For my Pre-AP students. Please read the information in this PowerPoint. The Ottoman and Mughals are on the test. The Safavids ARE NOT on the test, but ARE included in the DBQ for Friday.
2. From 1300 to 1700, three “gunpowder empires”
dominated parts of Europe, Africa, & Asia
The Ottoman
Empire
The Safavid
Empire The Mughal
Empire
3. These empires were
unique but shared
some similarities:
All 3 empires conquered
neighboring people - strong
armies using rifles & artillery
All 3 empires were Islamic
& ruled by Muslim leaders
with well-organized gov’ts
made up of loyal
bureaucrats
All 3 empires blended their
culture with neighboring
societies to create a high
point of Islamic culture
4. The Ottomans used muskets and cannons to form a
powerful army and expand their territory
The Muslim
Turks of
Anatolia
unified &
formed the
Ottoman
Empire.
5. The Ottoman MilitaryThe Ottoman army included 30,000 elite soldiers
called janissaries who were slaves that were
trained to be loyal to the government
6. Janissaries
Loyal & elite force of 30,000.
Sons of conquered Christians
under devshirme. Educated,
converted to Islam, trained as
soldiers.
Became so powerful that the
sultans feared them.
1826, either exiled, killed or
even decapitated.
7. The Ottoman EmpireIn 1453, the Ottomans attacked Constantinople &
conquered the Byzantine Empire
8. The Ottoman EmpireBy the late 1600s, the Ottomans expanded into the
Middle East, Northern Africa, & Eastern Europe
9. The Ottoman EmpireOttoman rulers
were called sultans &
they governed with
absolute power
The greatest Ottoman sultan
was Suleyman the Magnificent
who came to power in 1520
Under Suleyman,
Ottoman armies
attacked Eastern
Europe & the empire
reached its height
By the mid-1500s, Suleyman
was the most powerful king in
the world
10. Suleyman’s greatest accomplishment was creating a
stable government for his empire
He was known as
“Suleyman the Lawgiver”
because he created a
law code that governed
criminal & civil issues
He created a simplified &
fair tax system to raise
money for his empire
He granted freedom of
worship to Christians &
Jews living in the empire
11. Art, architecture, & poetry flourished
under Suleyman as the Ottoman
Empire experienced a cultural
renaissance
Mosque of Suleyman by architect, Sinan
Ottoman miniature
painting
12. The Decline of the Ottoman Empire
To maintain their power
against rivals, sultans
executed brothers, sons,
nephews, etc. which led to
progressively weaker leaders
By the outbreak of
World War I in 1914,
the Ottoman Empire
was so weak it was
known as the
“sick man of Europe”
13. The Safavid Empire
The Safavids were Turks living
in Persia who built a powerful
gunpowder army & created an
empire in modern-day Iran
Unlike the Ottomans who were Sunni Muslims,
the Safavids believed in Shi’a Islam & strictly
converted the people they conquered
Safavid rulers
were called shahs,
using the Persian
title for king
14. The greatest ruler of the Safavid Empire was
Shah Abbas who came to power in 1587
Abbas borrowed ideas from
outside groups to improve
the Safavid Empire
He modeled Ottoman
janissaries, used merit to
employ gov’t workers, &
introduced religious
toleration which helped
Safavids trade with
European Christians
Art flourished, especially
carpets that blended
Persian & European designs
15. The Decline of the Safavid Empire
Like the Ottomans, Shah
Abbas blinded or killed his
most capable sons in
order to keep power
As a result, weak
leaders led to a
rapid decline of the
Safavid Empire
While the Ottoman
Empire lasted until
1922, the Safavid
Empire fell in 1747
16. The Mughals were Muslims who
descended from Turks, Afghans, &
Mongols living in central Asia
Like the Ottomans &
Safavids, the Mughals
built a powerful army
with guns & cannons
17. In 1494, Babur became
king of the Mughals,
expanded the army, &
began invasions into India
to create his empire
In 1556, Babur’s grandson
Akbar became king of the Mughal
Empire & expanded the empire
into almost all of India
18. Akbar was the greatest of all the Mughal rulers
He held religious discussions
with Hindu & Muslim scholars
He ended tax that
non-Muslims were required to
pay & created a fair & affordable
tax system
Akbar’s greatest achievement
was cultural blending & religious
toleration
Because he was Muslim ruling
in a largely Hindu region, Akbar
allowed non-Muslims to
worship freely
He married many wives,
among them were
Muslim, Hindu,
& Christian women
19. The best example of Akbar’s tolerance was his creation
of a new religion called the Divine Faith
The Divine Faith was an
example of syncretism because
it blended ideas from Islam,
Hinduism, Christianity, &
Zoroastrianism
Akbar hoped the Divine Faith
would end conflicts between
Muslims & Hindus
But, the Divine Faith never
attracted many Muslim or
Hindu converts…When Akbar
died, so did the Divine Faith
20. During Akbar’s reign, art flourished
Mughal artists were known
for their colorful paintings
called miniatures
21. The greatest example of Mughal architecture is the Taj
Mahal which was built in 1631 by Shah Jahan
Mughal architecture was known for blending of
Hindu & Islamic designs
22. The Decline of the Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire grew weak
by 1700 as kings spent too
much money on palaces & war
In addition, the large
population of Hindus
in India began to
revolt against their
Muslim rulers
Great Britain took
advantage of this weakness,
conquered India, &
removed the last Mughal
emperor from power in 1858
23. Conclusions
The Ottomans, Safavids,
& Mughals built large
Islamic empires using
gunpowder militaries
These empires provided
new contributions in
law, art, & religion
But, their decline by the
1800s allowed newly
industrialized European
nations to dominate Asia
Hinweis der Redaktion
Three of the great empires of history—the Ottomans in Turkey, the Safavids in Persia, and the Mughals in India—emerged in the Muslim world between the 14th and the 18th centuries.
As powerful societies moved to expand their empires, Turkish, Persian, Mongol, and Arab ways of life blended. The result was a flowering of Islamic culture that peaked in the 16th century.
The rulers of all three great Muslim empires of this era based their authority on Islam. They based their power on strong armies, advanced technology, and loyal administrative officers.
Three of the great empires of history—the Ottomans in Turkey, the Safavids in Persia, and the Mughals in India—emerged in the Muslim world between the 14th and the 18th centuries.
As powerful societies moved to expand their empires, Turkish, Persian, Mongol, and Arab ways of life blended. The result was a flowering of Islamic culture that peaked in the 16th century.
The rulers of all three great Muslim empires of this era based their authority on Islam. They based their power on strong armies, advanced technology, and loyal administrative officers.
zanbūrak
Sinan’s Mosque of Suleyman in Istanbul is the largest mosque in the Ottoman Empire
Despite Suleyman’s magnificent social and cultural achievements, the Ottoman Empire was losing ground. Suleyman killed his ablest son and drove another into exile. His third son, the incompetent Selim II, inherited the throne.
Suleyman set the pattern for later sultans to gain and hold power. It became customary for each new sultan to have his brothers strangled. The sultan would then keep his sons prisoner in the harem, cutting them off from education or contact with the world. This practice produced a long line of weak sultans who eventually brought ruin on the empire. However, the Ottoman Empire continued to influence the world into the early 20th century.
41a - describe the geographical extent of the Ottoman Empire during the rule of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Safavid Empire during the reign of Shah Abbas I, and the Mughal Empire during the reigns of Babur and Akbar
41b - explain the ways in which these Muslim empires influenced religion, law and the arts in their parts of the world
In finding a successor, Shah Abbas made the same mistake the Ottoman monarch Suleyman made. He killed or blinded his ablest sons. His incompetent grandson, Safi, succeeded Abbas. This pampered young prince led the Safavids down the same road to decline that the Ottomans had taken, only more quickly.
In 1736, however, Nadir Shah Afshar conquered land all the way to India and created an expanded empire. But Nadir Shah was so cruel that one of his own troops assassinated him. With Nadir Shah’s death in 1747, the Safavid Empire fell apart.
IMAGE: Mughal Emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) holds a religious assembly in the Ibadat Khana (House of Worship) in Fatehpur Sikri; the two men dressed in black are the Jesuit missionaries Rodolfo Acquaviva and Francisco Henriques
illustration to the Akbarnama, miniature painting by Nar Singh, ca. 1605
Din–i–Ilahi or "divine faith," describes the religious teachings developed by the third emperor of the Mughal Empire, Akbar the Great, in the late–16th century. Akbar's teachings had their foundations in regular discussions at the Ibadat Khana, "The House of Worship," in Fatehpur Sikri, where he hosted religious leaders and theologians of various faiths, including Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Jains. Seeking a common ground among religions, his teachings synthesize ideas from multiple faiths, do not have a sacred scripture and include a form of sun–worship that reflects Hindu and Zoroastrian influences. Virtues of celibacy, kindness and piety are encouraged, and vices of lust and pride are condemned. Despite transcendent aims, Din–i–Ilahi centered primarily on Akbar as a divine personage and did not attract many followers outside the realm of Akbar's court.
The Empire’s Decline and Decay By the end of Aurangzeb’s reign, he had drained the empire of its resources. Over 2 million people died in a famine while Aurangzeb was away waging war. Most of his subjects felt little or no loyalty to him.
As the power of the central state weakened, the power of local lords grew. After Aurangzeb’s death, his sons fought a war of succession. In fact, three emperors reigned in the first 12 years after Aurangzeb died. By the end of this period, the Mughal emperor was nothing but a wealthy figurehead. He ruled not a united empire but a patchwork of independent states.
In 1806 Shah Alam’s son Akbar Shah II acceded to the much diminished empire of the Mughals and ruled until 1837. His son Bahadur Shah Zafar would be the last emperor of Mughals before the British deposed him in 1858 and the Mughal dynasty would officially come to an end.