Ottoman Empire

Prepared by: Jacqueline E. Gabinete

BSE SS 3-1
Background
• The Ottoman Empire is known for being one of the mightiest
and longest-reigning dynasties in world history, governing
large areas of the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and North
Africa for more than 600 years which at their height, they’ve
managed to conquer these following regions which include
Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Egypt, Hungary, Macedonia,
Romania, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Some of Arabia,
and a considerable amount of North African coastal strip.

• Though western Europeans view them as a threat, many

historians consider the empire as a source of great regional
stability and security including its important achievements in
art, science, religion, and culture.
Origin of the Empire
• Among the ghazis (warriors
of Islam) that had been
bringing success in their
society by raiding territories
on the Byzantine Empire,
Osman I or the people of
the West knew him as
Othman was the most
successful ghazi which along
with his followers known as
the Ottomans (derived from
Osman’s name) founded the
Ottoman Empire around
1299. Osman I
Establishment of the State
• Around 1300 and 1326, Osman have
built a small Muslim state in Anatolia
which his successors expanded it
through buying land, forming
alliances with some emirs (Chief
Commander), and conquering others.

Gunpowder
• Unlike the conventional use of bow
and arrow, the military success of the
Ottoman Empire was largely based
on the usage of gunpowder, replacing
horse-riding archers with musket-
carrying foot soldiers. They were also
the first in using cannons as weapons
of attack. Musket
Establishment of the State
• After Osman I, his son, Orhan I (also spelled
Orkhan) takes over the empire. Being the
second leader of the empire, he felt strong
enough to declare himself as the Sultan
(overlord) in which he proved his position
by capturing Adrianople (2nd most
important city of Byzantine) in 1361
alongside his men.

• Stretching the empire has been the main

goal but they never forget in treating their
people fairly; Most of the Muslims had to
serve in the military and contribute Orhan I
according to their faith while those who are
not Muslims are free to not serve in the
military as long as they pay for that
exemption in the form of tax.
A Conqueror Halts Expansion
• In the early 1400s, a Turco-Mongol
conqueror and warrior from Samarkand
in Central Asia named Timur (Tamerlane
as what Europeans have called him)
destroys the momentum of the
Ottomans’ success in expanding their
empire. One of his victorious conquests
happened in 1401 occurred in the city of
Baghdad where 20,000 of its people were
killed and the city was burned to the
ground.

• One battle that stopped the expansion of

the Ottoman Empire was during the
Battle of Ankara in July 1402 where Timur Tamerlane
successfully crushed the Ottoman forces.
Continuation of Expansion
• After Timur left and turns his eye to
China, the five sons of the Ottoman
Sultan (Mehmed, İsa, Musa, Suleiman,
and Mustafa) began fighting over the
throne in which Civil War started on
1402 until 1413. Mehmed won in the
end, claiming the throne and the title
of Sultan.

• Murad II, like his father, Mehmed I,

became victorious in his battles which
he helped expand the empire by
conquering the Venetians, invaded
Hungary, and defeating the Italian Mehmed I
crusaders in the Balkans.
Mehmed the Conqueror
• When Mehmed II step in as the
sultan in 1451, the city of
Constantinople was on its downfall
which its population had reduced
from a million to 50,000. Despite
this, it still holds the Bosporus
Strait which may choke off traffic
between the territories of the
Ottoman Empire in Asia and the
Balkans. This is why Mehmed
decided to attack the city head-on
to prevent the chance of the city
Mehmed II
causing a delay in their expansion.
Mehmed the Conqueror
• Mehmed decided to attack
Constantinople in 1453, going all-
out and strategically attacking the
city from two sides. One of the
famous weapons they’ve used to
break in the city walls is the 26-foot
cannon called “The Basilica” which
fires a stone ball weighing about
1,200 pounds. The war lasted for
seven weeks until they’ve finally
“The Basilica”
able to break through the walls and
attack the city.
Rebuilt of the City
• After the war, Mehmed received a
good reputation among the nations
which today he’s now called
Mehmed the Conqueror. He proved
again his greatness not only as a
warrior but also as a ruler by
opening Constantinople to the
public, regardless of their religious
backgrounds or social status. As
time goes by, Jews, Christians,
Muslims, and Turks helped rebuild
the city which was also renamed
Istanbul. Istanbul
Selim the Grim
• Mehmed’s grandson Selim soon
stepped up and received the throne
in 1512. In 1514, he proved his
reputation as an effective sultan and
great general by defeating the
Safavids of Persia at the Battle of
Chaldiran.

• In his early years as a sultan, he aims

to take Islam’s Holy Cities under the
control of the empire which he
succeeded by conquering Syria,
Arabia, Palestine, and Egypt in 1517. Selim I
Suleiman the Magnificent
• The Ottoman Empire haven’t reached its
peak until Selim’s son, Suleiman,
received the throne in 1520 and
maintained his position for 46 years.

• Aside from showing his greatness

through expanding further the empire,
he also showed his effectiveness as a
leader in terms of creating a law code
which was formulated from the laws of
the sultans that came before him,
removing the duplications and selecting
between contradicting statements while
being careful not to violate the basic Suleiman I
laws of Islam.
Suleiman the Lawgiver
• As he went forming new policies and
laws for the betterment of the empire,
he was regarded with the title of
Lawgiver.

• Being a Muslim who follows the Islamic

Law, Suleiman treated fairly and granted
different communities called millets or
“nations” the freedom to worship and
to follow the laws and practices
according to their religion. Suleiman was
mandated to have a leader in each
millet who will report to him; this will
prevent religious conflict between each Suleiman I
community.
Cultural Flowering
• Suleiman not only focused in the policies
and laws that ensure order within the
empire, he also studied poetry, history,
geography, astronomy, mathematics, and
architecture which his broad interest in
seeking and establishing diversity and
advancement brought cultural
achievements to the empire.

• Of all the advancements made by the Surgical

empire, it was in the field of medicine Instruments
that they’ve contributed the most;
inventing surgical instruments such as
forceps, catheters, scalpels, pincers, and
lancets.
Fall of the Empire
• Despite these great achievements, the Ottoman Empire slowly
declines. In setting the next inheritor of the throne, Suleiman killed
his most capable son and drove the other to exile, leaving the
incompetent Selim II to gain position. This set a practice
implemented by Selim which was applied for any new Sultan which
was called Fratricide; the new Sultan will cut their brothers off from
education or contact with the world which resulted in producing a
long line of weak sultans that will cause the fall of the empire.

• The Ottoman Empire soon lose its economic and military dominance
to some of its lands until the empire officially ended in 1922 when
the title of Ottoman Sultan was eliminated. Turkey was declared a
republic on October 29, 1923, and from then on, the implemented
reforms rapidly secularized and westernized the country.
Thank You!
References
• https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/ottoman-empire
• https://www.thoughtco.com/timur-or-tamerlane-195675
• https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/constantinople
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Constantinople
• https://www.thoughtco.com/timur-or-tamerlane-195675
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilic_(cannon)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suleiman_the_Magnificent
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Interregnum