Osman I (Othman): 1299-1326

Beginnings• Gazi warriors are “fighters for the faith” and their excellent

skills help to expand Ottoman territory into new areas in 13th-14th centuries

• Osman, founder of the Ottoman dynasty, was a gazi warrior and commanded great loyalty from his followers

• 1071 Seljuq Turks defeated the Byzantines. In 1277 they defeated the Mongols – individuals able to carve out principalities in Anatolia in the midst of this upheaval

• Osman, founder of the Ottoman dynasty, was a gazi warrior and commanded great loyalty from his followers

• Osman succeeded in expanding his small territory into new areas in 13th-14th centuries

Military Organization

• In the Balkans, Ottomans forced Christian families to surrender young boys to military and state service: devshirme-Often grew up to be exceptionally loyal Janissaries (infantry) and sate administrators• Sipahis: Cavalry maintained with income from their fiefs (timar lands). But peasants on their land not serfs

Janissaries

The Golden Age of the Ottomans

Ottoman Expansion• Mehmed I and Murad II presided over the

period of final consolidation of Ottoman power in Europe

• Must concurrently deal with unrest in Anatolia in addition to Balkan campaigns and threats from Hungary

• 1439: occupy Serbia but are still unable to capture Belgrade, still a Hungarian border fortress

• 1444: Victory at Varna important for the fate of the rest of the Balkans and Constantinople

Mehmet II: 1444-1445; 1451-1481

(“The Conqueror”)

Fall of Constantinople

• 1453: Constantinople falls to Ottomans under Mehmed II “The Conqueror”

• Renamed Istanbul• Transformation from warrior sultan to

emperor of “two lands” (Europe, Asia) and “two seas” (Black Sea, Mediterranean)

The Fall of Constantinople: 1453

Suleiman the Magnificent:(1520-1566)

Suleiman’s Signature

Suleyman the Magnificent (cont.)• 1526: Battle of Mohacs in Hungary, won by the

Ottomans under Suleyman the Magnificent. Height of Ottoman power.

• Suleyman also known as “Kanuni” i.e. Lawgiver: reconciles Islamic Law with requirements of Ottoman administration

• Besieges Vienna. • Builds naval power• Expands into Asia• Encourages learning

The Ottoman Empire During the 16c

The Ottoman Bureaucracy

SULTANSULTAN

DivansDivans

Social / MilitaryDivans

Social / MilitaryDivans

Heads of Individual

Religious Millets

Heads of Individual

Religious Millets

Local Administrators& Military

Local Administrators& Military

Landowners / Tax CollectorsLandowners / Tax Collectors

MuslimsMuslims JewsJews

ChristiansChristians