A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion, and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise power in different ways and for different purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Explain how and why various land-based empires developed and expanded from 1450-1750.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
K.C.-4.3.II--Imperial expansion relied on the increased use of gunpowder, cannons, and armed trade to establish large empires in both hemispheres.
K.C.-4.3.II.B.--Land empires included the Manchu in Central and East Asia; the Mughal in South and Central Asia; the Ottoman in Southern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa; and the Safavids in the Middle East.
K.C.-4.3.III.i.--Political and religious disputes led to rivalries and conflict between states.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
State rivalries:
Safavid–Mughal conflict
Songhai Empire’s conflict with Morocco
Possible answers:
decline of the Mongol Khanates
Firearms
faster and larger ships
intensification of trade results in an intensification in competition of trade routes
This is Contextualization
Empires to be aware of:
Ottoman
Safavid
Mughal
China (Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty)
Songhai
Russia
France
Holy Roman Empire (HRE)
Safavid–Mughal conflict
Safavids mainly Shi’a AND were dependent on foreign trade
Shah Abbas promoted Isfahan as a commercial center, extending trading privileges to foreign merchants and even allowing Christian monastic orders to set up missions
European merchants sought Safavid raw silk, carpets, ceramics, and high-quality craft items.
The English East India Company, the French East India Company, and the Dutch VOC all traded actively with the Safavids.
To curry favor with them, the English company sent military advisors to introduce gunpowder weapons to Safavid armed forces and provided a navy to help them retake Hormuz in the Persian Gulf from the Portuguese.
Mughal (and Ottomans) mainly Sunni AND did not pay as much attention to foreign trade
Mughal rulers concentrated on their land empire and had little interest in maritime affairs
allowed the creation of trading stations and merchant colonies by Portuguese, English, French, and Dutch merchants
Indian merchants formed trading companies of their own, ventured overland as far as Russia, and sailed the waters of the Indian Ocean to port cities from Persia to Indonesia
Songhai Empire’s conflict with Morocco
Askia Muhammad--in 1453, this slave general established Songhai Empire and eventually conquered Mali
Sahara Desert until the 1590's had effectively buttressed against invasion
1591--2,500 musket bearing soldiers from Morocco crossed the Sahara and confronted the Songhai's 40,000 foot soldiers and defeated them
Songhai military consisted of full-time soliders, but the king never modernized his army
What was at stake:
control of the Trans-Saharan Trade route
gold
est. 2.5 million enslaved Africans crossed the Sahara and Red Sea between 1200-1500
Guns
Used to conquered groups
Used to maintain empires
Control of trade routes post-1450 required acquisition of gunpowder technology
Recruitment of elites
Mongols did the same thing
devshirme in the Ottoman Empire
Tax collection
Record keeping is getting better
Ming Dynasty requiring taxes in silver
Religious Toleration
Empires are multi-ethnic/religious/cultural by definition; hard to use those to keep control
different models applied:
Akbar vs Aurangzeb in Mughal Empire
Christians & Jews in the Ottoman Empire
Conversion of conquered people
some converted for political/economic reasons
Monumental architecture
Taj Mahal
Palace of Versailles
Blue Mosque
Naqsh-e Jahan Square (The Lotfollah Mosque and The Shah Mosque)
Abu’l Hasan’s painting, Jahangir Embracing Shah Abbas (act. 1600-30) is a small composition of opaque watercolor and ink on gold paper. The scene portrays two men of royalty in very detailed and lavish clothing and jewelry embracing standing on top of a globe with a lamb and a lion at their feet. Encompassing them is a large golden halo that surrounds both of them being help up by two angel heads. In the center of the halo, there is microscopic scripture that is illegible unless looked at with a magnifying glass.
Proportion in this piece plays an important role contributing to Jahangir’s wish for superiority as he is portrayed as the bigger man with the strong lion underneath him and a smaller, weaker shah on top of a lamb. All of these components work together in achieving unity.
The artist created this piece to proclaim the Mughal emperor’s superiority where he is evidently much larger and more lavishly dressed than the shah. Both men have animals at their feet where a small timid sheep is lying by the feet of the shah and a fierce lion at the feet of Jahangir. Standing on top of the world, symbolical for the meaning of Jahangir’s name “World Seizer.”(“Worlds Within Worlds”). In Indian culture, nature is commonly depicted such as animals and plants to represent gods; whereas, the sheep and the lion depicted represent gods. The giant halo is a common Indian symbol to “emphasie compositions” representing the cyclical basis of Indian cosmology that play in part of agricultural and fertility cycles.
Source: Alexa's artistic adventure
Using the above image: Jahangir Embracing Shah Abbas, and the description of the painting provided, source the following images in one way (H.I.P.P.)
H-Historical Context
I-Intended Audience
P-Purpose
P-Point Of View (limitations of using the document)
Key Takeaways
A) Land empires (and maritime empires) rose and had to establish their own hegemony. Try to understand:
reasons state rivalries existed often include religious interpretation differences, competition over trade
B.) Once established, Land empires (and maritime empires) faced many of the same problems, but often tried to solve them differently. Try to understand:
use of monumental architecture
ways to deal with diverse populations and religious views
techniques to win over elites and collect tax revenues
Day 1 -- Contextualization 1450-1750)
Day 2 - Ottoman Timeline
Day 3 - Mughal Comparison Activity
Day 4: Songhai, China and Russia
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