THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE 1

ESSENTIAL QUESTION  Why were the Ottoman Sultans able to rule as all-powerful rulers? 2

INTRODUCTION  The 1 st Ottoman were nomadic Turkish warriors for Islam, from Central Asia  Fled from Central Asia to escape the Mongols  Attacked the Byzantines  Failed to capture Constantinople (Capital)  Captured Adrianopolis (2 nd most important city)  1396 – 1 st Sultan (ruler) appointed 3

ELITE OTTOMAN ARMY  Known as Janissaries  Made up of young war captives & Christian slaves  Were converted to Islam, then trained as soldiers  Belonged to the Sultan, & served for life  Gained power & influence, eventually became important political group 4

TIMUR CHALLENGES THE OTTOMANS  Timur – Turko-Mongol leader  Born in 1336, claimed he was a descendant of Genghis Khan  Created an army, built power in Central Asia, & began a career of conquest  1402 – Defeats Ottoman Army in Battle of Ankara  Captures Sultan, forced Ottomans to return territory they took from others 5

RECOVERY & EXPANSION  Civil war broke out over who should be next Sultan  Murad II took power & began to expand empire  Defeated last European crusaders in Battle of Varna  Followed by Mehmed II  Conquered Constantinople (Byzantine Capital) in 1453  Renamed city Istanbul – Became Ottoman capital 6

SULEIMAN THE MAGNIFICENT  Greatest Ottoman Sultan  Ruled from 1520 – 1566  Led Ottoman Empire to Golden Age  Reunited Muslim world (except Persia & Afghanistan) by conquering North Africa 7

OTTOMAN EMPIRE 8

GOVERNMENT & SOCIETY  Sultan  Governed from Istanbul as all-powerful ruler  Empire was well-organized & efficiently governed  Assisted by Janissaries  2 nd in Command – Grand Viziers 9

GOVERNMENT & SOCIETY  Society – 2 major groups  Small ruling class  Reaya – Larger group of ordinary people  There was social mobility 10

GOVERNMENT & SOCIETY  Millet System  Reaya made up of different groups of people  Muslim Turks, Christians, Jews, & Arabs  Strong religious tension  Religious freedom was allowed by Sultans  Millet – Separate religious communities of Reaya  Under control of Sultan, but governed themselves  Each has its own laws, customs, courts, taxes, education, health system, & defense 11

THE SLOW DECLINE  1566 – Suleiman the Magnificent dies  Marked beginning of the decline  1571 – Phillip II leads Spanish navy to defeat Ottomans  Battle of Lepanto – Europeans defeat Ottomans near Greece 12

THE SLOW DECLINE  1600 – Government & Economy face problems  Lost control of silk & spice trade  New trade routes bypassed Ottoman Empire  Power of Sultans weakened  Government became corrupt due to internal power struggles  Rebellions among the Janissaries  Lost territory to Russia & France  1923 – Empire ends when Turkey establishes a republic 13