3.7: The Decline of the Gunpowder Empires

Common Problems

The gunpowder empires entered into decline for a number of reasons. They engaged in long costly wars which drained resources without bringing benefits. None of the empires made the necessary investments for sustained growth and a strong military. European military technology was advancing rapidly but the Islamic empires could not keep up. There was no research and development or efforts to mass produce the newest weapons. Similar to Qing China, there was resistance to learn about science and technology from Western Europe. Succession issues also created instability in all three Gunpowder Empires. The Turks never developed clear lines of succession. Brothers, nephews, and uncles all claimed to be legitimate heirs.

The Ottoman Empire

During the 1600s, a sense of decline became a preoccupation of the Ottoman elite. There were several failed attempts to advance into western Europe, but the Ottomans were defeated by the German Habsburgs. With the end of territorial expansion, the driving engine for Ottoman prosperity was gone. Some government officials recognized the European threat, but Ottoman Janissaries opposed modernizing the military. Although the janissaries would be dismantled, it was too late for the Ottoman Empire to catch up militarily with the West.

Succession issues also created instability in the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, the sultan’s palace was a place of mistrust and fear which increased as the Sultan got older. Royal princes were killed for potential rather than actual sedition. When an heir apparent had been designated, he was kept under virtual house arrest in a small room known as the “cage,” to protect him from possible rivals. Usually, this heir lacked any experience in government and was also often in poor health or even insane from his long confinement. Of the nine men who became sultans in the 1600s, only three were both adult and sane when they took power.

Similar to the Ming, foreign trade destabilized and weakened the Ottoman Empire. As a land-based empire, the focus was on agriculture and European merchants dominated international commerce. For the most part, the Ottoman government was unable to tap into the new wealth from the Americas. The government more and more sought to ban international trade. However, European merchants illegally traded silver for wheat, copper, and wool which were in demand in Europe. Since these goods were illegally exported, this trade did not generate revenue for the government which led to more government debt to pay administrative and military expenses. More silver and budget deficits resulted in higher taxes and inflation. These problems led to a number of rebellions against the government.

The Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire was at its height in the 1600s, and it controlled most of India. New lands came under cultivation in India in the 1600s, agricultural production grew, and peasants quickly adopted new world crops like corn and tobacco. Cotton exports generated prosperity and many peasants complemented agriculture with weaving.

However, the government did not tap into the wealth being generated from the Indian Ocean trade. The Mughals showed little interest in becoming a naval power. In general, the Mughals paid little attention to commerce, but local leaders encouraged Europeans to establish posts in Indian ports. Economic growth brought a loss of political power to the center. All this wealth created new powerful local and regional elites who challenged the authority of the Mughals. These elites increasingly used their wealth to take over areas with their own military forces. Large powerful kingdoms emerged like Bengal which were only nominally under the rule of the Mughals.

Emperor Aurangzeb (r. 1658-1707) spent the final quarter century of his life in a mostly failed attempt to conquer the Deccan Plateau of Central India from a variety of Muslim rulers. To pay for new conquests, he reimposed the taxes on Hindus. Akbar's policies of religious toleration were done away with. Hindu temples were destroyed under the orders of Aurangzeb and a decades long war was waged against the Hindu Marathas. Within a few years there were widespread revolts which merely caused the emperor to raise taxes to fund an army to put these revolts down. Figure 3.7.1 shows Emperor Aurangzeb holding court. He is seated and holding a hawk in his hand. Various officials are talking to him under a lavish canopy.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Aurangzeb Holds Court by Bichitr, Collection of Frances W. Pritchett, in the Public Domain

The Safavid Empire

The Safavid empire was vulnerable economically, because it relied on only one product: raw silk. The EIC and VOC dominated commerce in Iran by the end of the 1600s. Additionally, the Dutch and English had alternative sources for silk coming from India and China. Much of the wealth of Iran traveled to India and the Dutch East Indies in return for spices, cotton textiles, and other luxuries. Since precious metals flowed out of the empire, currency was then devalued. Political then unrest increased because of price inflation.

The Safavid empire entered a decline after Abbas I as most of the shahs who were inept. Increasingly, the high clerics, called ayatollas, became politically very powerful. These powerful clerics claimed to be leaders of Islam but lacked political authority until the late 1970s. Nevertheless, there was a dispute over who had the real religious authority, the Shah or the ayatollahs. The emperors spent more time devoted to religion and promoting Shiism and neglected the military which could not repel Afghan invasions who toppled the empire in 1722.

Review Questions

• How did increasing foreign trade destabilize the Gunpowder Empires?
• What other factors accounted for the decline of the Gunpowder Empires?