Ottoman Empire
Coach Grgurich
Unit 4B
Background
• The Ottoman Empire lasted from 1299 until the end of
World War I. Beginning as a Turkish tribe, the Ottomans,
ruled by an absolute monarchy, became the most powerful
Muslim country in the world, with an empire reaching
from southeastern Europe to north Africa.
Osman I
• 1299: Osman I became sultan of the Seljuk Turks after
the previous sultan died. Osman reorganized the Turks'
government and continued attacking the Byzantine
Empire, which had been fighting with the Turks for
centuries. The Ottoman Empire acquired its name
from Osman.
Fall of
Constantinople
• 1453: The Ottoman Empire captured the city of
Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
The fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks
marked the end of the Byzantine Empire, which had
existed for over one thousand years. Constantinople,
renamed Istanbul, became the Ottomans' capital city.
Control of Istanbul was significant because it was at
the crossroads of trade between Europe and Asia.
Since water and overland routes passed through
Istanbul, it was a very important location.
Suleiman I
• 1520: Suleiman I became sultan of the Ottoman
Empire, ruling it until 1566. During his reign,
Suleiman strengthened the military, was known as a
fair ruler, and supported the arts. He reorganized the
Ottoman legal system, for which he became known as
"The Lawgiver." Suleiman also conquered lands in the
eastern Mediterranean and North Africa. Because of
all these feats, he is remembered as Suleiman the
Magnificent.
Muslim Expansion
•
The Ottoman Empire expanded after the capture
of Constantinople. The Ottomans changed the name
of the city to Istanbul, and it became their capital city.
•
The empire included the Mediterranean coastline
of North Africa, parts of eastern Europe, Turkey, and
the coastal areas of the Middle East.
Expansion Con’t
•
An elite corps of Ottoman army officers known as
janissaries existed from the 14th to 19th centuries. The
janissaries were young, Christian boys from the
conquered land of the Balkans. The boys received
extensive military training.
•
The Ottoman Empire's navy was very powerful,
helping to capture much of the coastline. The army
invaded eastern Europe and parts of central Europe.
The invasions caused Europeans to search for
alternative sea routes to Asia. Ottoman expansion was
finally stopped at the Siege of Vienna, in 1529.
Spread of Muslim
Culture
• Through trade and the Muslim conquests, the religion of
Islam was spread.
• Because the Qur'an was only written in Arabic, language
was one aspect of Islam that was spread along with
religious practices.
• Literature was also spread; stories from the Arabian
Peninsula and Turkey traveled throughout the
Mediterranean.
• People living in areas conquered by the Ottoman Empire
had some religious freedom; however, those who did not
practice Islam had to pay higher taxes.
Military
Engagements
• The Safavid Empire emerged to the east of the
Ottoman Empire, in the 1500s. Both the Ottomans and
the Safavids were Muslim empires, but the Ottomans
followed the Sunni branch of Islam and the Safavids
followed the Shiite branch of Islam. The empires often
fought for control of land that is now part of modern
day Iraq and Iran.
Military Con’t
•
The Battle of Lepanto was a significant
naval battle that took place off of the coast of Greece
in 1571. Spain and other Christian states united and
defeated the Ottomans, it was the first time a Christian
force defeated an Ottoman force.
•
In 1529, the Ottoman army attacked the
city of Vienna, Austria, beginning the Siege of
Vienna. After one month of battle, the Turkish forces
withdrew from Vienna, stopping further advancement
of Islam into Europe.
Trade
• Many trade routes of Asia, Africa, and the Middle
East went through areas under Ottoman rule.
• Many goods were traded along these routes, including
silk, spices, paper, steel, and crops.
• Because the Ottomans controlled the trade routes that
connected Europe with Asia, Europeans began looking
for new sea routes to Asia.
Siege of Vienna
• 1683: The Ottomans and Austrian Habsburgs engaged
in war on and off for over a century in the years
leading up to the Siege of Vienna. They were fighting
primarily over control of territory in Hungary and the
Balkans. The Siege of Vienna resulted in a victory for
the Habsburgs, and subsequent battles resulted in the
Ottomans ceding lands to the Austrians in 1699.
Decline
• 1700s: The Ottoman Empire began to weaken. In
1699, the Empire surrendered territory for the first
time in its history, losing some land to Austria. It
continued to decline up to the early 20th century.
• 1918: Allied nations defeated the Ottoman Empire in
World War I. The Ottoman Empire had joined the
Central Powers with Germany, Austria-Hungary, and
Bulgaria, but the war left it devastated. An Arab revolt
tore the Middle East out of Ottoman control, and
Turkey itself was invaded by the Allied Powers.
Mustafa Kemal
• 1923: Mustafa Kemal established the Republic of Turkey in
Anatolia, where the Ottoman Empire had been centered.
Kemal had been an officer in World War I who helped the
Ottomans win the Battle of Gallipoli. When World War I
ended, parts of Turkey were divided between the British,
French, and Greeks. Kemal led the Turkish National
Movement and the Turkish War of Independence against
these foreign armies. He moved the capital from Istanbul to
Ankara, and he abolished the position of sultan in 1922,
officially ending the Ottoman Empire. He was given the
name "Atatürk," which means "father of the Turks", and he
became the first president of Turkey.