Jeremy Keeshin

Both the Ottoman and Mughal empires were distinctive civilizations in their time

due to the local cultural forces and Islamic influence that impacted them in the areas of

military, government, the arts, and social structure. The Ottoman and Mughal empires

were considered to be gunpowder empires because they had access to advanced

weaponry, allowing them to have great military success. Islam affected the military in the

Ottoman Empire because the Devinshirme, which collected and converted Christian boys

into Muslims, ultimately led into becoming a Janissary, a foot soldier, or a government

official.

Besides the military, the government structure of both civilizations was a

combination of local and Islamic influence. In both places Islam had an influence on the

leaders, who often controlled both the government and religion. In the Ottoman Empire

the sultan and grand vezir had government power as well as religious authority because

the sultan was caliph. The division of society in the Ottoman Empire was a function of

Islamic influence. The Ottoman Empire was split into nations based on the non-Muslim

religious groups. The Ottomans were religiously tolerant of these groups, and allowed

them to have their own lives as long as they did not challenge the Muslims. However

there was a tax imposed on these non-Muslims. The Ottoman pasha, who was the

equivalent of the Mughal zamindar, collected these taxes. The zamindars and pashas were

encouraged to collect these taxes because their salary was based off them. In the Mughal

Empire there was also this toleration. Akbar was accepting of diversity and in order to be

just, he would base the tax system upon the weather so that if there were bad farming

years, the tax would be less. A drastic opposite was shown when the rule of Aurangzeb
 Jeremy Keeshin

arrived. He was a controversial ruler, who as a radical Muslim, erased the Mughal

religious tolerance and forced non-Muslims to convert to Islam.

The arts, architecture and literature of the Mughals and Ottomans were based off

of local ideas and Islamic traditions. The Mughal culture was a combination of Islamic,

Hindu and Persian culture. These Persian and Indian architectural ideas were brought

together in the Mughal Taj Mahal. The literature in the Mughal Empire thrived when

paper and printing became readily available. Urdu, language used in court and poetry,

was a combination of Persian and Hindi and therefore was a local influence. In Ottoman

society these ideas were also present. Since the Ottomans had conquered the Byzantines,

they took many of the local ideas that they had. One of these ideas that they adopted was

the knowledge of silk making. The Ottomans revived the silk industry of the Byzantines

and expanded on it. Ottoman architecture was influenced by the Byzantine idea of having

open space as used in the Hagia Sophia. Islam necessitated the Ottoman construction of

minarets. The Blue Mosque designed by Sinan was the epitome of Ottoman architecture.

Another idea that was a response to local and Islamic influence was giving

women more rights. In the Mughal Empire women fought, owned land, ran business and

were able to obtain salaries. However there was still the Muslim practice of purdah,

which isolated women. In Ottoman society women inherited property, had a say in

marriage, and had power in the government. One reason that women had privileges was

because of the way Islamic law was applied in these cultures. The tolerance of women in

the Ottoman Empire was specifically due to the fact that Turkish peoples viewed women

as almost equal to men, and Ottomans civilization evolved from the Turks. This was also

the reason nomadic tribes were involved in Ottoman culture. Both the Ottoman and
 Jeremy Keeshin

Mughal Empires are the products of local and Islamic influence in the areas of military,

government, the arts, and general social outlook.