3.4 - Comparison in Land-Based Empires

Building and Maintaining Land-Based Empires (c. 1450–c. 1750)

• Growth and Conquest: Land-based empires expanded by conquering new territories and incorporating diverse populations. Rulers implemented policies to legitimize their rule, though the conquered often retained aspects of their own culture, influencing the conquerors and leading to blended cultures.

• Decline of Gunpowder Empires: Many land-based empires, including the Gunpowder Empires (Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal), eventually declined due to several factors:

  • European Competition: They struggled to compete with European trading companies, particularly the British.

  • Internal Conflicts: Succession disputes, often influenced by harem politics, weakened these empires.

  • Technological Lag: Failure to keep up with advancements in military and naval technology furthered their decline.

  • Economic Strain: Maintaining large armies placed a heavy financial burden on peasants and villages through taxes and other obligations.

  • Religious Conflicts: Deep religious divisions, such as the schism between Muslims and Hindus in Mughal India and the Sunni-Shi'a divide between the Ottomans and Safavids, further weakened these empires.

Military Might

• Well-Trained Armies: Land-based empires maintained powerful militaries that were well-organized, equipped with gunpowder weapons like cannons, and led by capable leaders. In the Americas, the Aztec and Incan warriors used their ferocity to intimidate and conquer neighboring territories.

• Elite Soldiers:

  • Ottoman Janissaries: Enslaved soldiers, often taken from Christian areas through the devshirme system, who were loyal to the sultan and helped maintain his power.

  • Safavid Ghulams: Recruited from Georgian, Armenian, or Circassian populations, these soldiers protected the shah from rival clans.

  • Aztec Tribute System: The Aztecs required enslaved people or prisoners as tribute from conquered states, some of whom were used as human sacrifices in religious rituals.

• Conflicts Among Empires: Despite their strong militaries, conflicts arose between land-based empires:

  • Ottoman-Safavid Wars: Fueled by territorial disputes and religious differences, with the Sunni Ottomans and Shi'a Safavids viewing each other's practices as heretical.

  • Safavid-Mughal Wars: Centered on control over resources and trade routes in present-day Afghanistan.

  • Moroccan Invasion of Songhai (1591): Moroccan forces ended the Songhai Empire by sacking its capital, though they struggled to maintain control over the territory.

Centralized Bureaucracy

• Administration and Control: To govern vast and diverse populations, land-based empires established centralized bureaucracies:

  • Ming and Manchu Dynasties: Used the civil service examination system to recruit scholar-gentry members into government service.

  • Ottoman Devshirme System: Provided the sultan with loyal civil servants recruited through the devshirme system.

  • Safavid Empire: Recruited bureaucrats from the Persian population, known as "men of the pen."

  • Songhai Empire: Employed bureaucrats from the scholarly class educated in Timbuktu’s madrasas.

  • Inca Empire: Organized their territory into a federal system of provinces, each headed by a noble loyal to the emperor.

• Aztec Exception: The Aztec Empire was less centralized and bureaucratic than other empires, relying on a tributary system and maintaining control through force, fear, and intimidation.

Taxation and Revenue Collection

• Supporting Bureaucracies and Militaries: Various forms of taxation supported the administration and military of these empires:

  • Mughal Zamindars: Tax officers collected taxes from peasants based on land and production.

  • Ottoman Tax Farming: Sultans appointed "tax farmers" who paid a fixed sum to the government and recouped it by collecting taxes from residents, often skimming profits.

  • Aztec Tribute Lists: Tributes, including local products or people for sacrifices, supported the Aztec noble class and military.

  • Ming "Hard Currency" Collection: Initially, taxes were paid in rice, but later in silver coins, as paper currency led to counterfeiting and inflation.

Striving for Legitimacy

• Rulers’ Strategies: To legitimize their rule over diverse populations, rulers turned to religion, art, and monumental architecture:

  • Akbar’s Syncretism: Attempted to create a syncretic religion in the Mughal Empire but had limited success.

  • Monumental Architecture: Rulers built grand structures to symbolize their power and unite their subjects, often using religious and cultural symbols.