Topic 3.1

📍Topic 3.1 European, East Asian, and Gunpowder Empires Expand

📖 AMSCO p.143 - p.151

Main Idea

Key Timeline

Image Courtesy of Isaiah Penny

Things to Know

Gunpowder Empires

• The Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires were known as "Gunpowder Empires" due to their effective use of firearms and artillery in warfare. 🏹
• Mehmed II of the Ottomans, known as "the Conqueror," captured Constantinople in 1453, marking a significant shift in power and transforming it into a thriving capital, Istanbul. 🌆
• Suleiman I, also known as Suleiman the Magnificent, ruled the Ottoman Empire at its peak. His reign was marked by significant military conquests.
• The Safavid Empire, arising from Sufism in the northern Azerbaijan region of Iran, was established by Ismail, who expanded Persian influence and battled with the Ottomans. 🕌
• Shah Abbas I, also known as Abbas the Great, led the Safavid Empire to its peak with strong leadership and military strategies.
• The Mughal Empire in India, started by Babur, a descendant of Tamerlane, became a major force, blending Persian, Indian, and Islamic cultures. 🕌
• The empire, renowned for its cultural renaissance and architectural achievements, began with Babur's conquests in the 1520s and reached its peak under Akbar. 🏰

European Powers and Expansion

• The end of plagues, the Hundred Years' War, and the invention of the Gutenberg printing press around 1450 marked the transition from medieval to early modern Europe. 📜
• Powerful nation-states emerged, driven by monarchs like England's Tudors, France's Valois, and Spain's Ferdinand and Isabella, who centralized power and spurred overseas exploration. 🗺
• These new monarchies curtailed the private armies of the nobility and expanded bureaucracies, elevating the middle class at the expense of the aristocracy and the church.

Russia

• Ivan IV, crowned tsar in the mid-16th century and known as Ivan the Terrible, aggressively expanded Russia's borders eastward into the former territories of the Golden Horde. 🐻⚔️
• To control the lucrative fur trade, Ivan IV commissioned the Stroganov family to hire Cossack warriors, leading to the conquest of Khanates and expansion to the Pacific Ocean by the 17th century.
• Russia modernized its army, taking cues from European nations, which helped it maintain power as an independent nation-state while other empires eventually declined. ⚔️

East Asia

• The Ming Dynasty in China, following the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, stabilized the region for nearly 300 years, expanding into Mongolia and Central Asia and reinforcing the Great Wall to protect against northern invaders. 🧱
• The Ming Dynasty was overthrown by the Manchu, who founded the Qing Dynasty in 1644, maintaining Chinese administrative systems while preserving Manchu identity.
• Under Qing rule, China expanded its borders, with Emperor Kangxi incorporating Taiwan, Mongolia, and Central Asia, and Emperor Qianlong conducting military campaigns in Central Asia.

The Rise and Fall of Islamic Empires

• Islamic empires expanded into regions like Southeast Asia, North Africa, and the Balkans, with the Ottoman Empire being the largest and most enduring during this period. 🌍
• Unlike the European powers or Russia, the Islamic empires did not modernize their militaries to the same extent, which later contributed to their decline in comparison to the surviving nation-states like Russia.

Terms to Remember