Land Based Empires (1450-1750) Review

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the major land-based empires, their administrative methods, and the shifts in belief systems between 1450 and 1750.

Land based empire

An empire whose power comes from the extent of its territorial holdings.

Ottoman Empire

An empire founded in the fourteenth century that expanded rapidly through the adoption of gunpowder weapons, eventually controlling much of Southwestern Europe and Anatolia.

Gunpowder weapons

Technology invented in China that spread via trading routes and was the primary reason for the rapid expansion of land based empires like the Ottomans, Safavids, Mughals, and Qing.

1453

The year the Ottoman Empire conquered the city of Constantinople, which was later renamed Istanbul.

Janissaries

An elite fighting force in the Ottoman Empire made up of enslaved Christians from the Balkans who were converted to Islam and highly trained.

Safavid Empire

A Middle Eastern empire founded at the beginning of the sixteenth century that established an enslaved army of Christians from the Caucasus region to aid expansion.

Shah Ismail

The leader who founded the Safavid Empire and led the rapid expansion of its territory through conquest.

Shah Abbas

A Safavid ruler who built up the military by adopting gunpowder weapons and establishing a full-time enslaved army.

Sunni Muslims

Followers of a branch of Islam who believe the rightful successor of Muhammad could be anyone spiritually fit for the office; this was the faith of the Ottoman and Mughal Empires.

Shia Muslims

Followers of a branch of Islam who believe only blood relatives of Muhammad were his legitimate successors; this was the state religion of the Safavid Empire.

Mughal Empire

An empire in South and Central Asia established in 1526 by Babur after he defeated the Delhi Sultanate.

Akbar

The grandson of Babur who expanded the Mughal Empire and was known for his masterful administration and tolerance of diverse belief systems.

Qing dynasty

Also known as the Manchu empire, this dynasty was established in the seventeenth century by people from the North who replaced the ethnically Han Ming dynasty.

Safavid-Mughal conflict

A series of wars fought over territory in modern-day Afghanistan, intensified by the religious split between Shia (Safavid) and Sunni (Mughal) Islam.

Legitimize power

The methods a ruler uses to establish and justify their authority over their subjects.

Consolidate power

The methods used by rulers to transfer power from other groups or individuals to themselves.

Bureaucracy

A system of thousands of government officials that ensure laws are kept and the empire is administered effectively.

Devshirme system

An Ottoman practice of enslaving and educating Balkan Christians to staff the bureaucracy and military with individuals loyal to the sultan.

Divine right of kings

A religious belief in Europe that monarchs are God's representatives on earth, used to legitimize their authority.

Emperor Kangxi

A Qing emperor who used imperial portraits depicting him with books to signal Confucian wisdom and legitimize his rule to the Han population.

Sun Temple of Cusco

An architectural structure used by the Inca to associate rulers with gods and legitimize power through high religious festivals.

Palace of Versailles

A monumental building used by Louis XIV to consolidate power by requiring French nobility to live there, effectively transferring power from the nobles to the king.

Zamindar system

A Mughal tax collection system where elite landowners were authorized to tax peasants on behalf of the imperial government.

Tax farming system

An Ottoman practice where the right to collect taxes was awarded to the highest bidder, who would then collect more than required to enrich themselves.

Tribute lists

Lists used by Aztec rulers to track and collect specific goods from conquered regions to generate revenue and demonstrate authority.

Simony

The corrupt practice within the Roman Catholic Church of buying one's way into positions of ecclesiastical power.

Indulgences

Payments made to the Roman Catholic Church that were said to grant forgiveness for sins, used to finance massive building projects.

95 Theses

A list of complaints against the Catholic Church written by Martin Luther in 1517, which sparked the Protestant Reformation.

Council of Trent

A series of meetings where the Catholic Church addressed corruption but reaffirmed its core doctrines, marking the Counter-Reformation.

Sikhism

A syncretic belief system in South Asia that blended Hindu and Islamic doctrines, believing in one God and reincarnation while rejecting the caste system.