Centralizing Control
Why did empires feel the need to centralize control in the states?
Mainly to control taxes and to have control over many territories
What is the purpose of legitimizing rule?
To show to the public that you are a culturally approved or spiritually earned leader
Why did the centralized states need reliable revenue coming into said states?
To help fund the armies, bureaucracies, and the monumental building projects
What Empire began in the mid-15th century? What system was started?
The Ottoman Empire and the start of the Devshirme System
What is serfdom?
The state of being a serf or feudal laborer.
How did Europe centralize its control?
Took away political power from those who were decentralized and turned it over to a single monarch
What idea was used by Louis XIV of France to legitimize his rule?
Divine Right of Kings
How did Europe finance their Empires?
Europe developed a system called Mercantilism
Bonus 100 if you can define Mercantilism
Who ruled in the Russian Empire in the late 15th century?
Ivan IV/the Terrible
What is a Boyar?
A member of the highest class in Russia, next in rank to a prince.
How did the Russian Empire retain control?
Modernization of the state, leading to competition with the western powers
How did Russian tsars legitimize their rule?
Claiming the lineage back to the Roman Empire, so people perceived them as defenders of the Orthodox faith
How did the Russian Empire finance their state?
Taking over the serf population, building the economy of the state
Who was the Sun King of the mid-17th century?
Louis XIV
A landowner, especially one who leases his land to tenant farmers.
How did the Ottomans centralize their rule?
Through the development of the devishmere system
How did Mughal rulers legitimize their rule?
Building monuments representing their wealth and piety
How did the Ottoman and Mughal Empire finance their states?
Taking control over the land and agricultural taxes
What were the two major Empires in the 17th century?
Mughal Empire and Qing Dynasty
What is Devishmere?
The Ottoman practice of forcibly recruiting soldiers and bureaucrats.
How did Asia centralize control?
Through the management of the populations and territories through a merit based government system
How did the Ottoman Sultans legitimize their rule?
Describe the systems that the Ottoman and Mughal Empire used?
Ensuring tax collection was only managed and directed back to the capital, creating stability
In the late 17th century and early 18th century, who was ruler of the Russian Empire and what system did he start?
Peter the Great and the Table of Ranks
What is the Divine Right of Kings?
The political and religious doctrine that asserts a monarch’s legitimacy and authority to rule is granted by God, not by an earthly authority.