After the death of Seljuk Sultanate of Rum in the 14th century, the Turkish Anatolia was divided into independent states, known as Ghazi emirates. The Byzantine Empire had weekened by 1300. It had lost a major portion of its Anatolia provinces to the Ghazi principalities. Osman I led one of them.

During the rule of Seljuk, small Muslim emirates of Turkic origin known as Beyliks protected the boundaries with the Byzantine Empire. The defeat of Byzantine by Seljuk at the Battle of Manzikert, gave Beyliks an opportunity to become an independent state. Ertrugrul led one of the Beylik principalities. After his death in 1281, his son Osman I succeeded him, who declared himself as Sultan and established the Ottoman dynasty in 1299.

The rule of the dynasty lasted for six centuries. By 1310, Osman had successfully captured many villages. After Osman died, his son Orhan I succeeded him. He conquered Nicaea in 1331 and Nicomedia in 1337. Orhan I was succeeded by Murad I. He defeated the Byzantine at the Battle of Adrianople between 1365-1369. Adrianople was the stronghold of the Byzantine.

In 1387, the Ottomans captured the city of Thessaloniki from the Venetians. The dominance of Serbia in Kosovo was brought to an end by the Ottomans at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. This victory helped in the Ottoman expansion into Europe. After establishing their hold in the Balkan region, the Ottomans focused on invading Constantinople.

However, in the Battle of Ankara in 1402, Sultan Bayezid I of the Ottoman dynasty was taken as prisoner by Timur. The capture of Bayzeid I was a major blow to the Turks. The power of the Empire was restored by Mehmed I ending the Interrgnum. Mehmed the Conqueror, the grandson of Mehmed capture Constantinople in 1453 and made it the Ottoman capital. The invasion of Constantinople made the Ottomans a supreme power in south-east Europe and east Mediterranean.

The Empire was flourished during the rule of Selim I. He established Ottoman rule in Egypt and created a naval presence on the Red Sea. Suleiman the Magnificient, expanded Selim's conquests. He captured Belgrade in 1521. In 1535, Baghdad was captured from the Persians. The Ottomans became a dominant naval force under Selim and Suleiman. The Ottomans and France became strong allies during this period. Thus, within a span of few years, the Ottomans emerged as a powerful Empire.

This site covers all areas Ottoman Empire History Facts. Besides the popular Ottoman topics like rise and fall, leaders, society, economy, Inventions, Religion, it also covers several other areas like comparison with other empires.

Armenians In The Ottoman Empire	Crimean War Ottoman Empire	British Ottoman Empire
End Of The Ottoman Empire	Decline Of Ottoman Empire Part2	Napoleon Ottoman Empire
Osman of Ottoman Empire	Ottoman and Byzantine Empires	Ottoman Empire 1300 Part 2
Rise And Fall Of Ottoman Empire	Rise of The Ottoman Empire	Rise of The Ottoman Empire Part2
Ottoman Empire in 1566	Ottoman Empire in 16th Century	Ottoman After WW I
Ottoman Empire Allies	Ottoman Empire And Palestine	Ottoman Empire Arabs
Ottoman Empire in 1500	Ottoman Empire Armenian Genocide	Ottoman Empire Based Movies
Reasons For The Collapse Of The Ottoman Empire	Ottoman Empire Economics	Ottoman Empire Countries
Slavery In Ottoman Empire	Partitioning Of The Ottoman Empire	Ottoman Empire The War Machine
Ottoman Empire In Africa Part 1	Ottoman Empire In Africa Part 2	Ottoman Empire In The Balkans Part 1
Ottoman Empire In The Balkans Part 2	Ottoman Empire WW I	Ottoman Empire Janissaries
Ottoman Empire Jews	Ottoman Empire Vs Roman Empire Comparison	Ottoman Empire Nineteenth Century Part 1
Ottoman Empire Nineteenth Century Part 2	Ottoman Empire Primary Sources for History Study	Ottoman Empire Nationalism
Ottoman Empire Social Life And Society	Ottoman Empire Suleyman	Ottoman Empire Summary Part 1
Ottoman Empire Summary Part 2	Ottoman Empire Tanzimat

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