Early Modern: South Asia
Political:
- Mughal empire was made by a Central Asian warrior Babur. He claimed to be he descendent of Chinggis Khan and Timur. This empire created a long interaction phase between Muslims and Hindus.
- most of India was politically united under the Mughal empire
- Akbar - Mughal India's most famous emperor. He married several non-Islamic princesses. He gave political and military power to Hindus. He supported the building of Hindu temples. He expanded India's borders. He also lessened the restrictions on Hindu women.
- More restraints were placed on the ulama. (religious scholars)
- Jizya was removed. (special tax on non-Muslims)
- Aurangzeb was a ruler who reversed Akbar's legacy and restored original Islamic law.
Economy:
- Due to high taxes on non-Muslims, the majority lived in poverty.
- Vasco de Gama created a trading route of commerce between Europe and India.
- Indian cottons were in great demand.
- Europeans disliked relying on Muslim trading networks.
- Indian merchants demanded to be paid in silver or gold.
- The Portuguese created trading posts in Goa on the west coast of India by using their military advantage.
- Mughal India constantly resisted Portuguese commercial control.
- The English established trading company posts in Bombay, Calcutta, and Mandras. They secures their trading posts with bribes and focused on Indian cotton textiles, which were constantly in high demand.
Religion:
- Bhakti - a new devotional form of Hinduism that sought to achieve union with Gods through Songs, prayers, dances, poetry, and rituals.
- The ruling family and about 20% of the population were Muslims while the rest of the population was Hindu.
- Hindus were brought into positions in the government but were later removed.
- The Mughal Emperor Akbar created his own state cult, a religious faith aimed at the elites, combing aspects of Islam, Hinduism, and Zoroastrianism and emphasizing loyalty to the emperor.
- Muslims became displeased with Akbar's blend of religion and wanted a more "authentic" Islam.
- Aurangeb brought back original religious policies, causing Hindu and Muslim separation, fragmenting the Empire.
- Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak. It became popular in the Punjab region. They keep their hair and beard uncut and wear turbans. They blend Hindu and Muslim element to form their own religion.
Society:
- Akbar tried to make Muslim and Hindus work together by incorporating Hindus into the military and government positions. Akbar tried elevating the social status of women by encouraging remarriage of widows, discouraging marriage at a young age, and discouraging practices like sati.
- Sati is when a widow follows her husband to death by throwing herself on is funeral pyre. This was a sign of women's inferiority to men.
- The rules Auragzeb imposed on Hindus further divided the two cultures.
- Bhakti appealed to women because it provided an avenue from social criticism.
- Bhakti and Sikhism bridged the divine between Muslims and Hindus.
Intellectuals:
- The worlds first multi shot gun was invented
- Public hospitals existed in the Mughal Empire.
- Vaccinations for smallpox were introduced by the Europeans
- The Scientific Revolutin in Europe brought new ways of thinking to people; including the people in India.
- Europeans were the center of a massive exchange of information since they contained knowledge of foreign lands, plants, animals, and peoples.
- The philosopher Shayk Ahmad claimed to be the "renewer" of authentic Islam in his time
- Bhakti practitioners often wrote religious poems.
Arts & Architecture
- Through songs, prayers, dances, poetry, and rituals, devotees of bhakti sought to find spiritual unity with gods.
- Jahangir and Shah Jahan increased painting workshops.
- Some paintings exhibited the influence of European paintings.
- Miniatures commonly made to traditional Islamic topics such as court life scenes, battle scenes, or animals and plants.
- The Taj Mahal was built during this time period.
- Mughal architecture incorporates Persian and Hindu influence.
- Sikhs made colorful manuscript paintings.
- Guru Nanak is a Sikh painting.
Near Geography:
- Turkic warriors immigrated from Central Asia to India and conquered the natives there.
- India's' latitude and climate varies, but allows them to grow cotton sufficiently.
- Vasco de Gama, accompanied by the
European goods, moved from Europe and reached India through the Indian Ocean. - Southern tip of India was never conquered.
- Mountains were in the north, deserts in the west, and a coastline surrounds India on three sides.
Ways of the World - Strayer
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indian-Subcontinent.jpg
http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/art-149880
http://www.anindianmuslim.com/2010/12/celebrating-mughal-emperor-akbars.html
http://www.internetstones.com/emperor-aurangzebs-collection-of-pearls-shown-to-tavernier-during-his-sixth-voyage.html
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shaykh-Ahmad.jpg
http://freethoughtblogs.com/taslima/2012/06/03/the-living-dead-2/
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indian-Subcontinent.jpg
http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/art-149880
http://www.anindianmuslim.com/2010/12/celebrating-mughal-emperor-akbars.html
http://www.internetstones.com/emperor-aurangzebs-collection-of-pearls-shown-to-tavernier-during-his-sixth-voyage.html
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shaykh-Ahmad.jpg
http://freethoughtblogs.com/taslima/2012/06/03/the-living-dead-2/