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The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History,
Third Edition
Richard W. Bulliet, Pamela Kyle Crossley, Daniel R. Headrick, Steven W. Hirsch, Lyman L. Johnson, David Northrup
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Chapter 20: Southwest Asia and the Indian Ocean, 1500-1750
Maps:
The Islamic World, 1500
The World, 1500-1800
This site's map places the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires in a global context. The map also contains several hyper links for obtaining further information about certain kingdoms.
Maps of the Islamic World
This site offers several maps relating to the Ottoman and Safavid Empires.
The Ottoman Empire, 1600
The Ottoman Empire
This map illustrates the growth and decline of the Ottoman Empire from the fourteenth through the twentieth centuries.
Expansion of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire Expansion Map
Arab Conquests
This map allows you to compare the Ottoman Empire with the borders of the older Arab Caliphate.
The Ottoman Empire and Afro-Eurasian Trade Routes
This map places the Ottoman Empire within the context of the older Afro-Eurasian trading system that existed before European explorers opened up direct trade from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.
The Ottoman and Safavid Empires, 1600
The Mughal Empire at Akbar's Death, 1605
The Portuguese Maritime Empire in Asia
The Portuguese in the Moluccas and in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Modern Day Indonesia
The VOC's Routes to Asia
This map shows the sea routes from Holland to the VOC's holdings in Asia. It also uses Shockwave technology that allows you to zoom in to specific areas.
The Spread of Islam in Southeast Asia
The Malacca Sultanate, 1500
Images:
The Islamic World to 1600: The Rise of Great Islamic Empires
This excellent site contains, among many other visuals, numerous images from the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires.
Islamic Art: Late Islamic Art
This comprehensive site contains many images from the Ottoman and Safavid periods.
Süleymaniye Mosque
Study images of this famous mosque in Istanbul. Quicktime technology allows for several panoramic views.
Safavid Dynasty
This site contains several images of art from this period in Iranian history.
Welcome to Isfahan!
Take a virtual tour of the capital of the Safavid Dynasty in Iran.
Persian Miniature Paintings
Mughal Architecture
The VOC: A Seventeenth Century Dutch Trading Giant
This site contains a nice essay as well as numerous images relating to the VOC's activities in the Indian Ocean and East Asia.
The VOC Ship Batavia
This site contains images and artifacts from this eighteenth-century Dutch sailing ship.
Tranquebar: Danish East India
Observe several historical illustrations of this Danish trading factory in India.
Dutch Malacca
This site contains several images and a useful demographic chart relating to Dutch control of this famous Southeast Asian port.
City of Batavia
View many historical illustrations of this city founded by the Dutch, which is now Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.
Activity One:
Like the emerging nation-states of Europe, during the sixteenth century the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires were all new, dynamic, and expansive domains. Go to The World, 1500-1800 and compare and contrast the geographical scale and scope of the European nation-states with the extent of these Islamic empires. Don't forget to include the Europeans' overseas possessions. All three Islamic empires were more multiethnic and multireligious than the European nation-states. Although this situation posed specific problems for the Islamic central governments, during most of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the rulers of all three empires were nevertheless able to create strong central governments that promoted stability and order. In the process of doing so, they each developed innovative and unique governing styles. How do they compare with the governing styles of the Western European nation-states of the time? You might want to review Chapter 17, Transformations in Europe, 1500-1750. Did the European or the Islamic governments promote more religious tolerance? Which had the strongest and most just legal systems?
Activity Two:
As the first activity demonstrates, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires were among the world's most powerful and enlightened kingdoms. It was not preordained that they would lose power relative to the Europeans by the middle of the eighteenth century. Rather, the Islamic empires emerged and evolved at a time when the world economy was being reshaped by European capitalism. To understand the nature of commerce during the early sixteenth century, study the Map of Marco Polo's Asia. This map shows the travel routes of the Polo family, who were thirteenth-century Venetian merchants. The paths they had taken as they traveled across the Eurasian continent were well worn and established trade routes at the time; these roads and sea lanes were all still thriving with commerce at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Next, review Hyperhistory: Map of the World 1500-1800. Then go back to Map of Marco Polo's Asia and try to identify the areas controlled by the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals. Notice how the Islamic empires all controlled vital links in this Eurasian trading system. All three were at the center of a vast trading network that connected Western Europe, the Indian Ocean world, and China, providing trade routes for manufactured goods, spices, and decorative art. All three of these empires benefited from this trade, whether by exporting goods or by taxing the commerce passing through their borders. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, new players joined this trading system - European joint-stock companies. The arrival of the joint-stock companies did not automatically alter the commercial status quo in the Indian Ocean, but their long-term impact was devastating to the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires. To understand the reasons behind this development, go to The Ottoman Empire and Afro Eurasian Trade Routes. This map shows the trade routes that ran through the Ottoman Empire. As you can tell, this empire controlled most of the trade between Europe and the Indian Ocean region before the emergence of the strong European joint-stock companies. Now review the map at VOC Routes, which shows the new, direct ocean-based routes that the European joint-stock companies were able to use after 1498. As these entities grew stronger and directed more trade from the Indian Ocean region to Europe via this ocean-based route, what was the effect on the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals? What impact do you think these changes had on state revenue and wealth in both the Islamic Empires and the European nation-states? What were the advantages and disadvantages of being a land empire, as the Islamic empires were, as opposed to being a maritime empire, as the Europeans nation-states were?
Activity Three:
The reconfiguration of the global economy analyzed in activity two did not only affect the Islamic powers of South and Southwest Asia; it also greatly influenced the Indian Ocean world. Go to PORTUGAL'S ECUMENICAL TRADE ZONE and The Sea Route to Indian and the Red Sea Trade (only read the first section at the second site for now). Describe the trading system that existed in the Indian Ocean at the time of the arrival of the Portuguese. Who participated in the trading, and what kinds of goods were being transferred across the area? What kinds of rules and conventions governed this vast trading zone? What religions were practiced, and which were dominant? After 1500, the arrival of the Portuguese and the later entry of other European nation-states began to alter the status quo. Go to PORTUGAL'S ENTRY INTO THE INDIAN OCEAN TRADE COMMUNITY. Also, finish reading the essay at The Sea Route to Indian and the Red Sea Trade up to "Initial Contacts with China and Japan." How did the Portuguese alter the balance of power in the Indian Ocean? Describe the maritime empire that they established there. What technological advantages and cultural values allowed them to do this? How different was the Indian Ocean world after the arrival of the Portuguese? Who participated in trade, and what items were bartered back and forth? What religions were present, and which were dominant? What kinds of rules and conventions governed this vast trading zone?
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