The Muslim World Apogee of the Muslim Gunpowder Empires 16th century Check textbook How the Muslim Empires Resisted European Expansion 1 Centralized States Concentrated political and military power 2 Strong Economies The imbalances that the European economies faced were not faced by the Muslim economies The Ottoman Turks The Siege of Constantinople 1453 took place right after the Portuguese began to expand down the Western coast of Africa The siege indicated that the Islamic armies were on the march This siege was led by Mehmed II The Ottoman Empire What factors contributed to the strength and longevity of this empire 1 Great Military Success Their European enemies were relatively weak and there was no indication that Europe was even going to become a dominant power European technology was impressive however the Ottomans had mastered the use of gunpowder in cannons and firearms in a way that made the European militaries look pathetic They were good at organizing their army They had Janissaries Christian boys were essentially enslaved and trained to fight for the Muslim Ottoman rulers They could move up the military and political ranks by proving themselves skilled soldiers to the Ottoman military This military success peaked under the rule of Suleyman I r 1520 1566 He was referred to by Europeans as the Magnificent He built the Suleyman Mosque in the 1550s 2 Cultural and Scientific Achievements Advances in the Arts Weaving textiles ceramics literature and architecture Advances in medical sciences ex Small pox vaccines They infected cows with Small Pox drew it from the cows and inject it into wounds on people so that they d develop an immunity to the disease What internal and external difficulties caused its decline 1 Internal Factors Uncertainty of succession Male heirs given little opportunity to govern leading to major competition between them They often lived lives of grandiose excess The Harem 18th c Women in a polygnous households 2 External Factors Global Economic Changes Middle Eastern trade routes were bypassed Prosperous Europeans siphoned off raw materials like wool which was important to the Ottoman Empire Scarcity inflation Unequal trade agreements that made trade unprofitable for the Ottomans 3 Loss of Territory Dismemberment The Empire experienced an Imperial Decline from 1807 1924 and was totally dismembered during the First World War Ottoman Rule in Istanbul 1 New head of the Eastern Orthodox Church 2 Christians were offered religious freedom taxed As long as taxes were paid the people were welcome to practice Christianity despite Muslim rule Muslims and Christians can get along 3 Church accepted Muslim rule 4 Resisted rendered ineffective 5 Jews also found home in the city Jews and Muslims were actually able to get along 6 Relative religious tolerance Istanbul ruled by the Muslims offered a place for people to go to practice their faith whatever their faith was The Siege of Vienna 1529 Islamic forces laid siege to Vienna a few times including a siege in 1529 The Ottoman army withdrew from the siege due to poor weather conditions so it was never actually conquered by the Ottomans