"Between 1453 and 1526 Muslims founded three major states in the Mediterranean, Iran, and South Asia: respectively the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empire" (Dale 1). Everyone knows the Mediterranean, Iran, and South Asia because of modernization and technology. These regions are seen in newspapers and television for their current status, but not a lot of people have ever considered how they were back in the 15th century. The majority of our generation knows Istanbul, but what about Constantinople? The 15th century was the Gunpowder Empires era in which three major empires ruled the Mediterranean, Iran, and South Asia: Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal. Even though the Mughals were not as successful as the Ottomans, they both share similarities in …show more content…
Like several dynasties throughout history, power and the art of war have always been prominent. Both empires started off with unifying their government and military structure in order to be source of power. Their next step was to invade their surrounding areas in order to spread their own power and to have a greater influence. The conquest of Constantinople was the big accomplishment for the Ottomans, since Constantinople was Christian-based and it had proven to be difficult to conquer in the past. This not only was a conquest for power, but also for religion since they transformed the Orthodox cathedral into a Muslim mosque. The big conquest for the Mughals was north India, “Babur conquered India simply because he had lost the hope of establishing an empire in Mawarannahr or anywhere else, and so he turn his mulkgirlq, his “kingdom-seizing” ambitions, to India…” (Dale 73). Babur was more power driven since he had “kingdom-seizing” ambitions and the religious elements came in second for …show more content…
The Ghazi thesis was used by the Ottomans as well and it is based on the idea of a “holy war” against the infidels. The Ottomans were religion based and they went along with “Jihad in the path of God” which meant that they were fighting for God. Their goal in the beginning was to strive to be a more pious Muslim community. Like mentioned before, some Mughal rulers did not put religion as their top reason to conquer. Babur was more of a one of a kind ruler, “No Ottomans, sultans or conquerors, are known to have been as openly frank as the Mughal found Babur, who in his Turki-language autobiography explains that he left Kabul for India to satisfy his mulkgirliq, his "kingdom-seizing" or imperial ambitions” (Dale 56). Babur was open with the fact that he was more “power hungry” when he conquered than a follower of the Ghazi
Two of the most powerful powers in the post-classical period were the Arabian and Byzantine empires. Each had different political, religious, and economic differences that defined their respective cultures, and managing to create vast empires that greatly rivaled each other.
Akbar was considered the best of the Mughal rulers partly because of his tolerance of all religions. Akbar did his best to unify the Hindus and Muslims by giving both religions positions in the government. Traditionally, only Muslims would could be rulers zamindars while most of the population was Hindu. Akbar also married women of both religions, as an attempt to unify Hindus and Muslims. Akbar himself was interested in religions, inviting different people to discuss other religions with him. Akbar's greatest impact in trying to unite the Hindus and Muslims was creating the Divine Faith religion, but most people did not convert. When Akbar died, the following rulers did not support the same religious tolerance policy that he had. Aurangzeb tried to rid the empire of all Hindu. This caused revolts from both Hindus and Muslims, which created a period of instability allowing Europeans to come and take
The failure of defensive development in Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, and Persia had a large and long-lasting effect on the Muslim world. The original goal of the reforms was to end European intervention, revive the weakening empires, and to be on equal standing with Europe. Yet, all three empires over-utilized the wealth and knowledge of Europe, leading to their ultimate demise. The empires wished to impose reforms in the military, economics, education, and law which the region had not experienced previously. This resulted in backlash, violence, and division within the empires eventually leading to bankruptcy, ironically, to those which they wished to separate themselves.
Ottoman vs. Qing The declines of the Ottoman and Qing Empires both had commonalities in their downfall such as corruption in the government, weak armies, and debt to the Europeans, though the main reasons for the collapse of the empires are alike the way that the problems developed are dissimilar. While both the Qing and the Ottoman were in completely separate locations, both had government officials that abused their positions of power and brought down the economic standing of the empire as whole. Ottoman rule was at its peak during the sixteenth century and they stayed in that era, as did the Qing, the military advancements that had occurred were not followed by these empires causing them to be utterly defenseless in war. Finally, due to the fact that the Ottomans and Qings had no way to protect themselves from the Europeans, the British and French gave them loans or crops that forced them into economic strife because they could not pay back the money they had borrowed.
In 1453 the Ottomans took control of Constantinople, and effectively cut off direct European trade to East Asia. Because of this, in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, exploration in search of alternative routes became a key focus of Western European nations.
The Ottomans and Spanish built flourishing empires based on different philosophies from 1450 to 1800. The Ottoman and Spanish were two powerful empires during that time. During the building of the two empires, the Spanish and the Ottoman both developed similarities in their social, political, and economic structures. The Ottoman took control of Europe, while the Spanish saw it as easy to monitor new lands. The different tactics employed made the both empires flourish. For instance, the Spanish were not tolerant of religion. They conquered other areas with the aim of converting Christians to Islam, if they refused, they would be killed. On the other hand, the Ottoman leaders incorporated leaders of diverse culture
Three Muslim empires rose during the spread of Islam. These empires are different, yet also similar. They are the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals. They united other Muslims but also conquered other territories to form their own empires.
The early Islamic Empire expanded by war, and making peace. In Document A: Battle of the Yarmuk, it talks about the war going on between the Muslims and The Greeks. Then Document B: Treaty of Tudmir, it talks about a treaty that the Muslims made with Theodemir, which was the Christian King of the region in southern Spain.
While taking the class of Early Modern European History there was two states that really stuck out and peaked my interest the most. They were the Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe. If you compare and contrast both the Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe during the 16th Century through the 18th Century, you will see that there are a number of similarities as well as differences when you look at the expansion of the states. You will also see many of these contrasts as well when you look in terms of each states military and commerce. Although the Ottoman Empire existed before the 16th century and continued to exist past the 18th century and in great decline until the early 20th century, when looking at the state as a whole the time period of 1500’s through the 1700’s is a period of growth and strength. It is perhaps even known as a golden era for the state, when taking in to comparison the Early Modern Europeans where the same time period marks a change in how society thought and how people were treated.
The emergence of gunpowder and the ability to create increasingly more accurate firearms in the Middle East and Europe in the fifteenth century sparked the growth of two highly militant empires. The Habsburgs, hailing mostly from the Iberian Peninsula, fully began to rise when Charles V inherited Spain, American territories, western Mediterranean territories, and Austria from his parents. The Ottoman Empire had its humble beginnings as a nomadic group; however, it later became a force to be reckoned with upon the capture of Constantinople (now Istanbul). Since these two emerging empires were in close proximity, military dominance was a necessity. The Ottomans were rightfully feared for their military due to their strict training regulations
The Ottoman Empire were Muslims and included Hungary, Syria, Egypt, Bulgaria, and Albania, and they marched on land. The Ottoman Empire is said to have first appeared somewhere around the 1300’s, and can be related to the decline of the Byzantine Empire. They began conquering Christian lands and by the late 1600’s all Christians were afraid of the “terrible Turk”. It is no wonder that many other people were afraid of the Ottoman Empire since they seem to be really rather powerful and they conquered a lot of land. It was in the 1330’s when the Morroccan Abu Abdallah Ibn Battuta passed through Constantinople and became impressed with the Ottomans who seemed to be gaining power rather quickly, he noticed that they had close to 100 forts and
Özcan, Azmi. "Empire, Ottoman." Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450. Ed. Thomas Benjamin. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 407-416. World History in Context. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
As we look back into both long moments in history, we can see how the two, while starting out along the same path and beliefs, had branched away from one another. These differences, whether influences by outside or internal sources, helped shape not only the future for their worlds but also for ours. If it had not been for Constantinople’s prime trade location, or had they ignored the opportunity, they too could have easily stifled their economic and cultural growth. While the Medieval Western European culture was slower to expand, they did eventually blossom, prosper and survive.
The Ottoman Empire reached the peak of its power in the 1500s. While other empires were experiencing their downfalls, the Ottoman Empire’s power seemed to be increasing. In fact, this empire can be ranked as the strongest power due to its tactical internal organization of power, minorities, and religion, due to its physical expansion which provided more resources, more advancements, and more people to support the empire, and due to its large military strength that provided security, reduced rebellion, and challenged the other powers.
The city of Istanbul was originally known as Constantinople back in the time of the Byzantine Empire Days. Then, in 1453, Constantinople became part of Ottoman Empire and over the years, the name of the city was changed to Istanbul. Since both empires occupied Istanbul at one point, its leaders brought over many rich and diverse cultures, ideas, and many architectural designs. This beautiful city is separated by the Bosphorus Strait which is the main waterway connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, that separates Europe from Asia.