Asian Empire Question Response
What shared characteristics between the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires can you identify that contributed to their stagnation and decline?
The Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires used a system of imperialism to develop immense, powerful empires. The cultures of the region they controlled today were influenced by these gunpowder empires. These gunpowder flourished because of the policy of integrating the diverse people they have conquered. Yet the persecution and harsh treatment of part of the empire’s people led to the decline and fall of the Gunpowder Empires. The Ottoman’s harsh treatment of possible successors of the throne weakened the throne itself because of the lack of talented successors due to their confinement during the predecessor’s reign. The Safavid and Mughal empire made the same mistake, which is religious intolerance. This led other tribes and religious groups to lead rebellion, bringing the decline and downfall of both empires. The following paragraphs would explore upon the factors that contributed to the growth and fall of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires.
The Ottoman Empire grew to become a superpower in central Asia by its system of Imperialism. It conquers foreign land and treat the people whose land they conquered without persecution or any sort of punishment. Doing so provides the empire with a less likely chance of facing a rebellion, and reduces the chance of the fall of the empire. First, the Ottomans took the young men of the people they conquered and train them to become janissaries— young men who were converted into Islam and trained as elite soldiers who were loyal to the Sultans. Janissaries were allowed to raise in ranks, which leads to two main benefits. First, this base the empire with the merit system, which allows the best talent to be used without limit of religion or ethnicity. Second, the young men of the conquered people who could be potential rebels, are integrated into the Ottoman Empire as janissaries, reducing the chance for a rebellion. Second, the Ottoman Empire’s religious freedom reduces the dissent of foreigners, which also prevented rebellions. Furthermore, the policy of religious tolerance attracted foreigners such as Jewish people from Christian empires and kingdoms who persecutes them, which allows the Ottoman Empire to gain foreign talents.
The Ottomans stagnated and fell as a result of a minor problem compared with the other gunpowder empires’ cause of decline, which was the treatment of heirs. The Ottoman Sultan murdered their brothers and locked up possible heirs to reduce the chance of a rebellion, which aligns with the empire’s policy of preventing rebellions, except doing so is a short term solution. Once the Ottoman sultan dies, there were no talented heirs because of their confinement during the last Sultan’s reign, which prevented them from learning how a good Sultan rules the empire. The lack of a good leader led to the gradual decline and fall of the Ottoman Empire despite its policy of integration of foreigners.
The Safavid empire grew to challenge contemporary powers in the region, such as the Ottoman and Uzbeks empire. It imitated the Ottomans’ policy of using janissaries to fight and conquer foreign territories. Furthermore, it acquired gunpowder weapons, along with the empire’s powerful army, won countless wars and battles over the Ottomans and Uzbeks. But unlike the Ottomans, the Safavid oppressed minorities and non-Shiism, which the empire would pay back at a price.
The Safavid empire fell due to its religious intolerance. According to Esma’il, the founder of Safavid, if people protest against Shiism, “I will draw the sword and leave no one of them alive.” This cruel policy of exerting Shiism on to its people, although seemingly produced no trouble at first, led to the Sunni population’s rebellion against the empire at a later period, along with other religious and ethnic minorities who were suppressed. The Safavid empire, which imitated the Ottomans’ use of gunpowder and janissaries, left out the policy of religious tolerance, leading to dissent from its people and revolts. This fatal mistake can be seen in one other gunpowder empire: the Mughal Empire.
The Mughals united diverse people who have been living in small kingdoms for centuries into an empire. First, the Mughals used the policy of religious tolerance, which enabled it to united the diverse people of India. This discourages hindus, christians, and buddhists from revolting against the Muslim government because the present religious tolerance makes rebellion unnecessary. Second, the Mughals built a powerful central government based on the merit system, where social class, religion, and ethnicity is not a factor in the appointment of government officials. The merit system help united the diverse people of India into the Mughal empire. Therefore, religious tolerance and merit system were the two main factors for the Mughal empire’s success.
Religious tolerance which led to the success of the Mughal Empire also led to its decline. As time passed and new Sultans succeeded, the policy of religious freedom became unemphasized and later neglected. Shah Jahan was the turning point of the policy, where he started wars he claimed to be religious. Aurangzeb further violated religious tolerance by persecuting Sikhs, Hindus, and people from other religion. He further destroyed the system of merits banning hindus and christians from high position in the government. The end of religious tolerance led to frequent rebellions against the government, which weakened it and ended it.
In conclusion, integration of people whether by religion, military, or government led to the success of the gunpowder empires, while the persecution of people in the empire led to the fall of these once dominant states. The Ottomans and Safavids’ use of janissaries, the Mughals and Ottomans’ policy of religious freedom, and the Mughals’ merit-system-based central government were the main causes of the rise of the gunpowder empires. But the Ottoman’s harsh treatment of heir, and the Safavid and Mughals’ end of religious tolerance contributed to the empires’ stagnation and downfall. History often repeats itself, and religious intolerance could be identified as the causes of the fall of two gunpowder empires. The devastating result of religious intolerance on a state should be taken as a warning to us and our posterity.
What shared characteristics between the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires can you identify that contributed to their stagnation and decline?
The Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires used a system of imperialism to develop immense, powerful empires. The cultures of the region they controlled today were influenced by these gunpowder empires. These gunpowder flourished because of the policy of integrating the diverse people they have conquered. Yet the persecution and harsh treatment of part of the empire’s people led to the decline and fall of the Gunpowder Empires. The Ottoman’s harsh treatment of possible successors of the throne weakened the throne itself because of the lack of talented successors due to their confinement during the predecessor’s reign. The Safavid and Mughal empire made the same mistake, which is religious intolerance. This led other tribes and religious groups to lead rebellion, bringing the decline and downfall of both empires. The following paragraphs would explore upon the factors that contributed to the growth and fall of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires.
The Ottoman Empire grew to become a superpower in central Asia by its system of Imperialism. It conquers foreign land and treat the people whose land they conquered without persecution or any sort of punishment. Doing so provides the empire with a less likely chance of facing a rebellion, and reduces the chance of the fall of the empire. First, the Ottomans took the young men of the people they conquered and train them to become janissaries— young men who were converted into Islam and trained as elite soldiers who were loyal to the Sultans. Janissaries were allowed to raise in ranks, which leads to two main benefits. First, this base the empire with the merit system, which allows the best talent to be used without limit of religion or ethnicity. Second, the young men of the conquered people who could be potential rebels, are integrated into the Ottoman Empire as janissaries, reducing the chance for a rebellion. Second, the Ottoman Empire’s religious freedom reduces the dissent of foreigners, which also prevented rebellions. Furthermore, the policy of religious tolerance attracted foreigners such as Jewish people from Christian empires and kingdoms who persecutes them, which allows the Ottoman Empire to gain foreign talents.
The Ottomans stagnated and fell as a result of a minor problem compared with the other gunpowder empires’ cause of decline, which was the treatment of heirs. The Ottoman Sultan murdered their brothers and locked up possible heirs to reduce the chance of a rebellion, which aligns with the empire’s policy of preventing rebellions, except doing so is a short term solution. Once the Ottoman sultan dies, there were no talented heirs because of their confinement during the last Sultan’s reign, which prevented them from learning how a good Sultan rules the empire. The lack of a good leader led to the gradual decline and fall of the Ottoman Empire despite its policy of integration of foreigners.
The Safavid empire grew to challenge contemporary powers in the region, such as the Ottoman and Uzbeks empire. It imitated the Ottomans’ policy of using janissaries to fight and conquer foreign territories. Furthermore, it acquired gunpowder weapons, along with the empire’s powerful army, won countless wars and battles over the Ottomans and Uzbeks. But unlike the Ottomans, the Safavid oppressed minorities and non-Shiism, which the empire would pay back at a price.
The Safavid empire fell due to its religious intolerance. According to Esma’il, the founder of Safavid, if people protest against Shiism, “I will draw the sword and leave no one of them alive.” This cruel policy of exerting Shiism on to its people, although seemingly produced no trouble at first, led to the Sunni population’s rebellion against the empire at a later period, along with other religious and ethnic minorities who were suppressed. The Safavid empire, which imitated the Ottomans’ use of gunpowder and janissaries, left out the policy of religious tolerance, leading to dissent from its people and revolts. This fatal mistake can be seen in one other gunpowder empire: the Mughal Empire.
The Mughals united diverse people who have been living in small kingdoms for centuries into an empire. First, the Mughals used the policy of religious tolerance, which enabled it to united the diverse people of India. This discourages hindus, christians, and buddhists from revolting against the Muslim government because the present religious tolerance makes rebellion unnecessary. Second, the Mughals built a powerful central government based on the merit system, where social class, religion, and ethnicity is not a factor in the appointment of government officials. The merit system help united the diverse people of India into the Mughal empire. Therefore, religious tolerance and merit system were the two main factors for the Mughal empire’s success.
Religious tolerance which led to the success of the Mughal Empire also led to its decline. As time passed and new Sultans succeeded, the policy of religious freedom became unemphasized and later neglected. Shah Jahan was the turning point of the policy, where he started wars he claimed to be religious. Aurangzeb further violated religious tolerance by persecuting Sikhs, Hindus, and people from other religion. He further destroyed the system of merits banning hindus and christians from high position in the government. The end of religious tolerance led to frequent rebellions against the government, which weakened it and ended it.
In conclusion, integration of people whether by religion, military, or government led to the success of the gunpowder empires, while the persecution of people in the empire led to the fall of these once dominant states. The Ottomans and Safavids’ use of janissaries, the Mughals and Ottomans’ policy of religious freedom, and the Mughals’ merit-system-based central government were the main causes of the rise of the gunpowder empires. But the Ottoman’s harsh treatment of heir, and the Safavid and Mughals’ end of religious tolerance contributed to the empires’ stagnation and downfall. History often repeats itself, and religious intolerance could be identified as the causes of the fall of two gunpowder empires. The devastating result of religious intolerance on a state should be taken as a warning to us and our posterity.