The Empires of Islam

Case studies during the age of Global Interdependence (1500-1800)

Islamic Empires

Began as “warrior principalities”Expanded at varying rates with varying success.As they grow they evolved across the five themes

The Ottoman Turks

Osman Bey: the founder of the Empire1289-1923Ghazi: warriors for the faith

Ottoman Military Might

Professional light and heavy cavalryDevshirme system: training of a highly capable military bureacracyJanissaries

Janissaries

Known for valor, discipline, and courage.

Janissaries were amongst the first groups to open their ranks to new technology such as gunpowder.

Siege of ConstantinopleNowhere was the new technology more evident than in the Ottoman destruction of Constantinople

Ottoman Expansion

Under Selim the Grim they occupied Egypt and Syria. Under Sulieyman they expanded into the old Abbasid domain and even into EuropeBattle of Mohacs

Gunpowder to the SeasUnder Suleyman they became a major naval power. Victories such as Lepanta and Preveza were common.

The Safavids

Shah Ismail

An empire won Twelver Shiism

Qizilbash

Military movement.“Invincible movement”Persecuted by Ottomans

Chaldiran

Chaldiran saw great damage done to the Safavid state…it wasn’t destroyed, but it was bad.Saved by Abbas the Great

Abbas the Great

Moved capital to Isfahan (artistic and cultural revolution)Reformed government and military.Allied with Europe against Ottomans.

The Mughal Age

16th –18th Century India

An apex of Indian cultural traditions

Zahir ud din Muhammad

BaburMuslim emperor from Central Asia who used “leapfrog” tactics to conquer Northern India and crush the Dehli Sultanate.

Babur

Nearly always possessed smaller forces.Extraordinary lineage.Life devoted to conquest.

Humayun“intelligent but lazy”Lacked his fathers “will”.Forced to flee to Persia in 1540. A key turning point.Reconquered Dehli with Persian help.

Akbar the GreatBorn during Humayun’s exile in Persia.Extremely intelligent and inquisitive.“A monarch should be ever intent on conquest, otherwise his neighbors rise in arms against him.”

AkbarCreated the greatest Indian empire since the Mauryan dynasty.Gave the impression of centralization, but it was actually decentralized kingdoms under the sheer force and dominance of his persona.

Gunpowder Empire

Like the Ottomans they used artillery to consolidate their political control.

Indo-Muslim CivilizationRemarkable tolerance for Hindus rolling back centuries of oppression.Raised a Muslim but his religious curiosity knew no bounds.Alienated orthodox Muslims with his views.

Din-I-Ilahi

The syncretic belief system advocated by Akbar. A belief that employed Judeo-Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and Zoroastrian traditions.

Difficult to define Based on imperial divinityAroused deep hostility amongst Muslims.

Akbar and Hindus

Allowed Hindus opportunities to participate.Abolished JizyaMuslims followed ShariaHindus follwed Dharmashastra

Fatehpur Sikri

JahangirTalented but disinterested.Only interested in “a bottle of wine and a piece of meat to make merry”.Persian born empress Nur Jahan was the real power.

Shah Jahan

A time of poverty during the 1640’s. Yet he continued conquest and expensive building projects.

Taj Mahal

His beloved wife Mumtaz Muhal died during childbirth for child 13.He built a building of unparralled beauty for her final resting place.

Plans were made for him to build a similar palace of black marble across the river from the Taj Mahal. 20,000 masons working decades completed the project.His son Aurangzeb would have none of it.

AurangzebA man of uncompromising principles.A devout MuslimAttacked many Hindu traditionsRestored Islamic dominance in Indian daily life.

English in India

Entered for good after their victory over a shell of the former Mughal forces at the Battle of Plassey.3,000 defeated 30,000.

English impactsDisaster on Indian economy and industry.Destroyed Mughal Empire.Ended Indian sovereignty until 1947.Attempted to “introduce” English methods.Despite indigenous rebellions such as that of Haidar Ali, England ruled India for 3 centuries.

Empires in Decline

Ineffective RulersReligious tensionsRising ConservatisimEconomic and technological innovation in decline due to insular culturesEurope influenceConflicts with Europe