chapter 27 Flashcards
Who was Shah Jahan?
emperor of Mughal India
- built Peacock Throne and Taj Mahal in honor of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal
What did Shah Jahan and his architects believe the Taj Mahal symbolized?
- the day when Allah would cause the dead to rise and undergo judgement before his heavenly throne
- gardens= gardens of paradise
- four water channels= four rivers of the heavenly kingdom
- domed tomb of Mumtaz Mahal= throne of Allah
- four minarets= legs supporting the divine throne
The Mughal empire ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for more than _____ _______ years.
three hundred
The Ottoman empire was a dynastic Muslims state centered in what is today ______.
Turkey
Which was the longest-lived of the Muslim empires, not disbanding until the early 20th century?
Ottoman empire
Which Muslim realm emerged on the eastern borders of the Ottoman empire during the early 16th century?
Safavid
All three Islamic empires (Mughal, Ottoman, and Safavid) of early modern times had _______ ruling dynasties.
Turkish
The Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals came from nomadic Turkish speaking peoples of central Asia who conquered the settled agricultural lands of _____, ______, and ______, respectively.
Anatolia, Persia, India
What was the Ottoman empire distinguished by?
its multiethnic chararcter
What was the Safavid empire distinguished by?
center of Shiite (Shia) Islam
What was the Mughal empire distinguished by?
imposed over predominantly Hindu Indian subcontinent
The term “Ottoman” derived from who?
Osman Bey, founder of the Ottoman dynasty in 1289
The Ottoman empire survived until its dissolution in what year?
1923
Osman Bey was “bey” which translates to what?
“chief”
Osman and his followers sought above all to become what?
ghazi, Muslim religious warriors
- thought of as servants to God, protector, and refuge of the believers
What enabled the Ottomans to wage holy war?
their location on the borders of the Byzantine empire
What was the Ottoman’s first great military success?
1326 with capture of the Anatolian city of Bursa, which became capital of Ottoman pricnipality
In addition to Bursa, what other city served as a second Ottoman capital as a base for further expansion into the Balkans?
Edirne (Adrianople)
What two forces did Ottoman military leaders organize the ghazi into?
a light cavalry and a volunteer infantry
- added professional cavalry force after Ottoman state more firmly established
After expanding into the Balkans, the Ottomans created an important force composed of slave troops through an institution known as what?
devshrime
What did the Ottoman institution of devshirme require?
Christian population of the Balkans must contribute young boys to become slaves of the sultan
- boys received special training, learned Turkish, and converted to Islam
- either entered Ottoman civilian administration or the military
What were the young boy slave soldiers under the devshirme institution known as?
The Janissaries
- from the Turkish “yeni cheri” meaning “new troops”
The janissaries quickly gained a reputation for esprit de corps or…?
loyalty to the sultan
After the capture of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed II, or Mehmed the Conqueror, Constantinople…?
became the new Ottoman capital, subsequently known as Istanbul
Mehmed II established himself as ruler of what “two lands” and what “two seas”?
Europe and Asia
Black Sea and Mediterranean
What was government like under Mehmed II?
tightly centralized, absolute monarchy, army faced no serious rival
Who was the Ottoman sultan that occupied Syria and Egypt in the 16th century?
Selim the Grim–Suleyman the Magnificent (r. 1520-1566)
Where did Suleyman the Magnificent vigorously promote Ottoman expansion?
southwest Asia and in Europe
- 1534 conquered Baghdad and added Tigris and Euphrates valleys to Ottoman domain
- captured Belgrade in 1521, defeated and killed the king of Hungary, consolidated Ottoman power north of the Danube
- 1529 subjected the Habsburg empire’s city of Vienna to brief and terrifying siege
What did Suleyman the Magnificent do at the battle of Mohács in 1526?
defeated and killed the king of Hungary
While also vigorously expanding their domain, the Ottomans also became a major _______ power under Suleyman.
naval
In addition to their Aegean and Black Sea fleets, what navy did the Ottomans inherit under Suleyman’s rule?
navy of the Mamluk rulers of Egypt
Who became Suleyman’s leading admiral after placed his pirate fleet under the Ottoman flag?
Khayr al-Din Barbarossa Pasha, a Turkish corsair who challenged Spanish forces in Tunisia and Algeria
In 1499, who was the 12 year old boy who fled Gilan near the Caspian Sea to hide from enemies of his family for 5 years?
Ismail
How did Ismail start the Safavid dyansty?
laid claim to ancient Persian imperial title of shah, proclaimed official religion of the realm would be Twelver Shiism, launched multiple military campaigns to control land
Who was Safi al-Din?
leader of a Sufi religious order in north-western Persia
What was the goal of a Sufi mystic?
recover the lost intimacy between God and the human soul, and to find truth of divine knowledge and love through a direct personal experience of God
What did the famous tomb and shrine of Safi al-Din at Ardabil become/what was its significance in the Safavid empire?
became home of Shah Ismail’s family (named ¨Safavids” after Safi al-Din)
- headquarters of Ismail’s religious movement
What did Shah Ismail proclaim would be the official religion of his realm?
Twelver Shiism
What were imams?
religious leaders
What did Twelver Shiism hold?
- there had been 12 infallible (shiite) imams after Muhammed, beginning with prophet’s cousin and son in law Ali
- the twelfth “hidden” imam had gone into hiding to escape persecution
- Twelve Shiites believe he was still alive, would one day return to take power and spread his true religion
What had Ismail’s father instructed his followers to do that established a distinctive Turkish cultural element?
wear a distinctive red hat with twelve pleats in memory of the twelve Shiite imams
What did Ismail’s father’s Turkish following become known as as a result of their wearing distinctive red hats?
qizilbash (“red heads”)
What did some Safavids believe about Ismail and the hidden imam?
Believed Ismail was the hidden imam or even an incarnation of Allah
Why did the qizilbash enthusiastically accept the notion that Ismail was the hidden imam, or an incarnation of Allah?
resembled traditional Turkish conceptions of leadership that associated military leaders with divinity
- believed qizilbash would make them invincible in battle, became fanatically loyal to Safavid cause
Shah Ismail’s curious blend of _______ and Turkish _________ gave his regime a distinctive identity.
Shiism; militancy
Shah Ismail made conversion to ______ Islam mandatory for the largely Sunni population, which created some powerful enemies.
Shiite
Who were the foremost enemies of the Safavid regime?
Sunni Ottomans who detested the Shiite Safavids
- feared the spread of Safavid propaganda among nomadic Turks in their territory
At what critical battle in 1514 did the Ottomans badly damage the Safavid state?
battle on the plain of Chaldiran
What was one contributor to the Safavids’ defeat at the battle on the plain of Chaldiran?
largely refused to use firearms and gunpowder technology equipped by the Ottomans
How did later Safavid rulers adapt Ismail’s bureaucracy and administration to ensure Safavid recovery and prosperity after Chaldiran?
- abandoned extreme ideology of emperor and Allah in favor of more conventional Twelver Shiism
- emperors still derived legitimacy as descendants and representatives of the imams
- assigned land grants to qizilbash officers to retain loyalty, give them stake in survival of Safavid regime
Who moved the Safavid capital, encouraged trade with other lands, and formed the administrative and military institutions of the empire from 1588-1629?
Shah Abbas the Great (r.1588-1629)
How did Shah Abbas the Great improve the Safavid military?
- increased use of gunpowder weapons
- incorporated “slaves of the royal household” into the army
- sought European assistance against the Ottomans and Portuguese
- led Safavids to numerous victories
Shah Abbas the Great’s military campaigns brought what nations under Safavid rule?
north-western Iran, the Caucasus, and Mesopotamia
Who was a Chaghatai Turk who founded the Mughal empire?
Zahir al-Din Muhammad known as Babur (“the Tiger”)
Who did Babur claim descent from?
Chinngis Khan and Tamerlane
Unlike the Ottomans who sought to be renowned ghazis, or the Safavids who acted as champions of Shiism, what did Babur seek?
didn’t want to be anything more than an adventurer and soldier of fortune in the manner of his illustrious ancestors
- wanted to transform his great inheritance into a glorious central Asian empire
When did Babur take Delhi (after his great ambitions were squashed in Farghana)?
1526
By the time of Babur’s death in 1530, he had built a loosely knit empire that stretched from _______ through the _______ to the borders of ________.
Kabul; Punjab; Bengal
What does the term “Mughal” mean?
Persian term for “Mongol”
Who was considered the real architect of the Mughal empire, a brilliant and charismatic ruler?
Akbar (r. 1556-1605)
How did Akbar put authority into his own hands/how did he come to power?
1561, following an argument with Adham Khan, Akbar threw Adham Khan out the window twice to ensure that there would be no threats to his rule
What did Mughal government look like under Akbar’s rule?
centralized administrative strcture with ministries regulating the various provinces of the empire
How did Akbar promote the study of philosophy and practice of religion in his realm?
- thoughtful and reflective man who constantly had books read to him
- didn’t impose Islam on his subjects but encouraged the elaboration of a syncretic religion called the “divine faith”
What was Akbar’s syncretic religion called the “divine faith” that he promoted?
focused attention on the emperor as a ruler common to all religious, ethnic, and social groups of India
Under whose reign did the Mughal empire reach its greatest extent?
under Aurangzeb (r. 1659-1707)
- waged a relentless campaign during his rule to push Mughal authority deep into southern India
What was the Mughal empire like under Aurangzeb’s rule?
troubled empire:
- faced rebellions throughout his reign
- religious tensions generated conflicts between Hindus and Muslims
How did Aurangzeb create religious tensions amongst the Mughal empire under his reign?
- broke with Akbar’s policy of religious toleration as a devout Muslim himself
- demolished several famous Hindu temples and replaced with mosques
- imposed tax on Hindus to encourage conversion to Islam
- provoked deep hostility among Hindus and enabled local leaders to organize movements to resist against Mughal authority
In the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires, the prestige and authority of the dynasty derived from…?
the personal piety and the military prowess of the ruler and his ancestors
The Safavids were prominent leaders of a ______ religious order, and the Ottomans and Mughals associated closely with famous _____.
Sufi; Sufis
The ghazi ideal of spreading Islam by fighting infidels or hertics resonated with what main tradition of Turkish and Mongolian peoples?
on the steppes fighting was routine, and successful warriors became charismatic leaders
What year was Constantinople captured, and the Byzantine empire officially fell?
1453
What is kanun?
“laws”
Europeans called Suleyman Suleyman the Magnificent, but the Ottomans referred to him as what?
Suleyman Kanuni, “the Lawgiver”
The greatest of Ottoman sultans’ legal edicts were kanun issued by who?
Suleyman
Rulers of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires ruled and administrated their empires building off of what practices?
steppe practices
In the steppe empires, whose relatives often managed components of the states?
ruler’s relatives
What did conflicts for the throne in the Mughal empire look like?
tied up in family controversies, conflict among Mughal princes and rebellions of sons against fathers were recurrent features throughout the history of the empire
What did conflicts for the throne in the Safavid empire look like?
engaged in murderous struggles for the throne
What was Shah Abbas’ experience with struggles for the throne?
lived in fear that another member of the family would challenge him
- kept his sons confined to the palace and killed or blinded relatives he suspected, almost wiped out family in the process
What did conflicts for the throne look like in the Ottoman empire?
- early Ottomans assigned provinces for the sultan’s sons to administer but kept the empire as a whole tightly unified
- later on sultans moved to protect their position by eliminating family rivals–could legally kill of brothers after taking the throne
Who decreed that a ruler could legally kill off his brothers after taking the throne in the Ottoman empire?
Mehmed the Conqueror
What did Muslim theorists universally agree about women’s roles in society?
- women should have no role in public affairs
- the involvement of women in politics as a sure sign of decadence
Many Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal emperors followed the example of Chinggis Khan in doing what?
ruler’s mother and his chief wife or favorite concubine enjoyed special privileges and authority
Who was Suleyman’s concubine of Ukrainian origin whom he elevated to the status of legal wife and often deferred to her judgement?
Hurrem Sultana (also known as Roxelana)
What was an example of women playing prominent political roles in Safavid Persia?
Mahd-e Olya, the wife of one shah, was the de facto ruler
- her efforts to limit the power of the qizilbash so enraged them that they murdered her
What was an example of women playing prominent political roles in the Mughal empire?
emperor Jahangir content to let his wife Nur Jahan run the government
- Aurangzeb listened to his daughter’s political advice
- Shah Jahan’s devotion to his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, became world famous because of the Taj Mahal
Mostly the Islamic empires relied on crops of ______ and _____ that had flourished for centuries in the lands they ruled.
wheat; rice
The Columbian exchange strongly encouraged consumption of _______ and __________, especially in the Ottoman and Safavid empires.
coffee; tobacco
What did religious leaders claim about coffee?
coffee was an illegal beverage and that it was worse to frequent a coffeehouse than a tavern
How did moralists react to the popularity of coffeehouses in the Ottoman empire?
provoked protest as they worried these popular attractions were:
- dens of inequity that distracted habitués from their religious duties
- attracted crowds of idlers and riffraff
Which sultan went so far as to outlaw coffee and tobacco, and to execute those who partake?
Sultan Murad IV
- eventually was a losing battle and both pastimes won widespread acceptance
Despite many who questioned its legitimacy and use throughout society, how was the coffeehouse significant to the Islamic empires?
Coffeehouse became prominent social institution in the Islamic empires
American food crops had ______ demographic effect in the Islamic empires than in other parts of the world.
less
Population growth in India resulted more from what as opposed to influence of new crops?
intensive agriculture
Why did the Ottoman numbers decline after 1600 and last until the late 1800s?
loss of territory, not so much a shrinking population
Out of the three Islamic empires, which empireś population grew least rapidly?
Safavid
For what two reasons did the Mughals not pay as much attention to foreign trade as the Ottomans and the Safavids?
- enormous size and productivity of the domestic Indian economy
- Mughal rulers concentrated on their land empire and had little interest in maritime affairs
To whom did the Ottomans grant special trading concessions to cement alliances against common enemies in Spain and central Europe?
merchants from England and France
What city became an emporium for foreign merchants and engaged primarily in the spice trade and served as local headquarters for the operations of the English Levant Company?
Aleppo
How did Shah Abbas promote Isfahan as a commercial center?
- extending trading privileges to foreign merchants
- allowing Christian monastic orders to set up missions there to help create a favorable environment for trade
Which companies traded actively with the Safavids?
English East India Company, French East India Company, and Dutch VOC
How were the Mughals able to derive significant income from foreign trade?
- allowed creation of trading stations and merchant colonies by Portuguese, English, French, and Dutch merchants
- Indian merchants formed trading companies of their own
What religions made up larger portions of the Ottoman empire?
Christians and Jews
What religious communities were encompassed in the Safavid empire?
Zoroastrian and Jewish communities as well as Christian subjects
What religions were prominent amongst the Mughal empire?
especially diverse: large portion of Hindus, Muslims, and smaller communities of Jains, Zoroastrians, Christians, and devotees of syncretic faiths like Sikhism
What Portuguese city became the center of a Christian mission in India?
Goa
How did priests at Goa, a Christian mission in India, seek to convert people to Christianity?
1 established schools that provided religious instruction for Indian children
2. Portuguese Jesuits traveled to Mughal court at Akbar’s invitation seeking to convert emperor to Christianity
How did Akbar respond to the Portuguese Jesuits’ attempt at converting him to Christianity?
cordially invited their participation in religious and philosophical discussions, but declined to commit to an exclusive faith that he thought would alienate many of his subjects
Akbar never explained his ideas of his “divine faith” systematically, but it is clear they drew most heavily on what religion?
Islam
What were some characteristics of Akbar’s divine faith?
- strictly monotheistic
- reflected the influence of Shiite and Sufi teachings
- glorified the emperor
- tolerant of Hinduism
- drew inspiration from Zoroastrianism in its effort to bridge the gaps between Mughal India’s many cultural and religious communities
While Islamic rulers did not require conquered peoples to convert to Islam, what status did they extend these people to?
dhimmi (“protected people”)
How did dhimmi communities work?
in return for their loyalty and payment of jizya, dhimmi communities retained personal freedom, kept their property, practiced their religion, and handled legal affairs
What were the autonomous religious communities in the Ottoman empire that retained their civil laws, traditions, and languages?
millet
- millet communities usually assumed social and administrative functions in matters concerning birth, marriage, death, health, and education
Where was the millet system impractical, and why?
Mughal empire; it was impractical because of its large number of religious communities
Mughal rulers reserved the most powerful military and administrative postitions for _______, but in the day-to-day management of affairs, ________ and _______ cooperated closely.
Muslims; Muslims; Hindus
How did Akbar integrate Muslim and Hindu elites, working to foster communication and understanding among the different religious communities of his realm?
- abolishing the jizya
- tolerating all faiths
- sponsoring discussions and debates between Muslims, Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians, and Christians
What did Muslims worry about religious tolerance?
- worried they could lose religious identity
- worried toleration might lead to their absorption into Hindu society as another caste
How did Aurangzeb break from Akbar’s work to integrate Muslim and Hindu elites–his work on building religious tolerance throughout his empire?
- reinstated the Jizya
- promoted Islam as the official faith of Mughal India
How did people react to Aurangzeb’s reinstatement of Islamic superiority throughout the Mughal empire?
policy satisfied zealous Muslims, at the cost of deep bitterness among his Hindu subjects
At the heart of the Ottoman’s Constantinople, was what building?
Topkapi palace
- housed government offices, meeting places for imperial councils
- sultan’s residence
Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent drew on whose architectural genius to create the most celebrated of all monuments of Istanbul?
Sinan Pasha (1489-1588)
What did the architect Sinan Pasha build for Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent?
vast religious complex called Suleymaniye
What city did Shah Abbas make his capital?
Isfahan
How were Safavid palaces different from the sprawling Ottoman and Mughal palaces?
- relatively small and emphasized natural settings with gardens and pools
- much more open that Topkapi
What is the name of the palace on the square in Isfahan?
Ali Qapu
- emphasized the the visibility and accessibility, qualities long esteemed in the Persian tradition of kingship
How did Mughals regard the capital?
early Mughals regarded as wherever the ruler happened to camp, but came to sponsor urban development
What cultural traditions did the Mughals blend in their architecture?
central Asian traditions with elements of Hindu architecture, built on large scale that left no doubt about their wealth and resources
What was the Mughal city planned and constructed about Akbar that served as his capital from 1569 to 1585?
Fatehpur Sikri
What did Akbar’s city of Fatehpur Sikri commemorate?
- Akbar’s conquest of Gujarat
- demonstrated Akbar’s strength and imperial ambitions through mint, records office, treasury, and audience hall
- private residence and retreat for the ruler
- dramatic display of Mughal piety and devotion
How did Akbar’s city of Fatehpur Sikri display Mughal piety and devotion?
- many buildings consciously incorporated Indian elements:
supported by columns and decorations of stone elephants
How many workers did Shah Jahan have toil for 18 years on the Taj Mahal?
20,000
Why couldn’t Shah Jahan build a similar mausoleum to the Taj Mahal out of black marble for himself?
His son Aurangzeb deposed him before he could carry out the project, spent his last years confined to a small cell with a tiny window
How did the Safavid empire come to an end?
1722 band of Afghan tribesmen blockaded Isfahan until inhabitants resorted to cannibalism, forced shah to abdicate, executed thousands of Safavid officials and members of royal family
Strong and effective_________ _________ was essential to the Islamic empires, and Muslim theorists never tired of emphasizing the importance of rulers who were diligent, virtuous, and just.
central authority
How did Ottomans seek to limit problems regarding incompetent rulers, suspicion and fighting members of their ruling houses? What was the drawback of this solution?
confining princes in the palace; princes had no opportunity to gain experience in government, exposed to plots and intrigues of the various factions maneuvering to bring a favorable candidate tot the throne (exposed to the unideal means used to bring favorable rulers to the throne)
Who were Suleyman’s successor who taxed and spent so much that government officials deposed and murdered him?
Ibrahim the Crazy and Selim the Sot
After the _____ century, weak rule increasingly provoked mutinies in the army, provincial revolts, political corruption, economic oppression, and insecurity throughout Ottoman realm.
17th
Which group of people strongly opposed Muslim leaders’ influence on their empires, and their involvement in everyday lives and legal affairs of ordinary subjects?
The clerics:
- mistrusted the emperors’ interests in unconventional forms of Islam such as Sufism
- complained bitterly when women or subjects who were not Muslims played influential political roles
- protested any exercise of royal authority that contradicted Islamic law.
What happened in the Wahhabi movement in Arabia?
religious students joined the Janissaires in revolt, denounced Ottomans as dangerous religious innovators who were unfit to rule
- fiercely protested construction of astronomical observatory
- forced closure of Ottoman printing press
What religious tensions arose in the Safavid dynasty when the empire fell under the domination of the very Shiites they had supported?
Shiite leaders pressured the shahs to persecute Sunnis, non-Muslims, and even the sufis who had helped establish the dynasty
What religious tensions arose in Mughal India during the 17th century?
conservative Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi (1564-1624) fearlessly rebuked Akbar for his policy of religious tolerance
- later Aurangzeb drew on Sirhindi’s ideas when requiring non-Muslims to pay poll tax and ordered destruction of Hindu temples
- inflamed tensions between various Sunni, Shiite, and Sufi branches of Islam, fueled animosity among Hindus and other Mughal subjects who were not Muslims
The high cost of maintaining an expensive ________ and ______________ apparatus helped to bring about economic decline in the Islamic empires.
military; administrative
When expansion slowed, ceased, or reversed, the Islamic empires faced the problem of what?
supporting their institutions with limited resources
With their unproductive wars, the Ottomans tried to pay the Janissaries in ___________ ________ and immediately provoked a mutiny, as early as 1589.
debased coinage
As expansion slowed and empires lost control over remote provinces, how did officials react/what short term measures did they resort to to provide immediate cash?
- raising taxes
- selling public offices
- accepting bribes
- resorting to simple extortion (obtaining money through force or threats)
The Islamic empires also experienced military decline because they did not…?
seek actively to improve their military technologies
None of the Islamic empires had a large __________ industry, so they had to reply on foreign suppliers.
armaments
Islamic empires were still able to purchase European weapons and expertise, but their arsenals became increasingly dated since…?
they depended on technologies that European peoples had already replaced
Who was an Ottoman admiral and cartographer who produced several large-scale maps a major navigational text?
Piri Reis
Most Muslims remained largely oblivious to European cultural and technological developments because of what belief?
Muslim rulers and their Muslim subjects were confident of their superiority and believed that they had nothing to learn from Europeans
______ refugees from Spain introduced the first printing presses to Anatolia in the late 15th century.
Jewish
Ottoman authorities allowed printing presses to operate in major cities so long as they did not print books in what two languages?
Turkish or Arabic
Printing did not become prominent in Indian society until the establishment of what in Bengal in the 18th century?
British colonial rule
Aside from language bans, what else stood in the way of the printing press’s popularity in Islamic relams?
- scholars and general readers alike simply preferred elegant handwritten books to cheaply produced printed works
- especially if the book was the Quran
- resistance to printing reflected concerns of conservative leaders and their readily available ideas
Like the Ming, Qing, and Tokugawa rulers the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal emperors preferred political and social ________ to the risks that foreign cultural innovations might bring.
stability
