The Islamic Gunpowder Empires 15001800

1
The Islamic Gunpowder Empires1500-1800

• Global Interdependence and Exchange

2
Trio of Empires

• Ottoman Empire (1289-1918)
• Safavid Empire (1501-1722)
• Mughal Empire (1523-1739)

3
Islam

• Central to nation-state expansion
• Religion, culture civilization
• Quran Holy book. Revelations given to
  Mohammed.
• Sharia Totality of political, religious, social
  and private life.

4
5 Pillars of Islam

• Declaration of Islam
• Prayer
• Fasting Ramadan
• Almsgiving Zakat
• Pilgrimage - Hajj

5
Islam is not monolithic

• Sunni Approximately 90 of Muslims.
• Shia Re-established with the emergence of the
  Safavid dynasty.
• Sufi Mystic tradition.

6
Ottoman Empire 1298-1918

• First of the three
• Reached its peak in 1600
• Survived through WWI
• Present day Turkey

7
Ottoman Beginnings

• Grew from remnants of Turkic peoples after fall
  of Mongol Rule
• Ghazi Warriors
• Osman Bey

8
Empire Building 1300-1400

• Janissaries (yeni cheri)
• Greece, Albania, Bulgaria and former Yugoslavia
• Official recognition of Orthodox Christian Church
• Invasion of Timur destroyed most of empire

9
Mehmed the Conqueror 1451-81

• Taking of Constantinople
• Sovereign of the Two Lands and the Two Seas
  Established Ottoman Empire in Europe and Asia
• Artillery naval power

10
Military Campaigns 1480-1520

• Shift focus from Christian Europe to Islamic
  Empires in Egypt and Persia
• Fierce campaign against the Safavids
• Mecca and Medina

11
Suleyman I 1520-66

• Suleyman the Magnificent
• Height of the Ottoman Empire
• Further move into Europe
• Renewed hostilities with Safavids

12
Franco-Ottoman Alliance 1536

• Roman Empire vs France
• Ottomans sided with France
• Cornerstone of European diplomacy
• Countered other European alliances
• Suleyman able to focus on conquest of other
  Islamic Empires

13
Relations with Safavids

• Renewed hostilities
• Took Baghdad and Tabriz, the capital
• By 1538 controlled Persian Gulf and Red Sea
• Treaty of 1555 returned Tabriz to Safavids

14
Death and Decline

• Loss to Europeans at Malta - 1565
• Suleyman died in 1566
• By 1600 lost much of its power
• Survived until the end of WWI

15
Safavid Empire 1501-1722

• Origins as a religious sect
• Officially a Shiite empire
• Short lived
• Present day Iran

16
Shah Ismail 1501-26

• Twelver Shiism official religion
• Violent conversion
• Qizilbash
• Claimed Ottoman land

17
Instability 1524-87

• Death of Ismail 1524
• Power struggle among Qizilbash
• Move to more secular administration
• Attempt to return to Sunni origins
• Number of rulers unable to stabilize empire

18
Abbas the Great 1587-1629

• Rejuvenated empire
• Quelled internal revolts
• Faced Ottomans
• Enhanced trade with Europeans

19
Domestic Affairs

• Permanent paid army to counter Qizilbash
  infighting
• Centralization of power
• Relocation of capital to Isfahan

20
Conflict with the Ottomans

• Peace Treaty of 1590
• Retook Tabriz in 1605
• Recaptured Baghdad 1623
• By death in 1629 Safavid Empire restored to
  borders established by Ismail I

21
Europeans

• Concluded new trade agreements to offset losses
  to Portuguese
• Traded Persian silks with English
• Became middleman for Indian goods
• Allied with British against Ottomans

22
Decline

• Abbas I feared ascension to throne
• Ceased giving provincial governorships to Safavid
  princes
• No shah was prepared to hold empire together
• Fell to Afghan invaders

23
Mughal Empire 1523-1739

• Struggle to consolidate
• Succession of strong rulers
• Eventually absorbed by British Empire in India
  mid 19th century

24
Founding of the empire

• Previous examples of positive Muslim-Hindu
  relations
• Babur established capital at Kabul (present
  capital of Afghanistan)
• Consolidated territory of Hindustan (India) with
  use of artillery

25
Humayun 1530-56

• Unstable administration
• Brothers challenged for the throne
• Race for territory with Sher Shah
• Held onto Mughal Empire

26
Akbar 1556-1605

• Consolidated and expanded empire
• Put down challenges to the throne
• Continued tradition of tolerance of Hindu
  traditions

27
Conquest and Expansion

• Rajasthan
• Province of Bengal
• Hindustan Plain
• Province of Kashmir

28
Religion Administration

• Tolerated Hindu religion
• Invited missionaries to teach tenets of
  Christianity
• Moved away from orthodox Islam

29
Transition

• Campaign for the southern tip of the Indian
  subcontinent
• Strained relations between Hindus and Muslims
• Social unrest

30
Imperial Islamic Society

• Military Nation-State
• Economics
• Islam Art

31
Military Nation-State

• Empires legitimized rule with military conquest
• Armies were important part of leadership
• Use of gunpowder artillery turned tables of
  warfare

32
Economics

• Trade extensive routes
• Agriculture and commerce
• Point of exchange

33
Islam Art

• Architecture
• Poetry
• Painting

34
Decline of Islamic Empires

• Limits of military state
• Economic stagnation
• Cultural islands

35
Limits of Military State

• Inconsistent leadership
• Costly wars of conquest
• Internal dissention and competition

36
Economic Stagnation

• Weak middle-class
• Trade routes began to move onto the sea routes
• Loss of revenue with loss of territory

37
Cultural Isolation

• European interest was not reciprocated
• Resistance to outside cultural influences
• Faith and tradition vs. technology

38
Conclusion

• Empires represented growing interdependence
• Exchange of people, ideas and technology
• Use of artillery changed warfare
• Legacy of art, religion and nation