Ottoman Empire (1301-1922)

Ottoman Empire (1301-1922)  The Ottoman Empire was one of the largest and longest lasting Empires in history  It was inspired and sustained by Islam and Islamic institutions.  The Empire reached its height under Suleiman the Magnificent  At its peak it included Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Hungary, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, parts of Arabia, and coastal North Africa

Ottoman Empire - Recipe for Success  Highly centralized  Power was always transferred to a single person – not split among rival princes  Ruled by a single family for seven centuries  State-run education system  Religion was incorporated in the state structure, Sultan regarded as “the protector of Islam”  State-run judicial system  Ruthless in dealing with local leaders  Promotion to power depended on merit, not family ties  Created alliances across political and racial groups  United by Islam, Islam warrior code of increasing Muslim territory through Jihad  Highly pragmatic – used the best ideas from other cultures and made them their own  Encouraged loyalty from other faith groups  Private power and wealth were controlled  Very strong military – strong slave-based army (the Janissaries), expert in developing gunpowder as a military tool

Ottoman Empire – Economics  Istanbul was not only a political and military capital, but because of its position – at the junction where Europe, Africa, and Asia meet, it became a great trade center  The economic strength of the Empire was a result of Mehmet’s policy of increasing the number of traders and artisans in the Empire  Mehmet first encouraged merchants to move to Istanbul but later forced them to resettle  Some of the goods traded: silk and other cloth, musk, rhubarb, porcelain from China, spices such as pepper, dyestuffs such as indigo Other Religions  Non Muslim communities were organized by a millet system – this gave minority religious/ethnic communities limited power to regulate their own affairs  Non Muslims in parts of the empire had to hand over some of their children as a tax  Conquered Christian communities had to surrender 20% of their male children to the state  These children were converted to Islam and served as slaves  This system, called “devshirme” trained the youngsters for government service and some rose to great importance  Battles between Muslims and Christians resulted in churches turned into mosques and mosques into churches, depending on the winner  Mehmet tolerated Christians and made a special effort to attract Jews to Istanbul  Non Muslim communities were given a great deal of freedom to practice their faiths as long as they remained loyal to the Sultan

Court Life  The Sultans lived in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul  The Sultan wore his silk robes only once and then they were discarded  It was in the Harem that the Sultan spent his life  230 rooms were his to command and often the number of concubines exceeded 1000  Access to the Sultan meant power but no one was to be trusted  The Sultan moved every night to avoid assassination  A doctor always stood by as the Sultan ate in case of possible poisoning Suleiman – A Golden Age  The Ottoman Empire reached its peak of power during the rule of Selim’s son, Suleiman  Suleiman came to the throne as one of the richest rulers in the world  Suleiman had no rivals for power – his father had seen to that by having all of his own brothers executed as well as Suleiman’s four brothers  The Ottoman Empire now included so much land where Islam was practiced that Suleiman was regarded as the religious leader of Islam  Suleiman was called the “Magnificent” by Europeans, but his own people called him the “Lawgiver”  Suleiman was also a man and sometimes made bad decisions – a captive from Ukraine named Roxelana joined Suleiman’s harem and convinced him to marry her (the first official wife of a Sultan in 200 years) and to name her son in law Grand Vizier  She bore Suleiman three sons but the heir to the throne was Mustafa, Suleiman’s first son by another woman  Roxelana convinced Suleiman that Mustafa planned to overthrow him  Suleiman believed her stories and had Mustafa killed  After having her second son and his children killed, Roxelana insured that her favorite son would take power – “Selim the Sot” a drunk who began the decline of the Empire

The Decline  The Empire began to lose power after a failed attempt to conquer Vienna  Several factors led to the decline: European powers wanted to expand, development of other trade routes, competition from cheap products from India and the Far East, rising unemployment in the Empire, weakened central control, poor leadership  Turkey became known as the “sick man of Europe”  After effects of WWI The Empire officially ended 1 November 1922 when the Ottoman sultanate was a