Mr. Dostert's Domain
The Rise of Islam
The Arabian Peninsula sits at the crossroads of the three great continents. The cultures of the retion were in constant contact with Asia, Africa, and Europe for centuries where goods were traded and ideas were shared. One set of ideas which burst onto the map in the 6th century and reshaped the world- the religion of Islam.
Deserts, Towns, & Trade Routes
Much of the Arabian Peninsula is desert and only a tiny strip of fertile land in South Arabia and Oman can support agriculture. On this desert, Arab nomads called Bedouins, traded goods along trade routes in caravans throughout the region. Trade routes through Arabia connected to the Byzantine and Sassanid empires to the north where merchants traded goods from the Silk Roads of the East as well as spices and incense from Yemen for glass and cloth from Europe. By the 600s the Middle East was blossoming as a center for commerce and a melting pot of cultures passing through.
The Prophet Mohammed
Mohammed was born into the clan of a powerful family in the city of Mecca. Orphaned at the age of six, Mohammed was raised by his grandfather and uncle. He received little schooling and began working in the caravan trade as a very young man. By the age 25, Mohammed became a trader and business manager for Khadijah, a wealthy businesswoman of about 40. Later they married. Theirs was both a good marriage and a good business partnership.
Mohammed took great interest in religion and spent time alone in prayer and meditation. At about the age 40, Mohammed's life was changed overnight when a voice called to him while he meditated in a cave outside Mecca. According to Muslim belief, the voice was that of the angel Gabriel, who told Mohammed that he was a messanger of God. Mohammed was told that he was the last of the prophets and he began to teach that there was one and only God (Allah) and all other gods must be abandoned.
By 613, Mohammed had begun to preach publicly in Mecca, but he met with some hostility. Many Meccans believed his revolutionary ideas would lead to neglect of the traditional Arab gods. They feared that Mecca would lose its position as a pilgrimage center if people accepted Mohammed's monotheistic beliefs. After several attacks, Mohammed decided to leave Mecca in 622 for the town of Medina (Yathrib) with a small band of supporters. Ths migration became known as the Hijrah. The Hijrah marked a turning point for Mohamed in which his small band of followers transformed into a powerful sect and he became not only a religious leader, but alwo a political leader in his own right.
In Medina, Mohammed was very successful in converting the population to his new religion. In 630, the Prophet and 10,000 of his followers marched from Medina to Medina where they threatened to take the city. Facing sure defeat, Mecca's leaders surrendered and the Prophet entered the city in triumph. Mohammed marched to the Ka'aba and destroyed the idols and had the call to prayer made from its roof. By the time of his death just two years later, he and his followers had taken great strides toward unifying the entire Arabian Peninsula under Islam.
Islam Expands
When Mohammed died in 632, the community faced a crisis. Muslims, inspired by the message of Allah, believed they had a duty to carry his word to the world. However, they lacked a clear way to choose a new leader, Eventually, the issue of leadership would divide the Muslim world.
Mohammed had not named a successor or instructed his followers how to choose one. Relying on ancient tribal custom, the Muslim community elected as their leader Abu-Bakr, a loyal friend of Muhammed. In 632, Abu-Bakr became the first caliph, a title which means "successor" or "deputy."
Abu-Bakr and the next three elected caliphs- Umar, Uthman, and Ali- all had known Mohammed.They used the Qur'an and Mohammed's actions as guides to leadership. For this, they are known as the "rightly guided" caliphs. Their rule was called a caliphate. Under the rightly guided caliphs the empire began by Mohammed expanded into Syria and Persia as well as across North Africa. By 750, the Muslim Empire stretched 6,000 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indus River Valley in India.
Muslims saw their victories as a sign of Allah's support and drew energy and inspiration from their faith. Furthermore, the Byzantine and Sassanid Empires had been in conflict for many years prior to the success of the Muslim Empire which greatly weakened them and opened them to conquest. Many people welcomed Muslim invaders and chose to accept Islam. They were attracted by the message of Islam, which offered equality and hope in this world. They were also attracted by the economic benefit for Muslims not having to pay the Jizya, a poll tax.
Because the Qur'an forbade forced conversion, Muslims allowed conquered peioples to follow their own religion. Christians and Jews, as "people of the book," received special consideration. They paid a jizya each year in exchange for exemption from military duties. However, they were also subject to various restrictions on their lives, particularly they were not allowed to spread their religion. Tolerance like this continued throughout the caliphate and many Christians and Jews were allowed to become state officials, scholars, and bureaucrats.
Islam Divides
Despite victory on the battlefield, the Muslim community had difficulty maintaining a unified rule. In 656, Uthman was murdered, starting a civil war in which various groups struggled for power. Ali, as Muhammed's cousin and son-in-law, was the natural successor to Uthman. However, his right to rule was challenged by Muawiya, a governor of Syria. Then, in 661, Ali, too, was assassinated. The elective system of choosing a caliph died with him.
A family known as the Umayyads then came to power. The Umayyads moved the capital to Damascus. This location, away from Mecca, made controlling the empire easier. The Umayyads abandoned the simple life of the rightly guided caliphs and began to surround themselves with wealth and ceremony similar to that of non-Muslim kings and emperors. This led to the fundamental division of Islam into two competing sects the Sunni, and the Shi'a.
In the interest of peace, the majority of Muslims accepted the rule of the Umayyads. However a minority chose to resist and develooped an alternate view of the caliph. These Muslims believed that the caliph needed to be a descendant of the Prophet. This group was called the Shi'a, meaning "party" of Ali. Those who did not resist the rule of the Umayyads became known as the Sunni. They believed that leaders should use Mohammed's life as an example, but theyd did not need to be related to him to exercise rule or authority. Another group, the Sufi, rejected the luxurious life of the Umayyads all together and chose instead to pursue a life of poverty and devotion to a spiritual path.
Over time the religious conflicts and political opposition led to the downfall of the Umayyads in the year 750. They were replaced by a new dynasty, the Abbasids. The Abbasids moved the capital of the empire to a newly created city, Baghdad, in central Iraq. The location on key trade routes gave the caliph access to trade goods, gold, and information about the empire. Baghdad became a center of Islamic learning and culture. Baghdad impressed all who saw it. Muslims in Baghdad made great strides in math, science, medicine, and philosophy and eventually constructed a combination library and academy called the House of Wisdom where scholars from throughout the world translated and discussed texts from Greece, India, Persia, and elsewhere.
As the Muslim Empire expanded, Arabs entered regiions that had rich artistic traditions. Muslims continued these traditions but often adapted them to suit Islamic beliefs and practices. For example, since Muslims believe that only Allah can create life, images of living beings were discouraged. Thus many artists turned to calligraphy, or the art of beautiful handwriting. Others created complex decorative geometric patterns which were displayed on Mosques, mosaics, textiles, and sculptures.
Although the Abbasids were successful in expanding science and culture they failed to keep complete political control of the immense territory in the empire. Independent Muslim states sprang up, and local leaders dominated smaller regions. The Fatimid Caliphate was formed by Shi'a Muslims who claimed descent from Mohammed's daughter Fatima. The caliphate, centered in Egypt, stretched across North Africa and across the Red Sea to the Hejaz region of Arabia. In Persia the Saffarid Dynasty broke away and exercized control of much of the eastern Muslim territories. From the north Turks had emerged as the new power in the Middle East and swept through the region. By the 1200s the Abassid Caliphate existed in name only and was much more of a religious figurehead than a political power without any unified government or society. With the Sack of Baghdad in 1258 the Golden Age of Islam came to a crashing end with Mongols seizing control of the Middle East, subjegating any who stood in their path.
Asian Empires
China & the Silk Road
Far to the east China developed much differently than other early civilizations because it was isolated and therefore did not see cultural diffusion for the most part as civilizations in the Middle East, India, and Europe had. In China, civilization advanced rapidly and due to its plentiful resources grew wealthy and powerful. Advanced technology and a strong centralized government allowed the Chinese to develop their own distinct identity which viewed outsiders as barbarians and their own country as the center of the civilized world.
The Silk Road
Although China was isolated for many years over time stories of the greatness of China and its luxurious goods reached the rest of the world. Over time trade networks developed and began to connect China to the west. These trade routes collectively known as the Silk Road brought Chinese goods across Asia as far as Europe and goods from Europe and the Middle East into China. This trade was quite profitable and created the first networks for cultural exchange with ideas and culture spread along the trade routes, changing styles, customs, and even religions as interaction allowed for the first age of Eurasian cultural diffusion. To protect the trade routes from northern raiders the Chinese government extended the Great Wall far to the west, demonstrating the importance of the silk road. The silk road made China very wealthy due to its monopoly on silk, porcelain, tea, and spices which it protected under pain of death.
Chinese Philosophy
Following the collapse of the Zhou Dynasty China entered a period of almost constant conflict which became known as the "warring states period." Chinese philosophers looked to understand why society had fallen into chaos and looked for ways to restore the ancient values of social order, harmony, and respect for authority.
The Chinese developed a belief that the reason governments decline and eventually fall is because the gods give dynasties their power when they are led by good kings, and ultimately take back power when there is a wicked or foolish king. This authority to rule became known as the Mandate of Heaven.
The Mandate of Heaven became central to the Chinese view of government. Floods, riots, and other calamities became signs that the ancestral spirits were displeased with a king's rule. In that case, the Mandate of Heaven might pass to another noble family. This was the Chinese explanation for rebellion, civil war, and the rise of new dynasties. Historians describe this pattern of rise, decline, and replacement as the dynastic cycle.
Many philosophers sought to understand how rulers could keep the Mandate of Heaven and developed philosophical systems that leaders should follow to strengthen their authority and maintain control of the country. China's most influential scholar was Confucius. Confucius believed that society could be healed if China were organized around five basic relationships. These were the relationships between: (1) ruler and subject, (2) father and son, (3) husband and wife, (4) older brother and younger brother, (5) friend and friend. Confucius stressed the importance of family and that children should practice filial piety, or respect for their parents and ancestors.
Confucius wanted to reform society by showing governers how to rule wisely. He advocated that education could transform people and laid the groundwork for the creation of a bureaucracy, a trained civil service who ran the government in China. Bureaucrats took written tests to apply for government positions and therefore education became critically important to career advancement of the elites of China. Confucianism became the foundation for Chinese government and social order and many of its guiding principles spread throughout East Asia, influencing their governments and societies in the process.
In sharp contrast to Confucianism, a group of practical political thinkers led by Han Fei formed a philosophy called Legalism. Legalists argued that a highly efficient and powerful government was the key to restoring order to society. They believed that government should use the law to end civil disorder and restore harmony by providing rewards to people who carried out their duties well and harshly punishing anyone who was disloyal or disobedient. In practice, Legalists stressed punishment more than rewards. For example, anyone caught outside his own village without a travel permit should have his ears or nose chopped off.
For a Chinese thinker named Laozi nature became the basis for returning social harmony. His book Dao De Jing expressed his belief that a universal force called the Dao (the way) guides all things. According to Laozi, only humans fail to follow the Dao which is the cause for their misery. Laozi's philosophy called Daoism encouraged people to focus on the moment and follow the example set in nature to rejuvenate society. Daoists sought to live simple lives which were in tune with the natural rhythms of nature without desire and at peace with themselves. Although Daoism never became a majority philosophy, to this day it remains a powerful influence on East Asian thought and spirituality.
A powerful symbol of Daoism became the yin and yang which represented the duality seen in natural life. Yin represents all that is cold, dark, soft, and mysterious. Yang is the opposite- warm, bright, hard, and clear. Daoism asserted that the natural world is made up of these opposites which not only contrast but also complement the other. The circle represents the harmony of yin and yang. The yin and yang became a symbol for Daoism and helped Chinese people understand how they fit into the world.
The Sui & Tang Dynasties
Yin & Yang
Following the fall of the Han Dynasty in A.D. 220, no emperor was strong enough to hold China together. Over the next 350 years, more than 30 local dynasties rose and fell. Finally by 589, an emperor named Wendi reunited northern and southern China. He restored the strong central government of ancient China and brought back the Confucian sytems of the past. Under the next two dynasties, the Tang and the Song, China experienced a prolonged golden age. It became the richest, most powerful, and most advanced country in the world.
The Sui and Tang dynasties stand out in Chinese history as a time of great scientific and technological innovation. Many cities of the era flourished and became extrememely wealthy; at least ten cities had a population exceeding 1 million citizens. These cities traded goods throughout the empire including new advanced technology which was available no where else on earth. Among the most important inventions of th period were movable type and gunpowder. The Chinese also invented paper money, the magnetic compass, as well as the mechanical clock. These industrious cities were tied together with the creation of the Grand Canal which provided a vital route for trade within the empire.
The Tang Dynasty also expanded trade with the West along the Silk Road. Imperial armies guarded the route and wealth poured into the empire in exchange for silk, porcelain, spices, and tea. As the Tang Dynasty declined, so too did trade on the Silk Road as their successors, the Song, instead looked east to trade.
The Song Dynasty
After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, rival warlords divided China into separate kingdoms until 960 when a able general named Taizu reunited China and proclaimed himself the first Song emperor. Song armies never regained the western lands lost nor did they regain the northern lands along the Great Wall. Eventually northern enemies from Manchuria known as the Jurchen conquered northern China and established a rival empire north of the Huang He River. After 1127, the Song emperors ruled only southern China. Despite these setbacks, the dynasty held on and prospered because the south had become the economic heartland of China.
The prosperity of the age brought an age of artistic brilliance. Influenced by Daoism, Chinese painting reached new heights of beauty during the Song Dynasty which emphasized the beauty of nature.
The Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire appeared suddenly from the Asian steppe and with speed and ruthlessness established one of history's great empires, stretching from Korea to Poland. This empire was the first and only period in which Asia was united. The Silk Road began opperating at a rate unseen prior as goods and ideas were shared across the continent, and the great inventions of China found their way westward. Although the empire was founded on brutality and violence, Mongol rule took steps toward the creation of the modern world in which cities throughout the world became connected through trade and tolerance of cultures was the norm.
Nomads of the Asian Steppe
A vast belt of grassland, called the steppe, stretches across most of Asia. The climate of the steppe was harsh. There was little rainfall and seasonal temperatures were extreme. This steppe was home to the Mongols who were nomadic pastorialists. They lived much of their lives on horseback and were constantly on the move, searching for good pasture to feed their herds. The Mongols like other steppe nomads traveled together in family groups called clans. These clans sometimes came together to attack common enemies, but for most of history made war on eachother. The Mongols engaged in peaceful trade in which they traded for items they lacked such as grain, metal, cloth, and tea. They also were known from time to time to organize raiding parties which attacked trade routes and border towns to steal the wealth of settled civilized neighbors.
Genghis Khan & the Rise of the Mongols
Around 1200, a Mongol clan leader named Temujin sought to unify the Mongols. He fought and defeated his rivals one by one. In 1206 Temujin accepted the title Genghis Khan, or "universal leader of all the Mongol clans.
Over the next 21 years, Genghis led the Mongols in conquering much of Asia. His first goal was China. After invading the Jin Empire in 1211, however, his attention turned to the Islamic region west of Mongolia. Angered by the murder of Mongol traders and an ambassador at the hands of the Muslims, Genghis launched a campaign of terror across Central Asia. Genghis and his decendants continued to attack and expand their empire across Asia until it stretched from Korea to Eastern Europe. This vast empire was incredibly diverse and for the first and only time in history united virtually all of Asia into one powerful empire.
The Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire in theory was ruled by an emperor called the Great Khan. In reality, the empire had split into four khanates which were semi-autonomous. Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, fought to unify China and finally overwhelmed the remnants of the Song Dynasty in 1279. Kublai Khan followed the model of previous Chinese dynasties and assumed the mandate of heaven, creating his own dynasty which he called the Yuan Dynasty. This new Mongol dynasty brought increased foreign contact and trade without changing culture or the Chinese bureaucratic sytem of government. Kublai Khan abandoned the nomadic lifestyle of his predecessors and built a new capital at the site of modern Beijing. This step was a clear sign that Kublai intended on making his mark as emperor of China.
The Mongols had little in common with their Chinese subjects. Because of their differences, the Mongols kept their separate identity and did not assimilate to Chinese culture. They kept Chinese out of high government offices and gave those jobs to Mongols or foreigners becaus they believed that foreigners were more trustworthy since they had no local loyalties. One foreign minister was a Venetian trader named Marco Polo. Polo served the Khan loyally for 17 years as an administrator. He later returned to Venice where he wrote his famous book the Travels of Marco Polo, telling of China's fantastic wealth and strange things he had seen there. Because it seemed too incredible to be true, most Europeans believed that it was nothing more than a series of tall tales.
The End of Mongol Rule
During the last years of Kublai Khan's reign, weaknesses began to appear in Mongol rule. Several failed invasions, most notably Japan and Indochina, led the Mongol Empire to lose wealth and prestige. Furthermore, heavy spending on public works and luxuries for the Yuan court had forced high taxation and rebellions. In 1368, Chinese rebels finally overthrew the Mongols and founded their own dynasty the Ming.
By the time of the collapse of the Yuan Dynasty, the entire Mongol Empire had disintegrated. The government of the Ilkhanate in Persia fell apart in the 1330s. The Chagatai Khanate collapsed in the 1370s, and the Golden Horde slowly lost power in Russia. Although the Mongol Empire had lasted less than 200 years, this short period of Asian peace known as the Pax Mongolica allowed for sharing of ideas and goods which had never been known in history. Chinese goods such as gunpowder and the compass spread along the Silk Road eastward where they were embraced and used by Arabs and Europeans to change the course of history, instigating both exploration and war throughout the world.
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The Ottoman Empire
By the 1300s the Byzantine Empire was declining and nomadic Turks had come to dominate Anatolia in Western Asia. These militaristic people expanded their empire across the Bosphorus into Europe and southward to dominate the Arab world. Following the collapse of Constantinople, the Ottomans created one of histories great empires which due to great leaders, remained a stable and powerful force throughout Eastern Europe and the Middle East for over five centuries.
Many Turks saw themselves as ghazis, or warriors for Islam. They raided the territories of people who lived on the froniers of the Byzantine Empire. The most successful Ghazi was Osman which is where the term Ottoman originates. His successors expanded his territory by buying land, forming alliances with other emirs, and conquering others. Osman's son Orkhan took the title sultan, declaring himself the leader of all Turks. With the use of gunpowder, the Turks were able to expand the empire and capture the heavily walled cities of the Byzantine Empire. Armed with cannons and musket-carrying foot soldiers the Ottomans quickly rose to become the dominant power of the Eastern Mediteranean.
Turks Conquer an Empire
With the Eastern Mediterranean secure the Ottomans turned to conquer the great city Constantinople. Mehmed II, or Mehmed the Conqueror, demanded the city from the Byzantines and attacked in 1453. After a long hard-fought battle and a daring attack in which the Turks dragged their ships over land to launch a surprise attack, Mehmed's forces seized the city. Mehmed proved to be an able ruler and rebuilt the city as the Turkish capital and cultural center for the empire, renaming it Istanbul.
The Ottomans continued their aggressive conquest of neighbors by attacking south through Syria and Palestine to take the Muslim Holy cities Mecca and Medina. The Ottomans then turned west to take Egypt and North Africa. The empire now included the economic center of Constantinople, the religious center of Mecca, intellectual center of Cairo.
Suleyman the Magnificent
The Ottoman empire reached its peak under the rule of Suleyman I. His own people called him Suleyman the Lawgiver. He was known in the West as Suleyman the Magnificent due to the splendor of his court and to his cultural achievements.
Suleyman was a great military leader, pushing Ottoman authority into central Europe by conquering the city of Belgrade in 1521. He also expanded Turkish naval power by building a powerful fleet which allowed them to dominate the Mediterranean and control trade routes to Africa and Europe. By the time of his death, Suleyman's armies were threatening Vienna in central Europe. He had become the most powerful monarch on earth.
Suleyman's crowning achievement was the creation of a workable and lasting social structure for the Ottoman Empire. Suleyman created a law code to handle both criminal and civil actions. He also simplified and limited taxes, and systemized and reduced the government bureaucracy. These changes improved the lives of most citizens of the empire.
Suleyman transformed Ottoman government through the development of the devshirme system which kidnaped boys from peoples of conquered Christian territories, educated them, converted them to Islam, and trained them as soldiers. This slave bureaucracy was loyal only to the sultan, and because they were
forbidden from having families, were dedicated to their work of
governing the state rather than advancing their position and status.
The sultan also created an elite force of 30,000 soldiers known as
janissaries to lead Suleyman's armies in his wars of conquest. The
janissaries were some of history's most feared warriors, leading
opponents to often retreat or surrender when they were seen on
the battlefield.
To deal with the diversity of his empire ​Suleyman also developed
a system of religious communities called millets which was
allowed to follow each religion's own laws and practices. The head
of each millet reported to the sultan and his staff. This system kept
conflict among people of various religions to a minimum.
Suleyman also encouraged the development of culture within his
empire by employing some of the world's greatest artists and architects.
The empire financed the building of the Mosque of Suleyman, an
immense domed complex which included four schools, a library, a
bath, and a hospital. Art and literature flourished under Suleyman's rule. Painters and poets looked to Persia and Arabia for inspiration and created great works which rivaled the European Renaissance.
The Empire Declines Slowly
The systems developed by Suleyman had made the empire powerful and stable, however Suleyman also began a tradition later sultans followed in which family rivals, mostly brothers, were strangled to secure power in the empire. Furthermore, to prevent succession conflicts, sultans imprisoned their sons, cutting them off from education and contact with the world. The practice produced a long line of weak sultans who eventually led the empire into decline.
Despite this institutional problems, the Ottoman Empire continued to be a world power into the early twentieth century. The decline was slow as provinces were taken or broke away over the course of centuries as European powers replaced the Ottomans as the power of the Mediterranean sea.
The Mughal Empire
During the sixteenth century descendants of Tamerlane and the Mongols accepted an invitation by several Indian princes to invade India, ultimately creating a new dynasty which ruled over the Indian Subcontinent for the next 300 years. This new Mughal Empire allowed for saw the merging of many different and diverse cultures and religions to create a unique blending that changed the cultural identity of the people of India. Together, this empire united India for the first time in centuries and the Indian people and their Muslim leaders created a golden age of art and architecture and allowed for a unique new society to prosper.
Babur Founds an Empire
A descendant of Genghis Khan named Babur inherited a kingdom in the area that is now Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Babur was a brilliant general and led his 12,000 troops to victory against an army of 100,000 Indians to begin the conquest of India. This new empire, built with gunpowder became known as the Mughal Empire, a mistranslation of the word Mongol. Over the next centuries Babur's descendants expanded Mughal control to include virtually all of India, uniting the subcontinent for the first time in centuries.
Akbar's Golden Age
Babur's grandson was named Akbar. Akbar ushered in a Golden Age of the Mughal Empire by expanding the empire through military conquest, and overseeing a flowering of cultural achievements for all of India.
Like the Ottomans, Akbar equipped the Mughal armies with heavy artillery capable of breaking into the walled cities of India. As his territory grew, Akbar appointed many local rajputs as officers to help command his army. This turned potential enemies into allies, enabling Akbar to unify the diverse region of at least 100 million people together into one massive empire.
Akbar was a genius at cultural blending He was a Muslim, and he firmly defended religious freedom. He permitted people from other religions to practice their faiths freely. He proved his tolerance by marrying, among others, two Hindus, a Christian, and a Muslim. He allowed his wives to practice their religious rituals in the palace. He proved his tolerance again by abolishing both the tax on Hindu pilgrims and the hated jizya tax on non-Muslims.
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Akbar governed through a bureaucracy of officials. Natives and foreigners, Hindus and Muslims, could all rise to high office. This approach contributed to the quality of his government. Akbar's government levied an effective and fair graduated income tax by calculating it as a percentage of the value of the peasants' crops. Because this tax was fair and affordable, the number of peasants who paid it increased. This payment brought in much needed money for the empire.
Akbar welcomed influences from the many cultures in his empire. This cultural blending affected art, education, politics, and language. Persian was the language of Akbar's court and of high culture. The common people, however, spoke Hindi, a mixture of Persian and a local language. Hindi remains one of the most widely spoken languages in India today. Out of the Mughal armies, where soldiers of many backgrounds rubbed shoulders, came yet another new language. This language was Urdu, which means, "from the soldier's camp." A blend of Arabic, Persian, and Hindi, Urdu is today the official language of Pakistan.
The arts flourished at the Mughal court, especially in the form of book illustrations. These small, highly detailed, and colorful paintings were called miniatures. Some of the most famous Mughal miniatures adorned the Akbarnamah ("Book of Akbar"), the story of the great emperor's campaigns and deeds. Indian art drew from Western traditions as well.
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Akbar devoted himself to architecture too. The style developed massive but graceful structures decorated with intricate stonework that portrays Hindu themes. The capital city of Fatehpur Sikri is one of the most important examples of this type of architecture. Akbar had this red-sandstone city built toly man who had predicted the birth of his first son.
Sikhism
Following Akbar's death in 1605, the Mughal court changed to deal with the changing times. Akbar's son, Jahangir tried to promote Islam in the Mughal state, but was tolerant of other religions. This tolerance did not apply to a new religion called Sikhism that was developed in the Punjab region of Northern India.
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion that developed at the end of the fifteenth century based on the teachings of Guru Nanak. Sikhism combines many of the beliefs of Hinduism and Buddhism with the ideas introduced by Islam to create a blended religion that epitomizes the cultural diffusion from the era of the Mughal Empire. Like Islam, Sikhism emphasizes the equality of all persons and a single, all powerful god. Sikhism also borrows ideas such as reincarnation and karma from Hinduism, but denies the belief in the caste system, instead believing that all people are capable of merging with god if they earn an honest living that avoids sin. Sikhs condemn rituals such as fasting, pilgrimage, superstition, and idol worship. Furthermore, Sikhs believe that all religions are worshiping different names of the same god.
Following a rebellion assisted by many Sikhs, the Mughal Empire began to persecute the new religion, becoming the target of the Mughals' particular hatred. Many Sikhs were tortured for their actions and refusal to adopt Islam. Several leaders, called Gurus, were tortured and some were even boiled alive. As a result of this persecution, Sikhism began to be militarized, incorporating symbols such as swords, as they resisted oppression by the Mughal state.
Shah Jahan
Akbar's grandson Shah Jahan left a different legacy for the Mughal Empire. He had passion for two things: beautiful buildings, and his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan was genuinely in love with his wife, and following her death he ordered that a tomb be built "as beautiful as she was beautiful." Fine white marble and fabulous jewels were gathered from across Asia to build the massive tomb. This memorial, the Taj Mahal, has been called one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Its towering marble dome and slender minaret towers look like lace and seem to change color as the sun moves across the sky.
But while Shah Jahan was building lovely things, his country was suffering. There was famine in the land. Furthermore, farmers needed tools, roads, and ways of irrigating their crops and dealing with India's harsh environment. What they got instead were taxes and more taxes to support the building of monuments, their rulers' extravagant living, and war.
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When Shah Jahan became ill in 1657, his four sons scrambled for the throne. The third son, Aurangzeb, moved first and most decisively. In a bitter civil war, he executed his older brother and arrested his father. Shah Jahan spend the remainder of his life in prison where he looked at a mirror, angled so that he could look out at the reflection of the Taj Mahal.
Aurangzeb
Shah Jahan's son Aurangzeb was a master a military strategy and an aggressive empire builder. HIs reign brought rapid and vast expansion as he expanded Mughal holdings to their greatest size. However, despite his great military successes the power of the empire weakened largely due to Aurangzeb's oppression of the people. Aurangzeb rigidly enforced Islamic laws, outlawing drinking, gambling, and other activities viewed as vices. He appointed censors to police his subjects' morals and make sure they prayed at the appointed times. He also tried to erase all the gains HIndus made under Akbar. For example, he brought back the hated jizya on non-Muslims and dismissed Hindus from high positions in government. He banned the construction of new temples and had Hindu monuments destroyed. Not surprisingly, this fractured his empire, turning Hindus against their Muslim rulers.
The Hindu Rajputs, who Akbar had turned into allies despite their religious differences, turned on the Mughals, beginning a period of ongoing civil war. No matter how many times the Mughals defeated them in battle, they were never able to end the strife and violence. These wars drained the treasury of the once prosperous empire as they were forced to maintain massive armies to police their empire and put down revolt after revolt. To pay for this army, Aurangzeb levied massive taxes on the Hindu people of India, only deepening the divide. The more territory he conquered, the more desperate the situation became.
The Empire Declines
By the end of Aurangzeb's reign, he had drained the empire of its resources. Over 2 million people died in a famine while Aurangzeb was away waging war. As the power of the government weakened, the power of local lords grew. Within a few generations the Mughal Empire had become a patchwork of independent states with a figurehead emperor who held very little real political power. To compound issues, as the empire fell into ruins, Western traders from Europe began arriving and building trading outposts along the Indian coast. The Mughals did not feel threatened by the European traders, but over time they would use the conflict and disunity to their own political gain as they slowly expanded control of the Subcontinent. By the nineteenth century, India was once again the possession of a foreign power, becoming the crown jewel of the British Empire.
The Ming & Qing Dynasties
The rule of China by the mighty Mongol Empire created great resentment amongst the Chinese who had believed that their culture was the greatest on earth. Once the Mongols were finally removed from power a new Chinese dynasty assumed power that became known as the Ming, determined to restore Chinese culture to its former greatness. This new dynasty brought back Confucianism and emphasized all things Chinese including art, literature, and religion, creating a Renaissance in Chinese culture. This emphasis on all things Chinese also began a period of isolationism as much of China withdrew from the world affairs, believing that all things foreign were inferior. This pinnacle of traditional Chinese culture also marked the beginning of a slow decline as the world, especially Europeans, became more and more involved in the political affairs of Asia and began to surpass the China for control of Asia.
Japanese Unification & Isolation
