World Empires

Muslim Empires Notes

Ottoman Empire: The Ottoman Empire was dominant and military-centered for a long time, but external and internal conflicts, including their ignorance of westernization, dismantled them.

Section 0:

People:

  • Babur (Zahar Al-Din Muhammad) - first Mughal emperor of India; skilled warrior; high spirits; love of beauty

  • Lodi sultan - led the Lodi forces against Babur’s forces north of Delhi; was defeated when his elephants began to trample his own men

Definitions:

  • Safavid dynasty - a turkic nomadic group; family from Sufi mystic group; Shi’ite Muslims; established kingdom in modern Iran

  • Mughal Empire - established by Babur in India; flourished for almost two centuries; became weak after Aurangzeb

  • Ottomans (dynasty or empire) - established by Turkic peoples from Central Asia; initial territory in Asia Minor; captured the capital Constantinople; spanned over three continents and lasted over 600 years

Events/other:

  • Babur led Mughal warriors against the Lodi forces, who were significantly stronger than them (Lodi Empire stretched across North India, while Babur had a small kingdom in Kabul, present-day Afghanistan)

  • Babur lost the inherited kingdom of Ferghana, had been driven from his home in Samarkand, and was unable to conquer Persia due to the Safavid dynasty

  • North of Delhi, the battle between Babur, who had leather strips and a matchlock cannon, and the Lodi sultan, who had many elephants, ensued

  • Cannons scared the elephants away and they turned backwards to trample on the Lodi soldiers, and Babur captured Delhi

  • Mughal warriors continued to use cannons from Kabul against Hindu forces and the army of Ibrahim’s (Lodi sultan’s) brother

  • Babur became master of North India and founder of the Mughal dynasty, which would rule for 300 years

  • Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal shared the region from the Bay of Bengal to the Mediterranean

  • Shared features of the empires:

    • Founders came from Turkic-speaking groups of Central Asia

    • Founders took advantage of the destruction after the Mongol Empire’s collapse and Timur’s assaults on the Middle East and North India

    • Armies relied on large cannons and muskets

  • Mughal Empire was the last of the three Muslim empires to be established

  • Battle of Khanua - Babur used Turkish techniques to mass muskets and a cannon to defeat another larger army led by Hindu warrior

  • Unlike Ottoman and Safavid dynasties, Babur and Mughal rulers did not launch conquest out of religious fervor, but showed religious tolerance

  • Sunni-Shi’a split caused rivalries between Ottoman and Safavid

  • Inward-looking quality of Islamic society stemmed from wars, shifting alliances, and military innovations introduced by rivals


Section 1: The Ottomans: From Frontier Warriors to Empire Builders

People:

  • Sultan Mehmed II - conquest of Constantinople that destroyed the Byzantine Empire

Definitions:

  • Janissaries - Ottoman military divisions that were prevalent in Ottoman armies; boys in conquered areas of Balkans were conscripted; legal slaves; military service -> political influence, similar to mercenaries in Baghdad

  • Vizier - Ottoman equivalent of Abbasid wazir; head of bureaucracy, often more powerful than sultan

Events/other:

  • Turkic speakers from Central Asia served as soldiers and administrators even before the Ottomans

  • Collapse of the Seljuk Turkic kingdom of Rum in Anatolia in Asia Minor after Mongol Invasion allowed Ottomans to claim power

  • Mongols raided Anatolia, which experienced chaos and warfare with no clear successor

  • Ottomans dominated the other Turkic groups in Anatolia and built an empire that rivaled the Abbasid imperium

  • The Ottomans conquered Thrace, the Balkans, and Constantinople

  • Army of sultan Mehmed II, “The Conqueror,” attacked Constantinople in 1453 by battering the walls with their guns and siege cannon, which allowed them to loot the city as their victory reward

  • After the siege, Empire extended into Syria, Egypt, North Africa, Hungary, and around the Black and Red seas

  • Ottomans captured island bases of Rhodes, Crete, and Cyprus with galley fleets, drove the Venetians and Genoese from Mediterranean, and threatened Southern Italy with invasion

  • Ottomans: frontier landholders -> protector of Islamic lands, major force in European politics, and intimidator of Christian Europe

  • Military leaders were dominant and economy was centered around warfare

  • Warrior aristocracy:

    • Warriors had control over land and peasant producers to support household and military

    • Warriors fought for control of Ottoman government with leaders

    • Warriors built bases of support that competed with the high powers for revenue and labor control

  • Janissaries:

    • Made up most powerful component of the Ottoman army

    • Given schooling and converted to Islam

    • Caused decline of aristocracy

    • Involved in court politics

    • Could depose sultans and choose successor

  • Sultans turned warrior groups against Janissaries, religious experts, and legal experts to maintain power

  • Christians and Jews controlled a significant amount of commerce

  • Ottoman sultans had effective administration and provided tax relief

  • Similar to Abbasid caliphs, sultans grew farther from citizens as empire expanded

  • Sultans lived in marble palaces with gardens, and had many slaves and wives

  • Court rituals were resemblant of those in Byzantine, Perian, and Arab dynasties

  • Administration carried out by bureaucracy led by a vizier, or head of administration, who often held greater power than the sultan (earlier sultans were more active in politics and military)

  • Vague Islamic principles of succession were adopted -> constant danger of civil war; warfare among sons; those defeated joined with Ottoman adversaries to fight against the ruler

  • Mehmed II had Constantinople’s glory restored:

    • Turned the cathedral of Saint Sophia into a mosque; new and glorious mosques and palaces (including Suleymaniye) were built through use of Byzantine architecture

    • Aqueducts

    • Markets

    • Repaired defenses

    • Mansions

    • Rest houses

    • Religious schools

    • Hospitals

    • Gardens

  • Sultan goal after Mehmed II: beautify the capital

  • Merchant ships and trade was prominent; bazaars were filled with travelers who offered spices of the East Indies, African ivory, Russian slaves and forest products, and Persian carpets

  • Coffeehouses fueled culture life in Constantinople:

    • Men gathered to drink, smoke, gossip, do business, and play chess

    • Poets and scholars congregated, read, and debated about ideas

  • Population significantly made up of merchants and artisans

  • Government regulated commercial exchange and production

  • Inspectors ensured that standards measures were used and licensed opening of new shops and monitored quality of goods

  • Artisans were organized into guilds, the officers of whom set craft standards, settled disputes, provided financial assistance, and arranged entertainment

  • Early Ottomans wrote in Persian, but Turkish became preferred for expression and bureaucracy, while Arabic maintained important throughout the history

  • Art of Ottomans were generally inferior to those of Persians and Indians

  • Authors, artists, and artisans still thrived in poetry, mini painting, ceramics, carpet making, and, most importantly, architecture

  • Literature focused on slow decline of Ottoman Empire and the negatives of Christianity

  • Ottoman legacy:

    • One of greatest success stories in political history

    • Warded off enemies four nearly 4 centuries

    • Dynasty endured for more than 600 years, which was unmatched

  • Empire was too large to be maintained and transportation and communication was limited

  • Despite internal revolts and conflicts with Russia, Austria, Spain, and Safavid, Ottoman ruled into twentieth century

  • State was built on war and steady expansion; as land to obtain ran out, the maintenance of the government and army shrank

  • Rampant growth of corruption among officials (who retained revenue for selfish purposes) - > administrative ineffectiveness

  • Oppressiveness of landowners who forced taxes and labor from peasants caused rebellions -> empire resources drained

  • Imprisonment of future rulers and relatives of rulers to provide security led to incompetent leaders

  • Later leaders were weak, lazy, drunkards who were pawns of viziers and other officials who vied for power

  • Civil war increased, and discipline in the armies decreased

  • Ottoman reliance on guns and Janissaries’s defense - > disadvantage in waging war

  • European weaponry advancements - > Ottoman losses increased

  • Spanish and Venetian fleet at Lepanto defeated Ottomans - > lost control of Eastern Mediterranean (although they preserved North Africa for Islam via the launch of an assault)

  • The failure of Ottomans to drive the Portuguese from Asian waters was even more harmful

  • Portuguese naval victories in Indian Ocean - > decline of Ottoman galley fleets and Mediterranean-style warships

  • Spices carried by Portuguese helped the Ottomans’ Christian rivals

  • Merchants and tax collectors in the Ottoman Empire lost revenue as products were no longer transmitted through Muslim trading centers

  • Native American influx of silver from Peru and Mexico led to inflation and hurt the economies

  • Collapse of Safavid dynasty in Persia and conflicts in Europe gave Ottomans short-lived hope

  • Ottomans fell behind Christian Europeans, which hurt their trade and warfare

  • Ottomans inherited the belief that European affairs were unimportant and this led to their downfall by preventing them from taking seriously revolutionary changes in Europe

    • Fueled by conservatism of Janissaries and somewhat religious scholars

    • Powerful groups such as the Janissaries were narrow-minded, preventing reform-seeking sultans from introducing new innovations that could allow them to check their weaknesses


Safavid Empire: 

Section 2: The Shi’a Challenge of the Safavids

People:

  • Sail al-Din - Sufi mystic who began to purify Islam; first member of Safavid dynasty

  • Ismail - Sufi commander who conquered city of Tabriz; first Safavid shah or emperor

  • Abbas the Great/Abbas I - Safavid ruler who extended the domain to the greatest extent; captured Russians to create slave groups, who monopolized firearms; incorporated Western military tech

  • Tahmasp I - Safavid shah who tried to restore power of the dynasty, limiting the power of Turkic chiefs and Ozbegs

  • Sherley brothers of England - provided instruction to Safavid military regiment to help them against the Ottoman empire

  • Nadir Khan Afshar - soldier-adventurer following fall of Safavid dynasty; established short-lived dynasty in reduced kingdom

Definitions:

  • Red Heads - name given to Safavid followers because of their red headgear

  • Chaldiran - Safavid and Ottoman site of battle, where Safavids were defeated; checked advance of Safavid empire to the west

  • Imams - rulers who descended from the successors of Ali

  • Mullahs - mosque officials and prayer leaders who converted masses to Shi’ism

  • Isfahan - Safavid capital under Abbas the Great that illustrates Safavid architecture


Events/other:

  • Safavid dynasty rose from the destruction caused by Mongol and Timurid invasions, similar to the Ottomans

  • Safavids were warrior champions of the highly militant Shi’a sect of Islam

  • Ottomans were warrior champions of the Sunni sect of Islam

  • Sunni’s recognized the legitimacy of Muhammad’s first three successors (Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman)

  • Shi’ites believed only the fourth successor (Ali, Mohammed’s cousin and son-in-law) was legitimate

  • Division based on doctrine, ritual, and law among both sects and within the sects

  • Safavids restored Persia as center of politics and culture

  • Safavid shrine center was at Ardabil near the Caspian Sea

  • Sail al-Din gave the dynasty its name and reformed Islam and spread Muslim teachings among the Turkish (he and other leaders grew stronger following the collapse of Mongol authority)

  • Enemies of Read Heads (Safavids’ followers) multiplied as they preached their teachings

  • After struggles where three Safavid leaders perished, a surviving Sufi commander, Ismail, helped achieve victory on the battlefield

  • Ismail’s armies captured Tabriz where he became shah (emperor)

  • Ismail’s followers’ actions:

    • Conquered most of Persia

    • Drove Ozbegs (Safavid enemies of Turkic stock) into Central Asia

    • Advanced into Iraq

  • Battle at Chaldiran happened because Safavid followers received support from Turkic-speaking peoples in the Ottoman borderlands, who conflicted with Ottoman rulers

  • Chaldiran:

    • Chaldiran in Northwest Persia - battle site where the Safavid and Ottoman armies, symbolizing a clash between the champions of the Shi’a and Sunni variants of Islam

    • Persecutions occurred on both sides, which fueled the religious passion they fought the battle with

    • Battle demonstrated importance of muskets and field cannon

    • Because Ismail’s weaponry was being used in the east, confrontation on his part was delayed, so he tried to make up for it using clever maneuvers

    • The Safavids suffered a devastating defeat

    • Safavid capital at Tabriz was too far from Ottoman supply areas to follow up the battle with conquests -> Safavids could reoccupy the territory they had initially conquered

    • Defeat also put an end to Ismail’s dreams of westward expansion and Shi’a Islam conversion

    • Determined that Shi’ism would be concentrated in Persia and southern Iraq

  • After defeat, Ismail escaped his troubles through drinking and seclusion -> questions about the next successor -> openings for Turkic chiefs to seize power

  • Tahmasp I tried to restore power of the dynasty and prevented Turkic chiefs from obtaining supreme power and drove out the Ozbegs

  • Shah Abbas helped the empire reach the height of strength and prosperity

  • Turkic chiefs were transformed into a warrior nobility similar to the Ottoman Janissaries

    • Assigned villages (where peasants supplied them with food and labor)

    • Most powerful leaders held positions in administration (posed a threat to Safavid monarchs)

    • In response, Safavid rulers recruited Persians in the court and bureaucracy

    • This struggle for power was further complicated by Tahmasp’s decision to integrate Southern Russian slave boys into the army and bureaucracy (the slaves rose to positions of power and fueled political struggles)

    • Slaves were educated and converted to Islam

    • Backbone of military (monopolized firearms)

    • Granted high offices at court and provincial governorships

  • Unlike Persians, who already had sufficient weaponry before the arrival of the Portuguese, Abbas and his successors asked Europeans for assistance in Ottoman wars

  • Sherley brothers from England: helped Safavid military cast cannons, trained their slave regiments and Iranian musketeers

  • Abbas made an army of 40,000 troops and a bodyguard

  • After Chaldiran, Persian replaced Turkish as language of the court and bureaucracy

    • Persian influences were in the courts and positions of the shahs

    • Abandoning equality, Safavid shahs took Persian titles such as “padishah,” meaning king of kings

    • Safavid palaces (similar to Ottoman palaces):

    • Contained servants and courtiers

    • Elaborate court rituals and social interaction

    • Etiquette and decorum

    • Shahs claimed descent from one of the Shi’a imams, or successors of Ali

  • Changes in the ruler status occured along with shifts in the Shi’a religion

  • Early Safavid’s used Arabic religious experts, while later shahs relied on Persian scholars who served the government

  • The religious leaders had to curse the first three caliphs and announce Safavid ruler in Friday sermons

  • Shi’ism became a part of Safavid and Iranian identity, converting many followers of other religions; religious festivals, plays, and pilgrimages, were focal points of religion.

  • Abbas I made superior mosques, religious schools, and public works projects, along with setting his empire up as a center of trade and Islamic culture

    • Network of roads and rest houses were built

    • Workshops were set up to manufacture silk textiles and Persian carpets

    • Encouraged trade with nearby Muslim neighbors, but with Western European countries

  • Abbas paid special attention to the capital of Isfahan:

    • Two-story shops

    • Mosques - ceramic ties -> domes, minarets, tombs, geometric designs, floral patterns, Qur’an verses, gardens, pools)

    • Government offices

    • Arches and gardens

    • Colleges

    • Public baths

    • Rest houses

    • Workshops

  • Similar Ottoman and Safavid social systems had warrior aristocracies that were dominant, sharing power with absolutist monarchs

  • When warrior aristocrats spent time in rural estates, peasants had to provide for them, making life difficult

  • Power of rulers deteriorated, and population increase reduced cultivated lands -> demands of landlord class grew harsher

  • Invasions, civil war, and lack of state-provided services hurt the peasantry -> banditry, uprisings, and flight from the land drained the empires

  • Ottoman and Safavid empires both initially encouraged production and trade

    • Establishment of imperial workshops with mini paintings, rugs, weapons, and metal utensils

    • Patronized public projects that helped engineers, stonemasons, carpenters, and artisans

    • Some emperors enacted policies to benefit internal and international trade

    • Ottomans benefitted because large-scale traders from minority groups (ex. Christians and Jews), had strong contacts, unlike the Safavid realm, constricting their economy and making them less market-oriented

  • Women in Ottoman and Safavid societies:

    • Women submitted to fathers and husbands

    • Little political and religious power

    • Limited means of artistic expression

    • Patriarchal codes and restrictive practices like veiling and seclusion were imposed especially on elite women

    • Limited to family contact and domestic affairs

  • Women often fought back:

    • Wore bright robes and didn’t cover their faces in public

    • Wives and concubines of rulers exerted influence

    • Active in trade and money lending

    • Women claim protections of inheritance, decent treatment by spouses, and divorce

  • End of the Safavid Empire:

    • Abbas I was concerned that his son would unlawfully dethrone him -> binding of all legitimate successors -> incompetent future rulers (similar to Ottomans)

    • Too few able shahs to restore the empire

    • Factional disputes and rebellions internally hurt the empire, and Ottoman and Mughal armies reduced potential means of territorial labor and revenue for Safavids

    • Isfahan was besieged by Afghani tribes -> many died of starvation and disease -> city fell and empire ended

    • In period of war, Nadir Khan Afshar claimed the throne and tried to begin Safavid restoration, but his dynasty and those that followed her short

    • The area that once made up the Safavid Empire turned into a battleground for raiders and neighbors


Mughal Empire:

Section 3: The Mughals and the Apex of Muslim Civilization in India

People:

  • Babur - founder of Mughal dynasty in India; descended from Turkic warriors; led invasion of India

  • Humayan - successor of Babur; expelled from India but restored Mughal rule

  • Akbar - successor of Humayan; oversaw building of military and administrative systems that became cornerstone of Mughal rule; pursued policies of cooperation with Hindu’s; attempted to unite Muslim and Hindu populations of India under a universal religion

  • Francois Bernier - criticized the poverty, lack of military discipline, and the inferiority of inventions in Mughal India

  • Aurangzeb - Mughal emperor who succeeded Shah Jahan; known for religious passion

  • Nur Jahan - wife of Jahangir; had power in court and created faction of male relatives who dominated Mughal empire in later years of Jahangir’s reign

  • Mumtaz Mahal - wife of Shah Jahan; took an active role in court and was entombed in the Taj Mahal

Definitions:

  • Din-i-Ilahi - religion created by Akbar in Mughal India; blended elements of different faiths with the objective of reconciliation between Hindus and Muslims in India, but failed

  • Sati - a practice in which upper-caste minorities burned widows on the funeral pyres of their deceased husbands

  • Purdah - the seclusion of Indian women in their homes

  • Taj Mahal - most famous architectural achievement of Mughal India; built as a tomb for Shah Jahan’s wife, Mumtaz Mahal

  • Marattas - Western India peoples who rebelled against Mongol control

  • Sikhs - sect in Northwest India; early leaders tried to unite Hindus and Muslims, but Mughal persecution of the sect, which was seen as a political threat to the dynasty, led to anti-Muslim feeling

Events/other:

  • The Mughal Empire’s occupants were of Turkic descent, similar to Babur’s mother, Timur

  • Babur’s motives for conquest were to gain resources to win back his lost kingdom of Ferghana

    • He was less religiously fervent than Ottoman and Safavid dynasties

  • Babur was more fond of Central Asia, his birthplace, than India, but his defeat in his birthplace forced him to conquer Northern India instead

  • Armies quickly conquered the Indus and Ganges plains

  • During Mughal rule in India, Islam reached the peak of influence in South Asia

  • Babur (the Tiger):

    • Founder of the Mughal dynasty

    • Military strategist and fierce warrior

    • Developed a taste for art and music (wrote a history of India, was a musician, and designed gardens for the capital of Delhi

    • Emphasized conquest over administration

  • After Babur died, Humayan inherited the kingdom

  • Humayan:

    • Good soldier

    • His succession was disputed by a brother -> Afghani and Rajput armies marched on his capital

    • Exiled to Persia under Safavid control

    • Launched campaigns into India that restored Mughal rule

    • Fell down library steps while running to answer a call to prayer

  • Akbar succeeded Humayan, and Mughal enemies moved quickly to take advantage of the dire situation

    • Akbar proved to be one of the greatest leaders in history

  • Akbar:

    • Existed at the same time as other remarkable rulers (Elizabeth I of England, Philip of Spain, Suleyman the Magnificent, and Abbas I)

    • Good and courageous military commander

    • Had a vision of empire and tried to unite India

    • Workaholic

    • Oversaw the building of military and administrative systems that were important to the Mughal Empire

    • Engaged in arts, religion, and philosophy with scholars of various belief systems (Muslim, Christian, and Hindu)

    • Carried out social reforms

    • Invented his own religion (Din-i-Ilahi)

    • Illiterate, but sought education

    • Defeated his enemies who hoped to take advantage of Mughal misfortunes

    • Extended the empire with conquests throughout North and Central India

    • Pursued policies of reconciliation and cooperation with Hindu population

    • Encouraged intermarriage between Mughal aristocracy and families of Hindu rulers

    • Abolished the jizya, or tax on Hindu unbelievers

    • Promoted Hindu’s in government

    • Ended ban on Hindu temples

    • Ordered Muslims to respect cows (sacred in the Hindu religion)

    • Invented a new faith (Din-i-Ilahi), a combination of many religions he was familiar with, in attempts to unite Hindus and Muslims and subdue conflict

    • Sought to improve the calendar, establish housing for beggars, and regulate alcohol 

    • Reforms involving women illustrated how far ahead he was of his time

    • Encouraged widow remarriage & discouraged child marriages

    • Prohibited sati, or the burning of Hindu women on their husbands’ funeral pyres

    • Once rescued a woman despite pressures of her relatives

    • Tried to help women trapped in purdah, or seclusion, by encouraging special market days for women only

    • Faced revolts by sons eager to claim his throne

    • Died lonely and discouraged, knowing his religion had been rejected

  • Muslim and Hindu warrior aristocrats were supported by peasant villages; in return, they maintained a specific number of cavalry and were on call if the emperor needed them; similar to their Ottoman and Safavid counterparts

  • Court and bureaucracy received money from the revenue of peasants who housed the military

  • Hindus were permitted to work in administrative positions because of a worker shortage if they were loyal and paid their taxes

  • Local power brokers and peasants who housed the military controlled much of the well-being of the village population

  • Mughal India reached the peak of its splendor under Jahangir and Shah Jahan

  • Europeans marveled at Mughal cities: Delhi, Agra, and Lahore

  • Mughal armies included elephants and weaponry and were superior to European armies at the time

  • Francois Bernier, a European observer, noted the poverty in which people lived and the lack of discipline in the training of soldiers for the Mughal armies

    • He also noticed the India had fallen behind Western Europe in invention and sciences

  • European traders brought Asian products to exchange for Indian manufactures, particularly cotton textiles

  • Demand for Indian cotton cloth and clothing -> trade deficit that persisted millenia later

  • Names of cotton cloth such as calico (after the Indian port city of Calicut) and pajamas suggest the importance of Indian textile trade to the Western world

  • Cotton cloth:

    • Easily washed and inexpensive

    • Popular among working and middle class

    • Came into fashion at court in the reigns of Queen Mary and Queen Anne

    • Incident with emperor Aurangzeb suggests how stylish the cloth was: Aurangzeb’s daughter was scolded for wearing revealing clothing, but the daughter protested she had on three layers of fine cotton clothing

    • European visitors to India wrote about the processes of weaving and dying cotton cloth even after industrialization revolutionized textile manufacturing in England

    • Madras cloth is popular today

  • Jahangir and Shah Jahan were religiously tolerant and retained alliances with Hindu leaders

    • They did not change administration or approach to wars much

    • Both tried to crush enemies and expand the empire

    • Both were more interested in drinking, female dancers, pleasure gardens, polo matches, ox and tiger or elephant fights, and games of pachisi, which was played on life-sized boards with palace dancers as chips

    • Both were pleased by elaborate court ceremonies that blended Indian and Persian culture, state processions, palaces and jewel-studded wardrobes, and scented and sweetened ices from the cool mountains that were brought to them on the plains

    • Two of the greatest patrons of the fine arts in history

    • Expanded painting workshops to produce more mini paintings

    • Devoted resources to building architectural works

  • Architecture:

    • Fusion of Persian and Hindu traditions

    • Combined Islamic domes, arches, and minarets with Hindu love of ornament

    • White marble with stones arranged in floral and geometric patterns

    • Marble reflecting pools with fountains (appeared to give life to stone plant forms)

    • Objective was to create paradise on earth, similar to Ottoman and Safavid goals with architecture

    • Taj Mahal is the tomb for Shah Jahan’s wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it is a shrine of Shah Jahan’s love and devotion to her (Shah Jahan was also buried there)

    • Other beautiful architectural works include the Red Fort at Delhi, Akbar’s tomb at Sikandra, and the tomb of Itimad al-Dowleh at Agra 

  • Because Jahangir and Shah Jahan were so focused on the arts, the women in their lives took charge in positions of administration

  • Nur Jahan, Jahangir’s wife, gained power as he became addicted to wine and opium

    • She packed the court with competent males

    • Her faction dominated the empire

    • She was a big spender on charities in major cities

  • Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan’s wife, became involved in court politics

    • Shah Jahan was more able than Jahangir, which limited Mumtaz Mahal’s power

    • She is more remembered for the love Shah Jahan had for her, which is shown in the Taj Mahal, where her tomb is larger than that of her husband

  • Child marriage began to grow more popular and the age limit was lowered

  • Widow remarriage almost went extinct

  • Seclusion was enforced for upper-caste women, both Hindu and Muslim

  • Muslim women remained veiled when leaving their homes

  • The practice of sati spread among upper-caste Hindus

  • As a result, the birth of a girl was inauspicious

  • Aurangzeb seized control of the empire

    • Threats of internal decay

    • Dangers of external enemies

    • Military, administrative, and social reforms were ignored

    • Bureaucracy was corrupt

    • Army was subpar in weaponry and tactics

    • Peasants and urban workers saw productivity and living standards fall

    • Artistic wonders cut into the money of the people

  • Aurangzeb had disastrous ambitions that led to the destruction of the empire: the extension of Mughal control over all of India, and remove Hindu influences from India -> adversaries increased, alliances were broken, and strain was placed on the military

  • Aurangzeb extended Mughal control as far north as Kabul in modern Afghanistan

  • The treasury was drained and bureaucracy was inefficient and revenues were not increasing

  • Wars diverted Aurangzeb’s attention: while leading armies in the south, peasant uprisings and revolts occured in the north

  • Local leaders were gaining more revenue at the expense of the central administration

  • Invasions by Persians and Afghans were increasing at the northern borders

  • Military campaigns strained resources and religious policies disrupted peace

  • Hindus were employed due to scarcity of workers in the bureaucracy, but they did not work in the higher levels, and their contact with the emperor was restricted

  • Aurangzeb banned the building of temples and ceased Hindu religious festivals at court

  • He implemented the tax on unbelievers to convert them to Islam, leading the poor to support movements against Aurangzeb

  • The empire was the largest and most unstable under Aurangzeb

  • Internal rebellions by the Marattas in Western India ended Mughal control

  • Rise of the Sikhs in the northwest further limited the resources available to the already overextended system

  • Muslim kingdoms in Central and East India resisted Mughal control, and Islamic invaders waited at the Himalayas to strike and plunder once it was clear the Mughals could not fend for themselves


Class notes:

  • Gunpowder empires (had a lot of gunpowder) - focused on military and advanced weaponry but had minimum interaction with the west

    • Military held political power

  • Mughal Empire - modern-day India

  • Safavid Empire - modern-day Iran

  • Ottoman Empire (the sick man of Europe because it had a slow, painful decline and was surrounded by enemies on all sides) - took up a vast amount of land (almost 3 continents)

    • One of the longest reigning empires (700 years)

    • Surrounded by enemies

    • Got its nickname because rulers were initially strong but their power faded away

    • Infrastructure allowed in to endure for a long period of time

    • Founded by Osman who established beylik in Turkey

    • Attacked Byzantine Empire (Mehmed II defeated Constantinople)

    • Constantinople was a Christian and trading hub that was heavily fortified, making conquest a big deal

    • Extended empire

    • Rapid rise due to strategic political alliances and military strength

    • Politics and military > ethnicity and religion

    • Tax system funded territorial expansion

    • Christian boys from the Balkans became Janissaries

    • Non-Muslims were allowed religious freedom in exchange for the jizya tax

    • Sultan Mehmed II (nonconventional) - hired a Hungarian engineer and used Serbian miners to build a cannon that was ahead of its time, using it to defeat Constantinople

    • Constantinople turned into Istanbul, Turkey

    • Istanbul, Turkey was a center of economic, architectural, and cultural development

    • Had a vast amount of diverse religions, languages, and cultures

  • Ottoman social hierarchy

    • Sultan had the highest position - sultans were strong, good, capable leaders

    • Suleyman the Magnificent set up this structure that allowed for the empire to thrive

    • Grand Vizier/bureaucracy - prime minister who drives decisions and change within the country

    • Janissaries/soldiers - tough, Christian, slave soldiers; were kidnapped or volunteered to join the Ottoman army; converted to Islam; trained to become a violent warrior

    • Merchants/peasants/pastoral people/artisans

  • Janissaries - Christian slave soldiers

    • Some given up to the Ottomans, some were forced into the army

    • Schooled and could become bureaucrats

    • Became more powerful than the cavalry

    • Janissaries were initially like pawns but could rise to the power of a vizier

    • Foreign individuals, the Janissaries, were able to rise to power

    • Portrayed as unhinged soldiers who slaughtered devout European Christians

  • Sultans and their court

    • Controlled those beneath them and the economy initially 

    • Master manipulators

    • Commerce given to the “people of the book (the Bible)” (Christians and Jews)

    • Grew distant from the masses, and vizier took over

    • Succession problem

    • Trade given to the Christians and Jews because Muslims wanted to establish good relations with Europe, who were scared of the Muslims 

    • Christians and Jews had connections to Europe

  • Suleyman the Magnificent - had multiple wives with a favorite wife (Roxelana)

    • Roxelana convinces Suleyman to murder his other sons so her son becomes the successor

    • Expanded across Europe, Asia, and North Africa

  • Hagia Sophia - remarkable piece of architecture in the Ottoman Empire

    • Ottomans turned the Hagia Sophia, a Christian church, into a mosque

    • Although Islamic elements were bolted onto the church, Christian elements still shone through

    • The visible proclamation of Islam’s victory   

    • Reflects how the Ottomans adopted what they had and made it into their own, while expanding it further

  • Breakdown of the Ottoman Empire

    • Decline of regional administration

    • Corrupt leaders 

    • Too large to maintain -> strain on resources

    • Incompetent leaders - too involved in pleasures of being a leader and some remained in the harem

    • Military power faded

    • Battle of Lepanto

    • Primary issue was they fell behind Europe

    • Janissaries were reluctant to change

    • Janissaries manipulated the government to resist change - they were one of the only prosperous groups in the Empire

  • Safavid empire:

    • Origins: Sail al-Din wanted to reform Islam

    • Followers called “Read Heads” - similar to Janissaries but less formidable 

    • Religiously intolerant 

    • Biggest comparison between Ottomans and Safavid: Ottomans are Sunni Muslims (dispersed) and Safavids are Shi’a Muslims (concentrated in one area)

    • Sunnis believed leaders did not have to be a direct descendent from Muhammad, unlike Shias 

    • Sunnis believed Abu Bakr was competent to be the next caliph, while Shias believe that Ali, Muhammad’s relative should be the next successor

    • Shias known for arts and architecture

    • Majority are Sunnis 

    • Shi’a vs Sunni - battled for everything

    • Battle of Chaldiran

    • Cavalry were destroyed by cannons

    • Ottomans and Sunnis ran up against each other and repelled 

    • Ottomans were the stronger force

    • Safavid had cavalry and weaponry

    • Ottomans had cannons

    • Safavids couldn’t move further West

    • Ottomans couldn’t move further East

    • Ismail - fell into alcohol and depression; stops leading; turmoil followed

    • Shah Abbas the Great fixed:

    • Consolidates empire

    • Reduces power of the “Red Heads”

    • Reformed army

    • Improved infrastructure

    • Empire based on religion - theocracy (intertwining of church and state)

    • No religious tolerance - forced conversion

    • Shah Abbas was a political and religious leader

    • Safavid leaders were inept and secluded -> succession issues

  • Mughal Empire

    • Founded by Babur - wrote history and read but didn’t lead

    • Humayan was the successor of Babur w/ a lot of potential - fell down flight of stairs and broke his neck

    • Akbar the Great, his son, came to power at age 13 - couldn’t read as a result of his father’s accident, but did lead

  • Akbar the Great 

    • Created a long term religious plan:

    • Encouraged intermarriage

    • Abolished head tax on Hindus (jizya)

    • Promoted Hindus to highest ranks

    • Muslims must respect cows

    • Tried to invent Din-i-Ilahi that failed at an attempt to blend Hinduism and Islam

    • Dies thinking he was a failure

  • Social reform and change:

    • Nobility were turned into military and must be prepared to fight

    • Tried to alter daily life:

    • Living quarters for the poor

    • Regulate alcohol consumption

  • Women rights

    • Widows could remarry

    • Discouraged child marriages

    • Prohibited sati (burning of women on husband's funeral pyres)

    • Elite women gained power (rest of women in society decline)

    • Didn’t stop prostitution

  • Aurangzeb gets bad reputation for religious intolerance, and Akbar the Great has a good reputation for religious tolerance

    • Indicative of how the modern perspective can shape the reputations of leaders over time

  • Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires fell apart because of poor leadership, succession issues, and inability to keep up with European advancements, which led to conflict


Critical thinking questions:

How did gunpowder, cannons, and muskets affect the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires, and their eclipse by the growing power of European states?

How did Islamic beliefs and practices affect the politics, society, and art of the empires in similar and different ways?

In which empire were Islamic influences most prominent?

Under which dynasty were non-Islamic religions more prominent, in what ways, and why?

What were durable results of the Muslim empires?

What recurring patterns are seen in the decline of the gunpowder empires?

Why did the Mughal Empire decline earlier than the Ottoman empire?



Mughal were Sunni

Babur wanted to regain lost territory

Viziers heads of ottoman bureaucracy

Ottomans used cannons and firearms (matchlock guns)

Safavids used cavalry

Mughal used cannons and firearms (matchlock guns)


Vague succession in ottoman and mughal led to heir struggles safavids intertwined religion and ruler to strengthe uathorty

Sati and purdah made women submissive akbar introduced reforms

Art islamic beliefs made for religious art in mosques especially mughal also had hindu


Lasting effects: consolidation of islam as political and cultural force

Art traditons such as carpets mosque painting etc

Regions were inward looking and emphasis on internal stability

Additional Empires

Incan Empire:

Chapter 8.4: Twantinsuyu: World of the Incas

  • Incan Empire coexisted with the Aztecs

  • Demonstrated state organization and bureaucratic control over diverse peoples

  • Imperial state

    • This set them apart from the Americas

The formation of the Incan Empire

  • The breakup of Andean states led to a period of civil war 

  • The state of Chimor (the capital was Chan-Chan) emerged as most powerful

Incan rise to power

  • Ayllus - related Quechua-speaking households in Andean societies that traced descent from a common (mythical) ancestor

  • Ayllus were taken to the area of Cuzco by a mythical leader according to myth

  • Defeated hostile neighbors

  • Pachacuti - ruler of Inca society who launched military campaigns that expanded territory from Cuzco to the shores of Lake Titicaca

  • Pachacuti united the Ayllus and consolidated power

  • Topac Yupanqui, Pachacuti’s son, extended control to the southern area of Ecuador and the Maule River in Chile

  • Successor Huayna Capac secured the new territories and suppressed rebellions on the frontiers

  • Twantinsuyu - word for Inca Empire; region from present-day Columbia to Chile and eastward to northern Argentina

  • Remarkably, 9-13 million diverse individuals came under Incan rule given the subpar transportation and communication

Reasons for conquest

  • Economic gain

  • Political power

  • Split inheritance - Inca practice of succession; titles and political power went to successor, but wealth and land went to other male descendants for support of cult of dead Inca’s mummy

  • Land and wealth was needed to secure a rulers cult and place for eternity

    • Number of past rulers, royal courts, and demand for labor, lands, and tribute increased

Religion

  • Deceased rulers were mummified and deified

  • Cult of the dead weighed on the living 

  • Sun was believed to be the highest deity

    • Inca was the sun’s representative

  • Temple of the Sun in Cuzco was the center of religion

    • Mummies of past Incas were kept there

  • Religious freedom was granted

  • Viracocha - a creator god whom Pachacuti favored

  • Plants and nature held spiritual significance

    • Considered huacas, or holy shrines, where humans and animals were sacrificed

  • Ayllus held responsibility for different huacas

    • Priests and women prepared cloth and food for service

Techniques of Inca imperial rule

  • Inca was deified 

  • Emphasized cooperation and subordination

  • Court was also a temple

  • State and religion were intertwined

  • Four great provinces each had a governor

    • Provinces were divided further under the power of local rulers

  • Some say that state organization was based on decimal units of 10,000, 1,000, 100, etc.

  • Recent research shows that local practices were allowed

  • Local rulers, or curacas, could hold power in return for their loyalty

    • Received labor from those under their control

Language

  • Quechua was spread to integrate the empire

    • Conquered populations lived amongst Quechua-speakers to achieve this

Transportation

  • Complex road system that allowed for communication and troop movement

  • Tambos - way stations used by Incas as inns and storehouses; supply centers of armies; relay points for system of runners used to carry messages

Relationship between state and population

  • Land and labor extracted from subjects

  • Conquered peoples enlisted in the armies

    • Received access to new goods

  • State took on building and irrigation projects in return for loyalty and tribute

  • State distributed lands

  • Mita - labor extracted for lands assigned to the state and the religion; all communities expected to contribute; essential aspect of imperial control

    • Women wove cloth for the court and religious purposes

  • State provided resources for production such as roads, irrigation projects, and goods

  • Population provided labor

  • Inca socialism - a view created by Spanish authors to describe Inca society as a type of utopia; image of the Inca Empire as a carefully organized system in which every community collectively contributed to the whole

  • Yanas = people removed from ayllus who served as servants for the Inca or nobility

  • Merchant class was absent

  • Long-distance trade was minimized

  • State regulation of production and surplus

  • Populations and government mechanisms became difficult to control

    • Rulers vied for power later on, leading to civil war

Relationship between men and women

  • Communities mainly composed of peasant and herder men; some women worked in fields and cared for household

  • Emphasis on military reinforced the inferiority of women

  • Young women served in temples or were given to the Inca

Inca nobility

  • Drawn from 10 royal ayllus

  • Residents of Cuzco given noble status

  • Distinguished by dress and custom

    • Wore ear-enlarger devices

Cultural achievements

  • Pottery and cloth

  • Metalworking w/ gold, silver, bronze, & copper

  • Quipu - Inca system of knotted strings in place of a writing system; could contain numerical and various types of information for censuses and financial records

    • Population divided into decimal units

    • Represents the variations of human development

  • Agricultural terraces and irrigation systems used to water crops

  • Roads included bridges

  • Large, carefully sculpted buildings without the use of mortar

  • Illustrates Inca technical ability


Comparing Incas and Aztecs

  • Both cultures emphasized imperial and military success

  • Both empires based on agriculture and the control of the state in distributing goods

  • Absence of middle class

    • Ayllu and calpulli existed along with the increasingly growing nobility

  • Incas tried to unite their empire

  • Empires recognized local groups and leaders, allowing for variation

  • Empires created by conquest of agricultural peoples through the extraction of labor

  • Inca Empire had inferior trade and markets compared to the Aztec Empire

  • Both were isolated from external cultural and biological influences, giving them character and vulnerability

  • Ability to survive conquest illustrated strength

  • People of the Andes and Mexico draw on these traditions


Songhai Empire:

Chapter 7.1: African Societies: Diversity and Similarities

Diversity of African states

  • Sub-Saharan African regions did not have universal states or religions

    • Set them apart from many parts of Asia, Europe, and North Africa

  • Some societies were politically decentralized societies - organized around family or other forms of obligation and lacking the concentration of power and authority

    • Council made up of families

    • No taxation

    • More equal

  • Decentralized societies thrived b/c inhabitants could leave when disputes occured

    • Had a hard time:

      • Resisting external pressures, mobilizing for warfare, organizing projects, or creating long-distance trade

  • Other societies were centralized states - exercised control through a hierarchy of officials

    • Ruler and court held power

    • More hierarchical

  • Within the different states, aspects of language and belief were shared

  • Faith served as a basis for cultural development in various regions (Nubia and Ethiopia)

  • Alternatives to formal government include secret societies that limited authority of rulers

    • Allegiance to these groups transcended family ties

    • Maintained stability

  • West Africa was influenced by Islam and its own internal developments

  • Powerful states such as Mali and Songhai depended on military power and dynastic alliances > ethnic and cultural unity

  • Africa resembled the developments of Western Europe around the same time

    • Both had strong merchant/urban communities


Language

  • Base language was Bantu across Africa

    • Specific languages differed, but understanding was relatively mutual

  • Coptic language was used in Egypt among Christians

  • Ge’ez language was used for religion and Amharic was used for common speech in Ethiopia


Religion

  • Animistic religion characterized much of Africa - belief that a soul or spirit existed in inanimate objects

  • Africans and Europeans both believed in witchcraft and evil spirits

    • Priests were needed to protect community

  • Religion provided view of the universe and guide to ethics and morals

  • Common belief in a creator deity whose power was expressed through lesser gods

    • Success of the land (fertility, people, hunting, etc.) was ensured by ancestors

  • Belief in the significance of deceased ancestors endured

    • Ancestors were a link between living and the dead


Economy

  • Africa economies vary from one region to another

  • North Africa was fully involved in the Mediterranean and Arab world, setting it apart

  • Sub-Saharan Africa was different depending on region

    • Settled agriculture and skilled ironworld were common

    • Specialization encouraged local & regional trade

      • Basis for busy markets and cities, which were important to African society

  • Both genders participated

  • Professional merchants controlled trade

    • Participation in international trade with the Islamic world increased through Arab traders


Beginning of Islam in North Africa

  • Africa grows closer to Mediterranean world as Christianity influences Mediterranean Africa and Islam affects North Africa

  • Maghrib - Arabic word for Western North Africa

  • Attractiveness of Islam:

    • Equality made acceptance of new rulers easier

    • Unity under ruler or caliph reinforced authority

  • Disparities in law and practice

    • Men and women were not equal

    • Ethnic distinctions divided believers

      • Led to reform movements


Christian kingdoms of Nubia and Ethiopia

  • Kingdoms of Axum, Ethiopia, & Egypt & Nubia (ancient Kush) thrived

  • Coptic Christians of Egypt translated religious literature from Greek to Coptic (based on language of ancient Egypt

    • Eventually split from Byzantine connection on doctrinal and political issues

    • Maintained their faith during Muslim conquests

  • Kingdom of Axum in Ethiopia was internally focused and remained in isolation while facing pressure from Muslim neighbors

    • People lived in fortified towns

    • Supported themselves with agriculture

    • New dynasty emerged after warfare, conversion, and compromise w/ non-Christian neighbors

      • King Lalibela led the new dynasty

    • Churches were sculpted from rock that bore his name

    • Muslim state tried to threaten Ethiopian kingdom and Portuguese expedition acted in favor of Christian allies

      • Attempted to bring Ethiopian Christianity into the Roman Catholic Church


Kingdoms of the grasslands

  • Sahel - northern grassland region of sub-Saharan Africa stretching south of the desert

    • Point of exchange between the forests and North Africa

  • Sahel states combined Islamic religion with native practices

  • Ghana formed by exchanging gold for salt or dates 

  • Ghana, Mali, and Songhai centered around trading cities

    • Became intermediaries in trade

    • Susceptible to attack and droughts


Sudanic states

  • Sudanic - a term describing the major African languages spoken from Ethiopia to Senegal

  • Governed by leaders of a particular family 

  • Had a core area that shared a language and ethnicity, where power extended over conquered territories

    • Conquest states obtained taxes tribute, and military support over other areas

  • Sudanic states of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai fit the definition of an empire - effective control of subordinate societies and informal control of their sovereignty

  • Islam used to enforce ideas of kingship, giving the ruler more authority

    • Most people didn’t convert to Islam


Empire of Mali

  • Malinke peoples comprised the empire

  • Used Islam for support of kingship and authority

  • Economic basis was agriculture and trade of products like gold

  • Juula - Malinke merchants who formed small partnerships to carry out trade throughout the Mali Empire; spread throughout much of West Africa

  • Sundiata - the “Lion Prince”; member of the Keita clan; created a unified state that became the Mali Empire

    • Created basic rules and relationships of Malinke society

    • Made outline of government

    • Became mansa, or emperor

    • Originator of social arrangements

    • Maintained loyalty and security through garrisons (defensive troops)

    • Carried out justice

  • Griots - professional oral historians who served as keepers of traditions and advisors to kings within the Mali Empire

  • Mansa KanKan Musa made a pilgrimage to Mecca

    • Revealed the splendor of Mali

    • Introduced mosques and Sudanic architecture w/ beaten clay


City villagers

  • Military expansion of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai led to commercial success

  • Malinke traders used their position as intermediaries to their advantage

  • Timbuktu - port city of Mali; located just off the flood plain on the great bend in the Niger River; population of 50,000; contained library and university

  • Most people made living from the land

  • Popular crops:

    • Rice

    • Millet

    • Sorghums

    • Wheat

    • Fruits

    • Vegetables

  • Working difficulties

    • Droughts

    • Insects

    • Storage problems

    • Limitations of technology

  • Devices/methods used

    • Hoe

    • Bow

    • Cultivation

    • Crop rotation

    • Irrigation


Beginning of Songhai Empire:

  • Songhai - successor state to Mali; dominated middle reaches of Niger valley; formed as independent kingdom under a Berber dynasty; capital at Gao; reached imperial status under Sunni Ali

  • Society made up of farmers

  • Thrived as an intermediary for West African gold

  • Sunni Ali - great tactical commander and ruthless leader

    • Provincial administration mobilized recruits for the army

    • Persecuted those who posed challenges to his authority

  • Muhammad the Great - Islamic ruler of the mid-sixteenth century; extended the boundaries of the Songhai Empire

  • Fusion of Islamic and pagan traditions

    • Muslim clerics and jurists wanted to apply the law more strictly


Fall of the Songhai Empire

  • Muslim army from Morocco had muskets and defeated the Songhai forces

  • The sign of weakness led to internal revolts against the ruling family

  • Parts of empire broke away’


Post-fall of the Songhai Empire

  • Hausa - peoples of present-day Northern Nigeria; formed states following the demise of Songhai Empire that combined Muslim and pagan traditions

  • Urbanized court ruled over animistic villages

  • Traded salt, grains, and cloth

  • Reproduced aspects of the empires of the grasslands


Muslim influence

  • Merchants were established in trading cities, and religious communities developed

  • Became important minorities in segmented African societies

  • Intermarriage often took place

  • Muslim minorities became scattered throughout West Africa because families of traders known as law specialists spread widely


Political and Social life in Sudanic states

  • Movement and fusion of populations were constant features in the Sudan

  • Islam provided a universalistic faith that served many groups, providing solidarity and trust to the merchants

  • Ruling families used Islamic titles such as emir or caliph to reinforce authority

  • Formation of states increased social differences and heightened the hierarchy, as in other places

  • Fusion of traditions are clear in the position of women, because the societies were matrilineal

  • Sharia - Islamic law; defined among other things, the patrilineal nature of Islamic inheritance

  • Muslim conquests of North Africa and trade increased the spread of slavery

  • Muslims saw slaves as pagans who were being converted

    • They were used for domestic servants, soldiers, administrators, eunuchs, concubines

      • Women and children were enslaved

    • Trade caravans transported slaves

    • Constant demand for slaves

    • Around 4.8 million slaves, with another 2.4 million sent to Muslim ports on the Indian Ocean coast were involved in the trans-Saharan slave trade


Russian Empire:

Chapter 14.1: Russia’s Expansionist Politics under the Tsars

  • Russia is an example of the land-based empires in Eurasia

  • Similarities with developments elsewhere:

    • Labor system and control was similar to Latin America

    • Russia had similar aspects of Western culture


Expansion in early Russia

  • Territorial expansion and strengthening of a tsarist rule was emphasized

  • Duchy of Moscow fought for freedom from the Mongol Control and pushed them back into Central Asia

    • Led to a lasting policy of military expansion

  • Ivan III - also known as Ivan the Great; prince of Duchy of Moscow; claimed descent from Riruk; responsible for freeing Russia from Mongols after 1462; took title of tsar (emperor)

    • Organized a strong army (gave a lasting military emphasis to Russia)

    • Obtained territory from the borders of the Polish Lithuanian kingdom to the Ural Mountains

  • Russia’s rise was similar to Macedonian and Roman expansion

    • A new and underdeveloped state became powerful


Revival after freedom from Mongols

  • Russia was able to resume earlier patterns when independence was achieved

    • Regional princes or landlords were given control b/c Mongols were interested in tribute > full government control

    • Landlords still adopted Mongol styles of dress and social habits

    • Maintained Christianity

  • Russian cultural life was still hindered

    • Literacy among priesthood was lowered

    • Economy deteriorated and trade was limited

      • Russia specialized in manufacturing

  • Change was difficult when independence was reached

  • Ivan the Great became a centralized ruler and used the idea of Russia as a third Rome

    • Controlled churches by measuring niece of last Byzantine emperor


Military and conquest

  • Mongol counterattacks were met with conquest that seized territory in Ukraine, Central Asia, and East-Central Europe

  • Military nobles received hereditary territories

    • Included control over serfs (peasants) on the lands

  • Harsh conditions caused serfs to flee to border regions

    • Restrictions on the remaining serfs were placed so that there wasn’t a labor shortage

      • Contrasted with the decrease in serfdom in the West at the time

    • Fleeing peasants further expanded Russia by forming Cossack colonies

      • Played a role in Russian success

  • Boyars or aristocratic landlords conflicted with the tsars

  • Ivan IV - also known as Ivan the Terrible; confirmed power of tsarist autocracy by attacking authority of boyars (aristocrats); continued policy of Russian expansion; established contacts with Western European commerce and culture

    • Earned his nickname by exiling or killing many boyars

    • Flew into violent rages, during which he killed his son

      • Repented after

  • Few natural barriers

  • Early tsars pushed southward and eastward

  • Cossacks - peasants recruited by Ivan III and Ivan IV to migrate to newly seized lands in Russia, particularly in the south; combined agriculture with military conquests; spurred additional frontier conquests and settlements

    • Eager to move to new settlements, similar to American counterparts

    • Gained control of vast plains

  • Nobles and bureaucrats were rewarded with new territory

    • New agricultural areas and sources of labor

    • Slaves were used

  • Russia was not as dependent on expansion as the Roman or Ottoman empires

  • Russia traded with Asian territories

  • Conquest of Central Asia made nomadic and diverse cultures exist in Russia

    • Multicultural empire, similar to Mughal and Ottoman empires

    • Large Muslim minority


Western contact

  • Careful contacts with Western Europe b/c submission to Mongols led to a commercial and cultural disadvantage

  • British traded w/ Russia manufactured products in exchange for furs and other raw materials

  • Western merchants established outposts in Moscow

  • Italian artists and architects designed churches and royal palace in Moscow

    • Refined Renaissance styles, creating classic Russian onion-shaped domes

  • Russia looked to West for art and trade


Time of Troubles

  • Time of Troubles - Followed death of Russian tsar Ivan IV without an heir early in the seventeenth century; boyars attempted to use absence of power to reestablish authority; ended w/ selection of Michael Romanov as tsar in 1613

    • Ended with Romanov dynasty


Romanov dynasty

  • Romanov dynasty - dynasty selected in 1613 at end of the Time of Troubles; ruled Russia until 1917

  • Many rulers were weak

  • Tensions with nobles still existed

  • No lasting restrictions on tsarist power

  • Michael Romanov reestablished order

    • Drove out invaders

    • Resumed expansion

    • War against Poland gave Russia Ukraine, including Kiev

  • Alexis Romanov, Michael’s successor, abolished noble assemblies and purified the church

    • Tried to eliminate Mongol influences in religion

    • Resumed Orthodox tradition of state control over church

  • Old Believers - Russians who refused to accept the church reforms of Alexis Romanov; many exiled to Siberia or southern Russia, where they became part of Russian colonization

  • Stepan Razin led a serf revolt that was suppressed by tsarist troops


Beginning of Westernization in Russia

  • Peter I - also known as Peter the Great; son of Alexis Romanov; ruled from 1689-1725; continued growth of absolutism and conquest; included more definite interests in changing selected aspects of economy and culture through westernization

    • Vigorous and intelligent leader

    • Traveled incognito in the West seeking allies, visiting manufacturing centers; and gaining an interest in science and technology

    • Brought Western artisans to Russia

  • Executed enemies

  • Peter’s Westernization effort was similar to processes in societies later on

    • Changes were selective

      • Involved the upper class mainly

      • Ex. peasantry weren’t involved in technological aspects of Westernization and aristocrats were seriously restricted in power

    • Changes fell short of modernization

      • Ex. serf labor was coerced compared to wage labor in the West and no interest in building a world economy

    • Changes meant to encourage the state itself, not challenge it with new ideas

      • Ex. economic development was brought about to support military

  • Westernization brought hostile responses and the tension continued throughout Russian history, leading to mixed feelings around Western values


Political system under Peter I

  • Made ordinary people bureaucrats and limited power of aristocrats

  • Created set of advisors under his control

  • Law codes spread throughout the empire

  • Revised tax system with increased tax on peasantry

  • Training institutes for aspiring bureaucrats to bring non-nobles in the system


Military and conquest under Peter I

  • Created a fighting force to put down local armies

  • Set up secret police force to prevent dissent and supervise bureaucracy (Peter’s Chancery of Secret Police)

  • Better military hierarchy

  • Improved weaponry and created first Russian navy

  • Attacked Ottomans and warred with Sweden

    • Gave Russia a sea port on the Baltic Sea

  • Russia became a major player in the European international and military affairs

  • Westernization of Russia was commemorated by moving the capital from Moscow to a Baltic city named St. Petersburg


Economy under Peter I

  • Metalworking and mining industries were built up

    • Helped provide weaponry and assisted shipbuilding facilities

  • No extensive urbanization or commercial class

  • Landlords rewarded for using serf labor in manufacturing

  • Gave Russia economic ability to maintain a military


Culture under Peter I

  • Most reforms didn’t affect the lives of peasants and ordinary people; mainly geared toward upper class

  • Abolished practice of fathers transferring daughters to men

  • Encouraged women to wear Western clothing and attend cultural events

    • Found support among women

  • Required male nobles to shave off beards & wear Western clothing

    • Wanted to give them new identities

  • Fashion, French ballet, and German Christmas trees appeared in Russia


Catherine the Great

  • Catherine the Great - German-born Russian tsarina in the eighteenth century; ruled after assasination of her husband; gave appearance of enlightened rule; accepted Western cultural influence; maintained nobility as service aristocracy by granting them new power; genuine reform interests with need to consolidate power as a tsarina; 

  • Pugachev rebellion - during the reign of Catherine the Great; led by Cossack Emelian Pugachev, who claimed to be legitimate tsar; eventually crushed; typical of present unrest; used to extend the powers of central government

  • Catherine the Great was a selective westernizer

    • Imported new law codes

    • Reduced severe punishments

    • Encouraged upper-class education 

    • Encouraged art and literature


Politics under Catherine the Great

  • Nobles served as bureaucrats and officers and they were given new power over serfs

    • Nobles could request labor

    • Able to impose taxes

    • Enact punishments for crimes


Culture under Catherine the Great

  • Censored writings from liberals and democrats and avoided Western political influence

  • Censored intellectuals who urged reforms

    • Ex. Radishchev was harassed by Catherine’s police and had his liberal writings banned

  • Catherine funded Western art and architecture

  • She encouraged Western education


Expansion under Catherine the Great

  • She won the Crimea, colonized Siberia, claimed Alaska

  • Grew more powerful in Ottoman rivalry

  • Partition of Poland - division of Polish territory among Russia, Prussia, and Austria; eliminated Poland as independent state; part of expansion of Russian influence in Eastern Europe

  • Russia was compared to the new country emerging in the Western Hemisphere, the United States of America, because of Russia’s military strength and avid colonization


Ming Dynasty:

Chapter 16.3: Ming China: A Global Mission Replaced

Economic and population growth

  • Economic growth resulted in contacts with other civilizations & agrarian expansion

  • Commercial boom and population increase occured in the Yangzi region

    • Domestic and international economy expanded

  • Spanish and Portuguese merchants imported American crops:

    • Corn

    • Sweet potatoes

    • Peanuts

      • The crops could grow w/o irrigation & were less susceptible to drought

      • Crops counteracted famine

  • Population increase 80 -> 150 million by 16th century & 150 -> 300 million by 18th century

  • Economy provided silk textiles, tea, ceramics, and lacquer ware in exchange for European silver

  • Arab, Asian, and European traders arrived at Macao and later Canton

  • Macao - one of two ports in which Europeans were permitted to trade in China during the Ming dynasty

  • Canton - one of two port cities in which Europeans were permitted to trade in China during the Ming dynasty

  • Chinese merchants used profits to pay taxes and bribe scholar-gentry

    • Land > trade & manufacturing affected social status


Scholar-gentry dominance

  • Rulers of Yuan dynasty became immersed in pleasures of life 

    • Reforms to control favoritism were ignored, hurting Mongol elite

  • Confucian scholars consolidated power by claiming regional control and convincing Chinese peasant leader to expel Mongols and become Hongwu emperor

    • First Ming ruler

  • Emphasis on Neo-Confucian teachings were socially constricting and elevated status of officials and affected different social groups


Examination system

  • Candidates took county or prefectural exams

    • Exams lasted days and were very difficult

  • Those who passed took next level of provincial exams, which opened the way for middle level positions in imperial bureaucracy and a rise in social status

    • Could also take the imperial exams

  • Those who passed the imperial exams were eligible for the highest positions and were the most respected in Chinese society aside from royal family


Education

  • Emphasis on respecting and following the teachers

  • Student was once beheaded for disputing the findings of an instructor and turned into an example of what not to do

  • Student protest against classroom order was driven underground

    • Anonymous letters about teachers being unprepared continued to circulate among students


Peasant population

  • Rural landlord families gained power by alliances with those in the imperial bureaucracy

    • Became exempted from taxes, used sedan chairs, fans, and umbrellas

  • Scholar-gentry families gambled and claimed more land

    • Peasants were displaced

    • Justified their ways by pointing out the lazy and wasteful ways of farmers

      • Often depicted as hardworking, while the peasants were the opposite


Women

  • Could achieve independence by becoming courtesans or entertainers

    • Often accomplished in painting, music, and poetry, unlike prostitutes

    • Courtesans enjoyed luxury had to satisfy the sexual desires of men

  • Many women brought to emperor’s court to attract him and become a concubine

    • Many spent their lives in loneliness and inactivity


Arts

  • Patroned by those at court and among scholar-gentry class

  • Most paintings busy and colorful, reflecting scenes of court, city, or country life

  • Individual scholars or travelers were also depicted as observing the beauty of natural features

  • Painters focused on established techniques

  • Major literature innovation

  • Full development of the Chinese novel

    • Gained popularity through the spread of literacy among upper classes

      • Occured due to spread of woodblock printing

  • Ming novels: The Water Margin, Monkey, & The Golden Lotus


Ming expansion

  • Expeditions launched under emperor Yongle, led by Zheng He

    • Driven by desires to explore other lands and proclaim Ming glory

  • Early expeditions confined to Southeast Asia

  • Later expeditions reached Persia, Southern Arabia, and Africa

    • Distance was comparable to expeditions by the Portuguese

  • Warships exemplified technological sophistication, wealth, and power of China


European arrival and limiting of contacts

  • Transition from expeditions to limiting contacts w/ outside world

  • Shift from Zheng He’s fleets to Great Wall of China

  • War fleet decreased in size and number

  • Restrictions placed to defend against nomadic invasions left China and Indian Ocean vulnerable to Europeans

  • Europeans drawn to Middle Kingdom of China while Chinese focused on political development and exports


Western influence

  • Christian missionaries tried to gain favor w/ emperors

  • Franciscans and Dominicans tried to win converts among the people, whereas Jesuits tried to convert scholar-gentry 

  • Single person sat atop social hierarchy in China, so Jesuits targeted chief advisors of rulers

  • Jesuit missionaries recognized their technology and science achievements was what drew Chinese to them

  • Matteo Ricci and Adam Schall - Jesuit scholars in court of Ming emperors; skilled scientists who won few converts to Christianity

    • Spent time in imperial city correcting calendars, forging cannons, and fixing European clocks

    • Astounded scholar-gentry with knowledge and won converts

    • Most officials were suspicious of them and limited their contact w/ the imperial family

    • Some were humiliated by Jesuit corrections to their calendars and were hostile

  • Jesuit strategy - adopt culture of elites 

  • Debate whether Chinese converts could continue traditions

    • Pope insisted it be forbidden

    • Emperor discouraged Christianity

      • Many attacks on Christian converts


Ming decline

  • Retreat from overseas involvement was one part of a pattern of dynastic decline

  • Absolutist political structure of Hongwu became a liability under incompetent men who ruled towards the end

  • Official corruption and isolation of weak rulers hurt the empire

  • Public works projects fell into disrepair

    • Dike works on Yellow River

  • Floods, drought, and famine occured

    • Peasants restored to cannibalism and selling children as slaves

  • Farmers who lost land turned to flight, banditry, and open rebellion

  • Threats of nomadic people beyond the Great Wall 

  • Pirate attacks which were unable to be stopped

    • Signified imperial deterioration

  • Rebels from within toppled dynasty

  • Chongzhen - last Ming emperor who committed suicide in 1644 in the face of a Jurchen capture of the Forbidden City at Beijing

  • A Ming general appointed a Manchu to a position of emperor, which started the Qing dynasty


Qing Dynasty:

Chapter 20.3: The Rise and Fall of the Qing Dynasty

End of Ming start of Qing

  • Qing dynasty resulted from weaknesses in the Ming dynasty

  • Unlike Mongol conquerors, Manchus of the Qing dynasty retained the examination system

  • Manchu emperors called themselves Sons of Heaven and claimed to be legitimate rulers

    • Practiced traditional Confucian virtues

  • Early Manchu rulers were patrons of the arts and literature

  • Kangxi - Confucian scholar and Manchu emperor of Qing dynasty; established high degree of Sinification among the Manchus


Political system

  • Manchu preserved Chinese political system

  • Zhu Xi’s writings dominated official thinking

    • Values: respect for rank and acceptance of hierarchy

  • Hierarchy:

    • Male over female

    • Old over young

    • Scholar-bureaucrat over commoner

  • Extended family of elite classes was core unit of social order

  • State grew suspicious of secret societies


Social system

  • Women confined to the household but could work in fields + sell produce

  • Males chose brides of lower social status to maintain dominance

  • Daughters were a loss to their household and needed a significant payment to be her husband's wife

  • Females were killed as infants 

  • Male population was greater

  • Elite women could run household and exercise control over women and younger men


Improvements in rural life

  • Manchus tried to minimize distress in rural areas

  • Taxes and state labor demands decreased

  • Tax-free tenure given to those who resettled previously abandoned lands

  • Imperial budget devoted to repairing dikes, canals, and roadways while extending irrigation


Landlord class

  • Landlord classes added to estates and bought more peasants

  • Tenants had less say in dealings w/ landlords & were taken advantage of

  • Gap between rural gentry and ordinary peasants increased

  • Landlords asserted their dominance over peasants and showed they didn’t need to engage in labor


Merchant class

  • Most dynamic

  • Commercial and urban expansion

  • New ways to finance production

  • State and mercantile classes profited from tea, porcelain, and silk textiles

  • Traded w/ Europe again

  • Compradors - wealthy group of Chinese merchants under the Qing dynasty; specialized in the import-export trade on China’s south coast; one of the major links between China and the outside world


Qing decline

  • Exam system now had cheating and favoritism

  • Incompetent people entered the bureaucracy and didn’t feel obligated to serve the people

  • Wealthy entered bureaucracy to influence local officials

  • Less concern for peasantry and urban laborers

  • Diversion of money from state projects to riches for individual families

    • Ex great dikes of Yellow River were left unrepaired, so leaking dikes and rampaging waters led to floods, famine, disease, and lack of land

    • Ex. lack of army funds

      • Poor training of military

  • Food shortages and landlord demands led to migrations

  • Homeless people crowded the city

  • Banditry (stealing) became a major issue

  • Chinese thinkers believed another dynasty would replace the Qing dynasty, but this was contradicted by the unprecedented changes under the Manchu rule

  • Some changes started in the Ming era

    • Ex. corn and potatoes and peanuts led to population increase, so innovations in technology and organization were necessary to support the masses

    • Late Manchu rulers were conservative to change

  • In the nineteenth century, Western powers entered China’s seaports and the interior of the empire, establishing enclaves in the capital Beijing


Japanese Empire:

Chapter 16.4: Fending off the West: Japan’s Reunification and the First Challenge

End of the Warring States

  • Warring States was ended with the three strong military leaders who restored unity and internal peace

  • Leaders established Tokugawa shogunate

  • Enveloped Japan in a state of isolation

  • Oda Nobunaga - Japanese daimyo (regional lord); first to make extensive use of firearms; deposed last of Ashikaga shoguns; unified much of central Honshu under his command

  • Toyotomi Hideyoshi - general under Nobunaga; succeeded as leading military power in Central Japan; continued efforts to break power of daimyos; constructed a series of alliances that made him military master of Japan; master at diplomacy/alliances

    • Dreamed of great conquest

      • Wanted to conquer China, India, Philippines, and Korea

  • Tokugawa Ieyasu - vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi; succeeded him as most powerful military figure in Japan; granted title of shogun and established Tokugawa shogunate; established political unity in Japan

    • Consolidated power in Japan rather than overseas

  • Accomplishments: reorganized daimyo & established political unity

  • Edo - Tokugawa capital city; modern-day Tokyo; center of the Tokugawa shogunate

  • Daimyo required to pledge personal allegiance to the shogun

  • The had to spend half of the year in the capital city at Edo

    • This tested their allegiance, monitored their activities, and depleted any money that could go towards military rebellion


Dealing with European challenge

  • Portuguese sailors washed up on shore of Kyushu -> traders & missionaries arrived in great numbers

  • Europeans traded Japanese goods produced in Southeast Asia for silver, copper, pottery, and lacquerware

  • Europeans brought firearms, printing presses, and clocks

  • Firearms revolutionized Japanese warfare and assisted in the victories of the unifiers

  • Contacts w/ the Europeans encouraged Japanese to trade with other areas in Asia

  • Christians tried to convert Japanese to Roman Catholicism

    • Nobunaga encouraged Christianity because it counteracted Buddhist rebel militants

    • Jesuits converted daimyo and their samurai

    • Nobunaga integrated western clothing, art, and religion

  • Conversion was successful until Nobunaga’s murder

  • Hideyoshi was not open towards the missionaries because converts didn’t obey their overlords

  • A threat was posed to the social order of Japan

    • Buddhist resistance was crushed, another reason being why he didn’t embrace Christianity

  • Concerns of European military conquest grew, and Japan grew more unsettled


Isolationism

  • Fears about European intentions, and the disruption of merchants and missionaries in the social order, led to restriction of foreign activities

  • Hideyoshi ordered Christian missionaries to leave the islands

  • Ieyasu continued Christian persecution and banned the faith

  • Christianity reduced to an underground faith with isolated communities

  • Persecution of Christians grew into a broader attempt to limit Western influences

    • Foreign traders confined to few cities 

    • Japanese ships forbidden to trade overseas

    • Few Dutch and Chinese ships could eventually carry commerce in Japan at the port of Nagasaki

  • Deshima - Island in Nagasaki; only port open to non-Japanese after closure of the islands in the 1640s; only Chinese and Dutch ships could enter

  • Export of silver and copper was limited

  • Western books were banned

  • Japan tried to consolidate internal control by extending bureaucratic administration into daimyo domains

  • Revival of neo-Confucianism replaced with new thinkers

  • School of National Learning - new ideology that laid emphasis on Japan’s unique historical experience and the revival of indigenous culture at the expense of Chinese imports such as Confucianism; typical of Japan in eighteenth century

  • Japanese elite kept up with Western developments through the Dutch community and Deshima, especially in science and medicine

  • In contrast with the Chinese, the Japanese had an avid interest in European achievements