Rulers of Land-Based Empires (1450-1750)

Introduction

• Focus on how rulers maintained power and administered their empires.
• Key terms: Legitimizing power and Consolidating power.
  • Legitimizing power: Methods rulers use to demonstrate authority.
  • Consolidating power: Methods to centralize power from other groups.

Methods of Legitimizing and Consolidating Power

1. Bureaucratic Expansion

• Imperial Bureaucracies: Essential for administering expanding empires.
  • Example: Ottoman Empire's Devshirme System
    • Enslaved Christian boys in Balkans.
    • Educated in Turkish language and Islamic teachings.
    • Some joined military, others became bureaucrats.

2. Military Expansion

• Elite Military Professionals:
  • Example: Janissaries in the Ottoman Empire
    • Formed core of the standing army.
    • Comprised of enslaved Christians.

3. Use of Religion, Art, and Architecture

• Religion:
  • European Monarchs: Claimed divine right.
  • Aztecs: Used human sacrifice to show dominance and religious adherence.
• Art:
  • Qing Dynasty: Emperor Kangxi's portraits.
    • Displayed in Imperial City.
    • Depicted with Confucian values to gain Chinese acceptance.
• Architecture:
  • Palace of Versailles: Built for Louis XIV.
    • Demonstrated grandeur and consolidated power by housing nobility.
  • Inca Sun Temple, Cusco: Associated rulers with gods, legitimizing power.

Financing Militaries and Architecture

Systems of Taxation

• Mughal Empire: Zamindar system.
  • Local landowners collected taxes.
  • Consolidated power and extended authority.
• Ottoman Empire: Tax farming.
  • Right to collect taxes auctioned to highest bidder.
  • Provided income without paying tax collectors directly.

Conclusion

• Understanding these systems helps in reviewing historical methods of governance.
• Encouragement to use resources for further study and reinforcement.