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