Unit 3 Land-Based Empires 1450-1750 Flashcards
What did all gunpowder empires have in common?
- They were land-based → power came from their territorial holdings.
- They were expanding geographically.
- The main cause of expansion was the adoption of the gunpowder weapons.
The collapse of the _______ saw the rise of gunpowder weapons.
Mongol Empire
How did the Ottoman Empire expand rapidly in the 14th century?
- Strategic control of the Dardanelles → used it to launch military campaigns.
- Adoption and development of gunpowder weapons.
Fall of Constantinople in 1453
Mehmed II laid siege to the city using cannons.
The Ottomans re-named Constantinople too . . .
Istanbul which became the crown jewel of the Ottoman Empire.
What was the impact of Constantinople’s decline?
- Ended the Byzantine Empire and marked the rise of the Ottomans.
- Disrupted trade routes in Europe and Asia → Age of Exploration.
The Safavid Empire declared itself as a _______ state.
Shi’a Muslim
What was the major division of Islam?
Shia → successor should be a blood relative of Muhammad.
Sunni → successor can be elected.
This created conflict between the Safavids and the Ottomans & Mughals.
Shah Abbas I
Greatly expanded the Safavid Empire.
The Mughal Empire replaced the _______ in the 16th century under the leadership of Babur.
Delhi Sultanate
Akbar the Great
Expanded the empire using gunpowder and the military → centralized government with fairly administrative laws.
He was tolerant of all religions.
The _______ in China was established after the Mongol Yuan Dynasty.
The ethnically Han Ming Dynasty.
The Ming Dynasty
Restored traditional Chinese culture, expanded trade, and rebuilt the Great Wall of China → decline due to corruption and peasant uprisings.
The Qing Dynasty was established by another group of outsiders called _______.
The Manchus
The Qing Dynasty expanded its empire into . . .
Taiwan, Mongolia, and Central Asia.
State rivalries were mainly caused by _______ and _______.
Religion & Politics
Safavid-Mughal Conflict
Series of wars fought over the control of the Persian Gulf and Shi’a vs. Sunni.
Songhai-Moroccan Conflict
The Moroccan Empire launched an attack on the internally weak Songhai Empire in order to take control of its trade routes.
How did Europe centralize its power?
By controlling taxes, the military, and religion.
How did land-based empires legitimize and consolidate power?
- Large imperial bureaucracies
- Military expansion
- Religion, art, and architecture
Devshirme System
System by which the Ottomans staffed their imperial bureaucracy with highly trained individuals, most often enslaved Christian boys → the Janissaries were elite soldiers loyal to the Sultan.
How did Europe legitimize and consolidate its power?
Divine right of kings → gave kings absolute power.
Justices of Peace
Officials that maintained peace and carried out the monarch’s laws in England.
Intendant System
Royal officials to enforce the king’s laws, collect taxes, and maintain order in France.
How did the Aztecs legitimize and consolidate their power?
Through human sacrifices which instilled fear in conquered people.
Emperor Kangxi
Qing emperor who displayed imperial portraits of himself across the city according Confucian traditions → showed his power.
Palace of Versailles
King Louis XIV used this palace to consolidate his power by keeping the French nobility there, preventing rebellions.
The Inca Sun Temple
Rulers were associated with the gods so buildings like this legitimize their power.
Zamindar System in the Mughal Empire
Mughals employed local land owners (zamindars) to collect taxes throughout the empire on behalf of the emperor → both expanded and consolidated power.
Tax Farming in the Ottoman Empire
The government auctioned off the right to collect taxes → they became wealthy & corrupt. This provided the Ottoman Empire with a reliable source of income.
Christianity had been a dominant religion in Europe since the 4th century so . . .
It became a shared cultural identity and the Church held significant power in most states.
Great Schism of 1054
Break of Catholic Church into Western Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox.
Protestant Reformation
Religious movement that aimed to reform the Roman Catholic Church → established Protestant denominations.
The Catholic Church wielded enormous power in Europe despite . . .
Monarchies challenging that power.
How did the Catholic Church become corrupt?
- It sold indulgences (release from sins) and simony (Church positions).
- The clergy abused its power.
Martin Luther
Challenged the Church’s practices in his 95 Theses (1517), which criticized indulgences and other issues → his ideas spread quickly thanks to the printing press.
Counter/Catholic Reformation
Efforts of the Catholic Church to oppose the Protestant Reformation.
The Council of Trent
Addressed issues of corruption and abuse within the Church → represented change. However, it also represented continuity because they reaffirmed traditional Christian doctrines.
The Jesuits
Religious group that aimed to fight the Protestant Reformation through education and missionary work in the Americas & Asia.
Islamic Schism
Split into Shi’a Islam and Sunni Islam → conflicts between the Safavid and Ottoman Empires.
The Mughal Empire was _______ in a _______ state.
A predominantly Muslim empire & Hindu state → Akbar created religious tolerance between Muslims and Hindus.
The Bhakti and Sufi Movements
Both emphasized mystical experience and deep devotion to god → helped spread religions through missonaries.
Sikhism
Developed from Hinduism and Islam.
How did Sikhism represent continuity and change over time?
Held onto doctrines (one God & reincarnation) of both beliefs (continuity), however it got rid of the caste system & gender hierarchies (change).
