The Gunpowder Empires

The Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque in Isfahan, Iran; constructed during the reign of Shah Abbas I (1587-1629);
photo credit martijn.munneke

Despite many West European preconceptions, the Near/Middle East was not a backwater of the
world in the seventeenth century. In fact, three of the greatest empires (Ottoman, Safavid and
Mughal) known to world history existed in the Near East and Southern Asia at that time, and it
could be argued that all three were near their peak of cultural influence and political power--far
more powerful than any country or kingdom existing in Western Europe in the seventeenth century.

Scholars often use the term "gunpowder empire" to describe each of these three empires, focusing
attention on their military exploits, which were, indeed, impressive. Each made use of newly-
developed firearms, especially cannon and small arms, to create their empires. And to equip their
armies, each state developed a highly centralized administration that could mobilize the financial,
manpower and natural resources necessary to purchase gunpowder arms and then supervise the
deployment of those arms and the training of soldiers to use the weapons.

But all three empires were also centers of impressive cultural (artistic, literary and architectural)
achievements. In addition, each was also all based on Islam in one form or another. In the
Safavid Empire, for example, it was Shah Ismail I who really established the Shiite faith as the
dominant religion of Iran/Persia.
The Safavid Empire of Persia was a gunpowder empire set up by Shah Ismāīl I in the early
sixteenth century. The Empire, based at Isfahan, lasted until 1722, reaching its height under Shah
Abbās the Great, at the beginning of the seventeenth centuries. Curiously, Shah Abbās used the
help of an English soldier-of-fortune to help him reorganize and train his army. He then went on to
expand and solidify his empire.

The Mughals--The word "Mughal" (sometimes "Mughul") is a corruption of the word for "Mongol"--
led one of the world's most powerful empires. Babur (1483-1530), founder of the dynasty, led the
invasion of India from Central Asia, a traditional invasion route that passed through Afghanistan.
Despite overwhelming odds against him and only modest military means, Babur was able to
consolidate power in Central Asia before capturing Delhi in 1526. His grandson, Akbar (1556-1605)
was truly one of the greatest rulers that the world has ever known. He ruled with a legendary sense
of justice/fairness and had the unique ability to fuse together competing customs and religious
traditions, which was no small feat on the South Asian subcontinent.

The Ottoman Empire, often most familiar to students of Western European history because of the
long, close contact between the Ottomans and Europe, lasted the longest of these three empires
surviving all the way into the twentieth century (1299-1922). The Ottoman capture of
Constantinople in 1453 finally brought an end to the fading glories of Rome and firmly cemented
the Ottoman Turks as the power in the Eastern Mediterranean. Expansion continued through the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries under sultans such as Selim I (1512–1520) and Suleiman the
Magnificent (1520–1566). At its zenith, the empire controlled North Africa, most of the Eastern
Mediterranean and also Eastern Europe and the Balkan Peninsula. In the last century of its
existence, Western European diplomats began to call the Ottoman Empire the "the sick man of
Europe" as it battled against nationalist uprisings in much of its territory and faced internal
corruption problems.

It seemed rather strange to me that despite my familiarity with the term "gunpowder empire," there
was very little in terms of academic discourse about that phenomenon on the web. I knew that I
had encountered the term years ago in the small pamphlet published by the American Historical
Association (William McNeil, The Age of Gunpowder Empires, 1450–1800). I also knew that I had
repeatedly encountered the term in world history textbooks, where it is widely used, and I am also
aware that supposedly Marshall Hodgson, the outstanding historian of the Islamic world, is credited
with inventing the term, but I remain surprised that there has not been much extended debate over
the terms and boundaries of the phrase "gunpowder empire.".

References:

Gunpowder Empires (entry from from the Encyclopedia of World History)

Steve Muhlberger, The Gunpowder Empires
Rise of the Gunpowder Empires (publisher's note)
The Ottomans
The Age of the Gunpowder Empires (architecture notes)