The Middle East and South Asia during the Early Modern Era 1450-1750

1
The Middle East and South Asia during the Early
Modern Era1450-1750
Suleymaniye mosque built for Sultan Suleyman the
Magnificent by the Ottoman architect Sinan
Pashain 1556.
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4000 BCE 500 BCE

• Mesopotamia
• Veiling of women
• Moses established monotheism.
• Hammurabis Law Code

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500 BCE 600 CE

• Persian Empire
• Alexander of Macedon sacked the capital built by
  Darius at Persepolis.
• Zoroastrianism and its text The Gathas promoted
  the concepts of good and evil, right and wrong,
  and reward and punishment.

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600 CE 1450 CE

• Muhammad introduces Islam.
• Umayyad Empire institutes a tax, the jizya, on
  Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, and Buddhists.
• Conquering empire

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600 CE 1450 CE

• Abbasid Empire
• Relied on Persian techniques of administration.
• Baghdad became a center of bankers, commerce, and
  craft
• Indian, Persian, and Greek influences encouraged
  explosion in literature, philosophy and
  mathematics.

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600 CE 1450 CE

• Mongols
• Kublai Khans brother toppled Abbasid Empire and
  established Mongol ilkhanate in Persia.

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1450 CE 1750 CE

• Ottomans
• Autocratic
• Women were revered in politics and helped manage
  empire.
• Bureaucracy drew inspiration from stepped
  traditions of Turkish and Mongol people
• Sacked capitol of Constantinople and absorbed
  Byzantine Empire.

8
Identify the five most significant cultural
changes that took place in the Middle East during
the Early Modern Era (1450-1750).
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Political Change

• When Mehmud II captured Constantinople in 1453,
  he established new capitol and called it
  Istanbul.
• He established tightly centralized, absolute
  monarchy.
• He wasnt just a warrior he was also a true
  emperor.
• Under Suleyman, the Ottomans became a naval
  power.
• Shan Ismail and the Savavids established a
  presence in modern day Iran and Iraq.

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Political Change

• Conflicts developed between the Ottomans and the
  Safavids who embraced Twelver Shiism.
• Flashback
• After the death of Muhammad Muslims split
• Shias believed leadership should be assigned to
  descendants of Ali.
• Sunnis believed in the legitimacy of the early
  caliphs.

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Social Change

• The rulers mother and his chief wife or favorite
  concubine enjoyed special privileges and
  authority.
• Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal emperors followed
  the example of Chinggis Khan in relying on these
  women in political roles.
• Population growth was not as dramatic as in
  other parts of the world.

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Religious Change

• Twelver Shiism was introduced by Shah Ismail and
  the Safavid Empire.
• They believed one of the twelve religious
  leaders after Muhammad beginning with Ali would
  return to take power and spread true religion.
• Safavids believed that Ismail was incarnation of
  Allah.
• Established Shiites in Iran and Iraq which still
  exists today.

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Intellectual Change

• There was a decline in intellectual pursuits due
  to the focus on expansion.
• Islamic empires neglected cultural developments
  in the larger world.
• Few Muslims traveled willingly to the land of the
  Franks.
• Muslim rulers and their subjects felt superior
  and believed they had nothing to learn from
  Europeans.
• Conservative religious Islamic leaders actively
  discouraged the circulation of writing that might
  pose challenges to the social and cultural order.
  

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Technological Change

• Capital cities and royal palaces reflected
  imperial majesty.
• Monuments of Istanbul reflected Byzantine and
  Islamic elements.
• Suleymaniyes religious complex combined tall,
  slender minarets and large domed buildings
  supported by half domes in the style of the
  Byzantine church Hagia Sophia.
• They used European warfare technologies on a
  widespread scale.

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Economic Changes in Middle East

• American food products were introduced to Middle
  East
• Maize, potatoes, and tomatoes
• American producers and European merchants
  supplied Muslim markets with coffee, sugar, and
  tobacco.
• By the 18th century, foreign trade had declined
  dramatically.
• Much of Middle Eastern trade had fallen under the
  control of European powers.

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What were the continuities in the Middle East
during the Early Modern Era (1450-1750)?
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Political Continuities

• They remained Islamic and military empires.
• Continued use of the devshirme and Janissaries
  established by early Ottoman empire.
• Islamic empires continued the use of the dhimmi
  in return for the jizya.
• Continued fighting among different groups within
  the empire.
• Religious tensions
• Economic difficulties

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Social Continuities

• The practice of veiling of women continued. The
  lives of most women in society continued to be
  suppressed.

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Religious Continuities

• Islam remained the predominant religion of the
  region.
• Ottomans continued practice of religious
  toleration as long as the jizya was paid.

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Technological Continuities

• A common theme throughout this period was the use
  of European warfare technologies.

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Economic Continuities

• The Middle East continued to play a role in
  regional trade, though their place in the global
  trade network decreased.

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Political and Religious Change in South Asia
Islam arrives in India.

• The Mughals, led by Zahir al-Din Muhammad (Babur
  the tiger), came from central Asia and took
  Delhi.
• His grandson, Akbar, expanded the Mughal empire
  into southern India. Akbar was a tolerant ruler.
• Zurangzeb taxed and persecuted Hindus. It
  intensified tension between Hindus and Mughal
  leaders.

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Changes in Gender in South Asia

• Like Middle Eastern Islamic empires, rulers
  consulted their wives on political matters.
• Aurangzeb followed his daughters advice.
• Mughal Shah Jahan constructed the Taj Mahal to
  honor his wife.

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Changes in Gender in South Asia

• Women in imperial households had roles as
  official wives and concubines but were relegated
  to the harem where they raised their young
  children and competed with one another for the
  rulers affections and favors. Because
  succession was an indeterminate matter, imperial
  struggles for power often began in the harem
  between competing mothers of potential heirs.

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Cultural Influences in South Asia

• Mughals blended central Asian features with Hindu
  architecture.
• The Taj Mahal, a mausoleum dedicated to the
  memory of Shah Jahans favorite wife, shows the
  influence of Islam with arches and arcades.
• Mughal painting was heavily influenced by Persian
  painters.