The Gunpowder Empires
The conquest of Constantinople in 1453 with the use of massive artillery was a key early victory for this empire.
What is the Ottoman Empire?
This European concept, asserted by Louis XIV, held that a monarch's power came directly from God.
What is the Divine Right of Kings?
The system used by the Mughal Empire where regional officials were responsible for tax collection, land revenue, and local administration.
What is the Zamindar system?
This religious split was intensified into a major political rivalry between the Ottoman (Sunni) and Safavid (Shi'a) empires.
What is the Sunni-Shi'a split/rivalry?
The imperial palace of France where Louis XIV housed and centralized the nobility.
What is the Palace of Versailles?
This empire, founded by Babur, was known for its vast wealth and religious diversity in South and Central Asia.
What is the Mughal Empire?
Qing and Ming emperors used this Confucian title, which meant they mediated between heaven and earth.
What is the Son of Heaven?
The Ottoman system of taking Christian boys from the Balkans to be trained as elite soldiers and administrators, forming the Janissary corps.
What is the Devshirme system?
The posting of Martin Luther's 95 Theses in 1517 is credited with starting this major break from existing Christian traditions.
What is the Protestant Reformation?
The Qing/Ming palace complex in Beijing that symbolized the emperor's cosmic centrality and isolation.
What is the Forbidden City?
This Shi'a empire, led by Shah Ismail, was a bitter rival of the neighboring Ottoman Empire.
What is the Safavid Empire?
Mughal Emperor Akbar created this syncretic belief system, which blended Islam, Hinduism, and other faiths to unify his diverse population.
What is Dīn-i Ilāhī or the Divine Faith?
These elite military professionals in Tokugawa Japan were transitioned into salaried bureaucrats to enforce centralized control.
What are the Salaried Samurai?
This syncretic belief system developed in South Asia in the context of interactions between Hinduism and Islam.
What is Sikhism?
The massive mosque in Istanbul that was built to rival the Hagia Sophia and project Ottoman Islamic dominance.
What is the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque)?
This empire, which defeated the Ming Dynasty, was ruled by the Manchu people in East Asia.
What is the Qing (Manchu) Dynasty?
The Ottoman Sultan's authority was tied to this religious and legal system based on the Quran and Hadith.
What is Sharia Law
A system where the government sold the right to collect taxes in a given area to private individuals, commonly used by the Ottoman Empire.
What is Tax Farming?
This powerful force fought against the Songhai Empire over control of the gold and salt trade in West Africa.
What is Morocco?
This Mughal mausoleum, built by Shah Jahan for his wife, demonstrated the empire's vast wealth and architectural blending.
What is the Taj Mahal?
This European monarch expanded his empire to the Baltic and established St. Petersburg as his "Window to the West."
Who is Peter the Great?
This method, used by the Mexica (Aztecs), was a religious ritual that also served to demonstrate the ruler's political power and connection to the gods.
What is Human Sacrifice?
Strategy used by land empires to limit independent military elites and prevent regional uprisings.
What is Centralization or Centralized Powers
In the Mughal Empire, this later ruler reversed Akbar's policy of religious tolerance, promoting Sunni orthodoxy and weakening the empire.
Who is Aurangzeb?
Isfahan became the cultural and architectural hub and capital for this Shi'a land-based empire.
Isfahan became the cultural and architectural hub and capital for this Shi'a land-based empire.