Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire (Ottoman Turkish: Devlet-i Aliye-i Osmaniye; Modern Turkish: Osmanl? ?mparatorlu?u; Arabic: ?????? ?????????, Al-Dawla Al-?Uthmaniyya) was an imperial power, centered around the borders of the Mediterranean Sea, that existed from 1299 to 1922. At the height of its power, it included Anatolia, the Middle East, parts of North Africa, and much of south-eastern Europe. It was established by a tribe of Oghuz Turks in western Anatolia, and was ruled by the Osmanl? dynasty, the descendants of those Turks.

Related Topics:
Ottoman Turkish - Modern Turkish - Arabic - Mediterranean Sea - 1299 - 1922 - Anatolia - Middle East - North Africa - Europe - Oghuz Turks - Osmanl?

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In diplomatic circles, the empire was often referred to as the Sublime Porte or the Porte, from the French translation of the Ottoman Bâb-i-âlî ("great gate"), the grand Palace Gate of the Imperial Topkap? Palace, where the sultan greeted foreign ambassadors. It has also been interpreted as referring to the Empire's (and especially the capital Istanbul's) position as "gateway" between Europe and Asia. In its day, the Ottoman Empire was also commonly referred to as the Turkish Empire or Turkey by Westerners, though it should not be confused with the modern nation-state of Turkey.

Related Topics:
Sublime Porte - French - Ottoman - Imperial Topkap? Palace - Istanbul - Nation-state - Turkey

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The Empire was founded by Osman I (in Arabic ?Uthm?n, ??????? , hence the name Ottoman Empire). In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottoman Empire was among the world's most powerful political entities, and the countries of Europe felt threatened by its steady advance through the Balkans.

Related Topics:
Osman I - 16th - 17th centuries - Balkans

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At its height, it comprised an area of about 5.5 million km², though much of this was under indirect control of the central government (see also the article on the state organization of the Ottoman Empire). In 1453, after the Ottomans captured Constantinople (modern ?stanbul), the last remnant of the Byzantine Empire, it became the Ottoman capital. From 1517 onwards, the Ottoman Sultan was also the Caliph of Islam, and the Ottoman Empire was from 1517 until 1922 (or 1924) synonymous with the Caliphate, the Islamic State.

Related Topics:
State organization of the Ottoman Empire - 1453 - Captured - Constantinople - ?stanbul - Byzantine Empire - 1517 - Caliph of Islam - 1922 - 1924 - Caliphate

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Following World War I, Allied forces, including the Arabs and Ermenians, eventually defeated the Ottoman forces in the Middle East. At the end of the war the Ottoman government collapsed completely; and the empire was divided amongst the victorious powers, with the signing of the Treaty of Sevres. The Treaty of Sevres put the Ottoman state into complete disarray. Its armies were ordered to be dis-banded. Ottomans lost the sovereignty. The following couple of years ended with declarations of new states.

Related Topics:
World War I - Middle East - End of the war - Treaty of Sevres

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One of the new states was Republic of Turkey. Turkish nationalists established modern Turkey as an outcome of the Turkish War of Independence, mostly on what was to become Turkish soil, as of the Treaty of Lausanne, in 1923. This new state delivered the 'coup de grâce' to the Ottoman state, almost mercifully, in 1922, with the overthrow of Sultan Mehmet VI Vahdettin by the new Republican assembly of Turkey.

Related Topics:
Republic of Turkey - Turkish War of Independence - Treaty of Lausanne - 1923 - 1922 - Mehmet VI Vahdettin

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The members of the Ottomans were banned from the lands of Anatolia, where they once built one of the great empires of the world. In 1999, Turkey's parliament granted Turkish citizenship to the members of the Ottoman family, after 76 years.

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