History of Europe

Ottoman Empire - History of the Ottoman Empire

Fruit of the expansion of the Arabs, the Turkish-Ottoman Empire was consolidated in the 13th century thanks to the military victories of the Ottoman warrior I (1258-1324). Coming from the tribe of Ghuzz, located in present-day Kazakhstan, the Ottomans undertook a long process of territorial expansion that dominated regions of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Led by Ertogrul (1190 – 1281), the expansion process began with the conquest of Asia Minor.

In 1300, the forces of Ottoman I won successive victories against the Byzantines. Succeeded by his son Orkhan, the troops of the Ottoman Empire conquered the urban centers of Bursa, Nicaea and Nicomedia. Demonstrating great administrative skills, Orkhan established a regular army paid by the state. On his journey, he undertook a string of military victories that brought the Ottoman Empire closer to Western European dominions.

An important order of warriors was of great importance for the formation of such a vast empire. The so-called Janissaries were a group of soldiers formed from the Ottoman territorial conquests. Children and youth captured in wars were soon educated according to the teachings of the Islamic religion. Considered sons of the sultan himself, the maximum head of the empire, the Janissary corps was an army loyal to the Ottoman political authority.

Enabling the formation of a militaristic culture, the Ottomans strictly followed the expansionist ideal of the Muslim religion. According to the dictates of the Qur'an, faithful Muslims must increase the number of faithful Muslims and fight the influence of other foreign religions. Therefore, one of the most important conquests of that empire was undertaken against the Byzantines, who were of orthodox Christian majority.

In the early 15th century, the Ottoman Turkic Empire had control over several regions of Mesopotamia, which included the nearby Danube and Euphrates Rivers. Only in the year 1453, the Ottomans subjugated the Byzantine Empire with the capture of the city of Constantinople. Under the control of Muhammad II, the Turkish-Ottoman Empire inaugurated a new dynasty.

In the mid-19th century, nationalist and imperialist pressures began to threaten the stability of the Ottoman Empire. In the Balkans, different ethnic groups claimed autonomy for their territories. At the same time, the Russians demanded the creation of free-traffic zones within the Turkish-Ottoman Empire. Unable to restructure the government through capitalist interests, the Turkish empire did not resist the conflicts of the First World War, which reduced the former territory to present-day Turkey.


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