Ottomans
Turkic people who advanced from strongholds in Asia Minor during 1350s, conquered large part of Balkans; unified under Mehmed I; captured Constantinople in 1453; established empire from Balkans that included most Arab world.
Mehmed II
Ottoma sultan called the "conqueror"; responsible for conquest of Constantinople in 1453; destroyed what remained of Byzantine Empire.
Janissaries
Ottoman infantry divisions that dominated Ottoman armies; forcibly conscripted as boys in conquered areas of Balkans, legally slaves; translated military service into political influence, particularly after 15th century.
Vizier
Ottoman equivalent of the Abbasid wazir; head of the Ottoman bureaucracy; after 5th century often more powerful than sultan.
Safavid dynasty
Originally a Turkic nomadic group; family originated in Sufi mystic group; espoused Shi'ism ; conquered territory and established kingdom in region equivalent to modern Iran; lasted until 1722.
Isma'il
Sufi commander who conquered city of Tabriz in 1501; first Safavid to be proclaimed shah or emperor.
Chaldiran
Sit of battle between Safavids and Ottomans; checked western advance of Safavid Empire.
Abbas the Great
Safavid ruler from 1587 to 1629; extended Safavid domain to greatest extent; created slave regiments based on captured Russians, who monopolized firearms within Safavid armies; incorporated Western military technology.
Imams
According to Shi'ism, rulers who could trace descent from the successors of Alli.
Mullahs
Local mosque officials and prayer leaders within the Safavid Empire; agents of Afavid religious campaign to convert all of population to Shi'ism.
Mughal dyansty
Established by Babur in India in 1526; the name is taken from the supposed Mongol descent of Babur. but there is little indication of many Mongol influence in the dynasty; became weak after rule of Aurangzeb in first decades of 18th century.
Babur
Founder of Mughal dynasty in India; descended from Turkic warriors; first led invasion of India in 1536; died 1530
Akbar
Son and successor of Humayan; oversaw building of military and administrative systems that became typical of Mughal rule in India; pursued policy of cooperation with Hindu princes; attempted to create new religion to bind Muslim and Hindu populations of India.
din-i-Ilahi
Rligion initiated by Akbar in Mughal India; blended elements of the many faiths of the subcontinent; key to efforts to reconcile Hindus and Muslims in India, but failed.
Taj Mahal
Most famous architectural achievement of Mughal India; originally built a mausoleum for the wife of Shah Jahan, Mauntaz Mahal.
Shah
An ancient Persian term for king reintroduced in the early 1500s during the expansion of safavid empire
Jizya
Head tax paid by all nonbelievers in Islamic territories
Marattas
western Indian peoples who rebelled against Mughal control early in the 18th century
Sikhs
sect in northwestern India; early leaders tried to bridge differences between Hindu and Muslim, but Mughal persecution led to an anti-Muslim feeling