World History up to 1500: The Ottomans, the Mamluks, and the Ming Q&A

Question: What motivation did Orthodox Christians have for accepting Ottoman rule?
Answer: Orthodox Christians knew that Ottomans were enemies of the Roman Catholic nations of Europe. The Roman Catholic nations objected to Orthodox Christianity. The Ottomans, however, allowed Orthodox Christians to worship as they chose. The tax burden was also lower.

Question: In what ways did the empire founded by Timur geographically resemble that founded by Chinggis Khan?
Answer: Timur conquered many of the areas that Chinggis Khan and his descendants had held, including Persia and central Asia.

Question: How did the intellectual movement of humanism affect Europeans’ view of human beings?
Answer: Humanism stressed the beauty and dignity of human beings as opposed to their sinful, “fallen” nature. Humanists regarded people as being worthy of study.

Question: In what ways was the Janissary system of the Ottomans similar to the mamluk system in Egypt?
Answer: Like the mamluks, the Janissaries had been enslaved as children, trained, and forced to convert to Islam. Both the Janissaries and the mamluks served as soldiers and administrators.

Question: Other than religious piety, what motives did the Mamluk sultans have for establishing mosques and charitable institutions?
Answer: The Mamluks were not Arabs and their rule might have been resented, so they wanted to emphasize that they shared a common religion with their subjects. Mosques and charitable institutions helped them build this connection.

Question: How successful was Zhu Yuanzhang at improving life for China’s poor?
Answer: Zhu Yuanzhang attempted to improve life for China’s poor by increasing taxes on the wealthy and abolishing slavery. However, the great cost of maintaining the army prevented him from helping the poor as much as he might have.

Question: What impact did the adoption of gunpowder have on the Ottoman Empire?
Answer: The adoption of gunpowder allowed the Ottomans to finally defeat the Byzantine Empire by destroying the walls of Constantinople. Unlike European states, however, the Ottoman state did not become centralized as a result of the adoption of gunpowder because it was already centralized.