The Sublime Ottoman State or the Ottoman or Turkish Empire as it was also popularly known as lasted from July 1299 to October 1923. The empire was also known in English as the Osmanic Empire, the Osmanian Empire or the Ottoman State. During the reign of this Empire, Constantinople was named as its capital city.
The rule of the Ottoman Empire can be divided into the following:
Rise of an Empire (1299-1453) - With the demise of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum around 1300, the Turkish Anatolia came to be divided into a patchwork of independent states. By 1300, the Byzantine Empire had lost most of its Anatolian provinces to ten Ghazi principalities. One such Ghazi emirates was led by Osman I from whose name, the word Ottoman is derived. Osman I extended the frontiers of Ottoman settlement toward the edge of the Byzantine Empire.
Growth (1453-1683) - The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed II laid the foundation of the Empire as the preeminent power in southeastern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. During this period in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Ottoman Empire entered a long period of conquest and expansion, extending its borders deep into Europe and North Africa.
Revolts and revival (1566-1683) - The once upon a time effective military and bureaucratic structures also came faced a severe crunch as a result of the misrule by few weak Sultans. However, in spite of these difficulties, the Empire remained a major expansionist power until the Battle of Vienna in 1683, which finally marked the end of Ottoman expansion into Europe.
Fall of the Ottoman empire:
The revolts and the stagnation period during the Ottoman reign led to the end of the long-lasting Ottoman rule. During the stagnation period, there was economic and political unrest. The expansion of the Ottomans into Europe was restricted by the Battle of Vienna in 1683.
A key reason for the decline of the Ottoman rule was the death of Suleiman. After he died, the Empire suffered because of increasing corruption. The Ottomans struggled to keep a control over the vast Empire. The Ottoman army was unable to expand the territory of the Empire, which affected their economy. Another internal problem before the Ottomans was that the Janissaries had started demanding more pay. They began to accumulate wealth and power. In 1826, they were disbanded by Mahmud II.
See borders of the Ottoman empire
Ottoman Empire Economy and Society:
Contrary to the popular belief which is often presented in the West, the Ottoman Empire was not a barbaric one. In fact, the Ottoman society remained isolated in time. The Ottoman Empire virtually stood stagnant, while Europe advanced.
Their economy was being primarily agrarian was based on tenant farming and weighed down by greedy tax farmers. Women were disguised and repressed, though the mothers of the Sultans and prospective Sultans in the Harem played an important role in deciding the future of the empire at times.
One of the attributes which contributes to the success of the social structure of the Ottoman Empire was the unity among its highly varied populations through an organization named as millets. The Millets were the major religious groups that were allowed to establish their own communities under Ottoman rule.
Ottoman Empire architecture is among the most beautiful in the world. The roots of this architectural movement were established in the sixteenth century and were basically derived from two sources.
The first was the complex architectural movement that had developed over Anatolia in the preceding centuries – fourteenth and fifteenth- and the other was inspiration from Christian Art. This mix of Islamic and Christian architectural influences is what makes Ottoman Empire architecture so breathtaking – because it has the best of both worlds.
Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire:
The city that was the capital of the Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Latin and the Ottoman Empire had to be one of the biggest and wealthiest cities that the world had ever seen in the medieval ages. Constantinople has called as Istanbul by the Turks after they conquered the region and city. It was understandably Europe’s largest and wealthiest cities.
It remained the capital of Ottoman Empire from 1453-1922 till Ottoman officially ceased to exist and new Turkey was formed. Even today, Istanbul remains the capital city and the hub of all central Europe activities. It is an important trade center as well as it is important from the point of view of learning the medieval history of Europe. However, Constantinople is itself older than the Roman Empire that recognized it as its capital. |