1389-1914
Ottoman Empire Timeline
1389-1914
1389
1454
•Ottoman
victory over the
Turks
•laid the
groundwork for
the empire
•Ottoman Empire
conquers
Byzantine capital
Constantinople
•Makes Ottomans
more powerful and
gain more land
1492
1517
•Jew flea
persecution
in Spain to
the
Ottoman
Empire
•Ottomans
were more
diverse and
had larger
population.
1571
1683
1774
•The Christians
win over the
Turks
•beginning of
Ottoman
Empire’s •Siege of
decline
Vienna
•Egypt and Syria
are conquered by
the Ottoman
Empire.
•The empire gained
more land and
became more
powerful.
•Causes a
social
transition and
more of a
decline of
Ottomans
•Ottoman
Empire is
defeated by
the Russian
Empire
•Weak
government
and armies
1914
•Start of
World War I
•Total
destruction
and existence
of the
Ottoman
Empire
The social classes were divided by occupation, economic status,
and location. The Sultan was the head of the government,
which was at the top of the social ladder. In addition to the
ruling class there were four groups:
• Peasants- tilled the land that was given to them from the state.
• Artisans- were organized into craft guilds that were responsible
for dealing with the government, providing financial services,
social security, and training its members
• Merchants- were the most privileged class, next to the ruling
elite. They were exempt from taxes and government
regulations. They were hated by other subjects of the empire
because they established monopolies and set high prices. As a
result the merchants become very wealthy.
• Pastoral People- herded animals
Women’s Status
Women in the Ottoman Empire were treated fairly well.
 could not be forced into marriage
 Could have positions of authority
 Could own and inherit property
However,
 Women were isolated in their part of the house.
 Couldn’t inherit property from the husband if he was Muslim
and she was not.
 Female children were not regarded well unless they could
create alliances once they got married
 Almost never attended school
 Pottery
 Rugs
 Silk
 Carpet making
 calligraphy
 Textiles
 Jewelry
 Armor
 Paintings- realistic scenes of sultans,
court, military scenes
 MOSQUES!
-modeled after Byzantine Church
- used an open floor plan to create a
prayer hall where numerous
Muslims could worship in unison
-dome shaped with large central area
-well lit with many windows
The Suleymaniye Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey
Interior of Suleymaniye Mosque
Blue Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey
Religion
 Very tolerant of different religious beliefs, to prevent
the most likely cause of revolt
 In return for this and the fact that they were exempt
from military service, Christians and Jews paid a head
tax
 Permitted to convert to Islam but Muslims were
prohibited from adopting another faith
 The Sultan was regarded as “the protector of Islam”
 Sunni Muslim-run state so inequality in the
government, Muslims given preference
Religion
 Churches in conquered
lands were converted
into mosques
 Religious communities
called “millets” kept
their own courts,
schools, and welfare
system; built roads and
the likes for their own
neighborhoods
Economy
 Christian and Jewish merchants control some aspects of
trading with Ottoman protection
 Agricultural based in the beginning – fertile land in Turkey
and Mesopotamia
 Wealthy through military, gaining land and, therefore,
gaining trading routes
 Istanbul became one of the great trade centers of the world
 Another important city was Bursa, a center of the silk trade
 Goods traded: silk, musk, rhubarb, porcelain from
China, spices like pepper and, dyestuff such as indigo
politics:
The Government
- The Ottoman State rested in the hands of an absolute
-
monarch.
The central function of the ruler or Sultan, was to
guarantee justice among all the people, including the
lowest members of societies and the peasantry.
The Sultan watched the officials and would sometimes
observe in secret the proceedings of the Divan.
If the Sultan believed that an injustice was being
committed against the people, he would interfere directly
and overturn the decision.
Those officials that abused their power were subjected to a
special jurisdiction.
The government was basically all about the people and
protecting them and their wants.
The Laws
- From 1350 to 1550 the Ottomans created a law code.
- The laws were first collected together by Mehmed the
Conqueror.
- Imperial law was regarded as the essential and sacred
foundation of the empire.
- When this tradition collided with the Islamic tradition, a
compromised system combining both was formed.
- The imperial law, or law pronounced by the monarch, was
considered sacred.
- The kanun was divided into two separate sets, or laws. The
first dealt with the organization of government and the
military. The second dealt with the taxation and treatment
of peasantry.
- This code of laws was called, kanun-I ‘Osmani, or the
“Ottoman laws.”
Military
 → In the fifteenth and sixteenth

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centuries, sea power played a central
role in the expansion of the Ottoman
Empire, and Ottoman fleets operated
on the high seas in the Atlantic, the
Mediterranean, and east into the
Indian Ocean.
→Their guns comes from the
Prussians (Now Northern Germany).
→ The Janissaries were a group of
people, mostly men and young boys,
who were “slaves” and forced to fight
in the military.
→ Both the rich and the poor served
in the military. There were also
volunteers.
→ At the peak of their expansion,
some of their land included Turkey,
Egypt, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania,
Macedonia, Hungary, and much
more.
Rise
•Started as Turkish and Muslim settlers in
the 1300’s in Anatolia.
•The founder was Osman which is where
Ottoman originated from.
•Once the Turk Empire started to decline,
the settlers from Anatolia conquered
small areas after small areas with their
newly advanced military.
•The conquering of the Byzantine Empire
by Sultan Mehmed was the start of the
huge expansion of Ottoman Empire.
•It expanded greatly and was the peak of
the Ottoman Empire during 1512-1566
with the leader Suleiman the Magnificent.
Fall
•Fall of Ottoman Empire can be greatly
connected with the man, Selim II (15661574), who was a very weak leader.
•Internal and external problems continued
for the next 300 years.
•Wars and battles against different parts of
the Ottoman Empire caused them to loose
land and population.
•The Tulip Period (1718-1730), was the steep
decline of the Ottoman military.
•In 1914, which was the start of the first
World war was the complete destruction
and existence of the Ottoman Empire.
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Military used guns and cannons as weaponry in warfare
Highly centralized government around the Sultan
Good economy from trading in conquered lands
Manufactured weapons in Istanbul
Strong army that conquered mass amounts of land
Expanded insanely to conquer 13 regions
Changes in society - woman had more respect than
previously in the Ottoman
 Political changes - Sultan gave them more of a fair chance,
cared more for the commoners
 Technological advantages - shipbuilding skills elevated,
materials got stronger and sturdier therefore Ottomans
acquired naval dominated
Works Cited
The Earth and Its People: A Global History. Bulliet,
Crossley, Headrick, Hirsch, and Johnson. Houghton
Mifflin Company: Boston, MA 2008
World History. Duiker, William J., Spielvogel, Jackson J.
Thomson Learning, Inc.: Belmont, CA 2007
“The Ottomans.” Washington State University.
http://wsu.edu/~dee/OTTOMAN/OTTOMAN1.HTM