Islam began in Arabia, but flourished in Asia. The three greatest empires of the Islamic world, the Ottoman Empire, the Safavid Empire, and the Mughal Empire, all came into being in the Asian continent. All three empires began with Turkic roots and developed into distinct cultures of their own, with unique religious interpretations and ideas of leadership.
All three empires had Turkic origins. Additionally, the ruling classes of all three empires were literate in Persian. All three empires appreciated Persian-language histories and poetry and Sufi poetry. Despite these similarities, each empire had distinct tribal origins and dialects. Owing to the cultural importance of Persian in the Islamic world, the Ottoman dialect was a mixture of
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The Ottomans regarded the countryside Turks as backwards, yet still identified strongly with their Turkic roots. They made it their mission to create an identity for themselves that was Turkic, yet highly sophisticated, with no contradiction.
All three empires used Turkic troops. The troops of all three empires identified strongly with the label, ghazi, heroic warriors fighting in the name of the faith. Ghazis were considered to be the “guardians of Islam.” Although, the term was not used with any connotations of religious fanaticism. The connotations were more closely aligned with patriotism. The term was used as a synonym of soldier. The term ghazi was used all over the Islamic world through until 1923, when Ataturk founded the Republic of
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However, the Ottomans were not descendent of famous conquerors or successors of any prestigious dynasty. They derived their legitimacy gradually from their military successes. The success that secured their legitimacy, however, was their long-awaited success against the Byzantines. Their conquest of Mecca and Medina, the two most holy cities of Islam, gave the Ottoman Empire legitimacy as a Caliphate. Some historians attribute the Ottoman’s success to the fact that they had “risen so early and rules for so long.” After the Ottomans conquered a people, they needed to use constant warfare to maintain their leadership position. It would be hard to maintain such a vast empire had they not been among the first people to establish themselves in the
The political structure of the Arabian and Byzantine empires greatly differed from each other. The Arabian empire was ruled over by a Caliphate. The Caliphate was the successor to the great prophet Muhammad. Politically, the Caliphate sometimes caused trouble for the stability of the empire. With multiple groups such as the Umayyad and the Abbasid believing the were in charge of the Caliphate led to conflicts and violence. An example of conflict would be towards the end of the Abbasid empire when the death of Harun al-Rashid brought several full scale revolutions. Another example would be at the beginning of Abbasid empire when they went as far as too kill off all of the remaining Umayyad leaders to sustain full control with little to no interference. Politically, the Arab/Muslim empire stretched from India and the Middle East into the Africa, the Mediterranean, and Iberia. They also had a large influence in Southeast Asia. When they conquered these areas, there was no forced conversion. On the other hand, they did enforce a higher tax for non-Muslims which prompted people to convert. Only later were there violently forced conversions. A testimony to this would be when the Muslims invaded India and did not touch the Buddhist or Hindus already there. They even respected the Hindu leadership and allowed them to continue. The Muslim empire was successful in other parts of the world due to tolerance, and continued to operate in the face of power struggles.
The Early Islamic Empire was a place with Muslims, Muhammad, Abu Bakr, and other very significant phenomenonical things
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.
For example, the spread of Islam to the Byzantines and the Persians. The other caliphs (Umar, Uthman and Ali) expanded the Islamic empire rapidly and grew faster than any other religion. The Muslims conquered a massive amount of land from the Indus River, across North Africa and into Spain. There were many factors that helped Islam succeed; for example, people would rather fight for God and their salvation instead of fighting for a king, the use of military force by the Muslims and how easy it was to convert to Islam.
More than two thousand years ago, two great empires arose. The Chinese and the Roman Empires. Having different locations, there were obvious differences from the start, assembly and the collapse of the empires, but there were also astonishing similarities. Located in modern time Asia and Europe, the Chinese and Roman empires were revolutionary with their ideas and accomplishments in their time from the start to the end of their empires.
Throughout ancient years, there have been many empires that have impacted culture, politics, religion, and people. The Mongol empire and the Roman empire both had their ways of growing their empires, administering their empires, having successes and failures, and legacies. As the empires began to take shape, expand, and become more complex, they will important in the lives of people.
hammed. Byzantine and the Muslims worlds were the very first in the western world to base their governing off of their monotheistic beliefs. The religion of Islam began in Mecca, however the beginning of the Muslim period started with Mohammed’s voyage from Mecca to Medina. The religion quickly spread from India to Spain.
Clow, Kate. "Ottoman Empire." Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. Ed. Karen Christensen and David Levinson. Vol. 4. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002. 398-401. World History in Context. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
At one time, the reforms made by the Young Turks worked well, but only for a short time. Overthrowing the tyranny of Hamid should have been enough to help establish a new government, but the triumvirate also became quite oppressive during their reign. Turkism established a new form of nationalism that left out various nationalities, races, and cultures, and this led to the decline of the empire. Following World War I, the empire was faced with so many conflicts, they were unable to remain strong. Even though the reformers set out to strengthen the empire, it is quite possible they are the reason for the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
The "Ottoman Decline" San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA. 23 Mar. 2010. Web. The Web. The Web. 06 Apr. 2011.
During the 16th and 17th century, the Middle East saw the rise of the “Gunpowder Dynasties”. This included the Ottoman Empire, the Safavids of Persia, and the Mughals. Simply put, these civilizations were the first in the Mediterranean to use gunpowder weapons including guns and cannons. However, it did not stop there, with the use of gunpowder came the rise of new technologies in metallurgy, mining, and weapon design. The use of gunpowder had arrived in the Middle East due to the Mongols who first witnessed its use in China. The only other empires which used gunpowder at the time were Britain and the Netherlands. The use of gunpowder allowed the three empires of the Muslim world to achieve things they previously could not and led to many advances and dominance in the region. At the same time however, it also fragmented the Mediterranean. As well, contrary to what some may assume, all of the gunpowder empires were not Arab, they consisted of newcomers to the Middle East. With all this in mind, an examination of the similarities and differences between the empires and the difference they made in the Muslim world for centuries to come is vital.
The Muslim Empire began to expand vastly under the Umayyads, with the empire becoming so large many people were converting to Islam religion. The Umayyads were the second of the four major caliphates after the death of Muhammad. The Empire used many different ways to spread the Islamic civilization consisting of war, classes, and appeal. The Islamic civilization spread so strongly because of the way it allured the common man.
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
Located in the province of Xianjing, the Uyghurs are isolated by massive mountains, deserts, Communist China, and extreme poverty. The Uyghurs are of Turkic origin, and were one of the 9 original tribes. One of these tribes, the Ottomans, sacked Constantinople in 1459, starting the rein of the Sultans for 400 years. The superpower carved a massive empire, from its roots in Turkey, to spread from the Russian steppes to the Alps to India, and stamping their name on history in blood. European history in the 1400‘s, 1500‘s, and 1600‘s centered on the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire and the Arabic people carved two massive empires in an extremely short time. They crushed the medieval christian kingdoms around Jerusalem, and quickly started attacking Christian kingdoms in Spain, Greece, and the Balkans. These conflicts between Muslims and Christians have been the longest and bloodiest in the history of the world, and still persist today. These Ottomans are, understandably, the most wel...
Streusand, Douglas E. Islamic Gunpowder Empires Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals. Boulder, Colo: Westveiw Press, 2011.