Examkin

Question

Difficulty: Very hardOttoman, Safavid, and Mughal Expansion

“By the grace of the Almighty, the gunners and matchlockmen, under the command of Ustad Ali Quli and Mustafa, performed their duties with extreme skill. They fired their mortars and matchlocks from behind the line of carts, which had been chained together in the Ottoman fashion, causing immense terror and devastation among the enemy’s ranks. Our left wing and right wing swept around the enemy, driving them into the center where they were crowded together and easily cut down. Thus, a force that numbered one hundred thousand men was defeated in half a day, and the capital of Hindustan fell into our hands.”

—Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire, memoirs describing the Battle of Panipat, 1526

Which of the following developments in the period 1450–1750 is best illustrated by the passage?

  1. The diffusion of gunpowder technology and military tactics across Islamic empires to facilitate territorial conquest.Answer
  2. B
    The reliance of Mughal rulers on the devshirme system to conscript specialized gunpowder infantries.
  3. C
    The successful expansion of the Safavid Empire into South Asia to control lucrative maritime trade networks.
  4. D
    The military decline of Islamic empires in the post-classical era due to political fragmentation following the Mongol invasions.

Answer

The diffusion of gunpowder technology and military tactics across Islamic empires to facilitate territorial conquest.
The correct answer shows how military technology (such as mortars and matchlocks) and military organization (such as Ottoman wagon-line tactics) diffused across networks of exchange and political boundaries, enabling the Mughal founder Babur to conquer northern India and establish a large, centralized empire.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus context and keywords.
The source is from Babur (Mughal founder) in 1526, describing the defeat of the Lodi Sultanate at Panipat in South Asia ('Hindustan') using gunpowder tools ('mortars and matchlocks') and 'Ottoman fashion' tactics (wagons chained together).
To identify the historical actors and the specific technologies or strategies they are using for imperial expansion.
2
Connect the stimulus to the broader AP World History concept.
The passage documents the diffusion of Ottoman military strategies to the Mughals, showing the significance of gunpowder and tactical innovation in the expansion of land-based empires in the early modern era.
To align the historical details in the source with the thematic trends of Unit 3: Land-Based Empires.
3
Evaluate the choices and eliminate incorrect distractors.
The option mentioning the devshirme is historically inaccurate for the Mughals; the option placing the Safavids in South Asia misidentifies the empire's geography; the option claiming decline misinterprets the rise of these major powers. The option emphasizing the diffusion of gunpowder technology correctly identifies the global historical development.
To ensure the correct answer is selected based on historical accuracy and the prompt's focus.

Key Concept

Early Modern Gunpowder Empires and Imperial Expansion
Rate this question

Topics

Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Expansion

More questions from this topic