Muslim Empires

Spread of Islam
- 632 - Muhammad died
- Debate on who should succeed Muhammad
- Shiites
  - Ali, Muhammad’s son-in-law, should rule
- Sunni
  - Abu Bakr, loyal fried of Muhamad, should rule
- Abu Bakr becomes caliph or “successor” of Muhammad
- Future caliphs conquered Central Asia, northern India, and parts of North Africa
- Trade helped spread Islam
- Brought new products to Muslim lands
- Learned how to make paper and use gunpowder from Chinese
- Bought and sold on credit
Ottoman Empire
- Ottomans - Turkish-speaking nomads
- Migrated from Central Asia into northwestern Asia minor
- 1330s
- Spread to Asia minor and southeastern Europe
- Saw themselves as ghazis or warriors of Islam
- 1300 - Ghazi named Osman creates small Muslim state that will become the Ottoman Empire
- Military success based on gunpowder
- 1453 - Mehmed II captures Constantinople and renames it Istanbul
- Turns Hagia Sophia into a mosque
- Ruled by a sultan
- Political and religious leader
- Law based on the Sharia
Social Structure
- Practiced religious toleration
- non-Muslims organized into millets, or religious communities
- Devshirme System
- Ottomans used conquered people to recruit army and government officers
  - Young Christian boys were converted to Islam and put through military training
- Janissaries
- Elite force of the Ottoman army
Suleiman the Magnificent
- Sultan Suleiman ruled from 1520-1566
- Golden Age
- Modernized army and expanded empire into Mesopotamia, Hungary to Arabia, and across North Africa
- Created a law code
- Simplified taxes
Arts and Culture
- Painters created miniatures, or small, detailed, colorful paintings, and illuminates manuscripts
- Royal architect Sinan
- Designed hundreds of mosques and palaces
  - Selimiye Mosque at Edrine most famous
Decline
- Weak Sultans
- Ottomans dependent on agriculture while Europe advancing in trade and military technology
- Russia and other European powers slowly took away Ottoman lands
Safavid Empire
- Early 1500s
- Created empire in Persia
- Shiite Muslims
- Ruled by a shah, or king
Abbas the Great
- Ruled 1588-1629
- Revived glory of ancient Persia
- Centralized the government
- Created powerful military
- Sought alliances with European states
- Reduced taxes on farmers and herders
- Unlike earlier shahs, Abbas tolerated non-Muslims
- Built new capital city - Esiahan
- Center of silk trade
- Center of Persian culture
  - Abbas invited scholars, poets, and artists
- Combined Chinese and Persian ideas together to create miniature paintings, glass work, pottery, metal work, and calligraphy
Decline
- After the death of Shah Abbas, the empire goes into decline
- Threat of Ottoman armies
- Shiite scholars challenged shahs with interpreting the law
- Persecution of religious minorities
- 1722 - last Safavid ruler abdicates
Mughal Empire
- Founded by Babur in Northern India
- 152601857
- Claimed he was a descendant of Genghis Khan
  - Mughal - Persian word for Mongol
- Geography spans Himalayas to Deccan Plateau
Akbar the Great
- 1556 - 1605
- Created a strong central government
- Won support of Hindus through religious tolerating, blending of cultures, and marrying and Hindu princess
- Modernized the army
- Encouraged international trade
- Standardized weights and measures
- Introduced land reforms
Arts and Culture
- Mughal empire famous for miniatures
- Shah Jahan built tomb for wife Mumtaz Mahal
- Taj Mahal
  - Designed in a Persian style
  - Verses from Quran on the wall
Mughal Rulers
- 1605 - Akbar died and his son, Jahangir, inherits through
- His wife, Nur Jahan, was the real power behind the throne
- 1628-1658
- Shah Jahan - next successor
  - Assassinated all rivals
- 1658-1707
- Aurangzeb rules
  - Expanded empire
  - Observed strict Islamic law
Decline
- During Aurangzeb’s reign - central state weakened
- Sons fought a war of succession
- Emperor more of a figurehead
- Western traders slowly built up power in the empire and acquire the port of Bombay