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The Ottoman Empire

1280-1918

The Ottomans were:

·Turkish (capital Istanbul)·Muslim·The largest empire in the world

Osman I (Othman): 1299-1326

Tamerlane (1336-1405)

or “Timur, the Lame”

Mehmet I: 1413-1421

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Mehmet II (“the Conqueror”), who ruled from 1451-1481

http://home.earthlink.net/~snailstales2/fatih.jpg

The Fall of Constantinople: 1453

The End of the Byzantine Empire

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Islam and the Ottoman Empire

·Sultan = caliph (head of Islam)·Divided the empire into Millets (religious groups)·Divided the world into “the House of Islam” and the “House of War”

The Ottoman Bureaucracy

SULTAN

Divans

Heads of Religious Millets

Muslims

Christians

Jews

Social/Military Divans

Local Administrators/Military

Landowners/Tax Collectors

(Governors)

Selim I, ”the Grim”: 1512-1520

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Suleyman the Magnificent (or “the Law Giver,” ruled 1520-

1566

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Suleyman_young.jpg

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Summary of the devshirme system:

·Slaves were taken from any non-Muslim areas. Race and language didn’t matter. ·Slaves were given jobs according to their interests and abilities. (Slaves did NOT do agricultural work – as American slaves did.)

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Devshirme (devşirme)

http://www.pravoslavie.domainbg.com/images/iljustracii/devshirme.jpg

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Importance of the System:·Government positions were based on

merit, not on birth.·Slaves were loyal to the sultan. – They owed their rank to him, and they had no powerful families to support them if they rebelled.·When the system ended in the mid-1600s, the government and military declined.

Three Ottoman

Strengths:

1. Control of Trade·Location on the

east/west trade route·Control of the Waterways

2. Wealth from trade

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Sultan’s headpiece, decorated with gold, emeralds, rubies,

diamonds, and pearls

www.tourism.gov.tr

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Jeweled Dagger

www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~history/Pictures2/topkapi_dagger_1746.jpg

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Golden cradle

www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~history/Pictures2/goldencradle_16cc.jpg

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Gold dishes (for eating sweetmeats)

www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~history/Pictures2/Yeni/trea1.JPG

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The gate of the Topkapi Palace, the oldest and largest of the remaining

palaces in the world.

http://www.bibleplaces.com/istanbul.htm

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It’s a huge palace - the outer wall surrounding it is 3 miles

long.

http://www.iconofile.com/events/images/topkapi.jpg

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The Blue Mosque

http://lloydi.com/travel-writing/turkey/wallpaper/blue-mosque-1x7.jpg

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Inside the Blue Mosque

http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=95924&rendTypeId=4

3. Superior technology

(the benefit of diffusion)

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Ottoman Sipahi (cavalry)

http://www.osmanischesreich.com/Geschichte/Armee/Heerwesen_I/Sipahi1530.jpg

Janissaries

Musket

Cannon

Swords

How did the empire end?The Europeans destroyed their

strengths.

Ottoman Strength #1: Control of

trade.·Europeans broke this strength by going around Africa and

gaining control of trade.

Ottoman Strength #2: Wealth

·Discovery of the New World leads to great wealth for

Europe from the gold and silver found there.

Ottoman Strength #3: Technology

·The technology of Europeans surpassed the Ottoman superiority especially in production of guns and munitions and

other products necessary for war.

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Until the 18th century, the Ottoman Empire was one of the greatest empires in

the world.

AttachmentsConquerors__Suleyman_the_Magnificent.asf