Since the beginning of civilization, people have always ruled each other, usually through a monarch, but monarchs were overthrown often due to their response to internal and external factors. Different rulers all over the world responded to factors that threatened their rule in different ways, most rulers used violence and force, while others tried to peacefully resolve the conflict. During the post-classical period, many civilizations were interacting profusely which led to a spread in culture and ideas that sometimes challenged the societal norms in an empire and forced rulers to respond in order to maintain power. The Yuan Dynasty in China and the Ottoman Empire both had to respond to many external and internal factors like the spread of foreign religions in their empire, power gaps, and revolts, but both responded differently to their situations.
Both the Yuan Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire had to respond to foreign religions like Christianity. The Ottoman Empire was mostly tolerant of other religions but made them pay taxes to practice. According to the article 'Ottoman Empire' “Those who weren’t Muslim were categorized by the millet system...millets paid taxes”. The millet system was how minorities in the Ottoman Empire were able to rule themselves, but if they did not pay the tax they would lose their rights. The Ottomans also used the devshirme system, but it only required Christians to send their kids to serve the state and convert to Islam. Some converts held powerful positions in the Ottoman government and military. The Yuan emperors however preferred foreign religions over Chinese religions and allowed them to be practiced freely which allowed them to grow. In the article 'The Yuan Dynasty' it states that “they were receptive and tolerant of all religions, fostering a period of growth and expansion for many faiths, including Christianity”. Before the Yuan dynasty, Christians in China did not have many rights and Christianity was even outlawed at one point, but once the Yuan dynasty came to power the Pope was able to send diplomats to China, which led to Christians receiving more rights and the spread of Christianity. The Yuan dynasty also protected other religions like, Tibetan Lamaism which allowed it to prosper in China. The Ottomans and Yuan dynasty both experienced the spread of foreign religions in their empires, but both reacted very differently.
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In the past, life expectancy was very low so when a leader died the power gap left would lead to wars, but some empires had a policy to prevent the war before it started. The Ottomans did not have a rule of succession, so when a sultan was crowned his brothers were killed to prevent a war over the throne. In the article 'The History of fratricide in the Ottoman Empire. Part 1' it states “Any of my sons ascend the throne, it acceptable for him to kill his brothers”. The Ottoman Empire had experienced many wars over power, one of the biggest being the Ottoman Interregnum, a civil war over the throne, which may have led to the creation of the Conqueror's Law of Governance by Sultan Mehmed II. Many people were skeptical about this law which killed innocent men, but the law was backed by the Quran, but as time went on the sultan, imprisoned his brothers instead of killing them. Like the Ottoman Empire, the Yuan Dynasty did not have a rule of succession after the death of Kublai Khan, but unlike the Ottomans, there was no law established to prevent wars over power. According to the article 'The Mongol Dynasty', “Without an accepted rule of succession, the death of an emperor caused violent conflict among the different would-be rulers”. After the death of Kublai Khan, China became chaotic and in the span of 25 years China had 8 emperors, the Mongols spent too much time warring overpower, which led to a weaker dynasty. The weakened dynasty eventually fell to Zhu Yuanzhang and led to the establishment of the Ming dynasty. The Ottomans and Yuan dynasty are both violent when there is a power gap, but the Ottomans had a plan to prevent the wars for power, unlike the Yuan dynasty.
During the classical period, many empires were experiencing change which led to revolts both the Ottoman Empire and the Yuan Dynasty had revolts that weakened the empire, but the response the government had was different and the people that revolted were usually not the same in both empires. In the Ottoman Empire, most revolutions and coups were started or planned by the brothers of the sultan. According to the article 'OTTOMAN INTERREGNUM', “The Interregnum lasted for 11 years until Mehmed Çelebi emerged as victor”. After the Sultan Bayezid I died one of his sons was crowned sultan, but his other sons did not acknowledge his authority so they revolted and a civil war began over the throne until only Mehmed was alive. Also, when the Sultan Selim I came to power his brother planned a coup to overthrow him and was backed by some high ranking officials, but he was caught and executed before the coup occurred. Unlike in the Ottoman Empire, the revolts in the Yuan dynasty were usually started by ordinary Chinese people and as a result, the Yuan dynasty would reduce the rights of all the Chinese in the country. As stated in the article 'The Yuan Dynasty' it states: “Li Tan…instigated a revolt against Mongol rule in 1262. After successfully suppressing the revolt, Kublai curbed the influence of the Han Chinese advisers in his court”. Li Tan, a normal Chinese man started the revolt in 1262 as a result of the revolt, Kublai Khan was afraid the Han Chinese in his government would use their power to weaken his authority and overthrow him. As a result, a social system was created with the Han at the bottom and the advice of many Han Chinese advisors was also ignored. The Ottoman Empire usually had revolutions started by members of the royal family which resulted in their death but the revolutions in the Yuan Dynasty were started by ordinary Chinese people and resulted in the Chinese losing many rights.
In conclusion, the Ottoman Empire and the Yuan Dynasty were two important empires that shaped the regions they occupied and the culture in those regions. Both empires had many factors that they had to respond to in order to maintain control of their empire though they did not respond similarly both used their power to deal with the factors and help their empire grow and expand. Both the Ottoman Empire and the Yuan Dynasty had to deal with the spread of foreign religions in their empire, power gaps, and revolts all of which have contributed to the fall of empires throughout history, but both managed to last for multiple generations.
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