Lecture Notes: Byzantine and Ottoman Legacies; Holy Roman Empire; Early Modern Europe (Lecture Summary)

Recording and course logistics

• Recording system in the room is not working; plan B is to record on my own and upload later to the courses.

• Rule: at least half the class must be present or I will not record.

• Recordings are primarily to help you refresh memory or assist people who cannot be present for good reasons; most of the time you should be present to ask questions.

• Updated syllabus with lots of primary source readings added; schedule of lectures and conferences adjusted correspondingly; no dramatic changes; still the same core structure.

• Primary source readings for this week are now available on my courses; more will be uploaded for the remainder of the semester as time allows; exact excerpts for later weeks to be determined.

• John Connolly textbook available electronically through the library; the lecturer still prefers real books when possible; electronic version is exactly the same as print.

• Personal note: reading a physical book is easier than staring at a screen for long periods, especially with a big book.

• Any questions or housekeeping questions before starting today’s lecture? Concerns about conferences and Minerva:

  • Conferences open after add/drop; timetable/rooms may be announced last minute by McGill bureaucracy.
  • It is expected that sign-ups for conferences will be possible next week and will occur as scheduled, but section assignments may be last minute.
  • Everything will be okay; stay tuned for updates.

• Tutorial structure and conference sections:

  • For conferences, there will be sections of about 20 or 21 students to discuss readings prior to the conference.
  • The overall class is about 125 students, so one-on-one meetings with the instructor are not feasible.
  • Conferences (discussion sections) provide space for small-group interaction with readings; I (the instructor) will facilitate some conferences at various points to ensure direct interaction.

• Light adjustment: the lecturer will dim the lights slightly to improve slide visibility; a darker setting is limited by the ability to see notes.

Recap of last lecture: major legacies and two successor empires

• The ancient Roman Empire shaped European and some non-European conceptions of society, politics, law, and legitimacy.
• Two important successors:
  • Byzantine Empire in the East, which maintained uninterrupted continuity with the Eastern Roman Empire.
  • Holy Roman Empire in the West, founded by Charlemagne in the year 800 AD after a gap following the fall of the ancient Western Roman Empire.
• Both East and West featured a partnership between spiritual and temporal authorities:
  • The patriarch (Constantinople) or the pope (Rome) held spiritual authority.
  • The emperor held temporal authority and was viewed as divinely ordained.
• Western power was more divided due to fragmentation of the Western Roman Empire into many states; papal continuity existed, but temporal authority was interrupted.
• Charlemagne’s West Roman Empire reinforced the idea of a continuous legacy with Rome, but actual political power was distributed among many kingdoms and principalities.
• The Holy Roman Empire, by contrast, was more of a confederation than a centralized empire in practice, even though it called itself an empire for legitimacy and continuity with Rome.
• Within the Holy Roman Empire, constituent kingdoms, duchies, bishoprics, and free cities operated largely autonomously; the emperor’s role was arbitration of disputes rather than outright centralized control, with over 300 editorries/statelets involved.
• The authority structure contrasted with the Byzantine Empire, which operated as a more centralized imperial system.

The turning point: from Byzantium to the Ottoman Empire (1453 onward)

• The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 marked a major turning point and the definitive end of the Byzantine Empire as a political entity; the eastern patriarchate survived, but there was no secular Christian emperor thereafter.
• The Ottomans claimed continuity with the Roman legacy by presenting themselves as successors to Rome, now under Islam.
• The Ottoman state claimed divine legitimacy and ruled through the concept that the state served the true faith, similar in logic to legal arguments seen in the Holy Roman Empire and Byzantium.
• The Byzantine imperial structure dissolved, while an Ottoman empire arose in the East with its own imperial claims.

Ottoman imperial system and society

• The Ottoman Empire claimed to rule by divine authority and to be the administrator of Islam on earth after 1517 (Egypt conquest) when the sultan could be presented as caliph in some contexts.
• Social organization in the Ottoman Empire included millets: religious communities governed by their own legal codes, within a framework that did not grant equality across religions.
• Non-Muslim communities faced special restrictions and taxes, including limitations on property ownership and places of worship.
• Similar religious restrictions also existed for Jews in the West, indicating a broader pattern of minority constraints across regions.
• Devshirme system (the child levy) recruited Christian boys, brought them to Istanbul, provided education, and trained them as elite administrators and military officers (often serving as grand viziers or in the Janissaries).
• Janissaries: elite military corps formed from these recruited youths; their unique status and loyalty to the state helped the Ottomans conquer and administer conquered territories.
• The elite forces, made up of these conscripted boys who had no families or private property outside the state, contributed to the efficiency and loyalty of the empire.
• Converts and religious dynamics in the Balkans: several populations (e.g., Albanians, Bosnians) converted to Islam, possibly for social or political advantages; the descendants of these communities remain largely Muslim today.
• Economic and social mobility: Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 found refuge in the Ottoman Empire, continuing to speak Ladino; this illustrates the Ottoman receptiveness to refugees from other Christian polities.
• The lecture briefly touched on the question of Persian legacy: the Ottomans had not conquered Persia, and Rome’s legacy remained powerful; the Ottomans pursued Roman continuity as a legitimizing strategy.
• The Janissaries were recruited from kidnapped boys (Devshirme); they did not come from adult recruitment to begin with, and they formed part of the elite military-administrative class.
• The teacher noted there are maps and slides available for review on the course site after the lecture.

Ottoman expansion and key conflicts

• The Ottomans continued expansion after Egypt (1517): they defeated the Hungarian king Louis II and expanded into most of Hungary and much of Croatia following the Battle of Mohács in 1526.
• The death of Louis II (in battle) led to succession struggles and the election of Ferdinand of Austria by the Hungarian Estates as king; this reflected the electors’ and nobility’s influence in late medieval/early modern governance.
• The Ottoman expansion contributed to the broader crisis in Central Europe and to the Reformation’s entrenchment, as the Habsburgs faced a multi-front struggle between reforming forces and Ottoman pressure.
• The siege of Vienna in 1529 showcased Ottoman military reach; the return of the empire’s expansion was checked by the Habsburgs, the Catholic faction, and a reassertion of internal religious and political order within the empire.
• The Western Christian powers formed the Holy League in the wake of the Vienna siege (1683) to push back Ottoman forces and restore balance in Europe.
• The 1683 siege of Vienna featured a massive Ottoman army (~170{,}000) that laid siege for more than three months; the siege was lifted by a combined force led by the Polish king and others; this victory marked a turning point in European-Ottoman conflicts.
• After the siege, the Holy League advanced, reaching Kosovo by 1689; the campaign culminated in the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, which recognized Habsburg sovereignty over Croatia and much of Hungary (and later the Banat in 1718).
• The 1718 treaty (reference on the map as the Banat region) reflected the start of a long decline for Ottoman power in Europe; the empire never fully recovered its previous momentum.
• Northern population shifts and depopulation during the wars prompted resettlement policies by Leopold I (Holy Roman Emperor) including the settlement of Serbs from Kosovo into what became Voivodina (Voivodina region in present-day Serbia/Hungary), reflecting an ethnically mixed borderland policy.
• The treaty arrangements created a multi-ethnic mosaic in southern Hungary and neighboring zones due to resettlements and incentives for loyalty to the Habsburg crown.
• The lecture highlighted that the depopulated areas were repopulated with various ethnic groups, creating a heterogeneous landscape with Slovak, Serbian, German, Romanian, and other communities intermingled.

The rise of the Russian imperial idea and the Third Rome concept

• Foundations of the Russian empire trace back to the Ottoman conquest era and the rise of Moscow as a northern power.
• The Grand Prince of Muskovy, Ivan III, in 1462 married the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, positioning Moscow as the heir to Byzantium and claiming the title of Tsar (a form of Caesar/emperor) and adopting the Byzantine double-headed eagle as insignia.
• Ivan IV, known as Ivan the Terrible, was crowned Tsar in 1547; he consolidated absolute power by using a political police apparatus to marginalize opponents and expropriate their lands to state agents.
• Russia expanded territorially: Kazan (the Khanate) fell under Moscow in 1552, Astrakhan in 1556, and Seblyk/Sebyr (Sibir) in 1582; these conquests opened the path toward the Pacific.
• Moscow proclaimed itself the defender of Orthodox Christianity, especially after the fall of Constantinople and the absence of a patriarchate in Constantinople; the Grand Duchy asserted a “Third Rome” claim.
• Ivan IV’s rule established centralized autocracy and a precedent for a powerful centralized state that would frame Russian expansion for centuries.

The 16th–17th centuries in Europe: Poland-Lithuania, the Reformation, and the Habsburgs

• The Polish-Lithuanian realm was one of the largest early modern states, but it functioned more as a federation than a centralized monarchy.

• In 1569, the Union of Lublin created a formal union between Poland and Lithuania, forming a single state with two separate parts but shared monarch and parliament.

• The commonwealth’s monarchy became elective rather than hereditary, with the nobility gaining significant powers, notably the Liberum Veto, which allowed any deputy to veto legislation; this greatly constrained centralized decision-making and contributed to the federation’s fragility.

• Religious tolerance in Poland-Lithuania was relatively notable, particularly toward Jews, who found a welcoming refuge there because the lands were sparsely populated and rulers sought skilled immigration for economic development.

• A political-religious shift occurred with pressure from Russia leading to Brest Union in 1596, bringing Orthodox Christians in the eastern half into communion with the pope while allowing priests to marry and preserving much of Orthodox practice; the change was not universally accepted by Orthodox Christians.

• The Ukrainian Cossacks rose in 1648 under Bohdan Khmelnytsky, establishing an independent Hetmanate in the short term; within five years, the Tsar of Russia offered protection, leading to a treaty in which the Hetmanate pledged allegiance to Moscow for protection; this culminated in eventual incorporation of Ukrainian lands into the Russian empire.

• The Habsburgs and the Reformation:

  • The Reformation (begun in 1517) deeply transformed Western Christendom and undermined papal authority, contributing to the fragmentation and weakness of the Holy Roman Empire.
  • The Habsburgs faced internal and external pressure as Protestant and Catholic factions vied for influence within the empire.

• The Thirty Years' War (a turning point in European history):

  • It began with Bohemian rebellion against anti-Protestant policies under Ferdinand, who was elected emperor after the death of Matthias; the rebellion occurred in the context of the Bohemian estates’ opposition to Catholic central authority.
  • The war, which started in the early 17th century, evolved from a religious conflict into a broader struggle for power and territorial control across Central Europe.
  • In 1620, the Bohemian rebellion was defeated at the Battle of White Mountain, leading to greater Habsburg control over Bohemia and centralization within Vienna.
  • The war produced a patchwork of religious and political settlements that weakened central imperial power and emphasized the sovereignty of local rulers within the empire.

• The Peace of Westphalia (1648) ended the Thirty Years’ War and established a political framework that guaranteed the internal weakness of the Holy Roman Empire, with many territories acting as virtually sovereign entities and the emperor’s judicial powers greatly reduced. The empire’s internal structure and authority dynamics shifted toward a federation of semi-sovereign states.

• The Commonwealth, Ukraine, and Russia in the late 17th–early 18th centuries:

  • The commonwealth did not participate in the Thirty Years’ War and continued to operate as a decentralized federation with elective monarchy and strong nobles.
  • The Habsburgs continued to consolidate power in Austria and the surrounding territories, laying the groundwork for a new imperial power in central Europe.

The four imperial centers and the emergence of a new European power balance

• The geographic focus of this course includes four imperial centers: Vienna (Austria), Istanbul (Ottoman Empire), Moscow (Russia), and Berlin (Prussia).

• The rise of Prussia began in the Brandenburg region as the electors of Brandenburg were also Dukes of Prussia since 1618; this established the dual identity of Brandenburger-Prussian power.

• The Teutonic Knights’ state in the Baltic region became the Duchy of Prussia after the Grand Master converted to Lutheranism in 1525, marrying into the Brandenburg lineage and transferring power to secular rulers.

• The Brandenburg electors inherited Prussia due to dynastic succession, initiating a path toward an independent power base centered in Berlin.

• The groundwork for Frederick the Great and the Prussian state would be laid through these dynastic and territorial developments, with a sustained focus on consolidating power within the Prussian state and expanding influence beyond its borders.

• Charles VI and the Pragmatic Sanction:

  • Charles VI died in October 1740 after an accidental mushroom poisoning, leaving his daughter Maria Theresa as heir to the Habsburg dominions.
  • Maria Theresa and her husband Francis (the Duke of Lorraine) returned to Vienna to assume her titles, with a legal fiction required to recognize her as ruler in Bohemia and Hungary.
  • The Electors of the Holy Roman Empire initially considered alternative succession plans; the elector of Bavaria put forward a competing claim to Bohemia, complicating the succession.
  • Maria Theresa refused a demand from Frederick II of Prussia to cede half of Silesia in exchange for support; she upheld the Pragmatic Sanction, which guaranteed the unity of the Austrian Habsburg dominions and allowed inheritance in the female line if there were no male heirs.
  • Frederick II invaded Lower Silesia in 1740, triggering the War of the Austrian Succession in which Maria Theresa defended her territories and the Pragmatic Sanction.

• The rise of Austria as a fourth imperial power and the political dynamics around succession and central authority continued to shape European power balances through the mid-18th century.

• The origins of a fourth imperial center and the broader framework:

  • The course noted the four imperial centers (Vienna, Istanbul, Moscow, Berlin) as key loci of power in this historical period; the emergence of Berlin as a major power under the Hohenzollerns would become central in later decades, especially during Frederick the Great’s reign.
  • The lecture concluded that the story of Frederick and Prussia would continue in the next session (the instructor stated they would continue the tale on Friday).

Supplemental notes and student questions referenced in the transcript

• A student asked whether these movements within Europe were about specific goals or general migration; the instructor clarified the context using the map showing expulsions of Jews from various territories, noting that scapegoating religious minorities was a common mechanism for social control.
• A question about the fate of Jews expelled from Spain in 1492, which led to the Ladino-speaking Sephardic Jewish communities relocating to the Ottoman Empire, illustrating the cross-cultural consequences of expulsions.
• A question about whether the Ottoman Empire claimed the Persian legacy instead of the Roman one; the answer suggested that Persia had not yet been conquered, and Rome’s legacy remained central to Ottoman legitimacy.
• The discussion emphasized the lasting impact of religious, political, and military conflicts on ethnicity, migration, and settlement patterns, including the movement of populations to places like Voivodina after conflicts in the Balkans.

Quick reference: key dates and terms (selected)

• 800: Charlemagne crowned; West Roman Empire foundations in the West; continuity with Rome.
• 1453: Fall of Constantinople; end of Byzantine political empire; Patriarchate survives; Ottoman rise in the East.
• 1492: Expulsion of Jews from Spain; Sephardic Jews settle in the Ottoman Empire; Ladino language.
• 1462: Ivan III of Moscow marries Byzantine niece; Moscow as heir to Byzantium; start of tsarist ambitions; “Third Rome.”
• 1547: Ivan IV (the Terrible) crowned Tsar; centralized autocracy established.
• 1526: Battle of Mohács; Ottoman victory; significant expansion into Hungary.
• 1529: Siege of Vienna; Ottoman expansion checked.
• 1569: Union of Lublin; formation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; shared monarch with electors; Liberum veto established later.
• 1596: Union of Brest; Orthodox Christians in the Commonwealth brought into communion with Rome; continuation of some practices.
• 1648: Peace of Westphalia; end of Thirty Years’ War; imperial decentralization.
• 1683: Siege of Vienna; Ottoman forces repelled; Holy League formed.
• 1699: Treaty of Karlowitz; Habsburg sovereignty over Croatia and much of Hungary; start of Ottoman decline in Europe.
• 1718: Treaty recognizing Habsburg control over the Banat region; consolidation of Habsburg power in the Balkans.
• 1740: Death of Charles VI; Maria Theresa rises to the throne; Pragmatic Sanction upheld; Frederick II invades Silesia in response to succession.
• 1618–1648: The Thirty Years’ War; roots in Bohemian rebellion; gradual shift from religion to power politics; White Mountain (1620) as a turning point.
• 1596: Brest Union; § Greek Catholic/Uniate Church establishment within the Polish-Lithuanian realm.
• 1596: Union Brest; Orthodox Christians under Rome’s jurisdiction with certain protections.

Connections to foundational principles and real-world relevance

• The lecture emphasizes how legitimacy is constructed in multi-ethnic states through a combination of religious authority, dynastic legitimacy, and political power.
• It highlights the recurring pattern of central authorities relying on confederations and elective political arrangements to manage diverse and geographically dispersed populations.
• The role of religious pluralism, minority taxation and restrictions, and forced or voluntary migrations shaped demographic and cultural landscapes for centuries.
• The Great Powers’ competition (Habsburgs, Ottomans, Russians, and later Prussia) demonstrates the long arc of state-building in Europe and the shifting balance of power following major wars and peace treaties.