Download Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition by Norman Itzkowitz PDF

Show description

Selim’s drive to the Red Sea may have been his response to the oceanic revolu­ tion ushered in by Vasco da Gama's circumnavigation of Africa and by the extension of Portuguese naval strength to the Indian Ocean. Ottoman expansion into North Africa between 1515 and 1519 can be seen in the same light. The Mamluks, hampered by a lack of timber and possessed of a cultural tradition that extolled horseman­ ship and knightly virtues to the detriment of firearms and naval skills, had not been equal to the task of defending Islamic interests against the Portuguese.

Suleiman mounted two full-scale campaigns against the Safavids, one in 1533 and the other in 1548. Both were preceded by peace or truce arrange­ ments patched together in Europe that enabled the sultan to shift his forces eastward. In the first campaign Suleiman brought Tabriz and Baghdad under his control, along with the important trade routes that passed through those cities. As soon as he turned his attention to Europe, the Safavids retook Tabriz. In the second campaign Suleiman retook Tabriz.

After 1525, following Francis I’s defeat at the hands of the Hapsburgs at Pavia, the French sought Ottoman support as a counterweight to Hapsburg power. The French-Ottoman alliance became an integral part of the European state system and a factor in the balance of power. Although at times France proved to be an unreliable ally, the Ottomans pressed forward on their own western flank, where their advance became a significant factor in the recognition and spread of Protes­ tantism. Support for France and the Protestants, as well as for other anti-Hapsburg elements, such as the Muslims and Jews ejected from Spain, was the cornerstone of Otto­ man policy in Europe at this time.