history sbq

“mostly concerned about the military” is defined as prioritizing the ottoman military over other issues in the state. Source A supports the hypothesis wheres source b, c ,d and e opposes the hypothesis. This essay disagrees with the hypothesis and believes that the sources show that Suleiman the Magnificent was not mostly concerned about the military but instead the welfare of his society.
Supports:
Source A supports the hypothesis. The source states “ From Hungary…soon to Rhine perhaps he will come”, contextualizing the military conquest of Suleiman the magnificent during his reign of the Ottoman empire into a song. Furthermore from the choice of words such as “…By break of day” and “ soon away” it hence suggest the expansions were fast and rapid with little duration between the conquest of different territories throughout Europe. Through analyzing the source , it hence can be inferred that Suleiman had a thirst for territorial expansion as well as building a sovereignty of his own through bringing the ottomans a greater sphere of influence was a huge driving force for his actions and part of his goal as a ruler. With military force being the main tool for military conquest during that time, his thirst for greater expansion and his ultimate goal to create a larger empire hence suggests his concern for his military as ultimately only that could translate his ideas ,goals into actions and victories hence achieving his aims. Thus source A supports the hypothesis as it can be inferred that Suleiman is mostly concerned about the military.
Challenges:
At face value, Source B challenges the hypothesis as it states that Suleiman had special concern for the lower class of the ottoman society, through his domestic policies. As the source states “…to the Turkish territories, where they knew that, besides the payment of the tenths, they would be subject to no imposts or vexations. I noticed that the same tendency prevailed among the inhabitants of the Morea, who preferred Ottoman to Venetian rule”. It hence suggests that Suleiman’s domestic policy was well sought after and attracted many tax paying lower class subject. Using words such as’ where they knew that ‘, it seems that it was common knowledge among the rayas that under the rule of Suleiman and the ottomans, a better quality of life was offered. It hence can be inferred that Suleiman was not just concern about ottoman’s military but also ensured that his citizens were taken care of and that people will be attracted to reside in his territory and hence he was concerned about his own domestic policies. This statement matches with my contextual knowledge as Suleiman did give particular attention to the plight of the rayas, Christian subjects who worked the land of the Sipahis. His "Code of the Rayas", reformed the law governing levies and taxes to be paid by the rayas, raising their status above serfdom to the extent that Christian serfs would migrate to Turkish territories to benefit from the reforms. Furthermore according to my contextual knowledge , rayah were not eligible for military service, it was only until the late 16th century where Muslim rayah became eligible which was a period of time after Suleiman’s reign which was till 1566. Thus it could be inferred that Suleiman did not attract these subjects for sole military purposes. Looking into the provenance we would also see that this extract was written by an Hungarian writer who escaped into the ottoman empire. The fact that he willing did this suggests a greater reliability of the source as this meant that the domestic policies of Suleiman indeed benefitted his subjects. His claims also matches with my contextual knowledge. Hence at face value this source challenges the hypothesis that Suleiman was mainly concerned with the military.
At face value, Source C challenges the hypothesis. The source states” new criminal and police legislation were also enacted in Suleiman’s kannus, covering offenses against morals, violence and theft.”. Hence it showed that through Suleiman’s administrative reforms, he made sure that was law and order in his state, minimizing the crimes and ensured justice for his people. This hence ensured social stability through lower crime rates making sure that his people’s welfare were taken care off. The source also stated that “Throughout the country Suleiman strengthened his government, especially in terms of the Muslim institution” . It is then explained that he did this through the betterment of his administration of the Ottoman empire. It could hence be inferred that he as a leader was concerned about the welfare of his people and that the ottoman empire was running with justice and law, Thus challenging the hypothesis. This source matches with source B in telling us that Suleiman did care about his people and draws a clearer picture of why the ottoman empire was so alluring to the rayas. In source B it was mentioned that”… face no vexations”. This can be linked to the peace and order that source C states. It hence showed that the ottoman empire under Suleiman’s reign enjoyed a time of peace and order which made it so alluring to outsiders to be a subject of this state. More importantly it showed that Suleiman cared about the welfare of his subjects.
Source D challenges the hypothesis. The source states “To control the state requires a large army; to support the army requires great wealth”. It hence shows that Suleiman felt that in his controlling of the empire he needs an army and this can only happen on the basis that his subjects prosper. of. From the source we also see that Suleiman understands that to achieve his ultimate goal: to rule the state at his best., he needs a strong army to translate his ideas into victory and eventual expansion. However by adding on that “We will see that the laws are just, and that our people prosper, and that our empire does not collapse.” From this it hence states that Suleiman felt that in order for his empire to progress , justice and law must exist for the happiness and social stability of his society and subjects. He acknowledges the fact that to expand externally and gain control of other territories he must first ensure that internal affairs in his own empire are taken care of. We can infer that he prioritize the survival of his empire as compared to further expansion. .From this source it can be inferred that Suleiman main goal was to run the state at his best and though aware that he knows only a strong army can translate his goals into actions for expansion , he is even more sure that he needs to make sure that internal affairs are taken care off to make sure that his state does not collapse. And also the fact that only by ensuring a successful state can he continue with further expansion. This source hence shows us that he was more concerned in the welfare of his people as compared to military.
Source D is useful in giving a clearer picture. Due to the fact this was a speech made by Suleiman himself it showed that his main goal was to rule the state, being the first issue that he first addressed. This hence gives us a clearer idea on source C and source B as we now know that ultimately his motivation behind making sure the welfare of his people were taken care of was to make sure that he could rule the state better. Though the sources did not state directly that he was less concerned on the military however, there was also no direct mention that he was concerned with the military either. Though sources A supports the hypothesis showing that he wanted to gain more land , and hence needed the military however this does not necessary mean that he was mostly concerned on the military. As source D states he knows that the welfare of his people was the real building block for him to rule his state as the best way that he knows how to. And by the sources we will see that he, instead was more concerned with the welfare of his people to ensure the success of his state. Military is necessary for expansion, welfare and happiness of his subjects is necessary to prevent his state from collapsing which was prioritized during his rule.