What started as a small Turkish frontier principality in the 14th century became the most powerful and far-reaching Islamic empire ever to exist, stretching from North Africa and Spain to India and Afghanistan. By the late 19th century, the Ottoman Empire had begun its decline before disappearing completely in 1922 after World War I.
The Empire was at its peak until 1922 when World War I caused its collapse. It was one of the greatest empires in history with many different facets ranging from military power to economic strength. Its center started in Turkey and extended over three continents, reaching North Africa in the west, to the Persian Gulf in the east, and to the Balkans in the south.
Ottomans also controlled Arabia, Palestine, Mesopotamia (Iraq), Syria, Egypt, Sudan and parts of northern Cameroon through vassal states. Russia had held sway over Georgia and Armenia since 1555 while Persia had occupied Azerbaijan since 1555. Ottomans gave protection to pirates who attacked European ships. The pirates also attacked other Muslim ships that were enemies of The Ottomans. The coasts of China were subject to frequent raids by Chinese pirates during this period. It had its roots in the Seljuk Turks, who established an empire that dominated southwest Asia and eastern Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries. It arose from the ashes of Seljuk power in 1299 when Osman I declared independence from Mongol rule. Osman's son, Orhan, captured Bursa in 1324 and made it his capital. He then began to acquire territory along the Sea of Marmara. In 1345, he captured Nicaea (İznik), which then became capital of the Ottoman state.
The Ottoman Empire dominated the Middle East in the 15th and 16th centuries. It was one of the primary rivals of European colonial empires in Africa and Asia in its time. During the 16th and 17th centuries, it expanded in all directions, reaching northward to capture numerous cities, including Belgrade and Vienna; eastward across Anatolia and north-westward across Central Asia and Caucasus Mountains. The Ottomans advance into Europe was halted at Vienna by the Holy League which defeated them at Battle of Mohács (1526). However, their forces continued westward advancement into Europe after this defeat. The Ottoman Empire was the last major Islamic empire. It collapsed after centuries of rule, disintegrating into many nations following World War I, when it lost its European territories to the newly born nation states of Greece, Romania, and Serbia.
The empire was at its peak until the late 18th century, when it lost Egypt to Napoleon. The defeat of Ottoman forces at the Battle of Vienna in 1683 marked the beginning of the decline which accelerated after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, when British Admiral Horatio Nelson destroyed an Ottoman battle fleet.
It was known as "the sick man of Europe." Its decline began with the loss of its capital in Baghdad to new powers in 1438. The decline was interrupted by three decades of recovery under Mehmed II (1451 - 1481). He extended his control over most of North Africa and captured Vienna in 1481. However, he died before he could occupy Constantinople. The capital was captured by the Ottomans in 1453 under Mehmed's son, Bayezid II. Ottoman forces then conquered Hungary and parts of Italy, but their advance into central Europe was halted at the walls of Vienna in 1529. The reign of Süleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566) is often considered the golden age of Ottoman power. It was during this period that Istanbul reached its population peak of more than half a million. Ottoman art reached new heights with Chihri Bey's Book of Festivities (1474). A splendid palace, Topkapi Saray, was built in Istanbul in 1550s.
During World War I, it lost many of its European territories to newly formed nations. Among them were Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and Macedonia. In 1912-39, the empire lost all of its territory on the European continent. The Ottoman Empire was overrun by Allied troops in World War I. Despite heavy resistance from Turkish nationalists, the Allies carried out a plan to divide Anatolia into several states along ethnic lines as part of a new Turkish republic. In 1922, an assembly convened in Lausanne, Switzerland, to resolve the problem of Turkey's form of government. The Turkish nationalists won at Lausanne and took control over much of Anatolia. This partitioning continued under Mustafa Kemal's leadership when he established the Republic of Turkey in 1923.
Napoleon Bonaparte, the greatest French dictator once said "The Turk's can be killed, but never be conquered".
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