The Early Modern Period, c. 1450 to c. 1750: Content Summary 4.4: Early Modern Islamic Empires

At their peak during the 17th century, the combined political and military power of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires surpassed that of any postclassical caliphate. (4.4.A)

These armies had large centralized bureaucracies. (4.4.A)

Collection of land-based taxes was administered through government tax collectors and aristocratic landowners. (4.4.A)

Collection of land-based taxes was administered through government tax collectors and aristocratic landowners. (4.4.A)

All three were primarily land-based empires, but the Ottoman Empire was also a maritime power. (4.4.A)

These Islamic emperors ruled with absolute authority and invested heavily in monumental architecture and elaborate court culture. (4.4.A)

These Islamic emperors ruled with absolute authority and invested heavily in monumental architecture and elaborate court culture. (4.4.A)

Their political stability was weakened by factors such as contested imperial succession, territorial overextension, and new wealthy elites who were difficult to control. (4.4.A)

Their political stability was weakened by factors such as contested imperial succession, territorial overextension, and new wealthy elites who were difficult to control. (4.4.A)

Their political stability was weakened by factors such as contested imperial succession, territorial overextension, and new wealthy elites who were difficult to control. (4.4.A)

The early modern Islamic empires promoted social and political cohesion by enacting policies and practices of limited religious tolerance. (4.4.B)

The early modern Islamic empires promoted social and political cohesion by enacting policies and practices of limited religious tolerance. (4.4.B)

In the Ottoman and Safavid empires, elite military regiments offered enslaved people and prisoners of war opportunities for social advancement in exchange for converting to Islam and serving the state; for example, the Ottoman Empire’s Janissary corps had considerable political and state authority. (4.4.B)

In the Ottoman and Safavid empires, elite military regiments offered enslaved people and prisoners of war opportunities for social advancement in exchange for converting to Islam and serving the state; for example, the Ottoman Empire’s Janissary corps had considerable political and state authority. (4.4.B)

In the Ottoman and Safavid empires, elite military regiments offered enslaved people and prisoners of war opportunities for social advancement in exchange for converting to Islam and serving the state; for example, the Ottoman Empire’s Janissary corps had considerable political and state authority. (4.4.B)

The Safavid dynasty promoted Shi’a Islam, which reasserted sectarian tensions in the Islamic world. (4.4.C)

Shi’ism became a key component of Persian identity (which continues even today in modern-day Iran). (4.4.C)

The Mughal emperors, who were nominally Sunni, were also regularly drawn into war with the Safavid Empire. (4.4.C)

Although Sufism had been established by Turkic families in Sufi orders, some Safavids viewed Sufism as a threat to the state orthodoxy of Shi’a Islam. (4.4.C)

Sufism was a key agent in the expansion of Islam in South Asia. (4.4.C)