History Quizlet 9 (Chapter 20)

Suleyman's Expansion

Known as "the lawgiver" or in the west "the magnificent," this Ottoman ruled followed Selim I's rule and continued his expansion of the empire. He took control of Kurdistan, Georgia, Mesopotamia, and Iraq, pushing into Eastern Europe. He was also able to have virtually total control of Hungary in the 1540s because of battle and treaty--he had nearly conquered Vienna by siege in 1526-1529.

Mehmed II

Ottoman conqueror and sultan who captured Constantinople in 1453; he renamed the city Istanbul, and it became the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans allowed the Christian patriarch to remain in Istanbul to preside over the Eastern church; in the eyes of European Christians, the Ottomans became the feared scourge of God. He was the true founder of the Ottoman Empire, replacing tribal chieftains with loyal servants of the ruler, and created the Qanun-name.

Qanun

The highly organized state administrative law of the Ottoman Empire, which was established by the ruler. However it was subordinate to the Ulama and Shari'a.

Devshirme

The institution responsible for creating the slave-troops; they plucked young Christian boys from their families in the provincial lands to be raised as Muslims; they were trained to serve in the army and bureaucracy at all levels; the most famous of this group was the Janissaries or yeri cheri (elite troops).

Ulama

The religious scholars of the Ottoman Empire. The empire co-opted the legal-religious and the educational-intellectual roles of these scholars, for the service of the state.

Timar

The system where tax revenues from conquered lands were granted for specified periods to cavalry officers instead of cash wages. Careful records were kept of the revenue on the land, and as long as the state was strong, so was the control over productive lands and the aristocracy to whom the timar system supported.

Harem

The wives, concubines, female relatives, and servants in a Muslim household. They were usually contained to a portion of the house or palace. The harem was a part of the palace.

Selim II

(1566-1574) The weak son of Suleyman, under his rule the Empire was plagued by military corruption, governmental decentralization, and maritime setbacks. There were also agricultural failures, commercial imbalances, and inflation.

Qanun-name

A book of laws promulgated by Ottoman sultans. Began with Mehmed II, who used it to initiate a tradition of formal governmental legislation. AKA 'Lawbook'

Padishah

After 1517, the Ottoman ruler could claim to be the Abbasid heir and caliph for all Muslims. This change in authority was symbolized by the addition (by Selim I) of the title "Protector of the Sacred Places [Mecca and Medina]" to that of emperor. The Ottomans were now truly an empire.

Fall of Constantinople

After 300 years of slowly expanding across Anatolia, the Ottomans formed a formidable threat to the Christians of the Byzantium Empire; Constantinople, therefore, formed an alien pocket in these dominions to thwart Islamic victory. Nevertheless, under Sultan Mehmed II, Constantinople -- and, consequently, the center of Eastern Christendom (the Byzantium Empire) -- fell in 1453. The city was renamed Istanbul.

Role of Military

Because it represented the key ingredient of Ottoman power, Ottoman rulers spared no means to ensure military loyalty. First, the state checked the power of the cavalry-gentry through careful registry and control of revenue-bearing lands -- otherwise known as the timar system. Second, the sultan employed slave soldiers whose allegiance was only to him; by establishing these specialized infantry troops of well-trained and well-paid slave soldiers, the Ottoman rulers tried to reduce the cavalry-gentry's preeminence.

Shari'a

Islamic religious law; a combination of the Quran and the Hadith.

Janissaries

The elite infantry troops of the Ottoman Empire; the most famous slave corps.

Ottoman Order-organization

Mehmed II, who was the true founder of the Ottoman Empire, replaced tribal chieftains with loyal servants of the ruler. He also initiated a tradition of formal government legislation with his lawbook. Suleyman affected all aspects of life and social structure with his legislation. He also had a reconciliation of customary law and Shari'a and regulated both law and bureaucracy. The entire Ottoman state was organized into one massive military institution, where all members held some position in the standing army under the rule of the sultan. The ruling class of the empire was Muslim, and owed utter allegiance to the sultan, and shared the common Ottoman culture. Men held the keys to power, but women also had important roles, usually concealed. The state organization included the palace, the administrative or ruling institution, the military institution, and the religious or learned institution.

Selim I's Expansion

Selim I subjugated the Egyptians Mamluks and annexed Syria-Palestine, most of North Africa, the Yemen, Mecca, and Medina. He also nullified the Shi'ite threat from Iran.

Grand Mufti

The chief religious authority of the Ottoman Empire (i.e. the co-opting of the ulama for the service of the state). Also called the "Sheikh of Islam." Open only to men, this highly organized branch of government included the entire system of courts and judges. It was comprised of a comprehensive network ranging from local mosque schools to the four elite madrasas built around the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul during Süleyman's reign. The Shari'a, as interpreted by the ulama of this institution, theoretically governed the Qanun (and, therefore, the empire).

Succession

Young Ottoman princes received administrative training in the provinces while they were young. The succession of the sultanate was supposedly left to God, but it really went to the man who could assert himself and seize power. Once he had established his rule, fratricide (killing their brothers) was a regular practice because they wanted to eliminate any potential threats to the throne.