CHAPTER 15: The Muslim Empires

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CHAPTER 15The Muslim Empires

• SECTION ONE
• The BIG Idea
• COMPETITION AMONG COUNTRIES
• The Ottoman Empire grew strong as it expanded its
  borders.

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RISE OF THE OTTOMAN TURKS

• In the late thirteenth century a new group of
  Turks called the Ottomans under their leader
  Osman began to build power in the northwest
  corner of the Anatolian Peninsula.

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RISE OF THE OTTOMAN TURKS

• The Turks under Osman became known as the Ottoman
  dynasty and began to expand into land that had
  belonged to the Byzantine Empire.
• The Ottoman rulers built a strong military by
  developing an elite guard called janissaries.

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THE LIFE OF A JANISSARY

• The janissaries were often Christians who were
  recruited and then converted to Islam.

• The janissaries were foot soldiers who were
  trained with fire arms.

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• Because of their mastery of fire arms, the
  Ottomans were able to gain more land, invading
  the Balkans and Bulgaria by 1390.
• Over the next 300 years, the Ottoman rule
  expanded to Western Asia, Northern Africa and
  Europe.
• The Ottoman empire was known as a gunpowder
  empire because it unified the regions that it
  conquered.

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THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE

• Under the leadership of Mehmed II, the Ottomans
  surrounded Constantinople (the capital of the
  Byzantine Empire) and attacked in 1453, using
  cannons to launch 1,200 pound stones at the city.
  
• The battle lasted two months, but eventually the
  Ottomans took the city.

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THE OTTOMAN WORLD

• Religion
• Like Many people of the Anatolian Peninsula, the
  Ottomans were Sunni Muslims.
• Leadership
• At the head of the Ottoman system was the sultan,
  who was the supreme authority in both a political
  and religious sense.

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• Ottoman sultans also claimed to be the Sunni
  caliph (successor to Muhamed) but they often gave
  their religious duties to advisors known as
  ulema, who also ran the legal system.
• The position of sultan was passed from father to
  son, but not necessarily the oldest son, which
  often caused struggles for power and the losers
  were often executed.

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THE IMPEREAL SULTANS

• As the Ottoman empire expanded, the Sultan became
  more like a king, and was surrounded by more
  advisors. This meant that the sultan was
  increasingly isolated from his people.
• The Topkapi Palace in Istanbul (the new name for
  Constantinople) was the center of the sultans
  power.

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THE IMPEREAL SULTANS

• The sultans private domain was called the harem
  where the sultan and his wives lived. The sultan
  often chose four wives as his favorites.
• The sultans chief minister was known as the grand
  vizier, and who led the meetings of government
  while sultan sat behind a screen communicating
  only with the grand vizier.

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THE IMPEREAL SULTANS

• The Ottoman empire was divided into provinces and
  districts each governed by officials and aided by
  bureaucrats who were trained at a special school
  in Istanbul.
• One of the types of bureaucrats was the pasha who
  was in charge of collecting taxes and maintain
  law and order.

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ART AND ARCHITECTURE

• Ottoman sultans were great patrons of the arts.
• Like earlier Muslim cultures, the greatest
  contributions of Ottoman art were in the field of
  Architecture, especially its mosques which often
  incorporated elements of design from the
  Christian churches from Istanbul's former life as
  Constantinople.

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ART AND ARCHITECTURE

• The greatest Ottoman architect was Sinan, who is
  remembered for building 81 mosques.
• Each of his mosques was topped with a large domed
  roof and the main building was often surrounded
  by four minarets, or four towers.

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ART AND ARCHITECTURE

• Selimiye Mosque, built by Sinan in 1575.

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SOCIETY AND THE ROLE OF WOMEN

• Women in the Ottoman empire, although technically
  subject to the same restrictions as in other
  Muslim societies, were often in a better
  position.
• Ottoman women could own property, could not be
  forced into marriage and in some cases served as
  senior government officials like governors.

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PROBLEMS IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

• The Ottoman Empire reached its high point under
  Süleyman I.
• Unfortunately Süleyman executed his two most able
  sons on suspicions of treason, his only remaining
  son Selim II to become sultan. This was the
  beginning of many problems for the Ottoman
  empire.

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• Beginning with Selim II, many problems arose

• Sultans became less involved, and training of
  officials declined.

• Jobs went to the sons and daughters of the elite
  and a privileged group emerged.

• Constant wars depleted the imperial treasury.

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PROBLEMS IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

• As a result of all of the internal problems of
  the Ottoman Empire, the Ottomans were never able
  to gain any land in Europe after 1683 when an
  attempt to conquer Austria and Hungary was
  unsuccessful.
• The Ottomans were never a threat in Europe again

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FOCUS QUESTION Chapter 15.1

• How could new weapons technology affect an
  empires growth?

?
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CHAPTER 15The Muslim Empires

• SECTION TWO
• The BIG Idea
• IDEAS, BELIEFS AND VALUES
• The Safavids used their faith as a unifying force.

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The Safavids Empire

• Since the 1300s Persia had fallen into Anarchy,
  and not until the 1500s did a new dynasty known
  as the Safavids arise.
• Unlike many of their Islamic neighbors, the
  Safavids were strict Shia Muslims.

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The Safavid Empire

• The Safavid dynasty was founded by Shah Esmail.
• Although he was just a teenager Shah Esmail used
  his forces to seize much of present day Iran and
  Iraq.
• When he took this land he called himself shah,
  which means king.

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The Safavid Empire

• After gaining power Shah Esmail, sent preachers
  into the Ottoman Empire trying to convert people
  from Sunni Islam to Shia Islam.
• His attempt to convert Turks in Ottoman lands led
  to a long period of back and forth battles
  between the Ottomans and the Safavids.

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• As a result of the ongoing battles between the
  Sunni Ottoman Empire and the Shia Safavid Empire,
  anytime the Safavids conquered new land they
  forced to convert to the Shia faith.
• Many Sunnis were either killed or exiled, but for
  those who remained the Shia faith became a
  unifying force.

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Glory and Decline

• Under Shah Abbas who ruled from 1588 to 1629,
  the Safavids reached the high point of their
  glory. He achieved this glory by doing several
  things.

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• Shah Abbas was responsible for the highpoint of
  Safavid glory because

• He strengthened the army by giving them the
  latest weapons, which allowed them to take back
  Azerbaijan (the Safavid homeland.)

• He allowed more intellectual freedom in the
  Safavid Empire.

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FOCUS QUESTION Chapter 15.2

• What factors help to unify an empire?

?