Asian Recovery Study Guide

What two disasters was Eurasia recovering from between 1450-1750?

The Black Death and the political/economic disruption caused by the Mongol conquests and rule.

How did India differ from the Middle East and China in their need for recovery?

China and the Middle East needed to rebuild after foreign Mongol rule, while India already had long-term cultural diversity and focused more on blending traditions rather than restoring old systems.

Effects of gunpowder on politics in Eurasia

Gunpowder centralized power in sedentary empires with cannons and muskets, while nomadic cavalry societies lost their former military advantage.

What did the Mongols do after their rule ended in China?

They retreated back to the steppe regions and remained a frontier threat but no longer controlled China.

Goals of Hongwu and the Ming Dynasty

Hongwu sought to restore Han Chinese rule, strengthen Confucian government, revive agriculture, and reduce the power of elites.

Women’s status in Ming China

Women faced stronger patriarchal restrictions, with Confucian values limiting their public roles and autonomy.

Chinese peasants under the Ming

During early Ming rule, peasants benefited from agricultural reforms, but over time taxes and labor demands increased.

How and why the Scholar-Gentry rose to power in the Ming

The revival of the Confucian civil service exam restored the authority and social status of educated bureaucrats.

Cause of Chinese population growth in the Ming

Population increased due to expanded agriculture and the adoption of new crops that supported larger harvests.

Causes of Chinese economic growth in the Ming

Economic growth came from agricultural surpluses, internal trade networks, and commercial production.

Accomplishments of Zheng He

Zheng He led large state-sponsored voyages across the Indian Ocean to display Ming power and enhance tribute relations.

Religious diversity in Ming China

Confucianism shaped state policy, but Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Christianity, and folk traditions continued to exist alongside it.

How gunpowder technology reached the Muslim world

Gunpowder spread west through Eurasian trade and military exchange networks.

Ottoman expansion

The Ottomans expanded rapidly across Anatolia, the Balkans, and the eastern Mediterranean.

What the Battle of Chaldiran showed

It highlighted the Sunni-Shia conflict between Ottomans and Safavids and demonstrated that gunpowder weapons outmatched cavalry forces.

Janissaries and Ghulams

Janissaries were elite slave soldiers in the Ottoman Empire, while Ghulams were similar elite slave soldiers in the Safavid Empire.

Causes of Ottoman decline

Decline resulted from internal corruption, military stagnation, and growing economic problems.

Similarities of Suleyman, Akbar, and Shah Abbas

All centralized authority, strengthened government administration, and supported cultural and architectural projects.

Similarities of Selim the Grim, Ismail, and Aurangzeb

They ruled with more strict religious policies and reduced tolerance to tighten control.

How Islamic Empires handled religious minorities

Ottomans allowed local autonomy (millet system), Safavids imposed strict Shia practices, and Mughal tolerance varied by ruler.

Religion in the Safavid Empire

The Safavid Empire enforced Shia Islam as the official state religion.

Similarities between Safavid and Ottoman economic approaches

Both relied on trade routes, artisan craft production, and state-controlled taxation.

Mughal ancestry

Mughal rulers were of Turkic-Mongol origin with strong Persian cultural influence.

Role of the Delhi Sultanate before the Mughals

It established Islamic rule in India prior to Mughal expansion.

Mughal economy

The Mughal economy was wealthy due to agricultural production and textile-centered trade.

Similar city-building goals in Istanbul and Isfahan

Both cities were developed as grand imperial capitals representing political power and cultural achievement.

How the Taj Mahal reflects syncretic culture

The Taj Mahal blends Persian, Islamic, and Indian artistic and architectural influences.

Gender in the Gunpowder Empires

All three empires were patriarchal, but elite women could influence politics: Nur Jahan in the Mughal court, Pari Khan Khanum in Safavid politics, and Hürrem Sultan in the Ottoman court.