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The course focuses on the so-called gunpowder
empires of the Islamic world of the early
modern era, i.e. the Ottoman Empire, Mughal
India and Safavid Iran. As part of a universal
trend, it was this age when much of the
current territorial, confessional, political, social and
cultural boundaries dividing the Islamic world were
set up. The course consists of three units.
After an introduction, first it focuses on the political
history of these polities, compares them with
each other from various aspects, including religion,
administration, the military, economy, trade,
the role of and attitude to minorities, as well as
various facets of culture. Lastly it revisits
these issues by way of a critique of decline narratives
related to the Islamic World. It discusses Ottoman,
Safavid and Mughal history not only as comparative
but also as connected phenomena.
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