1. The Ottomans Build an Empire
How did the Ottomans build a vast empire and what caused its decline?

2. Gunpowder Empires
As Buddhist alchemists were trying to create a potion for immortality, they invented gunpowder
The new invention quickly spread through E Asia & SW Asia
Powerful empires will begin to use gunpowder in warfare
Discuss: Why do you think an army might use gunpowder instead of bows & arrows?

3. Ottomans start an Empire
Osman I unites the people of Anatolia into an Islamic state, his followers were known in the west as Ottomans
Gaining vast wealth from trade, the Ottomans began to expand their empire using gunpowder
1453: Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II conquers Constantinople
Discuss: Why is Constantinople important for the Ottomans?

4. Document Based Questions
Please read the primary source and carefully look at the illustration on page 75
What did Mehmed say about the city of Constantinople? Explain if this account matches the illustration
Why do you think he wept over what happened to the city? What might he do as a result?

5. Empire Prospers & Declines
Mehmed rebuilds Constantinople, opens it to all cultures, empire strengthens & expands (Middle East & N. Africa)
Sultan Suleyman begins to advance OE into Southern Europe
Suleyman makes govt & law more fair and efficient, allowed religious millets to have freedom of worship
After his death, weaker Sultans begin to implement stricter absolute rule, causing a major weakening of the empire
Reflect:
Why did the OE prosper under Suleyman but declined after his death?