Unit Plan 22 (Grade 7 Social Studies): Empires of Faith—Ottomans, Safavids, Mughals
Compare how the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires expanded through trade, art, governance, and tolerance—revealing how power, culture, and diversity shaped everyday life across Afro-Eurasia.
Focus: Compare how Islamic empires expanded through trade, art, administration, and policies of tolerance—and how these shaped diverse peoples’ lives.
Grade Level: 7
Subject Area: Social Studies (World History • Civics • Geography • Inquiry)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Students explore the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires as interconnected “gunpowder” states that fused commerce, culture, and governance. Using maps, mini-sources, and visual analysis (architecture, textiles, miniatures), learners compare how rulers built legitimacy, managed diversity, and linked Afro-Eurasian markets.
Essential Questions
- How did trade routes, cities, and resources power these empires’ rise?
- In what ways did rulers use law, art/architecture, and religious policy to build legitimacy?
- When and for whom did tolerance expand opportunities—and when did it narrow?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Compare perspectives and experiences across groups (court elites, artisans, soldiers, merchants, religious communities, women) in the three empires (Hist.3).
- Identify turning points and big ideas (gunpowder tech, capital relocations, legal/administrative reforms, cultural florescence) and explain their legacies (Hist.4).
- Describe global exchange networks (Mediterranean, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, Silk Road corridors) and diffusion of goods/ideas/beliefs (Geo.5).
- Explain how forms of government and claims to authority/legitimacy operated (millet, qanun, ulama, mansabdari, patronage) (Civ.1–2).
- Craft a comparative claim supported by maps, visuals, and corroborated sources.
Standards Alignment — 7th Grade (C3-based custom)
- 7.C3.Hist.3 — Diverse perspectives/experiences across global societies.
- 7.C3.Hist.4 — Turning points/big ideas and their legacies.
- 7.C3.Geo.5 — Global networks of exchange and diffusion.
- 7.C3.Civ.1–2 — Government forms; power, authority, legitimacy.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can trace goods/ideas across routes and explain who benefited and why.
- I can show how rulers justified power and how subjects experienced those choices.
- I can make a comparative argument with maps, images, and citations.