Differences in Empires.

In the fifteenth and to the seventieth centuries, religious beliefs had a very important impact on the lives people. Cultures were being formed and destroyed because of their beliefs. During these times cultures became united through syncretism, separated cultures through sectarianism, and cause wars by having different beliefs.

Babur is one example of cultural syncretism. In the Baburnama, Babur had taken over the land of Hindustan and had a hard decision to make. How am I going to rule this new land? Babur already had his own culture and religious beliefs and could have forced them upon the Hindustanis. This probably would have caused many problems with his reign so he decided to learn and combine the Hindustanis culture with his own. With this compromise the Moghal Empire was able to rise and have its own identity rather than having something similar to their ancestors.

Sectarianism also took place in the old modern world. The class talked about how people were stuck in demographic cycles. They would repeat the same course of actions over and over. People would do and believe in things they were told do, but it was only a matter of time before people became independent. Although there were Muslims who believe in the Qu'ran and followed its word, people like Ibn Khaldun wanted to find their own purpose.

Even though some people had a choice in choosing their religion, many did not. This was because of the Spanish and their ambitions to conquer new land. They would force people to join their religion. In the book Genesis, the Spanish would even try to justifying their killings by proclaiming that the Native Americans were simple people who did not serve God. The Spanish would also enslave many people causes them to forget their roots.

The old modern world is a unique time period in history. During this time people started to have their own train of thoughts. No longer did people want to do things that they themselves did not believe in. Having a choice is all that people wanted. People had the choice to follow tradition or create their own.