Early modern empires in Asia and Europe
While Europeans expanded overseas, powerful land empires in Asia and new religious and political changes in Europe shaped the early modern world.
The Ottoman Empire
The Ottomans captured Constantinople in 1453, renaming it Istanbul, and expanded into southeastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Under Suleiman the Magnificent (ruled 1520-1566), the empire reached its height, besieging Vienna in 1529. It ruled a diverse population, allowing religious communities (millets) a degree of self-governance.
The Mughal Empire
Babur founded the Mughal Empire in India in 1526. Akbar (ruled 1556-1605) expanded it and promoted religious tolerance among Hindus and Muslims. Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal as a tomb for his wife. Aurangzeb expanded the empire further but imposed stricter Islamic policies, and the empire weakened after his death in 1707.
Ming and Qing China
The Ming dynasty (1368-1644) rebuilt the Great Wall in its familiar form and the Forbidden City in Beijing. The Manchu Qing dynasty (1644-1912) expanded China to its largest extent. China's economy was the world's largest for much of this period, exporting silk, porcelain, and tea, and importing silver.
Tokugawa Japan
After a century of civil war, the Tokugawa shogunate unified Japan in 1603. It restricted contact with Europeans from the 1630s, allowing limited Dutch and Chinese trade at Nagasaki, and banned Christianity. Japan enjoyed over two centuries of peace, urban growth, and cultural flourishing.
The Renaissance
The Renaissance, beginning in Italy in the 1300s-1400s, revived interest in classical Greek and Roman learning. Humanists emphasised human potential and study of classical texts. Artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo achieved new realism. Johannes Gutenberg's printing press with movable type (about 1440s-1450s) spread ideas rapidly.
The Reformation
In 1517, Martin Luther published his Ninety-Five Theses criticising the Catholic Church's sale of indulgences. Protestant churches emerged, including Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican (after Henry VIII broke with Rome in 1534). The Catholic Counter-Reformation, including the Council of Trent and the Jesuits, responded. Religious wars followed, ending in the Peace of Westphalia (1648).
The Scientific Revolution
From the 1500s-1600s, thinkers transformed understanding of nature through observation, experiment, and mathematics. Copernicus proposed a Sun-centred universe (1543); Galileo used the telescope and was tried by the Inquisition in 1633; Isaac Newton's laws of motion and universal gravitation (1687) explained both earthly and celestial motion.
Worked example
The printing press amplified the Reformation. Luther's writings were printed in huge numbers, in German rather than Latin, reaching readers across Europe within weeks. Earlier reformers such as Jan Hus had been suppressed; printing made Luther's ideas impossible to contain, showing how technology can change the course of religious and political history.
Key takeaways
The Ottomans took Constantinople in 1453 and peaked under Suleiman. The Mughals ruled India from 1526; Akbar promoted tolerance; Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal. The Ming and Qing ruled a powerful China. Tokugawa Japan unified the country in 1603 and limited foreign contact. The Renaissance revived classical learning; Gutenberg's press spread ideas. Luther's 1517 theses began the Reformation, ending in religious wars and the Peace of Westphalia (1648). Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton led the Scientific Revolution.
Flashcard
1453 to the Ottomans
Check your understanding
How did the printing press help the Protestant Reformation spread?