Suleyman and Shah Abbas

For the snow day assignment, we had to compare Suleyman the Magnificient of the Ottoman Empire and Shah Abbas of the Sufavid Empire based on what we learned in the Youtube clips. In class on Thursday, we took an even closer look at Suleyman and Shah Abbas and were able to compare and contrast them even more. I thought it was interesting that two empires who were battling each other for centuries could have two rulers that were so similar. One of the biggest similarities that we learned about in class is that they were both warrior kings. When both rulers died, their respected empires became a little more eroded because they were great at keeping their empires together.

For me, I like learning about Shah Abbas more than Suleyman the Magnificient because I think his rule over the empire is more interesting. One fact that I found the most interesting about Shah Abbas is that he started his own army called the Qullar. The Qullar was a slave army made of Christians from Georgia and Armenia, and he payed them out of his own pocket. In order to be able to pay them, he created imperial lands in the interior of the country, which brought more area under direct rule. The Qullar is an idea similar to the janissaries of the Ottoman Empire. The janissaries were made up of young people who were originally Christians (like the Qullar), but they were converted to Islam. Shah Abbas was smart in paying the Qullar with his own money because by doing so, the Qullar had to remain completely loyal to him in order to get payed. I think that if the ruler of the Ottoman Empire thought to do this, then the Sultan and the janissaries would have gotten along more peacefully. Although the Sufavid Empire and the Ottoman Empire were different from each other, they both had rulers that had a lasting effect on the well-being of the empire.

Snow Day Assignment

This Thursday, class was cancelled due to a significant amount of snow we received. Just like everyone else, I was happy that class was cancelled, but I knew that we still had an assignment to do. This is one of the only assignments that I had to do for a class that was cancelled that I actually enjoyed. I thought that the clips we watched were interesting and were an excellent portrayal of the Middle East and a good reflection of what we have been learning in class. I thought that the videos made the Middle East look like a beautiful area even in the midst of the constant conflicts occurring over there. The architecture of the palaces that we got to see from the Safavid Empire and the Ottoman Empire were beautiful. It was fascinating to see how much thought went into the architecture of those buildings. For example, the walls were constructed so that when music would play, the sounds would bounce off the walls and make it sound even more beautiful than it would be in a room that was constructed differently. I liked to pay attention to how the Shah Abbas ruled and how Suleiman the Magnificent ruled to see what the differences and similarities between the two were. Although the two leaders were from different parts of the Middle East and had different beliefs, both leaders still had a huge impact on their empires. Both benefitted the empire greatly. Suleiman freed prisoners who were unjustly in prison, and he significantly improved the life of the slaves. Shah Abbas transformed the economic, religious, and social landscape of the country. This snow day assignment was great because it taught me more about the Middle East that I did not know and was therefore beneficial.

Janissaries

In the past two classes, we have been learning about janissaries. Janissaries made up the army of the Ottoman Empire, and they were mostly Christian. The members of the janissaries were chosen through the process of the devshirme, or "boy tax." The devshirme occurred every seven years, and it was when the Ottoman Empire would come to a village priest and ask him for the names of all the boys in town between the ages of seven and seventeen. These boys could not be taken if they were the only son, or if their mother was a widow. These young boys would be traine for another seven years before they joined a troop. Janissaries could retire at the age of forty five and only then could they get married. When a janissary died, the wealth that he accumulated would go back to the Sultan. Every boy who became a janissary was converted to Islam, but if you were born a Muslim, you could not become a janissary.

There are many connections between what we are covering in class and what I have read so far in The Red Apple, by Jonathan Levitan. The book is about a young boy who is taken from his mother to become a janissary. The interesting thing about the book though is that even though the boy, Ibrahim, is the only son of a widowed woman, the Ottomans still take him to become a janissary even though that is not allowed. The novel gives a very detailed description about the life of a janissary and the hardships they face. There were two scenes that I found difficult to read in the pages that I have read so far. They were the scene when Ibrahim had to say goodbye to his mother and when he was circumcised. Although these scenes were difficult to get through, it made the novel seem more realistic, and it really put into perspective what these young janissaries had to endure.

As we continue learning in this class, I expect to make more connections between my class notes and The Red Apple.