Rise of the Islamic Gunpowder Empires
The warrior leaders of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires shared many traits besides being Muslims:
• They descended from Turkic nomads who once lived in Central Asia.
• They spoke a Turkic language.
• They took advantage of power vacuums left by the breakup of Mongol khanates.
• They relied on gunpowder weapons, such as artillery and cannons.
The initial success of the Gunpowder Empires was a result of their own military might along with the weakness and corruption of the regimes that they replaced. As European nations fought among themselves rather than uniting to topple the new powers growing in the east, the Gunpowder Empires further expanded.
The Rule of Tamerlane The invasion of Central Asia and the Middle East by Tamerlane (Timur the Lame, a Mongol-Turkic ruler of the late 14th century) set the stage for the rise of the Turkic empires. Leading an army partly composed of nomadic invaders from the broad steppes of Eurasia, Tamerlane moved out from the trading city of Samarkand (in modern-day Uzbekistan) to make ruthless conquests in Persia (modern-day Iran) and India. The Eurasian steppes were also the birthplace of the ghazi ideal—a model for warrior life that blended the cooperative values of nomadic culture with the willingness to serve as a holy fighter for Islam. According to some historians, the ghazi ideal served as the model for warriors who participated in the rise of the Gunpowder Empires, and it was a model that fit Tamerlane well.
Some historians believe that Tamerlane’s violent takeover of areas of Central Asia included the massacre of some 100,000 Hindus before the gates of Delhi in India. The pattern of conquest was marked by violence that resulted in new dynasties: the Ottomans, the Safavids, and the Mughals. Nonetheless, Tamerlane’s rule in Samarkand encouraged learning and the arts—a trend also typical of these later empires. For example, Tamerlane championed literature, and he himself corresponded with European rulers and wrote his own memoirs. Buildings still standing in the city of Samarkand are lasting reminders of his interest in architecture and decorative arts.
While the empire he created largely fell apart (except for the area that his descendant Babur would take over to create India’s Mughal Dynasty), Tamerlane’s invasions were a testament to the significance of gunpowder. He used it to build a government dependent upon his military and the use of heavy artillery. He also used it to protect land routes on the Silk Roads. However, he failed to leave an effective political structure in many of the areas he conquered. Without effective government, the expenses of the wars eventually ravaged the empire’s economy.
Tamerlane’s rule casts light on two major forces that had battled each other continually from the late 10th century to the 14th century—Mongols from the northeast versus Islamic forces from Arabia and the areas around the Mediterranean Sea. These forces would clash continuously with the rise and fall of the three Asian Gunpowder Empires that are the focus of the rest of this chapter.