text: Stavrianos (famous American historian)
When recalling the world around 1,500 years, what Westerners usually think of is Columbus , Da Gama and Magellan. At that time, it was not the Chinese, Indian or Arabs who dared to engage in life-related navigation adventures, but Western Europeans, who were moving forward with a promising wave.
However, if there was an observer on Mars who was observing the world about 1,500 years ago, then what impressed him more would be the Muslim world rather than the Christian world. ——If we look at the world in 1500 from the perspective of people at that time, we will see a completely different scene: the Muslim world, and the Confucian world, dwarfing Christian Europe in many ways.
1. The Muslim world about 1,500 years ago
If there was really a mythological observer on Mars, then the first impression he got was the wide range of the Muslim world and its continuous expansion. After the initial rapid expansion in the Middle East in the 7th and 8th centuries, Muslims expanded for another period between 1000 and 1500 years. By the end, they had entered Central Europe to the west and Central Asia to the north. Breaking east into India and Southeast Asia, and south into the mainland of Africa.
Therefore, the Muslim world doubled, and its area far exceeds the Christian world at the western end of Eurasia and the Confucian world at the eastern end of Eurasia.
Not only about 1500 years ago, the Muslim world occupied the vastest area, but it continued to expand vigorously after that period. During that period, while the Christian world arrived overseas, the Muslim world was also expanding on land. In the early 16th century, when the Portuguese and Spaniards conquered the outside through the ocean, the Ottoman Turks were also breaking into Central Europe, ravaging Hungary, and in 1529, besieging Vienna, the capital of the Hapsburg Empire. Similarly, in India, the outstanding emperors of the Mughal Empire were steadily expanding their empires southward until they became masters of almost the entire peninsula. Elsewhere, Muslim belief continues to spread among the "primitive" nations of Africa, Central and Southeast Asia.
Islam's continuous expansion is in part due to its powerful change in the beliefs of non-Muslims. A 15th century Muslim chronicle records that the Turkistan Muhammad Khan "had unremittingly made various efforts in so that during his sacred rule, most of the tribes of the Mongols became Muslims. The harsh measures he adopted in converting the Mongols to Islam are very famous. For example, if anyone of the Mongols did not wear a Muslim headscarf, then put a hoof nail into his head. May Allah bless him."
Similarly, the severity of the Mongols in the late 18th century Mungo Parker, a Scotsman of the Gerre, also recounted that a Muslim chief sent a letter to his pagan neighbor: "If Damel believes in Muhammad's belief, Abdulkad will condescend to shave his head with this knife; if Damel refuses to believe, Abdulkad will cut his throat with another knife. Where to go, you can choose."
More than these powerful measures, the gentle preaching of Muslim merchants and preachers is equally effective; they are particularly successful among peoples with less civilized levels. Often, the merchant appears first, and he combines persuading people to convert and selling goods. The profession of a businessman has enabled him to establish a regular and close connection with the people he wants to persuade. After the merchant arrived at the pagan village, he always quickly attracted the attention of the pagans because he prayed and knelt on time several times a day, and when he prayed and knelt on his knees. As long as he poses with a very intellectual and moral superiority, he arouses their respect and trust.
In addition, there is no racial discrimination, because even if the merchant and the villagers do not belong to the same race, he will most likely marry an indigenous woman. This kind of intermarriage often leads to the woman's family members accepting Islam. Soon, religious education was needed for the sake of the children, so the school was established, not only Muslim children often went to school, but also pagan children.They studied the teachings and rituals of the Quran Trail and Islam. Some of these children even went to Islamic higher education institutions to study, then became missionaries, and returned to their homeland’s pagan residents to preach the scriptures and preach.
This shows why since its founding, Islam has been far more successful than any other religion in fighting for converts.
In addition to constantly expanding its territory, the Muslim world about 1,500 years ago is also famous for its three empires - the Middle East , North Africa and the Balkans , the Ottoman Empire , the Persian Safi Empire and the Mughal Empire in India. These empires had reached their peak at that time and ruled the heart of Islam.
why they rose in this particular stage is not entirely clear now. The invention of gunpowder and the use of it to make firearms and artillery seem to be an important factor. The Chinese were pioneers in the invention and application of gunpowder, but later Europeans were the ones who took the lead in making various improvements to this invention for military purposes.
Gunpowder and firearms not only strengthen the central power of the Christian world, but also strengthen the central power of the Muslim world. Ottoman Turks were able to win in Asia Minor and the Balkans, mainly because they were the Muslims who first borrowed artillery and artillery experts from the West on a large scale.
In Persia, Abbas I, the outstanding ruler of the Safi Empire, followed the Turks and established an artillery force with the help of British adventurers Anthony Shelley and Robert Shelley.
When Babulgan, the founder of the Mughal Empire, invaded India in 1523, he also took the Ottoman Turks as an example and placed artillery in front of his army, and connected the cannon stands with ropes twisted in cowhide to crush the cavalry's charge.
However, firearm is by no means the only factor that can explain why these three Muslim empires will rise. The leaders who established dynasties were extremely talented, and the situation at that time was particularly conducive to their conquest of their respective empires. These two points were as important as firearms.
Now, let’s take a closer look at how these factors are combined to make these three Muslim empires rise.
2. The rise of modern Muslim empires
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Turks who established this empire named after themselves were a branch of the 4 people from Central Asia, which were originally scattered. In the early centuries, Turkic tribes continued to move into the rich areas of the Middle East in batches. They came to the Middle East as early as the 8th century and infiltrated the Islamic Empire, initially as mercenaries. In the 10th century, the pressure of the Mongolian expedition forced more Turkic tribes to move into the Middle East, including a Seljuk Turkic group. These new immigrants captured the Muslim capital Baghdad in 1055, thus establishing a brilliant yet brief Seljuk Empire .
These Seljuk Turks rejuvenated the destruction of Islamic world. Once again, they unified the vast area that started in the east of India, reached the Mediterranean coast, and crossed Persia in the middle, and successfully repelled the Crusaders' offensive in the Holy Land; and most importantly, in 1071, they defeated the Byzantine army in the decisive Battle of Manzikat, breaking through the traditional border along the Toros Mountains of Asia Minor, which has protected Rome and Byzantium for 1,400 years.
This victory became a historical turning point in Asia Minor. A large number of Turkic immigrants followed their victorious soldiers to migrate northward, while the indigenous people of Anatolia accepted Islam and Turkized. By the 13th century, much of Asia Minor had become part of the Seljuk Empire, with only the northwest corner left to the Byzantines.
However, the Seljuk Empire later experienced a similar decline as the earlier Islamic Caliph ruling regions. It split into many independent principalities or sultanates.In the late 13th century, a group of new Turkic immigrants made the situation more and more chaotic; one of them settled in the most marginal area of the northwest of the Seljuk Empire, which was less than 50 miles away from the Strait of Dardanelles, a strategic key to the two continents of Europe and Asia. In 1299, the leader of this group, a man named the Ottoman, declared independence to the supreme ruler of the Seljuk Empire - from this low stage, the Ottoman Empire, named after the original nameless Ottoman, developed.
, the first step to this dazzling success, is to capture the remaining Byzantines in Asia Minor. The reason why the more primitive Turkic tribes were able to defeat the long-standing Byzantine Empire was to some extent because of the important influence of religion. The power of the Ottomans and their successors came from a large number of Islamic warriors who came from all over the Middle East to fight Christian enemies. Christian farmers were also very dissatisfied with the cruel exploitation of illegal landlords and church officials. They accepted these Turks and even cheered and congratulated the Turks, treating them as rescuers who rescued themselves from their unbearable destiny.
By 1340, the entire Asia Minor had been under the control of Islamic forces. In 1354, the Turks crossed the Dardanelles and set up fortresses in Gallipoli, thus gaining their first foothold in Europe. Just a century later, he seemed to have become the master of the entire Balkan Peninsula, including the grand imperial capital of Constantinople. After that, they broke through the Hungarian plains with great might and forced themselves to the city of Vienna.
The victory of the Ottoman Empire against Byzantine was amazing. There are few Turks, so how can they maintain their offensive spirit and drive straight into the central region of Europe? The answer is:
14th century, the entire Christian world had declined and split to an unprecedented level;
The terrible plague and black death took the lives of many Christian countries in batches;
The catastrophic Hundred Years War made Britain and France unable to move (the beginning and end date of this conflict is worth noting: the war began in 1338, and the Turks were completing their conquest of Asia Minor; the war ended in 1453, and the Turks captured Constantinople);
The Italian countries were ht The long-term struggle between Venice and Genoa was also unable to oppose the Turks;
The Balkans were irreversibly divided due to the religious struggle between the Catholic, Orthodox and the pagan Bogmiller faction, as well as the competition between the Byzantine Empire, Serbian Empire and Bulgarian Empire, which had already passed its heyday;
Moreover, in the Balkans, as in Asia Minor, the dissatisfaction of Christian peasants has reached a point where they rarely resist, or even do not, the fierce attacks of the Turks.
If the Turks were to invade Europe, it was unlikely that they would find a more favorable opportunity than this time. By 1362, they had seized the city of Adrian Castle and invaded the Macedonian plains. In 1384, they captured Sofia , and soon afterwards, they controlled the entire Bulgaria. Five years later, they defeated the Yugoslav army in the famous Battle of Kosovo, causing the demise of the Serbian Empire.
These victories surrounded Constantinople's territory. In 1453, the besieged capital was captured, ending the thousand-year-old history of the Byzantine Empire.
Then, the Turks went south to invade Muslim rich countries Syria and Egypt . After a whirlwind war, they occupied Syria in 1516 and Egypt the following year.
The final stage of the Turks was carried out in Central Europe. Under the leadership of the famous Sultan Suriman I, they crossed the Danube and defeated the Hungarian monarchy in one fell swoop in the Battle of Mokhachi in 1526. Three years later, Suriman led his army to siege Vienna, but was defeated - to a certain extent because of the sudden rains that prevented him from transporting the bulky artillery to the front line.
text: Stavrianos (famous American historian)
When recalling the world around 1,500 years, what Westerners usually think of is Columbus , Da Gama and Magellan. At that time, it was not the Chinese, Indian or Arabs who dared to engage in life-related navigation adventures, but Western Europeans, who were moving forward with a promising wave.
However, if there was an observer on Mars who was observing the world about 1,500 years ago, then what impressed him more would be the Muslim world rather than the Christian world. ——If we look at the world in 1500 from the perspective of people at that time, we will see a completely different scene: the Muslim world, and the Confucian world, dwarfing Christian Europe in many ways.
1. The Muslim world about 1,500 years ago
If there was really a mythological observer on Mars, then the first impression he got was the wide range of the Muslim world and its continuous expansion. After the initial rapid expansion in the Middle East in the 7th and 8th centuries, Muslims expanded for another period between 1000 and 1500 years. By the end, they had entered Central Europe to the west and Central Asia to the north. Breaking east into India and Southeast Asia, and south into the mainland of Africa.
Therefore, the Muslim world doubled, and its area far exceeds the Christian world at the western end of Eurasia and the Confucian world at the eastern end of Eurasia.
Not only about 1500 years ago, the Muslim world occupied the vastest area, but it continued to expand vigorously after that period. During that period, while the Christian world arrived overseas, the Muslim world was also expanding on land. In the early 16th century, when the Portuguese and Spaniards conquered the outside through the ocean, the Ottoman Turks were also breaking into Central Europe, ravaging Hungary, and in 1529, besieging Vienna, the capital of the Hapsburg Empire. Similarly, in India, the outstanding emperors of the Mughal Empire were steadily expanding their empires southward until they became masters of almost the entire peninsula. Elsewhere, Muslim belief continues to spread among the "primitive" nations of Africa, Central and Southeast Asia.
Islam's continuous expansion is in part due to its powerful change in the beliefs of non-Muslims. A 15th century Muslim chronicle records that the Turkistan Muhammad Khan "had unremittingly made various efforts in so that during his sacred rule, most of the tribes of the Mongols became Muslims. The harsh measures he adopted in converting the Mongols to Islam are very famous. For example, if anyone of the Mongols did not wear a Muslim headscarf, then put a hoof nail into his head. May Allah bless him."
Similarly, the severity of the Mongols in the late 18th century Mungo Parker, a Scotsman of the Gerre, also recounted that a Muslim chief sent a letter to his pagan neighbor: "If Damel believes in Muhammad's belief, Abdulkad will condescend to shave his head with this knife; if Damel refuses to believe, Abdulkad will cut his throat with another knife. Where to go, you can choose."
More than these powerful measures, the gentle preaching of Muslim merchants and preachers is equally effective; they are particularly successful among peoples with less civilized levels. Often, the merchant appears first, and he combines persuading people to convert and selling goods. The profession of a businessman has enabled him to establish a regular and close connection with the people he wants to persuade. After the merchant arrived at the pagan village, he always quickly attracted the attention of the pagans because he prayed and knelt on time several times a day, and when he prayed and knelt on his knees. As long as he poses with a very intellectual and moral superiority, he arouses their respect and trust.
In addition, there is no racial discrimination, because even if the merchant and the villagers do not belong to the same race, he will most likely marry an indigenous woman. This kind of intermarriage often leads to the woman's family members accepting Islam. Soon, religious education was needed for the sake of the children, so the school was established, not only Muslim children often went to school, but also pagan children.They studied the teachings and rituals of the Quran Trail and Islam. Some of these children even went to Islamic higher education institutions to study, then became missionaries, and returned to their homeland’s pagan residents to preach the scriptures and preach.
This shows why since its founding, Islam has been far more successful than any other religion in fighting for converts.
In addition to constantly expanding its territory, the Muslim world about 1,500 years ago is also famous for its three empires - the Middle East , North Africa and the Balkans , the Ottoman Empire , the Persian Safi Empire and the Mughal Empire in India. These empires had reached their peak at that time and ruled the heart of Islam.
why they rose in this particular stage is not entirely clear now. The invention of gunpowder and the use of it to make firearms and artillery seem to be an important factor. The Chinese were pioneers in the invention and application of gunpowder, but later Europeans were the ones who took the lead in making various improvements to this invention for military purposes.
Gunpowder and firearms not only strengthen the central power of the Christian world, but also strengthen the central power of the Muslim world. Ottoman Turks were able to win in Asia Minor and the Balkans, mainly because they were the Muslims who first borrowed artillery and artillery experts from the West on a large scale.
In Persia, Abbas I, the outstanding ruler of the Safi Empire, followed the Turks and established an artillery force with the help of British adventurers Anthony Shelley and Robert Shelley.
When Babulgan, the founder of the Mughal Empire, invaded India in 1523, he also took the Ottoman Turks as an example and placed artillery in front of his army, and connected the cannon stands with ropes twisted in cowhide to crush the cavalry's charge.
However, firearm is by no means the only factor that can explain why these three Muslim empires will rise. The leaders who established dynasties were extremely talented, and the situation at that time was particularly conducive to their conquest of their respective empires. These two points were as important as firearms.
Now, let’s take a closer look at how these factors are combined to make these three Muslim empires rise.
2. The rise of modern Muslim empires
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Turks who established this empire named after themselves were a branch of the 4 people from Central Asia, which were originally scattered. In the early centuries, Turkic tribes continued to move into the rich areas of the Middle East in batches. They came to the Middle East as early as the 8th century and infiltrated the Islamic Empire, initially as mercenaries. In the 10th century, the pressure of the Mongolian expedition forced more Turkic tribes to move into the Middle East, including a Seljuk Turkic group. These new immigrants captured the Muslim capital Baghdad in 1055, thus establishing a brilliant yet brief Seljuk Empire .
These Seljuk Turks rejuvenated the destruction of Islamic world. Once again, they unified the vast area that started in the east of India, reached the Mediterranean coast, and crossed Persia in the middle, and successfully repelled the Crusaders' offensive in the Holy Land; and most importantly, in 1071, they defeated the Byzantine army in the decisive Battle of Manzikat, breaking through the traditional border along the Toros Mountains of Asia Minor, which has protected Rome and Byzantium for 1,400 years.
This victory became a historical turning point in Asia Minor. A large number of Turkic immigrants followed their victorious soldiers to migrate northward, while the indigenous people of Anatolia accepted Islam and Turkized. By the 13th century, much of Asia Minor had become part of the Seljuk Empire, with only the northwest corner left to the Byzantines.
However, the Seljuk Empire later experienced a similar decline as the earlier Islamic Caliph ruling regions. It split into many independent principalities or sultanates.In the late 13th century, a group of new Turkic immigrants made the situation more and more chaotic; one of them settled in the most marginal area of the northwest of the Seljuk Empire, which was less than 50 miles away from the Strait of Dardanelles, a strategic key to the two continents of Europe and Asia. In 1299, the leader of this group, a man named the Ottoman, declared independence to the supreme ruler of the Seljuk Empire - from this low stage, the Ottoman Empire, named after the original nameless Ottoman, developed.
, the first step to this dazzling success, is to capture the remaining Byzantines in Asia Minor. The reason why the more primitive Turkic tribes were able to defeat the long-standing Byzantine Empire was to some extent because of the important influence of religion. The power of the Ottomans and their successors came from a large number of Islamic warriors who came from all over the Middle East to fight Christian enemies. Christian farmers were also very dissatisfied with the cruel exploitation of illegal landlords and church officials. They accepted these Turks and even cheered and congratulated the Turks, treating them as rescuers who rescued themselves from their unbearable destiny.
By 1340, the entire Asia Minor had been under the control of Islamic forces. In 1354, the Turks crossed the Dardanelles and set up fortresses in Gallipoli, thus gaining their first foothold in Europe. Just a century later, he seemed to have become the master of the entire Balkan Peninsula, including the grand imperial capital of Constantinople. After that, they broke through the Hungarian plains with great might and forced themselves to the city of Vienna.
The victory of the Ottoman Empire against Byzantine was amazing. There are few Turks, so how can they maintain their offensive spirit and drive straight into the central region of Europe? The answer is:
14th century, the entire Christian world had declined and split to an unprecedented level;
The terrible plague and black death took the lives of many Christian countries in batches;
The catastrophic Hundred Years War made Britain and France unable to move (the beginning and end date of this conflict is worth noting: the war began in 1338, and the Turks were completing their conquest of Asia Minor; the war ended in 1453, and the Turks captured Constantinople);
The Italian countries were ht The long-term struggle between Venice and Genoa was also unable to oppose the Turks;
The Balkans were irreversibly divided due to the religious struggle between the Catholic, Orthodox and the pagan Bogmiller faction, as well as the competition between the Byzantine Empire, Serbian Empire and Bulgarian Empire, which had already passed its heyday;
Moreover, in the Balkans, as in Asia Minor, the dissatisfaction of Christian peasants has reached a point where they rarely resist, or even do not, the fierce attacks of the Turks.
If the Turks were to invade Europe, it was unlikely that they would find a more favorable opportunity than this time. By 1362, they had seized the city of Adrian Castle and invaded the Macedonian plains. In 1384, they captured Sofia , and soon afterwards, they controlled the entire Bulgaria. Five years later, they defeated the Yugoslav army in the famous Battle of Kosovo, causing the demise of the Serbian Empire.
These victories surrounded Constantinople's territory. In 1453, the besieged capital was captured, ending the thousand-year-old history of the Byzantine Empire.
Then, the Turks went south to invade Muslim rich countries Syria and Egypt . After a whirlwind war, they occupied Syria in 1516 and Egypt the following year.
The final stage of the Turks was carried out in Central Europe. Under the leadership of the famous Sultan Suriman I, they crossed the Danube and defeated the Hungarian monarchy in one fell swoop in the Battle of Mokhachi in 1526. Three years later, Suriman led his army to siege Vienna, but was defeated - to a certain extent because of the sudden rains that prevented him from transporting the bulky artillery to the front line.
Despite this setback, the Turks still made some minor progress later: in 1570, they captured Cyprus ; in 1669, they won Crete ; in the next 10 years, they occupied Ukraine in Poland.
When the Ottoman Empire reached its peak, it was indeed a very huge empire. It spans three continents and has a population of 50 million, while Britain had a population of only 5 million at that time. It is no wonder that the Christians at that time were very awe of this expanding Ottoman Empire, describing it as "a growing flame that no matter what it encounters, they hold on and burn further."
Safi Empire
2
The second Muslim empire in this period was the Persian Safi Empire (also translated as the Safavid Dynasty and Safi Dynasty. It was the empire that ruled Iran from 1501 to 1736. This dynasty officially designated the Shiites of Islam as the Iranian state religion).
As mentioned earlier, Persia is the same as Asia Minor. He was once conquered by the Seljuk Turks. However, Asia Minor was Turkicized, while Persia still maintained the race and culture of Persia, that is, Iran.
The rule of the Seljuk Turks over Persia was maintained from about 1000 AD to 1258 when the 4 Mongolians invaded. These new Mongolian rulers were called Irhan, who were originally Buddhists or Christians, but around 1,300 years ago, they became Muslims.
The Mongols destroyed many cities and irrigation projects, causing Persia to suffer a long-term destruction; however, this suffering ended when the Il Khan Dynasty was replaced by the Safi Dynasty in 1500.
The monarchs of the Safi Dynasty were the earliest indigenous rulers of Persia in centuries, and Sha Ismail I was the founder of this new dynasty. He reigned for 24 years and unified the entire Persia with his military talents and religious policies. He declared the Shiites of Islam as the state religion and ruthlessly suppressed the hostile Sunni .
The differences between the two factions of Muslims began long ago when Muhammad did not designate his heir, namely the Caliph. The first three caliphs elected by Muslims were not relatives of Muhammad; it was not until the fourth election that Muhammad's son-in-law (also cousin) Ali was elected as the caliph.
Shiites insist that elections must be conducted on the basis of the power of gifts belonging to the Muhammad family. They believe that only Ali and his descendants are the legal heirs of the Caliph.
, while Sunnis are the opposite, they believe that the Caliph is just the "head of the faithful society". They accept all the Caliphs elected by Muslims - therefore, they recognize several successors after Muhammad's death. The differences in doctrines in
also make these two factions opposed. The Sunnis used the traditional Quran teachings and the doctrines passed down orally by the famous Afu people in the school as the basis for their exercise of religious power.
, while Shiites rejected it, believing that doing so is advocating that everything depends on Mohammed, which is inevitable that there will be conflicts and wrong opinions. For issues not specified in the Qur’an, Shiites replace tradition with independent personal judgment.
This doctrinal debate was of great significance to Persia at that time, and it laid the foundation for unifying Persia and developing a certain national sentiment. Persians consider themselves Shia, which distinguishes them from the Turks who are basically Sunnis and other Muslim peoples around them.
In fact, a series of wars between the Turks and Persians were caused by the inevitable political competition between these powerful dynasties, and also by their religious differences.
The most outstanding rulers of the Safi Dynasty was King Abbas I (reigned from 1587 to 1629). He established artillery troops to modernize the Persian army. To accomplish this task, among others, he hired two British adventurers Brother Shelley.
In fact, Persia has indeed become a powerful country under the rule of the Safi Dynasty. At that time, some European countries sent envoys to Persia to request an alliance with Persia against the Ottoman Empire, which is a clear proof.
In fact, in those eras, these two Muslim countries had a prominent position in the diplomatic relations of European countries. For example, France's Francis I worked with Suriman I to start war against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V; and the Holy Roman royal family cooperated with the Persians to oppose their two common enemies.
These relations between Christian and Muslim countries were condemned at the time as "ungodly" and "despotic", but the fact is that the Ottoman Empire and the Safi Empire had become world powers that no European diplomat could ignore.
Mughal Empire
Just as the two outstanding rulers of the Safi Dynasty created a "national" dynasty in Persia, the two outstanding rulers of the Mughal Dynasty Babur and Akbar also created a "national" dynasty in India - this is a very remarkable achievement for the Muslim rulers in the area where Hindu dominates.
There were three waves of Muslims invading India, each time a long time apart. The first wave of invasion was triggered by Arab Muslims, who invaded Sindh area near the mouth of the Indus River in 712. These Arabs failed to go deep into the mainland, so their influence on India was limited.
The second wave of invasion occurred around 1000 AD, when Turkic Muslims began to invade India from bases within Afghanistan . These aggressions took place intermittently for four centuries, causing huge losses to life and property. The final result is: in North India, many Muslim kingdoms were established, and in South India, a number of Hindu countries continued to exist. However, even in North India, most people are still racially Indian and religiously Hinduism. They were not Islamized and Turkized like the people of Asia Minor.
The reason is that the Turks who came down from the north are only a trivial minority compared to the millions of people in India. All they can fill is senior positions in the government and the military. Farmers, merchants and most officials depend on their Hindu subjects. Indeed, in some areas, a large number of residents have converted to Islam, especially some lower castes - through which they want to escape exploitation. However, when the third wave of Muslim invasion in 1500 began with the arrival of the Mughal people, India was actually still an overwhelming area of Hinduism.
These newcomers were also Turkic people, and their leader was the direct descendant of the great Turkic conqueror Timur , the eye-catching Babur.
Babur inherited the small principality of Fergana in Turkestan from his father, but he lost it in his early years. Later, he occupied Timur's extremely gorgeous capital, , Samarkand, , but was quickly lost. Since then, he has taken many adventures, conquests and escapes.
1504, unexpected luck suddenly came, and he led 300 subordinates in sackclothed siding to capture Kabul, Afghanistan. From there, Babur turned his greedy eyes to the fertile plains of India to the south. About 20 years later, victory came: with the support of a fuse-igniting smoothbore gun and artillery manipulated by the Ottoman Turks, he miraculously defeated the 100,000 Indian army with a small force of 12,000. He took advantage of the victory to occupy Delhi as the new capital.
Four years later, Babur died, but his sons continued to follow his path and the empire grew rapidly. During the reign of Babur's grandson, the famous Akbar (reigned from 1556 to 1605), the empire reached its peak.
Akba was the most outstanding emperor of the Mughal dynasty. He conquered Rajbudana and Gujarat in the West, Bangladesh in the East, and several small countries on the Deccan Plateau in the South, greatly expanding the empire's territory. At that time, the Mughal rule had expanded from Kabul and Kashmir to the Deccan Plateau, and later, under the rule of Oqizebu (reigned from 1658 to 1707), it expanded further - almost to the southern end of the peninsula.
In addition to its outstanding achievements, Akbar is also a person with wide interests, versatility and extraordinary talent.Although he was uneducated, he was interested in asking questions and was intellectually agile. Even those Jesuits who knew him had to express their admiration.
His amazing range of activities reminds people of Peter the Great. Like the Russian Tsar, Akbar loved machinery. His research on metallurgy and the design of guns with greater firepower are good proof. He studied painting, loved music, was a good player in polo, and could play various instruments - pot drums were his favorite.
Akbar had a particularly strong interest in religion and philosophy, and he constantly searched for a doctrine that would meet the needs of his individual and his subjects. Initially, his thinking was limited to Islam, but in 1575, at the age of 33, Akbar was strongly attracted by the teachings taught by Hindus, Zoroastrians, Zoroastrians, Jains and Christians. Jains made him not eat meat and prohibited the killing of animals. The Portuguese Jesuits sent him to translate the Gospels into Persian, to hang the seal of the Virgin Mary around his neck, and to attend the collective sacrament.
At this time, the Jesuits believed that Akbar might convert to their religion, but in the end he founded a brand new religion "Ding Yilahism", that is, "Sacred Religion". Its main characteristics are: vague monotheism; Akbar is the agent of the Lord of God on earth and is the only interpreter of the doctrine. The doctrine of this new religion is eclectic, which blends some of the contents of many religions, especially some of the teachings of Zoroastrianism, Jainism and Hinduism.
Akbar's motivation was not only to fully utilize his talents, but also to provide a common religious belief that would unite his Hindu subjects and Muslim subjects and to temper a new India.
No matter how "sacred religion" meets its own religious needs, it has no impact on the country. But Akbar, with the help of what his synthetic religion failed to obtain, was obtained when he ended his discrimination against Hindus and stipulated that they were equal to Muslims. Akbar also allowed Hindus to hold senior national posts.
Hindus no longer regard the Mughal Empire as an enemy country. Akbar's coveted new India—a nation-state rather than a split country composed of Muslim masters and Hindu subjects—started to emerge.
However, it should be emphasized here: the Mughal Empire is very different from the Persian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Its superstructure is Muslim and its foundation is Hindu. The fact that the religious beliefs and culture of rural people were very different from those of the ruling group was known to foreigners at that time. An authoritative study of this issue said, "In 1700, the Mughal Empire was considered Indian by ordinary foreigners, just as in the 19th century, the Manchu Empire was considered Chinese by foreign observers living in China."
3. The glory of the Muslim Empire
Military Power
These three Muslim empires are the first-class military powers. Regarding this, strong evidence can be found in the appeal of King Francis I of the Ottoman Empire in December 1525.
The content of this appeal is to request the Turks to attack the head of the Hapsburg dynasty, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.
Suriman responded in 1526: crossing the Danube and invading Hungary, thus reducing the pressure Francis was under.
This is just one of the Turks' many expeditions. These expeditions not only helped France, but also provided more territory and spoils for the Turks, but also rescued Lutheran pagans - because the Turks' expedition shifted the attention of the Hapsburg royal family from Germany to the threatened Danube border.
Muslim military power has greatly contributed to the Protestant cause, which is in a critical stage of formation, which does seem contrary to common sense. In turn, the Persians also greatly influenced the development of Europe by cooperating with the Hapsburg royal family and opposing their common Turkish enemy.
In order to oppose the Ottoman Empire, Persia opened up a second battlefield, making it impossible for the Ottoman Empire to attack Europe with all its strength.This approach is quite similar to the way Russian , dealt with Germany during World War II.
Muslim troops usually lag behind European troops in artillery equipment. They rely on Europeans to supply the most advanced cannons and the most experienced gunners. However, this difference is only to a degree. The lack of artillery and the lack of artillery did not exist for the Muslim empire.
On the other hand, the huge force of the Muslim world left a deep impression on European observers. It is estimated that during the Akbar period, the total number of Indian standing troops reached more than one million, more than twice the number of Indian troops in 1914. Moreover, these huge armies were disciplined and well-trained when the Muslim empires reached their peak.
Administrative efficiency
All emperors of Muslim countries have absolute power over their subjects. Therefore, the quality of state administration depends on the talents of the head of the empire.
16th century, the emperors of Muslim countries were all people with extraordinary talents. It is safe to say that Suriman, Abbas and Akba are comparable to any monarch anywhere in the world.
For example, in Persia, a British traveler said that after Abbas ascended the throne, he completely subdued this country: a person can travel in this country safely and soundly as long as he holds a stick in his hand and does not need to carry other weapons.
Similarly, in India, Akbar has a well-organized bureaucratic team. He served in the administrative department of the Mughal Empire, with good treatment and hope for rapid promotion, thus attracting the best people in India and abroad. It is estimated that 70% of the officials are foreigners, such as Persians and Afghans, while the rest are Indian Muslims and Hindus. After the death of an official, his property was inherited by the emperor and his position became vacant. This reduces the ills of corruption and hereditary possession.
Since Akbar opened his bureaucracy to all subjects, the standard for appointing and promoting officials was talent rather than religion.
Economic Development
In terms of economic standards, in the early modern times, all Muslim countries were all developed countries in their current terms. Undoubtedly, Western Europeans at that time also believed that they were willing to face any difficulties or dangers in order to reach the legendary India and spice archipelago from afar.
The Ottoman Empire is closer to the hometown of Western Europeans and is an economic unit that makes people deeply impressed. It has a wide range and a diverse climate, which ensures that it can actually be self-sufficient. The fertile plains of Hungary, Wallachia, , Asia Minor and Egypt produce abundant food and raw materials. Skilled craftsmen from Constantinople, Thessalonika, Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo and other ancient cities made a large number of handicraft products. The empire also had huge timber resources and important minerals, especially iron, copper and lead. The vast borders of the Ottoman Empire provided a huge free trade zone where all these goods could be bought and sold without any obstacles. The empire is located at the intersection of land and sea. This strategic position has also greatly promoted foreign trade and transit trade.
The prosperity of the empire is also reflected in the large amount of surplus materials left in the treasury. From 1526 to 1550, Suriman's annual income reached about 6 million dakka silver coins, and his annual income reached about 4.5 million dakka silver coins. At that time, another sign of the prosperity of the empire was that even Christian peasants were in good condition under the Ottoman Empire. They only have to pay a small amount of poll tax and tithes that account for about one-tenth of agricultural products. As for the tenants in the feudal territory, they must fulfill a small amount of obligations for the feudal lords, which are not heavy. Travelers at the time often commented that Christian farmers in the Balkans were not too heavy in taxes and their economic situation was generally better than farmers in neighboring Christian countries.
For most Europeans, what is more fascinating than the Ottoman Empire is the distant, strange India. In India, it can weave incredible textiles, especially fine-textured cotton fabrics. This cotton fabric is unparalleled anywhere else in the world.
India also serves as a distribution center for goods transported from the Spice Islands to the west, with extremely rich spices. is India, which caused the gold and silver of Europe to flow outward from the early Roman Empire - a fact that Europeans who focused on gold and silver during that period were extremely unforgettable. As one of them said, "All countries brought money and transported goods likewise. And these currencies were buried when they arrived in India and no longer flowed out."
For Europeans at that time, the legend of the extremely generous Mughal rulers and the amazing property of courtiers and supreme administrative officials was even more attractive. These legends are correct, and later confirmed when the British seized control of India from the declining Mughals. In the years after his arrival in India, Robert Clive wrote to his father that the wealth he received allowed me to live a good life that I could never dream of in my motherland.
Muslim merchants' control over South Asian trade is as important as the wealth of the Muslim empire. The spice trade is especially important. The term spice included a variety of oriental products at that time: fragrant sweet rosin; sandalwood that could be used to stop bleeding and clean blood; gum lacquer that women admire very much; dragon scent, camphor, vermouth and ivory; condiments such as Ceylon cinnamon, dried bean crust, nutmeg, clove, allspice, ginger and chili, among which chili peppers are the top priority.
spices are extremely popular in a world where you only know how to treat food with salt and know very little about other food preservation techniques. For centuries, spices, along with many other commodities, such as Chinese silk and Indian cotton fabrics, were transported back and forth by people along the merchant routes in the south and north. The route to the south is to reach the ports of Syria and Egypt from the East Indies and India along the Indian Ocean, and then go up to the Persian Gulf or the Red Sea; the route to the north is to reach the ports of Syria and Egypt from the Far East through Central Asia and enter the ports of the Black Sea and Asia Minor from the Far East.
With the collapse of the Mongol Empire, the situation in Central Asia became very chaotic. After 1340, the trade routes in the north were actually blocked. Since then, most of the products have been collected on the southern sea routes that were previously controlled by Muslim merchants and transported to various places along the sea route.
This trade has greatly promoted the prosperity of the Moos Cup world. It not only provides government taxation in the form of tariffs, but also provides a source of living for thousands of merchants, staff, sailors, shipbuilders, camel drivers and dock workers who have direct or indirect connections to trade.
When Indian goods were sold to Italian middlemen in Alexander, the price increased by more than 20% at the cost. This fact can illustrate the degree of profitability. Cairo made great profits from this trade. When describing Cairo, the travelers of the 15th century said that it was three times larger than Paris and five times more populous. The city had street lighting systems, a large public hospital and several orphanages, as well as schools, colleges, solemn mosques, luxurious palaces and magnificent public buildings.
The Portuguese broke into the Indian Ocean in 1498 and quickly controlled most of this profitable trade. However, they can do this not because their goods are excellent or their business skills are excellent, but because their sea ships and guns have an advantage.
Freedom of religious belief
Islam is usually equal to religious fanaticism in the minds of Christians. But in the 16th century, religious fanaticism in the Christian world was likely to be more common than in the Muslim world. This is a period of endless religious wars: Protestants and Catholics always kill each other, and both continue to persecute and loot the Jews.
Indeed, there is also intolerance or cruel persecution between the Sunni and Shiites of Islam. However, the fact remains that the freedoms enjoyed by Hindus under the Muslim Mughals are much greater than those enjoyed by any religious group in Christian Europe. In addition, it is unquestionable that Christians and Jews treat better in the Muslim world than Muslims and Jews treat them in the Christian world.
This can be explained by the fate of Muslims and Jews in Christian Spain. It is known that they were cruelly ravaged there and had to run away. However, people are not very clear that after a large number of Jewish refugees fled to the Ottoman Empire, they found the tolerance they could not get in the West.
Jewish immigrants are often skilled and skilled people, so they have made a lot of contributions to their new motherland. In fact, an Ottoman Sultan once said that he could not understand why the Spanish king foolishly allowed such precious subjects to leave his kingdom.
The vast majority of non-Muslim subjects in the Ottoman Empire were Christians, not Jews. These Christians, like Christians in other Muslim countries, can worship according to their own wishes and are subject to fewer restrictions. The main reason is the Shariah. Sharia recognizes Christians and Jews as Muslims as Bible subjects. The religious beliefs of Christians and Jews are considered legal, but not complete enough, because Mohammed has replaced Moses and Jesus Christ. Therefore, Islam is quite tolerant of Christians and Jews, allowing them to pursue their religious beliefs under certain restrictions and certain costs.
Islam also makes appropriate provisions on all aspects of life. It is a religious code and a civil code. Therefore, Islam also allows them to maintain their customs and habits when tolerating non-Muslim religions. This policy was implemented by allowing non-Muslim subjects to have their own church leaders and communities that enjoy autonomy.
Cultural achievements
Muslim world has achieved very high achievements in culture, just like religious policies. In the 16th century, the cultures of the Muslim empires were already rich, complex and diverse. Its roots can be traced back to the great civilizations that once flourished in the Middle East and South Asia in the past - Byzantine civilization, Egyptian civilization, Syrian civilization, Mesopotamian civilization, Persian civilization and Indian civilization. The Muslim countries are located in the central region and benefit greatly from the considerable cultural influence from the outside world - Europe and China - and have made their cultures, although not as vigorous and original as those of ancient Greece or modern Western worlds, have also achieved great success.
especially in architectural art, Muslims have left behind exquisite works that still maintain their original status today. The architectural styles at that time actually vary from place to place, reflecting the influence of local traditions and nearby areas. Today, the mosque minarets that stood in Cairo that belonged to this period are very different from those built in western North Africa; the former has beautiful outlines, while the latter is square and thicker.
In India, the Mughals kneaded some of the components of Persian and Indian architecture into a unique architectural style, characterized by the spherical dome (i.e., the dome that supports the apex of its dome on a slender dome) and towering arches.
can represent many outstanding monuments that Indian Islamic architectural art. Among them, there is the Fatahpur Sigri City built by Akbar, where magnificent mosques, mausoleums, public bathrooms and palaces are built in the city; there is also the palace built in Delhi with the famous peacock throne in the inner courtyard, and the more famous Taiji Mahal built by the emperor on the outskirts of Agra .
The Persian architecture of this period has a particularly pleasant feature: the colorful buildings are built in a garden with ponds and streams, which is pleasing to the eye. Many palaces of the monarchs of the Safi Dynasty were built in such a large garden.
Ottoman Empire architecture is also in a state of vitality. The amazing life of the world-famous Sinan Pasha can be used as an example of this. He was originally a military builder who was responsible for building bridges and ferries during the war. Soon, he was commissioned by the rulers of the imperial court and high-ranking officials and nobles to specialize in the construction of mosques and palaces. Throughout his 90-year life, he has always been very motivated and achieved outstanding results at work. All over the empire, from Bosnia to Mecca, he left his mark on showing his talents.By his death in 1679, he had built at least 343 buildings, including 81 mosques, 55 schools, 50 chapels, 34 palaces and 33 public bathrooms. He has two disciples and is the designer of India's Taiji Mahalling.
History and biographical works are also very popular in Muslim countries. The Egyptians were particularly active in compiling encyclopedic works that categorize past knowledge. In social sciences, the most outstanding figure is the Tunisian historian Ibn Heledun . In his large masterpiece, "Introduction to General History", he tried to discuss history as a science and proposed a secular historical philosophy in a general way. Because he studied the rise and fall of the Islamic empire, he was able to summarize the rise and fall of all empires. He particularly emphasized factors such as the spirit of unity of the nation, the corruption of luxury and debauchery, and the lack of opportunities to live a dangerous life.
Literature is another area of great interest to people in Muslim countries. In this regard, the Persians are recognized as masters, and they have created many works that have been widely praised and imitated. However, according to Western appreciation standards, Muslim prose and poetry seem to be somewhat pretentious and too rhetorical. The content of his works is subject to the expression form.
In addition to these major areas of cultural activity, Muslims are also outstanding in several other aspects, including paintings of fine paintings, weaving of carpets and textiles, firing porcelain, tanning of leather and making jewelry.
4. The decline of the Muslim empire
16th century Muslim world left a very deep impression on people. The empires ruled by Suriman, Akbar and Abbas were at least comparable to those in the rest of the world. However, in the 17th century, these empires began to decline suddenly. By the 18th century, they had lagged far behind Western Europe and are still behind today.
One explanation is that the dynasties that ruled these empires were corrupt. In 1566, Sherim II inherited Suriman I. He was lazy, dull, debauchery, and was addicted to alcohol. His subjects called him the drunkard Sherim. However, his corruption and depravity were not as serious as many of his later shameful successors. During this period, an Ottoman courtier wrote that after Ibrahim I became a sultan in 1649, he "fallen into the hands of his confidants and companions, dwarfs, mutes, eunuchs and women in the harem... They made everything mess up together."
The same situation also happened in Persia; in Persia, after Abbas's heir ascended the throne in 1629, he was also influenced by the harem.
In India, the decline of the empire began when Aurangzeb (reigned from 1659 to 1707). Aurangzeb was a capable general, an excellent administrator and a cautious and diligent ruler. However, he had a fatal flaw: his Hindu subjects could not be tolerated, especially in the second half of his long reign, when he saw Akbar's policy of building a nation-state as a denial of Islamic thought. In 1669, he ordered the "abolition of all temples and schools of pagans." Ten years later, he re-examined the count tax that had been cancelled by Akbar a century ago on the Hindus.
Aurangzeb also drove the Hindus out of the army and bureaucracy as completely as possible. These discrimination methods naturally aroused strong resistance from the majority of Hindus. The war broke out and continued until the stubborn Aurangzeb died at the age of 91.
Aurangzeb left India in a state of tension and exhaustion, and his successors were all sad weird guys who were simply unable to solve the problems they were facing. This dynasty that once produced outstanding Babur, Akbar and the same outstanding but misguided Aurangzeb, at this time, the "mindless" Bahadursha and the "happy man" and the "happy man" Muhammadsha appeared. Therefore, in the 18th century, India was in a state of fragmentation as Muslims opposed the attacks of Hindus, Persians and Afghans from the northwest and Europeans stole the coastal foothold.
corruption in dynasties is particularly serious for the Muslim world. In the Muslim world, political power is concentrated in the hands of the ruler himself.A Turkish proverb says: "The fish stinked first."
However, the decline of the dynasty is not the only factor that caused the destruction of Muslim countries. All European royal families had foolish, incompetent and irresponsible rulers, but their countries did not decline because of this.
There is another fundamental explanation for the various misfortunes in the Moos Cup world: it lacks European motivation.
For example, in the economic field, whether agriculture, industry, financial methods or business organizations have fundamental changes. If a traveler entered a Muslim country in the 17th and 18th centuries, he would have seen the economic practices and economic systems that the crusaders had witnessed by 500 years ago.
Another symptom and reason for the decline of the empire is that Muslims have a sense of superiority towards the West: they think they are invincible. At that time, they had no idea that they might be able to learn something from the pagans. Their attitude is derived in part from religious prejudice and in part from the amazing achievements of Islam in the previous centuries.
Islam has grown from an unknown small sect on the desert beach to the world's largest and fastest-growing religion - it has reached this point in 1500 years. Therefore, Muslim officials and scholars look down on anything about Christian Europe and show contempt and arrogance. 1756 When the French Ambassador to Constantinople declared an alliance between France and Austria (which marked a turning point in European diplomacy), he received a hasty and rude notification from the Ottoman Empire: the Ottoman government was not interested in the alliance between one pig and another. This attitude may be understandable in the 16th century, but it was absurd and self-destructive in the 18th century. One of the most destructive consequences of this self-righteous attitude is that an iron curtain of thought is put down between the Muslim world and the West, especially in the increasingly important scientific fields. In fact, Muslim scholars know nothing about the epoch-making achievements made by Paracelsus in medicine; Visari and HAVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV Not only did they not understand these scientific advances, but they themselves did nothing at that time and did not intend to do anything in the future.
This ignorance and self-righteousness cannot be attributed to Islam itself. According to legend, the motto "Go and seek knowledge, even if it is far away from China" was said by Muhammad. The brilliant achievements of medieval Muslims in the natural sciences and humanities also show that Islam cannot be compared with the stagnation of ideological development.
Therefore, the reason why Muslims lag behind the West should not be found in the creed of Islam, but the dying situation of Islam in the early modern times should be explained. In the early modern times, Islam had fallen to the point where it simply meant fulfilling a series of religious rituals and memorizing the divine codes. This situation has affected education, which has regressed to the point where it is centered on Muslim religious research, which is quite superficial and uses trivial and meaningless analysis as the main method (which can easily remind the Chinese of their Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism).
They are equally ignorant about geography. They believe that the world is flat and triangular; it consists of seven unique settlements of beautiful, perfect and different residents, each of which is surrounded by its own unique sea; one is the sea of milk, the other is the sea of sugar, the third is the sea of butter, the fourth is the sea of wine, etc.... and it is said that the whole world is supported by many elephants with their heads, and the occasional movement of elephants is the cause of the earthquake.
The last factor that shows why the Muslim empire declined is that these three Muslim empires are all land empires. Their founders, the Turks, Persians and Mughals were all nations without nautical traditions, so their empires all faced the land and faced the sea.
It is true that these empires do include certain areas that have long been engaged in maritime trade. Egypt, within the territory of the Ottoman Empire, had a history of hundreds of years as a trading center for exchange of spices and other commodities between South Asia and Europe.
Gujarat, located on the west coast of India, was repeatedly sent fleets to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, which had been a long time at that time.
Egypt was conquered by the Turks in 1517, while Gujarat was conquered by the Mughals in 1572. These new rulers were extremely uninterested in overseas trade, and therefore, when the Portuguese began to seize all strategic positions in the Indian Ocean, they took no action to stop them. The Turks did send several expeditions down the Red Sea, but these expeditions are insignificant compared to the land expeditions they sent to Persia and Central Europe. The emperors of the Mughal Empire did not effectively help their Gujarat subjects boycott when Portugal private merchants seized control of Indian Ocean merchant routes. The significance of this situation is that Europeans can become the masters of world merchant ship routes without being opposed by Muslims who have always controlled most of the trade between Europe and Asia. Its influence is far-reaching, because control over world trade has greatly enriched Europeans and further promoted their economic, social and political development.
As a result, a vicious cycle gradually formed: Western Europe became increasingly wealthy, increasingly productive and motivated by engaging in world trade, and the once daunting Muslim empire was still in a state of static due to its slight participation in the new world economy and was increasingly behind.
In fact, in those eras, these two Muslim countries had a prominent position in the diplomatic relations of European countries. For example, France's Francis I worked with Suriman I to start war against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V; and the Holy Roman royal family cooperated with the Persians to oppose their two common enemies.
These relations between Christian and Muslim countries were condemned at the time as "ungodly" and "despotic", but the fact is that the Ottoman Empire and the Safi Empire had become world powers that no European diplomat could ignore.
Mughal Empire
Just as the two outstanding rulers of the Safi Dynasty created a "national" dynasty in Persia, the two outstanding rulers of the Mughal Dynasty Babur and Akbar also created a "national" dynasty in India - this is a very remarkable achievement for the Muslim rulers in the area where Hindu dominates.
There were three waves of Muslims invading India, each time a long time apart. The first wave of invasion was triggered by Arab Muslims, who invaded Sindh area near the mouth of the Indus River in 712. These Arabs failed to go deep into the mainland, so their influence on India was limited.
The second wave of invasion occurred around 1000 AD, when Turkic Muslims began to invade India from bases within Afghanistan . These aggressions took place intermittently for four centuries, causing huge losses to life and property. The final result is: in North India, many Muslim kingdoms were established, and in South India, a number of Hindu countries continued to exist. However, even in North India, most people are still racially Indian and religiously Hinduism. They were not Islamized and Turkized like the people of Asia Minor.
The reason is that the Turks who came down from the north are only a trivial minority compared to the millions of people in India. All they can fill is senior positions in the government and the military. Farmers, merchants and most officials depend on their Hindu subjects. Indeed, in some areas, a large number of residents have converted to Islam, especially some lower castes - through which they want to escape exploitation. However, when the third wave of Muslim invasion in 1500 began with the arrival of the Mughal people, India was actually still an overwhelming area of Hinduism.
These newcomers were also Turkic people, and their leader was the direct descendant of the great Turkic conqueror Timur , the eye-catching Babur.
Babur inherited the small principality of Fergana in Turkestan from his father, but he lost it in his early years. Later, he occupied Timur's extremely gorgeous capital, , Samarkand, , but was quickly lost. Since then, he has taken many adventures, conquests and escapes.
1504, unexpected luck suddenly came, and he led 300 subordinates in sackclothed siding to capture Kabul, Afghanistan. From there, Babur turned his greedy eyes to the fertile plains of India to the south. About 20 years later, victory came: with the support of a fuse-igniting smoothbore gun and artillery manipulated by the Ottoman Turks, he miraculously defeated the 100,000 Indian army with a small force of 12,000. He took advantage of the victory to occupy Delhi as the new capital.
Four years later, Babur died, but his sons continued to follow his path and the empire grew rapidly. During the reign of Babur's grandson, the famous Akbar (reigned from 1556 to 1605), the empire reached its peak.
Akba was the most outstanding emperor of the Mughal dynasty. He conquered Rajbudana and Gujarat in the West, Bangladesh in the East, and several small countries on the Deccan Plateau in the South, greatly expanding the empire's territory. At that time, the Mughal rule had expanded from Kabul and Kashmir to the Deccan Plateau, and later, under the rule of Oqizebu (reigned from 1658 to 1707), it expanded further - almost to the southern end of the peninsula.
In addition to its outstanding achievements, Akbar is also a person with wide interests, versatility and extraordinary talent.Although he was uneducated, he was interested in asking questions and was intellectually agile. Even those Jesuits who knew him had to express their admiration.
His amazing range of activities reminds people of Peter the Great. Like the Russian Tsar, Akbar loved machinery. His research on metallurgy and the design of guns with greater firepower are good proof. He studied painting, loved music, was a good player in polo, and could play various instruments - pot drums were his favorite.
Akbar had a particularly strong interest in religion and philosophy, and he constantly searched for a doctrine that would meet the needs of his individual and his subjects. Initially, his thinking was limited to Islam, but in 1575, at the age of 33, Akbar was strongly attracted by the teachings taught by Hindus, Zoroastrians, Zoroastrians, Jains and Christians. Jains made him not eat meat and prohibited the killing of animals. The Portuguese Jesuits sent him to translate the Gospels into Persian, to hang the seal of the Virgin Mary around his neck, and to attend the collective sacrament.
At this time, the Jesuits believed that Akbar might convert to their religion, but in the end he founded a brand new religion "Ding Yilahism", that is, "Sacred Religion". Its main characteristics are: vague monotheism; Akbar is the agent of the Lord of God on earth and is the only interpreter of the doctrine. The doctrine of this new religion is eclectic, which blends some of the contents of many religions, especially some of the teachings of Zoroastrianism, Jainism and Hinduism.
Akbar's motivation was not only to fully utilize his talents, but also to provide a common religious belief that would unite his Hindu subjects and Muslim subjects and to temper a new India.
No matter how "sacred religion" meets its own religious needs, it has no impact on the country. But Akbar, with the help of what his synthetic religion failed to obtain, was obtained when he ended his discrimination against Hindus and stipulated that they were equal to Muslims. Akbar also allowed Hindus to hold senior national posts.
Hindus no longer regard the Mughal Empire as an enemy country. Akbar's coveted new India—a nation-state rather than a split country composed of Muslim masters and Hindu subjects—started to emerge.
However, it should be emphasized here: the Mughal Empire is very different from the Persian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Its superstructure is Muslim and its foundation is Hindu. The fact that the religious beliefs and culture of rural people were very different from those of the ruling group was known to foreigners at that time. An authoritative study of this issue said, "In 1700, the Mughal Empire was considered Indian by ordinary foreigners, just as in the 19th century, the Manchu Empire was considered Chinese by foreign observers living in China."
3. The glory of the Muslim Empire
Military Power
These three Muslim empires are the first-class military powers. Regarding this, strong evidence can be found in the appeal of King Francis I of the Ottoman Empire in December 1525.
The content of this appeal is to request the Turks to attack the head of the Hapsburg dynasty, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.
Suriman responded in 1526: crossing the Danube and invading Hungary, thus reducing the pressure Francis was under.
This is just one of the Turks' many expeditions. These expeditions not only helped France, but also provided more territory and spoils for the Turks, but also rescued Lutheran pagans - because the Turks' expedition shifted the attention of the Hapsburg royal family from Germany to the threatened Danube border.
Muslim military power has greatly contributed to the Protestant cause, which is in a critical stage of formation, which does seem contrary to common sense. In turn, the Persians also greatly influenced the development of Europe by cooperating with the Hapsburg royal family and opposing their common Turkish enemy.
In order to oppose the Ottoman Empire, Persia opened up a second battlefield, making it impossible for the Ottoman Empire to attack Europe with all its strength.This approach is quite similar to the way Russian , dealt with Germany during World War II.
Muslim troops usually lag behind European troops in artillery equipment. They rely on Europeans to supply the most advanced cannons and the most experienced gunners. However, this difference is only to a degree. The lack of artillery and the lack of artillery did not exist for the Muslim empire.
On the other hand, the huge force of the Muslim world left a deep impression on European observers. It is estimated that during the Akbar period, the total number of Indian standing troops reached more than one million, more than twice the number of Indian troops in 1914. Moreover, these huge armies were disciplined and well-trained when the Muslim empires reached their peak.
Administrative efficiency
All emperors of Muslim countries have absolute power over their subjects. Therefore, the quality of state administration depends on the talents of the head of the empire.
16th century, the emperors of Muslim countries were all people with extraordinary talents. It is safe to say that Suriman, Abbas and Akba are comparable to any monarch anywhere in the world.
For example, in Persia, a British traveler said that after Abbas ascended the throne, he completely subdued this country: a person can travel in this country safely and soundly as long as he holds a stick in his hand and does not need to carry other weapons.
Similarly, in India, Akbar has a well-organized bureaucratic team. He served in the administrative department of the Mughal Empire, with good treatment and hope for rapid promotion, thus attracting the best people in India and abroad. It is estimated that 70% of the officials are foreigners, such as Persians and Afghans, while the rest are Indian Muslims and Hindus. After the death of an official, his property was inherited by the emperor and his position became vacant. This reduces the ills of corruption and hereditary possession.
Since Akbar opened his bureaucracy to all subjects, the standard for appointing and promoting officials was talent rather than religion.
Economic Development
In terms of economic standards, in the early modern times, all Muslim countries were all developed countries in their current terms. Undoubtedly, Western Europeans at that time also believed that they were willing to face any difficulties or dangers in order to reach the legendary India and spice archipelago from afar.
The Ottoman Empire is closer to the hometown of Western Europeans and is an economic unit that makes people deeply impressed. It has a wide range and a diverse climate, which ensures that it can actually be self-sufficient. The fertile plains of Hungary, Wallachia, , Asia Minor and Egypt produce abundant food and raw materials. Skilled craftsmen from Constantinople, Thessalonika, Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo and other ancient cities made a large number of handicraft products. The empire also had huge timber resources and important minerals, especially iron, copper and lead. The vast borders of the Ottoman Empire provided a huge free trade zone where all these goods could be bought and sold without any obstacles. The empire is located at the intersection of land and sea. This strategic position has also greatly promoted foreign trade and transit trade.
The prosperity of the empire is also reflected in the large amount of surplus materials left in the treasury. From 1526 to 1550, Suriman's annual income reached about 6 million dakka silver coins, and his annual income reached about 4.5 million dakka silver coins. At that time, another sign of the prosperity of the empire was that even Christian peasants were in good condition under the Ottoman Empire. They only have to pay a small amount of poll tax and tithes that account for about one-tenth of agricultural products. As for the tenants in the feudal territory, they must fulfill a small amount of obligations for the feudal lords, which are not heavy. Travelers at the time often commented that Christian farmers in the Balkans were not too heavy in taxes and their economic situation was generally better than farmers in neighboring Christian countries.
For most Europeans, what is more fascinating than the Ottoman Empire is the distant, strange India. In India, it can weave incredible textiles, especially fine-textured cotton fabrics. This cotton fabric is unparalleled anywhere else in the world.
India also serves as a distribution center for goods transported from the Spice Islands to the west, with extremely rich spices. is India, which caused the gold and silver of Europe to flow outward from the early Roman Empire - a fact that Europeans who focused on gold and silver during that period were extremely unforgettable. As one of them said, "All countries brought money and transported goods likewise. And these currencies were buried when they arrived in India and no longer flowed out."
For Europeans at that time, the legend of the extremely generous Mughal rulers and the amazing property of courtiers and supreme administrative officials was even more attractive. These legends are correct, and later confirmed when the British seized control of India from the declining Mughals. In the years after his arrival in India, Robert Clive wrote to his father that the wealth he received allowed me to live a good life that I could never dream of in my motherland.
Muslim merchants' control over South Asian trade is as important as the wealth of the Muslim empire. The spice trade is especially important. The term spice included a variety of oriental products at that time: fragrant sweet rosin; sandalwood that could be used to stop bleeding and clean blood; gum lacquer that women admire very much; dragon scent, camphor, vermouth and ivory; condiments such as Ceylon cinnamon, dried bean crust, nutmeg, clove, allspice, ginger and chili, among which chili peppers are the top priority.
spices are extremely popular in a world where you only know how to treat food with salt and know very little about other food preservation techniques. For centuries, spices, along with many other commodities, such as Chinese silk and Indian cotton fabrics, were transported back and forth by people along the merchant routes in the south and north. The route to the south is to reach the ports of Syria and Egypt from the East Indies and India along the Indian Ocean, and then go up to the Persian Gulf or the Red Sea; the route to the north is to reach the ports of Syria and Egypt from the Far East through Central Asia and enter the ports of the Black Sea and Asia Minor from the Far East.
With the collapse of the Mongol Empire, the situation in Central Asia became very chaotic. After 1340, the trade routes in the north were actually blocked. Since then, most of the products have been collected on the southern sea routes that were previously controlled by Muslim merchants and transported to various places along the sea route.
This trade has greatly promoted the prosperity of the Moos Cup world. It not only provides government taxation in the form of tariffs, but also provides a source of living for thousands of merchants, staff, sailors, shipbuilders, camel drivers and dock workers who have direct or indirect connections to trade.
When Indian goods were sold to Italian middlemen in Alexander, the price increased by more than 20% at the cost. This fact can illustrate the degree of profitability. Cairo made great profits from this trade. When describing Cairo, the travelers of the 15th century said that it was three times larger than Paris and five times more populous. The city had street lighting systems, a large public hospital and several orphanages, as well as schools, colleges, solemn mosques, luxurious palaces and magnificent public buildings.
The Portuguese broke into the Indian Ocean in 1498 and quickly controlled most of this profitable trade. However, they can do this not because their goods are excellent or their business skills are excellent, but because their sea ships and guns have an advantage.
Freedom of religious belief
Islam is usually equal to religious fanaticism in the minds of Christians. But in the 16th century, religious fanaticism in the Christian world was likely to be more common than in the Muslim world. This is a period of endless religious wars: Protestants and Catholics always kill each other, and both continue to persecute and loot the Jews.
Indeed, there is also intolerance or cruel persecution between the Sunni and Shiites of Islam. However, the fact remains that the freedoms enjoyed by Hindus under the Muslim Mughals are much greater than those enjoyed by any religious group in Christian Europe. In addition, it is unquestionable that Christians and Jews treat better in the Muslim world than Muslims and Jews treat them in the Christian world.
This can be explained by the fate of Muslims and Jews in Christian Spain. It is known that they were cruelly ravaged there and had to run away. However, people are not very clear that after a large number of Jewish refugees fled to the Ottoman Empire, they found the tolerance they could not get in the West.
Jewish immigrants are often skilled and skilled people, so they have made a lot of contributions to their new motherland. In fact, an Ottoman Sultan once said that he could not understand why the Spanish king foolishly allowed such precious subjects to leave his kingdom.
The vast majority of non-Muslim subjects in the Ottoman Empire were Christians, not Jews. These Christians, like Christians in other Muslim countries, can worship according to their own wishes and are subject to fewer restrictions. The main reason is the Shariah. Sharia recognizes Christians and Jews as Muslims as Bible subjects. The religious beliefs of Christians and Jews are considered legal, but not complete enough, because Mohammed has replaced Moses and Jesus Christ. Therefore, Islam is quite tolerant of Christians and Jews, allowing them to pursue their religious beliefs under certain restrictions and certain costs.
Islam also makes appropriate provisions on all aspects of life. It is a religious code and a civil code. Therefore, Islam also allows them to maintain their customs and habits when tolerating non-Muslim religions. This policy was implemented by allowing non-Muslim subjects to have their own church leaders and communities that enjoy autonomy.
Cultural achievements
Muslim world has achieved very high achievements in culture, just like religious policies. In the 16th century, the cultures of the Muslim empires were already rich, complex and diverse. Its roots can be traced back to the great civilizations that once flourished in the Middle East and South Asia in the past - Byzantine civilization, Egyptian civilization, Syrian civilization, Mesopotamian civilization, Persian civilization and Indian civilization. The Muslim countries are located in the central region and benefit greatly from the considerable cultural influence from the outside world - Europe and China - and have made their cultures, although not as vigorous and original as those of ancient Greece or modern Western worlds, have also achieved great success.
especially in architectural art, Muslims have left behind exquisite works that still maintain their original status today. The architectural styles at that time actually vary from place to place, reflecting the influence of local traditions and nearby areas. Today, the mosque minarets that stood in Cairo that belonged to this period are very different from those built in western North Africa; the former has beautiful outlines, while the latter is square and thicker.
In India, the Mughals kneaded some of the components of Persian and Indian architecture into a unique architectural style, characterized by the spherical dome (i.e., the dome that supports the apex of its dome on a slender dome) and towering arches.
can represent many outstanding monuments that Indian Islamic architectural art. Among them, there is the Fatahpur Sigri City built by Akbar, where magnificent mosques, mausoleums, public bathrooms and palaces are built in the city; there is also the palace built in Delhi with the famous peacock throne in the inner courtyard, and the more famous Taiji Mahal built by the emperor on the outskirts of Agra .
The Persian architecture of this period has a particularly pleasant feature: the colorful buildings are built in a garden with ponds and streams, which is pleasing to the eye. Many palaces of the monarchs of the Safi Dynasty were built in such a large garden.
Ottoman Empire architecture is also in a state of vitality. The amazing life of the world-famous Sinan Pasha can be used as an example of this. He was originally a military builder who was responsible for building bridges and ferries during the war. Soon, he was commissioned by the rulers of the imperial court and high-ranking officials and nobles to specialize in the construction of mosques and palaces. Throughout his 90-year life, he has always been very motivated and achieved outstanding results at work. All over the empire, from Bosnia to Mecca, he left his mark on showing his talents.By his death in 1679, he had built at least 343 buildings, including 81 mosques, 55 schools, 50 chapels, 34 palaces and 33 public bathrooms. He has two disciples and is the designer of India's Taiji Mahalling.
History and biographical works are also very popular in Muslim countries. The Egyptians were particularly active in compiling encyclopedic works that categorize past knowledge. In social sciences, the most outstanding figure is the Tunisian historian Ibn Heledun . In his large masterpiece, "Introduction to General History", he tried to discuss history as a science and proposed a secular historical philosophy in a general way. Because he studied the rise and fall of the Islamic empire, he was able to summarize the rise and fall of all empires. He particularly emphasized factors such as the spirit of unity of the nation, the corruption of luxury and debauchery, and the lack of opportunities to live a dangerous life.
Literature is another area of great interest to people in Muslim countries. In this regard, the Persians are recognized as masters, and they have created many works that have been widely praised and imitated. However, according to Western appreciation standards, Muslim prose and poetry seem to be somewhat pretentious and too rhetorical. The content of his works is subject to the expression form.
In addition to these major areas of cultural activity, Muslims are also outstanding in several other aspects, including paintings of fine paintings, weaving of carpets and textiles, firing porcelain, tanning of leather and making jewelry.
4. The decline of the Muslim empire
16th century Muslim world left a very deep impression on people. The empires ruled by Suriman, Akbar and Abbas were at least comparable to those in the rest of the world. However, in the 17th century, these empires began to decline suddenly. By the 18th century, they had lagged far behind Western Europe and are still behind today.
One explanation is that the dynasties that ruled these empires were corrupt. In 1566, Sherim II inherited Suriman I. He was lazy, dull, debauchery, and was addicted to alcohol. His subjects called him the drunkard Sherim. However, his corruption and depravity were not as serious as many of his later shameful successors. During this period, an Ottoman courtier wrote that after Ibrahim I became a sultan in 1649, he "fallen into the hands of his confidants and companions, dwarfs, mutes, eunuchs and women in the harem... They made everything mess up together."
The same situation also happened in Persia; in Persia, after Abbas's heir ascended the throne in 1629, he was also influenced by the harem.
In India, the decline of the empire began when Aurangzeb (reigned from 1659 to 1707). Aurangzeb was a capable general, an excellent administrator and a cautious and diligent ruler. However, he had a fatal flaw: his Hindu subjects could not be tolerated, especially in the second half of his long reign, when he saw Akbar's policy of building a nation-state as a denial of Islamic thought. In 1669, he ordered the "abolition of all temples and schools of pagans." Ten years later, he re-examined the count tax that had been cancelled by Akbar a century ago on the Hindus.
Aurangzeb also drove the Hindus out of the army and bureaucracy as completely as possible. These discrimination methods naturally aroused strong resistance from the majority of Hindus. The war broke out and continued until the stubborn Aurangzeb died at the age of 91.
Aurangzeb left India in a state of tension and exhaustion, and his successors were all sad weird guys who were simply unable to solve the problems they were facing. This dynasty that once produced outstanding Babur, Akbar and the same outstanding but misguided Aurangzeb, at this time, the "mindless" Bahadursha and the "happy man" and the "happy man" Muhammadsha appeared. Therefore, in the 18th century, India was in a state of fragmentation as Muslims opposed the attacks of Hindus, Persians and Afghans from the northwest and Europeans stole the coastal foothold.
corruption in dynasties is particularly serious for the Muslim world. In the Muslim world, political power is concentrated in the hands of the ruler himself.A Turkish proverb says: "The fish stinked first."
However, the decline of the dynasty is not the only factor that caused the destruction of Muslim countries. All European royal families had foolish, incompetent and irresponsible rulers, but their countries did not decline because of this.
There is another fundamental explanation for the various misfortunes in the Moos Cup world: it lacks European motivation.
For example, in the economic field, whether agriculture, industry, financial methods or business organizations have fundamental changes. If a traveler entered a Muslim country in the 17th and 18th centuries, he would have seen the economic practices and economic systems that the crusaders had witnessed by 500 years ago.
Another symptom and reason for the decline of the empire is that Muslims have a sense of superiority towards the West: they think they are invincible. At that time, they had no idea that they might be able to learn something from the pagans. Their attitude is derived in part from religious prejudice and in part from the amazing achievements of Islam in the previous centuries.
Islam has grown from an unknown small sect on the desert beach to the world's largest and fastest-growing religion - it has reached this point in 1500 years. Therefore, Muslim officials and scholars look down on anything about Christian Europe and show contempt and arrogance. 1756 When the French Ambassador to Constantinople declared an alliance between France and Austria (which marked a turning point in European diplomacy), he received a hasty and rude notification from the Ottoman Empire: the Ottoman government was not interested in the alliance between one pig and another. This attitude may be understandable in the 16th century, but it was absurd and self-destructive in the 18th century. One of the most destructive consequences of this self-righteous attitude is that an iron curtain of thought is put down between the Muslim world and the West, especially in the increasingly important scientific fields. In fact, Muslim scholars know nothing about the epoch-making achievements made by Paracelsus in medicine; Visari and HAVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV Not only did they not understand these scientific advances, but they themselves did nothing at that time and did not intend to do anything in the future.
This ignorance and self-righteousness cannot be attributed to Islam itself. According to legend, the motto "Go and seek knowledge, even if it is far away from China" was said by Muhammad. The brilliant achievements of medieval Muslims in the natural sciences and humanities also show that Islam cannot be compared with the stagnation of ideological development.
Therefore, the reason why Muslims lag behind the West should not be found in the creed of Islam, but the dying situation of Islam in the early modern times should be explained. In the early modern times, Islam had fallen to the point where it simply meant fulfilling a series of religious rituals and memorizing the divine codes. This situation has affected education, which has regressed to the point where it is centered on Muslim religious research, which is quite superficial and uses trivial and meaningless analysis as the main method (which can easily remind the Chinese of their Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism).
They are equally ignorant about geography. They believe that the world is flat and triangular; it consists of seven unique settlements of beautiful, perfect and different residents, each of which is surrounded by its own unique sea; one is the sea of milk, the other is the sea of sugar, the third is the sea of butter, the fourth is the sea of wine, etc.... and it is said that the whole world is supported by many elephants with their heads, and the occasional movement of elephants is the cause of the earthquake.
The last factor that shows why the Muslim empire declined is that these three Muslim empires are all land empires. Their founders, the Turks, Persians and Mughals were all nations without nautical traditions, so their empires all faced the land and faced the sea.
It is true that these empires do include certain areas that have long been engaged in maritime trade. Egypt, within the territory of the Ottoman Empire, had a history of hundreds of years as a trading center for exchange of spices and other commodities between South Asia and Europe.
Gujarat, located on the west coast of India, was repeatedly sent fleets to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, which had been a long time at that time.
Egypt was conquered by the Turks in 1517, while Gujarat was conquered by the Mughals in 1572. These new rulers were extremely uninterested in overseas trade, and therefore, when the Portuguese began to seize all strategic positions in the Indian Ocean, they took no action to stop them. The Turks did send several expeditions down the Red Sea, but these expeditions are insignificant compared to the land expeditions they sent to Persia and Central Europe. The emperors of the Mughal Empire did not effectively help their Gujarat subjects boycott when Portugal private merchants seized control of Indian Ocean merchant routes. The significance of this situation is that Europeans can become the masters of world merchant ship routes without being opposed by Muslims who have always controlled most of the trade between Europe and Asia. Its influence is far-reaching, because control over world trade has greatly enriched Europeans and further promoted their economic, social and political development.
As a result, a vicious cycle gradually formed: Western Europe became increasingly wealthy, increasingly productive and motivated by engaging in world trade, and the once daunting Muslim empire was still in a state of static due to its slight participation in the new world economy and was increasingly behind.
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