Empires and Expansion
What powerful weapon helped the Ottoman army break through the walls of Constantinople in 1453?
Cannons
What title did the ruler of the Ottoman Empire use to show that he was the empire's supreme leader?
Sultan
Which branch of Islam was followed by the majority of Ottoman Muslims: Sunni or Shi'a?
Sunni
What is the term for a system of government in which a monarch claims extensive or nearly unlimited political power?
Absolute monarchy
Name one similarity between the Ottoman and Mughal empires in how they expanded their territory.
Both used military conquest and organized armies to gain territory.
Russia expanded eastward across Siberia. What valuable resource encouraged this expansion?
Furs, which could be traded for wealth.
What was the name of the palace where French King Louis XIV held court and brought nobles under his influence?
The Palace of Versailles.
What branch of Christianity was most closely associated with the Byzantine and Russian Empires?
Eastern Orthodox Christianity
What did the belief in the divine right of kings claim, and how could it strengthen a monarch's authority?
It claimed that a king's authority came from God. This could discourage challenges to royal power by presenting obedience to the king as a religious duty.
What was one important religious difference between the Ottoman and Safavid empires?
The Ottomans were primarily Sunni Muslim, while the Safavids promoted Shi'a Islam.
The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 brought an end to which empire?
The Byzantine Empire
Why did Louis XIV encourage French nobles to spend time at Versailles instead of remaining independent in their own estates?
He could monitor the nobles, make them dependent on royal favors, and strengthen his control over the French nobility.
Which Mughal emperor promoted religious tolerance and cooperation with Hindu subjects, including removing certain taxes on non-Muslims?
Akbar
Which Ottoman sultan, known as Suleiman the Magnificent, ruled during a period of major territorial expansion and legal development?
Suleiman I
Why did large land-based empires need systems for collecting taxes?
Taxes paid for armies, government officials, construction projects, and other expenses needed to maintain the empire.
Which empire was founded by Shah Ismail I and made Shi'a Islam its official religion?
The Safavid Empire.
Why did Mughal emperors appoint officials to collect taxes from farmers and landholders instead of collecting every tax themselves?
The empire was too large for the emperor and central government to collect taxes directly everywhere. Officials and local landholders helped collect revenue, which supported the army and government.
Why did Safavid rulers promote Shi'a Islam while the Ottoman Empire followed Sunni Islam?
The Safavids used Shi'a Islam to create a distinct religious and political identity that separated their empire from the Sunni Ottoman Empire. This difference also reinforced their rivalry.
Why might merchants and wealthy landowners become important to an empire even if they were not members of the royal family?
They could provide taxes, loans, trade connections, and economic resources that helped support the government and its military.
Akbar promoted cooperation with different religious groups, while the Safavid rulers promoted Shi'a Islam as a way to distinguish their empire. What does this comparison reveal about how rulers used religion?
Rulers could use religion in different ways to strengthen their authority. Akbar used religious accommodation to help govern a diverse population, while the Safavids used a shared official religion to build a distinct political and religious identity.
Cannons and firearms helped land-based empires expand. Identify one other factor that helped an empire become powerful and explain why it mattered.
Strong leadership, organized armies, or effective government. For example, organized armies helped rulers conquer territory, while effective government helped them control the lands they conquered.
Louis XIV of France used Versailles to strengthen royal authority, while Mughal rulers relied on officials and local landholders to help govern their empire. Explain how these two approaches helped rulers maintain control in different ways.
Louis XIV used Versailles to keep nobles close to the royal court, monitor them, and make them dependent on royal favor. Mughal rulers used officials and local landholders to administer territory and collect taxes. One approach controlled the political behavior of nobles; the other helped manage the empire and its revenue.
A ruler allows religious minorities to practice their faith but still expects them to obey the government and pay taxes. Explain how this policy could help the ruler maintain control over a diverse empire.
Religious accommodation could reduce resistance and encourage different groups to accept the ruler's authority. Taxes provided revenue for the government and military, helping the empire function. The ruler could maintain political control without requiring everyone to follow the same religion.
An empire conquers a large territory but struggles to govern it and collect taxes from distant regions. Explain why controlling territory does not automatically make an empire wealthy or stable.
Conquered territory requires officials, soldiers, and effective administration. If rulers cannot collect taxes, maintain order, or manage distant regions, they may lack the resources to sustain their armies and could face rebellions or lose control.
Which was more important to maintaining a large empire: military strength or effective government? Support your answer with an example from two different empires.
Military strength helped the Ottomans conquer territory, while Mughal tax collection helped fund and maintain the empire.