World Civilizations: Suleiman's Influence On The Ottoman Empire
481 Words2 Pages
Cosette Lim November 15, 2014
World Civilizations P.4 Suleiman Paragraph Assignment
Suleiman the Magnificent was an intelligent and prominent sultan that changed the Ottoman Empire economically, culturally, and politically.
Suleiman economically changed the Ottoman Empire by taxing Christian families with an special tax, which was requiring them to turn over their youngest sons to serve the government. From this tax, an elite force was created – the janissaries, who were trained Christian boys that had been converted to Islam and placed in a rigorous military school. This concept gave the citizen’s religious freedom, as well as economic and military help for the government. Also, within the many religious millets of the Ottoman Empire, the Jewish millet included many Jews educated in the ideas of banking. This brought the empire international connections, as well as…show more content… This society was divided by the citizens’ roles in the community. The highest class included the “men of the sword”, which were the soldiers, and then the “men of the pen”, who were the scientists, lawyers, judges, and poets. Below them were the “men of negotiation”, which included the merchants, tax collectors, and artisans of trade and production. And the lowest class was the “men of husbandry” who were the farmers and herders that provided food for the community. Also, the society was divided by religious millets, each millet including a religious leader. These communities included Muslims, Greek Christians, Armenian Christians, and Jews – who all played a role in society. Another cultural achievement was in literature and art, which flourished under Suleiman’s rule. Suleiman greatly stressed the idea of art. Poets and painters took inspiration from Persian and Arab works, as well as in architecture. Sinan, a royal architect, designed many mosques and palaces, including the Selimiye Mosque at