Political intrigue, imperial expansionism, a harem of women who rule from these shadows; this isn't your average TV fantasy drama; this is the history of the Ottoman Empire. Following the influx of Turkic peoples into the traditionally Arabian Middle East, few could have expected that a 600-year empire would have risen from a handful of scattered Islamic states. Even fewer would have guessed that the Ottoman Empire would bring about the end of the Byzantine Empire, conquer up to the walls of Vienna in Austria, and partake in one of the largest wars in history. Keen to learn more? Read on to discover the history of the Ottoman Empire.
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Political intrigue, imperial expansionism, a harem of women who rule from these shadows; this isn't your average TV fantasy drama; this is the history of the Ottoman Empire. Following the influx of Turkic peoples into the traditionally Arabian Middle East, few could have expected that a 600-year empire would have risen from a handful of scattered Islamic states. Even fewer would have guessed that the Ottoman Empire would bring about the end of the Byzantine Empire, conquer up to the walls of Vienna in Austria, and partake in one of the largest wars in history. Keen to learn more? Read on to discover the history of the Ottoman Empire.
Ottoman Empire Overview
The Ottoman Empire was a Turkic Sultanate based in the Middle East in Asia, North Africa, and Southern Europe that ruled from 1299 to 1922. Practicing Sunni Islam, the Ottoman Turks descended from the migratory Seljuk Turks who settled in Anatolia around the 11th century. Establishing small beyliks in the region that is modern-day Turkey, the Seljuk Turks soon coalesced into a state rivaling the Abbasid Dynasty to the east and the Byzantine Empire to the west.
Descending from the Seljuk Turks, the Ottoman Empire already had deep roots in rivalries with the Christian powers of Europe. From the first crusade in the 11th century to the Ottoman Empire's besieging of Constantinople in 1453 and the Sieges of Vienna, the Ottomans only continued this historical tradition. There were Islamic rivalries, too, as seen in the competitive Shia Islamic Safavid Empire from the east and the invasive Timurid Empire.
Beylik:
An Anatolian administrative division or state under the rule of a bey, a Turkic leader.
Fig. 1- Ottoman forces facing off against Polish cavalry at the 1683 Siege of Vienna.
The Birth of the Ottoman Empire
As the Seljuk Turk's Sultanate of Rum declined in the early 14th century, enterprising Beylik chieftains saw an opportunity for expansion. Among them was Osman I from the northern Anatolian region of Bithynia, a mysterious figurehead who began a history of conquest throughout Anatolia (and whose name the "Ottoman" name is drawn from). Osman I's descendants did most of the work expanding his beylik; by the 14th century, the Ottoman Dynasty had conquered much of the Balkans, officially beginning their reign as an empire.
Ottoman Empire Timeline
The timeline below provides a brief progression of events important to the history of the Ottoman Empire:
11th century CE: The Seljuk Turks migrated to Anatolia.
1320's: Estimated death date of Osman I, founder of the House of Osman, the Ottoman Dynasty.
1389: The Ottomans emerged victorious at the Battle of Kosovo, cementing their power and continued expansion in the Balkans.
1402: The Ottoman Empire is defeated by Timur the Lame; the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I is captured and dies in captivity.
1402-1413: The Ottoman Interregnum (The Ottoman Civil War between Bayezid's sons)
1453: The Ottoman Empire successfully besieges Constantinople, renaming it Istanbul as its new capital.
1517: The Ottoman Empire absorbs the Mamluk Sultanate in its aggressive expansion.
1683: The Ottoman empire reaches the height of its expansion after failing to besiege Vienna.
1683-1697: The Great Turkish War ends in Ottoman defeat at the Battle of Zenta, forcing the Ottoman Empire to cede much of its territory in Central Europe.
1853-1856: The Crimean War, in which the Ottomans fought Russia in the Caucuses.
1914: The Ottoman Empire enters World War I on behalf of the Central Powers and is subsequently defeated.
1922: The Ottoman Sultanate is abolished during the Turkish War of Independence.
Ottoman Empire Map
Stretching its influence across three separate continents, the Ottoman Empire expanded from Western Anatolia to rule over the lands of modern-day Greece, Azerbaijan, Syria, Palestine, the northern perimeter of the Arabian Peninsula, the Balkans, parts of Ukraine, Iraq, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, and Sudan. Needless to say, the Ottoman Turks did a lot of conquering. The map below depicts the territorial gains of the Ottoman Empire.
By the end of the 17th century, the Ottoman Empire's territorial reach expanded over 2 million square miles around the Mediterranean and Red Seas, overshadowing even the territories of the ancient Roman Empire!
Fig. 2- Map the Ottoman Empire's expansion up to its zenith in the 17th century.
Ottoman Empire History
The Ottoman Empire has a deep and rich history across many historical eras and connections to European, Asian, and African histories. From crusading worldwide to facilitating trade between Eurasia, the Ottoman Empire was often at the center of significant historical developments.
Ottoman Empire as a Conqueror
Following the Ottoman Empire's victories in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 and the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396, the expanding sultanate seemed unstoppable. Just a few years later, the Ottomans would meet their match at the hands of Timur the Lame, conqueror and ruler of the Timurid Empire. In 1402, at the Battle of Ankara, the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I was defeated, captured, and soon died in Timur's captivity. The throne of the Ottoman Empire was open for the taking.
Fig. 3- The Battle of Ankara in 1402.
Bayezid's sons scrambled for rulership in a civil war known as the Ottoman Interregnum from 1402 to 1413. After over a decade of fighting, the last brother contenders met on the battlefield. Mehmed Çelebi emerged victorious, having his brother strangled to solidify his reign. New life was breathed into the Ottoman Empire, and a long-lasting tradition of royal fratricide.
Fratricide:
The act of killing one's sibling.
Sultan Mehmed's grandson, Mehmed II, went on to lead the siege of Constantinople in 1453, resulting in the capture of the Christian city and the end of the Byzantine Empire. The fall of Constantinople is considered a significant turning point in history, effectively marking the end of the Medieval Era and the beginning of the Early Modern Period. The city would be renamed Istanbul, becoming the Ottoman Empire's new capital.
The Ottoman Empire used powerful cannons and explosives to crumble Constantinople's famous walls during the siege. Beyond this, their militaries adopted gunpowder rifles, earning the Ottoman Empire the historical title of a "Gunpowder Empire" along with the Safavid and Mughal Empires.
The Ottoman Empire's Expansion Westward
The fall of Constantinople was only the beginning of the Ottoman Empire's successes against the west. The Ottomans pressed westward for the next 200 years, digging deep into Central Europe. Given their active involvement in European affairs, the Ottomans recruited highly effective slave soldiers known as Janissaries from conquered European territories.
Janissaries:
Ottoman Empire's elite infantry was composed of abducted Christian children from Anatolia and the Balkans. The children were raised as Islamic soldiers of the Ottoman Empire, many of whom later became trusted administrators in the Sultanate.
Fig. 4- Ottoman Empire Janissaries are standing in a firing line.
By the late 17th century, the Ottoman Empire tried its hand yet again at besieging the Austrian city of Vienna. Still, Austrian resolve and Polish Winged Hussar cavalry reinforcements proved too much to handle. The Ottomans were defeated at Vienna in 1683, ending their history of expansionism.
The Ottoman Empire's Expansion Eastward
The Ottoman Empire faced perhaps its greatest single rival from the east in the shape of the Safavid Empire. The two "gunpowder empires" shared the same religion but were divided into Sunni and Shia Islam; the two powers enjoyed trade, diplomacy, and periods of generally peaceful relations but also enjoyed warfare.
The Ottoman and Safavid Empires squabbled over desert lands around Baghdad's heart of the Middle East. Under Ottoman ruler Suleiman the Magnificent, Baghdad was taken in 1535, granting the Ottomans access to sea trade through the Persian Gulf. The Ottomans also achieved other successes in the east, such as Sultan Selim I's conquering of the Mamluks in 1517.
Ottoman Empire as a Center of Trade
The Ottoman Empire was at the heart of the Middle East, overseeing the land trade routes between Europe and Asia. The Ottoman's access to the Mediterranean fueled trade with Europe, and access to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf opened opportunities in the more incredible Indian Ocean. Trade was liberally governed by the Ottoman government, which invited foreign traders in hopes of growing their economy.
Fig. 5- Art depicting an Ottoman Empire marketplace.
At the same time, the Ottoman Empire bore witness to the European Age of Exploration, in which European navigators scrambled to find sea trade routes to Asia that did not require the Middle East as a geographical middleman. The Ottoman Empire's trade-based economy stagnated as the European Maritime Empires gained power from their discoveries of the Americas and new routes to Asia around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa.
Did you know: From the mid-16th to mid-17th centuries, historians recognize a period known as the "Sultanate of Women," in which wives, mothers, and concubines of Ottoman Sultans enjoyed significant political influence and control over the Ottoman Empire.
Ottoman Empire Achievement
Even before the halt of Ottoman expansionism in the late 17th century, some historians argue that the Ottoman Empire had long been in decline. Between the Battle of Zenta in the 17th century and World War I, the Ottoman Empire experienced a continual decline in territorial holdings, economy, and political influence, such as in the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913. The Ottomans fought in World War I alongside the Central Powers, defeating the United Kingdom, France, and Russia during the Gallipoli Campaign, but lost the war.
Fig. 6- Art depicting Sultan Mehmed II at the Siege of Constantinople in 1453.
A series of terrible genocides (including the devastating Greek and Armenian genocides) by the Ottoman Empire's government destabilized its power. New political movements rose, such as the Constitutionalist Young Turk Movement in the early 20th century. After decades of sharp decline, The Ottoman Sultanate officially fell during the Turkish War for Independence, ending over 600 years of imperial rule.
Despite its long decline, the Ottoman Empire stamped itself in history books as an enduring Islamic imperial power that contended with the likes of the Byzantine Empire, Safavid Empire, and the United Kingdom. The Ottoman Empire achieved great success in an age of European maritime dominance as one of the last of the great Eurasian land-based empires.
Ottoman Empire - Key takeaways
The Ottoman Empire reigned from Southern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East from 1299 to 1922 as a powerful Islamic sultanate often considered one of the "gunpowder empires".
The Ottoman Empire experienced remarkable success in expanding west, conquering Constantinople, and achieving great victories in the Balkans and beyond within Europe. They experienced less but still significant success in the east against the Safavid Dynasty and Mamluks.
The Ottoman Empire controlled traditional land-based trade routes between Europe and Asia. The importance of these trade routes diminished with the rise of the European maritime powers.
The Ottoman Empire experienced a long decline in tandem with continued military defeats. The empire declined but lasted until after World War I, in which a revolution abolished the long-lasting sultanate.
References
Figure 4, Ottoman Janissaries, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Revolt_Janissaries.jpg, by Pouazity3, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Pouazity3&action=edit&redlink=1, Licensed by CC-BY-SA-4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.
Frequently Asked Questions about Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire lasted from 1299 to 1922, a period of over 600 years from the medieval to the modern era.
The Ottoman Empire achieved varying success and defeats throughout its long history of military conquests, but it was eventually defeated by itself: a Turkish revolutionary group brought the sultanate to its end in 1922.
The Ottoman Empire was founded by Osman I, an Anatolian Bey who is shrouded in historical mystery.
The Ottoman Empire was based in the Middle East, successfully besieged Constantinople in 1453, conquered the Mamluks in 1517, besieged the Austrian city of Vienna multiple times, and fought in World War I in the early 20th century.
The Ottoman Empire's perhaps most famous achievement was its conquering of Constantinople, ending the Byzantine Empire. To this day, the city is renamed as Istanbul and reflects strongly Islamic rather than Christian influence.
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