AMSCO Unit 3.4

What were the reasons the Gunpowder Empires were unable to maintain rule?

1. Unable to compete with European trading companies. 2. Unable to resolve conflicts of heirs motivated by internal politics. 3. Weak and corrupt leadership and failure to keep up with military developments. 4. Harsh financial burdens on peasants and villages in the form of taxes. 5. Religious conflicts.

What were the roles and origin of Janissaries in the Ottoman Empire?

They helped preserve the power of the sultan; often slaves taken from Christian areas, recruited from minority religious or ethnic groups.

What were the roles and origin of Ghulams in the Safavid Empire?

They helped protect the shah from rival clerics; Georgian, Armenian, or Circassian, recruited from minority religious or ethnic groups.

What were the causes of the Ottoman-Safavid wars?

They went to war over territorial claims each had at their borders, with religion also being a reason.

What were the causes of the Safavid-Mughal conflicts?

Control over resources and trade routes in present-day Afghanistan.

How did China use bureaucracy to control its population?

Through the civil service examination to assess the abilities of the scholar gentry who wished to enter the government system.

How did the Ottoman Empire use bureaucracy to control its population?

The devshirme system provided the sultan with a ready-made pool of civil servants loyal to him.

How did the Safavid Empire use bureaucracy to control its population?

The Shah would enlist a class of bureaucrats from the Persian population.

How did the Songhai Empire use bureaucracy to control its population?

The mansa employed bureaucrats from the scholarly class educated in schools (madrasas) of Timbuktu.

How did the Incas organize their empire?

They organized their empire into a federal system of provinces headed by nobles loyal to the emperor.

How were the Aztecs different from other land empires?

They were less centralized and bureaucratic than other land empires; created a tributary empire and had little to no direct control over territory within the region.

How did the Mughal Empire collect taxes?

Emperors appointed tax officers or zamindars to collect taxes from the peasant class based on land and production.

How did the Ottoman Empire implement tax farming?

Sultans appointed tax farmers to pay an annual fixed sum of money for an area to the central government and then recoup the outlay by collecting money or salable goods.

What was the Aztec tribute system?

The Aztecs formed a tributary empire, with the main source of revenue supporting the Aztec noble class and military coming from yearly offerings or tributes from surrounding areas.

How did the Ming Dynasty collect taxes?

They collected taxes in the form of rice, later switching to silver coins.

How did rulers use religion to legitimize their rule?

Rulers aligned themselves with divine powers or religious ideologies to justify their authority.

How did rulers use art to legitimize their rule?

Art was used to control public image, often by commissioning works that depicted the ruler favorably or with high qualities.

How did monumental architecture serve rulers?

Grand structures served as a visual representation of a ruler's wealth, power, and ability to command resources.