The Ottoman Empire

1. The Ottoman Empire Not Always “The Sick Man of Europe”

2. In the beginning • As the Mongol Empire fell, the Muslim Ottoman Empire, founded by Osman Bey, rose in Anatolia (eastern parts of Turkey) • Osman Bey’s soldiers, the ghazis, had only one reason to exist, to fight for their Muslim faith • In the middle years of the 1300s, the Ottomans pushed out the last Byzantine governors of Anatolia and installed their own leaders

3. Farms that were once held by Greeks or Armenians were turned over to sipahis, the Ottoman cavalrymen • The land remained the property of the Ottoman sultan (Muslim ruler) but was distributed to his soldiers • Sipahis could use the land as long as they were enlisted in the Ottoman army

4. Expansion and Conflict • During the reign of Sultan Murad I, the Ottomans were acknowledged as the leading power of Anatolia and the Balkans • Murad had interests in both • In Anatolia, a number of Turkish principalities had to be brought under Ottoman control, a task that was almost concluded when once again the Mongols attacked • This time the Mongol leader was Timur the Lame or Timur Leng

5. In 1402 C.E., Timur the Lame’s army was at Ankara, awaiting the then Ottoman Sultan Bayezid • Battle ensued and the Ottomans were crushed • Sultan Bayezid was captured • Timur the Lame kept the once proud sultan in a cage to display to his enemies

6. Timur’s forces reached as far as Izmir; then Timur the Lame turned eastward, and the rest of Southwest Asia breathed easier

7. Regaining Anatolia • After a period of war, the Ottomans regained Anatolia, although their hold was threatened by other Turkish leaders who wanted to be free of Ottoman rule • But in 1500 C.E., the reigning sultan, Bayezid II, could well be satisfied with the accomplishments of his ancestors • Anatolia was now safely Ottoman, and the Greek and Armenian population was resigned to a minority position

8. The Turkish element in Anatolia was on the increase as more nomadic people poured into the region • Mamluk Egypt was a rival in Syria and Palestine, but that could be solved later • And Persia was still reeling from the Mongols • The future of the Ottomans looked very bright

9. 1453 • In 1453, the Ottomans had invaded Constantinople, thereby ending the Byzantine Empire • The Ottomans made Constantinople their capital city, renamed it Istanbul, and converted the great cathedrals such as the Hagia Sophia into mosques

10. In the expanding empire, Christians and Jews were allowed to practice their religions, making the empire one of the more tolerant of the time • Within a hundred years, Ottomans conquered most of the regions previously held by the ancient Roman Empire, except for Italy westward • The Ottoman empire extended from Greece eastward to Persia, and then all the way around the Mediterranean into Egypt and northern Africa

11. As the empire grew, so too did religious persecution • To conquer large territories, the Ottomans enslaved children of their Christian subjects and turned them into fighting warriors, known as Janissaries

12. Selim I • Much of this expansion occurred during the reign of Selim I, who came to power in 1512 • Significantly, Selim claimed that he was the rightful heir to Islamic tradition under the Arab caliphs • With that claim, and with a huge empire, Istanbul became the center of Islamic civilization

13. Suleiman I • Just eight years later, Suleiman I (a.k.a. Suleiman the Magnificent) rose to power • Suleiman not only built up the Ottoman military, but also actively encouraged the development of the arts • For this reason, the Ottoman Empire experienced a golden age under his reign, which lasted from 1520 until 1566

14. During this time, the Ottomans tried to push to Europe through Hungary • The Holy Roman Empire had been weakened by the Protestant Reformation • The Ottoman armies took advantage of this weakness; after taking parts of Hungary, the Turks tried to move into Austria • In 1529, the empire laid siege to Vienna, a significant cultural center • But Vienna was as far as the Turks ever got

15. Although the Austrian princes and the Ottomans battled continually for the next century, the Ottomans were never able to expand much beyond the European territories of Byzantine influence

16. Still, it Lasted • Still, the Ottoman Empire lasted until 1922, making it one of the world’s most significant empires • In that time, it greatly expanded the reach of Islam, while also keeping eastern Europe in a constant state of flux

17. This allowed the powers of Western Europe to dominate, and once they started exploring the oceans, they were able to circumvent their eastern neighbors and trade directly with India, China, and their American colonies

18. It is, however, worth remembering that the chief rivals of the Ottoman Empire was their eastern neighbor, the Safavid Empire • The Safavid Empire was based on military conquest and was dominated by Shia Islam unlike the Sunni dominance of the Ottoman Empire • The Safavid Empire’s location between the Ottomans and the Mughals, in what is present-day Iran, resulted in often contentious relationships between Muslim states, alliances with Europeans against the Ottomans, and a continuation of the long-standing rift between Sunni and Shia sects

19. A Religious Empire • The Ottoman Empire was the one of the largest and longest lasting Empires in history • It was an empire inspired and sustained by Islam, and Islamic institutions • It replaced the Byzantine Empire as the major power in the Eastern Mediterranean

20. Recipe for a Successful Empire • Highly centralized • Power was always transferred to a single person, and not split between rival princes -The Ottoman Empire was successfully ruled by a single family for 7 centuries • State-run education system • Religion was incorporated in the state structure, and the Sultan was regarded as "the protector of Islam"

21. State-run judicial system • Ruthless in dealing with local leaders • Promotion to positions of power largely depended on merit • Created alliances across political and racial groups • United by Islamic ideology • United by Islamic warrior code with ideal of increasing Muslim territory through Jihad • United by Islamic organizational and administrative structures • Highly pragmatic, taking the best ideas from other cultures and making them their own

22. Encouraged loyalty from other faith groups • Private power and wealth were controlled • Very strong military • Strong slave-based army • Expert in developing gunpowder as a military tool • Military ethos pervaded whole administration

23. The Millet System • Non-Muslim communities were organized according to the millet system, which gave minority religious/ethnic/geographical communities a limited amount of power to regulate their own affairs - under the overall supremacy of the Ottoman administration • Some millets paid tax to the state as dhimmis, while others were exempted because they were seen to be performing services of value to the state

24. The devshirme system • Non-Muslims in parts of the empire had to hand over some of their children as a tax under the devshirme (“gathering”) system introduced in the 14th century • To the horror of their parents, and Western commentators, these children were converted to Islam and served as slaves • Although the forced removal from their families and conversion was certainly traumatic, the devshirme system was a rather privileged form of slavery for some

25. Some of the youngsters were trained for government service, where they were able to reach very high ranks, even that of Grand Vezir • Many of the others served in the elite military corps of the Ottoman Empire, called the Janissaries, which was almost exclusively made up of forced converts from Christianity

26. Although members of the devshirme class were technically slaves, they were of great importance to the Sultan because they owed him their absolute loyalty and became vital to his power • This status enabled some of the “slaves” to become both powerful and wealthy • Their status remained restricted, and their children were not permitted to inherit their wealth or follow in their footsteps • The devshirme system continued until the end of the seventeenth century

27. Fratricide • Sultan Selim introduced the policy of fratricide (the murder of brothers) • Under this system whenever a new Sultan ascended to the throne his brothers would be locked up • As soon as the Sultan had produced his first son the brothers (and their sons) would be killed • The new Sultan's sons would be then confined until their father's death and the whole system would start again • This often meant that dozens of sons would be killed while only one would become Sultan • In the later centuries of Ottoman rule, the brothers were imprisoned rather than executed

28. The Sultan’s Life • The Sultans lived in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul • The Sultan's life was run by rituals copied from the Byzantine court • For example, the Sultan wore his silk robes once and then they were discarded

29. It was in the Harem that the Sultan spent his life • Every inhabitant of the 230 small dark rooms in the Topkapi palace was his to command • The number of concubines often exceeded a thousand and came from all over the world • The only permanent male staff consisted of eunuchs • Access to the Sultan meant power • But no one was to be trusted - The Sultan moved every night to avoid assassination

30. The Harem • The harem was a paradox, since it was a feature of the Ottoman Empire (and other Islamic states) yet contained much that was not permissible in Islam • The harem was extravagant, decadent, and vulgar - The concentration of wealth, suffering and injustice toward women was far from the ideals of marriage and married life in Islam • Despite this, the harem could bring benefits to a family who had a woman in the harem - It meant patronage, wealth and power; it meant access to the most powerful man in the Empire - the Sultan

31. Decline • The power of the empire was waning by 1683 when the second and last attempt was made to conquer Vienna • It failed • Without the conquest of Europe and the acquisition of significant new wealth the Empire lost momentum and went into a slow decline • Economic problems • Competition from trade from the Americas • Competition from cheap products from India and the Far East • Development of other trade routes • Rising unemployment within the Empire

32. Ottoman Empire became less centralized, and central control weakened • Sultans being less severe in maintaining rigorous standards of integrity in the administration of the Empire • Sultans becoming less sensitive to public opinion • The low quality Sultans of the 17th and 18th centuries • The ending of the execution of Sultan's sons and brothers, imprisoning them instead • This apparently humane process led to men becoming Sultan after spending years in prison - not the best training for absolute power