3.1 - Empires Expand

Gunpowder empires

Large, multiethnic states in Southwest, Central, and South Asia that relied on firearms to conquer and control territories

Land-based empires

A state that expands across connected territory and rules many different peoples over land

Ivan IV

Also called Ivan the Terrible, was crowned Russian tsar in 1547, and set about to expand the Russian border eastward

Tamerlane

A Mongol-Turkic ruler of the late 14th century

Ghazi ideal

A model for warrior life that blended the cooperative values of nomadic culture with the willingness to serve as a holy fighter for Islam

Ottoman Empire

A Sunni Muslim empire centered in Anatolia that ruled parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa

Mehmed II

Ottoman sultan who captured Constantinople in 1453 using powerful artillery

Suleiman I

Ottoman ruler under whom the empire reached its greatest territorial and political power

Safavid Empire

A Persian Shia Muslim empire based in Iran that rivaled the Ottomans and Mughals

Shah

The equivalent to king or emperor in the Safavid empire

Shah Ismail

Founder of the Safavid state who established Twelver Shiism and fought the Ottomans

Shah Abbas I

Safavid ruler who strengthened the military and brought the empire to its height

Mughal Empire

A Muslim empire in South Asia that used gunpowder warfare to conquer and rule India

Babur

Founder of the Mughal Empire who conquered northern India in the early 1500s

Akbar

Mughal ruler who expanded the empire and promoted a more inclusive governing style

Castes

Strict social groupings designated at birth

Ming Dynasty

Han Chinese dynasty that stabilized East Asia before the Manchu invasion

Manchu

A semi-nomadic people from northeast Asia who conquered China and founded the Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Manchu-ruled Chinese dynasty that expanded into Mongolia, Taiwan, and Central Asia

Kangxi

One of China's longest-reigning emperors, that presided over a period of stability and expansion during the Qing Dynasty in China

Emperor Qianlong

An important Qing ruler who was also a poet, who was knowledgeable in art and calligraphy

Safavid-Mughal Conflict

A rivalry between the Persian and Indian Muslim empires over territory and influence

Ottoman-Safavid Conflict

A long conflict between Sunni Ottomans and Shia Safavids over power and religion

Songhai-Morocco Conflict

A war in which Moroccan forces defeated Songhai with superior gunpowder weapons