The+Islamic+Empires+-+In+Transition+(770-775)+2

=The Islamic Empires - In Transition (770-775)=

__The Deterioration of Imperial Leadership__
Dynastic Decline Religious Tensions (CO)
 * Islamic empires went under dramatic change from 16th to 18th centuries
 * Afghan tribesmen marched to Isfahan and blockaded the city killing thousands
 * Subcontinent was falling under British imperial rule by midcentury 1700
 * Ottoman realm began to shrink
 * Decline caused by rulers spending money on themselves rather than affairs of state
 * Fighting happened between members of ruling houses
 * Government was corrupted by inexperienced rulers like Selim the Sot and Ibrahim the Crazy
 * Tensions increased when religious conservatives abondoned policies of tolerance
 * Conservative Muslims protested construction of astronomical observatory in Istanbul, also forced closure of Ottoman priniting press
 * Shiite leaders in Safavid empire pressured shahs to persecute Sunnis, non-Muslims, and Sufis
 * Aurangzeb's policies in Mughal, India provoked animosity of Hindus

__Economic Decline__

 * By 18th century trade for Islamic empires declined falling to the Europeans
 * Large militaries brought economic decline
 * When expansion stopped resources became limited
 * Wars in Europe, Mesopotamia, and India weakend Islamic empires by reducing their resources
 * Lack of expansion caused the empire to loose remote provinces
 * Officials tried to regain money by charging taxes, it provided immediate money but long term economic damage
 * Government thought foreign trade would bring in more income, making matters worse though

__Military Decline__
(GG)
 * They didn't improve military technology causing their military to decline
 * In 16th and 17th century they relied on European technology for military weapons
 * In the mid 17th century European military technology was advancing too quickly for the Islamic empires to keep up
 * Relied on foreign trade for military weapons
 * By 18th century the Ottoman navy, who once mastered maritime affairs, stopped building ships relying on foreign shipyards

__**Cultural Conservatism**__
Piri Reis Cultural Conservatism (RS)
 * Islamic empires neglected cultural development in the larger world
 * visiting Europeans learned about the language, religion, social customes, and history and published their knowledge
 * Ottoman geographers were interesteed in European knowledge, as well
 * Ottoman admiral and cartographer
 * produced several large-scale maps and the //Book of Seafaring//-used European maps and reports
 * included Atlantic coast of North America and the lands visited by Columbus
 * few Muslims traveled to lands of the Franks
 * thought that Muslims were superior and thought they had nothing to learn from Europeans
 * Around 1703 there was an attempt to introduce European scientific instruments
 * conservative Muslim clerics forced the removal of foriegn implements