Gunpowder Empires

• Russian Empire


  Originates from a people known as the Russ who are a mixture of Eastern European Slavs some of which were Vikings that migrated South from Finland Norway Scandinavia and central Asian turkic people who migrated to Eastern Europe
• Origin of the Russ

  1. Prior to Mongols the Russ were living, trading and warring with each other in city-states

  2. The ethnic majority is Slavs from Eastern Europe so they have a strong cultural tie to Europe

  3. They make connections with the Byzantine Empire (remnants of Roman) and are introduced to Eastern Orthodox Christianity

  4. The Byzantine spend millions on Russ city states to promote this through missionary activity

  5. Russ are devastated by the Golden Horde (Mongol khanate from the eastern steppes)
• Rise of the Russian Empire

  1. The grand prince of the Russ collected tax/tribute for the Mongols, keeping some for themselves in order to gain power and unite other city-states against the Mongols

  2. In 1386 a coalition of Russ city states defeated the golden horde in the battle of Kulakova, gaining independence as the Mongols retreated and assimilated

  3. Muscovery (moscow state) now conquers surrounding lands/Russ city-states with gunpowder weapons (archippus and flintlock musket) and dominates other Russian cities while expanding West (Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland)
• Russification

  1. As Russia expanded east (Siberia) due to need for resources such as fur and minerals they were able to easily conquer due to gunpowder/tech advancements

  2. The conquered peoples were required to pay tribute (yasak) to the Tsar in fur yearly, causing the Siberian pastoral people to give up their nomadic way of life and instead settle into certain regions where they can hunt/trap for fur

  3. They gave these people unfiltered access to the Russian Orthodox Church as they were everywhere, other religions weren't tolerated or persecuted by the government at times

  4. They encouraged the migration of ethnic Russians (single peasant men) to Siberia to russify by marrying Siberian women

  5. This Russification process provided them with economic opportunities/freedom, claim to land, and it pressured the conquered to convert to Christianity with financial incentives (tax breaks) and the destruction of mosques
• Origin of Mughal Empire


  1. Slowly took control of islamic caliphate

  2. Fall of the Chagatai Khanate and Ilkhanate

  3. The Manchus claim the mandate of heaven and maintain cultural separation from the Chinese

  4. The Abbasid caliphate was destroyed by the Mongols and new islamic empires emerged as Turks replaced Arabs
• Relationship with Hindu population

  • Majority of the population was Hindu (80%)
  • Under Akbar the Great, there was tolerance and peace among them
  • He preached religious tolerance and favored cultural syncretism
  • Intermarriage and blending of culture was encouraged
  • Hindu temples and mosques were built/honored/protected
  • The jizya(tax payed by the non-muslims to muslim rulers) was removed
  • Social restrictions and shariah (religious regulations governing the lives of Muslims) were relaxed
• Over time the Muslim aristocracy Ulama


  Became increasingly intolerant of the Hindu population and more conservative since Muslim traditions and sharia law were not being followed
• Under Emperor Aurangzeb


  • The tolerance of Hindu culture was destroyed
  • Intermarriage was now forbidden
  • Hindu holidays were not honored
  • There was a strict enforcement of sharia law and the jizya (increased)
  • Hindu temples were destroyed and their practices outlawed
  • There was huge unrest and violence among the Hindu population
• Cultural syncretism

  • Sikhism is an independent belief system that takes parts of Hindu belief and Islamic belief
  • They did not force assimilation, instead practiced tolerance
  • They limited Chinese migration, maintained local leadership, the aristocracy was exempt from taxes/labor
  • Local customs were maintained as Islam, Buddhism, and Shamanism were all tolerated
• Ottoman Empire


  New Islamic caliphate in Arabian peninsula/Anatolia that took control of majority of Islamic world after the destruction of the Abbasid Caliphate
• Conquest of Constantinople

  1. Laid siege to the Byzantine capital of Constantinople in 1453

  2. Massive effects on the Mediterranean world politically

  3. Rise of Islamic caliphate under Umayyad and Abbasid Dynasty

  4. Byzantine Christians fled into Western Europe

  5. Constantinople was the last outpost of Rome, a legendary Christian city of the Eastern Orthodox Church and a major trade crossroad

  6. Ottomans now controlled key trade routes, forcing Euro powers to find alternate routes

  7. Migration of Greek scholars to the west contributed to the Renaissance
• Religious Tolerance


  • Controlled the most diverse empire of all the post-classical empires in Eastern Europe
  • Included Greeks, Bulgarians, Italians, and Austrians
  • Controlled the original Islamic homeland of Arabia, including the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina
  • Non-Muslims (Jewish, Christian etc.) were required to pay an extra tax known as the jizya
  • Celebration of Jewish and Christian holidays was guaranteed
  • Minorities were given autonomy through the millet system
  • Non-Muslims were considered dhimmis (protected people) and allowed to practice their faiths openly but were also subject to restrictions
• Devshirme

  1. Best and brightest young Christian boys aged 9-12 were abducted, enslaved, castrated, and forcibly converted to Islam to serve the Sultan

  2. They became the extremely loyal personal bodyguards of the Sultan, being trained and spread into the bureaucracy

  3. They became an elite military force called Janissaries due to the latest gunpowder weaponry and training

  4. Christian boys were chosen because Muslim boys would cause conflict in places they were taken from
• Origin of Safavid Empire


  1. Started by Mongols around 13-14th century

  2. Part of Timurid Empire

  3. Earlier Muslim empire by Turkish Warlord Tim Moore

  4. Built own Muslim states over a century

  5. Established control over modern day Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq
• Shia Background


  • Dispute over Muhammad's successor after his death
  • Belief that Khalif (leader of Islam) must come from Muhammad's bloodline as he was hand chosen by Allah
• Safavids following Shia Islam


  Created sharp divide in political/religious Islam as their neighbors were of the Sunni faith, especially the Ottoman Empire