The Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughals were all gunpowder empires. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast the differences between all of these empires mentioned. Each fall into five different categories.
Socially, the Ottoman Turks were each millet, or a nation, inside the empire and had separate social customs in accordance with the religion of the millet. Muslim women had harsh restrictions as with Islamic law, but the non-Muslim women were subject to separate laws. Even Muslim women had more rights than in other Muslim nations. In the Safavid empire socially, they were a mixed society just like the Ottoman empire. The aristocrats had limited power and influence. They were also Turkic-speaking tribal groups. In the Mughal
…show more content…
Silks were produced under the Sultan leaders, but rugs were a peasant industry. Separate villages had their own distinctive designs. All rugs though use the “Gordian knot” from the Gordes region. Tribal leaders collected the taxes. For the Safavids economic side, They took direct interest in economy. They were engaged in manufacturing and trade. The King monitored the economy very closely. They would also kill people for dishonest business practices. However, the Safavids were probably not as wealthy as Ottoman or Mughal. For Economics to the Munguls Empire, they were at peace and stability under Akbar. This caused commerce and manufacturing to thrive. Their goods, like textiles, tropical food, spices, and precious stones were exported.
They Imported gold and silver. The had tariffs on imports were quite low. Foreign commerce was mostly carried on by the Arabs since the Mughals like the Indians did not like to travel by sea. Also, Internal land trade was carried on by large merchant castes, that were active in handicrafts and banking as well. On a religious point of view for all the empires. The Governments in all 3 were muslim based. Mughals were the only group that was not predominately Muslim. Muslims were only a small minority Ottomans were Sunni Muslims. The Ottoman titles were claimed to be caliphs. They maintained Islamic law called Sandri'a. Only applied to Ottoman Muslims. Ottoman minorities were mostly
In the Arabian peninsula, Islam had started. After Muhammad died, the Muslim community embarked on a series of military conquests that extended their control over much of Eurasia and north Africa. Muslim merchants also became a prominent figure in trade during this time. The Islamic empire extended to the Arabian Peninsula and many areas around it. These places were central in the Mediterranean sea, Indian Ocean, and silk road trade routes. The Muslim merchants became a very big part of trade because of their location at the center of many trade routes from Eurasia to Africa. They were also a prominent part of trade because the camel saddle started to be used frequently in 600 CE. Camels were more equipped to walk through the desert, and so the ability to control them made the Muslims a major part of silk road trade. In addition to this, the Muslim agricultural revolution occurred around 600 CE. This caused more crops like cotton to be cultivated and traded, causing a greater income and virtually more trade between Africa and Eurasia. In the Indian Ocean basin, the Gupta empire had declined and there was no centralized rule in India. However, there were still major trading cities and new technologies caused trade to increase. An example of the new technologies would be the dhows and junks that were used at around 800 CE.
The Ming and Ottoman Empires arose after the Mongols in the mid-14th century. These two empires undertook massive renovation. Although there were some broad, common goals in their re-building, the Ming focused inward, while the Ottoman focused outward in building their empires, which reflected in their trading techniques. The Ming dynasty focused on internal trade and restricted external trade; the Ottomans however, mainly focused on external trade rather than internal. Trading across the ocean led to the Ottoman Empire becoming tolerant of ethnic religious minorities due to their large landmass, whereas the Ming dynasty’s geography caused them to become isolated, therefore leading them to become selective of their treatment towards ethnic
The Ottoman and Mughal empires were two of the greatest and most successful empires to ever form in history. However, they both had some similarities as well as differences. Both empires went through tough periods of time, but at some point they also went through times of growth and prosperity. Although the Ottoman and Mughal Empire both did not force conversions into Islam, the Ottoman’s development relied on their tough military force, while the decline of the Mughal Empire was caused by Aurangzeb’s policy of religious persecution and high taxes.
On the Political side, the Ottoman Turks were the best at keeping up control for a more extended time. It could get by to the point that advanced circumstances. The two different realms crumbled by the seventeenth century. The pioneer of the Ottoman Turks was known as the Sultan which was like a ruler. Islamic Law was connected to all Muslims. With respect to Safavid realm politically, the Shahs strolled around the boulevards in mask keeping in mind the end goal to discover the genuineness of the nationals. The high positions were given by justifying and regularly were nonnatives. In the Mughal Empire politically, Even,
Social classes were based on the religion. The Ottoman Empire was considered an Islamic empire because its founder was a Muslim. Unlike any other state or empire, classes were taken by religion. Muslim millets were the highest class society and were treated equally as the other millets but other religions had to pay more
There were many empires that have a distinct background, the empires such as the Mughal Empire, Ottoman Empire and Safavids Empire. The Mughal Empire is a Muslim state founded by Babur, which extended over India. They have Experienced prosperity, peace, and little outside threats under Akbar's rule. For a while it was an example of religious harmony between Muslim and Hindu religions. The Ottoman Empire grew from a small empire in 1300 to encompass most of southeastern Europe by the late 15th century. The Safavids Empire is in Iran which initially supported its cavalry by land grants. The empire was very focused on land power. Chieftains, scholars, and notables served as intermediaries between the government and the people.
Throughout time empires have risen and fallen and taken various approaches in doing so. Some of these society were warlike, while others focused on intellectual discovery. Among these various societies were great empires like the Ottoman, the Mughal, the Spanish, and the Ming. All four of these great empire ruled at overlapping times but all eventually fell for different reasons. All had strengths and weakness and can be used as a learning opportunity for an empire that came after them. From the Ming and the Ottoman you can learn strength such as religious tolerance and government structure. On the other hand, the Mughal and the Spanish teach us the dangers of over taxing and over centralizing government. In order for an empire to successfully function they must have an accepting culture, a balanced economy, and manageable size.
Religious diversity was allowed in different degrees among the Islamic Empires. Sunni Muslims ruled the Ottoman Empire, but there was a common acceptance of other religions. Mughal rule seemed the most accepting of other religions, as it enforced the Policy of Religious toleration under Akbar the Great. Seemingly least accepting of religious diversity was the Safavid Empire with its loss of religious freedom towards its decline. Religious diversity was accepted in degrees among the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires with certain restrictions like Jitza and Devshirme in, but also approbations like the Policy of Religious Toleration in the Mughal Empire also known as the most religiously accepting empire.
The Safavid Empire was based in what is today Iran. This Islamic Empire was strong enough to challenge the Ottomans in the west and the Mughals in the east.
However, with the Ottomans use of gun-powdered weapons and Janissaries, the Safavids were ultimately defeated with the temporary loss of their capital. This was mainly due to the lack of technology and resources, which destroy it. In the late sixteenth century Shah Abbas the Great, restored the Safavid empire, moved the capital to Isfahan, encouraged trade with other lands and reformed the administrative and military institutions of the empire. He brought most of northwestern Iran, the Caucasus, and Mesopotamia under Safavid rule. (Bentley, Streets, & Ziegler, 2008, pg. 461).
History has consisted of many different empires. Two of the earlier empires are known as the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire. The Ottoman Empire was established around 1299 by Osman I, who was also a leader of the Turkish tribes (History.com). The Ottomans began in Asia Minor during the break down of the Turks, which later led the Ottoman Empire to expand and conquer land across Asia and Europe. While the Safavid Empire was established in 1501 east of the Ottoman Empire. The Safavid Empire emerged in modern day Iran, which was east of where the Ottoman Empire started and expanded. Both of these empires were strong in power and had many resources available to them.
The Safavid Empire began in Azerbaijan. The empire continued to expand during Shah Abbas's reign but after his death, the dynasty gradually lost its vigor. At first, Shah Ismail, the founder of the Safavid dynasty, tried to convert members of the Ottoman Empire into Shiites. This resulted in massacre of the Sunni Muslims in 1508. Alarmed, the Ottomans fought back and won a major battle. However, after a few years, Ismail regained the land. Many years later, the Ottomans attacked back and forced the new shah, Abbas, to sign a treaty. It was Abbas who led the Safavids to their highest point. The political and social structure was strong. Senior positions in the bureaucracy were by merit rather than by birth. Religious tolerance was practiced. Abbas hired foreigners from neighboring countries for positions in his government to avoid religious competition. The shahs also took a direct interest in the economy, playing an active part in trade and manufacturing. The artistic excellence was
Turkish people known as the Mughals extended their authority and their empire to much of the subcontinent.
One big of the differences was their view on religion. The Mongols did not have one religion that they all followed. Instead they had multiple religions and even created one themselves, known as Shamanism. The Ottoman Empire on the other hand made Islam as their main religion. The Ottoman Empire did allow people to worship other
In this week’s chapter, it discusses a lot about the rise and fall of the Ottoman and Safavid Empires. In many dynasties, it is critically important to have a well balanced society and economy. Anderson displays many of the reasons why these two empires were so great during their time, but evidently loss of power and control of government can be a major turning point and, eventually, led to the decline of these empires. This specific chapter focus on the systems of governance that was established in each empire.