Transcript Ottoman Empire - World history

Ottoman Empire
Chart Answers
The Ottoman Empire (1600)
Military
• Powerful cannons
• Janissaries were the best infantry
(foot soldiers) in the world at the
time
• Powerful sultan (leader) expanded
borders and conquered large areas
Cultural
• Turks were Sunni Muslims and were
dominant
• claimed to be the center of the
Islamic World (controlled Mecca and Medina)
• Turks were tolerant of most other
religions and minorities
• Changed name of the capital from
Constantinople to Istanbul
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Political
Strong legal code was based upon Islamic
law
Centralized government
Government appointed governors ruled
over conquered territories
Efficient civil service (government workers)
Civil service was based upon merit (prove
that you can do the job and not who your
family is)
Economic
• Controlled trade routes between
Europe and Asia
• Held and controlled excellent
agricultural lands
• Farmers and business people paid
taxes
• Business and trading were
important
Social
• Strict division of society into classes
• Earlier tolerant of different religions
and minorities
• Christian slaves were converted to
Islam and served in the government
and military
• Persecuted Shia or Shiite Muslims
Reasons for Decline
• Many military failures
• Weak and corrupt sultans
• Lost control of the trade routes
• Refused to modernize
• Tolerance for other minorities and
religions ended
• Lost military control of territories