Period (1640s and 1650s) of the Ottoman Empire when leading members of the imperial harem effectively controlled the state, directed foreign policy, and oversaw the fiscal system.

A mystical interpretation of scripture developed by rabbis that became newly popular in the 17th century in part via the influence of Sabbatai Zvi (1626-1676).

(r. 1558-1603) English queen who oversaw the return of the Protestant Church of England and, in 1588, the successful defense of the realm against the Spanish Armada.

Protestant church founded by King Henry VIII of England when he broke with the Catholic Church in 1533. Also known as the Anglican Church; the monarchy is its supreme head.

The greatest Muslim philosopher of the modern era; his most important book is The Four Journeys of the Intellect (1638).

Compromise settlement (1555) between Charles V and Lutheran princes that granted Lutheranism legal recognition. With this policy, the religion of the local ruler determined the state religion of the principality, with certain guarantees offered for the rights of the religious minority.

Trend of aristocratic landowners toward evicting small farmers (by enclosing formerly open fields with stone walls or hedges) and instead using those fields for the more profitable grazing of livestock, especially sheep.

Conflict that began in 1618 between Protestants and Catholics in Germany and gradually enveloped most of Europe, ending in 1648 after massive losses of life and property.

In early modern and modern Europe, segregated communities of Jews in cities.

Twelfth-century Persian philosophical program that attempts to harmonize Sufism, Shi'ism, and rational philosophy.

The Calvinists in 16th-century France, led by Henri de Navarre.

A collection of treaties (1648) negotiated by the first general diplomatic congress in Western history. Involving more than one hundred delegations, it brought a century of European conflict to a close.