History of the Ottoman Empire

The Byzantine Empire crumbles

By 1300, the Byzantine Empire was decliningThis left nomadic Seljuk Turks in the area of central AnatoliaMany of these people saw themselves as ghazis, warriors for Islam who belonged to a military society with a strict code of conduct

The Byzantine Empire Crumbles

Byzantine Empire also severely weakened by the sack of Constantinople in the 4th Crusade.It’s not strong enough to regain territory.Osman slowly collected the land.

The Byzantine Empire crumbles

The most successful ghazi was Osman, also known as Othman, whose strength came from gunpowder

His followers were called Ottomans

The second Ottoman leader continued to expand the empire and was Osman’s son, Orkhan I, who named himself sultan (like emperor)

Sultan was the title of the King in the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire expands

Mehmed II (also known as Mehmed the Conqueror) took control of the city of Constantinople and the Bosporus Strait in 1453

Defeated Constantinople using cannons and military strategy

Constantinople was in a period of decline – Mehmed opened the city to Jews, Christians, and Muslims and rebuilt the city, renaming it Istanbul

The Ottoman Empire expands

His grandson, Selim the Grim, came to power in 1512 and took over Persia, Syria, Palestine, and North AfricaHe also captured the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina and the city of Cairo, Egypt

The Ottoman Empire Expands

Although Europe called for new Christian Crusades against infidel Turks, the Ottoman Empire began to be treated like European powers and were sought after for alliances and trade.Ottoman Empire “Sleeping Giant”

Content with status quo in eastern Europe until a new line of grand viziers came to power at the end of the 17th century.Ottomans – group of people who made the empire in the Middle East and lost World War I ending their empire

The Ottoman Empire expandsThe Ottoman Empire reached its peak size and grandeur during the reign of Suleyman I

(also known as Suleyman the Lawgiver and Suleyman the Magnificent)

Suleyman conquered much of the Balkans in Europe, including the city of Belgrade, and then moved into Hungary and Austria

Suleyman’s Social OrganizationSuleyman’s huge empire required an efficient government and social organization to be effectiveHe created a law code to handle both criminal and civil actions, to simplify the system of taxation, and to reduce government bureaucracy

Suleyman known as lawgiver because his code of laws were so good

Army uses devishirme – Christian boys taken as slaves, converted to Islam, and turned into warriors and government officials as part of this Ottoman policy

Purpose was to select and train ablest kids for leadership positions and to serve empire – 10-20 years old

Suleyman’s Social OrganizationThe sultan had 20,000 personal slaves to staff the palace bureaucracy and an elite force of 30,000 soldiers, called janissaries, who were trained to be loyal to the sultan only

Janissaries: sultan’s personal military force made up of 30,000 men

Suleyman’s empire was a Muslim empire and followed Islamic law (sharia), in accordance with this, Jewish and Christian communities were allowed to worship as they wished (once paid tax)Suleyman’s broad interests lead to flourishing arts, learning.

Golden Age of cultural development

The Ottoman Empire declines

When Suleyman died in 1566, the Ottoman Empire began a long period of declineThis was in large part due to the tradition Suleyman set of having his brothers killed and cutting his sons of from the world producing a series of weak sultans

2 sons survived Suleyman – they fought each other = civil warSelim I won

The Ottoman Empire declines

However, the Ottoman Empire would remain in control until the end of World War I in 1918

Sided with Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary)Lost WWI and Allies divided Ottoman Empire into modern day countries you see today in the Middle East.

The Safavid Empire

The Safavid Empire was established as a Shi’a Muslim Empire in Persia in 1499 by a 12-year-old named Isma’il

Safavid Empire existed in modern day Iran

To celebrate his achievements, Isma’il took the title shah (king)

Shah is Persian for king or emperor and was used to describe the king of the Safavid Empire

The Safavid Empire

Isma’il became a religious tyrant and began putting to death any citizen that would not convert to Shi’ism and kills Sunnis in surrounding lands (ex. Baghdad)

Safavid Golden AgeShah Abbas took the throne in 1587 and established a Safavid culture that combined the best from the Ottoman, Persian, and Arab worlds

Shah Abbas: drew from nay cultural influences and reformed civilian and military life in the Safavid Empire

Safavid Golden Age

Abbas reformed the military, wiped out corruption in the government, and brought Christians into the empire to prove his religious tolerance which made way for industry, trade, and art exchanges between his empire and European nationsCreates a new Safavid capital, Esfahan, which is one of the world’s most beautiful cities thanks to artists from many cultures working together in the cityCarpet weaving became a national industry

Safavid Golden Age

Abbas made the same mistakes in finding a successor as Suleyman – he killed or blinded his ablest sons leading to a quick decline of the empireEmpire falls apart in 1747

Ponder This

Why do you think Suleyman and Abbas were so adamant about killing or maiming their family members?

Write your answers on your notes

Flip Chart

Create a flip chart for the following leaders. Include important facts about them on the flip chart:

Mehmed IISelim the GrimSuleymanIsma’ilShah Abbas