2: Cultural Blending

Cultural Blending interaction of cultures which resulted in the mixing of

different cultures in new and exciting ways
Safavide Empire Shiite Muslim dynasty is an example of culturally diverse
empire from the traditions of Persians, Ottomans and Arabs
Patterns of Cultural Blending
o Common beginning places: continental crossroads, trade routes, ports,
borders of countries
o Causes of Cultural Blending
Migration
Pursuit of religious freedom or conversion
Trade
Conquest
o Ottoman Empires location on a major trading route created many
opportunities for contact with different cultures
o Results of Cultural Blending
Language
Written characters Chinese characters used in Japanese
language
Spoken language Safavid Empire used Persian, but later
adapted Arabic
Religion and ethical systems
Buddhism practiced by Tibetans is different from Japanese
Zen Buddhism
Styles of government
Democratic government is not the same in each country
Radical or ethnic blending
Mestizo mix of European and Indian ancestry who live in
Mexico
Arts and architecture
Chinese artistic elements are found in Safavid Empire tiles
and carpets and European paintings
The Safavids Builds an Empire
o Founder: Safi al-Din
o Alignment: Shia branch of Islam in the 15 th century
o Squeezed in between Ottomans and Uzbek tribespeople and Mughal
Empire
To protect themselves: concentrated on building powerful army
o Ismail Conquers Asia
Ismail began to seize lands (Iran) in 1499
Took ancient Persian title shah or king
Established Shia Islam as the state religion
Became a religious tyrant
Anyone who did not convert was put to death
Destroyed Sunni of Baghdad in confrontation with Ottomans

Selim the Grim retaliated by executing all Shia in the

Ottoman Empire: 40,000 died
Battle of Chaldiran in 1514, Ottomans used artillery to defeat
the Safavids
Border became the border of Iraq and Iran
Tahmasp (son) learned to use artillery to expand to the Caucasus
Mountains which brought Christians under Safavid rule
A Safavid Golden Age
o Shah Abbas (Abbas the Great) took the throne in 1587
o Created a Safavid culture and golden age drew best from: Ottoman,
Persian, Arab
o Reforms
Created two armies: Persians and Christian Janissaries
Reformed government: punished corruption, hired foreigners to fill
positions
Brought members of Christian religious orders into the empire to
promote industry, trade an art
o A New Capital
Esfahan
Design covered for 4 and a half miles
300 Chinese potters produced glazed building tiles and Armenians
wove carpets
o Art Works
Brought hundreds of Chinese Artisans to Esfahan
Produced: intricate metalwork, miniature paintings, calligraphy,
glasswork, tile work and pottery.
Blended Chinese and Persian ideas
o Carpets
Western influence: Persian carpets
Changed carpet weaving from a local craft to a national industry
Before: reflected traditional Persian themes, After: incorporated new
themes, European designs
The Dynasty Declines Quickly
o Shah Abbas made same mistake as Suleyman did: killed or blinded ablest
sons
o Incompetent grandson Safi succeeded
o 1736 Nadir Shah Afshar conquered land all the way to India, however was
assassinated due to his cruelty

3. The Mughal Empire in India

Mughals Mongols
Early History of the Mughals
o Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni devastated Indian cities and temples, which
left the region weakened and vulnerable to other conquerors
o Delhi became the capital of a loose empire of Turkish warlords called
the Dlehi Sultanate
These sultans treated the Hindus as conquered people
o Delhi Sultanate
1398 Timur the Lame destroyed Delhi
o Babur Founds an Empire
1494, 11-year-old Babur inherited a kingdom in an area that is
now Uzbekistan and Tajikistan
Was driven away. Built an army and swept down into India and
laid foundation for Mughal Empire
After his death, incompetent son Humayun lost most of his
territory.
Akbars Golden Age
o Akbar greatest one (Baburs grandson)
o Ruled from 1556 to 1605
o A military conqueror
A monarch should ever be intent on conquest, otherwise his
neighbors rise in arms against him
Equipped armies with heavy artillery
Appointed rajputs as officers, this way he turned potential
enemies into allies
o A Liberal Ruler
Permitted people of other religions to practice their faiths
Married 2 Hindus, a Christian, and a Muslim
Abolished tax on Hindu pilgrims and jizya (tax on non-muslims)
Todar Mal, Akbars chief finance minister
Levied an income tax, calculating it as a percentage of the
value of the peasants crops
Land policy
Gave to his bureaucrats, repossessed after death
To prevent feudal aristocracies
Did not encourage dedication and hard work since
children would not inherit the land
o A Flowering of Culture
Welcomed influences from the many cultures in the empire
Cultural blending affected: art, education, politics, language
Persian language of court and high culture
Hindi mixture of Persian and local language, used by common
people
Urdu from the soldiers camp blend of Arabic, Persian and
Hindu; official language of Pakistan

Arts and Literature

Book illustrations
Miniatures small, highly detailed and colorful paintings
Akbarnamah Book of Akbar, miniatures adorned, Indian art
drew from western traditions
Tulsi Das poet, retold the epic love story of Rama and Sita
Ramayana Indian poem
o Architecture
Akbar period architecture: massive and graceful structures,
decorated with intricate stonework that portray Hindu themes
Capital city Fatehpur Sikri red-sandstone city built to thank the
prediction of his son
Akbars Successors
Jahangir and Nur Jahan
Jahangir Grasper of the World, left most of affairs to
wife, Persian princess Nur Jahan
She installed her father as Prime Minister in Mughal court
Son Khusrau rebelled against father, Nur Jahan removed
him. Caused religious conflict
o Jahangir tried to promote Islam in Mughal state but
tolerant of other religions
o Khusrau turned to the Sikhs
Non violent group, doctrines blended
Buddhism, Hinduism and Sufism (Islamic
mysticism)
Leader: Guru Arjun
Mughal rulers arrested and tortured Arjun to
death
Sikhs became the target of the
Mughals particular hatred
Shah Jahan
Successor
Assassinated all possible rivals to the throne
Passion: beautiful buildings and wife Mumtaz Mahal
Built a tomb for her wife as beautiful as she was
beautiful Taj Mahal
The people suffer
Famine and taxes
Shah Jahan became ill, sons scrambled for throne
o Aurangzeb, 3rd son, killed eldest, imprisoned father
Aurangzebs Reign
Master at military strategy and aggressive empire builder
Ruled 1658-1707
Loss of power due to oppression of people
o Rigidly enforced Islamic law, outlawed drinking,
gambling, other activities considered vices
o

Appointed censors to police his subjects morals

and make sure they pray at appointed times
o Tried to erase all gains Hindus had made under
Akbar
Brought back tax on Non-Muslims
o Dismissed Hindus from high positions in
government
o Banned construction of new temples and had Hindu
monuments destroyed
o Rajputs rebelled
Marathas Militant Hindus found their own
state
Sikhs transformed themselves into a militant
brotherhood
Began building a state in Punjab
o Doubled the tax on Hindu merchants
The Empires Decline and Decay
o Aurangzeb drained the empire of its resources
o 2 million died in famine
o Power of central state weakened, power of local lords grew
o Portuguese first Europeans to reach India
Dutch
French
English
o Trading post located at Madras
o 1661, Aurangzeb gave port of Bombay
o