The+Muslim+Empire

ESPIRIT on Ottomans

E  || MI – The Ottoman empire mostly gained its revenue because of their location and profited from imports from various areas around the world. S || MI – The Janissaries contributed greatly to the Ottoman empire's successful military composing of people from captured areas. P || MI – The Ottoman empire was built, controlled and expanded through military supremacy, but declined because it had "over expanded". I || MI – Expanding and controlling most of the Arab world, the Ottoman empire developed a strong military and naval force. Their strong military and navy eventually declined and lost to many European countries that challenged the Ottomans. R || MI – There was little religious achievement during the Ottoman empire other than the conversion of Byzantine's church for Islamic purposes. I || MI – The Ottoman empire was very diverse and various languages were used. Many people socialized and shared knowledge in coffeehouses all around the empire. T || MI – The little technological advances in the empire was one of the many reasons why they declined.
 * economy of the empire was geared to warfare and expansion
 * commerce in the empire was in the hands of Muslim/Christian/Jewish traders
 * bazaars filled with merchants and travelers
 * spices from West Indies, ivory from Africa, goods from Russia, carpets from Persia
 * gov't regulated commercial exchanges and inspected shops and currency,
 * merchants in Ottoman empire lost revenue as other ports were being used ||
 * warrior class fought with religious leaders for control of Ottoman bureaucracy
 * **Janissaries** dominated the imperial army
 * consisted of boys from conquered areas, they were given up by parents b/c of education
 * guilds created by artisans
 * peasants uprising due to large estate owners drained the resources of empire ||
 * Ottomans has superior naval power and galley fleets allowed takeover of island bases
 * military leaders had big role in the Ottoman state
 * Janissaries controlled artillery and firearms = most powerful component in Ottoman military
 * growing importance = decline of aristocratic cavalry
 * tried to translate their power in military to power in political influence
 * involved in court politics and were able to decide the ruler
 * Ottoman rulers were absolute monarchs
 * administrations carried out by a bureaucracy controlled by a grand **vizier**
 * vizier was overall head of imperial administration and held more power than sultan
 * Ottomans suffered b/c they adopted Islam style of political succession = constant danger of civil strife
 * Ottoman empire slowly declined b/c it had gotten to large to control and reached its limits
 * corruption among officials, poorly regulated gov't, ||
 * Ottomans seized power as a result of the collapse of the Seljuk Turkic kingdom and the invasion of the Mongols
 * kingdom built in Anatolia and advanced across the Asian Minor into Europe
 * under **Mehmed II**, the Ottomans conquered Constantinople and centuries later ruled most of the Arab world
 * Ottomans lose more and more wars as they declined
 * caused by Janissaries attempt to block all military changes that could jeopardize their power
 * began to lose power in navy as Portugal defeats the Ottomans ||
 * Saint Sophia was converted to the grandest mosque in Islamic world ||
 * empire was composed of many diverse cultures
 * coffeehouses = social/culture life of empire, men shared knowledge with one another
 * written in Persian but Arabic became important language for almost everything
 * Turkish language used by poets and historians
 * most lit. of Ottoman empire talks about slow decline of the empire ||
 * architectural advances from Byzantine heritage
 * aqueducts built for growing pop.,
 * markets reopen and city's defenses repaired (Byzantine)
 * military/firearm advances = growth of empire
 * technological advances in other European countries caused the Ottomans to fall behind ||

ESPIRIT on Mughals

E       || MI – S  || MI – > ||  P   || MI – I  || MI – > ||  R   || MI – I  || MI – T  || MI –
 * Babur lead raids to raise money for campaigns to reclaim lost kingdom
 * Akbar abolished head tax on nonbelievers
 * court and central bureaucracy supported by revenues from tributes paid and taxes
 * merchants encouraged to set aside special market days for women only
 * major overseas destination for European traders, Indian textiles were wanted b/c easily washed and were inexpensive ||
 * intermarriage between Mughal aristocracy and families of Hindu Rajput rulers encouraged
 * Hindus had highest rank in gov't, ended ban on building of Hindu temples and ordered Muslims to respect cows
 * Akbar pushed for social reforms to help benefit his subjects
 * improve the calendar, est. living quarters for large pop. of beggars, regulate wine drinking
 * encouraged widowed marriage and discourage child marriages
 * legally prohibit the burning of high-caste women with husband's funeral(sati)
 * better conquerer than administrator - did little to reform ineffective Lodi bureaucracy
 * Babur's son, **Humayan**, inherits new kingdom after father's sudden death
 * forced to flee to Persia and was an embarrassed guest at the Safavid court
 * launched series of campaigns into India and restored Mungal rule and later died hitting his head
 * Akbar was one of the greatest leaders of all time
 * has a vision of uniting all of India under his rule
 * Akbar's successors added more land to empire
 * Jahangir and Shah Jahan's wives took advantage of their husbands ignoring of politics
 * **Nur Jahan** - packed the courts with male relatives and was a major patron in charities
 * **Mumtaz Mahal** - opportunities to amass power behind the throne limited b/c Shah Jahan was a more able ruler ||
 * goal was to conquer his homeland but eventually had to settle for India
 * conquered large portions of Indus and Ganges plains = foundation of a dynasty
 * Humayan's sudden death cause empire to be in peril b/c successor, **Akbar,** was 13 yrs old
 * Akbar's army extended the empire with conquests in the North and in central India
 * administrative and wars were done/fought the same way by successors
 * Babur's motives for conquest and empire building had little to do with religious fervor
 * Akbar invented own universalistic religion
 * **Din-i-Ilashi** - hoping to unite both the Muslims and Hindus
 * reasoned that violent conflicts could be prevented
 * religion was rejected by both ||
 * Akbar patronized the arts and took part of religious and philosophical discussion with learned scholars
 * Jahangir and Shah Jahan expanded painting workshops -> thousands of paintings created
 * India's inventions and sciences fell behind western Europe's
 * Jahangir and Shah Jahan built great architectural works such as the Taj Mahl
 * Mughal architecture blends Persian, Hindu and Islam ||