World History Post-Mid Term Notes - Islamic Empires

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Hajj is the fifth pillar. Every Muslim must make a pilgrimage to Mecca to honor the Kabba. They must do this one time minimum in their life. When you come to Mecca you must shed your worldly clothes and don the universal Muslim attire, suggesting that regardless of social station or wealth, all Muslims are equal in Mecca. There are seven walks around the Kabba with religious significance and symbolism. Let it be noted that not all can make the pilgrimage for financial or health reasons and this is acceptable as long as the reasons are valid.

6. The 6th (unofficial) pillar is the Jihad. Everybody has temptations and diversions, and is subject to make mistakes and give in to vices. The Jihad is the internal struggle (Jihad is Hebrew for struggle) to not give in to those tepmtations

The Quran and the Hadith are the two most important writings of Muhammad and the Islamic religion. The Quran was the holy word of Allah, and the Hadith tells the story and travels of Muhammad, who represents the living model of the Quran and is a moral guideline, demonstrating how to live your life as Allah wishes.

The center of Shiite influence is Iran, which has the greatest concentration of Shiite Muslims in the world. This began with the Safavid Empire in Persia, which evolved into Iran.

The Ottoman and the Mughal Empires were predominantly Sunni Muslims. They have a history of strife and religious tension which existed between the rival empires. The Islamic faith in Iran is a much more conservative version of Islamic religion. The Imons are much more concerned about the perversions of the faith that have occurred over the years (as the Muslims waging Jihad on the world is a perversion).

8/18/16

Video Notes on Gunpowder Empire

Gunpowder Empires: 1450-1750

Ottoman Empire

Safavid Empire

Mughul Empire

Land-Based

Gunpowder Empires: Examples

-Ottomans (Anatolia, N. Africa, Middle East, E. Europe)

-Safavids (Persia, Central Asia)

Mughuls (Afghanistan, Pakistan, N. India)

Qing Empire

Characteristics:

Land-based—they spread out into contiguous territory from a “home base” (unlike sea-faring powers & trading post empires based out of Europe like Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands that created far -flung empires NOT adjacent to their home turf)

-Reliance on infantry

-Land-grant military systems

-Cost of militaries= increased centralization

-Islamic Gunpowder Empires all traced their heritage back t nomadic central Asian roots

-traditional—these empires shared traits we’ve seen throughout history up to this point

-Often, armies were made up of slave-soldiers (other than the European feudal model) to ensure loyalty to the central ruler

Islamic Flowerint: Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal

-vast, diverse Muslim world was extremely advanced culturally, economically, and technologically

-flowering of culture as in the ABBASID Caliphate era

-Suleyman the Magnificent a.k.a. The Lawgiver (Ottoman); Abbas I the Great (Safavid); Akbar (Mughal)= golden age rulers

-Coffeehouses popular place for cultural life

COMMON PROBLEMS

-TOO BIG (transportation and communication issues)

-Nomadic heritage= unruly warrior elites

-Rise of European rivals

-Europe=small states, strong rivalries and competition=technologies and weapons developed rapidly; trade routes moved to ocean routes controlled by Europe (The Atlantic System)

Long-Term Changes

-Ottoman, Safavid, and Muhgal Empires came from Turkic, nomadic roots BUT

-Central Asian nomadic threats ended w/ gunpowder--conquered and subjugated

Islamic Empires

-Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal (the Gunpowder Empires)

-Origins and Prominent Leaders

-Social, Cultural, and Religious Life

-Interactions and Relationship Among the Empires

-Empires in Decline

Terms—

Ottoman had the Ghazi, a standing army of religious warriors who were highly skilled zealots who also served as members of the Ottoman Empire. They also had a system known as the Devshirme, who were young boys who were slaves of the sultan, contributed by the Christian population of the Balkans.

If they were used as soldiers they would be known as the Janissaries (from Turkish yeni cheri “new troops”).

Mehmed II the Conqueror: He captured Constantinople in 1453. This city became the new Ottoman capital, eventually being renamed as Istanbul.

Suleyman the Magnificent: Ottoman imperialism climaxed in his reign. He led Ottoman expansion both in southwest Asia and in Europe. He conquered Baghdad in 1534 and added the Tigris and Euphrates valleys to the Ottoman Domain.

Both were Sunni empires.

Safavid Empire was militarized as well. It had its own army and expanded into what is now the Persian Gulf (Iran, part of Saudi Arabia). They were led by a 12 year old boy Ismail who served as the Shah, a Persian imperial title. He ruled from 1501 to 1524. His empire was Shiite. They seized control of the Iranian plateau and launched expeditions into the Caucasus, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and central Asia. He proclaimed that the religion of his realm would be known as the Twelver shiism, which he imposed on his people by force when necessary. This was the belief that there would be 12 Imams of the Lord, the first being Ali. These 12 would make appearances through gaps of time. He believed that In 874 that final of 12 Imams went into hiding, and that the 12th Iman who was still alive