APWH: Unit 3

• 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