Ottoman Empire
In 1302, the Battle of Bapheus marked a turning point for Osman I. This Turkish tribal leader commanded forces that defeated Byzantine troops along the Sakarya River. His principality in northwestern Anatolia grew from a small beylik into a transcontinental empire within a century. By 1326, his son Orhan captured Bursa, establishing it as the new capital and replacing Byzantine control in the region. The Ottomans expanded rapidly into the Balkans during the mid-14th century. They fought the Bulgarian, Ottoman wars and the Serbian, Ottoman wars, winning decisive victories at Kosovo in 1389 and Nicopolis in 1396. These battles paved the way for Ottoman entry into Europe. A Byzantine defeat at Bapheus contributed to Osman's rise, while slave hunting became the main economic driving force behind their conquests. Modern historians note that the Black Death exhausted Byzantine territories demographically and militarily, facilitating this rapid expansion. The empire continued to grow until Mehmed II conquered Constantinople on the 29th of May 1453, ending the Byzantine Empire.
Suleiman the Magnificent ruled from 1520 to 1566, transforming the Ottoman state into a dominant global power. He captured Belgrade in 1521 and established Ottoman rule over Hungary after the Battle of Mohács in 1526. His forces laid siege to Vienna in 1529 but failed to take the city. By the end of his reign, the empire spanned approximately three million square kilometers across three continents. Suleiman also took Baghdad from the Persians in 1535, gaining naval access to the Persian Gulf. The Ottomans became holders of the Caliph title, making them leaders of Muslims worldwide. They engaged in multi-continental religious wars against Spain and Portugal, which were united under the Iberian Union. Ottoman fleets controlled much of the Mediterranean Sea, defeating Holy League forces at Preveza in 1538. Barbary corsairs from Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli captured thousands of merchant ships and raided coastal towns in Europe. The empire sent armies to aid its vassal, the Sultanate of Aceh in Southeast Asia, creating a global conflict zone stretching from the Indian Ocean to the Philippines.
The mid-17th century brought inflation and rising warfare costs that strained the Ottoman system. Historians once characterized this period as stagnation, but modern consensus rejects that view. The empire maintained a flexible economy and strong military into the 18th century. Selim III made the first major attempts to modernize the army between 1789 and 1807, but his reforms were hampered by the Janissary corps. Jealous of their privileges, the Janissaries revolted and cost him his throne and life. His successor Mahmud II eliminated the Janissary corps entirely in 1826. Educational reforms included the establishment of higher institutions like Istanbul Technical University. In 1734, an artillery school opened to teach Western-style methods, though Islamic clergy initially objected under grounds of theodicy. Ibrahim Muteferrika convinced Grand Vizier Nevşehirli Damat Ibrahim Pasha to allow printing presses for non-religious books. Muteferrika's press published its first book in 1729 and issued 17 works in 23 volumes by 1743. Despite these efforts, the empire faced growing threats from Russia and internal rebellions like the Celali uprisings.
Between 1821 and 1922, more than five million Muslims were driven from their lands. These refugees came from lost territories including Crimea, the Caucasus, and the Balkans. By 1923, only Anatolia, eastern Thrace, and a section of the southeastern Caucasus remained to Muslim control. Five and one-half million Muslims died during this period, some killed in wars, others perishing as refugees from starvation and disease. Migration was a major force in the social reconstruction of the Ottoman state. About seven to nine million mostly Muslim refugees settled in Anatolia and Eastern Thrace during the last quarter of the 19th century. In 1923, when the Republic of Turkey was founded, about 25 percent of the population came from immigrant families. The road from Berlin to Lausanne was littered with millions of casualties. Between 1878 and 1912, as many as two million Muslims emigrated voluntarily or involuntarily from the Balkans. When adding those killed or expelled between 1912 and 1923, the number of Muslim casualties from the Balkans far exceeded three million.
The First Constitutional Era lasted only two years until 1878 before Sultan Abdul Hamid II suspended parliament. The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 restored the constitution and brought multi-party politics under the Committee of Union and Progress. This movement sought to liberalize society along Western lines but became increasingly radicalized after the disastrous Balkan Wars. A coup d'état in 1913 established a dictatorship that led the empire into World War I. The Ottoman Constitution offered hope by freeing citizens to modernize institutions, yet inter-communal tensions grew instead. By 1911, of 654 wholesale companies in Istanbul, 528 were owned by ethnic Greeks. Christians' higher educational levels allowed them to play larger roles in the economy. The empire's Christian population started pulling ahead of the Muslim majority, leading to resentment. In 1861, there were 571 primary and 94 secondary schools for Ottoman Christians with 140,000 pupils total. Author Norman Stone notes that the Arabic alphabet was ill-suited to reflect Turkish sounds, imposing further difficulty on Turkish children.
The Ottoman Empire entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers following a surprise attack on the Black Sea coast on the 29th of October 1914. Russian forces advanced into northeastern Anatolia after the Battle of Sarikamish between 1914 and 1915. An estimated 600,000 to more than one million people died during the Armenian genocide. The Ottoman government and Kurdish tribes began exterminating its ethnic Armenian population in 1915. Women, children, the elderly, and infirm were deported on death marches leading to the Syrian desert. Deportees were deprived of food and water and subjected to periodic robbery, rape, and systematic massacre. Large-scale massacres also targeted Greek and Assyrian minorities as part of the same campaign. The Arab Revolt began in 1916 with British support, turning the tide against Ottomans in the Middle East. Following the terms of the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement, Britain and France later partitioned the Middle East into mandate territories. There was no unified Arab state, much to Arab nationalists' anger.
Defeated in World War I, the Ottoman Empire signed the Armistice of Mudros on the 30th of October 1918. Istanbul was occupied by combined British, French, Italian, and Greek forces. Greece took control of Smyrna in May 1919. The partition of the empire was finalized under the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres. A nationalist opposition arose in the Turkish national movement and won the Turkish War of Independence between 1919 and 1923. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk led this struggle that abolished the sultanate on the 1st of November 1922. The last sultan Mehmed VI left the country on the 17th of November 1922. The Republic of Turkey was established in its place on the 29th of October 1923 in Ankara. The caliphate was abolished on the 3rd of March 1924. By 1923, fewer than one million Muslims remained in the Balkans after centuries of conflict. Today, between a third and a quarter of the Republic's population are descendants of these Muslim immigrants known as Muhacir or Göçmen. The empire's dissolution reshaped demographics across southeastern Europe and western Asia.
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Common questions
When did the Ottoman Empire begin and who founded it?
The Ottoman Empire began in 1302 when Osman I commanded forces that defeated Byzantine troops along the Sakarya River. This Turkish tribal leader established a principality in northwestern Anatolia that grew into a transcontinental empire within a century.
Who was Suleiman the Magnificent and what territories did he control?
Suleiman the Magnificent ruled from 1520 to 1566 and transformed the Ottoman state into a dominant global power spanning approximately three million square kilometers across three continents. He captured Belgrade in 1521, established rule over Hungary after the Battle of Mohács in 1526, and took Baghdad from the Persians in 1535.
What happened to the Janissary corps during the 19th century reforms?
The Janissary corps revolted against Selim III between 1789 and 1807, costing him his throne and life due to jealousy of their privileges. His successor Mahmud II eliminated the Janissary corps entirely in 1826 to allow for educational and military modernization.
How many Muslims were displaced or killed between 1821 and 1922?
Between 1821 and 1922, more than five million Muslims were driven from their lands including Crimea, the Caucasus, and the Balkans. Five and one-half million Muslims died during this period from wars, starvation, and disease while migration became a major force in social reconstruction.
When did the Ottoman Empire enter World War I and what was the result?
The Ottoman Empire entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers following a surprise attack on the Black Sea coast on the 29th of October 1914. The empire signed the Armistice of Mudros on the 30th of October 1918 after being defeated by combined British, French, Italian, and Greek forces.
When was the Republic of Turkey established and who led its creation?
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk led the Turkish national movement that won the Turkish War of Independence between 1919 and 1923. The Republic of Turkey was established in Ankara on the 29th of October 1923 after the last sultan Mehmed VI left the country on the 17th of November 1922.