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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