The Islamic World.docx

3/16/10 The Islamic World Themes of the Day Islamic Background: Faith and History 3 Empires - Ottoman - Safavid - Mughal Similarities - Politics - Economic - Religion and Society Shared Weaknesses - Reasons for Eventual Downfall Historical Background - Origins - Muhammad ? religious, political, and military leader who spread Islam - Qur?an ? inspired by the teachings of the Qur?an - Development and Spread - The Caliphate ? formed after Muhammad?s death to spread Islam - The Islamic World ? center of learning - Reconquista and Crusades threatened Islam religion, but remained the most powerful coherent religion - Empires - Warrior Principalities ? the nomads expanded everywhere - Nomadic Tradition - Turkish Origins The Ottoman Empire - 13th Century to 1932 - Origins - Ghazi ? Islamic religious warriors - Expansion ? west into the Balkans and east into Asia - Military Prowess - The Janissaries ? slaves who were professional troops - Istanbul ? the capital, not Constantinople that they captured - Sponsored trade - Suleiman the Magnificent ? ruled from 1520-1566 - Had a powerful navy in the Aegean and Black Sea The Safavid Empire - Origins - 16th Century Iran - Shi?a vs. Sunni - Shi?a believed cousin of Muhammad should have been the next successor because he was from Muhammad?s bloodline, minority - Sunni?s believed they were the ones next in line to Muhammad, majority - Conflict with Ottomans - Chaldiran ? Ottomans defeated the Safavids in 1514 - Ottomans were Sunni?s that did not allow Safavids to expand to the west The Mughal Empire - Origins, 16th century - Babur ? the first leader - Composition ? emerged from Afghanistan and went into India - Akbar ? Babur?s son who reigned from 1566-1605 - Development - Europeans Islamic Imperial Continuity - Politics - Dynastic States - The Leader ? owns everything and has control over everything - Economics - Agriculture and land was owned by Emperors - Agriculture systems were used to fund their armies and government - Land was granted to people - Trade ? coffee and tobacco were luxury goods - Ottomans and Safavids promoted trade throughout the Islamic World - Religion and Society - Diverse Populations Decline - Decline of Imperial Leadership ? all 3 empires suffered from imperial leadership that did not prove to last - Religious Tensions ? challenged relaxed religious policies and began to oppress Hindus - Economic Decline ? Europe exploited and dominated trade - Military Decline ? lost military initiative to Europeans - Cultural Conservatism ? convinced of their superiority to Europe and fell behind to Europe as Europeans began to industrialize - European Role