Civilizations of the Fifteenth Century: The
Islamic World
By Rosemary Groux
Themes to watch: Development and Interaction of Cultures
&
State building, Expansion, and Conflict
The Islamic Heartland: The Ottoman
Empire
• 14th to 20th centuries
• New dominance in
Islam; unity
• Constantinople fell
1453
• Covered much of old
Byzantine lands
• New ChristianMuslim interaction
The Islamic Heartland: The Ottoman
Empire
• Bayezid II “the just”:
(1481-1512)
 Son of Mehmed II
 Consolidated Ottoman
rule in Balkans, Anatolia, E
Mediterranean; expanded
territory
 Stepped away from
Europe, very pious
 Fought with Safavids
(Sunni vs. Shia)
 Abdicated in April 1512 in
favor of son Selim
The Islamic Heartland: The Ottoman
Empire
• Selim I “the Grim”: (1512-1520)
 Started reign from unrest
 Added Syria, Egypt
 Also fought with Safavids; internal rebellion
The Islamic Heartland :The Ottoman
Empire
• Suleyman I “the Magnificent”: (1520-1566)
 Campaigned against Central Europe; conquered Rhodes,
broke Hungary; laid siege to Vienna (1529)
Hungarian king made vassal (Janos Zappolya)
 Campaigned against Persia 3 times; subdued Safavids
 Made naval forays around Mediterranean, North Africa;
fought with navies of Venice and Spain (1538)
 Completed transformation of Constantinople to Istanbul
 End years marked conflict between sons
The Islamic Heartland: The Ottoman
Empire
• Letter from Ogier Chiselin be Busbecq, Ambassador to
Ottoman Empire from Holy Roman Empire
• “There is no district with any considerable amount of population, no
borough or city, which has not a detatchment of Janissaries to protect the
Christians, Jews, and other helpless peoples”
• “it is the patience, self-denial, and thrift of the Turkish soldier that enable
him to face the most trying circumstances and come safely through the
dangers…What a contrast to our men!....we cannot both exist in safety”
• “No distinction is attached to birth among the Turks; the deference to be
paid to a man is measured by the position he holds in the public service”
• “These are not our ideas, with us there is no opening left for merit; birth is
the standard for everything; the prestige of birth is the sole key to
advancement in the public service”
The Islamic Heartland: The Safavid
Empire
• 1501-1722
• Turkic, but came from Sufi
order; Persia (Iran)
 Safi al-Din
• Shia Muslims, not Sunni –
led to conflict with
Ottomans
• Built off previous ruling
traditions (Mongol)
• Start of modern Persian
history
• Diplomatic/commercial
interaction with Europe
The Islamic Heartland: The Safavid
Empire
• Esma’il I (Isma’il): (1501-1524)
 Transformed Safavids from religious order to political
dynasty
 Conquered other peoples in Persia with help of
Qezelbas
 Formed state with overlapping religious/political
boudaries
 Fought with Selim I
 “You have denied the sanctity of divine
law…[Therefore] the ulama and our doctors have
pronounced a sentence of death against you,
perjurur and blasphemer” – Letter from Selim I to
Esma’il, 1514
The Islamic Heartland: The Safavid
Empire
• Shah Abbas I (1587-1629)
 Greatest Safavid ruler, known for being just
 Goal to centralize power and secure borders
Balanced power between groups
Fought Ottomans several times, recaptured towns
Policies helped ensure survival of empire
Patron of Arts, encouraged trade
Opened Persia to wider world
Constant wars drained treasury
Moved capital to Esfahan
Religiously tolerant
Some decisions sowed seeds for eventual downfall of empire
The Islamic Heartland: The Songhay
(Songhai) Empire
• Largest
West African State
• Major center of Islamic learning and trade
(Timbuktu)
• “Caliph of Land
of the Blacks
• Capital: Gao
• Fell to Morocco
in 1591
The Islamic Heartland: The Songhay
(Songhai) Empire
• Sonni Ali (1464-1492)
 Started Songhay expansion
 Drove out Tuaregs, conquered Tumbuktu and
Jenne
 Lukewarm Muslim
 Built navy
 Controlled Niger trade, taxed Saharan
 Alternately praised and criticized
• Muhammad Toure (1493-1528)
 Usurped throne
 Cemented empire, reached greatest extent
The Islamic Heartland: The Mughal
Empire
• Founded 1526 by Zahir alDin (Babur)
• Continuation of
Muslim/Hindu interaction
• Political unity over most
of India
• Effort to blend Muslims
and Hindus into
partnerships
 Vijayanagara
The Islamic Heartland: The Mughal
Empire
• Akbar (1556 – 1606)








Had to re-conquer most of kingdom
Considered greatest Mughal Emperor
Muslim, but very religiously tolerant
 Hindu Rajputs
Encouraged inter-religious discussion
Centralized financial system
Made two big changes in administration system
 Military officers promoted by emperor
Administrators given military ranks
Culturally open to Europe & ME, traded
Encouraged literature and the arts
Expanded the Empire
• “Indian towns appear
pleasant from afar; they
are adorned with many
towers and high buildings
in a very beautiful manner.
But when one enters
them, one finds that the
narrowness, aimless
crookedness and ill
planning of the streets
deprive these cities of all
beauty…if a traveler has
seen one of these cities, he
has seen them all.” From
Commentary of Antonio
Monserate, Jesuit
The Islamic Heartland: The Mughal
Empire
• Shah Jahan (1628-1658)
 Reign cultural peak of Empire
 Expanded empire further south
 Art patron
 Passionate about building
Built Taj Mahal, several Mosques, Red Fort (palacefortress)
 Moved capital from Agra to Delhi (Shahjahanbad)
 Almost bankrupted empire
 Sons started fighting for succession, winner
(Aurangzeb) imprisoned him in Red Fort for rest of life
Aurangzeb sent empire into decline
The Islamic Heartland: The Mughal
Empire
The Islamic Heartland: Significances
• Brought Islamic world greater political
coherence, military might, economic
prosperity, and cultural achievements than
ever before
 “Second flowering of Islam”
• Spread Islam to new areas (Southeast Asia)
 Indian Ocean trade in Muslim hands
 Malacca rose as major port
Discussion
• To what effect are the AP themes from the
beginning theme manifested in these
empires? In other words, why are these
themes important in shaping the Islamic
world, both in the 15th century and today?
Works Cited and Referenced
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“Shah Jahan.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School
Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.
“Akbar.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition.
Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.
“Songhai Empire.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School
Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.
“Sonni ‘Ali.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition.
Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2013. W.” Encyclopedia eb. 30 Jan. 2013.
“Abbas I.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition.
Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.
“Iran.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition.
Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.
“Suleyman I.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School
Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.
“Selim I.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition.
Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.
“Bayezid II.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School
Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.
Works Cited and Referenced
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Vakil, Mehdi. “Iran.” Lands and Peoples. Grolier Online, 2013. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.
“Songhai.” The New Book of Knowledge. Grolier Online, 2013. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.
Karan, Pradyumna P. “India.” The New Book of Knowledge. Grolier Online, 2013.
Web. 31 Jan. 2013
Matthee, Rudi. "Safavid Dynasty." Encyclopedia Iranica. N.p., 28 July 2008. Web. 31
Jan. 2013. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/safavids .
Goodwin, Jason. Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire. New York:
Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 2008. 79-89. Print.
Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the World: A Brief Global History with Sources. Boston:
Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. 584-88. Print
Stearns, Peter N. World History in Documents: A Comparative Reader. 2nd ed. New
York City: New York University Press, 2008. 202-05. Print.
"The Mughal Empire." LIFE: The World's Greatest Civilizations 8 Aug. 2012: 89-91.
Print.
Picture Citations
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http://www.onbeing.org/sites/onbeing.org/files/map-muslimdistribution.jpg
http://www.mideastweb.org/ara_ottoman1580.gif
http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~fisher/hst373/Maps/OttomansBayezidII.JPG
http://ottomanselim1.wikispaces.com/file/view/map21ot.gif/114671473/map21ot.gif
http://www.paradoxplace.com/Insights/Topkapi/Ottoman_Images/Ottoman%20Empire%2013001683.jpg
http://mrgrayhistory.wikispaces.com/file/view/Islam__Safavid_Empire.jpg/244003623/632x324/Islam_-_Safavid_Empire.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/SONGHAI_empire_map.PNG
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121014000633/history/images/3/3d/Mughal-policyand-administration1.jpeg
http://www.bugbog.com/images/galleries/india-pictures/A-india-photos/agra-taj-mahal-india/redfort-jahangiri-mahal.jpg
http://www.altiusdirectory.com/Arts/images/Tajmahal.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Shah_Jahan_Mosque_TQ0159_214.jpg