Section IV: The Ottoman and Safavid Empires (Pages 190-193)

This section is about: How the Ottoman Turks realized their dream to unite Muslims in the Middle East and parts of Europe under one vast empire. The Safavids – Shiite Muslims who took power from the Sunni Muslims of the Ottoman Empire Section IV: The Ottoman and Safavid Empires(Pages 190-193) G

While the Mughals ruled in India, the Ottomans and the Safavid Empires dominated the Middle East and parts of Europe. 1 They wanted to expand their Muslim Empire throughout the Middle East and Europe. G

The Ottomans expanded their empire and even conquered some Byzantine territories • By 1354, they were in part of Europe and much of Turkey. • By 1450, all that was left of Byzantine control was the Constantinople area. • In 1453, even that was gone. • People thought it couldn’t be attacked ( a big chain kept ships from getting in to the harbor) • The Ottoman ruler had his ships taken apart and re-assembled on the other side. • The last Byzantine emperor (Constantine XI) was killed and the city fell. G

The greatest Ottoman sultan was Suleiman(This was the golden age of the Ottomans) • Laws were re-written and made more fair. • Mosques, schools, baths, hospitals, bridges, and covered markets were built. • Most homes had water. • Markets sold things from all over the world. • Artists, craftspeople and writers developed their skills. 2 G

The Ottomans did have 4 social classes Muslim? The Sultan • Men of the Pen (scientists, judges, lawyers, and poets) • Men of the Sword (soldiers who protected the Sultan) • Men of Negotiation (tax collectors, merchants, and artisans) • Men of Husbandry (herders and farmers who produced food) Muslim? Muslim? Muslim? Yes No Yes No G

The Ottomans organized all non-Muslims into groups called millets (religious communities) 3 • This helped reduce conflicts (they didn’t live in the middle of each other). • Ottomans also required Christians to give their sons to the sultan to be trained as soldiers or government officials • They would then probably lose contact with their families. 4 G

The Ottoman’s stayed in power until the late 1700’s • When it lost some land to Russia… • …and in the 1800’s when Greece won it’s independence. • They also lost some territory to France and Great Britain. • By 1914 – all gone G

The Safavid Empire lasted (in Persia) from 1501-1722 5 • They were Shiite Muslims who enforced their beliefs throughout their empire. • The Ottomans were Sunni Muslims (who hated the Shiites) • So there were constant wars between the two. G

Shah Abbas I…(Shah means king) 6 • Was leader at the height of their power. • He kept Spain and Portugal out of his empire. • Europeans even asked for his help against the Ottomans. • Persian culture had a re-birth at the time (paintings, porcelains, cloths, rugs) • Improved the capital - Isfahan – with religious monuments, mosques, palaces, gardens, hospitals... • Strengthened the military, the government, and Islam. G

But Shah Abbas trusted no-one • He had his sons blinded or put to death to avoid power struggles. • He disguised himself and walked around with regular people to try and find out what was going on – and if they said they had a problem with something, he’d do what he could to help. • After he died, there was a struggle between the Sunni and Shiite Muslims. • A group of Afghan Sunni Muslims rebelled and captured Isfahan. 7 and 8 Shah Abbas: British exhibition G

Of Abbas' five sons, three had survived past childhood, so the Safavid succession seemed secure. He was on good terms with the crown prince, Mohammed Baqir Mirza. In 1614, however, the shah heard rumors that the prince was conspiring against his life. Shortly after, Mohammed Baqir broke protocol during a hunt by killing a boar before the shah had chance to put his spear in. This seemed to confirm Abbas’ suspicions and he no longer trusted any of his three sons. In 1615, he decided he had no choice but to have Mohammed killed. A Circassian executed the Shah’s orders and the prince was murdered. The shah almost immediately regretted his action and was plunged into grief. • In 1621, Abbas fell seriously ill. His second son thought he was on his deathbed and began to celebrate his accession to the throne with his supporters. But the shah recovered and punished his son with blinding, which would disqualify him from ever taking the throne. The blinding was only partially successful and the prince’s followers planned to smuggle him out of the country to safety with the Great Mughal whose aid they would use to overthrow Abbas and install Mohammed (2nd) on the throne. But the plot was betrayed, the prince’s followers were executed and the prince himself imprisoned where he would later be murdered by Abbas’ successor. • His third and last son, now became the crown prince. Abbas groomed him carefully for the throne but, for whatever reason, in 1627, he had him partially blinded and imprisoned. • Unexpectedly, Abbas now chose as heir the son of Mohammed Baqir Mirza (1st), Sam Mirza, a cruel and introverted character who was said to loathe his grandfather because of his father’s murder. It was he who in fact did succeed Shah Abbas at the age of seventeen in 1629, taking the name Shah Safi. Abbas’s health was troubled from 1621 onwards. He died at his palace in 1629. G

The Shah-nameh • is a long epic poem written between c. 977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies. • Consisting of some 60,000 verses, the Shahnameh tells mainly the mythical and to some extent the historical past of Iran from the creation of the world until the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century. • The work is of central importance in Persian culture, regarded as a literary masterpiece, and definitive of the cultural identity of Iran. This book was given to Shah Abbas in 1614. It’s now at the New York Public Library. 60,000 verses It’s the history of the kings of Persia from mythical times G

Make sure page "G" is completed G

Section IV: The Ottoman and Safavid Empires (Pages 190-193)