The history of the Muslim world in the period between the early 15th and early 20 centuries - Research Paper Example

?After considering the history of the Muslim world in the period between the early fifteenth and early twentieth centuries, which particular events, processes, and/or encounters would you deem overall the most enduring and most defining? INTRODUCTION Islam is perceived to be among the oldest and the most widely followed religion of the world. Like many other religions, the history of the Muslim world can be witnessed to have confronted with frequent ebbs and flows. These fluctuations have been quite apparent over the transformations which the Muslim world has experienced since the early 15th century to the early 20th century. Where on one hand, with the rise and expansion of new religions such as Judaism and Christianity, the Muslim world had to witness a fall in its political and social magnitude; on the other hand, benefited by the advent of successful trade relationships of Muslim community with the non-Islamic nations, the community was able to strengthen its foothold in global politics of the modern world. Some of the noteworthy events that can be remarked as best illustrations of the alterations witnessed by the Muslim world since the early 15th century till the early 20th century or the modern era include the rise of Mughals, Ottomans and Safavids, repeat clashes of the Muslim world with other religious communities as well as trade expansion of the Muslims in the global plethora. Historians have often argued that these events have led towards immense alterations in the religious beliefs as well as social structures of the Muslim world playing the key role in developing its advanced post-modern shape. However, these events, as argued by historians, imposed varying impacts on the Muslim world, some being strong enough to permanently change few aspects of this particular assemblage while the others having a short term influence (Goldstone, “The Problem of the "Early Modern" World”). THESIS STATEMENT Concerning these aforementioned aspects, this thesis will be focused on discussing about the various events which have been witnessed within the Muslim world during its experiences within the period from 15th century to 20th century. Correspondingly, the ultimate aim of the study will be to identify particular events and encounters which have been most influential in shaping the modern Muslim world. DISCUSSION The Muslim World during early 15th and 16th Centuries The most significant event which has often attracted intellectuals arguing on the historic transformations of the Muslim world during the 15th century was the fall of Constantinople after being conquered by the Ottoman Empire sultan Mehmed II. It was during this tenure of Muslim world history that Ottomans were emerging as the major Islamic dynasty to rule to Arab-Muslim nations. It was during the mid 15th century that Mehmed II acquired the throne of the Ottoman dynasty when the Muslim world was focused primarily on trade as well as political expansion, based on the notion of imperialism to gain superiority over other non-Muslim communities. In such circumstance, Constantinopolis (Kostantiniyye) was the most appropriate geographical area to expand trade and also to gain control on the activities of the neighboring continents, i.e. Asia and Europe. Both Asia and Europe, during this period was undergoing tremendous alterations being politically weak, but economically enriched with natural resources and flow of international commodities. Thus, conquering Constantinople was a golden opportunity for Mehmed II to expand the Ottoman Empire and almost effortlessly, obtain the benefits of an equipped trade relation between Constantinopolis and European as well as Asian dynasties. On the social forefront, the defeat of Constantinople further contributed towards the enrichment of the artistic patronage of the medieval Muslim world which is still considered to be enviable. Not only in terms of its artistic patronage, but also with respect to the political structure and policy concerns, the Muslim world was observed as becoming increasingly intellectual. To be mentioned, Mehmed II intended to systematically promote the Kuls (Christian born slave servants who were later converted to Muslim) within the ministry which added a sympathetic value to the success of the sultan. Additionally, through this strategy, the sultan was able to create a governmental structure employing polyglot elites which rewarded the empire with the enhanced ability to interact with various other communities in the neighborhood continents. This in turn assisted the bloom of a unique combined form of culture which incorporated the beliefs of Perso-Islamic, Roman-Byzantine and Turco-Mongol (Necipoglu, “From Byzantine Constantinople to Ottoman Kostantiniyye: Creation of a Cosmopolitan Capital and Visual Culture under Sultan Mehmed II”). Another major event of this century was the ejection of the Muslims from the regions of Western Europe. Where on one hand, Mehmed II had been successful in leading to the fall of Constantinople giving rise to a new chapter in Muslim world; during the same period, in the other hand, the Muslim world was witnessing the fall of Granada dynasty in the Western European region. It was during the year 1492 that Granada rulers lost their control over Spain completely and had to evacuate the region being forced to migrate towards the Eastern hemisphere (Zaimeche, “Granada-The Last Refuge of Muslims in Spain”). This further led to the rise of non-Arab Muslim world in the Asian regions such as Indonesia, Malaysia and India. Although at the onset this particular change might be observed as a reflection of weakening Muslim world, this particular event led to the strengthening of Muslims in countries such as Afghanistan and Mongolia along with a geopolitical region of China’s western parts. In simple words, the evacuation of Muslims in the Western Europe drove the Muslim world towards Eastern countries which further gave rise to the Mughal and the Safavid dynasties (Lane 9-15). Apart from Ottomans, the Mughals and the Safavids have been admired as among the few most powerful dynasties of the early modern world. It has often been evidently argued that Mughals had been more successful in comparison to Ottomans on the grounds of longevity; even though this does not depict that Ottomans were however weak. It is worth mentioning in this context that during the 15th century and during the onset of the 16th century, till its mid ages, the Muslim world had to witness myriad occurrences of wars, conquests and trade relations which were centralized to religious imperialism and political as well as cultural dignity. It had been in the influence of these conflicts that clashes between Muslim empires had become a common phenomenon which gave rise to the historic battle of the Chaldiran. The battle of Chaldiran is considered as among the most important historical events that has taken place in between the 15th and the 20th centuries involving the Ottomans as against the Safavids. The sole reasons of the war can be rooted to the overlapping geopolitical expansion of the two strongest Muslim empires. However, as Safavids were outnumbered by the Ottomans, the conclusion of the war result in favor of the Ottomans. Hence, the territories in the Middle-Eastern region conquered by Safavids were acquired by the Ottomans in the aftermath of the war (The University of Calgary, “Battle of Chaldiran”). In the 16th century till the end of 18th century, the Mughals were successful in governing the Hindu majority in the Asian countries, dominantly in India. In the similar context, the Safavids were able to continue the reign till the beginning of the 18th century in majority parts of Middle-Eastern countries. This added to a new dimension in the history of Muslim world not only in the realm of artistry but also combined intellectuality with military administration (Kissling, Spuler, Barbour, Trimingham, Braun and Hartel 181-265). The Muslim World during early 17th and 18th Centuries Despite of the advancements talking place quite rapidly in the Muslim world through the expansion of Muslim empires, the event which had the strongest effect on the culture all around the human race was the rise of the colonial era which began with the end of the 16th century and continued throughout the 17th century. These colonization occurrences can be rooted in the 15th century when people had began to lose their faith and sympathy upon the emperors, being persuaded towards other rising religious groups such as Judaism and Christianity. Hence, the civilian riots on the grounds of religious disturbances fuelled instability within the political realms leading to the ultimate fall of many Muslim dynasties. Conflicts with the non-Muslim communities had become a common phenomenon during the mid ages and the later period of the 17th century. Not only in respect of Islam, but such inter-religious clashes were observed as nothing unusual during the era when almost every community were on the mode of expansion or focus on preserving the cultural sovereignty from the ancient effects of globalization. However, the aspect or the happening that was observed during this period, which was much astonishing, was the conflicts within the Muslim world not only amid geopolitical groups such as the Ottoman and the Safavid dynasties but also amongst the common people who began assessing the truth behind the commandments of Allah as narrated by the prophets (Lane 7-25). It was during this period that simultaneous to the increased interaction of Islamic people various cultural groups, such as Hindus in the Asian regions and Christians in the Western regions, common people started developing their point of view towards religious claims from a more intellectual and open-minded nature. This resulted in differing perspectives amid the believers of Islam, splitting the Muslim world into two dimensions; one being the Sunnis, the other was recognized as the Shiites. It is worth mentioning in this context that the religious conflicts which caused bafflement in the course of expansion as well as sustenance of many Muslim empires were triggered with the rise and the dramatic fall of the Safavids in the end of the 16th century. Safavids were recognized to be the followers of the Shiite Islamism, with their religious beliefs and visionary principles in life were very much discrete to that followed by the Sunnis who were a majority in the Ottoman dynasty (The University of Calgary, “Battle of Chaldiran”). It shall not be erroneous in this context to state that the divergences existing between the groups on the grounds of religious beliefs might have played a vital role in rousing the political war between the Ottomans and the Safavids in the form of the battle of Chaldiran. The effects can yet be observed evidently when assessing the density of Sunni and Shiite Muslims all over the world. Researches in this regard depict that a majority of Shiites can be found confined within Iran, Bahrain, Iraq and Azerbaijan which constitutes the geopolitical area of the 15th-18th century, which was once ruled by the Safavids. In contrast, the other Arab and non-Arab Muslim world is dominated by Sunni Muslims (Blanchard, “Islam: Sunnis and Shiites”). Influences from the Turks and the rise of the power held by European geopolitical groups also played an inevitable role in leading to the colonialism of the Muslim world shaping the events in the later 18th century. It is worth mentioning in this context that since the later years of the 18th century, following the colonialism in the European nations, various Islamic movements were organized and executed by Sunnis and the Shiites, some in an isolated forms while many in collaboration where the two dimensions of the Muslim world believed to have identical purpose. It is noteworthy to state that both, the Arab Muslim world as well as the non-Arab Muslim world, were equally affected due to the movements which further caused colonization within the entire Muslim world. Reportedly, it was during the late 18th century that the foundation of Jihad, which is in general, described as Holy wars for the motifs of secularism and humanity which further played a pivotal role in shaping the Muslim world in the 20th century through the 19th century transformations (Nasr, “European Colonialism and the Emergence of Modern Muslim States”). The Muslim World during early 19th and 20th Centuries With reference to the early modern historic transformations witnessed by the entire Muslim world, researches depict that it was since the late 18th century to the early 19th century that Holy movements or religious disturbances on the social as well as on the eco-political fields began rising continually. To be noted, with the motif of religious secularism and also signifying the Holy movements as a depiction of anti-colonialism beliefs, the Islamic activists started giving shape to the Jihad revolutions (Bijlefeld, “Christian-Muslim Relations: A Burdensome Past, a Challenging Future”). The Muslim world also witnessed many other riots such as the Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood revolutionary movement, Libya’s Sanusiyyah movement, and many other movements in India, Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Morocco, Russia and many other Muslim nations. Surprisingly, but more comfortingly, simultaneous to these riots, the Muslim world started shaping contemporary states deciphering the progress of the colonial territories at large. Also, it was with the advent of the Muslim riots against European and Turkish colonialism that uprising Muslim states began defining their boundaries which further stared shaping the modern Muslim world. To be mentioned, the development of the Muslim world had undergone continuous fluctuations which extended to the modern era of the early 20th century (Lapidus, “Islamic Revival and Modernity: The Contemporary Movements and the Historical Paradigms”). It has been as diversified as it was during the early modern ages, during the beginning of the 15th century. However, one significant difference that can be witnessed studying the overall changes that the Muslim world had to experience throughout the 15th century until the early 20th century can be identified in the form of its social structure, political advancement and cultural stability as well as openness. Undoubtedly, the modern Muslim world is much stable and structured unlike the early modern ages when clashes between empires and colonial territories were common. Undergoing pressures from world political groups and religious ups and downs, the modern Muslim world, by the beginning of 20th century, began taking a precise shape (Nasr, “European Colonialism and the Emergence of Modern Muslim States”). CONCLUSION The aim of the study, as mentioned above, was to assess and to identify the most influential events that have played a pivotal role in shaping the modern Muslim world. Correspondingly, after studying the various events that has been witnessed by the Muslim world since the beginning of the 15th century till the early 20th century, it can be affirmed that neither of the events had been insignificant. However, when comparing the influences caused by the various encounters discussed above in shaping the modern Muslim world, it can be affirmed that the defeat of Constantinople by Mehmed II in the 15th century, conquests of the Mughals and the Safavids in the Eastern hemisphere during the 15th and 16th centuries, as well as the colonialism effects on the Muslim world in the 17th and 18th centuries, were most significant. For instance, it was in the aftermath of the defeat of Constantinople by Mehmed II that gave rise to far reaching intellectual trade relationships of the Muslim world with the non-Muslim communities which started giving shape the economic structure of the Muslim world of the modern era. Contextually, with the expansion of the Mughals and the Safavids, Islam came in liaison with other communities which not only played an inevitable role in advancing the artistry skills as well as heritage of the early modern Muslim world, but also shaped its socio-political structure. Again, the colonization effects also had its long lasting contribution in shaping the modern Muslim world in the form of contemporary state development. To be precise, it was in the aftermath of the colonial riots that the Muslim states started taking the contemporary shapes of political territories; thus, structuring the modern Muslim world of the 20th century. Nevertheless, it is to be mentioned that many other events have been studied to have its influence on the modern Muslim world which requires further research and more critical understanding of the issue to critic the event which had its strongest influence on this particular human race. Works Cited Blanchard, Christopher M. “Islam: Sunnis and Shiites”. Congressional Research Service 2009: 1-5. Print. “Battle of Chaldiran”. The Islamic World to 1600. The University of Calgary, 1998. Web 10 Jun. 2013 . Bijlefeld, Willem A. “Christian-Muslim Relations: A Burdensome Past, a Challenging Future”. Word & World Vol. XVI, No 2, 1996: 117-128. Goldstone, Jack A. “The Problem of the "Early Modern" World”. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 41, No. 3 1998: 249-284. Print. Kissling, H. J., Spuler, Bertold, Barbour, N., Trimingham, J. S., Braun, H. and Hartel, J. The Last Great Muslim Empires. Netherlands: BRILL, 1997. Print. Lane, Jan-Erik. Religion and Politics: Islam and Muslim Civilisation. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Print. Lapidus, Ira M. “Islamic Revival and Modernity: The Contemporary Movements and the Historical Paradigms”. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 40, No. 4 1997: 444-460. Print. Nasr, S. V. R. “European Colonialism and the Emergence of Modern Muslim States”. Chapter 13. Oxford Islamic Studies, 2013. Web 10 Jun. 2013. . Necipoglu, G. “From Byzantine Constantinople to Ottoman Kostantiniyye: Creation of a Cosmopolitan Capital and Visual Culture under Sultan Mehmed II”. Harvard No Date: 262-502. Print. Zaimeche, S. “Granada-The Last Refuge of Muslims in Spain”. The Foundation of Science Technology and Civilisation 2004: 1-20. Print. Read More