APWH Chapter 28 Vocab

Shah Ismail

In 1501, Ismail entered Tabriz at the head of an army and laid claim to the ancient Persian imperial title of shah. The young Shah Ismail (reigned 1501-1524) proclaimed that the official religion of his realm would be Twelver Shiism and he proceeded to impose it, by force when necessary, on the formally Sunni population.

Babur

In 1523, Zahir al-Din Muhammad, known as Babur ("the Tiger"), a Chaghatai Turk who claimed decent from both Chinggis Khan & Tamerlane, suddenly appeared in northern India. Unlike other rulers, he just wanted to be an adventurer and soldier of fortune like his ancestors.

millet

In the Ottoman empire autonomous religious communities known as millet retained their civil law, traditions, and languages. Millet communities usually also assumed social and administrative functions in matter of birth, marriage, death, health, and education.

"divine faith"

Instead of imposing Islam on his subjects, Akbar encouraged the elaboration of a syncretic religion called the "divine faith" that focused attention on the emperor as a ruler common to all the religious, ethnic, and social groups of India.

qizilbash

Ismail's father had instructed his Turkish followers to wear distinctive red hats with twelve pleats in the memory of the twelve Shiite imams, and they subsequently became known as the qizilbash ("red heads"). The qizilbash enthusiastically accepted the idea that Ismail was the hidden imam.

telescope

Not until 1703 was there an attempt to introduce European scientific instruments such as the telescope into astronomical observations. Then conservative Muslim clerics soon forced the removal of the foreign implements, which they considered unnecessary.

Ghazi

Osman Bey and his followers sought above all to become ghazi, Muslim religious warriors. The poet Ahamdi described the Ottomans as: "The Ghazi is the instrument of the religion of Allah, a servant of God who purifies the earth from the filth of polytheism; The Ghazi is the sword of God, he is the protector and refuge of the believers."

Shah Jahan

Shah Jahan was the emperor of Mughal India, and in 1635 he built the Taj Mahal. He was put in prison by his son Aurangzeb, spending his last years in a small cell with a window to see the Taj Mahal. He also ordered the Peacock Throne to be made.

Aurangzeb

The Mughal empire reached its greatest extent under Aurangzeb (reigned 1659-1707). He faced many rebellions and religious tensions between Hindus and Muslims. Aurangzeb took away Akbar's policy of religious tolerance and began taxing Hindus.

Selim the Grim

The Ottomans continued their expansion in the early 16th century when sultan Selim the Grim (reigned 1512-1520) occupied Syria and Egypt. As soon as Selim the Grim became sultan, he launched a persecution of Shiites.

Peacock Throne

The Peacock Throne is probably the most spectacular seat in which any human being has rested. Shah Jahan ordered the throne encrusted with 10 million rupees' worth of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and pearls. Atop the throne was a golden-bodied peacock with a huge ruby and a 50-carat pearl on its breast and an elevated tail fashioned of blue sapphires and other colored gems.

Safavids

The Safavids traced their ancestry back to Safi al-Din, leader of a Sufi religious order. The famous tomb and shrine of Safi al-Din at Ardabil became the home of Shah Ismail's family (named "Safavids" after the holy man himself), the headquarters of his religious movement and center for political power.

Mehmed II

The capture of Constantinople in 1453 was by Mehmed II (reigned 1451-1481), known as Mehmed the Conqueror. Mehmed presented himself not just as a warrior-sultan but as a true emperor, ruler of the "two lands" and the "two seas". He laid the foundations for a tightly centralized, absolute monarchy, and his army faced no serious rival.

printing press

The early experience of the printing press in the Islamic empires illustrates especially well the resistance of conservative religious leaders to cultural imports from western Europe. To some extent, aesthetic conservatives stood in the way of the printing press: particularly in the Ottoman and Safavid empires.

coffeehouses

The increasing popularity of coffee drinking and pipe smoking encouraged entrepreneurs to establishment coffeehouses where customers could indulge their appetites for caffeine and nicotine at the same time. The popularity of coffeehouses provoked protests from moralists.

Taj Mahal

The most famous of the Mughal monuments- and one of the most prominent of all Islam edifices- was the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan had 20,000 workers toil for 18 years to erect the exquisite white marble mosque and tomb (for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal).

Akbar

The real architect of the Mughal empire was Babur's grandson Akbar (reigned 1556-1605), a brilliant and charismatic ruler. Akbar created a centralized administrative structure with ministries regulating the various provinces. He was religiously tolerant and encouraged the "divine faith".

Osman Bey

The term Ottomans derived from Osman Bey, founder of the dynasty. Osman was bey ("chief") of a band of semi nomadic Turks. Osman and his followers wanted to become ghazi above all.

Janissaries

Those who became soldiers from the "recruited" Christians (and Muslims) became known as Janissaries, from the Turkish yeni cheri ("new troops"). The Janissaries quickly gained a reputation for esprit de corps, loyalty to the sultan, and readiness to employ new military technology.

devshirme

Through an institution known as devshirme, the Ottomans required the Christian population of the Balkans to contribute young boys to become slaves of the sultan. The boys received special training, learned Turkish, and converted to Islam.

gun powder

To carry favor with them, the English company sent military advisors to introduce gunpowder weapons to Safavid armed forces and provided a navy to help them retake Hormuz in the Persian Gulf from the Portuguese.

Twelver Shiism

Twelver Shiism held that there had been twelve infallible imams (or religious leaders) after Muhammad, beginning with the prophet's cousin and son-in-law, Ali. The 12th, "hidden" imam had gone into hiding around 874 to escape persecution, but the Twelver Shiites believed he was still alive and would one day return.