Reading Questions
Learning Intention #1: I can describe how the recruitment and use of bureaucratic elites and the development of military professionals became common among rulers who wanted to maintain centralized control.
Learning Intention #2: I can explain how rulers continued to use religious ideas, art, and monumental architecture to legitimize their rule.
Learning Intention #3: I can explain how rulers used tax farming to generate revenue in order to forward state power.
consolidating and legitimizing
Learning Intention #2: I can explain how rulers continued to use religious ideas, art, and monumental architecture to legitimize their rule.
Learning Intention #3: I can explain how rulers used tax farming to generate revenue in order to forward state power.
consolidating and legitimizing
- What the technological factors that contributed to the growth of the Ottoman Empire?
- What governing techniques did the Ottomans restore from the Abbasid?
- Who were the Janissaries?
- Explain how each of the following helped the Ottoman Sultans consolidate power?
- Sultan
- Millet system
- Tax Farming
- Devshirme System
- Why did the Ottomans want to take Constantinople in 1453?
- What was the effect of the fall of Constantinople?
- Why would the Hagia Sophia be converted to a mosque?
The Ottoman empire, like the Mughals was also a Turkic warrior group who would create the longest lasting Islamic empire. They would rule the Middle East with a centralized government from 1481 until the end of WWI in 1920.
Administration
The House of Osman, more commonly known as the Ottomans, was the ruling dynasty of the empire. The centralized ruler of the empire was the sultan, who had control over the government and military. Since the Ottoman Empire controlled the three most important cities in Islam (Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem) the sultan was also the caliph, or the successor to the Prophet Muhammad, making the sultan the religious leader of Muslims. They continued to use Sharia Law to rule.
The Ottoman government also used tax farming to create an efficient way of collecting revenue. The government would auction off the right to collect taxes to the highest bidder. The Farmer then pays an agreed amount to the government. Then the Farmer goes out and collects taxes on behalf of the Ottoman government. The Ottoman government would benefit because tax revenue was guaranteed without any work by the government.
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To staff their military and bureaucracy, the Ottoman Sultans used a selection system called devshirme. Through this system, Christian boys who were subjects of the empire were recruited by force to serve in the Ottoman government. After converting to Islam, the boys were taught various skills in politics, the arts, and the military. The most famous military group was the Janissaries, were the elite forces of the sultan’s army. Other boys were trained to become administrators of the newly conquered territories. In some ways, being selected for the devshirme provided a path of upward social mobility for Christians of the Ottoman Empire, even though the Janissaries were called “slaves of the state.” Some parents even w?anted their sons to be recruited into this system.
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Even though the majority of Ottoman subjects were Muslim, the population of the empire included non-Muslims such as Jews and Christians. These non-Muslim groups were organized according to the millet system. The millet system gave non-Muslim communities a limited amount of power to regulate their own matters somewhat independently while still under the rule of the Ottoman Sultan. These groups were required to pay a jizya tax in return for military protection and the right to practice their religion. Each millet was under the supervision of a leader, most often a religious patriarch, who reported directly to the Ottoman Sultan. The millets had a great deal of power—they set their own laws, collect their own taxes, and build schools or places of worship within their millet.
Expansion
The Islamic Ottomans began conquering Byzantine territories. Ottoman expansion lead their militaries to Constantinople. Using giant gunpowder cannons, the Ottomans attacked and conquered Constantinople in 1453. The Ottomans renamed the city Istanbul as their capital and gained control over trade in the Mediterranean. The Ottomans then limited travel for Europeans along the Silk Roads pushing Europe to find a sea route for the riches of Asia.
The Islamic Ottomans began conquering Byzantine territories. Ottoman expansion lead their militaries to Constantinople. Using giant gunpowder cannons, the Ottomans attacked and conquered Constantinople in 1453. The Ottomans renamed the city Istanbul as their capital and gained control over trade in the Mediterranean. The Ottomans then limited travel for Europeans along the Silk Roads pushing Europe to find a sea route for the riches of Asia.
Hagia Sophia
Once the Turks took over Constantinople, they converted the Hagia Sophia into a Mosque. The Hagia Sophia served as a model for Ottoman mosques including the Suleymaniye. The Hagia Sophia was a church built by Byzantine Emperor Justinian in 360 CE. It was the world's largest building at that time and represents Roman architecture at its greatest. When the Ottoman military conquered Constantinople in 1453 CE, they converted the famed church into a mosque. The church structure remained, but minarets were added. Minarets are towers that provide a platform for the call to prayer to be announced.