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The Ottomans and the gunpowder empires (1450–1650)
Grade 12 · World History since the Fifteenth Century, Grade 12, University Preparation (CHY4U) · Strand B · B1, B2, B3 · 75 min
Mapped by the museum, not endorsed by the Ministry.
A CHY4U pathway on three Muslim empires that ruled from the Balkans to Bengal between 1450 and 1650: the conquest of Constantinople, Mehmed II and Suleiman, Istanbul and its mosques, the Safavids and the Mughals, and what gunpowder, administration and art the three shared.
Lesson goal
Students analyse the political and economic structures of the gunpowder empires, their relations with their neighbours, and the contribution of named rulers and artists to their identity between 1450 and 1650.
What the lesson does, in the museum's words
The lesson covers 1450–1650 in a non-European region through three states: political and economic structures (the divan, the army, trade), relations between neighbouring groups and states (Ottomans and Safavids, Ottomans and Europe), and the contribution of named individuals (Mehmed II, Suleiman, the court architect) to identity and heritage through architecture and law.
The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: Canadian and World Studies, 2015
Seventy-five minutes. The confessional difference between Ottomans and Safavids is shown by the museum with each position named before it is stated and without a verdict: a good place to teach 'historical perspective' from strand A.
Lesson steps
- The Ottoman state — From an Anatolian principality to an empire on three continents: structure, army and divan. · Ottoman Empire
- Mehmed II and the conquest of Constantinople — 1453: the great cannon, and the city that became Istanbul. · السلطان محمد الفاتح · Conquest of Constantinople in 857 AH
- Istanbul and Hagia Sophia — An old capital refashioned: from church to mosque, from Roman city to Ottoman city. · Istanbul · Hagia Sophia
- Suleiman the Lawgiver — The longest-reigning sultan of the century: law, army, and frontiers with Europe and Persia. · سليمان القانوني
- The Suleymaniye Mosque — The court architect Sinan and a dome over the city: architecture as power. · Süleymaniye Mosque
- The Safavids in Iran — A rival state of a different confession: Isfahan, the frontier, and war and trade with the Ottomans. · Safavid Iran
- The Mughals in India — Babur and Akbar: a Muslim empire ruling a non-Muslim majority. · Mughal Empire
- The age of the gunpowder empires — What the three shared, cannon, divan and miniature painting, and what divided them. · The Gunpowder Empires
Worksheet
Answer in your own words after each step; every question points back to a museum page.
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What did cannon change in fifteenth-century warfare? Use the example of 1453.
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How did the Ottomans refashion Istanbul after the conquest? Name two buildings.
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What does the title 'Lawgiver' mean, and how does law relate to a vast empire?
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Compare Ottoman–Safavid relations with Ottoman relations with one European state.
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Why do historians group the three states as 'gunpowder empires'? Does the label convince you?
Answer key
Each worksheet question is answered by one step; the number points to the step.
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What did cannon change in fifteenth-century warfare? Use the example of 1453.
2 Mehmed II and the conquest of Constantinople — 1453: the great cannon, and the city that became Istanbul. · السلطان محمد الفاتح · Conquest of Constantinople in 857 AH
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How did the Ottomans refashion Istanbul after the conquest? Name two buildings.
3 Istanbul and Hagia Sophia — An old capital refashioned: from church to mosque, from Roman city to Ottoman city. · Istanbul · Hagia Sophia
5 The Suleymaniye Mosque — The court architect Sinan and a dome over the city: architecture as power. · Süleymaniye Mosque
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What does the title 'Lawgiver' mean, and how does law relate to a vast empire?
4 Suleiman the Lawgiver — The longest-reigning sultan of the century: law, army, and frontiers with Europe and Persia. · سليمان القانوني
-
Compare Ottoman–Safavid relations with Ottoman relations with one European state.
6 The Safavids in Iran — A rival state of a different confession: Isfahan, the frontier, and war and trade with the Ottomans. · Safavid Iran
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Why do historians group the three states as 'gunpowder empires'? Does the label convince you?
8 The age of the gunpowder empires — What the three shared, cannon, divan and miniature painting, and what divided them. · The Gunpowder Empires
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