Unit 3–land based empires
Qing Dynasty (1644–1911)
Origin and Rise:
Second foreign dynasty to rule China (after the Mongols).
Founded by the Manchus from Manchuria, who were semi-nomadic but also practiced agriculture.
Took advantage of Ming collapse due to corruption, famine, piracy, and rebellion.
Captured Beijing in 1644 after the city fell to a peasant revolt led by Li Zicheng.
Ming Decline Context:
Emperor Wanli (r. 1572–1620) neglected state affairs, indulged in wine and women, and left power to corrupt eunuchs.
The eunuchs enriched themselves, leading to factionalism and incompetence.
Pirate attacks in the south and a peasant famine-driven rebellion in the 1630s exacerbated instability.
Scholar-gentry and military figures withdrew support, opening the door for Manchu intervention.
Consolidation of Power:
Manchus initially distrusted by Han Chinese due to ethnic difference.
Required Han men to wear the queue hairstyle as a sign of submission.
Took 40 years to fully subdue China; employed Confucian administration to legitimize rule.
Maintained a dual administrative structure—Manchu and Chinese officials both held positions.
Major Rulers:
Kangxi (r. 1661–1722):
Child prodigy and Confucian scholar.
Expanded empire into Taiwan, Mongolia, Tibet.
Embraced Confucian governance, supported scholars and arts.
Qianlong (r. 1736–1795):
Grandson of Kangxi.
Expanded influence into Central Asia; established protectorates in Vietnam, Burma, Nepal.
Patron of the arts, compiled comprehensive literary collections.
Reign marked the height of Qing power and prosperity, but signs of decline appeared later in his rule.
Cultural and Social Aspects:
Continued Confucian ideals and civil service exams.
Limited intermarriage between Manchus and Han Chinese.
Promoted Neo-Confucianism and preserved Chinese traditions, despite being foreigners.
Historical Relevance:
Key example of land-based empire using gunpowder weapons and Confucian statecraft.
Demonstrates how foreign rulers could adapt local systems to legitimize power.
Part of broader trend of Eurasian imperial expansion c. 1450–1750.
Mughal Dynasty (1526–1858)
Origins and Expansion:
Founded by Babur, a Turkic Muslim from Central Asia, claiming descent from both Genghis Khan and Tamerlane.
Defeated the Delhi Sultanate at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526.
Used gunpowder, cannons, and cavalry to quickly dominate northern India.
Consolidation and Administration:
Used a centralized bureaucracy; governed a majority-Hindu population.
Continued expansion under Akbar and later emperors into almost the entire subcontinent.
Integrated local princes (rajputs) into administration in exchange for loyalty.
Decline began after early 1700s due to internal rebellions and external pressure.
Akbar the Great (r. 1556–1605):
Known for religious tolerance and syncretism.
Policies:
Abolished jizya (non-Muslim tax).
Married Hindu princess, welcomed Hindus into bureaucracy.
Supported debates among Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Jains.
Created the “Divine Faith” (Din-i-Ilahi), a syncretic religion focused on loyalty to emperor and moral conduct.
Tried to end sati (widow immolation) and child marriage.
Promoted arts, literature, and architecture (e.g., Fatehpur Sikri).
Later Mughals:
Aurangzeb (r. 1659–1707): conservative Muslim ruler who reimposed the jizya, banned Hindu practices, and expanded the empire to its largest size.
His religious intolerance and military overreach sparked resistance, notably from the Marathas and Sikhs.
European Influence:
Initially allowed Portuguese, Dutch, English, and French to establish coastal trading posts.
European merchants were seen as minor players in India’s vast internal economy.
By the mid-1700s, British East India Company gained dominance (Battle of Plassey, 1757).
British crowned Queen Victoria as Empress of India in 1876.
Historical Relevance:
Classic “gunpowder empire” using military technology to create and maintain a vast realm.
Illustrates theme of religious tolerance as a method of governance.
Showcases syncretism and empire-building over decentralized regions.
Ottoman Empire (c. 1299–1923)
Origins and Rise:
Founded by Osman Bey, a Turkic warrior who broke from the Seljuk Empire.
Expanded into Byzantine lands in Anatolia and the Balkans.
Followers called Ottomans (Osmanlis).
Key Conquests:
1453 – Fall of Constantinople to Mehmed II (the Conqueror):
Used massive cannons to breach walls.
Renamed city Istanbul; made it capital.
Hagia Sophia turned into a mosque.
Controlled key trade routes between Europe and Asia.
Religious Policy:
Mostly Sunni Muslims; governed over many Christians and Jews.
Dhimmi system: non-Muslims allowed to practice religion if they paid the jizya.
Created millet system: semi-autonomous religious communities retained control over personal law, education, and worship.
Administration and Society:
Bureaucracy centralized under viziers and devshirme system (Christian boys trained as Janissaries or bureaucrats).
Janissaries were elite gunpowder infantry loyal to the sultan.
Suleiman the Magnificent (r. 1520–1566):
Known as “the Lawgiver” in the Islamic world.
Reformed legal system: blended sharia law with sultanic law.
Expanded into Hungary, reached the gates of Vienna in 1529.
Promoted arts, literature, and architecture—Ottoman Golden Age.
Commissioned famed architect Sinan to build mosques and public works.
Decline:
Military defeats, loss of revenue from trade routes (diverted by European exploration).
Janissaries became politically powerful and corrupt.
“Sick Man of Europe” by 19th century; empire dissolved after World War I.
Historical Relevance:
Most enduring of the Islamic gunpowder empires.
Example of religious pluralism, centralized bureaucracy, and gunpowder warfare in imperial formation.
Bridged Europe, Africa, and Asia geopolitically and culturally.
Safavid Empire (1501–1722)
Location: Persia (modern-day Iran)
Type: Land-based Gunpowder Empire
Religious Identity
• Originally experimented with various Islamic sects to appeal to nomadic Turkic tribes.
• Eventually adopted Twelver Shiism:
• Belief in 12 infallible imams descended from Ali (Muhammad’s cousin/son-in-law).
• The twelfth imam went into hiding in 874 CE and is believed to return to lead the true faith.
• Set the Safavids apart from Sunni neighbors like the Ottomans and Mughals.
• Religious rivalry with Sunnis contributed to long-term regional conflict.
• Legacy: Iran remains predominantly Shiite today, unique in a mostly Sunni Muslim world (Sunni ~90%).
Political and Military Structure
• Gunpowder empire that relied heavily on firearms and cannons.
• Like Ottomans and Mughals, derived power from:
• Strategic location on Eurasian trade routes.
• Military strength via gunpowder weapons.
• Shah Abbas (r. 1588–1629):
• Reorganized the military and bureaucracy.
• Paranoid ruler who blinded/killed potential heirs, weakening future leadership.
• Practiced fratricide and confinement of potential heirs, a tradition shared with other Islamic empires to prevent succession struggles.
• Resulted in ignorant, unprepared rulers (e.g., “Selim the Sot,” “Ibrahim the Crazy”).
Economic Context
• Grew wealthy as a middleman in overland trade (especially silk).
• Declined economically as European sea routes bypassed the Silk Road.
• Did not industrialize or modernize quickly enough to compete with European powers.
• European weapons were more advanced by the mid-1600s.
• Islamic empires could only buy outdated European weapons.
Cultural Conservatism
• Emphasized political and religious stability over innovation.
• Rejected foreign ideas and technology, unlike the innovation-driven European states.
• This stasis contributed to military and economic decline.
Historical Significance
• A major Shiite state and example of how gunpowder and armed trade enabled imperial expansion (1450–1750).
• Its conflict with the Sunni Ottomans illustrated the enduring political-religious divide in the Islamic world.
Safavid-Mughal Conflict (17th century)
Cause: Competing interests in Kandahar, a key trade and military post in modern-day Afghanistan.
Religious Division
• Safavids: Shiite
• Mughals: Sunni
• This ideological divide underpinned territorial and political conflict.
Major Events
• Mughal emperor Shah Jahan sent his son Aurangzeb with 50,000 troops to capture Kandahar.
• Though Mughals won battles, they could not breach the city’s walls or succeed in a prolonged siege.
Historical Relevance
• Illustrates religious and political rivalries between Islamic empires during the early modern period.
• Example of how sectarian differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims influenced geopolitical dynamics.
Songhai Empire vs. Morocco (1591)
Context: West Africa; Morocco faced internal instability and needed resources.
Battle of Tondibi (1591)
• Moroccan Sultan sent a force armed with gunpowder weapons to attack the Songhai Empire.
• Songhai lacked firearms, relying on traditional weapons.
• Despite being outnumbered, Moroccan military technology triumphed.
Aftermath
• Collapse of Songhai Empire (~100 years after its founding).
• Morocco failed to consolidate power in West Africa due to:
• Harsh geography (Sahara Desert)
• Supply and communication issues
• Internal Moroccan succession crises followed Sultan’s death in 1603.
• Possibly due to plague or poisoning.
Historical Relevance
• Demonstrates how military technology (gunpowder) allowed small forces to defeat large empires.
• Shows how long-distance rule was often unsustainable despite military victory.
• Another example of political/religious conflict fueling state collapse.
Ottoman Devshirme System and Janissaries
Purpose: Centralize control by creating a loyal, elite force.
Devshirme (“Blood Tax”)
• Christian boys in the Balkans were:
• Taken from families.
• Converted to Islam.
• Trained as Janissaries (elite soldiers).
• Others were educated for bureaucratic roles: tax collectors, diplomats, scribes.
• Some Christian families volunteered their sons for social mobility.
Janissaries
• Became core of the Ottoman military.
• Professional standing army loyal to the sultan, not local elites or tribes.
• Helped Ottomans maintain centralized power over a diverse empire.
Historical Relevance
• Exemplifies how rulers recruited bureaucratic elites and military professionals to maintain power in 1450–1750.
• Shows how religion and coercion were used for political control.
• Comparable to similar administrative and military centralization in other empires (e.g., Chinese examination system, Russian boyars under Ivan the Terrible).
Salaried Samurai
Who/What: Samurai were a hereditary military elite in Japan, loyal to daimyo (feudal lords) in a decentralized system.
Change: After the Tokugawa Shogunate centralized power in 1600, samurai became salaried bureaucrats rather than warriors.
Key Policies: The “alternate attendance” system weakened daimyo autonomy and reduced military conflict.
Historical Relevance: Demonstrates the recruitment and use of bureaucratic elites and development of professional militaries to centralize control.
Mexica Practice of Human Sacrifice
Who/What: The Mexica (Aztecs) performed mass human sacrifices, often using war captives from subject peoples.
Religious Belief: Blood offerings were thought to sustain the sun and thus life on Earth.
Political Use: These rituals displayed power and fostered fear or loyalty, but also bred resentment among subjugated peoples.
Historical Relevance: Illustrates how religious ideas were used to legitimize rule, linking military conquest with religious authority.
European Notions of the Divine Right of Kings
Who/What: A doctrine justifying absolute monarchy by claiming kings ruled by God’s will.
Examples: King James I of England and Louis XIV of France.
Outcome: England moved away from absolutism after the Glorious Revolution; France and others retained it longer.
Historical Relevance: Shows how religious ideas were used to legitimize political authority, bolstering absolutist rule.
Songhai Empire’s Promotion of Islam
Who/What: Rulers of Songhai (West Africa) adopted and promoted Islam, especially among the elite.
Key Figure: Askia Muhammad (Askia the Great), who performed the hajj and supported Islamic scholarship.
Purpose: To connect with the broader Muslim world and legitimize rule, though local religions were tolerated.
Historical Relevance: Another example of using religion to legitimize rule, especially by aligning with transregional traditions.
Qing imperial portraits
Portraits of Qing Dynasty emperors adorned many of the buildings inside the Forbidden City, the 180-acre palace complex in Beijing that served as the imperial and ceremonial headquarters of China from the early 15th century to the early 20th century.
The portraits were used to enhance the legitimacy of Qing emperors and reveal vestiges of ancestor veneration, as emperors often performed rituals in front of portraits of earlier emperors and some even kowtowed to them.
The portraits were painted to celebrate both Manchu heritage and convey Chinese identity.
Some portraits portray emperors engaged in hunting or wearing military armor, and wearing Manchu clothing motifs, while others tie these Manchu elements to Chinese history.
Portraits of Kangxi often show him surrounded by books, signifying the high esteem placed in scholarship by Confucianism, which helped endear him to China’s scholar-gentry. A portrait of his grandson Qianlong depicts him as a Buddhist bodhisattva, appearing exactly like paintings from Tibet with his face superimposed.
Historical Relevance: Qing imperial portraits were an illustrative example of how rulers continued to use art to legitimize their rule c. 1450–1750.
Incan sun temple of Cuzco
Located more than 11,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains, Cuzco was the capital city of the Inca Empire. It featured the Temple of the Sun, considered the most sacred site of the Inca religion and the very center of the Inca world. The temple was built in a massive complex constructed of fine stone walls and dedicated not only to the god of the sun but also other high gods in the Inca pantheon, including the creator god and moon goddess.
The interior and exterior walls were covered in gold beaten into hundreds of large plate sheets, symbolizing the sweat of the sun. The entire complex was laid out to resemble the sun, with rays streaming out along roads in every direction, leading to more than 300 other sacred sites.
Historical Relevance: The Incan sun temple of Cuzco was an illustrative example of how rulers continued to use religious ideas and monumental architecture to legitimize their rule c. 1450–1750.
Mughal mausoleums and mosques (including the Taj Mahal)
A mausoleum is a building housing a tomb or tombs, and the Mughal Dynasty is noted for constructing numerous mausoleums and mosques during the 16th through 18th centuries.
The grandiose Mughal architectural style featured bulbous domes, slender minarets at the corners, massive walls, vaulted gateways, and delicate ornamentation — a blend of Islamic, Persian, Turkic, and Indian influences.
The most famous legacy is the Taj Mahal, an exquisite white marble mausoleum built in the 17th century that took 20,000 workers about two decades to complete, at a cost of nearly $1 billion in today’s dollars.
Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal to honor Islam and the memory of his wife Mumtaz, who died in 1631 giving birth to her 13th child.
Quranic verses were carved throughout the Taj Mahal, symbolizing the day of judgment and paradise, with gardens representing the heavenly kingdom and four water channels symbolizing its rivers.
Shah Jahan was later overthrown by his son Aurangzeb and imprisoned, where he could only view the Taj Mahal through a mirror.
Historical Relevance: Mughal mausoleums and mosques (including the Taj Mahal) were illustrative examples of how rulers continued to use religious ideas and monumental architecture to legitimize their rule c. 1450–1750.
Palace of Versailles
Built in the 1670s by Louis XIV of France, the Palace of Versailles was the largest building in Europe and the grandest palace in the world.
It featured 230 acres of formal gardens, 4 million tulip bulbs, 1,400 fountains, and 25,000 transplanted trees.
Construction required 36,000 laborers and many died from accidents or disease. The palace was intentionally built with no defenses to demonstrate the king’s absolute power.
Its interiors were richly decorated with gilded furniture, marble walls, velvet, silk tapestries, and Renaissance artwork, including the Mona Lisa hanging in Louis’ bedroom.
Versailles became a symbol of French royal supremacy and was imitated across Europe.
It served as a political instrument, allowing Louis to control the nobility by housing them at court. Nobles followed elaborate rituals, such as the king’s levée, and were entertained with feasts, dances, gambling, and masquerades.
Historical Relevance: The Palace of Versailles was an illustrative example of how rulers continued to use monumental architecture to legitimize their rule c. 1450–1750.
European public debt financing
Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon made their kingdoms the first territorial state in Europe to adopt long-term public debt to finance expanding royal power and standing armies.
The costs of these armies and their weapons were immense in Europe’s nearly constant state of war, prompting other states to follow this model.
Public debt financing — selling annuities for regular interest payments from royal revenues — remains in use today, though it began in city-states like Venice and Florence in the 13th century.
Merchant-controlled city-states were familiar with credit systems, but Spain’s completion of the Reconquista in 1492 gave its monarchs new revenue sources.
Before public debt, monarchs relied on court fees, loans from elites, and tax farming — a method used since ancient Rome and still common globally.
Historical Relevance: European public debt financing was an illustrative example of the innovative ways rulers used to generate revenue in order to forward state power and expansion c. 1450–1750.
Mughal zamindar tax collection
Zamindars in South Asia were hereditary aristocrats who controlled large tracts of land and the agricultural surplus produced by peasants.
Mughal imperial authorities employed zamindars as tax collectors, allowing them to retain a share of the revenue.
Historical Relevance: Mughal zamindar tax collection was an illustrative example of an innovative tax-collection system rulers used to generate revenue in order to forward state power and expansion c. 1450–1750.
Ottoman tax farming
Tax farming was a common method for collecting taxes during the medieval and early modern periods, especially in the Ottoman Empire by the 17th century.
The government auctioned off the right to collect taxes in a region to local notables for a year in exchange for a lump sum, smaller than the taxes to be collected.
The local tax farmer kept the difference, and sometimes had to bid competitively for the privilege.
Tax farming was useful in emergencies but led to corruption when made standard, as local elites exploited their position to extract as much as possible from the population.
Historical Relevance: Ottoman tax farming was an illustrative example of an innovative tax-collection system rulers used to generate revenue in order to forward state power and expansion c. 1450–1750.
Ming Collection of Taxes in Hard Currency
What happened: From 1522–1619, the Ming dynasty implemented the Single Whip Reform, which simplified multiple tax types (land, labor, grain) into one tax paid in silver. This improved efficiency, reduced fraud, and allowed for regular, centralized tax collection.
Why it matters: This reform provided reliable revenue for the state, allowed peasants to pay locally in cash (rather than transport grain), and is considered a prototype of modern taxation.
Historical Relevance: Demonstrates how states used innovative tax systems to strengthen centralized power and expand administration during c. 1450–1750.
Mexica Tribute Lists
What happened: The Aztec (Mexica) Empire maintained detailed tribute records collected by local agents from conquered peoples, often paid every 80 days, 6 months, or 12 months.
Tribute items: Varied and included cotton textiles, human sacrifices, cochineal dye, feathers, copal incense, food, and even handmade bark paper.
Why it matters: Tribute funded the empire’s capital and military, and non-compliance was harshly punished.
Historical Relevance: Like the Ming tax reforms, the Mexica tribute system is a key example of taxation to build and maintain imperial power c. 1450–1750.
Protestant Reformation (1517 onward)
What happened: A religious and political movement that began with Martin Luther criticizing corruption in the Catholic Church (e.g., indulgences, luxury), calling for reform and independent Christian churches.
Who else was involved: John Calvin, Henry VIII, and others; it led to the formation of various Protestant denominations.
Effects:
a) Weakened the Holy Roman Empire
b) Sparked the Catholic Reformation
c) Triggered over a century of religious wars, including the Thirty Years’ WarHistorical Relevance: It’s a major turning point in European religious and political power, weakening church authority and laying the groundwork for modern nation-states.
Causes of the Thirty Years’ War
The Thirty Years’ War began primarily as a religious conflict within the Holy Roman Empire, rooted in the long-standing tensions that had developed from the Protestant Reformation a century earlier. After Martin Luther challenged the authority of the Catholic Church in 1517 and new Protestant denominations such as Lutheranism and Calvinism emerged, Europe was divided between Protestant and Catholic powers. The Holy Roman Emperor, who was Catholic, sought to restore the dominance of Roman Catholicism in the fragmented German territories.
The immediate cause of the war was the Defenestration of Prague in 1618, in which Protestant nobles in Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic) threw Catholic royal officials out of a castle window. This act of rebellion was directed at the newly crowned Emperor Ferdinand II, who aimed to suppress Protestantism and centralize his authority. However, the conflict soon expanded beyond Bohemia into a pan-European war involving many of the major powers of the time.
Course of the War
The war unfolded in four major phases, each escalating the scale and devastation:
Bohemian Phase (1618–1625): Sparked by the Defenestration of Prague, Protestant nobles in Bohemia rebelled against Emperor Ferdinand II. After initial Protestant victories, the Catholics crushed the revolt at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620, reasserting Habsburg control over Bohemia.
Danish Phase (1625–1629): Lutheran King Christian IV of Denmark intervened to support Protestant forces but was decisively defeated by imperial armies led by Albrecht von Wallenstein. The Edict of Restitution (1629) followed, demanding the return of Church lands that Protestants had seized since 1552, heightening religious tensions.
Swedish Phase (1630–1635): The tide turned with the arrival of Gustavus Adolphus, the Protestant king of Sweden, who led a powerful and disciplined army. Backed financially by France (a Catholic state that opposed Habsburg dominance), he won significant battles before being killed in combat in 1632. Sweden’s involvement intensified the war and spread the fighting across northern Europe.
Franco-Swedish Phase (1635–1648): France, though Catholic, formally entered the war to weaken the Catholic Habsburgs, showing that political motivations had overtaken religious ones. This phase was the most destructive, especially for the German territories, which were ravaged by continuous warfare, looting, and famine.
Consequences of the War
The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ended the Thirty Years’ War. It had profound and lasting consequences:
Sovereignty and Balance of Power: The Peace established the principle that each state in Europe had the right to determine its own religion (Protestant or Catholic), solidifying the sovereignty of states over religious matters. This marked the beginning of the modern European states system, emphasizing the need for a balance of power among competing nations to prevent domination by any one state.
Religious Pluralism: The treaty formally recognized Calvinism, along with Lutheranism and Catholicism, ending the religious monopoly of Catholicism in the Holy Roman Empire.
Political Impact: The Holy Roman Empire was severely weakened, with its hundreds of German principalities gaining greater independence. Spain also declined in power, while France emerged as the dominant continental power, benefiting from the weakening of its Habsburg rivals.
Human Cost and Destruction: The war was the most destructive conflict in Europe prior to the 20th century. In the German states, it is estimated that up to one-third of the population died due to battle, famine, and disease. Entire regions were depopulated, economies collapsed, and social structures were disrupted for decades.
Connection to the Protestant Reformation
The Thirty Years’ War was a direct outgrowth of the religious divisions unleashed by the Protestant Reformation:
Martin Luther’s break with the Catholic Church in 1517 had shattered Christian unity in Europe. Protestantism fractured into Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism, and later denominations.
In response, the Catholic Reformation (or Counter-Reformation) sought to reaffirm Catholic doctrine and suppress Protestantism through the Council of Trent and missionary efforts led by groups like the Jesuits.
However, religious reconciliation failed, and tensions between Protestant and Catholic states frequently erupted into violence — culminating in the Thirty Years’ War.
Historical Relevance
The Thirty Years’ War and the Peace of Westphalia represent a turning point in European and world history:
The war demonstrated the devastating effects of religious and political intolerance, setting a precedent for state secularism and the depoliticization of religion in international affairs.
The Westphalian system remains the foundation of international law today, establishing the principles of national sovereignty, non-intervention, and equality between states regardless of their religious or political systems.
The war’s legacy also accelerated the decline of feudalism, the rise of centralized nation-states, and the shift toward modern diplomacy, paving the way for the Enlightenment and the formation of the modern world order.
Ottoman-Safavid Political Rivalry:
• The Ottoman Empire, predominantly Sunni, clashed with the Safavid Empire, which promoted Twelver Shiism.
• In 1514, the Ottomans decisively defeated the Safavids in the Battle of Chaldiran, taking control of eastern Anatolia and northern Iraq.
• Despite this defeat, the Safavids rebounded by improving their military capabilities, including adopting advanced firearms and creating a force similar to the Ottoman Janissaries.
• Over time, the Safavids also sought alliances with European powers against the Ottomans.
• The rivalry intensified the Sunni-Shia split within Islam.
Sikhism:
Sikhism emerged as a syncretic religion in South Asia, blending elements of Sufism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, with a strong emphasis on nonviolence.
Under the oppressive reign of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, Sikhs began to form a military brotherhood and eventually developed their own state in Punjab, northern India.
Sikhism developed during the period of interactions between Islam and Hinduism in South Asia.