Chpt. 21, The Muslim Empires Flashcards
Unit 4, The Early Modern Period
Safavid Dynasty
originally a Turkic nomadic group; it’s ruling family originated in Sufi mystic group; they espoused Shi’ism; conquered territory and established a kingdom in a region equivalent to modern Iran; they lasted until 1722
Mughal Empire
established by Babur in India in 1526; the name is taken from the supposed Mongol descent of Babur, but there is little indication of any Mongol influence in the dynasty; they became weak after the rule of Aurangzeb in the first decades of the 18th century
Ottomans
Turkic people who advanced from strongholds in Asia Minor during the 1350s; conquered a large part of the Balkans; unified under Mehmed 1; captured Constantinople in 1453; established an empire from the Balkans that included most of the Arab world
Mehmed 2; aka Mehmet 2
an Ottoman sultan called the “Conqueror”; responsible for the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, destroying what remained of the Byzantine Empire; he declared the Hagia Sophia a mosque, and changed “Constantinople” to “Istanbul”
Janissaries
Ottoman infantry divisions that dominated Ottoman armies; forcibly conscripted as boys in conquered areas of the Balkans, legally slaves, translated military service into political influence, particularly after the 15th century
vizier
the Ottoman equivalent of the Abbasid wazir; head of the Ottoman bureaucracy; after the 15th century often more powerful than the sultan
Sail al-Din
an early 14th-century Sufi mystic; began a campaign to purify Islam; the first member of the Safavid dynasty
Red Heads
the name given to the Safavid followers because of their distinctive red headgear
Ismâ’il
a 14-year-old, he was the foremost Safavid military commander; he conquered the city of Tabriz in 1501; he was first Safavid to be proclaimed shah or emperor
Battle of Chaldiran
the battle between the Safavids and Ottomans in 1514; Safavids were severely defeated by the Ottomans, checking the western advance of the Safavid Empire
(Shah) Abbas the Great
a Safavid ruler from 1587 to 1629; extended Safavid domain to its greatest extent; created slave regiments based on captured Russians, who monopolized firearms within the Safavid armies; incorporated Western military technology
imams
in general in Islam, they are religious leaders, similar to Christianity’s priests; according to Shi’ism, they had to be able to trace their descent from Ali; in the Safavid Empire, they were to some extent rulers
mullahs
local mosque officials and prayer leaders within the Safavid Empire; agents of a Safavid religious campaign to convert all of the population to Shi’ism
Isfahan
the Safavid capital under Abbas the Great; a planned city laid out according to the Sha’s design, and a good example of Safavid architecture
Nadir Khan Afshar
a soldier-adventurer following the fall of the Safavid dynasty in 1722; he proclaimed himself shah in 1736; established a short-lived dynasty in a reduced kingdom
