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.

History

The Ottoman State originated as a Beylik within the Seljuk Empire in the 13th century. In 1299, Osman I declared independence of the Ottoman Principality. Murad I was the first Ottoman to claim the title of "sultan" (king). With the capture of Constantinople in 1453, the state was on its way to becoming a mighty empire, with Mehmed II as its emperor, or padishah. The Empire reached its apex under Suleiman I in the 16th century; when it stretched from the Persian Gulf in the east, to Hungary in the northwest, and from Egypt in the south, to the Caucasus in the north. The Empire was situated in the middle of East and West, and interacted through-out its six-century history with both the East and the West.

Related Topics:
Bey - Seljuk Empire - 13th century - 1299 - Osman I - Murad I - Sultan - Constantinople - 1453 - Empire - Mehmed II - Emperor - Padishah - Suleiman I - 16th century - Persian Gulf - Hungary - Egypt - Caucasus - East - West

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Rise (1299-1453)

During the rise of the empire, the characteristics and nature of the state were defined, and Mehmed II unquestionably placed the Ottomans in the history of man-kind.

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Throughout the 1500's, the Ottoman Empire continued to grow in size and extent, expanding into North Africa in the southwest, and battling with the Shi'ia Islamic Safavid Empire of re-emergent Persia, to the east. At the Battle of Chaldiran in eastern Anatolia (modern-day Turkey, west of Tabriz), in 1514, Ottoman forces under Sultan Selim I won a decisive victory against the Safavids, ensuring Ottoman security on their eastern front. Thereafter, attention reverted to the west, and Suleiman I, upon ascending the throne in 1518, led a series of campaigns into the Balkans. Under Suleiman, a brilliant strategist, the Ottomans advanced steadily northward, taking Belgrade, the capital of Serbia in 1521, defeating Hungary in 1526, and besieging Vienna in 1529.

Related Topics:
1500's - Safavid Empire - Battle of Chaldiran - Anatolia - Selim I - Belgrade - Defeating Hungary - Besieging Vienna

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Ottoman expansion through-out the 1500's and later on, was aided by their considerable knowledge of firearms and tactics, and by an overall fairly-advanced military and administrative system. Ottoman forces also had much expertise at laying sieges, which they used to great effect.

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An example of their expertise in laying sieges was the seige of Constantinople, in 1453, where massive cannons had been used to breach the triple walls, firing heavy stones. These cannons were cast in bronze, and were transported near the city walls using lots of cattle and manpower, because of the extreme weight. They were then buried at one end in the ground, to absorb the enormous explosive shock-force. An Austrian general was known to have said that the Ottomans were "almost invincible" during the summer, a statement supported by their many successful campaigns.

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Growth (1453-1683)

The growth of Ottoman power can be grouped into two main, charactereristic periods. The first period is one of stable conquest and growth; from the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, to the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, in 1566. After the first period, comes the second; in which goverment structure begins to show weakness from internal degeneration and corruption, from 1566 to the failed Battle of Vienna, in 1683.

Related Topics:
Constantinople - 1453 - Suleiman the Magnificent - 1566 - Battle of Vienna - 1683

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In addition to gaining considerable territory during its expansionistic period, the Empire extended its influence at sea. Selim I conquered the Safavid Empire, only to lose it soon after; the Safavids later defeated and conquered the eastern Ottomans, and captured Baghdad. The Empire established a navy in the Red Sea that succeeded, at least for a while, in countering Portuguese influence on the spice trade. During this period, the Empire vied with the emerging European colonial powers, in the Indian Ocean. Fleets, with soldiers and arms, were sent to support Muslim rulers in Kenya and Aceh (on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra), and to defend the Ottoman spice and slave trades. In Aceh, the Ottomans built a fortress, and supplied it with huge cannon. The Dutch Protestants were at first helped by the Ottomans in their struggle against Catholic Spain. The Ottoman navy also had much influence in the Mediterranean Sea, and trade there flourished, because of the stability afforded to the shipping lanes. Accordingly, the period would become known as the "Pax Ottomanica".

Related Topics:
Selim I - Safavid Empire - Baghdad - Colonial powers - Indian Ocean - Muslim - Kenya - Aceh - Spice - Slave - Dutch - Protestants - Ottomans - Catholic - Spain

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The Siege of Vienna was not part of an Ottoman extension into Germany. The Turks wanted to react to interventions of Spanish Hapsburg interference into Hungary. But this turned some of the Ottoman allies against it. The Pope abondoned his secular interests, to agitate for a general Crusade against the Ottoman Empire. With the coming decades, the Ottoman Empire was not just an occupying force; it became an instrument in European politics. The Battle of Vienna brought a long period of stagnation, as it was a turning point in the 300-year struggle between the forces of the Central European kingdoms and the Ottoman Empire.

Related Topics:
Siege of Vienna - Battle of Vienna

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Stagnation (1683-1827)

Eventually, after a defeat at the Battle of Vienna, in 1683, it was clear that the Ottoman Empire was no longer a superpower in Europe. In 1699, for the first time in its history, the Ottomans acknowledged that the Austrian empire could sign a treaty with the Ottomans on equal terms, and actually lost a large territory which had been in Ottoman possession for two centuries. There was a long succession of sultans after that, who were not as good as the generation of Mehmed II, Selim I and Suleyman I.

Related Topics:
Battle of Vienna - 1683 - Superpower - Austria - Mehmed II - Selim I - Suleyman I

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During the stagnation, the Ottomans were weakened both internally and externally by costly wars, especially against Persia, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russia and Austria-Hungary. The Russo-Turkish Wars were a series of ten wars, fought between the Russian Empire and the Turkish-ruled Ottoman Empire during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. It was one of the longest conflicts in European history, spanning 241 years; far longer than the Hundred Years' War between England and France. Before that, the Ottoman Empire suffered a huge naval loss at the Battle of Lepanto, in 1571. Although the Ottoman fleet quickly recovered from this singular defeat, the event was significant, in that it showed Christian Europe that the mighty Ottoman Empire was not as invincible as had been previously thought.

Related Topics:
Persia - Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - Russia - Austria-Hungary - Battle of Lepanto

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Tearthy of Pasarofça produced a short, peaceful era between 1718-1730. The change in Ottoman policies toward Europe already had given its signals. The Empire began to improve the cities along the Balkans, that would become their defense against the expansionist movements of the Europeans. More public policies were sought, such as drops in the taxation rates; public relations improvements, such as the institution of consulates, and the first civilian industrial investments all fall into this period. It was called the "Tulip Era" as this motif was extensively used. However, the scientific advantage the Ottomans had over the European countries constantly being diminished. While the Ottomans were stagnating in a stale-mate with their European and Asian neighboring countries, the European development went into over-drive. The Ottoman Empire failed to keep up technologically with its European rivals, especially Russia.

Related Topics:
Tearthy of Pasarofça - 1718 - 1730

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The late eighteenth century saw the Ottoman Empire fall behind the West, militarily as well. Wars and territories were lost, to Austria and Russia. Areas of the empire such as Egypt, became independent in all but name only. During this time, begining with Selim III, there were efforts to modernize the system. Many of the reforms the sultans tried to impose to revitalise the Empire, were reverted by conservative forces within the Empire, either by the religious cadre, or by the now-corrupt Janissaries, even after the Janissaries were disbanded in 1826.

Related Topics:
Selim III - Janissaries - 1826

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Decline (1828-1908)

The declining period of the Empire was shaped by reorganization, and transformations in every aspect of the Empire. However, these century-long efforts did not help to prevent the dissolution of the system.

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A significant change was this: the Empire stopped going into conflicts alone, and started entering into alliances with European countries. There was a series of alliances with countries such as France, Holland, Britain and Russia. A prime example of this was the Crimean War, in which the English, French, Ottomans and others united against Tsarist Russia.

Related Topics:
France - Holland - Britain - Russia - Crimean War

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The Tanzimat was a period of reform, that lasted from 1839 to 1876. During this time, a fairly modern conscripted army was formed. The banking system was also reformed, and the guilds were replaced with modern factories. Economically, the Empire had trouble re-paying the loans to the European banks. Militarily, it had trouble defending itself from foreign occupation (e.g. Egypt was occupied by the French in 1798; Cyprus was occupied by the British in 1876, etc.).

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By the end of the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire was signalling the chaotic years ahead: reforms were not enough to make up the difference, and not enough to stop the now-inevitable dissolution of the Empire.

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Dissolution (1908-1922)

Socially, the advent of nationalism and the yearning for democracy was making the population restless. This eventually led to a series of military coups and counter coups, resulting in a constitutional monarchy, in which the sultan had little to no power and the Committee for Union and Progress party, known as the Young Turks, ruled the empire. The nationalistic policies of the Ittihad and Terakki party resulted in the secession of the Balkans in the Balkan war of 1910–12.

Related Topics:
Constitutional monarchy - Committee for Union and Progress

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The decline culminated in the defeat of the Empire by the Allies in World War I. As a result of subsequent treaties, the Ottomans lost control of the Arab lands, and were obliged to acknowledge the independent state of Armenia. Theirs was an empire only in name.

Related Topics:
Allies - World War I - Arab lands - Armenia

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In a final effort to keep power in their hands by regaining at least some of the lost territories, the triumvirate led by Enver Pasha joined the Central Powers in World War I. The Ottoman Empire had some successes in the beginning years of the war. The Allies, including the newly formed ANZACs were defeated in Gallipoli, Iraq and the Balkans, and some territories were regained.

Related Topics:
Enver Pasha - Central Powers - World War I - Allies - ANZAC - Gallipoli - Iraq - Balkans

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However, the Ottomans were eventually defeated by the Allies in the Balkans, Thrace, Syria, Palestine and Iraq and its territories were annexed by the victors. In the Caucasus there was a stalemate between the Ottomans and the Russians. The Russians used their advanced guns and cannons and, as most Turkish historians claim, out-manoeuvered the Ottomans using their Armenian allies within the empire. The subsequent persecution of the Armenians by the Young Turks is today viewed as genocide by most non-Turkish historians. Militarily the Ottomans made use of the mountainous terrain and the cold climate, launching a series of surprise attacks. The Russian forces retreated after the Communist revolution in Russia, resulting in Ottoman victory on this front.

Related Topics:
Allies - Balkans - Thrace - Syria - Palestine - Iraq - Caucasus - Russians - Armenian - Persecution of the Armenians - Young Turks - Genocide

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Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who had made his reputation earlier during the Gallipoli and Palestine campaigns, was officially sent from occupied Istanbul to take control of the victorious Caucasus army, and to disband it. This army was instrumental in winning the Turkish War of Independence (1918?1923).

Related Topics:
Mustafa Kemal Pasha - Gallipoli - Palestine - Turkish War of Independence - 1918 - 1923

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The 'coup de grâce' to the Ottoman state was delivered, almost mercifully, in 1922, with the overthrow of Sultan Mehmet VI Vahdettin by the new republican assembly of Turkey. It was only to the benefit of the long-dying empire that the end came when it did.

Related Topics:
1922 - Mehmet VI Vahdettin - Turkey

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Republic of Turkey was founded on October 29, 1923 from the remnants of the fallen empire.

Related Topics:
Republic of Turkey - October 29 - 1923

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National Histories