Empires: BELIEF SYSTEMS [AP World History Review—Unit 3 Topic 3]

Summary

This script explores the impact of belief systems on empires, focusing on Christianity and Islam during 1450-1750. It discusses the Protestant Reformation, triggered by Martin Luther's 95 theses, and the Catholic Church's response, the Counter-Reformation. It also covers the Sunni-Shia split's influence on the Ottoman and Safavid empires and the emergence of new belief systems in South Asia, like Bhakti and Sikhism, which blended elements of Islam and Hinduism.

Takeaways

• 🌐 Belief systems can significantly impact the stability and expansion of empires.
• 🏰 Christianity has been the dominant belief system in Europe since the 4th century, acting as a cultural glue among Europeans.
• ⛪️ The 11th-century split in Christianity led to the formation of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.
• 💸 The Catholic Church's sale of indulgences and other corrupt practices led to a crisis of confidence among the people.
• 📜 Martin Luther's 95 Theses criticized these corrupt practices and sparked the Protestant Reformation.
• 🔄 The Protestant Reformation was significantly aided by the invention of the printing press, which spread Luther's writings widely.
• 🕍 The Catholic Church responded with its own reforms known as the Catholic Reformation or Counter-Reformation.
• 🔗 The religious division in Christianity intensified political divisions, leading to a series of religious wars in Europe.
• 🕋 In the Middle East, the Ottoman and Safavid Empires represented the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam, respectively, and were in conflict.
• 🕉 In South Asia, the Bhakti movement and the rise of Sikhism attempted to bridge the gap between Islam and Hinduism.
• 🌟 Sikhism emerged as a new belief system that blended elements of both Islam and Hinduism, discarding practices like the caste system.

Q & A

What was the role of belief systems in the expansion and maintenance of land-based empires from 1450 to 1750?

Belief systems, or religions, both supported and challenged imperial power during the expansion and maintenance of land-based empires from 1450 to 1750. They served as a shared cultural glue among people and could either hold empires together or break them apart.

When did Christianity become the dominant belief system in Europe?

Christianity became the dominant belief system in Europe since the 4th century.

What caused the major split in the Christian church in the 11th century?

The major split in the Christian church in the 11th century was caused by disagreements over doctrines, which led to the creation of two branches: the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.

What was the significance of the sale of indulgences in the Catholic Church around 1500?

The sale of indulgences was significant because it allowed people to purchase slips of paper promising the forgiveness of sins or reduced time in purgatory. This practice, along with other corrupt practices, led to a decline in people's confidence in the church.

Who was Martin Luther and what did he become famous for?

Martin Luther was a Catholic monk who became famous for his criticism of the corrupt practices and doctrines in the Catholic Church. He wrote a series of complaints known as the 95 Theses, which he nailed to the church door in Wittenberg.

How did the printing press contribute to the Protestant Reformation?

The printing press enabled Luther's writings, including his 95 Theses, to spread quickly throughout Europe, which helped to create a significant stir and contributed to the Protestant Reformation.

What was the Catholic Church's response to the Protestant Reformation known as?

The Catholic Church's response to the Protestant Reformation was known as the Catholic Reformation or the Counter-Reformation. It involved a series of meetings called the Council of Trent, where they addressed some corrupt practices and reaffirmed their ancient doctrines.

How did the religious division between Catholics and Protestants affect state power in Europe?

The religious division between Catholics and Protestants often intensified political division, leading to a series of religious wars in Europe until 1648.

What was the main difference between the Shia and Sunni branches of Islam?

The main difference between Shia and Sunni branches of Islam is their belief about the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad. Shia Muslims believe it had to be a blood relative, while Sunni Muslims believe it could be anyone who was spiritually qualified.

How did the political rivalry between the Ottoman and Safavid Empires affect the Shia-Sunni split?

The political rivalry between the Ottoman and Safavid Empires intensified the Shia-Sunni split because both empires wanted to claim territory for their own, with the Ottomans being Sunni and the Safavids being Shia.

What were the two belief systems that emerged in South Asia to bridge the gap between Islam and Hinduism?

The two belief systems that emerged in South Asia to bridge the gap between Islam and Hinduism were the Bhakti movement and Sikhism. The Bhakti movement emphasized mystical experience in Hinduism, while Sikhism blended elements of both Islam and Hinduism.

What were some of the key differences between Sikhism and traditional Hinduism?

Sikhism discarded some distinctions found in traditional Hinduism, such as the caste system and gender hierarchies, while maintaining significant doctrines of both belief systems, like a belief in one God and the cycle of death and reincarnation.

Outlines

00:00

🏰 The Impact of Christianity on European Empires

This paragraph discusses the role of belief systems, particularly Christianity, in shaping the political landscape of European empires. It highlights how Christianity, as the dominant belief system since the 4th century, acted as a cultural unifier. The script then delves into the 11th-century schism that resulted in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The Protestant Reformation, initiated by Martin Luther's 95 theses, is explored as a pivotal moment that challenged the Church's corrupt practices, leading to a significant split. The paragraph also touches on the Catholic Reformation, which was the Church's response to the Protestant movement, reaffirming traditional doctrines and further solidifying the division between Catholics and Protestants. The impact of these religious shifts on state power and the subsequent religious wars in Europe are also mentioned.

05:01

🕌 The Dynamics of Islam and the Emergence of New Belief Systems in South Asia

The second paragraph focuses on the Islamic empires in the Middle East, specifically the Ottoman and Safavid Empires, and the religious division between Shia and Sunni Muslims. It explains how political rivalries intensified religious differences. The paragraph then shifts to South Asia, discussing the emergence of new belief systems that attempted to reconcile Islam and Hinduism. The Bhakti movement, with its emphasis on mystical union, is highlighted for its similarities with Sufi Islam. The rise of Sikhism is also discussed as a new belief system that blended elements of both religions, maintaining key doctrines while discarding social distinctions like the caste system and gender hierarchies. The paragraph concludes with a prompt for viewers to access additional study materials for their exams.

Keywords

💡Belief systems

Belief systems refer to the underlying sets of beliefs that guide an individual or a group's values, attitudes, and behaviors. In the context of the video, belief systems are highlighted as significant forces that can either hold empires together or cause them to fragment. The video discusses how religions like Christianity and Islam played a pivotal role in supporting or challenging imperial power during the Golden Age of land-based empires.

💡Christianity

Christianity is one of the world's major religions, originating from the life and teachings of Jesus Christ in the 1st century AD. The video emphasizes Christianity's dominance in Europe since the 4th century and its role as a cultural glue among Europeans. It also discusses the significant split within Christianity that led to the formation of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.

💡Golden Age

The term 'Golden Age' typically refers to a period of great prosperity, creativity, and cultural achievement. In the video, the Golden Age is used to describe the era between 1450 and 1750 when land-based empires expanded and maintained power, often with the support or challenge of religious belief systems.

💡Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a major schism in Western Christianity that began in the early 16th century. The video explains how Martin Luther's 95 theses, denouncing corrupt practices within the Catholic Church, led to this reformation. It was a pivotal moment that challenged the church's power and led to the establishment of Protestantism as a separate branch of Christianity.

💡Catholic Reformation

Also known as the Counter-Reformation, the Catholic Reformation was the period of Catholic resurgence in response to the Protestant Reformation. The video describes how the Catholic Church addressed some of the criticisms by initiating reforms, such as the Council of Trent, which sought to eliminate corruption and reaffirm core doctrines.

💡Indulgences

Indulgences were a practice in the Catholic Church where people could buy documents that promised the remission of the punishment for sins. The video points out that the sale of indulgences was one of the corrupt practices that contributed to the Protestant Reformation, as it was seen as contradicting the biblical teaching that sins are not forgiven in exchange for money.

💡Simony

Simony is the practice of buying or selling of church offices or other spiritual things. In the video, simony is mentioned as one of the corrupt practices within the Catholic Church that Martin Luther and other reformers criticized, contributing to the loss of people's confidence in the church.

💡Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire was a powerful empire that lasted from the 14th to the early 20th century. The video discusses the Ottoman Empire as one of the significant Islamic empires during the period in question, highlighting its rivalry with the Safavid Empire and the impact of the Sunni-Shia split on their political dynamics.

💡Safavid Empire

The Safavid Empire was a significant Persian empire between the 16th and 18th centuries. In the video, the Safavid Empire is mentioned as a Shia Muslim empire that was in conflict with the Sunni Ottoman Empire, illustrating how religious divisions can exacerbate political rivalries.

💡Bhakti movement

The Bhakti movement was a religious and devotional movement within Hinduism that emphasized personal devotion and loving relationships with God. The video notes that during the period discussed, the Bhakti movement shared similarities with Islamic Sufism, leading to some religious blending and exchange between the two faiths.

💡Sikhism

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. The video describes Sikhism as a new belief system that blended elements of both Islam and Hinduism, maintaining key doctrines from each while discarding others like the caste system and gender hierarchies, demonstrating both continuity and change.

Highlights

Belief systems can significantly impact the stability or fragmentation of empires.

Christianity became the dominant belief system in Europe since the 4th century.

The 11th-century split in Christianity led to the formation of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church's power in Europe was challenged by the sale of indulgences and other corrupt practices.

Martin Luther's 95 theses criticized the Church's corrupt practices and sparked the Protestant Reformation.

The invention of the printing press allowed Luther's ideas to spread rapidly across Europe.

The Catholic Church initiated the Catholic Reformation in response to Protestant critiques.

The Council of Trent addressed corruption but also reaffirmed traditional Catholic doctrines.

Religious divisions in Christianity led to political and military conflicts in Europe until 1648.

The Ottoman and Safavid Empires represented the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam, respectively.

The political rivalry between the Ottoman and Safavid Empires intensified the Shia-Sunni split.

The Bhakti movement in South Asia represented a blending of Hinduism with elements of Sufism in Islam.

Sikhism emerged as a new belief system that blended elements of Islam and Hinduism.

Sikhism challenged traditional social structures like the caste system and gender hierarchies.

The presenter offers an AP World History review guide for students preparing for exams.

The presenter humorously refers to the importance of the religious and political landscape of the time.

Transcripts

belief systems they can hold empires

together or they can break Empires up

faster than a professional eater can

pound a hot dog so I reckon we ought to

talk about Christianity Islam and some

other religious blending that occur

during the Golden Age of the land-based

Empire and so if you're ready to get

them brain cows milked let's get to it

so recall from the last couple of videos

that we've been considering how

land-based Empires expanded and

maintained power from 1450 to 1750

expanding militaries played a big role

as did expanding bureaucracies but here

we'll consider how belief systems or

religions both supported Imperial power

and challenged it so first let's visit

our friends in Europe and talk about

their dominant religion namely

Christianity now Christianity have been

the dominant belief system in Europe

since the 4th century and it was present

even before that time and as such it

became a kind of shared cultural glue

among most Europeans and even though

Europe wasn't much more significant than

a hill of bean since this course started

the church was present and active in

most States before I tell you what

changed let me just mention that if you

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a five on your exam in May the get that

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World heimler review guide in the

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okay now in the 11th century a bunch of

the big wig church leaders got to

fighting over doctrines and a massive

split occurred creating two different

branches of Christianity on one side you

had the Eastern Orthodox Church which

remained dominant in the East and on the

other side you had the Roman Catholic

Church which remained dominant in the

west it was dirty as only religious

disputes can be but thankfully it was

the last time a major split occurred in

the Christian church oh I'm getting wor

that there was in fact another dirty

split in the church and wouldn't you

know it had occurred during our time

period and to understand this split you

need to know a little bit about what the

Catholic church was up to during that

time so by 1500 the Catholic Church

wielded enormous power in Europe even

though this is about the time when more

powerful monarchs will begin challenging

that power even so the church was filthy

rich and got busy building magnificent

structures like St Peter's Basilica in

Rome to put that wealth and power on

display but as you may or may not know

basilicas do not pay for themselves and

so in order to fund all these building

projects the church began the sale of

indulgences and essentially that meant

that people could purchase these little

slips of paper which promised the

Forgiveness of sins or got your dead

uncle Cletus a shorter time in purgatory

and then add that to several other

Corrupt Practices going on things like

simony which was the practice of putting

High Church positions up for sale and

the people's confidence in the church

was uh waning and that's when our boy

Martin Luther enters the stage he

himself was a Catholic monk who spent

his days you know monking and studying

the Bible and that's when Luther became

very troubl he saw nothing in the Bible

that said that sins could be forgiven in

exchange for money and he saw nothing in

the Bible that said Church offices could

be bought so Luther wrote a series of

complaints known as the 95 thesis

denouncing many of the Corrupt Practices

and doctrines he witnessed in the church

and he went ahead and nailed them to the

church dor in vitberg and not

surprisingly the church branded Luther a

heretic and excommunicated him but

here's the thing Luther wasn't the first

reformer to criticize the doctrines and

practices of the church but for some

reason it was Luther's work that split

the church once again in a process known

as the Protestant Reformation so why did

Luther's work create such a big stir

while previous reformers complaints did

not well Luther adds something that

those other reformers didn't namely the

printing press which enabled Luther's

voluminous writings to spread throughout

Europe quick fast and in a hurry now

credit where credit is due eventually

the Catholic Church came around and

realized that you maybe some of the

Protestant critiques might be yeah true

so they went ahead and initiated a

Reformation of their own that became

known as the Catholic Reformation or you

might hear it called The Counter

Reformation it's the same thing don't

get confused anyway the church gathered

at a series of meetings known as the

Council of Trent and tossed out many of

the Corrupt Practices that I mentioned

earlier so that represented a good bit

of change but there was also continuity

as well at the council of Trent the

Catholics reaffirmed their ancient

doctrines of salvation by faith and

works the nature of biblical Authority

and a host of other ideas that made the

split between the Catholics and the

Protestants complete and just for

funsies they went ahead and reaffirmed

that Martin Luther was a heretical tur

and so this split in the church had

massive effects on state power

throughout Europe various rulers across

Europe either remained Catholic or

imposed protestantism on the people that

they ruled this religious division which

often also intensified political

division led to a series of religious

wars in Europe until 1648 okay now let's

turn the corner and consider what was

happening with Islam in the Middle East

now remember that the Big Daddy Islamic

empires in this area were the Ottoman

Empire here and the savit Empire here

and if you thought they looked at each

other and we're like are you guys Muslim

yeah how about you actually we are well

then let's hug it out then you would be

wrong now just like in Christianity

Islam experienced a significant split

back in the 7th century and basically

their beef was over who was the rightful

successor to the prophet Muhammad sheia

Muslims believe that the only legitimate

successor had to be a blood relative of

Muhammad while Sunni Muslims believed

that it could be anyone who was

spiritually qualified for the role

anyway that religious division was on

full display in the safavid and Ottoman

Empire the safavids were Shia while the

Ottomans were Sunni and they

emphatically did not hug it out instead

both Empires wanted to beat back the

other and claim territory for their own

and ultimately the Ottomans got the

upper hand in this conflict but here's

the important point to remember it was

because of their political rivalry that

the split between the Shia and the Sunni

branches of Islam intensified okay now

let's talk about the development of new

belief systems over in South Asia now

remember that basically since the

beginning of this course Muslims held

power over this region and that

Arrangement was a little stanky to to

the huge majority of Hindus that made up

the population but in our time period

two belief systems emerged that tried to

bridge the gap between Islam and

Hinduism first was the bakti movement

which originated in the 7th century and

recall that it was an innovation on

Hinduism that emphasized mystical

experience in Union with one of

hinduism's many gods however during this

period because the bakis shared many

similar beliefs and practices with the

mystical movement in Islam namely Sufism

some exchange and blending occurred

second was the rise of sism which was a

new belief system that also Blended

elements of Islam and Hinduism now seism

demonstrated uity because it held on to

significant doctrines of both belief

systems like a belief in one God and the

cycle of death and reincarnation but it

also demonstrated change because as this

new Faith developed many distinctions

were discarded like the cast system and

gender hierarchies Okay click here to

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