Essay On Gunpowder Empires

The Islamic Gunpowder Empires, which were the Mughals, The Ottomans, and the Savafids, all had different reasons for declining in power, while the European powers had their own reasons for growing in power. The Mughals declined in strength because religious intolerance led to revolts, the Ottomans declined in power because their economy weakened due to new European trade routes, and the Savafids declined in power because they were outcompeted by neighboring nations with guns, what they believed to be “unmanly” and stopped using. The European powers grew because new trade routes allowed for more cultural diffusion, leading to new innovation and technology, and a population increase due to the introduction of new foods.

The Mughal Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Savafid Empire, known as the “Islamic Gunpowder Empires,” had

Aurangzeb’s religious intolerance began the end of the Mughal Empire, whereas the European discovery of new trade routes to Asia bypassing the Muslims crippled the Ottoman economy, and the Savafid Empire’s abandonment of guns led to them falling behind technologically and militarily. In contrast, new European trade routes brought new technology and new food to Europe, allowing for technological innovation and population growth. The decline of the Gunpowder Empires and the growth of the Europeans can be compared to the eventual decline of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin and the growth of the United States. The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin was an atheist country and oppressed religion, just like Aurangzeb did with the Hindus. Under Stalin, the Soviet Union also fell behind technologically because Stalin felt computers did not comply with Soviet ideals. On the other hand, the United States was able to benefit technologically because it exchanged ideas with friendly