Islamic Gunpowder Empires: Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals

by Douglas E. Streusand

Islamic Gunpowder Empires provides readers with a history of Islamic civilization in the early modern world through a comparative examination of Islam's three greatest empires: the Ottomans (centered in what is now Turkey), the Safavids (in modern Iran), and the Mughals (ruling the Indian subcontinent). Author Douglas Streusand explains the origins of the three empires; compares the ideological, institutional, military, and economic contributors to their success; and analyzes the causes of their rise, expansion, and ultimate transformation and decline. Streusand depicts the three empires as a part of an integrated international system extending from the Atlantic to the Straits of Malacca, emphasizing both the connections and the conflicts within that system. He presents the empires as complex polities in which Islam is one political and cultural component among many. The treatment of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires incorporates contemporary scholarship, dispels common misconceptions, and provides an excellent platform for further study.

Genres: History, Islam, Nonfiction, Iran, India, Middle East, World History

408 pages, Paperback

First published October 5, 2010

Reviews

[马尔马拉海的鱼 · Rating 4 out of 5]

so dry to read,extensive but not interesting

[Anders · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author makes a point from the outset of rejecting commonplace assumptions, "neat" categorizations and retrospective reasoning in explaining the emergence, success and decline of the three Islamic empires he studies.
The result, though dense and demanding at times, works both as an excellent introduction to the topic for the curious and patient reader, and as a critical reappraisal of the empires' legacies. Special attention is given, alongside accounts of military and cultural developments, to changing conceptions of imperial legitimacy and the relationship of the centre to its economic base (or lack thereof). Overall thought-provoking, packed with details and eminently worthwhile.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good read.

[Ryan Apperson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A drier read, but top-class scholarship that vastly increased my understanding of Early Modern history in the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent. Streusand depicts an Islamic world upended by the collapse of the Abbasids and struggling for stability ever since, at last finding it in the development of centralized empires by messianic movements amongst the Turkic tribes in the late Medieval and Early Modern periods in the form of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires. I felt Streusand had a slightly annoying tendency to spend time obfuscating the reality of systemic decline and lack of effective central control, and his linguistic transliteration choices were generally unconventional, but he paints a clear picture of rise and adaptation of these three empires from tribal confederacy or warrior band to centralized bureaucratic state, and from messianic revolutionary cults to imperial religious ideologies. As someone interested in the region and its history, I found a lot to appreciate in Gunpowder Empires, and can recommend it confidently.

[Revanth Ukkalam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah at last! One of the first books to enter my to-read list on Goodreads. Finally done. This book tracks briefly the origins, rise, fruition and decline both dramatic and consistent of the three "Islamic Gunpowder Empires": the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals. They emerge from the abyss of the defeat of the Abassids by the Mongols. They have similarities but vast differences as well. In tracing their stories the book is partially a parallel history text. Streusand studies not just the parallel histories but follows significantly the parallel ideologies, polities, and lives. And it as much about the roots of these worldviews as it is about the Emperors, their conquests, victories (or defeats) and contributions. This book has much to offer as an introduction. You want a bird's eye view of Early Modern Asia from the Mediterranean to the Bay of Bengal you got it here.

[Tinwerume · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a *decent* introductory history of the three eponymous empires. I'm honestly torn on it - I've found it very difficult to find good histories of the Safavids especially, so this is winning in that empty playing field. The sections on the Ottomans and the Mughals are less recommended.

Some pros:
- It's very much an *intro* / overview, with *relatively* little analysis. I don't know nearly enough about this history to assess analysis, so I appreciate that.
- It does a fairly good job of explaining what academic work it's building on

Some cons:
- It's *very* dry

It's also heavily focused on the level of rulers - even the non political history sections are still mostly about the changes and policies of individual rulers. Not necessarily a pro or con, it's not like one book can cover every perspective, but important to know.

Overall: definitely a step up from pop history, but after finishing it I don't feel that I've even reached 101 level in any of these histories.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the book was below average, but still useful. The author put in significant research. The length (288 pages) was ideal. It provided useful comparison between and explanation of the three empires. However, in my opinion, the book's explanatory usefulness would have improved through more (or a different kind of) editing. Fewer names cataloged and fewer native-language terms introduced, would have made for a more focused overarching presentation.

[Cath Holden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great resource!