EXERCISE FIVE. EARLY MODERN ASIA.
1. What are the principal features of Islamic religion? List five pillars of Islam.
Principal features of Islam are that they believe one and only one God (Allah). Islam is the true
religion of Allah and the name represents the central principal of the God of Allah , which means
the surrender of one’s will to the only true God worthy of being worshipped.
The five pillar of Islam are:
Shahadah – the declaring that there is no god except God and that Muhammad is God’s
messenger.
Salat – ritual prayer five times a day
Zakat – giving 2.5% of one’s savings to the poor (charity)
Sawm – fasting and self-control during the holy month of Ramadan
Hajj – visiting to Mecca at least once in a lifetime if one is able to
2. Discuss the most important aspects of medieval Islamic civilization. What were its
principal cultural achievements?
Medieval Islam was considered to be the Islamic Golden Age (dated mid-7th century to
mid-13th century). During this time Muslim rulers established one of the largest empires in
history. In Medieval Islam, artists, engineers, scholars, poets, philosophers, geographers and
traders in the Islamic world all contributed to agriculture, arts, economics, industry, literature,
navigation, philosophy, science, sociology, and technology. During this time the Muslin
world was a major intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and education. In
Baghdad, Muslims established what they called the “House of Wisdom” where scholars
(Muslim & non-Muslim) gathered to translate world’s knowledge into Arabic.
Achievements during this time were the development of algebra and algorithms by the
Persian and Islamic mathematician Muhammad. He also invented spherical trigonometry.
The addition of decimal point notation was introduced by Sind ibn Ali. Another contribution
was to the medicine field. They also created a worldwide Muslim community called Umma,
where there were Islamic scholars but no hierarchy like in the Vatican.
3. Describe the most important aspects of Ottoman state and society c. 1400-c. 1600.
What factors did contribute to the Ottoman success?
Important aspects of Ottoman state and society were that they had centralized power an
resources, an advanced bureaucracy, and a formidable army. There was tolerance and self
government in the empire. The factors that contributed to Ottoman success were that in the
14th century, they seized the Bosporus and the Dardanelles between the Mediterranean and
Black seas. The Ottomans built a strong military administration that was based on
recruitment of Christian into an elite guard and called them Janissaries. These Christians
were recruited from the Balkans and were then converted into Islam. The advantage the
Janissaries had was the they were subordinated to the sultanate and owed their loyalty to the
person of sultan. The Ottoman empire also expanded, during Bayazid’s reign (1389-1402) the
Ottomans advanced northward and annexed Bulgaria and slaughtered the French cavalry at a
major battle on the Danube. After that, Mehmet II (1451-1481) succeeded the throne and was
determined to capture Constantinople. He was in control of the Dardanelles and ordered the
construction of a major fortress on the Bosporus just north of the city which put the Turks in
a position to defeat the Byzantines. Mehmet laid siege to Constantinople in 1453 with 80,000
troops versus only 7,000 defenders. He breached the walls and the Byzantine emperor died in
the final battle. The Ottoman’s expanded, set up a new capital in Constantinople and renamed
it to Istanbul. They expanded east against the Shi’ite kingdom of Safavids, which were
promoting rebellion among the Anatolian tribal population and disrupting Turkish trade
through the Middle East. They defeated them in a major battle in 1514 and Emperor Selim I
(1512-1520) had consolidated Turkish control over the territory that had been ancient
Mesopotamia, then turned his attention to the Mamluks in Egypt (due to them failing to
support the Ottomans in their struggle again the Safavids). The Ottomans defeated the
Mamluks in 1516 and Cairo fell one year later. In North Africa, central government was
achieved through appointed pashas who collected taxes and then paid a fixed percentage as a
tribute to central government, they maintained law and order, and were directly responsible
to Istanbull.
4. Discuss the main features of early modern Persian history and the policies of
Safavid Persia under Abbas the Great.
During this time, Persians witnessed an extraordinary flowering of arts and literatures. The
greatest area of productivity though was in the in textiles. Silk weavings became a national
industry. Carpet weaving also flourished and was stimulated by great demands for Persian
carpets in the west. Persian painting was also a huge thing in the early modern Persian era which
consisted of mostly pictures of young ladies, boys, lovers, and dervishes.
Abbas the Great established a system similar to the Janissaries in Turkey to train administrators
to replace the traditional warrior elite. He also used the period of peace to strengthen his army
which were then armed with modern weapons, and attempted to regain lost territories in the early
17th century. He managed to strengthen the dynasty significantly and for a long time after his
death, Safavid Persia remained stable and vigorous.
Abbas the Great expanded the borders of his empire into areas of the southern Caucasus that was
inhabited by Christians and other non-Muslims. After he controlled those lands, he instructed the
local populations convert to Islam for their protection and glory to God. He invited the people in
these lands to become Muslims and converted many Christians into them. Overall Abbas I was
had a very high religious tolerance and on official occasions he would invite the religious leaders
