What is this about?
Focuses on how land based empires formed and expanded
- Rise in centralized governments around the world
- Gunpowder Empires = refers to the three Muslim empires which relied on firearms to control and conquer territories
- Were large, multi-ethnic states
- Mughal Empire (India), Safavid Empire (Persia), and the Ottoman Empire (Anatolia)
- Tended to be heavily militaristic but also left behind grand artistic and architectural legacies
- Qing Empire expanded and was relatively stable
- “Armed trade” was more common amongst empires during this time period
- Means that the different empires continued to trade with one another
- But what changed was now empires threatened military action if another empire refused to trade with them
This chapter is quite long as it covers so many empires! When studying, be sure to chunk up this chapter into smaller sections.
Western Europe
- 1450 signifies end of medieval period and start of modern era
- At this time we see the:
- end of a wave of plagues
- the invention of the Gutenberg printing press (in 1439)
- rise in literacy as a result of the printing press
- Also we see the start of the decline of feudalism
- Monarchs started to consolidate/centralize their power and became much more powerful
- Monarchs want and start to control taxes, army, and aspects of religion
- Power of lords and the churches as a result declines
- Monarchs also start to launch overseas expeditions and establish overseas colonies
Russia
- Culturally, Russia is in a weird position with its Mongol influence and European influence (as a result of Viking invasions)
Ivan the Terrible
- Also known as Ivan IV, he ruled Russia from 1547 to 1584
- Immediately set out to expand eastward, taking over territories controlled by descendants of the Golden Horde
- This expansion started to rely more and more on gunpowder as it progressed
- One major factor for expansion was fur:
- For Russia, fur was a very valuable trading commodity
- Russia wanted to control trade as well as conquer territories where fur was plentiful
Fur Trade and the Volga
- Ivan the Terrible wanted to control the fur trade, so he expanded eastward and captured the Volga River
- Volga River is significant as it now allowed the Russians to trade directly with Persia and the Ottoman Empire
To the Pacific
- Even after Ivan the Terrible Russia continued to expand east into Siberia
- By 1639 Russians expanded till the start of the Pacific Ocean
- Russians were able to crush the Siberian indigenous opposition they faced
- After the conquerors came missionaries who tried to convert the newly conquered lands to the Eastern Orthodox faith
- Success was limited
- Many Siberians continued to practice their traditional shamanistic beliefs alongside Christianity
- Others rejected Christianity altogether, to which the Russian government would respond with violence, which would create further resentment
- Russian government would impose tribute system on the Siberians they captured, main commodity Siberians were made to give was fur
East Asia
Collapse of Ming Dynasty
- Ming Dynasty was plagued with corruption
- Also faced economic problems such as famine and shortage of silver but couldn’t effectively address them
- Military was weak and ineffective; couldn’t fight against pirates and Manchu invaders
- One reason for this was because under the civil service examination system, military leaders were chosen for their administrative skills rather than their military expertise
- You can use this example as a downside to the civil service examination system
Rise of the Qing Dynasty
- People got fed up with the Ming Dynasty and started to revolt against the Ming
- One major factor that made lots of people mad was the failure of the Ming to address the famine
- Ming unable to put down these rebellions, leading to breakdown of social order
- In 1644, the Manchus from Manchuria took advantage of this and took over China from the Ming Dynasty, establishing the Qing Dynasty
- Great Wall of China was not maintained under Mongol rule, so the Qing took it upon themselves to restore and expand it
Emperor Kangxi
- Ruled between 1661 and 1722
- One of China’s longest reigning emperors
- Presided over a period of expansion and stability for the Qing Dynasty
- Took control of Taiwan, Mongolia, Central Asia
- Also imposed a protectorate over Tibet
- “A protectorate is a state or territory controlled and protected by a more powerful state”
Emperor Qianlong
- Ruled between 1736 and 1796
- Was a great patron of the arts, and under him, literature, painting, and other forms of art flourished in China
- Sponsored creation of Siku Quanshu, a massive collection of Chinese literature, and is regarded as one of the most important achievements in Chinese scholarship
- Conquered Nepal and Xinjiang (the places where the Uighurs live)
Conflicts with the West
- Needing funds, the Qing Dynasty sold limited trading rights to European countries but confined them to Guangzhou
- British demanded more rights in 1793 but Qing responded with no because the Qing had no need for British manufactured goods
Rise of the Islamic Gunpowder Empires
- The three Gunpowder Empires are:
- Mughal Empire (India)
- Safavid Empire (Persia)
- Ottoman Empire (Anatolia)
Common Traits
- All three descended from Turkish nomads that once lived in Central Asia
- Spoke a Turkish language
- Took advantage of power vacuums left behind by the collapse of the Mongols
- Relied on gunpowder weapons, like artillery and cannons, for expansion
- Were pretty militaristic
- Emperors were leaders of the military that could do whatever they wanted
- Prestige of emperors came from military accomplishments as well as fighting under the name of Islam
Rule of Tamerlane
- Conquered lots of parts of Central Asia and Middle East from Mongol khanates
- Tamerlane encouraged the arts, such as literature
- Gunpowder was a major factor that allowed Tamerlane to expand his empire
- Employed the ghazi ideal to justify his conquests
Ghazi Ideal
- Emphasizes warriors as holy fighters for Islam
- The ghazi ideal justifies conquests by saying it is the warriors duty to spread Islam and prevent the persecution of their faith
- Blended values of nomads with Islam
- This ideal would later serve as the model for the warriors who fought for the Gunpowder Empires
Legacy
- Even though Tamerlane’s empire collapsed after his death, it left behind a lasting legacy
- The three gunpowder empires would use the ghazi ideal to justify their conquests
- Furthermore Tamerlane laid the groundwork for utilizing gunpowder to expand an empire
Â
The Ottoman Empire
- Founded by Osman Bey, it lasted from 1299-1922
Mehmed II
- Conquered Constantinople in 1453 and made it the empire’s new capital
- Were able to conquer Constantinople by bombarding the city’s walls with cannons that used gunpowder
- Constantinople was a very important trade city and by conquering it the Ottomans were able to increase their economic power by a lot
Suleiman the Magnificent
- Ottoman Empire reached its peak under him
Â
Â
The Safavids
- Founded by Ismail I and lasted from 1501 to 1722
- Ruled over Persia
- Rulers used title “shah”
- Religion was Shiism
- Sunni population (which was the majority) was forced to convert
- Were able to rise to power due to their land based military might and strong leadership
Shah Abbas I
- Ruled between 1588 and 1629
- Transformed Safavid Empire into a prosperous state
- Reformed the government and military
- Embarked on a series of successful military conquests over the Ottoman Empire
- More religiously tolerant
- Promoted a more inclusive form of Shiism which called for greater coexistance between Sunnis and Shias, promoting stability throughout his empire
Hostilities between Ottomans and Safavids
- Ottoman was Sunni, Safavids were Shia, which led to conflicts between the two due to religion
- When Ottomans took over the city of Tabriz from the Safavids, they massacred the Shia population there; when the Safavids took it back, they in turn massacred the Sunnis
- Conflicts were not entirely religious though
- Some conflicts also centered around control of overland trade routes
- Ottomans imposed trade embargoes on the Safavids and banned Safavid silk traders
Women in the Safavid Empire
- Despite limited rights, they were still permitted to participate in society
- Had access to rights provided by Islam sharia law
- Nevertheless women were still veiled and their movements were restricted
Mughal India
- Mughals claim descent from both Turks and Mongols
Babur
- Mughal Empire founded by Babur
- Babur claimed descent from Genghis Khan and Tamerlane
- While the Ottomans championed the ghazi ideal and the Safavids portrayed themselves as the champions of Shiism, Babur didn’t care about putting on a religious duty act
- Took Delhi in 1526; gunpowder weapons especially helped with this
- By the time of his death, the Mughal Empire was a loosely knit together empire
Akbar
- Ruled from 1556 to 1605
- Real architect of the Mughal Empire; under him the empire flourished
- Consolidated power in Bengal and Gujarat and absorbed the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar in South India
- Under Akbar, overseas trade flourished
- Trade was largely conducted by merchant caste (Vaishyas)
- Arab traders were usually the merchants that conducted trade with Mughals
- Mughals gave textiles, spices, precious stones in exchange for gold and silver
Akbar and Religion
- Was religiously tolerant
- Wanted to reduce tensions between Muslims and Hindus
- Didn’t force Islam on his people
- Repealed jizya (tax on non-muslims)
- Instead promoted a syncretic religion called Din-i Ilahi (“divine faith”) in which all religious groups were unified under the rule of the Mughal emperor
- Combined values and ideas of Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism
- At its peak it had around 20 followers
Aurengzeb
- Mughal Empire reached its peak under Aurengzeb
- Ruled from 1618 to 1707
- Worked relentlessly to make Southern India be under Mughal authority: largely succeeded except for a small region at the southern tip
- Was not religiously tolerant:
- Was a devout Muslim
- Brought back the jizya
- Destroyed Hindu temples, replacing them with mosques
- Many of his policy angered non-Muslims, leading to uprisings and rebellions
Castes
- Also known as jatis
- Designated at birth
- Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras, Dalits
Decline of the Gunpowder Empires
- All three gunpowder empires declined as Western Europe grew more powerful
- While Western Europe rapidly modernized, the Islamic empires did not, leading to their demise
Decline of the Ottoman Empire
- Quality of sultans declined after Suleiman the Magnificent (he died in 1571)
- These sultans were often hostage to harem politics
- It was common for Ottoman sultans to have multiple wives
- Harem politics = efforts of wives and concubines to promote their own children as heirs to the throne
- Due to harem politics, some women were able to acquire immense political power in the Ottoman Empire
- In the 1800s nationalist movements rose in territories the Ottomans ruled over, such as Greece, and the people there clamored for their own nation
- Fell in 1922, shortly after World War I
Decline of the Safavid Empire
- Quality of shahs declined after Shah Abass
- Lived lavish lifestyles and mismanaged spending while the economy was failing
- Military was weak and unable to defend the empire
- Failed to suppress a rebellion by Sunni Pashtuns in Afghanistan
- Ottomans and Russians took advantage and seized Safavid territories
- Finally collapsed in 1760
Decline of the Mughal Empire
Impact of Aurangzeb
- Through his conquests of Southern India, Aurangzeb drained the empire’s treasury
- His severe religious intolerance also angered lots of groups, such as Hindus, Sikhs, etc and they started to rise up
- Mughal Empire was not able to put down these uprisings as the treasury was drained and the military was devoted to expanding south
After Aurangzeb
- The uprisings by groups like Hindus and Sikhs continued, leaving the empire more and more unstable
- British took advantage of this and were able to gain more and more economic power, and later in the 1800s they took political power away from the Mughals for good