ISLAMIC EMPIRES

THE OTTOMANS

THE RISE OF THE OTTOMANS (OOMMSS)

• By 1300, the Byzantine Empire

was declining, and the Mongols

had destroyed the Seljuk Turks.

• A small Turkish state occupied

land between the Byzantine

Empire and that of the Muslims.

• From this place, a strong leader

would emerge to unite the Turks

into a great empire.

GHAZIS CODE

• Many Turks saw themselves as

ghazis, or warriors for Islam.

• They formed military societies

under the leadership of an emir,

a chief commander, and

followed a strict Islamic code of

conduct.

OSMAN 1300 - 1326

• The most successful ghazi was

Osman and Westerners named

his followers Ottomans.

• Osman built a small Muslim state

. His successors expanded it by

buying land, forming alliances

with emirs, and conquering.

TIMOR HALTS OTTOMAN EXPANSION

• During their early expansion, the

Ottomans faced defeat at the

hands of Timor, a ruthless central

Asian ruler.

• When Timor turned Eastward,

the Ottomans recovered and

continued to expand, mainly at

the expense of the Byzantine

empire.

OTTOMANS EXPAND

• In 1453, Sultan Mehmed the

Conqueror achieved the

most dramatic feat by

capturing Constantinople.

• In 1514, Mehmed’s grandson,

Selim the Grim, captured

Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and

Mecca and Medina.

SULEYMAN THE CONQUEROR

• Suleyman, a superb military

leader, came to the throne in 1520

and ruled for 46 years.

• He conquered the Eastern

European and his Turkish Naval

forces dominated the whole

eastern Mediterranean.

• In 1526, Suleyman’s armies then

pushed to the outskirts of Vienna,

Austria.

SULEYMAN THE LAWGIVER

• Law Codes. Suleyman created a

secular and uniform law code for

criminal and civil actions.

• Protection of Minorities. Christians

were given certain land holding rights

and Jews were offered protections

against persecutions.

• Downsizing. He reduced bureaucracy

and revised the system of taxation.

SULEYMAN THE KIDNAPPER

• Under the devshirme system,

the sultan’s army drafted boys

from the peoples of

conquered Christian

territories. The army

educated them, converted

them to Islam, and trained

them as disciplined and loyal

soldiers called JANISARRIES.

SULEYMAN THE MAGNIFICENT

• The Ottomans granted freedom of

worship to religious communities,

such as Christians and Jews

• Suleyman led to great cultural

achievements of the empire. He

funded poetry, history, astronomy,

mathematics, and architecture

leading to a Turkish Renaissance

known as the Golden Age.

IMPROVED CONDITIONS FOR WOMEN

• For many Turkish people women

were regarded as almost equal to

men.

• Women were allowed to own and

inherit property. They could not be

forced into marriage and were

permitted to seek divorce.

• As a result, women served as senior

officials, such as governors.

THE EMPIRE’S DECLINE

• Despite Suleyman’s great

achievements, the Ottoman Empire

was losing ground, because:

• Fratricide and filicide

• Harem life and over indulgence

• Extreme measures to keep

western influences out (no

coffee, smokes)

• a coalition of Europeans

defeated the Ottomans.

THE SAFAVID

PERSIA UNDER ISLAM

• For years, Persia had been under

the control of the Abbasid

caliphate.

• When the Mongols killed the last

caliph, Persia fell into the hands

of Mongols and then Timor.

• But as the empire of Timor’s

successors weakened, a Shiite

brotherhood local to Persia rose

and seized control.

ORIGINS OF THE SAFAVIDS

• Originally, the Safavids were

members of an Islamic religious

brotherhood founded by Safi al-

Din.

• In the 15th century, the Safavids

became Shi’a.

• To protect themselves, the

Safavids concentrated on

building a powerful army.

PERSIA UNDER ISMAIL

• In 1499, a 12-year-old named

Ismail began to seize Iran, and

took the title shah, or king.

• Shi’ites supported him believing

him to be a descendent of

Muhammed.

• Ismail became a religious tyrant.

Any citizen who did not convert

to Shi’ism was put to death.

SAFAVID ENEMIES

• Religious conflict pitted

Ottoman against the Safavid

forces in 1514. Using artillery,

the Ottomans pounded the

Safavids into defeat.

• One result of the battle was to

set the border, which remains

the border separating Iran and

Iraq.

ABBAS THE GREAT

• In 1587, Shah Abbas the Great made

Reforms:

• Military Reforms. He equipped

his armies with modern artillery.

• Government Reforms. He

punished corruption and

promoted officials who were

competent and loyal.

• Economic/religious Reforms.

To encourage trade, he allowed

religious freedom.

GOLDEN AGE UNDER ABBAS

• Safavid culture drew from

Ottoman, Persian, and Arab.

• The Shah built a new, beautiful

capital at Esfahan.

• Chinese and Arab artisans

produced intricate metalwork,

miniature paintings, Persian

rugs, glasswork, tile work, and

pottery.

JAMA MOSQUE ISTFAHAN

SHAH MOSQUE ISTFAHAN

PERSECUTION AND INTOLERANCE

• Under Ismail, slaughter of Sunni

in Baghdad.

• Under Abbas, Jews were forced

to convert to Islam Women

• Lost legal and hereditary

rights

• subject to strict laws and

codes

• Veiling when out in public

STRUGGLE FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS

• Some women openly refused to

wear face covers while in public

• ◦Women donned bright clothing in

defiance

• ◦Women were active in trade &

moneylending

• ◦Women divorced if conditions in

marriage had become intolerable.

THE EMPIRE’S DECLINE

• Shah Abbas made the same

mistake as the Ottomans: He

killed his ablest sons.

• Afghan peoples moved in and

took the capital.

• There was chaos and lawlessness

for years as Iran became the

target of stronger empires.

THE MUGHALS

PRE MUGHAL HISTORY

• Starting at 1000 AD, Turkish

armies swept in and devastated

Hindu cities and temples.

• Delhi became the capital of a

loose empire of Turkish

warlords.

• By the 1500’s, Indian warrior

princes known as Rajputs fought

back.

BABUR THE CONQUEROR

• In 1494, an boy named Babur

inherited a kingdom NW of India.

• Babur built up an army and swept

down into India laying the

foundation for the vast Mughal

Empire.

• In 1526 he took New Delhi in a

brilliant military move.

AKBAR THE CONQUEROR

• Babur’s grandson was called

Akbar, “Greatest One.”

• Akbar ruled India with wisdom

and tolerance from 1556 - 1605.

• Like the Safavids and the

Ottomans, Akbar equipped his

armies with heavy artillery.

• He appointed some rajputs as

officers of areas he conquered.

AKBAR THE WISE

• Religious Freedom. He

abolished the tax on Hindu

pilgrims and on non-Muslims.

• Lay Taxes. He levied a tax

similar to the U.S. graduated

income tax.

• Meritocracy. Competent

foreigners, Hindus and Muslims,

could all rise to high office.

AKBAR AND WOMEN RIGHTS

• Before Akbar

• Sati (Hindu)

• Child brides (Hindu, Muslim)

• Seclusion and veiling (Muslim)

• Limited inheritance as wife (Muslim)

• Under Akbar

• No child brides

• Outlawed Sati

• After Akbar

• Women status declined as

before

• Both Hindu and Islamic

influences kept women status

historically low.

AKBAR AND THE GOLDEN AGE

• He welcomed influences from the

many cultures (Hindu, Arab,

Persian)

• Persian was the language of

Akbar’s court The common people

spoke Hindi, a mixture of Persian

and a local language.

• Akbar devoted himself to building

massive structures, such as

Fatehpur Sikri

Akbars Mausoleum

Entrance

JAHANGIR AND RELIGIOUS DIVISION.

• In 1605, Akbar’s son Jahangir

took over, leaving state affairs to

his wife, a Persian princess.

• The crown prince, fearing her

influence, rebelled and turned to

a mystic Islamic and Hindu

movement known as the Sikhs.

• Jahangir unleashed his anger on

Sikhs and non Muslims.

SHAH JAHAN OBSESSION AND SUFFERING

• Fratricide. Jahangir’s son and

successor, Shah Jahan became

paranoid and assassinated all his

possible rivals.

• He had a great passion for beautiful

buildings and his wife Mumtaz Mahal.

To enshrine his wife’s memory, he

built the Taj Mahal

• But his country was suffering and

there was civil war when his four sons

scrambled for the throne.

AURANGZEB INTOLERANCE AND INSURRECTION

• Aurangzeb seized control, killing his

brothers and imprisoning his father.

• A master at military strategy, he ruled

from 1658 to 1707, expanding the

Mughal holdings to their greatest size.

• By the end of his reign, he had drained

the empire of its resources. Many died

of starvation.

Guru executed at Mehdiana Sahib

DECLINE, EUROPEAN TRADE, AND FALL

• After Aurangzeb’s death, his sons

fought a civil war.

• Afterwards, the Mughal emperor was

just a figurehead who ruled a

patchwork of independent states.

• As the Mughal Empire fell, Western

traders slowly took power in the region.

• In 1661, the English took the port of

Bombay, which they used to conquer

the entire country.