APWH: Unit 3

Cards (20)

  • Land-based Empire

    An empire whose power comes from the extent of its territorial holdings
  • 4 land-based empires to know
    • Ottoman Empire
    • Safavid Empire
    • Mughal Empire
    • Qing Dynasty
  • Ottoman Empire

    • Founded in 14th century
    • Adopted gunpowder weapons
    • Conquered Constantinople in 1453
    • Enslaved Christians and converted them to Islam, forming the Janissary elite force.. through the Devshirme system
  • Safavid Empire

    • Founded in early 16th century
    • Lacked natural defensive barriers, so built up military with gunpowder and an enslaved army of Christians from the Caucasus region
    • Shia Muslim, unlike the Sunni Ottoman Empire
  • Mughal Empire

    • Established in first half of 16th century
    • Wiped out the Delhi Sultanate
    • Under Akbar, became the most prosperous empire of the 16th century and was tolerant of different belief systems
  • Qing Dynasty

    • Also known as the Manchu Empire
    • Ethnically Han Chinese, unlike the foreign Mongol Yuan Dynasty
    • Used gunpowder weapons to expand their conquest
  • Legitimize power

    Methods a ruler uses to establish their authority
  • Consolidate power

    Methods a ruler uses to transfer power from other groups to themselves
  • 4 ways rulers of land-based empires legitimized and consolidated power
    • Formation of large bureaucracies
    • Reliance on elite military forces
    • Promotion of state religions
    • Dynastic succession
  • Bureaucracies
    • Ottomans used the devşhirme system to staff their bureaucracy with highly trained individuals, many of whom were converted Christians from the Balkans
  • Rulers administered their Empires through the development of military professionals, like the Janissaries in the Ottoman Empire
  • Three ways rulers administered their Empires
    • Religious ideas
    • Art
    • Monumental architecture
  • Divine right of kings

    Monarchs were believed to be God's representatives on Earth, legitimizing their authority
  • Use of art to legitimize power

    • Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty hung Imperial portraits of himself surrounded by books to convince the Han population he was a legitimate Chinese ruler
  • Use of monumental architecture to legitimize power

    • The Inca built the Sun Temple of Cusco, covered in gold, to associate their rulers with the gods
    • The Palace of Versailles built by Louis XIV transferred power to the monarch by requiring French nobility to live there and compete for his attention
  • Empires needed new tax collection systems to generate revenue, like the zamindar system in the Mughal Empire, the Ottoman tax farming system, and the Aztec tribute lists
  • The Protestant Reformation began when Martin Luther published the 95 Theses, criticizing Catholic Church practices, leading to a split in Christianity
  • The Catholic Church also underwent its own Reformation, cleaning up corruption but reaffirming its doctrine, leading to a permanent split between Catholicism and Protestantism
  • The Sunni-Shia split in Islam was intensified by political rivalries, like the Safavid Empire's declaration of Shia Islam and persecution of Sunnis
  • Sikhism developed as a syncretic blend of Hindu and Islamic doctrines, retaining some elements of both while discarding gender hierarchies and the caste system