OTTOMAN EMPIRE: ORIGIN, LOCATION, CHARACTERISTICS AND RELIGION - HISTORY - 2025

The Ottoman Empire was an empire created by Turkish tribes in Anatolia (Asia Minor) that grew to become one of the most powerful states in the world, during the 15th and 16th centuries of the current era.

It existed for over six hundred years until its end in 1922, when it was replaced by the Republic of Turkey and other states that emerged in Southeast Europe and the Middle East.

Territorial expansion of the Ottoman Empire. By Esemono, from Wikimedia Commons The empire spanned much of southeastern Europe to the gates of Vienna, including what is now Hungary, the Balkan region, Greece, parts of Ukraine, portions of the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of the Arabian Peninsula.

When the Empire managed to seize Constantinople and control of other territories, it positioned itself at the center of commercial and cultural interactions, both in the eastern and western world for six centuries.

After a series of problems related to the leadership of the nation, the empire decided to participate in the First World War. They allied with the Germans, which ultimately cost the Ottomans defeat and led to the eventual dissolution of the empire.

Origin and history

Osman I, the founder of the dynasty

The Sultanate of Rum, a state conquered by the Seljuk Empire, waned in power in the 13th century and split into several independent Turkish principalities known as "the Beyliks of Anatolia."

One of the new principalities, located in a border region with the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish leader Osman I. He, along with a group of followers made up of Turkish tribals and some Byzantine converts to Islam, began his campaigns for the creation Empire.

The principality of Osman I was gaining more power thanks to its conquests in Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River. Even so, there are no accurate records about the nature of the expansion of the Ottoman state in its early days, as there are no historical sources of the initial growth.

After the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule spread over Anatolia and the Balkans. Orhan Gazi, Osman's son, seized Bursa, northeastern Anatolia, making it the capital of the Ottoman Empire and lessening Byzantine control.

From there, Ottoman expansion was imminent; Serbian power in the region was ended, control of the former Byzantine lands were seized, and the goal of seizing Constantinople was set.

Mehmed II, the conqueror of Constantinople

In 1402, the Byzantines were temporarily relieved by the appearance of the Turkish-Mongolian leader, Timur, who invaded Ottoman Anatolia from the east. After the Battle of Ankara, Timur defeated the Ottoman forces, destabilizing the organization of the empire.

Some time later, around 1430 and 1450, some Balkan territories lost to the Ottomans were recovered by Sultan Murad II and the empire was stabilized again.

On May 29, 1453, Mehmed the Conqueror, son of Murad II, managed to reorganize the state, gave order to the military forces and finally conquered Constantinople, making it the capital of the empire.

Mehmed allowed the Orthodox church to maintain its own autonomy and its lands in exchange for the acceptance of Ottoman autonomy. The Orthodox Church preferred to accept autonomy because they had a bad relationship with the Venetian government.

Between the 15th and 16th centuries, the Ottoman Empire entered a period of imminent expansion. At this stage, the nation was organized into a patrimonial government system, where absolute power was held by the sultan for several centuries.

Geographic location

By André Koehne (My draw of commons image (see other versions)), via Wikimedia Commons

Territorial expansion of the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire controlled parts of Southeast Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa between the 14th and 20th centuries, encompassing a compendium of territories known today as independent nations. Its magnitude was such that the empire was able to spread over three continents.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottoman Empire bordered on the west with the Sultanate of Morocco, on the east with Persia and the Caspian Sea, on the north with the rule of the Habsburgs and the Republic of the two nations (Poland-Lithuania) and on the south with the territories of Sudan, Somalia and the Emirate of Diriyah.

By Alc16, from Wikimedia Commons The Ottoman Empire had 29 provinces in its power, in addition to other vassal states. It began as one of the small Turkish states in Anatolia until they appropriated what was left of the Byzantine Empire, as well as Bulgaria and Servia.

On the other hand, Bursa and Adranopolis fell into the hands of the Ottomans and the victories in the Balkans alerted Western Europe to the expansionist danger of the Ottoman Empire. Eventually, the Empire seized Constantinople, what is now known as Istanbul.

General characteristics

Language

The official language of the Empire was "Ottoman Turkish", a language highly influenced by Persian and Arabic. Ottoman Turkish was a military language that was sustained from the beginnings of the empire until its later years.

However, a large number of dialects existed within the empire's territories; among them: Bosnian, Albanian, Greek, Latin and Judeo-Spanish, a language derived from Old Spanish. To address government bodies it was necessary to use Ottoman Turkish.

In addition, there were two additional languages ​​of great importance in the empire. One of them is the Persian language, spoken by highly educated people, and Arabic, which was used for Islamist prayers in Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, and parts of North Africa.

Architecture

Ottoman architecture was strongly influenced by Persian, Byzantine, Greek and Islamic architectures.

During the Tulip Era, a movement by the Ottomans oriented towards Western Europe, came under the influence of the Baroque, Rococo and other styles of these regions.

However, Ottoman architecture concentrated on building mosques for city planning and daily community life. An example is the Suleiman Mosque, currently in Istanbul.

Literature

The two main streams within Ottoman literature were poetry and prose, with poetry being the dominant stream. There were analogical genres within Turkish popular literature such as Divan's poetry; a collection of poems that were set to music and sung during the time.

Until the 19th century, Ottoman prose was not fully developed as the highly symbolic poetry of Divan did. Prose was expected to adhere to the rules of rhyming prose; a type of prose descended from Arabic, so the Ottoman style did not become as popular.

Due to historical ties with France, in the second half of the 19th century, French literature had an absolute influence on Ottoman literature; the influence of romanticism, realism and naturalism that developed in the West.

Music

Ottoman classical music was an important part of the education of the Ottoman elite. It arose mainly from the mixture of Byzantine music, Armenian music, Arabic music and Persian music.

The instruments used are a mix of Anatolian, Central Asian, Middle Eastern and later Western instruments such as the piano and the violin.

Due to geographical and cultural divisions between the capital and the other regions of the empire, two styles of Ottoman music emerged: Ottoman classical music and Ottoman folk music. In each province a different type of folk music was developed.

Decorations

During the Ottoman Empire, the tradition of miniatures became popular, which were painted to illustrate scrolls or albums. They were strongly influenced by Persian art and by elements of the Byzantine tradition of lighting and painting. Aspects of Chinese art also come to the fore.

Another decorative style was the Ottoman Illumination, which was represented by decorative forms used in the illustrated manuscripts of the court administrators, or in the sultan's manuscripts.

These pieces were made with Islamic calligraphy and bound using a technique to give the paper a texture similar to that of marble.

Ottoman carpet weaving was significant in the art of the Ottoman Empire. They were loaded with religious symbolism and other colorful decorations.

Gastronomy

Ottoman gastronomy focused mostly on the capital; It was perfected in the Imperial Palace by bringing in the best chefs from the various regions of the empire to experiment and create different dishes.

Beginning with the gastronomic experiments in the palace, the recipes were spread throughout the Ottoman Empire through Ramadan events.

The influence of Ottoman gastronomy comes from the mixture of the flavors of Greek, Balkan, Armenian and Middle Eastern cuisine.

sports

The most popular sports in the Ottoman Empire were hunting, Turkish wrestling, archery, horseback riding, javelin throwing, and swimming.

In the 19th century, football sports clubs became very popular in Constantinople with their games. The main soccer teams, according to the chronology of time, were: Besiktas Jimnastik Club, Galatasaray Sport Club, Fenerbahçe Sport Club and MKE Ankaragücü.

Culture

The Ottomans absorbed some of the traditions, art, and institutions of the cultures in the regions they conquered, and added new dimensions to them.

Numerous traditions and cultural traits from previous empires in fields such as architecture, gastronomy, music, entertainment, and government, were adopted by the Ottoman Turks, resulting in a distinctive new Ottoman cultural identity.

Intercultural marriages also played a role in creating the characteristic Ottoman elitist culture.

Religion

Islam

It is believed that the Turkic peoples, before almost completely adopting Islam, practiced doctrines of shamanism, which consisted of rituals to interact with the spiritual world. Those who came from the Seljuks and the Ottomans gradually converted to Islam and brought the religion to Anatolia, starting in the 11th century.

Islam became the official religion of the empire after the conquest of Constantinople and the conquest of the Arab regions of the Middle East.

The highest position of Islam was formed by the caliphate; an Islamic administrator titled "Caliph." For the Ottomans, the sultan as a devout Muslim should hold the office of Caliph.

Christianity and Judaism

According to the Ottoman Empire, ruled by the Muslim system, Christians were guaranteed some limited freedoms, such as the right to worship and praise. However, they were prohibited from carrying arms, riding horses and other legal limitations.

It is said that many Christians and Jews converted to Islam to ensure all the guarantees in Ottoman society.

The "millets" were established, both for Orthodox Christians and Jews. The term "Mijo" referred to a system in which the laws of the different religious communities were respected.

Orthodox millet received various privileges in politics and trade, but had to pay higher taxes than Muslims. On the other hand, similar millets were established for the Jewish community, which was under the authority of the Ottoman rabbi or chief.

Economy

Migration for economic development

Sultans Mehmed II and his successor Bayezid II, encouraged the migration of Jews from different parts of Europe in order to deliberately pursue a policy for the development of Bursa, Edirne, Constantinople and the main capitals of the empire.

In various parts of Europe, Jews suffered persecution by Christians, so the Ottomans welcomed many immigrants for the development of cities.

Opening of trade routes

The relationship between the Ottoman Empire and Western Europe improved thanks to the opening of sea routes by Western Europe. After the Anglo-Ottoman treaty, the Ottomans opened markets to French and English competitors.

The development of commercial centers and routes encouraged cities to extend the area of ​​cultivated land in the empire as well as international trade. Seeing the advantages that openness brought, the Ottomans analyzed the desirability of capitalist and mercantile systems.

Ottoman free trade

Compared to the protectionism of China, Japan, and Spain, the Ottoman Empire had a liberal trade policy open to foreign imports. Despite that, free trade on the part of the Ottomans contributed to deindustrialization in the Empire.

The Tooman Empire reduced tariffs to 3% for both imports and exports, since the first treaties signed in 1536.

Political organization

State organization of the Ottoman Empire

Before the reforms of the 19th and 20th centuries, the state organization of the Ottoman Empire was based on military administration and civil administration. The sultan was the supreme ruler characterized by a central government.

The civil administration was based on a provincial system in which the local administrative units had their own characteristics and was carried out by civil authorities.

The Imperial Harem

The Imperial Harem was made up of the sultans' wives, servants, relatives, or concubines of the sultan, generally women. The main objective of this figure was to ensure the birth of male heirs to the Ottoman throne for the continuation of direct descent.

The Harem was considered one of the most important political powers of the Ottoman court. The highest authority in the Imperial Harem was the Valide Sultan (Mother Sultana), who ruled the other women in the household.

The Divan

The politics of the Ottoman state had a series of advisers and ministers known as Divan. At first, it was composed of the elders of the tribe; however, its composition was modified to include military officers, religious advisers, and politicians.

Later, in the year 1320, the figure of "Grand Vizier" was appointed to assume certain responsibilities of the sultan. The Divan was a council whose viziers met and debated the politics of the empire. Although the sultan took the advice of the vizier into account, he did not have to obey the couch.

Social structure

The Ulama

The Ulama were prominent sages who were educated in religious institutions. In Sunni Islam, the Ulamas were considered interpreters and transmitters of religious knowledge of Islamic doctrine and laws.

Janissaries

The Janissaries were elite infantry units that made up the domestic troops of the sultans. The first corps is said to have been formed under the command of Murad I, between 1362 and 1389.

They were made up of young slaves kidnapped for their Christian beliefs who later voluntarily converted to Islam. The main characteristic of the group was the strict order and discipline.

The millets

The milletts were mainly Greeks, Armenians and Jews who were made up of a large number of ethnic and religious minorities. They had their own authority and were separated from the rest of the population.

In each locality, they governed themselves, communicated in their own language, ran their own schools, cultural and religious institutions, and also paid much higher taxes than the rest.

Even so, the imperial government protected them and prevented violent confrontations between them with other ethnic groups.

The Ayan

The Ayan were an elite class consisting of wealthy merchants, Janissary garrison chiefs, and leaders of important artisan guilds. It was also made up of those who bought the right to collect taxes for the Istanbul government.

These local notables maintained varying degrees of administrative control over strips of land in the Ottoman Empire from the 16th to the early 19th centuries.

Decline and fall

Decline of the Ottoman Empire

The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire began with the Second Constitutional Era, with the restoration of the 1876 constitution and the rise of the Ottoman Parliament. The constitution gave the Ottomans hope to modernize state institutions and stand firm against external powers.

While military reforms helped reconstitute the modern Ottoman army, the Empire had lost several North African and Dodecanese territories in the Italo-Turkish War in 1911. Furthermore, it had lost almost all of its European territories in the Balkan wars between 1912 and 1913.

The Ottoman Empire had to face continuous unrest in the years leading up to World War I, including the Ottoman backlash in 1909; an attempt to dismantle the Second Constitutional Era by Sultan Abdul Hamid II and, in addition, the two coups d'etat of 1912 and 1913.

The Ottoman Empire and the First World War

The participation of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War began with the surprise attack by the Ottomans on Russian ports. After that attack, Russia and its allies (France and Great Britain) declared war on the Ottomans.

The Ottoman Empire, associated with Germany and the nation of Austria-Hungary, had several important victories in the early years of the war.

In 1915, the Ottomans exterminated groups of Armenians, resulting in the death of approximately 1.5 million Armenians. The Armenian genocide took place in parallel with the First World War and at the end of it. Also, they massacred Greek and Assyrian minorities as part of a campaign of "ethnic cleansing."

By then, the Ottoman Empire had lost much of its territories to the Allies. After the Arab revolt of 1916 and the Turkish War of Independence which lasted for several years, the sultanate was abolished and the last sultan, Mehmed VI, left the country. The caliphate was abolished in 1924.

Contributions to humanity

Science

Taqi al-Din, an Ottoman polymath, built the Istanbul Observatory in 1577; in addition, he calculated the eccentricity of the sun's orbit.

He also carried out experiments with the energy of steam by creating a steam cat: a machine that rotates the roast of meat through steam turbines, being one of the first to use such machines.

In the early 19th century, Muhammad Ali began using steam engines for industrial manufacturing, blacksmithing, textile manufacturing, and for the production of paper. In addition, oil was considered the main source of energy for steam engines.

The Ottoman engineer, Hoca Ishak Efendi, is credited with introducing current Western scientific ideas and developments, as well as inventing Turkish and Arabic scientific terminology.

On the other hand, the clock that measures time in minutes was created by an Ottoman watchmaker, Meshur Sheyh Dede, in 1702.

Medicine

Şerafeddin Sabuncuoğlu, an Ottoman surgeon, was the author of the first surgical atlas and the last great medical encyclopedia of the Islamic world. In addition, he introduced his own innovations in the world of medicine.

Sultans

Murad I

Murad I was an Ottoman sultan who ruled from 1360 to 1389. In Murad's reign, the Ottoman Empire made one of the first major expansions (in Anatolia and the Balkans). Thanks to his administration, Ottoman rule in these areas was consolidated.

Furthermore, he forced the Byzantine emperor, John Palaleologus, to make the Byzantine Empire his vassal. Adrianápolis became its capital, under the name Edirne.

Mehmed II

Mehmed II was an Ottoman sultan who ruled from 1444 to 1446 and then from 1451 to 1481. He set out to conquer Constantinople and succeeded in isolating the Byzantines when he ensured the neutrality of Venice and Hungary.

Beginning in his reign, the Ottoman Empire welcomed what was later a successful expansion and one of the most powerful in the world. He eventually made Constantinople the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

Suleiman the Magnificent

Suleiman the Magnificent was an Ottoman sultan who ruled from 1520 to 1566. He undertook audacious military campaigns, managed to bring the empire to its fullest extent, and oversaw the development of the most characteristic achievements of Ottoman civilization in the fields of law, art, literature and architecture.

References

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6. The story of the Turkish Language from the Ottoman Empire until today, Business with Turkey, (nd). Taken from business-with-turkey.com
7. Islam in the Ottoman Empire, Wikipedia in English, (nd). Taken from wikipedia.org
8. Christianity in the Ottoman Empire, Wikipedia in English, (nd). Taken from wikipedia.org