#1 The Ottomans

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Turkish Muslim nomads from central Asia

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Ottomans moved into region to escape Mongols

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Began in 1280 with Osman I

State Geared to Warfare

  Expansion played dominant role in early Ottoman politics, economy  “Gunpowder Empire” Powerful galley fleets conquered islands in Mediterranean. Best navy until late 1500s  Sultan Mehmed II- conquered Constantinople  Later N. Africa, Europe, Romania  Suleiman the Magnificient- Romania, Hungary, Holy Roman Empire  Cavalry responsible for conquering territories became aristocracy  granted lands and control of peasants- like encomiendas?

 eventually competed with religious leaders and Janissaries for political influence  ***Janissaries-conscripted or volunteer Christians that converted to Islam were educated, fought for the Sultan; gained influence, power in court of Sultan  Similar to what position in Chinese culture?

Constantinople Restored

 Mehmed II conquered Constantinople, then rebuilt, restored ancient glory- ISTANBUL  Built new mosques, palaces, aqueducts; population grew, markets reopened  public schools, hospitals  Coffeehouses- sources of poetry, scholarship, debate  Most of Constantinople’s population merchants, artisans, centered around grand bazaars but commerce closely regulated with guilds, inspectors

Sultans & Their Court

 Ottoman sultans were absolute monarch, similar to those in Europe, maintained position by playing competing parties against each other  As sultans retreated into luxury, ritual similar to Umayyad and Abbasid, Viziers (Wazirs) took control of imperial administration  Succession problem  Ottoman sultans also had no clear political succession, led to warfare among sons  Successor would often strangle his brothers

Religion

 Large empire- Diverse  Languages- Turkish, Arabic, Persian ‘  Religion- Sunni, Shiite, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish  Fairly tolerant stance  No forced conversion  Head tax  No military service allowed

Women

 Women usually not seen outside  Could own property  Sultan’s Harems  Musicians  Tailors  Advisors  Had some influence over

Problems of Ottoman Decline

 Dynasty endured for more than 600 years, longest dynasty in world history  Ultimately empire too large to maintain  Local officials keep revenue for their own purposes  Weak Sultans  Rampant growth of corruption in administration, oppressive demand led to rebellions  Luxury, seclusion of sultans led to successors unable to rule

Ottoman Retreat

 Rise of the West  Ottoman success with large siege guns, Janissaries led to belief they didn’t need to adopt new technology, also Muslims not accustomed to West having superior technology  Lose control of Indian Ocean trade to Portuguese  Ottomans falling behind in trade, warfare, technology, tax collection and insistence on isolation kept them from resurgence

#2 Safavids

 Safavids also Turkish nomads fleeing Mongols  Isma’il  led Safavids to conquer Tabriz  took title of Shah  conquered most of Persia  Goal: convert to Shiite  1514 Safavid’s drive ended at Chaldiran against better armed Ottomans, stopped the spread of Safavids and Shi’a limited to modern Iran, southern Iraq

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Politics and War under the Shahs

Tahmasp I restored power of the dynasty, successors brought tribal chiefs under control by turning them into warrior nobility with grants of land, villages, peasants Similar to what we’ve studied?

 To counter nobility, shahs appointed Persian to court, imperial bureaucracy, recruited Russian slave boys for armies  Who were the counterparts in Ottoman Empire?

State & Religion

 Mullahs were local mosque officials and prayer leaders, taught as public schools, ensured majority of population converted to Shi’a Islam

Abbas the Great

 secured political position with military victories  established empire as center of international trade and Islamic culture  Built network of road, resthouses to facilitate trade, encouraged trade with other Muslims, India, China  Not much trade with Western/European Nations  promoted manufacturing of silk, textiles, carpets (Persian Rugs)

Ottoman & Safavid Comparison

 Both dominated by warrior aristocracy, absolute monarch with prestige, luxury  Life difficult for peasants, Foreign invasion, civil strife, misery of people  Both empires encouraged artistic manufacturing, growth of trade, patronized public works; Safavids less advanced than Ottomans  Women lost independence, stringent cultural guidelines enforced by religious doctrine

Rapid Decline

 succession issues  Foreign threats emerged due to wealth and prestige in empire  Afghani forces besieged Safavids in 1722, followed by waves of nomadic raiders.

#2 Mughal India

 Founded by Mongol warlord- Babur  Mughal- Persian for Mongol  Babur and his descendants conquered much of India  Military strategist- Army of 12000 defeated army 10X its size  200 year dynasty  Babur occupied territory but did little to reform inefficient bureaucracy http://www.nndb.com/people/515/000092239/

Akbar

       conquered new territory built efficient military and administrative systems Used gunpowder patronized the arts, philosophy attempted to unite Hindu, Muslim with new religion, Din-i Ilahi Encouraged intermarriage of Hindu Muslim, abolished Jizya, Hindu head tax Political structure provided by warrior aristocrats granted peasant, villages with tribute paid by military service and taxes (cut and paste from yesterday?)

Din-i-Ilahi

 Tried to blend faiths (Hindu and Muslim) to bring peace between the groups  When Akbar died- both Hindus and Muslim rejected this idea

Mughal Splendor

 Size of great Mughal cities, Delhi, Agra, Lahore, impressed European merchants with massive elephant, artillery corps  Contrast with massive poverty among people, lack of discipline in military, technology fallen far behind European counterparts  Indian production of cotton and textiles created huge Western demand that led to economic ties into the 20 th century

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Artistic Achievement

Akbar’s successors, Jahangir and Shah Jahan retained tolerance  Both increasing fond of luxury, court ceremonies, animal battles  Focused tremendous resources in monumental architecture, blending Persian and Hindu tradition with domes, arches, minarets and ornamentation  Taj Mahal- Shah Jahan built for his wife

Women in the Mughal

 Sati legal- burning of high caste women in husband funeral pyre  Toward end of dynasty, child marriage at age nine remerged, Widow remarriage died out, seclusion more enforced  Dwindling roles for women and cost of dowry made the birth of daughter and unfortunate event

Beginnings of Decline

 Aurangzeb, Shah Jahan’s successor  strict adherence to Islam  ignored needs for administrative, military, social reform  Living standards fell, endless warfare with tribal nomad drained treasury, diverting his attention from growing power among local nobility  Also created greater internal division by persecuting Hindus and new Sikh religion, creating greater instability in region  Vasco da Gama arrived during the year that is called 1498

Yuan Dynasty

 What do you remember?

Ming China- Kicking out the Yuan

 New Emperor       Hongwu Established Ming dynasty in 1368 defeating Mongols & Chinese rivals

Another Scholar Revival

Viewed Scholar Gentry with suspicion but still . . .

Subsidized academies,improved civil service examinations

Ming Age of Growth

 Ming known for cultural strengths  Literature, porcelain, architecture  Oceanic trade of Zheng He  Growth in arts fueled by Scholar Gentry  Depictions of ordinary life in traditional style

Europe Arrives

 Increase in trade and population growth due to outside contacts  New food crops from Americas lead to population growth in Yangtze region  Trade ran in China’s favor due to quality of goods  Controlled trade -only permitted at Macao & Canton  Missionaries allowed in Ming court due to scientific knowledge and technical skills  New wealth invested in land, not commerce

Chinese Retreat

   1390 Imperial order to limit overseas contact Chinese military, scientific knowledge outmatched by Europeans Stop voyages of Zheng He- see previous notes Ming Decline  The Usual Reasons: weak gov, revolution and war    Influx of silver from Spanish – INFLATION Population growing too fast Conquered by Manchus- But that’s another story . . .

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III. Japan’s Reunification

Japan had undergone years of civil war (Daimyos and their Samurai)  1467= anarchy and chaos Onin War lasted until 1477  100 years of chaos followed “Era of Independent Lords”  Unification  chaos ended in 1573 under Nobunaga with use of . . .  Firearms  He was killed. Replaced by another “unifier” Hideyoshi in 1582

Hideyoshi and the European Challenge

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1543 Portuguese shipwrecked brought Japan into trade network

Japanese interested in firearms, printing, European devices  

Nobunaga had encouraged Missionaries. Why?

to counter power of Buddhists, enjoyed western traditions 

Hideyoshi reluctant, Buddhists crushed

The Tokugawa Shogunate and Isolation

 Ieyasu (1603 becomes Shogun)- the successor of Hideyoshi  Tokugawa Shogunate – 1603-1868   Japanese cultural revival Kabuki theater- emphasized violence , action, and music. Criticized for corrupting effects on morality  Isolationism  Ieyasu ordered Christian missionaries out, active persecution, banned 1614  confined traders to specific cities 1616, 1630s Japanese forbidden to trade  1640s Limited amount of Dutch & Chinese merchants allowed- Only in city of Nagasaki  Removed influence of west to focus on consolidating Tokugawa power