18-1 Ottoman Empire

Objectives

1. You will discover how the Ottomans built and expanded their vast empire.

2. You will also learn how the Ottomans organized their government and society.

Focus Questions

1. What important military conquests led to the expansion of the Ottoman Empire?

2. What problems did the Ottoman Empire face?

Vocabulary

Osman: Ghazi leader who successfully fought the Byzantines in the 1200's

Janissaries: Highly trained troop of slave soldiers who belonged to the Ottoman sultans

Süleyman (Suleiman):Greatest Ottoman sultan who brought the Ottoman Empire to its height in the 1500's

millets: Separate, self-governed religious minorities within the Ottoman Empire

Section 1 Summary

The first Ottomans were Turkish soldiers known as ghazis, or warriors for Islam. They came to Anatolia (formerly called Asia Minor) to escape the Mongols. In

the late 1200's a ghazi leader named Osman had great success fighting the Byzantines. His tribe members became known as Ottomans. In the 1300's the Ottomans

took over much of Anatolia. They failed to capture Constantinople but captured Adrianopolis, the second most important Byzantine city. They made it their capital

and appointed a sultan.

The Ottoman sultans created a highly trained troop of slave soldiers called Janissaries. They were war captives and Christian slaves from Europe. They were

taught Islamic laws, converted to Islam, and trained as special soldiers. Janissaries belonged to and served the Sultan. Eventually the Janissaries gained power and

influence.

The Turko-Mongol leader Timur built a powerful army in central Asia. Born in what is now Uzbekistan, Timur claimed to be descended from Genghis Khan. Several

ghazi rulers fled to his state when their states were conquered by the Ottomans. In 1402 Timur invaded Anatolia, defeated the Ottomans, and captured the sultan.

He forced the Ottomans to return lands seized from the ghazis.

Civil war erupted in the Ottoman Empire over who should be the next sultan. Finally Murad II took power. He expanded the empire and defeated the last crusaders.

Then Mehmed II became sultan. In 1453Mehmed conquered Constantinople, renamed it Istanbul, and made it the Ottoman capital.

The greatest Ottoman sultan, Süleyman (Suleiman),

brought the Ottoman Empire to its height in the 1500s. He was called “the Magnificent” in Europe and “the Lawgiver” by his own people. He expanded the empire,

conquering Hungary. The Ottomans ruled most of eastern Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. Sultans were the supreme rulers of Ottoman society. Second

in command were the grand viziers (vuh·ZIRZ). Society was divided into a small ruling class of Ottomans and the masses of ordinary subjects, called reaya or the

“protected flock.” Reaya with ability could become part of the ruling class.

Religious differences caused tensions. There were Muslim Turks in Anatolia, Christians and Jews in the Balkans, and Muslim Arabs in the Fertile Crescent and North

Africa. These groups could organize into separate religious communities called millets. Millets were controlled by the sultan but governed themselves with their own

laws, courts, and taxes.

After Süleyman died in 1566, Ottoman power and influence declined. European powers such as France, Spain, and Poland sometimes defeated the Ottomans. By the

1600s the empire had lost control of the profitable silk and spice trades between Europe and Asia, bypassed by new sea routes. The power and prestige of the sultans

weakened. Power struggles within the government bureaucracy led to corruption. There were rebellions among the Janissaries. In the late 1700s the Ottomans lost

territory to Russia, and the French invaded Egypt. Some sultans attempted to reform Ottoman government and military structures. The empire finally ended in 1923

when Turkey established itself as a republic.

Answer to the Focus Questions

1. What important military conquests led to the expansion of the Ottoman Empire?

• Important military conquests that expanded the Ottoman Empire included the capture of Adrianopolis in the 1300s, the capture of Constantinople in the 1400s, and the capture of Hungary in the 1500s.

2. What problems did the Ottoman Empire face?

• The Ottoman Empire faced military problems due to competition with European powers and Russia. It faced economic problems due to loss of control of the highly profitable silk and spice trades between Europe and Asia, which were bypassed by new sea routes. The Ottoman government became increasingly corrupt, and the Janissaries rebelled.