Religious tolerance in the Ottoman Empire the Safavid Empire, and the Mughal Empire
The Muslim world, which seemed to have entered a time of decline with the collapse of the Abbasid Caliphate, managed to revive in the shadows of the Age of Exploration. The Ottomans, the Safavids, and the Mughals conquered in the South Asian subcontinent and the Middle East. As these great empires expanded, their state religions interfered with those of other countries. The Ottoman Empire, the Safavid Empire, and the Mughal Empire, using different strategies, focused on ways in which they could allow religious tolerance to local societies that contained different cultures and religions. The state religion of the Ottoman Empire was Islam. This religion became more significant in the Ottoman Empire
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Akbar the Great (1556-1605) extended the empire over most of India, causing an interference with local religions. He allowed great religious tolerance to those that were non-Muslim. Akbar granted local Hindu rulers a great load of Autonomy, gave Hindus and Christian’s positions in the Mughal government and courts, and abolished the “Jitza”. He had a Hindu wife, whom he did not try to convert. In contrast, he even celebrated Hindu celebrations and holidays with her. In 1628, under the rule of Shah Jahan, the Mughal Empire fell into great decline due to the expenses of wars that controlled local Hindu rulers, economic decline, and conflicts with the growth of the European trade system. The next ruler, Aurangzeb, was a devout Muslim. He ended the policy of religious tolerance followed by earlier emperors. He did not allow the Hindu community to live under their own laws and customs. He also destroyed many of their temples to replace them with grand Mosques. This caused conflicting revolts between the Mughal Empire and local empires, leading the Mughal Empire to great destruction and eventually a
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.
Whereas Christianity, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism converted already existing empires to their own views, Islam created its empire from
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.
The modern world is linked through networks of communication and exchange between peoples. These exchanges between regions has changed cultures, economics, and politics. Through time the cultural influence between regions has consisted of many factors and elements but comes down to the spread of religion and religious teachings , movement of peoples, technological and cultural advancements affecting trade and commerce. Beginning with the Middle Ages in the years 1100-1500 , Africa, Asia, and Europe developed and influenced each other in several different ways. Starting with religion. The birth of Islam in the Middle East rapidly spread throughout Afro- Eurasia. Islam was attractive to people who were uninterested in the requirements of Christianity and the Church.
Expansion of the Muslim Empire The Muslim empire expanded vastly from 622 CE to 750 CE. This empire could be compared to the Holy Roman Empire, one of the greatest in the world. There are three main reasons to explain how the Muslim empire reached its height: battling for land, signing peace treaties, and granting stipends. Every Muslim who was in the military fought against other civilizations for land. After that, they made an agreement, or a peace treaty, with the people of the land they conquered.
The Islamic Empire contributed to globalization during the Islamic Golden Age, when the knowledge, trade and economies from many previously isolated regions and civilizations began integrating through contacts with Muslim (and Jewish Radhanite) explorers and traders. Their trade networks extended from the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Indian Ocean and China Sea in the east. These trade networks helped establish the Islamic Empire as the world’s leading extensive economic power throughout the 7th–13th centuries.
Sultan Mahmud II, and various other Europeanized Ottoman bureaucrats initiated what is known today as the largest reform movement in the history of the Ottoman Empire. The Tanzimat changed life in the Ottoman Empire drastically, and completely revolutionized how the Ottomans lived. Previously, the empire was home to various different, nationalities, races, religions and cultures. During the Tanzimat, a major effort was made to unite these people, which is often referred to as the policy of Ottomanism. This resulted in the creation of a national anthem, and the establishment of a national flag. In the past, Islamic law was predominant, but was replaced by secular law, so no individual groups were left out. The Tanzimat’s main focus was to replace it’s old, outdated ways, with more of a westernized approach. The reforms varied greatly, but for the most part, they were all made to help modernize the empire.
The failure of defensive development in Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, and Persia had a large and long-lasting effect on the Muslim world. The original goal of the reforms was to end European intervention, revive the weakening empires, and to be on equal standing with Europe. Yet, all three empires over-utilized the wealth and knowledge of Europe, leading to their ultimate demise. The empires wished to impose reforms in the military, economics, education, and law which the region had not experienced previously. This resulted in backlash, violence, and division within the empires eventually leading to bankruptcy, ironically, to those which they wished to separate themselves.
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.
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.
Ottoman social issues can greatly credit the fall of their empire and one of the largest reasons why the nation struggled to succeed post 15th century. The Ottomans base ideology and the conflicts that arose from the many different contrasting autonomous groups aided in the fall of the empire. The founding principle behind much of the Ottomans’ action throughout history and the reason they were able to muster up such a large empire was due to their strong religious backbone; Islam. It dictated the creeds and laws of the land and as much as it aided the muslim Turks to revive the Islamic Empire, it slowly became a disadvantage as the Ottomans grew. This was especially true in their vast land size, where different religious groups found home
The Safavid Empire, which lasted from 1501 to 1722 was an empire that covered all of what is now known as Iran, as well as most of Turkey and Georgia. The Safavid Empire was a theocracy, which is a government that was founded and ruled by religious beliefs and rulers. Its was founded by a leader who declared himself Shah of Persia, his name was Ismail. The Safavids followed a religion known as Shi’ism and with the help of their strong military forces, spread it to neighbouring countries. By 1722 the Empire had begun to fall apart due to the lack of effectiveness from its former rulers. Throughout the years that the Safavid Empire lasted, they accomplished many achievements, some of them related to art. [1]
There is much debate over whether the United States of America (USA) is religiously tolerant. Religious tolerance is when a person is accepting of another’s religious beliefs. Because this world is made up of a number of different cultures and religions, we must acknowledge our differences if we are going to thrive as a nation. We need to be willing to listen to what others might think about a religion or what they believe. In the Declaration of Independence it even says that all men are created equal with certain rights that cannot be taken away.