The importance of Islam to Europe between 1500 and 1800s is the contributions that made to
European society such as architecture, military, medicine, and, technology. Even though
Europe had an ethnocentric attitude and thought other civilizations were “inferior” they utilized
their knowledge for themselves. Such as their military, everything about the Muslim social order
revolved around war, which was how empires prospered and conquered land. They were ready
for war. But they were not just power-hungry they knew how to rule their empire and make it run
smoothly. An example is their agriculture, they had narrowed down planting and harvesting to
science, and used the over production to feed millions of people. The Muslim Empires also
developed in the arts, sciences and mathematics, which was why Islam teaching was the
foundation to what we are learning today.
One of Muslim Empires that expanded into what is now Iraq and Egypt was the Ottoman Turks.
These people were mostly war orientated which was how they out smarted their rivals and
quickly expanded their empires. The Turks rose this fast because of strong leadership
and kept a warrior aristocracy. This social class of soldiers was granted control over land and
peasants. As they kept on getting bigger, they wanted direct control of the Ottoman
bureaucracy. Captured prisoners who were strong enough to fight were put into an infantry
division called the Janissaries. Even they were legally slaves they educated and later converted.
The Janissaries were vital to defend against enemy attacks of the Christian and Muslim
adversaries. As the Ottoman Empire continued to prosper future sultans began getting weaker,
because of their riches and good fortune. The sultans focused on being remembered by
building elaborate mosques rather than reinforcing communication and security around the
empire. Because of the sultans being relaxed and thinking that no one can conquer their
empire, lead to their down fall.
Another important empire was the Mughals, which were Muslim. Shah Akbar made huge
reforms to society during his rule, such as giving women the chance to pursue education and
encouraging widows to remarry. Along with those reforms Akbar tolerated different religious
practices during his rule, such Hindu and Muslim. Also he provided education for the lower class, so that they could advance in life. He also gave women power over political offices. It was
the first time in history when women realized that they can take over a position that had influence.
What many people do not realize is Europe’s knowledge comes from Islamic teaching of math
and design that is put into buildings. Also in Central Asia they contributed spices, different
clothes and the Islamic religion. Islamic societies set a high bar when it came to gorgeous
places of worship, expensive courts, and gardens. It is not known Europe took them as an
example and tried to build palaces and courts in their image. We have not truly realized how
mixed our society and where the foreign starts and the native begins.
The Ottomans ruled with ambition, they took over the lands of the fallen Constantinople and
conquered over villages and kingdoms until the Ottoman Empire expanded. But also the legacy
of the Ottoman Empire did not extinguish, simply because it fell. Its remnants still live on in our building, knowledge and faith.Explanation:
