Empires of South and Southwest Asia & The Transformation of Western Europe

Vocabulary flashcards covering the Islamic Gunpowder Empires (Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal) and Early Modern Europe (Protestant & Catholic Reformations, Absolutism, Constitutionalism, and European State System).

Shah Jahan

Emperor of Mughal India who sat on the "Peacock Throne" and commissioned the Taj Mahal as a monument and tomb for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

Ottoman Empire

A long-lived Muslim state centered in modern-day Turkey that expanded from southeast Europe to west Asia and North Africa, remaining intact until the twentieth century.

Safavid Empire

A Persian empire centered in present-day Iran ruled by Shiite leaders who challenged the Sunni Ottomans and prospered through trade linking Asia, Russia, and the Mediterranean.

Mughal Empire

An Islamic empire that ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for less than 300 years, established over a predominantly Hindu population.

Osman Bey

Chief (bey) of a band of seminomadic Turks who migrated to Anatolia and founded the Ottoman Empire, which lasted from 1289 to 1923.

Ghazi

Muslim religious warriors who joined the Ottomans to wage war against non-Muslims on the border of the Byzantine Empire.

Devshirme

An Ottoman institution requiring the Christian population of the Balkans to contribute young boys to be enslaved and trained for military or civilian administration.

Janissaries

Elite Ottoman infantry soldiers recruited through devshirme who were outfitted with gunpowder weapons and known for intense pride and loyalty to the sultan.

Mehmed the Conqueror

Ottoman sultan who captured Constantinople in 1453 (renaming it Istanbul), established a tightly centralized absolute monarchy, and expanded rule across the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions.

Süleyman the Magnificent

Ottoman ruler whose reign marked the climax of Ottoman expansion into Southwest Asia and Europe, known as "The Lawgiver" (Süleyman Kanuni) for issuing edicts known as kanun.

Kanun

Edicts and administrative laws issued by Ottoman sultans, notably Süleyman the Magnificent.

Shah Ismail

Leader who entered Tabriz in 1501 to claim the title of shah of Persia, reigning from 1501 to 1524 and forcefully imposing Twelver Shiism on the Sunni population.

Twelver Shiism

Islamic religious belief postulating twelve infallible imams after Muhammad, holding that the twelfth hidden imam would return to spread the faith.

Qizilbash

Followers of Twelver Shiism under Shah Ismail who wore distinctive red hats with twelve pleats ("red heads") and believed Ismail was the hidden imam.

Battle of Chaldiran

A 1514 battle where the Sunni Ottomans deployed Janissaries with firearms to inflict severe damage on the Safavid Shiite forces.

Shah Abbas the Great

Safavid ruler (1588–1629) who revitalized the empire by moving the capital to Isfahan, incorporating enslaved men into the army, increasing gunpowder weapons, and seeking European assistance.

Babur

Zahir al-Din Muhammad, a Chagatai Turk descendant of Chinggis Khan and Tamerlane, who used gunpowder weapons to conquer Delhi in 1526 and found the Mughal Empire.

Akbar

Grandson of Babur and architect of the Mughal Empire who created a centralized administration, expanded into Gujarat and Bengal, and promoted religious tolerance.

Divine Faith

A syncretic religion encouraged by the Mughal emperor Akbar that focused attention on the emperor as a ruler common to all religious, ethnic, and social groups in India.

Aurangzeb

Mughal emperor (reigned 1659–1707) who pushed authority into southern India, broke Akbar's policy of religious toleration, destroyed Hindu temples, and taxed non-Muslims.

Martin Luther

German monk (1483–1546) who initiated the Protestant Reformation by attacking the sale of indulgences, rejecting priestly authority, and advocating justification by faith alone.

Johannes Gutenberg

Inventor (1395–1468) who introduced printing to Europe, enabling the widespread production of Luther's German translation of the Bible and Reformation pamphlets.

John Calvin

French lawyer and Protestant reformer (1509–1564) who established a strictly regulated Protestant community in Geneva, Switzerland, and emphasized divine omnipotence and predestination.

Predestination

Doctrine emphasized by John Calvin stating that God has already determined who will be saved prior to an individual's birth.

English Reformation

Religious movement initiated when King Henry VIII severed ties with the Roman Catholic Church after being denied an annulment, establishing himself as head of the Anglican Church.

Council of Trent

An assembly of Catholic bishops, cardinals, and church officials (1545–1563) that defined Roman Catholic doctrine, addressed moral abuses, and mandated priest training seminaries.

St. Ignatius Loyola

Basque nobleman and soldier (1491–1556) who founded the Society of Jesus to defend and spread Roman Catholicism.

Society of Jesus

Catholic religious order whose members, known as Jesuits, completed rigorous education in philosophy and theology to serve as effective missionaries and advisors to rulers.

Thirty Years' War

A devastating European war (1618–1648) triggered by the Holy Roman emperor's attempt to force Bohemian subjects back to Catholicism, resulting in the loss of one-third of the German population.

Charles V

Habsburg emperor (elected 1519) who held authority over Austria, Burgundy, Spain, Germany, and parts of Italy, but failed to build a centralized administrative structure or halt the Lutheran movement.

Spanish Inquisition

Royal agency founded in 1478 by Fernando and Isabel with papal approval to detect and eliminate Protestant heresy and non-Catholic practices in Spain.

Louis XIV

King of France (1643–1715), known as the "Sun King," who epitomized royal absolutism, built the palace at Versailles, and waged wars to expand French borders.

Peter I

Romanov tsar (reigned 1682–1725), known as "Peter the Great," who modernized Russia's military, constructed a navy, and reorganized administrative bureaucracy based on Western European models.

Catherine II

Romanov empress (reigned 1762–1796), known as "Catherine the Great," who divided Russia into 50 administrative provinces, promoted economic development, and preserved autocratic rule.

English Civil War

Conflict (1642–1649) between royalist forces and Parliamentary forces led by Oliver Cromwell over royal taxation and religious policies, culminating in the execution of King Charles I.

Glorious Revolution

Event in 1688 where Parliament deposed King James II and invited his daughter Mary and her husband William to rule England in cooperation with Parliament under a constitutional monarchy.

Peace of Westphalia

The 1648 treaty that ended the Thirty Years' War and established a European states system composed of independent, sovereign, and competing nations.

Balance of Power

Diplomacy principle in early modern Europe where states formed alliances to prevent any single power from expanding and dominating the continent.