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Culture in the Islamic World Culture in the Islamic world developed alongside politics as a legitimizing force for rulers. Therefore, culture in the Islamic empires assumed a degree of autonomy not seen in the Islamic cosmopolitanism of an earlier day.
The Ottoman Cultural Synthesis Ottoman culture represented a highly diverse blend that demonstrated flexibility, tolerance, and synthesis. Jews and Christians were allowed to form their own religious communities and pay a special tax for the right to do so. Recognizing that Islamic law did not address the needs of an expanding and increasingly diverse empire, the Ottoman sultans created legal codes for an empire of Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Three educational systems—for bureaucrats, scholars, and religious leaders—provided flexible institutions that helped unify the country as it prepared elites. Ottoman scholars studied religion, history, and the hard sciences, and dabbled in social science inquiry about the decline of the Ottomans. Celebrating life and living, the Ottomans became infatuated with the tulip and coffeehouses. European garb and furniture became popular. Also from Europe came great studies of science, history, and geography, but these fell into disfavor after 1730 and did not develop a following.
The Safavid Empire provided Shiism—Islam’s religion of opposition—a home and a champion. To win support, however, the Safavids embraced landowners and orthodox ulama , thus creating an interesting blend of Islamic Sufi brotherhoods and clerical orthodoxy, while educational institutions taught Shiite orthodoxy. With its mosques, palaces, and other buildings, Isfahan became the pinnacle of Safavid culture. Painting, carpet-weaving, tile-making, and calligraphy also reached lofty heights.
Power and Culture under the Mughals In Mughal India, Muslims and Hindus alike contributed to the development of high culture, particularly under Akbar’s reign, which sought to blend religious pursuits with the glory of empire. Mughal intellectuals serving the court studied European philosophical debates, astronomy, medicine, and mathematics. Painters produced miniature paintings inspired somewhat by humanistic traditions. Architecture, like the Taj Mahal, combined poetry, stone, and design to produce a refined grandeur to soften Mughal military, political and economic might. Nobility consumed and enjoyed luxury items from east and west. Military units were augmented with European military personnel and technology even if the Mughals saw little use for most other European knowledge. The Islamic empires looked to China for inspiration, not Europe. Europe was viewed as a source of rivalry, not high culture. >> Continue to the next part of the Summary: Culture and Politics in East Asia
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