Sipahis: fief-holders, brought cavalry contingents for military campaigns
b. Pashas (beys): provincial governors, highest-ranking commanders
2. Sultan maintained central bureaucracy
a. Vizir: chief minister and Divan: advisory council
3. Slave (kul) system, key factor to Ottoman success
a. Most went into janissaries, infantry corps armed with gunpowder weapons
4. Religion integral part of society, but did not run government
a. Religious authorities (ulama) subordinate to sultan, government
b. Grand mufti, chief advisor to sultan, claimed authority over all Muslims
c. Religious scholars represented sultan as judges (kadis), dispensers of charity, teachers
The Safavid Empire
A. Safavid Origins
1.
2. Shah Ismail (ruled 1501-1524)
a.
Raised army, united
b. Only 14 when he won first victories, head of Shiite Muslim sect
c.
Launched campaign to convert Sunni Muslims,
3. Rulers used envoys to intimidate, placate, or try to gain information about foreign powers
4. Ottomans, with more and better gunpowder weapons, prevailed over Safavids
B. The Reign of Abbas the Great
1. Reign of Shah Abbas (1588-1629) considered “golden age”
a. Ascended throne at 17
b. Pragmatic politician, brilliant strategist, sensitive patron of arts
c.
2.
Built magnificent capital at
3.
a. Government employed thousands, monopolies: silk, promoted crafts
b. Roads, bridges, irrigation projects promoted trade, encouraged agriculture
4. Worked with English to expel Portuguese form Ormuz
a.
Facilitated exports to
b. Silk trade extremely lucrative
5.
Sufi Muslims carried religion to South and
6.
a. Persian fine arts (ceramics, tapestries, carpets) prized
The Mughal Empire in
A. Origins
1. After 7th century Muslim rulers continued to spread eastward
a.
Muslim sultanates established on west coast of
b. Muslim Delhi Sultanate ruled in 13th, 14th centuries until Timur
2. Babur “the Tiger” (1483-1530) attracted to weakened Delhi Sultanate
a.
Turco-Mongol ruler of
d.
Used Turkish artillery in decisive victories over Afghan Sultanate at
B. The Reign of Akbar (1542-1605)
1.
United northern
2. Concerned with morality, social justice
3. Tolerant toward non-Muslims, promoted cultural synthesis
a.
Appointed Hindus to government positions, married Rajput
princess, mansabdars
4. Held religious discussions with Muslims, Christians, Jews, Jains, Hindus, Zoroastrians
a. Proclaimed new religion, Din-I Ilahi (Divine Faith)
5. Taj Mahal
a. Built by Shah Jahan, best example of Mughul architecture and cultural synthesis
The Mughul Empire
in
C. Akbar’s Successors: Contesting the Hindu-Muslim Synthesis
1. Decline began after Akbar
2. Jahangir (1605-1627), learned, artistically sensitive, indecisive, wastrel, lost land
3. Shah Jahan (1628-1658) tried to regain lost land, raised taxes, oppressed peasants
4. Dara Shikoh (1659), Sufi, mystic, strove for cooperation with Hindus, alienated Muslim factions
5. Aurangzeb (1659-1707) brutal, intolerant
a. Seized power from brother, imprisoned father, restored Sunni orthodoxy
b. Policies alienated Hindus, weakened Mughul hold on its diverse empire
D. The Mughul Social Order
1. Hierarchical society: Hindu caste system, military-administrative status
2. Islamic influence improved position of women by forbidding female infanticide, allowing women to inherit