Gunpowder Empires

1. Gunpowder Empires 1450-1750

2. . What three factors were responsible for the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, beginning around 1300? • The three major factors were: • the shrewdness of the Ottoman founder Osman and his descendants • the control of the link between Europe and Asia at Istanbul • the creation of an army that combined the traditional skills of the Turkish horseman with new technologies, particularly firearms. • The Ottomans slowly expanded their rule across the region until the decisive victory at the Byzantine capital of Constantinople in 1453 made them appear invincible. • The conquests of Egypt, Syria, and other areas followed. • Trade wars with Venice pointed to the economic importance of the Ottoman trade empire in the Mediterranean. • The Ottoman achievement of a balance between light cavalry (armed with bows) and foot soldiers, or Janissaries (equipped with firearms) was significant. • Equally important was the land-grant system, which gave control and power to the cavalrymen, who dispensed justice, raised taxes, and fought in the military.

3. Why did the trade empires in the Indian Ocean region succeed and the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires decline? • Changes in the world economy and military technologies undermined the land-grant system, which was the basis of the large land-based empires. • In the seafaring empires, by contrast, improved technology in firearms, gunpowder, ship design, and navigation proved a boon. • The influx of New World silver and the development of joint-stock companies provided an economic edge for Europeans. • For non-European traders in the Indian Ocean, Islam created a common bond and cemented diverse peoples into a cohesive trading network. • Islam also strengthened resistance and solidarity against the Europeans.

4. What was the relationship between the Islamic Empires and Europe through this period. How did the Ottoman Empire handle the growth of Europe aggression? How the Ottoman Empire resist European trade and culture and what were the consequences for the Ottomans? • There was a desire on the part of the Europeans to obtain silk, precious gems and gold from the Islamic middle men • The European desire for access to the wealth and diversity of the Eastern trade is a driving theme of the relationship that develops between these two cultural groups. • As The Ottoman Empire began to orient itself toward Europe in response to increased trade, it also began to decline. • Sulieman the Magnificent successfully assaulted Europe conquering Belgrade and Vienna. • During this “golden age,” the Ottoman Empire sought to control the Mediterranean and fought a two-century long war with Venice. • Other confrontations with the Portuguese exposed the Ottoman weakness of land empires being less “durable” than maritime empires. • The Ottoman also conquered Christian territories in the Balkans in the fourteenth century and enslaved Christian prisoners. • Ottoman economic problems were caused in part by the influx of silver from the Americas. • European traders used the large supply of silver and gold coins to buy their way into the Ottoman markets; however, the Ottoman traders didn’t have access to the currency that the Europeans did, and therefore reduced the Ottoman purchasing power and undercut their military system. • This led to European trading dominance in the Mediterranean and the gradual transformation of the Ottoman economy. • Ottoman farmers began to grow cash crops to meet European demand for cotton and tobacco. As this happened, the Ottoman Empire became more and more enmeshed in the European commercial network. • The Europeans were not able to take colonies in the Ottoman ports (as they did in Asia), but they did have unequal trade agreements on products such as coffee that made Europeans huge profits but only paid the Ottoman sultans three percent. • The period of Ottoman decline can also be called the Tulip Period as tulip bulbs became a high priced item and highly coveted among the elite classes like they did in Holland. • Although European trade and military power threatened the security of the Ottoman Empire, Europeans were not considered enemies; in fact, their clothing and furniture styles as well as books became popular items among the elite classes.

5. What were the major similarities and differences between the Safavid and Ottoman Empires and the differences. • Similarities • The similarities included the military reliance on an elite cavalry paid through the land-grant system, the Safavid orientation away from the sea and toward a large land-based empire, and the linguistic diversity of the people. • Another similarity is that the decline of these empires is rooted in that same foundation. • The economic problems and lack of armed military are deep problems that plagued both empires and would contribute to their declines. • Differences • The most significant difference was the Safavid Empire’s embrace of Shi’ite Islam and its abandonment of Sunnism. • Since it alone adopted that form of Islam, a deep chasm developed between Safavid Iran and other nations. • Consequently, Safavid Iran remained separate and distinct, even from its Islamic neighbors. • Other differences include the Safavid dynasty’s origination and legitimacy in the pre-Islamic regimes of ancient Iran. • The Persian language, too, distinguished the Safavids, and it defined literary, architectural, theological, and other cultural differences.

6. What was the primary feature that distinguished the Mughal Empire from the Ottomans and Safavids? • The Mughals—their name taken from the Persian word for Mongol—also patterned many of their institutions after their Mongol forebears. • Furthermore, they were more concerned with the sea than the Ottomans or Safavids, and had closer links to the vast Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian trade network. • Militarily, however, the Mughals had others fight most of their sea battles for them. • Differences between Muslim and Hindu were the defining factor. • India was first and foremost a Hindu land, although controlled by a Muslim minority. • Because India was geographically far from the Islamic homelands, distance lessened Muslim dominance and power. • Centuries of separation and seclusion had consolidated Hindu culture, which did not easily adapt to Islam. • The most successful of the Mughal emperors, Akbar, overcame those differences by marrying into a Hindu family and effecting a reconciliation between the two groups.

7. How was the “Metal Currency and Inflation” a crucial element in the security of the economy in the Islamic world? Why is inflation still an important issue in the economy and how is it controlled? • Inflation is an increase in the supply of money that results in an increase in prices and a decrease in the money’s value. • In the early Modern Period or after 1500, the increase of the supply of metal currency into the world money supply led to the financial insecurity of the Islamic empires of the chapter. • The influx silver from the Americas introduced large quantities of metal currency into the world markets that created a “price revolution” because the quantity of goods remained the same while the amount of money in circulation increased dramatically. • In the Ottoman Empire, European traders were able to take advantage of their access to gold and silver to outbid the Ottoman and Safavid traders. • The increase in prices created hardship for those living on fixed incomes, like the janissaries. • Iranian traders needed silver and gold to buy Indian goods because India expected coins not goods for their exports. • Iranians then passed the Indian goods on to the Ottoman traders for coins, therefore making the situation worse in the Ottoman economy. • Today, the inflation rate is monitored carefully and regulated by entities such as the Federal Reserve Bank in the United States and can be somewhat manipulated with interest rate changes.

8. How did economic and military issues contribute to the decline of the Ottoman Empire? • The essence of the crisis was that the growing world economy and new military technologies made payment of part-time soldiers by land grants economically unfeasible and obsolete. • Cannon and lighter-weight firearms altered military strategies. • The Janissary corps increased in size, raising the cost of government. • The role of the elite cavalry diminished correspondingly. • The government reduced the number of land grants to the cavalry, who became displaced and disgruntled. • The remaining landholders saw their fixed incomes from taxes decrease in the face of rising inflation, which resulted from New World silver flooding east from Europe. • Consequently, land returned to the state. • Others on fixed incomes, such as scholars and holy men, also suffered financially. • The result was widespread rebellion. • Deterioration in the quality of the growing Janissary corps—who often hired substitutes—and the continued evolution of military technology meant an increasing reliance on supplemental and part-time troops.

9. How do two important cities, Istanbul and Isfahan,reflect their culture and society? • The two cities differed strikingly in their architecture. Istanbul had been transformed from a Byzantine into a Muslim city, and its great walls contrasted with the open spaces and giant royal plaza of Isfahan. Istanbul was a great seaport • Isfahan was built well inland. • Both cities were designed for walking. • Wheeled vehicles were rare in Istanbul and nonexistent in Isfahan, as Isfahan was in an area dominated by camel transport. • Houses were crowded together in both cities. • Women’s roles were similar—and restricted—in both Istanbul and Isfahan. • Women were seldom seen in public and had special quarters in the home, called anderun in Iran and harem in Istanbul. • Nevertheless, women were accepted in business and trade, although within certain well-defined and accepted boundaries. • Culturally, poetry and art were more fully developed in Isfahan than in Istanbul. • Isfahan, the later capital of the Iranian empire, was located geographically in the middle of the empire and was not very diverse socially or culturally. • Istanbul, on the other hand, was a geographic crossroads and reflected the diversity of its many different peoples.