Compare And Contrast Ming Empire And Ottoman Empire

When different Empires last for centuries they often show similarities in the reasoning for their success. In the case of the Ming Dynasty rulers used conservatism in the government and culture as well as control of trade and exploration to develop an empire of great prosperity. In contrast, the Ottoman Empire allowed acceptance of cultures and religions and a strong international trade presence to also create an empire of great wealth and success. Although the two Empires differ in the organization and source of revenue for their empires, they both used a strict ruling system to maintain control over their territories.

The Ming Dynasty rose to power under the control of HongWu. He was the commander of the rebel army, The White Lotus, who

The Ottoman engaged in both international and national trade. Mehmed II made the Ottoman Empire the dominant power in the eastern Mediterranean when he captured Constantinople. Socially and economically merchants were celebrated and thought as upper class members of society. Without merchants the Ottoman Empire would not have prospered and gained as much power. Through trade and exploration merchants brought back important ideas and technology from the East and the West that helped the Empire prosper. The merchants were able to satisfy the countries hungry for new ideas and power. With the territories that Mehmed II gained he was able to “Master both shores of the Bospurus, he vigorously pursued his goal of naval hegemony at sea as well as military hegemony on land,” (“The Ottomans in West Asia” 1) Thus expanding the strength of the Ottomans military power and international trade

The Ottoman Empire was tolerant of many religions and cultures. Although the government would have wanted everyone to practice the Islamic religion, due the size and the syncretic culture they realized that they could not force this idea on all citizens. To compromise they allowed dions to be practice such as Christianity and Judaism, as long as the people still paid the jizya taxes. In order to keep the government on the same page the “Ottoman provincial administration appeared to have been a highly efficient system, its severity mitigated by an elaborate set of checks and balances,” (“The Ottomans in West Asia” 6) Due to the large acceptance of the different cultures that Ottoman Empire expanded its territory to, the government was greatly influenced by the Turkish, Arabic, Persian and Greek Cultures. This form of tolerance with the combination of a strong and grounded government system helped the people of the Empire refrain from revolting, allowing the government to remain stable for