o Overview
-> Gunpowder and expansion
-> Ottoman and Safavid empires
-> Mughal expansion in South Asia
o Gunpowder and expansion
-> Cannons breached walls; firearms aided conquest.
-> Armies also needed money, supplies, and skilled commanders.
-> Russian fur traders used armed force to secure trade.
-> Rulers sought land, taxes, trade, and security.
-> Conquest let rulers tax diverse peoples and resources.
-> Tax revenue supported armies and further state-building.
o Ottoman and Safavid empires
-> Ottomans expanded in southeastern Europe and the Middle East.
-> Cannons helped Mehmed II take Constantinople in 1453.
-> Ottoman routes and cities increased trade revenue.
-> Safavids built an empire in Persia under Shah Ismail.
-> Chaldiran (1514): Ottoman firearms defeated Safavid cavalry.
-> Ottoman-Safavid rivalry mixed faith and political competition.
o Mughal expansion in South Asia
-> Babur ruled Kabul before founding Mughal power in India.
-> At Panipat (1526), Babur's guns aided victory in India.
-> Mughals expanded across South Asia for land and revenue.
-> Local alliances helped govern conquered populations.
-> Land taxes funded armies; resistance limited imperial control.
o Overview
-> Qing expansion and frontier rule
-> Russian expansion across Siberia
-> Rivalry and costs of empire
o Qing expansion and frontier rule
-> Manchu rulers conquered Ming China; they took Beijing in 1644.
-> Qing took Taiwan in 1683; Khalkha Mongols submitted in 1691.
-> Conquest secured borders and access to frontier trade.
-> Manchus imposed queues on Han men as signs of submission.
-> Qing allied with Mongol elites, adapting frontier rule.
-> Kangxi defeated Dzungar forces in Mongolia in 1696.
o Russian expansion across Siberia
-> Russia sought furs, tribute, land, and Pacific access.
-> Cossacks crossed Siberia; firearms aided armed expeditions.
-> Forts and tribute extended tsarist authority eastward.
-> Fur trade funded expansion but displaced local peoples.
-> Siberian peoples paid yasak fur tribute under coercion.
o Rivalry and costs of empire
-> Ottomans and Safavids fought over borderlands and influence.
-> Safavids and Mughals contested strategic Kandahar.
-> Russia and Qing competed over Siberian frontier claims.
-> Nerchinsk (1689) set a border and regulated trade.
-> Empires used war and diplomacy to secure routes and resources.
-> Resistance and long supply lines raised conquest costs.