Transcript Centuries of Turmoil

CENTURIES OF TURMOIL
Chapter 26, Section 2
FOREIGN INVADERS
•
By the year 900 CE the great Arab empire created after Muhammad’s death was broken
and fractured.
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These kingdoms continued to develop as centers of Islamic civilization.
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Beginning around 1000 CE waves of nomads began to overrun the Middle East in search
of good, fertile land.
SELJUKS
•
The Seljuks were a Turkish-speaking
people.
•
Their invading army captured Baghdad
before moving west.
• They captured Anatolia from the
Byzantines.
• This action frightened the
Christian Byzantines who were
fearful of being conquered
themselves.
MONGOLS
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During the 1200s, horse-riding
Mongols charged out of Central Asia
and descended into the Middle East.
•
In 1258 they captured Baghdad from
the Seljuks and looted and destroyed
the city.
•
Over the course of their invasions the
Mongols killed millions of people.
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Their occupation of the Middle East
opened up trade routes between Asia
and the Islamic world.
CRUSADERS
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A third group of outsiders, Christians from Europe, also invaded the Middle East.
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The Byzantines pressured all of Christendom to strike back against the Seljuk Turks.
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In 1095 CE, Pope Urban II called for a crusade, or holy war, to reclaim the Holy Land from
the Seljuks.
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The Holy Land consisted of Palestine and Israel and was believed to be where Jesus
lived.
CRUSADERS
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Crusaders from all over Europe poured
into the Holy Land to reclaim it.
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While they initially were able to reclaim
Jerusalem and establish four crusader
states their impact was minimal.
• Europe was a less developed
area than the Middle East at this
time.
• The crusaders were eventually
pushed out of Jerusalem by a
brilliant Muslim general, Saladin.
SALADIN
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Salah-al-Din, or Saladin, united the
Muslim world in the late 1100s CE.
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Saladin was God-fearing, courteous,
and generous to friends and enemies.
•
He united Muslims from Syria and
Egypt, surrounded the crusader
kingdoms, and forced the crusaders to
retreat.
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He eventually recaptured the city of
Jerusalem from the crusaders in 1187
CE.
OTTOMAN EMPIRE
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During the early 1300s CE, another powerful people, the Ottomans, emerged in Anatolia.
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Like the Seljuks, the Ottomans were a Turkish-speaking people from Central Asia who
had converted to Islam.
•
In 1453 CE, the Ottomans shocked the Christian world by capturing the ancient city of
Constantinople, ending the 1000-year Byzantine empire.
OTTOMAN EMPIRE
OTTOMAN EMPIRE
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The Ottoman Empire reached its
height under the rule of Suleiman I,
who ruled from 1520 to 1566 CE.
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Suleiman rebuilt Constantinople (now
called Istanbul) was the centerpiece of
his kingdom.
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At its height the Ottomans ruled over
50 million people.
OTTOMAN GOVERNMENT
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The Ottomans were able to hold their empire together for more than 500 years thanks to
their flexible government.
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At the head of the Ottoman government was the sultan, who ruled with absolute power.
• He relied on two groups of men to help him rule.
• “Men of the Pen” – lawyers, mathematicians, poets
• “Men of the Sword” – soldiers, generals
OTTOMAN SLAVES
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The Ottomans treated the people they
conquered as slaves.
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By converting to Islam a slave could
earn their freedom.
•
They took young Christian boys and
trained them as government and
military officials.
• Promising youth could be trained
as elite bodyguards called
Janissaries.
THE SAFAVID EMPIRE
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The other power in the Middle East that opposed the Ottomans were the Safavids.
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The Safavids were from modern-day Iran.
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They waged bloody battles with the Ottomans over control of Mesopotamia.
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The main cause for violence between the two groups was that the Ottomans were Sh’ia
Muslims and the Safavids followed Sunni traditions.
SAFAVID EMPIRE
ABBAS THE GREAT
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The Safavid Empire reached its height
under Abbas the Great, who ruled from
1587 to 1629.
•
Abbas opened his kingdom to outsiders
and was able to forge alliances with
European powers to help with his wars
against the Ottomans.
•
Abbas developed trade networks with Asia
to help produce high-demand goods.
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After Abbas’ death the empire declined.
• The last Safavid ruler died in 1736 CE.
• Afterwards Iran was ruled by a shah.
RECAP QUESTIONS
1.
List three groups of outsiders who invaded the Middle East. Describe one change that
was brought by each group.
2.
Who was Saladin?
3.
Describe how the Ottomans treated the diverse groups who made up their empire.
4.
How do you think centuries of invasions by outsiders contributed to cultural diffusion in
the Middle East?