Land-Based Empires: ADMINISTRATION [AP World History Review—Unit 3 Topic 2]
Summary
TLDRThis video explores how land-based Empires from 1450 to 1750, such as the Ottoman and Inca, legitimized and consolidated power. It discusses the creation of large bureaucracies, like the Ottoman's devshirme system, and the expansion of militaries with elite soldiers like the janissaries. The script also covers the use of religion, art, and architecture to legitimize rule, exemplified by European Divine Right, Aztec human sacrifice, Chinese Imperial portraits, and grand buildings like the Palace of Versailles. Lastly, it touches on taxation systems like the Mughal Empire's zamindar system and the Ottoman's tax farming.
Takeaways
- 🏰 The rulers of land-based empires between 1450 and 1750 had to find ways to maintain power and administer their empires.
- 👑 'Legitimize' refers to methods used by rulers to communicate their authority to subjects, while 'consolidate' refers to taking power from others and claiming it for themselves.
- 📚 The script provides resources for students who prefer video content over textbooks to succeed in their classes.
- 🛃 Large imperial bureaucracies were created to ensure laws were upheld across expanding empires, exemplified by the Ottoman Empire's Devshirme system.
- 👥 The Devshirme system involved enslaving Christian boys, educating them in Islamic teachings, and employing them in the military or bureaucracy.
- 🗡️ Elite military units like the Ottoman Janissaries, composed of enslaved Christians, were used to expand and protect empires.
- ⛪️ Religion was used to legitimize rule, with European monarchs claiming Divine Right and the Aztecs using human sacrifice to demonstrate power.
- 🖼️ Art was employed to legitimize power, such as Emperor Kangxi displaying portraits to convince the Chinese of his legitimacy.
- 🏰 Architecture was used to legitimize rule, like the Palace of Versailles and the Inca Sun Temple, showcasing the ruler's grandeur and power.
- 💰 Empires financed their militaries and monumental projects through taxation systems, such as the Mughal Empire's Zamindar system and the Ottoman tax farming system.
Q & A
What were the two important terms explained at the beginning of the video?
-The two important terms explained were 'legitimize' and 'consolidate'. 'Legitimize' refers to the methods a ruler uses to communicate who is in charge, while 'consolidate' refers to the methods used to take power from other groups and claim it for themselves.
How did the creation of large Imperial bureaucracies help legitimize and consolidate power?
-Large Imperial bureaucracies helped legitimize and consolidate power by ensuring that laws were kept throughout the Empire. As Empires expanded, the bureaucracies grew to administer these vast territories effectively.
What was the Devshirme system in the Ottoman Empire?
-The Devshirme system was a method by which the Ottomans staffed their Imperial bureaucracy with highly trained individuals, often enslaved Christians who were educated in the Islamic faith and trained to be effective administrators or soldiers.
How did the Ottoman Empire use the Devshirme system to create a standing army?
-The Ottoman Empire used the Devshirme system to supply elite soldiers known as the Janissaries, who were also made up of enslaved Christians and formed the core of the Ottoman standing army.
What is meant by rulers legitimizing their power through religion?
-Rulers legitimizing their power through religion involved claiming divine approval for their rule. For example, European monarchs claimed to rule by Divine Right, suggesting their rule was approved by God.
How did the Aztecs use religion to legitimize their power?
-The Aztecs used the religious practice of human sacrifice to legitimize their power. They believed that their sun god required regular human blood sacrifices to maintain his energy, and these public rituals reinforced the authority of the Aztec rulers.
How did Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty use art to legitimize his rule?
-Emperor Kangxi used art to legitimize his rule by displaying Imperial portraits of himself around the Imperial City. These portraits depicted him according to traditional Confucian values, appealing to his Chinese subjects and convincing them of his legitimacy despite being ethnically Manchu.
What was the purpose of the Palace of Versailles in consolidating power?
-The Palace of Versailles was used by Louis XIV to consolidate power by forcing the French nobility to live there part-time, thereby removing power from them and centralizing it under his control.
How did the Inca rulers use architecture to legitimize their rule?
-Inca rulers, considered direct descendants of the gods, built the Sun Temple in Cusco, adorned with gold and containing golden statues, to facilitate worship and legitimize their divine association and rule.
What was the Mughal Empire's system for collecting tax revenue called?
-The Mughal Empire's system for collecting tax revenue was called the zamindar system, where local landowners collected taxes on behalf of the emperor, extending Imperial authority.
How did the Ottoman Empire's tax farming system help consolidate power?
-The Ottoman Empire's tax farming system helped consolidate power by providing a reliable source of income from the bidding process at the beginning of each year. Tax farmers, who were not official bureaucrats, enriched themselves by collecting more taxes than required, which indirectly strengthened the empire's finances.
Outlines
🏛️ Power Consolidation in Land-Based Empires
This paragraph discusses how rulers of land-based empires from 1450 to 1750 managed to maintain and administer their power. It introduces the concept of legitimizing and consolidating power, explaining that legitimizing refers to the ruler's communication of authority, while consolidation involves taking power from other groups. The paragraph then explores three main ways rulers achieved this: through large imperial bureaucracies, military expansion, and the use of religion, art, and architecture. An example of a bureaucracy is the Ottoman Empire's Devshirme system, which trained enslaved Christians to become effective administrators and soldiers, known as the Janissaries. The paragraph also touches on European monarchs' claim to rule by Divine Right and the use of human sacrifice by the Aztecs to legitimize their rule.
💵 Financing Empires: Taxation Systems
The second paragraph delves into how empires financed their large militaries and monumental architecture. It discusses the Mughal Empire's zamindar system, where local landowners collected taxes on behalf of the emperor, extending imperial authority. The Ottoman Empire's tax farming system is also described, where the right to tax was auctioned to the highest bidder, providing a reliable income source for the government. Tax farmers enriched themselves by collecting more than the legally required amount, which also served to consolidate power by removing it from the nobility.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Legitimize
💡Consolidate
💡Bureaucracy
💡Devshirme
💡Janissaries
💡Divine Right
💡Human Sacrifice
💡Imperial Portraits
💡Palace of Versailles
💡Taxation
💡Zamindar System
Highlights
Rulers of land-based Empires from 1450 to 1750 had to figure out how to keep power and administer their Empires.
Two important terms: 'legitimize' and 'consolidate' power, which are crucial for understanding how rulers maintained control.
Legitimize power refers to methods used by rulers to communicate their authority to subjects.
Consolidate power involves taking power from other groups and claiming it for oneself.
First method of legitimizing and consolidating power was through large Imperial bureaucracies.
Bureaucracy is a collection of government officials ensuring laws are kept throughout the Empire.
The Ottoman Empire's dev Sher system as an example of staffing the bureaucracy with highly trained individuals.
Elite soldiers known as the janissaries were part of the Ottoman standing army, illustrating military expansion.
Second method was through religion, art, and architecture to legitimize and consolidate power.
European monarchs claimed to rule by Divine Right, associating their rule with the approval of God.
The Aztecs used human sacrifice as a religious practice to legitimize their power.
Art was used to legitimize power, as seen with Emperor Kangxi displaying portraits in the Imperial City.
Architecture was also used to legitimize rule, such as the Palace of Versailles built by Louis XIV.
The Inca Sun Temple in Cusco was built to facilitate worship and legitimize Inca rule.
Imperial rulers had to finance their militaries, monumental architecture, and other expenses.
The Mughal Empire established the zamindar system for tax collection to extend Imperial Authority.
The Ottoman Empire's tax farming system provided a reliable source of income for the government.
Transcripts
the rulers of land-based Empires from
1450 to 1750 had to figure out how to
keep power and how to administer their
Empires and baby that's what this video
is all about so if you're ready to get
them brain cows milked bureaucratically
then let's get to it okay now right here
at the beginning I need to explain two
very important terms that will probably
have you more confused than a fart in a
fan Factory this particular topic is all
about how rulers of landbased Empires
legitimized and Consolidated their power
you're going to see those words all over
your exams and your textbook reading and
if you don't know what they mean then in
the immortal words of elener shellstrop
you basic oh and by the way if you want
no guys to follow along with this video
in all my videos then check the link in
the description they're really good for
folks who don't like reading their
textbook but still want to do well in
their class so that's you check it out
anyway when rulers take measures to
legitimize their power that refers to
the methods the ruler uses to
communicate to all their underlings who
is in charge what's got two thumbs and
will cut your head off if you cross me
this guy on the other hand when rulers
take measures to consolidate power that
refers to the methods the ruler uses to
take power from other groups and claim
it for him or herself okay so now that
you understand those terms we need to
consider three way way rulers of
land-based Empires legitimized and
Consolidated their power first was
through the creation of large Imperial
bureaucracies and here's another
stinking word that you don't understand
so let's define it a bureaucracy is a
collection of government officials that
ensures that the laws are being kept
throughout the Empire and if you
remember my last video These landbased
Empires were expanding like mad during
this period and so the larger the
empires became the larger the
bureaucracies grew in order to make sure
that these vast Empires could be
properly administered now this was true
of basically all major Empires during
this period but I'm just going to give
you one specific example from the
ottoman Empire namely the dev Sher
system now this was a system by which
the Ottomans staffed their Imperial
bureaucracy with highly trained folks
who in this case were slav for example
in their campaigns for territorial
Conquest in the Balkans the Ottomans
enslaved Christian boys who were then
sent to live with Turkish families so
that they could learn the language and
then they were sent to istan buul for a
proper Islamic education now many of
those boys ended up in the ottoman
military but the cream of the crop were
given further education and sent to work
in the ottoman bureaucracy where their
Elite Education made them wise and
effective administrators of the Empire
but then the second way rulers
administered their Empires was by
expanding their militaries and
especially by creating Elite cadres of
military Professionals in the Ottoman
Empire that same Dev sheer system
supplied elite soldiers that became
known as the janissaries they were also
made up of enslaved Christians and
formed the core of the Ottoman standing
army which was significantly increasing
in size during this period okay now the
second Major Way rulers legitimized and
Consolidated their power during this
period was through religion art and
architecture and I'll give you an
example of each in terms of religion
European monarchs claim to rule by
Divine Right which is to say that the
king Queen ruled with the approval of
Jesus himself it's not hard to
understand why this belief if accepted
among the people would legitimize the
power of a monarch most of the folks in
Europe were Christians and if a monarch
ruled by divine right then to oppose the
King was to oppose God himself and that
was uh no bueno but over in the Americas
the Aztecs used the religious practice
of human sacrifice to legitimize their
power now to be fair this practice
predated the Aztecs and was common among
the mesika people before they became you
know the Aztec they believe that their
son God lost energy at regular intervals
and can only be reinvigorated through
the spilling of sacrif icial human blood
but at the height of the Aztec empire
priests and rulers worked in tandem to
perform these sacrifices usually with
captured prisoners of war and they
gathered whole cities for the ritual and
all of this had a way of letting
everyone know in attendance who was in
charge now in terms of using art to
legitimize power we have a great example
over in the Ching Dynasty there Emperor
kongi displayed Imperial portraits of
himself around the Imperial City and
maybe to you that just sounds like you
know he was really into himself but and
I don't know maybe he was but these
portraits served to convince the Chinese
that kangi was their legitimate ruler
remember from the last video that the
ching were ethnically Manu which is to
say not natively Chinese that means they
were Outsiders but in these portraits
kangi is depicted according to
traditional Confucian values which would
have appealed to his Chinese subjects
and hopefully convinced them to accept
his Rule and in terms of using
architecture to legitimize rule I'm in
the mood to give you two examples here
you see the Palace of Versailles which
was built for the French monarch Louis
the 14th and it was a massive when the
people of France saw this Palace and all
of its grander there was really only one
thought they could have whoever lives
there uh yeah that guy is in charge but
Louie also used this Palace to to
consolidate power as well and he did it
by forcing the French nobility to live
there at least part-time with that move
he was able to remove power from them
and situate it right beneath his
Fabulous High heeles and then the second
example is the Inca Sun temple in kusco
now remember that Inca rulers were
considered to be direct descendants of
the Gods and so to facilitate festivals
of worship Inca rulers built this Temple
whose walls were covered in sheets of
gold and whose Courtyards contained
hundreds of golden statues and again
since the rulers were associated with
the gods buildings like this serve to
legitimize their power and then finally
we need to talk about how Imperial
rulers Finance these huge militaries and
Monumental architecture and fabulous
butt cuts and that means we need to talk
about systems of Taxation and the mugal
Empire rulers established the zamindar
system to collect tax revenue now
remember that the mugal rulers were
Muslim While most of the South Asian
population was Hindu which meant a
healthy dose of Suspicion toward their
Muslim rulers so to combat that mugal
rulers employed local land owners called
zamindars to collect taxes throughout
the Empire on behalf of the emperor this
had the effect of extending Imperial
Authority and consolidating Imperial
power and then over in the Ottoman
Empire they created a system for
collecting taxes known as tax farming
essentially under this system the right
to tax subjects of the Ottoman Empire
went to the highest bidder and whoever
got that right was authorized to collect
taxes from a particular group of people
and they enriched themselves by
collecting more taxes than were legally
required and thus padding their pockets
this system helped the ottoman
government by providing a reliable
source of income at the beginning of
every year which came from the bidding
for the right to tax and furthermore
since these tax Farmers weren't members
of the official bureaucracy the Ottomans
didn't have to pay them since they paid
themselves by fleecing the general
populace Noise Okay click here to keep
reviewing for unit three and click here
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