Studied by 31 peopleWhat group transformed south and Southwest Asia into regional empires?
Turkish warriors
What three major empires arose in south/southwest Asia?
Mughal, Ottoman, Safavid
What religion did the Mughal, Safavid, and Ottoman empires mainly practice?
Islam
What did all three empires start as?
Warrior principalities in frontier areas
What did all the empires do (in the span of their rule)?
Organize effective governmental apparatus and preside over prosperous societies under the guidance of good rulers
Where did the word Ottoman derive from?
Osman Bey, the founder of the dynasty.
Who was Osman Bey? What was his importance?
The founder of the Ottoman dynasty. It was named after him.
His succession continued until the dissolution of the empire
Why was the location of the Ottoman Empire convenient?
It was located on the border of the Byzantine empire, allowing the Ottomans to wage war against non-Muslims living there
What was the Ottoman’s first capital? How did it become that?
They captured the Anatolian city, Bursa, which became their first capital.
What did the Ottoman do in Gallipoli?
They seized it (it was a fortress) while helping someone claiming the Byzantine throne. The ghazi went with and aided the Ottomans in this.
What city became the Ottoman’s second capital? What was its importance?
Edirne (Adrianople)
It was a base for further expansion in the Balkans
What did Ottoman warriors do (when first building up the empire)?
Settled in frontier districts
Pushed boundaries
Took spoils and gathered revenues that enriched the ghazi and the central government
What did Bursa become?
A major commercial and intellectual center with inns, schools, mosques, hospitals, etc
What drove Ottoman expansion?
Its military
How did the Ottoman military develop?
Military leaders organized ghazi recruits
Later added a professional cavalry force with heavy armor and financing.
Later created forces with slave troops
What was the institution devshirme?
A requirement that Balkan Christians had to provide young boys to become the sultan’s slaves
How did devshirme affect people?
It forced young Christian boys from the Balkans to become slaves. They received special training, learned Turkish, and converted to Islam. Depending on their individual abilities, they entered civil administration or the military
What were soldiers know as? What did they gain a reputation for?
Janissaries
For pride, loyalty to the sultan, and readiness to use new military technology
What did Ottomans give their military forces to make them more effective?
Gunpowder weapons
What person led the capture of Constantinople?
Mehmed II (Mehmed the Conqueror)
Why did Constantinople become the Ottoman capital? What did they rename it?
Because of its location and heritage
Istanbul
What did Mehmed try to do with Constantinople (Istanbul)?
Tried to stimulate its role as a commercial center
What did Mehmed the Conqueror present himself as?
A warrior-sultan and the emperor/ruler of two seas (the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea) and two lands (Europe and Asia)
What was Mehmed the Conqueror’s legacy?
He laid the foundation for a tightly centralized absolute monarchy
He made many conquests and invasions in Eastern Europe
What did Mehmed the Conqueror plan to conquer? What happened?
He reportedly planned to sail across the Strait of Otranto, march on Rome, and capture the Pope. He launched an invasion on Italy and briefly occupied Otranto, but after he died, his successors abandoned plans for expansion into western Europe (and therefore Italy).
When did Ottoman expansion resume (after stopped after the death Mehmed the Conqueror)?
When Selim the Grim occupied Syria and Egypt
Who is Selim the Grim?
Süleyman the Magnificent’s father
An Ottoman sultan. He conquered many places
What did Süleyman promote during his reign?
Ottoman conquest in southwest Asia and Europe
What places were conquered under Süleyman’s rule?
Baghdad
Tigris/Euphrates valleys
Rhodes
Yemen
Aden
What places were sieged under Süleyman’s rule? What places/groups were attacked through the military?
Vienna and Malta
He also dispatched forces to attack a Portuguese fleet in India
Where did the Ottoman navy have fleets?
In the Aegean and Black seas
How did Süleyman partly get the Ottoman navy?
Inherited it from the Mamluk rulers in Egypt
What did Khayr al-Din Barbarossa Pasha do?
Challenged Spanish forces in Tunisia and Algeria
Placed a pirate fleet under the Ottoman flag
Became Süleyman’s leading admiral
Who was Süleyman’s leading admiral?
Khayr al-Din Barbarossa Pasha
What did the Ottoman navy allow Süleyman to do?
Challenge Christian vessels in the Mediterranean
Challenge Portuguese fleets in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean
What was Ismail’s childhood like? What did he want?
When he was 12, he left Gilan where he had been hidden from his family’s enemies. He sought revenge
What title did Ismail claim?
the Persian imperial title, shah
What did shah Ismail and his successors do that is useful for today?
Make accounts of their rise to power
What did shah Ismail’s ancestry trace to?
A leader of the Sufi order in northwest Persia, Safi al-Din
What is the goal of Sufism?
To establish a personal relationship between God and the human soul
What was the importance of Sadi al-Din’s tomb/shrine?
It became the home of Shah Ismail’s family
It was the religious headquarters of the Safavid empire, and was the center of its campaign to gain political power
Why is it called the “Safavid” empire?
After Safi al-Din, who was a holy man and an ancestor of Ismail
How did the Safavids gain support?
They changed their religious preferences to gain popular support
What religion did the Safavids settle on? Why?
(Twelver) Shiism
It appealed to the nomadic Turkish tribes moving there after the Mongol era
What was Twelver Shiism based on?
The idea that there were twelve infallible imams (religious leaders) after Muhammad, starting with Ali
The 12th imam went into hiding to escape persecution. Twelver Shiites believed that he was alive and would one day return to reclaim power and spread the religion
What did Ismail’s father instruct his followers to do?
Wear a red hat with twelve pleats in memory of the twelve Shiite imams
Who were the qizilbash?
Those who wore red hats with twelve pleats in memory of the twelve Shiite imams
What did Safavid propaganda suggest? What were the peoples’ views of this?
That Ismail was the hidden imam or an incarnation of Allah
Most Shiite and Muslims saw the claims as wrong, but the qizilbash accepted them because they resembled the Turkish tradition that leadership was associated with divine military leaders
Why did the qizilbash accept the claims that Ismail was the hidden imam or an incarnation of Allah?
Because the claims resembled the Turkish tradition that leadership was associated with divine military leaders
What did the qizilbash believe about Ismail? Result?
That he would make them invincible in battle
They were extremely loyal to the Safavid cause
What gave Ismail’s rule a distinct identity?
Its mix of Shiite and Turkish traditions
Because the conversion to Shiite was mandatory for the mostly Sunni population
Why did the Safavids/Ismail create powerful enemies?
Because the conversion to Shiite was mandatory for the mostly Sunni population
believed that the 1st legitimate to Mohammed was Abu Bakr not Ali
Sunni feared Safavid propaganda reaching the territory of nomadic Turks
What happened when Selim the Grim became sultan?
Launched persecution of Shiites in the Ottoman Empire
Prepared for the full-scale invasion of Safavid territory
(he was a Sunni Ottoman)
What did the Ottomans use in the Battle of Chaldiran? What did it do for them?
Heavy artillery and firearms
It have them a technological advantage
What was the Battle of Chaldiran?
a battle where Ottomans faced the Safavids. In it, Qizilbash (Safavid) cavalry attacked the Ottoman line. There were lots of casualties. When Ismail slipped away, the Ottomans temporarily occupied Tabriz. This badly damaged the Safavid state, but the Ottomans didn’t have the resources to destroy it.
What happened when Ismail slipped away from the Battle of Chaldiran?
the Ottomans temporarily occupied Tabriz
Why were the Ottomans that invaded the Safavid empire unable to destroy the empire, and only damage it?
the Ottomans didn’t have the resources to destroy it
What did Shah Abbas the Great do with his reign?
Revitalized the Safavid empire
Where did Shah Abbas move the Safavid capital? Why?
Isfahan
Because of its more central location
Who did Shah Abbas seek assistance from? Why?
Europeans
For help against the Ottomans and the Portuguese in the Persian Gulf
What did new military forces do for the Safavids? Examples?
It led the Safavids to many wins
Attacked and defeated the nomadic Uzbeks
Expelled the Portuguese
Engaged the Ottomans in wars
What did campaigns bring for the Safavid empire?
Most of northwestern Iran, Caucasus, and Mesopotamia under Safavid rule
Who was Zahir al-Din Muhammad?
Babur
A Chaghatai Turk that claimed descent from Chingis’s Khan and Tamerlane.
Where did Babur appear?
Northern India
Babur make little pretense to be ___
Anything more than an adventurer and soldier of fortune (the same as his ancestors)
Who was Babur’s father?
A prince of Farghana (in Uzbekistan)
What was Babur’s ambition?
To transform his inheritance into a central Asian empire
What kept Babur from extending his authority?
Relatives and Uzbek enemies didn’t like his ambitions and kept him from doing it
Where was the furthest Babur extended his authority?
Kabul and Quandahar (Afghanistan)
Where did Babur turn his attention?
India
How did Babur conquer India?
Using gunpowder artillery and firearms, they mounted invasions. They conquered Delhi
Why did the Mughals dislike newly conquered India? What did Babur do?
Because of the hot and humid climate. They wanted to take the spoils of war and leave. Babur made them to stay
Why did Babur want to stay in India?
He wanted to use the wealth of India to build a central Asian empire like Tamerlane had done
What did Babur establish before his death?
A loosely knit empire from Kabul to Bengal. He founded the Mughal dynasty that eventually embraced most of India
Who was Babur’s grandson?
Akbar
When/how did Akbar get power?
Akbar murdered Adham Kahn (a figure of court and commander of the Mughal army) during an argument, and took control of the Mughal government. He did not tolerate challenges to his rule
How did Akbar transform the government?
He created a centralized administrative structure where ministries regulated provinces of the empire
What consolidated Mughal power?
Military campaigns
What kingdom did the Mughal empire absorb? What did this do?
The Hindu kingdom, Vijayanagar
Laid the foundation for Mughal expansion in southern India
What was Akbar interested in?
Religion and philosophy
What was Akbar’s policy on religion? Why?
He was religiously tolerant
He hoped it would reduce tensions between the Hindus and Muslims in India
What religion did Akbar encourage? What was it?
A syncretic religion, the “divine faith”
It was a religion that focused on the emperor as a ruler common to all groups
What was special about Akbar? Why was this ironic?
He was illiterate. This was ironic because he enjoyed religion, philosophy, and literature
Who did the Mughal empire reach its extent under?
Aurangzeb
What did Aurangzeb do during his reign?
Waged a campaign to push Mughal authority into southern India
Where did the Mughal empire rule?
The entire Indian subcontinent except for a small region on the southern tip
Why was the Mughal empire a “troubled” empire?
There were many rebellions and religious tensions generated conflicts between Hindus and Muslims
What religion did Aurangzeb practice? What did he do with the religious policies of the Mughal empire?
Islam
He did away with Akbar’s religious tolerance. he demolished Hindu temples and replaced them with mosques. He imposed a tax on Hindus to encourage Islam conversion
What did the promotion of Islam do? (Mughal)
It appealed to Mughals and Indian Muslims
It provoked hostility among Hindus
It enabled local leaders to organize resistance and rebel against authority
What did the administration in the Safavid, Mughal, and Ottoman empires rely on?
Bureaucracies that drew inspiration from Turkish/Mongol steppe traditions and Islam
In what policies were the Safavid, Mughal, and Ottoman empires similar?
Economic
How were the Safavid, Mughal, and Ottoman empires similar in religion/cultures?
They sought ways to maintain peace in societies with many religions and cultures
What did the rulers of Safavid, Mughal, and Ottoman empires all want to do?
They sought to enhance regime legitimacy through public welfare and association with literary and artistic talent
What did the rulers of Safavid, Mughal, and Ottoman empires regard as their personal possessions? Why?
Military creations (by the right of their conquest)
What did the rulers of Safavid, Mughal, and Ottoman empires regulate/control?
Armies
Who occupied government positions
Adopted and made policies
Granted use of land to peasant families hereditarily (in return for fixed taxes)
Where did emperors and their families get money from? What did revenues go to?
From crown lands
Revenues from other lands supported military and administration officials
Where did prestige and authority of the dynasties come from?
Piety and military prowess of rulers and ancestors
Which empire was a prominent leader of the Sufi order?
The Safavid empire
Which empires associated with famous Sufis?
Ottoman and Mughal empires
What did devotion to Islam in the Safavid, Mughal, and Ottoman empires encourage?
The spread of the faith (by the rulers)
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