HIST 057 CM - Gunpowder Empires: Safavids, Ottomans, & Mughals

This course is an introduction to the history of the regional Islamic empires of the early modern period: the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals. Beginning with the settlement of the Turko-Mongol steppe peoples, the course goes on to examine the formation of Islamic states and societies in the years 1400-1900. Topics to be studied include: frontier warriors (ghazi) and the Turkic military patronage system, the creation of Sunni and Shi’i Islamic empires, ethnic and religious communities, the making of frontiers and borderlands, and the changing relations between Islamic states and the West. Particular attention will be paid to the ways in which early modern empires ruled over heterogeneous populations before the transformations of the 19^th century and the rise of nation states.

Offered: Every fall

Credit: 1

Course Number: HIST057 CM