AP World History POD #12 – The Ottoman & Safavid Empires

1. AP World HistoryPOD #12 – The Ottoman & Safavid Empires Ottoman Empire

2. Class Discussion Notes Bulliet et. al. – “The Ottoman Empire, to 1750”, pp. 532-541

3. Ottoman Empire • “ The most long-lived of the post-Mongol Muslim empires was the Ottoman Empire, founded around 1300. By extending Islamic conquests into eastern Europe, starting in the late fourteenth century, and by taking Syria and Egypt from the Mamluk rulers in the early sixteenth, the Ottomans seemed to recreate the might of the original Islamic caliphate, the empire established by the Muslim Arab conquests in the seventh century. However, the empire was actually more like the new centralized monarchies of France and Spain than any medieval model.” (Bulliet, p. 532)

4. Rise to Power • Established around 1300 as a tiny state in northwestern Anatolia • Grew into a dominant world power as a result of (1) a strong shrewd founder in Osman (2) control and dominance over the Dardanells Strait strategically linking Europe and Asia (3) creation of an army that capitalized on the traditional skills of the Turkish cavalryman and the new military possibilities available due to gunpoweder

5. Battle of Kosovo • Ottoman armies originally focused on Christian enemies in Greece & the Balkans • 1389 – conquered a strong Serbian kingdom at Battle of Kosovo • 1453 – Sultan Mehmed II (“The Conqueror”) laid seige to Constantinople • Used enormous cannons to bash the city’s walls, dragged warships over a high hill from the Bosporus Strait to the city’s inner harbor to avoid the sea defenses, and penetrated the city’s land walls through a series of direct infantry assaults • The fall of Constantinople and the emergence of Istanbul ended more than 1100 years of Byzantine rule • The Ottomans seemed invincible

6. Suleiman the Magnificent (“the Lawgiver”) • Son of Selim I, “the Grimm” who captured Egypt and Syria opening access to the Red Sea • Suleiman ruled from 1520-1566 and oversaw the greatest assault launched on Christian Europe • Laid siege to Vienna in 1529 – the city was saved only by Suleiman’s need to retreat before winter • Historians view the years of his reign as an era where the imperial system worked nearly perfectly (Golden Age of the Ottomans)

7. World Context • The rise of the Ottoman Empire created a great disruption to the overland Afro-Eurasian trade routes (old Silk Road). • Access to the spices, silks and luxury goods of the east was closed off to the west – NEW MARITIME TRADE ROUTES WOULD NEED TO BE CULTIVATED • Access to slaves from Eastern Europe (Caucus region) was closed off to western Europe – NEW SITES FOR SLAVE ACQUISITION WOULD BE OPENED IN WESTERN AFRICA • Western Europe will rise to social, political, economic and cultural prominence

8. Imperial Government • Ottoman Empire was the most powerful and best organized state in either Europe or the Islamic world • Janissary Corps – comprised of Christian prisoners of war who converted to Islam – unfamiliar with the traditional fighting methods of horseback riding and bowmanship – they were trained as professional infantry foot soldiers skilled in the use of gunpowder and guns – eventually these soldiers began to evolve as social class participating in commercial activity enhancing the state budget and supplying their own children to the rank reducing the need for forced conscription • Child Levy – starting in the 15th century the devshirme was an imposed regular levy of male children in Christian villages in the Balkans used a means enlist, educate and train future members of the Jannisary as well as provide senior military and government commanders and advisors up to the rank of grand vizier • Naval Warfare – a galley-equipped navy was manned by Greek, Turkish, Algerian and Tunisian sailors • Military Class – everyone who served in the military or bureaucracy was considered to be a member of the askeri or military class as was exempt from paying taxes and owed their well being to the sultan – this was left to the raya (“Flock of Sheep”)

9. Military Crisis • “As military technology evolved, cannon, and lighter-weight firearms played and ever-larger role on the battlefield. Accordingly, the size of the Janissary corps – and its cost to the government – grew steadily, and the role of the Turkish cavalry diminished. To pay the Janissaries, the sultan started reducing the number of landholding cavalrymen. Revenues previously spent on their living expenses and military equipment went directly into the imperial treasury. Inflation caused by a flood of cheap silver from the New World bankrupted many of the remaining landholders, who were restricted by law to collecting a fixed amount of taxes. Their land was returned to the state. Displaced cavalrymen, armed and unhappy, became a restive element in rural Anatolia.” (Bulliet, p. 535)

10. Rebellion • Revolts devastated Anatolia between 1590 and 1610 as former landholding cavalrymen, short-term soldiers released at the end of the campaign season, peasants overburdened by emergency taxes, and even impoverished students of religion formed bands of marauders • Revolts resulted in emigration and the loss of agricultural production • Banditry increased as the government could not stop the spread of muskets among the general population

11. Economic Decline • Tax Farming – land grants in return for military service began to decline for the Janissaries, replaced instead by tax farming (tax farmers paid specific taxes, such as custom duties, in advance in return for the privilege of collecting a greater amount from the actual taxpayers) • Capitulations – special trade agreements granting Europeans commercial privileges were created and would eventually lead to European dominance of Ottoman seaborne trade (but they did not physically control ports preventing direct colonial settlement in the region)

12. Decadence & Decline • Tulip Period - unable to see Europe as the enemy intent on dismantling the empire, the Istanbul elite experimented with European style clothing and furniture, as well as purchased books from the European nations – in addition there was a craze for high-priced tulip bulbs • Patrona Halil Rebellion – upset with extravagant decadence, conservative Janissaries revolted with strong religious overtones forcing Sultan Ahmed III to abdicate – Patrona Halil, an Albanian former seamen, swaggered around the capital for several months dictating government policies before he was seized and executed • Although no region declared independence, the sultan’s power was fading, giving way to the rise of influential lower officials and chieftains, while the Ottoman economy reoriented itself toward Europe