Chapter 1: Introduction

• Rulers of land-based empires from 1450 to 1750 focused on legitimizing and consolidating power.

• Legitimizing power involves communicating who is in charge, while consolidating power involves taking power from other groups.

• Terms like legitimization and consolidation are crucial for understanding this period.

Chapter 2: Rulers Administered Their Empires

• Rulers legitimized and consolidated power through large imperial bureaucracies.

  • Bureaucracy ensures laws are enforced throughout the empire.

  • Example: Ottoman Empire's devsirme system used highly trained slaves in the bureaucracy.

• Rulers also expanded militaries and created elite military professionals.

  • Example: Ottoman Janissaries were elite soldiers from the devshirme system.

Chapter 3: Legitimize The Power

• Religion, art, and architecture were used to legitimize power.

• European monarchs claimed divine right to rule, while Aztecs used human sacrifice.

• Example: Qing Emperor Kangxi used portraits to legitimize rule.

Chapter 4: Consolidating Imperial Power

• Architecture, like the Palace of Versailles, was used to consolidate power.

• Inca sun temple in Cuzco and taxation systems like the zamindar system in the Mughal Empire were used to consolidate power.

• Louis XIV forced French nobility to live in Versailles to consolidate power.

Chapter 5: Conclusion

• Ottoman Empire used tax farming to collect taxes.

• Tax farming involved selling the right to tax subjects to the highest bidder.

• Tax farmers enriched themselves by collecting more taxes than required, providing a