Demographics+and+Daily+Life

Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire had 25-32 million people living within its boundaries in 1800. There is not an accurate number because the leaders of the empire did not take a census during this time. At this point the literacy rate among civilians was about 2-3% because printing technology had not yet been introduced. There was a university built in 1795, called Mühendishane-i Bahr-i Humayun, which was dedicated to training shipbuilders and cartographers.

In the Ottoman Empire there were two classes in the social structure: the Osmanli (ruling class) and the Rayas (the serving class). You could become a member of the ruling class if you acknowledge your loyalty to the sultan and practice Islam. The ruling class and some of the Rayas lived in large, ornate palaces made by the great architects of that time period.

There was a large blending of cultures because of the many conquered trade cities that were under ottoman rule. Because of this, there was some religious tolerance for Christianity and Judaism, but the major religion of this empire was Islam.

Interesting Fact:
The currency was the Akçe,, and the Lira



Safavid Empire
The Safavid Empire was 2,850,000 km2 large and had more than 1 million people. The official religion of the empire was Shi’ism, which is a form of Islam. The majority of the population at the end of the 18th century was Shi’ite. Even though the people had strong religious beliefs, the government was very secular.

There has been some debate over the origin of the Safavids, but most scientists agree that they are a mixed ancestry of Georgian, Azerbaijani, Kurdish, and Greek lines. The leaders of the Safavid Empire claimed to be directly descendent to Muhammad. The majority of the population during that time was merchants or artisans, and there was a large middle class made rich from investing in trade.

Interesting Fact:
The official languages of the Empire were Azeri Turkish and Persian.

Mughal Empire
"Mughal" is the Persian word for “Mongol”, which was derived from the original homelands of the Timurids, which were conquered by Genghis Khan and thus known as Moghulistan. In1700 the population of the Mughal Empire was about 150,000,000 million people, most of which were poor. The middle-class merchants pretended to be poor to avoid taxation.The nobility was made up of mostly foreigners and Rajput Aristocrats, but anybody from any caste or nationality could be given a title by the emperor.

Important industries in the Mughal Empire include shipbuilding, textiles, and steel.

The official religion of the Empire was Islam, but under Akbar’s rule other religions were tolerated. Akbar also created a new belief system which combined the principles of Islam, Zoroastrianism, Jainism and Christianity. (Called Din-i-Ilahi)

The official languages of the Mughal Empire are Dari Persian, Chagatai, and Urdu.

Interesting Fact:
The currency of the Mughal Empire is the Rupee.



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