The different empires we have studied so far have handled ethnic and religious diversity in a variety of different ways. Some, like the Safavids, have tried to destroy any differences in people that may weaken the empire. They did this by forcing everyone to conform to a single religion, Shia Islam. In contrast, the Ottoman empire was incredibly tolerant towards other cultures and religions. They were known for allowing Christians, Jews, and Muslims to practice their religions free from severe persecution. The Mughal empire took a sort of middle path. They were tolerant of different religions, but instead of allowing the people to be divided by their beliefs, created a new religion that drew from multiple sources. This religion pleased the masses while promoting devout loyalty to the emperor himself, a genious endeavor by the Mughal leaders.
Most of these empires seemed more willing to accept racial diversity than religious diversity. This is probably because while expanding their empires they couldn't help but absorb different cultures and ethnicities, and had to accept it. However, people of a certain empire can be divided or conflicted because of a variety of religions being present. All the people might not be united with the same morals and values, there may be more uprisings or disagreements with the government. Because of this, many empires do not support religious diversity.
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Emily, I like how you brought up that all people may not be united with the same morals and values because I think that this is an important point with empires. It's ok for people to not all feel the same way on all issues, but when the government starts to force people to feel the same way the problems start to grow. I think that valuing different opinions is more successful then trying to make everyone feel the same way about everything. Individual thinking is key.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Taylor. Not only does individual thinking make everyone happier, but it also often provides better answers to problems that may arise. If people think differently from one another then they can give more diverse solutions and perspectives that could help. However, there is value in forcing people to think the same way because they'd be easier to control.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you distinguished between ethnic and religious diversity by saying that religious diversity has the potential to divide a nation. Because religions enforce their own moral code, these religions might not agree with the direction of the empire. The ruler has to make the decision to unite the empire under one religion with the risk of going against the peoples' beliefs or allow dissension within the empire.
ReplyDeleteI actually agree with Taylor and the other posts. There are pros and cons to both. If people were all the same religion, and if the people were content about being that religion, then they would be easy to rule. If people were forced to be one religion, and they did not want to be a part of that religion, then they would cause many problems. If people were accepting of different religions, then it would be difficult to come up with a law that everybody agreed on. However, there would be many different perspectives on how to solve a problem within the empire.
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