Administration of Land-Based Empires
Unit 3: c. 1450-1750
Main Ideas:
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Empires used bureaucracies & military elites to maintain centralized control of their populations
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Rulers used religion & monumental architecture to legitimize their rule
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Rulers used innovative tax-collecting systems to generate revenue for their empires
The Use of Bureaucracies
Bureaucracies & Military Elites Helped Empires Maintain Centralized Rule
Key Ideas:
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Many empires recruited bureaucracies to help run the government
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The Ming & Qing Dynasties of China recruited a bureaucracy through a merit-based Confucian civil service exam
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Through a program called devshirme, the Ottomans recruited Christian boys to its bureaucracy
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The Mughals & Safavids also had a small bureaucracy
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Most empires were run by a group of military professionals or employed a large military
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The gunpowder empires (Ottomans, Mughals, Safavids) were military states, and the military generals had a high social status
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In Tokugawa Shogunate (Japan), the samurai (warriors) held high status
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European kingdoms had large armies
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Russia (under Ivan IV) used freed serfs (called cossacks) in their army
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Kingdoms had large powerful bureaucracies so that they could have a more centralized rule over their population
Religion & Monumental Architecture
Rulers used Religion & Monumental Architecture to Legitimize their Rule
Key Ideas:
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Many rulers promoted religion or even encouraged certain religious practices meant to honor their rule in order to legitimize their rule
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Gunpowder empires (Ottomans, Safavids, Mughals) and the Songhai Empire promoted Islam to legitimize their rule
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The Aztecs practiced human sacrifice to honor their rulers & gods
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The Incas mummified their rulers after their death to honor them
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European rulers used the idea of "divine right," claiming that god had allowed them to rule with absolute power
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Rulers commissioned art & monumental architecture to legitimize their rule: If someone sees the it, they'd realize that the person who built it must be in power
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Mughals built the Taj Mahal & other mausoleums
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Ottomans built Suleymaniye
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Safavids built huge palaces
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Qing Dynasty (China) created portraits of the emperors to put on display in their capital palace of Forbidden City
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Europe had lots of palaces, such as the Palace of Versailles (France) & Schonbrunn Palace (Austrian Habsburgs)
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An imperial portrait from the Qing Dynasty

The Taj Mahal, a mausoleum built by the Mughal Empire to show their glory and power

Tax Collection
Rulers Created Innovative Methods of Tax Collection to Raise Revenue for their Empires
Key Ideas:
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Rulers used tax-farming and innovative tax-collection methods to generate imperial revenue
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Tax-farming: When ordinary people are employed by the state to collect taxes
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Mughals employed Hindu farmers called zamindars to collect taxes through a tax-farming system
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Ottomans also used tax-farming
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Aztecs created special tribute lists for each of its neighboring regions (based on the specialities of each region)
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Ming Dynasty (China) collected taxes in silver bullion
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