Chapter 28Islamic Empires

I. In 1635 Shah Jahan, the emperor of Mughal India, took his seat on the Peacock Throne
II. Taj Mahal. Built as a tomb for Shah Jahan’s beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died during
childbirth in 1631
III. Mughal realm was not the only well-organized Islamic empire of early modern times
IV. Ottoman dynasty ruled powerful empire that expanded from its base in Anatolia to embrace
much of eastern Europe, Egypt, and north Africa
V. Safavid dynasty never expanded far beyond Persia
VI. All three Islamic empires of early modern times had Turkish ruling dynasties
VII. Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals came from nomadic, Turkish-speaking peoples of central
Asia who conquered the settled agricultural lands of Anatolia, Persia, and India, respectively
VIII. During sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries
IX. Islamic empires made little investment in economic and technological development
X. By mid-eighteenth century the Safavid empire had collapsed, and Ottoman and Mughal
realms were rapidly falling under European influence
XI. Formation of Islamic Empires
1. Ottoman Empire
a. Ottoman empire was an unusually successful frontier state
b. Ottoman derived from Osman Bey,
c. founder of the dynasty that continued in unbroken succession from 1289 until the
dissolution of the empire in 1923
d. Osman was chief (bey) of a band of seminomadic Turks who migrated to
northwestern Anatolia in thirteenth century
e. Followers sought to become ghazi, (muslim religious warriors)
f. “Ghazi is in the instrument of the religion of Allah, a servant of God who purifies the
earth from the filth of polytheism,; the Ghazi is the sword of God, he is the protector
and the refuge of the believers”
g. If he becomes a martyr in the ways of God, do not believe that he has died-
h. Anatolian city of Bursa became capital of Ottoman empire
i. Around 1352 they established foothold in Europe
 j. Ottoman military leaders initially organized ghazi recruits into two forces: a light
cavalry and a volunteer infantry
k. Added professional cavalry force equipped with heavy armor and financed by land
grants
l. Through institution known as devshirme, the Ottomans required Christian population
of Balkans to contribute young boys to become slaves of sultan
m. Those who became soldiers were known as Janissaries, from Turkish yeni cheri (“new
troops”).
n. Janissaries quickly gained reputation for esprit de corps, loyalty to sultan, and
readiness to employ new military technology
o. Ottomans outfitted their forces with gunpowder weapons
p. Captured Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed II (reigned 1451-1481)
q. Known as Mehmed the Conqueror
r. Constantinople became new Ottoman capital, subsequently known as Istanbul
s. Mehmed laid foundations for tightly centralized, absolute monarchy
t. Ottomans continued their expansion in early sixteenth century when sultan Selim the
Grim (reigned 1512-1520)
u. Occupied Syria and Egypt
v. Ottoman imperialism climaxed in reign of Suleyman the Magnificent (reigned 1520-
1566)
w. Suleyman promoted Ottoman expansion both in southwest Asia and in Europe
x. In 1534 he conquered Baghdad and added Tigris and Euphrates valleys to Ottoman
domain
y. Kept rival Habsburg empire on defensive
z. Under Suleyman ottomans became major naval power
1. Safavid Empire
a. In 1499 boy named Ismail left swamps and hid from enemies of his families
b. Young Shah Ismail (reigned 1501-1524) proclaimed official religion of his realm would
be Twelver Shiism
c. Shah Ismail and his succesors carefully controlled accounts of their rise to power
d. Safavids changed their religious preferences several time in hope of gaining popular
 support before settling on form of Shiism that appealed to nomadic Turkish tribes
e. Qizilbash (“red heads”) Safavid propaganda also suggested that Ismail was himself
the hidden imam, or even an incarnation of Allah
f. Qizilbash enthusiastically accepted them
g. Qizilbash believed that Ismail would make them invincible in battle, and they became
fanatically loyal to Safavid cause
h. Sunni Ottomans who detested Shiite Safavids and feared spread of Safavid
propaganda among the nomadic Turks in their own territory
i. Whe Selim the Grim became sultan, he launched persecution of Shiites in the
Ottoman empire and prepared for a full-scale invasion of Safavid territory
j. Battle on plain of Chaldiran (1514) critical
k. Ottomans badly damaged Safavid state but lacked resources to destroy it completely
l. Shah Abbas the Great (reigned 1588-1629) fully revitalized Safavid empire
m. His campaigns brought most of northwestern Iran, Caucasus, and Mesopotamia under
Safavid rule
1. Mughal empire
a. In 1523 Zahir al-Din Muhammad, “the tiger”, a Chagatai Turk who claimed descent
from both Chinggis Khan and Tamerlane, suddenly appeared in northern India
b. Babur made little pretense to be anything more than an adventurer and soldier of
fortune
c. With aid of gunpowder weapons, including both artillery and firearms
d. Babur mounted invasions in 1523 and 1525
e. Took delhi in 1526
f. Real architect of Mughal empire was babur’s grandoson, Akbar (reigned 1556-1605)
g. Akbar took personal control of Mughal government and did not tolerate challenges to
his rule
h. Created centralized administrative structure with ministries regulating various
provinces of empire
i. Akbar was also thoughtful, reflective, man deeply interested in religion and
philosophy
j. Illiterate maybe dyslexia
 k. Extremely intelligent
l. Encouraged elaboration of syncretic religion that focused the ruler common to all
religions, ethnic, and social groups of India
m. Mughal empire reached greatest extent under Aurangzeb (1659-1707)
n. Mughal ruled entired subcontinent except for region of southern tip of india by early
18th century
I. Imperial Islamic Society
1. Dynastic State
a. Ottoman Safavid and Mughal empires were all military creations,
b. Rulers exercised personal command of armies, appointed and dismissed officials at
will, and adopted whatever policies they wished
c. Autocratic authority wielded by rulers of Islamic empires also reflected steppe
traditions
d. Kannun means “laws”
e. Suleyman-Europeans called him “Suleyman Magnificent”
f. Ottomands referred as the Lawgiver Suleyman manuni
g. Steppe practices also brought succession problems
h. In steppe empires rulers’ relatives often managed components of states, and
succession to throne became hot contest between competing members of family
i. After fifteenth century, sultans moved to protect their position by eliminating family
rivals
j. Muslim theorists universally agreed that women should have no role in public affairs
k. Women played important roles in managing Islamic empires
l. Women played prominent political roles in Safavid Mughal empires
1. Agriculture and trade
a. Columbian exchange strongly encouraged consumption of coffee and tobacco
especially in ottoman and safavid empires
b. By eighteenth century American producers and European merchants supplied Muslim
markets with both coffee and sugar
c. English merchants introduced tobacco around 1600, claiming it was useful for
medicinal purposes
 d. Sultan Murad IV went so far as to outlaw coffee and tobacco and to execute those
who continue
e. American food crops had less demographic effect in Islamic empires than in other
parts of the world
f. Early capital at bursa was also terminus of caravan route that brought raw silk from
Persial to upply Itlian market
g. Aleppo became emporium for foreign merchants engaged primarily in spice trade and
served as local headquarters for operations of English Levant company
h. To curry favor with the, English company sent military advisors to help introduce
gunpowder weapons to Safavid armed forces and provided a navy to help them
retake Hormuz in Persian Gulf from Portuguese
i. Mughals did not pay as much attention to foreign trade s Ottomans and Savadids did,
j. Mughals concentrated on their land empire, and had enormous size and productivity
1. Religious affairs in Islamic Empires
a. All Islamic empires had populations that were religiously and ethnically diverse
b. Ottoman empire included large numbers of Christians and Jews in Balkans, Armenia,
Lebanon, and Egypt
c. Portuguese Goa became center of Christian mission in India
d. Islamic empires relied on long-established model to deal with subjects who were not
Muslims
e. They extended protection to the (dhimmi)
f. In return they pay jizya, (tax), and loyalty
g. Millet (religious communities) retained their own civil laws, traditions, and languages
h. Mughal rulers reserved most powerful military and administrative positions for
Muslims
i. Some Mughal emperors sought to forge links between religious communities
j. Akbar in particular worked to integrate Muslim and Hindu elites
k. Akbar abolished jizya, tolerated all faiths, and sponsored discussions and debates
between Muslims, Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians, and Christians
l. Policies of religious tolerance were not popular with many Muslims
m. Aurangzeb reinstated jizya and promoted Islam as official faith of Mughal India
 1. Cultural Patronage of Islamic Emperors
a. Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent was fortunate to be able to draw on talents on
architectural genius Sinan Pasha (1489-1588)
b. Built religious complex called Suleymaniye, which blended Islamic and Byzantine
architectural elements combined tall slender minarets with large domed buildings
c. Fatehpur Sikri, a city planned and constructed by Akbar that served as his capital
from 1569 to 1585
d. Fatehpur Sikri was also a private residence and retreat for the ruler
e. Akbar indulged his passions for music and conversation with scholars and poets
f. Unfortunately Akbar selected poor site for city and soon abandoned it because of its
bad water supply
g. Most famous of Mughal monuments, and one of the most prominent of all Islamic
edifices, was the Taj Mahal
I. Empires in Transition
1. Islamic empires underwent dramatic change between sixteenth and
eighteenth centuries
2. Deterioration of Imperial Leadership
a. Eventually, all three dynasties had rulers who were incompetent or more interested
in spending vast sums of money on personal pleasures than in tending to affairs of
state
b. After late seventeenth century, weak rule increasingly provoked mutinies in army,
provincial revolts, political corruption, economic oppression, and insecurity
throughout Ottoman realm
c. Safavids fell under domination of the very Shiites they had supported
d. In seventeenth century, conservative Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi (1564=1624)
e. Fearlessly rebuked Akbar for his policy of religious tolerance and his interest in other
faiths
f. Aurangzeb drew on Sirhindi’s ideas when he required non-Muslims to pay poll tax
g. Measures inflamd tensions between various unni, Shiite, and sufi branches of Islam
and also fueled animosity among Hindus and other Mughal subjects who were not
Muslims
 h. Bylate eighteenth century, Ottoman navy, which had long influenced Maritime Affairs
in Mediterranean, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea, was closing its shipbuilding
operations and ordering new military vessels from foreign shipyards
1. Cultural Conservatism
a. Islamic empires also neglected cultural developments in larger world
b. Ottoman geographers also manifested great interest in European knowledge of
geography, some of which had considerable military value
c. Admiral and cartographer Piri Reis
d. Book of seafaring
e. Thus like imperial China and Tokugawa Japan, Islamic empires resisted introduction of
cultural influences from western European societies
f.

1289-1928 Ottoman dynasty

1451-1481 Reign of Mehmed the Conqueror
1453 Ottoman conquest of Constaninople
1501-1524 Reign of Sah Ismail
1501-1722 Safavid dynasty
1514 Battle of Chaldiran
1520-1566 Reign of Suleyman the Magnificent
1526-1858 Mughal dynasty
1556-1605 Reign of Akbar
1588-1629 Reign of Shah Abbas the Great
1659-1707 Reign of Aurangzeb