Chapter 5 Chapter 3 The Muslim World During the Expansion of Western Europe

Although the impetus in Western Europe in the fifteenth century was a combination of forces, it was not the only factor that contributed to the unprecedented expansion of Western Europe in the following centuries.To fully appreciate this expansion, it is also necessary to examine the world that Europe was about to invade.The conditions of overseas societies profoundly influenced the tendencies and outcomes of European expansionism.This and the next two chapters deal with these overseas societies—the Muslim world in the Middle East and South Asia, the Confucian world in East Asia, and the non-Eurasian world in sub-Saharan Africa, North and South America, and Australia.

When thinking about the world around 1500, Westerners usually think of Columbus, Vasco de Gama and Magellan.In retrospect, Western Europe at that time was a living, expanding part of the world.At that time, it was not the Chinese, Indians or Arabs who dared to embark on life-threatening seafaring expeditions, but Western Europeans; However, if there had been an observer on Mars looking at the world around 1500 years ago, he would have been more impressed by the Muslim world than the Christian world.In some ways Muslims were indeed more advanced than European Christians.To be sure, the world during this period was not dominated by Western Europe, as is now often imagined.That assumption can only be understood in retrospect.But if you look at the world in 1500 through the eyes of the people of the time, you will see a completely different picture: the Muslim world, and the Confucian world, dwarfs Christian Europe in many ways.

If there had been a mythical observer on Mars, his first impression was of the extent and continuous expansion of the Muslim world.After an initial rapid expansion of Muslims in the Middle East in the seventh and eighth centuries, another period of expansion took place between 1000 and 1500.By the final stage, they had moved west into Central Europe and north into Central Asia.Eastward into India and Southeast Asia, southward deep into the interior of Africa; thus, the Muslim world doubled in size, far exceeding the Christian world at the western end of Eurasia and the Confucian world at the eastern end.

Not only was the Muslim world the largest in terms of area around 1500, but it continued to expand outwards vigorously after that period.Western Europe was not the only region that expanded its frontiers during that period, as is often assumed.At the same time that the Christian world was reaching overseas, the Muslim world was expanding on land. In the early 16th century, the Portuguese gained a foothold in India and the East Indies, and the Spanish conquered an empire on the American continent.But at the time, the Ottoman Turks were also breaking into central Europe, ravaging Hungary and besieging the Habsburg capital of Vienna in 1529.Likewise, in India, the illustrious Mughal emperors were steadily expanding their empire southwards until they dominated almost the entire peninsula. spread among nations.

The continued expansion of Islam is due in part to its power to convert non-Muslims, but Muslims are not as accustomed to coercion as Christians are.However, a 15th-century Muslim chronicle records that Muhammad Khan of Turkestan "was a wealthy prince and a true Muslim. Most of the tribes of the Mongols became Muslim during the holy reign. He is famous for his harsh measures in converting the Mongols to Islam. For example, if any of the Mongols does not wear a Muslim turban, a hoof Nails were driven into its head. May Allah bless and reward him." Similarly, Mungo Parker, a Scotsman who surveyed the Niger River in the late 18th century, also narrated that a Muslim chief sent such a letter to his pagan neighbours. : "If Damer embraces the faith of Muhammad, Abdulkad will condescend to shave his head with this knife; if Damer refuses to believe, Abdulkad will use another knife to slit his throat .Where to go is up to you to choose."

But the gentle sermons of Muslim merchants and preachers were far more effective than these vigorous measures; they were especially successful among less civilized peoples.Often, the merchant was the first to show up, and he combined proselytizing with selling.A businessman's profession brings him into frequent and close contact with the people he seeks to persuade.After the merchant arrived at the pagan village, he always quickly attracted the attention of the pagans because he prayed and knelt down on time several times a day, and he seemed to be talking with an invisible person when he prayed and knelt down.All he had to do was put on an air of intellectual and moral superiority to command their respect and confidence.Furthermore, there is no racial discrimination, because even if the merchant is not of the same race as the villagers, he will probably still marry the native woman.Such intermarriages often lead to the adoption of Islam by members of the woman's family.Soon, there was a need for religious education for the children, so schools were established, and not only Muslim children often went to school, but pagan children as well.They study the Quran and the teachings and rituals of Islam.Some of these children even went on to study in Islamic institutions of higher learning, and then became missionaries, returning to preach to the pagan residents of their home country.

This explains why Islam has been far more successful in winning converts than any other religion since its inception.Christianity's present superiority in number of adherents began only with the overseas expansion of Europe, which opened up the entire non-Eurasian world to Christianity.Especially in the nineteenth century, Christianity gained enormous momentum from the incomparable material power afforded by Western technology.Even today, however, Islam is more than just being invincible in the struggle against Christianity in Africa, because it not only perfectly conforms to the common understanding among local people that Christianity is on the side of the foreign white masters, Also uniquely adapted to the indigenous cultures of Africa.

In addition to continuously expanding its territory, the Muslim world around 1500 is also famous for its three empires - the Ottoman Empire spanning the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkan Peninsula, the Safavid Empire in Persia and the Mughal Empire in India. in the world.These empires were all powerful at the time and ruled the heartland of Islam. Why they emerged at this particular stage is not entirely clear.The invention of gunpowder and its use in the construction of firearms and cannon seems to have been an important factor.The Chinese were the pioneers in the invention and application of gunpowder, but it was the later Europeans who were the first to make various improvements to this invention for military purposes.New weapons greatly aided the development of national monarchies in England, France, Spain, and the rest of Europe, because feudal aristocracy could no longer hide in stone castles against royal armies armed with artillery, and, These new weapons were expensive, and only royal families with deep coffers could afford them.

Gunpowder and firearms strengthened the central power not only of Christendom, but of the Muslim world as well.The Ottoman Turks were able to win in Asia Minor and the Balkans mainly because they were the first Muslims to borrow artillery and gunners from the West on a large scale.In Persia, the eminent ruler of the Safavid Empire, Abbas I, followed the example of the Turks and established an artillery force with the help of the English adventurers Antony and Robert Shirley.When Babulgan, the founder of the Mughal Empire, invaded India in 1523, he also followed the example of the Ottoman Turks. He placed the artillery in front of his army and connected the gun mounts with ropes twisted from cowhide to crush the cavalry charge. .

But firearms were by no means the only factor that explained the rise of the three Muslim empires.The ability of the dynastic leaders and the circumstances in which they were especially favorable to conquer their respective empires were as important as the firearms.Let us now take a closer look at how these factors combined to enable the rise of these three Muslim empires. The Ottoman Turks who founded the empire that bears their own name were part of a widely dispersed Turkic people originally from Central Asia.In the early centuries, the Turkic tribal peoples migrated continuously into the rich areas of the Middle East in batches.They came to the Middle East as early as the 8th century, infiltrating Islamic empires, initially as mercenaries. In the 10th century, the pressure of the Mongolian conquest forced more Turkic tribes to migrate into the Middle East, including a Serbian Turkic people.These newcomers captured the Muslim capital Baghdad in 1055 and established a glorious but short-lived Seljuk Empire.

These Seljuk Turks revived the dying Islamic world.Once again they united the vast region stretching from the borders of India in the east to the coast of the Mediterranean in the west and through Persia in the middle, and successfully repelled the Crusaders in the Holy Land; The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army at the Battle of Manzikat broke through Asia Minor's traditional border along the Taurus Mountains - a border that had protected Rome and Byzantium for 1400 years.This victory became a turning point in the history of Asia Minor.Large numbers of Turkic settlers followed their victorious warriors northward, while the native population of Anatolia embraced Islam and Turkified.By the 13th century, most of Asia Minor had become part of the Seljuk Empire, leaving only the northwestern corner to the Byzantines. However, the Serbian empire later experienced a decline similar to that of the earlier Islamic caliphate.It split into a number of independent principalities or sultanates. In the late thirteenth century, the situation was further complicated by groups of new Turkic settlers; one group settled in the extreme north-western fringe of the Serfu Empire, near the Dardanelles, a strategic point separating the two continents. Less than 50 miles. In 1299, the leader of this group, a man called Osman, declared independence from the supreme ruler of the Seljuk Empire; from this humble stage, the great Ottoman Empire named after this formerly unknown Osman developed. . The first step in this dizzying success was the capture of the remaining Byzantine territories in Asia Minor.The reason why the relatively primitive Tuhui tribes were able to defeat the Byzantine Empire with a long history was due to the important influence of religion to some extent.Much of the power of Ottoman and his successors came from a steady stream of Islamic warriors who continued to come from all over the Middle East to fight Islam's Christian enemies.And the Christian peasants, resentful of being cruelly exploited by unscrupulous landowners and church officials, accepted these Turks, and even cheered them, seeing them as deliverers from an intolerable fate. rescuer. By 1340, all of Asia Minor was under the control of Islamic forces. In 1354 the Turks gained their first foothold in Europe by crossing the Dardanelles and setting up a fort at Gallipoli.Exactly a century later, he seemed to be master of the entire Balkan peninsula, including the imposing imperial capital of Constantinople.After that, they bravely crossed the Hungarian plains and approached the city of Vienna. The Ottoman victory over Byzantium was astonishing.How could these Turks, being few in number, keep up their attack and drive straight into the heart of Europe?The answer is: in the 14th century, the entire Christian world was in great decline and was divided to an unprecedented degree; (The dates of this conflict are noteworthy: the war began in 1338, the year the Turks were completing their conquest of Asia Minor; the war ended in 1453, the year the Turks captured Junshi Tantinople); the Italians, also powerless against the Turks, by the long strife between Venice and Genoa; The empires of Byzantium, Serbia, and Bulgaria, long past their prime, were irretrievably divided by rivalry among themselves; and, in the Balkans, as in Asia Minor, the discontent of the Christian peasants A violent attack to the extent that there is little or no resistance. It is unlikely that the Turks could have found a more favorable time to invade Europe.By 1362 they had seized the city of Adrianople and thus the plains of Macedonia. In 1384, they captured Sofia and shortly thereafter, took control of the whole of Bulgaria. Five years later, they defeated the Yugoslav army in the famous Battle of Kosovo in history, resulting in the demise of the Serbian Empire.These victories left Constantinople surrounded by Turk dominions. In 1453, the besieged capital was captured, thus ending the thousand-year history of the Byzantine Empire. Then, the Turks went south to invade the rich Muslim countries of Syria and Egypt.After a whirlwind war, they took Syria in 1516 and Egypt the following year.The final stage of the Turks' conquest was in Central Europe.Under the leadership of the famous Sultan Suleiman I, they crossed the Danube and defeated the Hungarian Monarchy in one fell swoop at the Battle of Mohacs in 1526. Three years later, Suleiman's army besieged Vienna, but was repulsed; partly because heavy rains prevented him from transporting cumbersome artillery to the front.Despite this setback, the Turks made some modest progress in the future: in 1570, they captured the island of Cyprus; in 1669, they captured Crete; and in the following 10 years, they captured Poland and Ukraine. When the Ottoman Empire reached its peak, it was indeed a very large empire.It spans three continents and has a population of 50 million, while Britain had only 5 million at that time.No wonder Christians at the time were in awe of the ever-expanding Ottoman Empire, describing it as "a growing flame that, no matter what it encounters, clings to it and burns further." The Safavid Empire The second great Muslim empire of this period was the Safavid Empire in Persia.As mentioned earlier, Persia is the same as Asia Minor.Once conquered by the Seljuk Turks.However, Asia Minor was Turkified, but Persia still maintained the Persian race and culture.The difference in the outcome is likely because Persia, unlike Asia Minor, which had been part of the Christian Byzantine Empire, had already accepted Islam.Therefore, Persia was not ravaged by Muslim warriors like Asia Minor, and Persian society was not fundamentally changed under the rule of a small number of Turkic administrators and soldiers. The Seljuk Turks ruled Persia from about 1000 AD until the Mongol invasion in 1258.These new Mongol rulers, called Ilkhans, were Buddhists or Christians at first, but became Muslims around 1300.The Mongols devastated Persia for a considerable period of time by destroying many cities and irrigation works; but this suffering also ended in 1500 when the Ilkhans were replaced by the Safavids. The Safavid monarchs were the first native rulers of Persia for centuries; Shah Ismail I was the founder of this new dynasty.He reigned for 24 years and unified the whole of Persia with his military talents and religious policies.He declared Shia Islam the state religion and ruthlessly suppressed the rival Sunni sect.The differences between the two factions of Muslims began when Muhammad did not designate his successor, the caliph, during his lifetime.None of the first three caliphs elected by Muslims were relatives of Muhammad; it was not until the fourth election that Muhammad's son-in-law (and cousin) Ali was elected as caliph.Shiites insist that elections must be carried out on the basis that the natural right belongs to the family of Muhammad. They believe that only Ali and his descendants are the legitimate heirs of the Caliph.The Sunnis, on the other hand, see the caliph as merely the "head of the community of believers"; they accept any caliph who is elected from among the Muslims - thus, they recognize several successors after Muhammad's death.Doctrinal differences also pit the two factions against each other.Sunnis use traditional teachings and teachings orally handed down by the famous Abbes in the school as the basis for their exercise of religious power.The Shiites rejected it, thinking that doing so was advocating that everything depend on the contradictory and inevitably wrong opinions of generations after Muhammad.For issues not clarified above, Shiites replace tradition with independent personal judgment. This doctrinal debate was of great significance to Persia at that time, and it laid the foundation for the unification of Persia and the development of a certain national sentiment.The Persians consider themselves Shia; this distinguishes them from the basically Sunni Turks and other Muslim peoples around them.In fact, the series of wars between the Turks and the Persians was caused by the inevitable political rivalry between these powerful neighboring dynasties, as well as by their religious differences. The most prominent of the Safavid rulers was King Abbas I (reigned 1587-1629).He established artillery units and modernized the Persian army.For this task he employed, among others, two English adventurers, Brother Shirley.A writer at the time described the results of this policy: In fact, Persia had indeed become a great power under the Safavid dynasty.At that time, some European countries sent envoys to Persia one after another, requesting to form an alliance with Persia against the Ottoman Empire, which is a clear proof.In fact, the two Muslim nations occupied a prominent place in European diplomacy in those years.For example, Francis I of France, in collaboration with Suleiman I, waged war on Holy Roman Emperor Charles V; and the Holy Roman Crown, in turn, collaborated with the Persians against their two common enemies, Christianity and These relations between Muslim nations were condemned at the time as "impiety" and "blasphemy"; but the truth is that the Ottoman and Safavid empires had become world powers that no diplomat in Europe could ignore. Just as the two outstanding rulers of the Safavid dynasty created a "national" dynasty in Persia, the two outstanding rulers of the Mughal dynasty, Babur and Akbar, also created a "national" dynasty in India— This is a remarkable achievement for a Muslim ruler in a Hindu-dominated area. There were three waves of Muslim invasion of India, each separated by long periods of time.The first wave of invasion was set off by the Arab Muslims, who invaded the Sind region near the mouth of the Indus River in 712.These Arabs failed to go deep into the interior, so their influence on India was very limited. The second wave of invasions occurred around AD 1000, when Turkic Muslims began to invade India from their strongholds in Afghanistan.These aggressions have been carried out intermittently for four centuries, with great loss of life and property.The end result: In North India, many Muslim kingdoms were established, while in South India a number of Hindu states continued to exist.However, even in North India, the majority of people are still ethnically Indian and religiously Hindu.They were not Islamized and Turkized like the people of Asia Minor.The reason is still that the Turkic people who came down from the north are only an insignificant minority compared with the millions of people in India.All they can fill are high-ranking positions in government and the military, farming people.Merchants and most of the officials depended on their Hindu subjects.Indeed, in some areas, large numbers of residents have converted to Islam, especially some lower castes - who want to escape exploitation through this new religion.However, when the third wave of Muslim invasions began with the arrival of the Mughals in 1500, India was still de facto a predominantly Hindu region. These new arrivals were also Turkic, and their leader was the striking Babur, a direct descendant of the great Turkic conqueror Timur (alias Timur the Lame).Babur inherited the small park of Fergana in Turkestan from his father, but he lost it at an early age.Later, he occupied Samarkand, the former capital of Timur, but lost it quickly.Since then, he has carried out many adventures, conquests and escapes, until he himself admits that he is very tired of this wandering life of "the king on the chessboard moves between the grids". In 1504, unexpected luck came suddenly, and he led 300 ragged men to capture Kabul, Afghanistan.From there, Babur set his greedy eyes on the fertile plains of India to the south.Some 20 years later, victory came: he miraculously defeated an Indian army of 100,000 with a small army of 12,000, supported by arquebus muskets and artillery manned by the Ottoman Turks.He took advantage of the victory to occupy Delhi as his new capital.Four years later, Babur died, but his sons continued in his path and the empire grew rapidly.The empire reached its height during the reign of Babur's grandson, the famous Akbar (reigned 1556-1605). Akbar was the most outstanding emperor of the Mughal Dynasty.He conquered Rajputana and Gujarat in the west, Bengal in the east, and several small countries on the Deccan Plateau in the south, greatly expanding the empire's territory.At that time, Mughal rule had extended from Kabul and Kashmir to the Deccan plateau, and later, under Aughzeb (reigned 1658-1707), it expanded even further—almost to the southern tip of the peninsula.In addition to his illustrious record, Bekba was a man of wide-ranging interests, many talents, and a remarkable individual.Even the Jesuits who knew him well could not but admire him for his uneducated inquisitiveness and intellectual quickness.The astonishing scope of his activities reminds people of Peter the Great.Akbar shared the Russian tsar's love of machinery, as evidenced by his research in metallurgy and the design of more powerful guns.He studied painting, loves music, is a good polo player, and can play a variety of instruments - the pot drum is his favorite one. Akbar had a particular interest in religion and philosophy, and he was constantly searching for a teaching that would satisfy his personal needs and those of his subjects.At first, his thinking was confined to Islamic papers; but in 1575, at the age of 33, he built a chapel where he discussed theology with scholars of various religions.Akbar was fascinated by the teachings expounded by Hindus, Zoroastrians, Zoroastrians, Jains, and Christians.The Jains made him abstain from meat and forbade the killing of animals.The Portuguese Jesuits made him send someone to translate the "Gospel" into Persian, make him hang the statue of the Virgin Mary around his neck and participate in the collective sacrament.At this time, the Jesuits thought that Akbar might convert to their religion, but in the end he founded a new religion of his own, "Din-Ilakhism", the "Holy Religion".Its main features are: vague monotheism; Akbar is the agent of God in the world and the only interpreter of the doctrine.The teachings of this new family religion are eclectic, combining elements of many religions, especially Zoroastrianism, Jainism, and Hinduism. Akbar's motive was not only to give full play to his talents, but also to provide a common religious belief that would unite his Hindu and Muslim subjects and forge a new India.No matter how much the "Holy Religion" satisfies his own religious needs, it has little effect on the state.The religion was too intellectual to attract crowds, and had few converts, even at court.But what Akbar failed to achieve with his synthetic religion, he gained when he ended discrimination against Hindus and made them equal to Muslims.He abolished the pilgrim tax that Hindus had to pay on pilgrimages to holy places.The poll tax on Hindus - a tax that all Muslim countries impose on non-Muslims in their countries - was abolished.Akbar also installed Hindus in high state positions; Hindus no longer saw the Mughal Empire as an enemy.The new India that Akbar had dreamed of—a nation-state rather than a divided state of Muslim masters and Hindu subjects—began to emerge. It should be emphasized here, though: the Mughal Empire was very different from the unquestionably Muslim Persian and Ottoman empires, with a Muslim superstructure and a Hindu base.The dynasty and court that ruled the country were Muslim, and art and high culture in general were mostly influenced by Persian models, and Persian was the language of court, public affairs, diplomacy, literature, and high society.However, beneath the Mughal regime and the dominant Persian culture, there was a powerful Hindu undercurrent.Most people remain loyal to the fledgling polytheistic Hinduism, which is very different from strictly monotheistic Islam.The fact that the religious beliefs and culture of the rural masses were quite different from that of the ruling group was known to foreigners at the time.An authority on this issue said, "In 1700, the Mughal Empire appeared to ordinary foreigners as Indian, just as in the 19th century, the Manchu Empire appeared as Indian to foreign observers living in China. The same as the Chinese." All three Muslim empires were first-class military powers.A strong proof of this can be found in the appeal letter sent by King Francis I of France to Suleiman I, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, in December 1525.The content of this appeal is to ask the Turks to attack the head of the Habsburg dynasty, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V!Suleiman responded in 1526 by crossing the Danube and invading Hungary, thus relieving Francis of the pressure.This was only one of many expeditions by the Turks; these expeditions not only aided France (and incidentally provided the Turks with more territory and spoils), but also rescued the Lutheran pagans - because the Turks' expeditions diverted the attention of the Hapsburgs from Germany to the threatened Danube border area.It does seem paradoxical that Muslim military power should have greatly helped a Protestant cause which was in a critical formative stage.In turn, the Persians greatly influenced the development of Europe by cooperating with the Habsburgs against their common Turkish enemy.In order to oppose the Ottoman Empire, Persia opened up a second front to prevent the Ottoman Empire from attacking Europe with all its strength; this approach is quite similar to the way Russia dealt with Germany during World War II. Muslim armies generally lagged behind European armies in artillery equipment.They depended on the Europeans for the most advanced artillery and the most experienced gunners.However, this difference is only one of degree.The lack of artillery to defend against an attack did not exist for the Muslim empire.The Muslim armies had access to a great deal of equipment, but it was not as effective and well-manned as that of the best European armies of the time. European observers, on the other hand, were impressed by the sheer size of the Muslim world.It is estimated that during the period of Akbar, the total number of the entire Indian standing army reached more than one million, which was more than double that of the Indian army in 1914.Moreover, these large armies were well-disciplined and well-trained at the height of the Muslim empires.For obvious geographical reasons, the Europeans were very familiar with the Turkish military and had a great deal of direct experience with them.This experience impresses and respects the Turkish military among Europeans.During the reign of Suleiman I, the report of Ogier Ghislaine de Basbeck, the ambassador of the Habsburg royal family in Constantinople, is quite representative. After visiting a Turkish barracks in 1555, De Basbeck wrote to his family: Administrative Efficiency The emperors of all Muslim countries had absolute power over their subjects.Thus, the administration of the state depends on the talent of the head of the empire. In the sixteenth century, the emperors of Muslim countries were men of extraordinary ability.It is safe to say that Suleiman, Abbas and Akbar are as good as any monarch anywhere in the world.In Persia, for example, an English traveler said, "This king (Athos) came to the throne and completely subdued the country; Country travel....In India, too, Akbar had a well-organized bureaucracy whose rank was indicated by the rank of cavalry. Service in the administration of the Mughal empire was well paid and promising was rapidly promoted, and thus attracted the best in India and from abroad. It is estimated that seventy per cent of the bureaucrats were foreigners, such as Persians and Afghans; Christians. After the death of an official, his property is inherited by the emperor, and his position becomes vacant. This reduces the ills such as corruption and hereditary possession, which were plaguing Western countries at that time. The tax work is performed by a The emperor's ministers are in charge. The tax department is not under the control of the governors of the provinces and has complete autonomy. It is responsible for assessing and collecting land income, and is also responsible for collecting customs duties and business taxes. In order to promote agricultural development, officials have the right to reclaim wasteland. Regions reduce taxes. Since Akbar opened his bureaucracy to all subjects, the criteria for appointing and promoting officials were talent rather than religion.Basbeck, the ambassador in Constantinople, testifies exactly the same to this Ottoman administration: In terms of economic standards, the Muslim countries in the early modern period were all developed countries in today's terms.No doubt the Western Europeans thought so too; they were willing to face any hardship or danger in order to reach as far as the fabled India and the Spice Islands.The Ottoman Empire was an impressive economic unit closer to the homes of Western Europeans.Its vast range and diverse climate ensure that it is virtually self-sufficient.The fertile plains of Hungary, Wallachia, Asia Minor, and Egypt produced abundant grain and raw materials.Skilled artisans in Constantinople, Thessaloniki, Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo, and other ancient cities produced a vast array of handicraft products.The empire also possessed vast resources of timber and important mineral deposits, especially iron, copper and lead.The vast frontiers of the Ottoman Empire provided huge free trade zones, where all these goods could be bought and sold without hindrance.The empire is located where land and sea meet.This strategic location also greatly facilitated foreign trade and transit trade. The prosperity of the empire was also reflected in the large surpluses left in the treasury. From 1526 to 1550, Suliman's annual income totaled about 6 million daka silver coins; his annual expenditure totaled about 4.5 million daka silver coins.Another sign of the empire's prosperity at the time was that even Christian peasants fared better under the Ottomans.They only have to pay a small poll tax and a tithe that accounts for about one-tenth of the agricultural products; as for the tenants in the feudal land, they also have to pay a small amount of obligations to the feudal lord, and these obligations are not heavy.Travelers of the time often remarked that Christian farmers in the Balkans were not heavily taxed and that their economic situation was generally better than that of neighboring Christian countries.In fact, Martin Luther once said, "One will find in Germany that some people look forward to the future of the Turks and their government, and some prefer to be subordinate to the Turks than to be subject to the emperor and their government." the rule of princes." For most Europeans, far more fascinating than the Ottoman Empire was the distant and exotic India.India can weave incredible textiles, especially fine cotton; this type of cotton is unmatched anywhere else in the world.India, which also served as a distribution center for goods shipped westward from the Spice Islands, was extremely rich in spices.It was India that, from the earliest days of the Roman Empire, drained Europe of its gold and silver—a fact that was so haunting to the gold- and silver-minded Europeans of that period.As one of them put it, "All countries brought money and likewise carried away goods;印度农村时，他们不免会注意到实际上过着仅能糊口的生活的农民群众的悲惨境况。但是，那时的印象不如今日那么深刻，因为当时，欧洲的农民也过着接近最低生活水平的生活。对那时的欧洲人来说，有关莫卧儿统治者极其慷慨以及朝臣和最高行政官员财产惊人的传说更富有吸引力。这些传说是正确的；后来，当英国人从衰落的莫卧儿人那里夺得对印度的控制时，证实了这一点。罗伯特·克莱夫在到达印度后的几年里，曾写信告诉父亲，他得到的财富 穆斯林商人对南亚贸易的控制，与穆斯林帝国的财富一样，具有重要意义。香料贸易尤其重要；香料一词在当时包括各种各样的东方物产：芬芳的甘松香；可用以止血和清洗血腥的檀香；妇女们极为欣赏的树胶脂格篷香胶；龙诞香、樟脑、苦艾和象牙；诸如锡兰肉桂、肉豆蔲干皮、肉豆蔻、丁香、多香果、姜和辣椒之类的调味品，其中，辣椒居首要地位。香料在只晓得用盐处理食品、对其他食物保存技术知道得很少的世界里，是极受欢迎的。好几个世纪里，香料与其他许多商品如中国的丝绸和印度的棉织品一起，由人们沿着南、北部的商人路线来回运送；南部的路线是从东印度群岛和印度沿着印度洋、再上溯波斯湾或红海而抵达叙利亚和埃及诸港口，北部的路线是从远东穿过中亚而进抵黑海沿岸和小亚细亚诸港口。随着蒙古帝国的崩溃，中亚的局面变得非常混乱，1340年以后，北部的商路实际上已堵塞。此后，大部分产品汇集到那时以前受控于穆斯林商人的南部的海路，顺海路运往各地。 这一贸易大大促成了穆斯杯世界的繁荣。它不仅以关税形式提供了政府税收，而且还为与贸易有直接或间接联系的、成千上万的商人、职员、水手、造船工人、赶骆驼者和码头工人提供了生活来源。印度商品卖给亚历山大的意大利中间人时，按成本涨价20成以上；这事实可说明牟利程度。开罗从这一贸易中获取了厚利；15世纪的旅人在描述开罗时说，其规模有巴黎的三倍之大，人口有五倍之多，城内设有街道照明系统、一所很大的公共医院和几家孤儿院，此外，还有学校、学院、庄严的清真寺、豪华的宫殿和宏伟的公共建筑物。 葡萄牙人于1498 年闯入印度洋，迅即控制了这一可获厚利的贸易的大部分。但是，他们能做到这一点，并非因为他们的商品优良或者经商技术高明，而是由于他们的海船和枪炮占有优势。实际上，我们将发现，葡萄牙人最初境况窘迫，他们没有什么可用来换取自己所垂涎的物品，只是不久从墨西哥和秘鲁的矿井中源源涌来的大批金银才将他们从这一窘境中解救出来。 宗教信仰自由伊斯兰教在基督教徒心目中，通常等于宗教狂热。但16 世纪时，基督教世界中的宗教狂热很可能较穆斯林世界中的更普遍。这是个宗教战争不息的时期：新教徒和天主教徒老是互相残杀，而且两者都不断地迫害、劫掠犹太教徒。确实，在伊斯兰教逊尼派和什叶派之间，也存在着不宽容或残酷的迫害。然而，事实依旧是，印度教徒在穆斯林莫卧儿人统治下享有的自由，比起任何居从属地位的宗教团体在基督教欧洲享有的自由。要大得多。此外，基督教徒和犹太教徒在穆斯林世界中的待遇较穆斯林和犹太教徒在基督教世界中的待遇要好些，也是无可怀疑的。 这一点可由穆斯林和犹太教徒在基督教西班牙的命运得到说明；众所周知，他们在那里遭到残忍的蹂躏，不得不逃走。但是，人们不十分清楚，大批犹太难民逃到奥斯曼帝国后，却找到了他们在西方所得不到的宽容。犹太移民常是些身怀技艺、颇有办法的人，因此，他们为自己的新祖国作出了大量贡献。实际上，有位奥斯曼苏丹曾说过，他无法理解西班牙国王为何会愚蠢地准许如此宝贵的臣民离开自己的王国。“这位斐迪南，怎么能说是'英明的'——他让自己的国家贫困，以便使我的国家富裕。”下面这段话也值得注意，它是英国驻君士坦丁堡大使的夫人、玛丽·沃特利·蒙塔古女士于1717年写的，描述了犹太教徒在奥斯曼帝国的境况： 奥斯曼帝国的绝大多数非穆斯林臣民都是基督教徒，而不是犹太教徒。这些基督教徒和其他穆斯林国家的基督教徒一样，可以自行按自己的愿望做礼拜，受到的限制较少。其原因主要在于伊斯兰教法。伊斯兰教法承认基督教徒和犹太教徒跟穆斯林一样，是圣经的臣民。基督教徒和犹太教徒都奉有一部暴典——一部成文的启示录。他们的宗教信仰被认为是合法的，只是不够完全，因为穆罕默德已取代摩西和耶稣基督。因此，伊斯兰教对基督教徒和犹太教徒颇为宽容，允许他们在受到某些限制和付出若干代价的情况下奉行其宗教信仰。 伊斯兰教也对生活的各个方面作了恰当规定。它是一部宗教法典，也是一部民法典。因之，伊斯兰教在宽容非穆斯林的宗教时，也允许他们保持自己的风俗习惯。这一政策是通过准许非穆斯林臣民组织成米勒特即拥有自己的教会首领、享有自治权的社团，得到落实。各宗教团体都有各自独立的米勒特：希腊东正教的、由启蒙者圣格列高利创立的亚美尼亚教会成员的、罗马天主教的、犹太人的以及新教徒的米勒特。这样，土耳其人便使他们的非穆斯林臣民能比较自在地管理自己。 诚然，奥斯曼帝国的非穆斯林享受不到完全的宗教平等。他们不得骑马或携带武器，必须穿独特的服装以和真正的信仰者区别开来。他们的住宅不能高于穆斯林的。他们不可以修缮自己的教堂或敲钟，除非经特别许可；而这种许可很难得到。他们必须缴纳额外的人头税，这种税在印度已为阿克巴所免除。不过，尽管有这种种不公平待遇，不遵奉国教者在苏里曼统治下的境况比在查理五世或斐迪南和伊莎贝拉统治下的境况要好些。他们可以自由地保持自己的宗教，可以去自己的教堂或犹太教堂做礼拜，可以有自己的牧师；他们只要接受苏丹的统治，便可在管理自己社团的事务时很少受到土耳其官吏的干涉。 处于威尼斯人统治下的塞浦路斯、克里特及其他一些岛屿上的希腊人，比较起来也都更喜欢早先土耳其人的统治，因为土耳其人让他们的公社享有自治权，并给他们以宗教自由。而威尼斯人则使他们受到中央集权的控制，并让天主教神父不断地劝诱他们改变宗教信仰。1710年，法国旅行者莫特雷耶在希腊西海岸的莫顿登陆时，发现市民们对他们的统治者即大约11年前赶走土耳其人的威尼斯人，都极其仇视。当地有位居民向莫特雷耶抱怨说，“他们的神父到我们跟前来攻击我们的宗教，还老纠缠着要我们信奉他们的宗教；这种事，土耳其人可从来没想到去做。正相反，他们给了我们本想要的全部自由……” 穆斯林世界在文化上和在宗教政策方面一样，取得了很高成就。16世纪时，诸穆斯林帝国的文化已很丰富、复杂、多样。其根源可以追溯到过去在中东和南亚曾繁荣一时的诸伟大文明——拜占庭文明、埃及文明、叙利亚文明、美索不达米亚文明、波斯文明和印度文明。诸穆斯林国家地处中心地区，从来自外界——欧洲和中国——的相当大的文化影响中获益匪浅，促使它们的文化虽然也许不象古希腊或近代西方世界的文化那样生气勃勃、富有独创性，但也取得了高度成就。 尤其是在建筑艺术上，穆斯林留下了至今仍保持其原有地位的精美作品。那时的建筑风格实际上因地而异，反映了地方传统和附近地区的影响。今天，耸立在开罗的属于这一时期的清真寺礼尖塔就和建在北非西部的清真寺礼尖塔大不相同；前者轮廓优美，而后者则呈方形、较厚实。在印度，莫卧儿人将波斯和印度建筑中的一些成分揉成一种独特的建筑风格，其特点是采用球形穹窿顶（即将其穹隅的顶点支在细长住上的圆屋顶）和高耸的拱门。可代表印度伊斯兰教建筑艺术的杰出纪念物有不少。其中，有阿克巴所建的法塔赫布尔西格里城，城中建有瑰丽壮观的清真寺、陵墓、公共浴室和宫殿；还有沙.贾汗在德里所建的、内庭设有著名的孔雀宝座的宫殿以及这位皇帝在阿格拉郊外所建的更为著名的泰吉·玛哈尔陵。 这一时期的波斯建筑具有一个特别令人愉快的特点：将色彩鲜明的建筑物造在有着池塘溪流、令人赏心悦目的花园里。萨菲王朝的君主的许多宫殿都建在这样的大花园里。奥斯曼帝国的建筑也处于生气勃勃的状态。世界闻名的锡南帕夏的了不起的一生可作为这方面的一个例证。他最初是一名打仗时负责架桥筑渡口的军事营造官，不久，受帝国统治者和高官显贵们的委托，专门从事建造清真寺和宫殿。在他长达90年的一生中，他工作起来总是干劲十足、成绩卓著，所以，他赢得了“土耳其的米开朗琪罗”这一国际声誉。帝国各地，从波斯尼亚到麦伽，他都留下了显露自己才华的标记。到1679年去世前，他至少建造了343座建筑物，其中包括81座清真寺、55所学校、50座小教堂、34座宫殿和33所公共浴室。他有两个弟子还是印度泰吉·玛哈尔陵的设计者。 历史和传记类著作在穆斯林国家也很流行。埃及人在编纂将过去的知识分类编排的百科全书性著作方面，尤为积极。社会科学方面，最杰出的人物要数突尼斯历史学家伊本·赫勒敦。他在自己的大部头杰作《通史导论》一书中，试图把历史当作一门科学来论述，概括地提出一种世俗的历史哲学。由于他研究了伊斯兰教帝国的盛衰，所以他能对所有帝国的兴亡作出概括。他特别强调了诸如民族的团结精神、奢侈淫逸的腐败影响以及缺乏过危险生活的机会之类的因素。赫勒敦思考的范围之广泛，使人不免会联想起希腊历史学家修昔底德。 文学，是穆斯林国家的人们极感兴趣的又一领域。这方面，波斯人可为世所公认的大师，他们创作了不少受到普遍赞美和模仿的作品。不过，按西方的鉴赏标准，穆斯林的散文和诗歌似乎有些矫揉造作、过于讲究修辞。其作品内容服从于表达形式。主要关心的是许多修饰方法的运用：移字母构新词，同音异义词（发音相同但意义不同的词，如reed和read，回文（可顺读、也可倒读的诗句），装饰（诗句排列成几何图案），四边形（诗句排列成矩形，可横读，也可竖读），隐匿（故意避免采用字母表中的某一字母），谜语（一些用数字表示的日期可由某些词中预定的字母数值的总数获得）。除了这些精巧的修辞方法外，波斯作家还忠实地重复某些传统的用语和联系。“圆脸”、“丝柏状身材”和“鲜红鱼嘴唇”都千篇一律地经常出现。如果“夜莺”给提到了，“玫瑰花”就决不会在远处。穆斯林作家在这种狭窄的框架内关心他们所熟悉的少数主题，反复不断地用愈益美丽的语言和愈益巧妙的措辞来加以表达。 除这些主要的文化活动领域外，穆斯林在其他几个方面也很出色，其中包括绘细密画、编织地毯和纺织品、烧制瓷器、鞣制皮革和制作珠宝饰物等方面。 16世纪的穆斯林世界给人留下了极为深刻的印象。苏里曼、阿克巴和阿拔斯统治的帝国至少堪与世界其他地区的帝国相匹敌。然而，17世纪时，这些帝国开始突然衰落。到18世纪，它们已远远落后于西欧，而且至今仍落后。 一个解释是，统治这些帝国的王朝都很腐败。1566 年，谢里姆二世继承苏里曼一世。他懒惰、愚钝、放荡，嗜酒如命，其臣民都称他为酒鬼谢里姆。然而，他的腐化堕落还不如他以后的许多可耻的继任者那么严重。这一时期，有位奥斯曼帝国的朝臣曾写道，易卜拉欣一世于1649年成为苏丹后，便“落入后宫的亲信和同伴、侏儒、哑巴、宦官及女人们的手中……他们一道把所有的事都弄得一团糟。”这同样的情形也发生于波斯；在波斯，阿拔斯的继承人于1629年登上王位后，也受制于后宫的影响。 在印度，帝国的衰落始于奥朗则布（1659 -1707年在位）执政时。奥朗则布是一位能干的将军、出色的行政官和一位谨慎、勤勉的统治者。但是，他有一个致命缺点：不能容忍其印度教臣民，尤其是在他漫长统治的后半阶段。他将阿克巴制定的建立一个民族国家的政策视作恰恰是对伊斯兰教思想的否定。1669年，他下令“废除异教徒的所有庙宇和学校。” 10年后，他又向印度教徒重行征收一世纪前已由阿克巴取消的人头税。奥朗则布还尽可能完全地把印度教徒赶出军队和官僚机构。这种种歧视手段自然引起广大印度教徒的强烈反抗。战争爆发了，并延续到固执的奥朗则布91岁去世时。奥朗则布把印度留在紧张、虚竭的状态中，而他的后继者都是些可悲的怪家伙，根本无能力解决他们所面临的问题。这个曾产生过杰出的巴布尔、阿克巴和同样杰出然而误入歧途的奥朗则布的王朝，此时又出现了“无头脑者”巴哈都尔沙和“快活人”即“贪图享乐者”穆罕默德沙。所以，18世纪，随着穆斯林反对印度教徒、波斯人和阿富汗人自西北部进犯以及欧洲人窃据沿海立足点，印度陷于四分五裂的境地。 这种王朝的腐败对穆斯林世界来说，尤为严重；在穆斯林世界，政治权力集中于统治者本人之手。土耳其谚语道：“鱼烂头先臭。”不过，王朝的没落并非造成穆斯林国家遭摧毁的唯一因素。所有欧洲王室都有过昏聩无能、不负责任的统治者，但他们的国家并未因此而衰亡。 对于穆斯杯世界的种种不幸，还有一个较根本的解释：它缺乏欧洲的动力。它未经历过前章所提到的、这些世纪中正在使欧洲社会发生彻底变革的种种影响深远的变化。 例如，在经济领域，无论农业、工业、金融方法或商业组织，均末发生根本变化。如果17、18世纪中，有位旅行者进入穆斯林国家，那他一定会看到早500年时十字军战士已目睹的经济惯例和经济制度。事实上，17世纪末，有位英国人确访问过君士坦丁堡；他对那里的萧条和衰微作了十分生动的描写： 以上引文的作者即那位旅行者，在结束自己的叙述时还下了这样一句评语：“要是隶属英明的政府，君士坦丁堡的居民说不定会得到地球上所有商国的财富。”这句话意味深长，因为经济上的停滞不前与穆斯林帝国政府的腐败密切相关，是无可置疑的。正如巴斯比卡所说的，只要统治者精悍、开明，专制帝国就能顺利、有效地发挥作用。但是，如果中央政府衰弱了，那么，朝臣、官吏和军官们就会勾绪起来，诈欺社会的生产阶级，不管后者是农民、工匠或商人。他们的敲诈勒索无人管束得了，扼制了私营企业和对个人富有激发力的因素。平民百姓中凡是稍微露富的，均为肆意搜刮者的攻击对象。因此，商人们都藏匿自己的财产，而不公开进行投资，以扩大自己的买卖。这一点已一再明确地为外国观察者所证实。例如：17世纪中叶，法国医生弗朗索瓦·伯尼埃在埃及、波斯和印度呆了几年，他写道： 得出这些结论的，并不只是外国观察者。有位叫约翰·普里戈斯的希腊商人，离开受土耳其人统治的祖国后，在阿姆斯特丹发了队在那座城市里，人们能够平安、公平地做商业买卖；这给他留下了深刻印象。他说过一番很能说明情况的抱怨的话： 帝国衰微的又一症状和原因是，穆斯林对西方有一种优越感：妄自以为自己是不可战胜的。当时，他们根本没想到，自己或许能从邪教徒即异教徒那里学到些什么。他们这种态度，部分是源于宗教偏见，部分是源于伊斯兰教在早先数世纪里的惊人成就。伊斯兰教已从沙漠滩上一个默默无闻的小教派成长为世界上是大的、发展最迅速的宗教——它在1500年时便已达到这一境地。因此，凡是有关基督教欧洲的东西，穆斯林的官吏和学者就看不起，示以轻蔑和傲慢。1756年，当法国驻君士坦丁堡大使宣告法奥同盟（它标志着欧洲外交史上的一个转折点）成立时，还得到草率无礼的通知：奥斯曼帝国政府“对一头猪与另一头猪的联合”不感兴趣。这种态度，在16世纪也许是可理解的；在18世纪，则是荒唐的、自取灭亡的。 这种唯我独尊的态度所带来的最有破坏性的一个后果是，在穆斯林世界和西方之间，特别是在愈益重要的科学领域，放下了一道思想铁幕。实际上，穆斯林学者对于帕拉切尔苏斯在医学方面、维萨里和哈维在解剖学方面、哥白尼、开普勒和伽利略在天文学方面所作出的划时代的成就一无所知。不但他们不了解这些科学进步，而且他们自己那时什么也没做，也不打算将来做些什么。 这种无知和唯我独尊不能归因于伊斯兰教本身。据传说，“去寻求知识吧，哪怕远到中国”这句格言就是穆罕默德说的。中世纪穆斯林在自然科学和人文科学方面的辉煌成就也表明，不能将伊斯兰教与思想发展的停滞相提并论。所以，穆斯林落后于西方的原因不该到伊斯兰教的信条中去找，而应用近代初期伊斯兰教奄奄一息的状况来解释。近代初期，伊斯兰教已没落到它只是意味着履行一系列宗教仪式和熟记天赐教典的程度。这种状况又影响到教育，使教育倒退到只是以穆斯林的宗教研究为中心，而这种研究颇为肤浅，只是以琐细无意义的分析为主要方法。 关于这一点，伯尼埃的观察报告和绘论特别有价值。伯尼埃曾受业于法国著名科学家皮尔·伽桑狄，是位训练有素的医生；后来，1656至1668年，他一直生活在中东和印度——主要是在印度。伯尼埃认为，穆斯林世界的教育和科学之所以毫无成效，一方面是因为剥削人的政治制度，另一方面是因为极其缺乏从事实验性的、可检验的科学研究的观念或愿望。He wrote: 可说明穆斯林帝国何以衰落的最后一个因素是，这三大穆斯林帝国都是陆上帝国。它们的缔造者土耳其人、波斯人和莫卧儿人都是没有航海传统的民族，因此，他们的帝国都面向陆地、背朝大海。诚然，这些帝国确也包括了某些长期以来一直进行海上贸易的地区。奥斯曼帝国版图内的埃及，作为南亚和欧洲之间交换香料和其他商品的一个贸易中心，在当时已有几百年的历史。莫卧儿帝国疆域内、位于印度西海岸的古吉拉特邦，屡屡派遣船队来抵东南亚、西达中东，在当时也已为时很久。埃及于1517年为土耳其人所征服，古吉拉特则于1572年为莫卧儿人所征服。这些新来的统治者对海外贸易极不感兴趣，因此，当葡萄牙人开始夺取印度洋上所有的战略位置时，他们未采取行动加以制止。土耳其人确曾派出几支远征队顺红海而下，但是，这些远征队与他们派往波斯和中欧的陆上远征队相比，是微不足道的。莫卧儿帝国的皇帝在葡萄牙私商夺取对印度洋商船航线的控制时，也未有效地帮助他们的古吉拉特邦臣民进行抵制。 这种形势的意义在于，欧洲人能在不遭受以往一向控制欧、亚之间大部分贸易的穆斯林的反对的情况下，成为世界商船航线的主人。其影响是深远的，因为对世界贸易的控制使欧洲人极大地富裕起来，进一步促进了他们经济、社会和政治的发展。于是，一个恶性循环逐步形成：西欧因从事世界性贸易而愈来愈富裕、愈来愈拥有生产力和动力、愈来愈实行扩张政策，而一度令人生畏的穆斯林帝国则因很少参与新的世界经济而仍处于静止状态，并愈来愈落到后面。 后面论述儒家世界。那里的情况尽管与穆斯林世界有些局部的不同，但基本上相似——同样的一般性力量在起作用；较西方而言，同样地处于衰落阶段。