September 24th Notes - Wednesday

September 24, 2008 Tpoic: The Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire, to 1750 Background: Eurasian land empires Mongol Empire Founded in the 13th century by Genghis Kahn By the 14th century, had split into separate khanates Tamerlane or Timur 1380-1390 conquers Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Georgia 1398?conquers North India 1402?defeats the Ottoman sultan Bayazet Byzantine Empire The surviving eastern half of the roman empire, which lasted in some form until 1453 Capital was Byzantium, renamed Constantinople Rise of the Ottoman Empire 1300: small state in NW Anatolia founded by Osman, from which the name derives grew due to military, geopolitical, and strategic factors initially expanded into Greece and the Balkans; territory that previously belonged to the Byzantine empire 1402: Bayazid I comes into contact with Timur subsequent civil war until Mehmed I reunited the empire (r. 1413-20) Ottoman Expansion 1453: Mehmed II takes Constantinople, ending the Byzantine empire Constantinople subsequently known as Istanbul 1514: Battle of Chaldiran, and defeat of the Safavid empire, establishing a border between the two empires Subsequent Ottoman expansion over the course of the 16th century Conquest of Egypt and Syria in 1516-17 Major ort cities of Algeria and Tunisia join the empire in early 16th century Ongoing battles with the city state of Venice, eventually resulting in Venice paying tribute to the Ottoman empire 152(: Suleiman the Magnificent lays siege to Vienna, unsuccessfully Battle of Lepanto, 1571- Holy roman empire and Venice manage to defeat the Ottoman empire in a naval battle Suleiman the Magnificent (r. 1520-1566) By the early 16th century, Ottoman empire the most powerful state in Europe and the Islamic world Suleiman?s rule arguably the high point of Ottoman rule Ottoman military organization in the 15th and 16th Centuries Military System Traditionally consisted mainly of mounted archers Conquest of the Balkans leads to new military units, known as Janissaries Initially Christian prisoners of war, who served as slaves Fought on foot Used guns Initially bared from marriage or employment outside of army Early 15th century, a new system initiated, known as Devshirme, Christian villages sent tribute of young men to train to become Janissaries Ottoman Administration Social structure: major distinction between the askeri class and the reaya Askeri class spoke Osmanii, served in the military or bureaucracy Reaya: rest of the populations: Muslims, Christians and Jewish Turkish cavalrymen administered rural areas under a land grant system Granted the right to collect taxes Reported each summer for campaigns Islam became the religion of the majority Religious law counts to a larger extent governed society Islamic law: Shari?a Religious scholars: ulama Decline of the Military State Groth of the Janissaries at the expense of the traditional cavalry, 1585-1650 Inflation makes it less possible to sustain land tax collecting system Insufficient imperial resources lead to hire of part-time salaried soldiers Result: revolts in Anatoli, by disgruntled cavalrymen, salaried soldiers, peasants Changes in Janissary system Janissaries begin marrying and taking part in commerce Growth of trade Development of Izmir as a trading center Farmers in surrounding areas shifted to cash crops, such as tobacco Increase in European trading presence in Ottoman territories Sultans made trade agreements known as ?capitulations? with European traders, giving them an advantage Growing Ottoman Weakness, 1650_1750 Power becomes decentralized Provincial officials tale advantage of weak sultans Growing Imperial Weakness Withdrawal of the sultans from an active role Janissaries become a hereditary office Rise of tax farming Replaced land grant system Officials would buy the right to collect taxes in a particular area Ottoman Empire would survive until 1922 Growth of the Safavid Empire 1502: Ismail proclaims himself Shah of Iran, founding the Safavid Empire Ismail was hereditary leader of a Sufi Muslim brotherhood known as Safaviya Sufism: Islamic religious practice aimed at attaining a direct personal experience of God Safaviya: a fraternal order of adherents to Sufi practices The majority of the population of Iran was Sunni Muslim One of two major schools of Islamic belief Believed in the rightful authority of Muhammad?s first four successors Leadership of Islam determined by temporal realities, as opposed to divine inspiration Ismail imposes. Shiite Islam over the course of a century Adherents of Shiite Islam follow the authority of Ali, the fourth successor caliph after the Prophet Muhammad Shiite doctrine state that temporal authority properly rests with the Hidden Imam 12th descendant of Ali, who disappeared in the 9th century in the absence of the hidden Imam, no definitive religious authority Social and Religious structures in the Safavid Empire Religious and cultural deveopments in the Safavid empire Development of Persian literature Iran made cultural links with India Importance of shared Shiite beliefs in fostering unity within Safavid Empire Family life in the Safavid and Ottoman empires Distinction between public and private life Men inhabited the public sphere, and women the private Separate areas of the house for women, and veils outside the home Women participated in economic and political life at a remove, often through make agents Islamic law codes allowed women to retain property after marriage Women also testified in courts The decline of the Safavid Empire Economic structure of the Safavid Empire Foreign trade depended on textile goods Carpets Woven silks Majority pop relied on subsistence farming and herding Late 16th century, inflation caused by cheap silver Ongoing conflicts between Safavids and Ottomans in the 16th and 17th Centuries Development of army units armed with guns in the late 16th century As with the Janissaries in the Ottoman empire, members were Christian slaves Originated from Caucasus mountains Recurrent problem with nomadic factions within the safavid empire 1722: end of the Safavid empire, with capture by Afghans