History Unit 3 Vocab for Mid-Unit Check

Akbar the Great

The Mughal empire’s most notable ruler; united the Muslim rulers with their Hindu subjects

Zamindars

Mughal bureaucratic elites who collected taxes; they could keep a portion of the taxes collected

Taj Mahal

Building that is a tomb for Shah Jahan’s wife; reflection of syncretism

Sikhism

Religion developed in India by Guru Nanak around 1500

Aurangzeb

Ruler who expanded the Mughal empire to its greatest extent and reimposed jizya

Battle of Chaldiran

1514; the Battle between the Safavids and the Ottomans (the Ottomans won)

Shah Abbas

The Shah who modernized the Safavid empire

1453

The year the Ottomans took control of Constantinople and established their empire

Tax Farmers

Ottoman bureaucratic elites who collected taxes on behalf of the Ottoman state; paid the state for the right to collect taxes from a region and keep any revenue beyond what was owed to the government

Devshirme

The gathering/tax of Christian boys; converted to Islam and educated and the top 10% were government officials and the rest were soldiers

Janissaries

Elite, gunpowder troops that came directly from the Devshirme system; reflects the importance of gunpowder in building/maintaining empires

Millets

What minority faiths were organized into; could choose leaders and follow religious laws (Ottoman empire)