A Brief Overview of the Ottoman Empire

Podcast Transcript

One of the most important empires in history was the Ottoman Empire.

It wasn’t the biggest empire, but it had an outsized impact on the world due to its strategic location and its moment in history.

The Ottomans shocked the world by capturing the city of Constantinople and later almost conquered much of Central Europe.

Despite having a six-hundred-year run, as with all empires, it eventually weakened and collapsed.

Learn more about the Ottoman Empire, its rise and its fall, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

I have mentioned the Ottoman Empire in many, many episodes. However, I realized that I had never actually done an episode on the Ottoman Empire.

I figured it was time to rectify that by giving the Ottomans their own episode.

The Ottomans were a Turkish empire. The Turks were not native to the region that is now Turkey. The Turks from Turkey are just one of several groups from a larger Turkic Ethnicity. This includes people who today live in Central Asia, Russia, Iran, and other countries in the region.

Beginning around the eighth to tenth centuries, various Turkic groups started moving south toward the Islamic world and the Middle East.

The most important for the history of Anatolia were the Oghuz Turks, a large confederation whose western branch, often called the Turkmen, migrated into Iran, the Caucasus, and eventually Anatolia.

The Ottoman empire’s origins trace back to the late thirteenth century when Osman I, a Turkish tribal leader, established a small principality in northwestern Anatolia around 1299.

Operating in the power vacuum created by the declining Seljuk Sultanate of Rum and the weakening Byzantine Empire, Osman and his successors gradually expanded their territory through a combination of military conquest and strategic alliances.

The early Ottomans attracted warriors and settlers by offering land and opportunities for plunder, creating a dynamic frontier society that proved remarkably effective at expansion.

Osman’s son, Orhan, continued this expansion, capturing the important Byzantine city of Bursa in 1326, which became the first Ottoman capital. The Ottomans crossed into Europe in the 1350s, establishing a foothold in the Balkans that would prove pivotal to their future success.

This European expansion was facilitated by the civil wars and political fragmentation plaguing the Byzantine Empire and the Balkan states.

The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries marked a period of dramatic Ottoman expansion. Murad I, who ruled from 1362 to 1389, transformed the Ottoman state from a frontier state into a formidable empire.

He established the janissary corps, an elite military unit composed of Christian boys converted to Islam through the devshirme system, which became the backbone of Ottoman military power for centuries. The Battle of Kosovo in 1389 secured Ottoman dominance over the Balkans, even though Murad I was killed in the conflict.

The devshirme system is a fascinating system of governance and will be the subject of a future episode.

The empire faced a severe crisis during the reign of Bayezid I when the Central Asian conqueror Timur defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Ankara in 1402, capturing Bayezid and temporarily fragmenting Ottoman territories among his sons.

This period lasted until 1413, when Mehmed I reunified the empire, followed by Murad II, who continued the consolidation and expansion.

The conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed II, known thereafter as Mehmed the Conqueror, represents perhaps the most significant moment in Ottoman history.

The fall of this ancient city, capital of the Byzantine Empire for over a thousand years, sent shockwaves throughout Europe and the Islamic world.

Mehmed transformed Constantinople into the new Ottoman capital. The conquest gave the Ottomans control over crucial trade routes and established them as the preeminent power in the eastern Mediterranean.

The empire reached its greatest extent and power during the sixteenth century under Selim I and Suleiman the Magnificent. Selim I, ruling from 1512 to 1520, dramatically expanded Ottoman territory by conquering the Mamluk Sultanate, bringing Syria, Egypt, and the Hejaz under Ottoman rule.

This conquest gave the Ottomans control over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, allowing the sultan to claim the title of Caliph and protector of Islam’s most sacred sites, significantly enhancing Ottoman prestige throughout the Muslim world.

Suleiman I, who reigned from 1520 to 1566, presided over the empire’s golden age. His military campaigns extended Ottoman control deep into Europe, culminating in the 1529 siege of Vienna, which brought the empire to the gates of Central Europe.

In the east, he conquered Baghdad and much of Iraq from the Safavid Persians. Under Suleiman’s rule, the Ottoman Empire controlled approximately three million square kilometers and was home to perhaps thirty million people, making it one of the world’s most populous states.

Beyond military achievements, Suleiman’s reign witnessed remarkable cultural and administrative accomplishments. Known in Turkish as “the Lawgiver,” Suleiman reformed and codified Ottoman law, creating a comprehensive legal system that balanced Islamic sharia with customary law and imperial decrees.

The arts flourished during this period, with magnificent architectural achievements including the works of the great architect Mimar Sinan, whose mosques and other structures remain masterpieces of Islamic architecture.

The Ottoman Empire developed a sophisticated administrative system that enabled it to govern its vast, diverse territories effectively for centuries. At the top stood the sultan, who wielded absolute authority in theory, though in practice his power was mediated through complex bureaucratic structures and political realities.

The imperial council, or Divan, served as the primary governing body, headed by the Grand Vizier who functioned as the sultan’s chief minister.

The empire was divided into provinces, or eyalets, later reorganized into vilayets, which were governed by officials appointed by the central government. This system balanced centralized authority with local autonomy, allowing the empire to incorporate diverse populations and territories while maintaining overall control.

The Ottomans generally practiced religious tolerance, organizing their empire along the millet system, which granted religious communities considerable autonomy in managing their internal affairs, education, and legal matters according to their own laws.

This was actually really important because, while the Ottoman Empire was ruled by Turks, most of its subjects were not. There was a collection of Greeks, Bulgars, Arabs, Armenians, Berbers, and many other peoples.

A problem started to arise just when the empire was at its peak.

The Ottomans did not follow strict primogeniture; any male relative, a son or sometimes brother of a sultan, could claim the throne. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, this caused repeated civil wars as rival princes fought for power.

To stop this, Mehmed II implemented a very simple solution: kill your brothers. He legalized fratricide “for the order of the world,” and several sultans used it. Mehmed III famously had nineteen brothers killed in 1595.

By the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, fratricide became unpopular, and the old system of training princes as provincial governors was collapsing.

Governors gained experience but also became dangerous political actors, and court factions preferred more controllable heirs. From the early seventeenth century onward, princes were confined to palace quarters in Istanbul. It was comfortable but restrictive, preventing them from building power bases or gaining real experience.

This system ended civil wars, but it often produced inexperienced and poorly prepared sultans who had spent decades in isolation before unexpectedly inheriting the throne.

The Ottoman Empire’s strategic position astride major trade routes between East and West made it a crucial hub of international commerce. The empire controlled the traditional overland routes connecting Europe with Asia and the Middle East along the silk road, as well as important maritime routes in the Mediterranean and Red Seas.

Ottoman merchants traded in spices, textiles, precious metals, and countless other commodities, connecting markets from Morocco to Persia and from the Arabian Peninsula to the Balkans.

The discovery of new maritime routes to Asia by European powers in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries began to undermine the Ottoman monopoly on East-West trade, though the empire remained economically significant.

Ottoman cities like Istanbul, Cairo, Damascus, and Baghdad flourished as commercial centers, home to bustling markets and workshops. The empire’s agricultural economy supported this commercial activity, with regions producing diverse crops such as grain, cotton, and tobacco.

Ottoman civilization produced remarkable cultural and intellectual achievements that blended Turkish, Persian, Arabic, and Byzantine influences into a distinctive style.

Ottoman literature developed a rich tradition, primarily in Ottoman Turkish, which incorporated extensive Persian and Arabic vocabulary and literary forms.

Poetry flourished at the imperial court and among the broader educated classes, with poets like Fuzuli and Baki producing works that remain celebrated in Turkish literature.

Iznik pottery, with its distinctive blue-and-white designs, became renowned throughout Europe and the Islamic world.

Ottoman carpets and textiles were prized luxury goods, while calligraphy served not only religious purposes but also as a highly developed art form.

The empire’s relative decline began gradually in the seventeenth century, though it remained a major power. The failed siege of Vienna in 1683 marked a turning point, followed by a series of military defeats that resulted in significant territorial losses in Europe.

The Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699 represented the first time the Ottomans signed a treaty as the defeated party, ceding substantial territories to Austria and other European powers.

Throughout the eighteenth century, the empire faced mounting challenges from European powers who were modernizing their militaries and economies. Russia emerged as a particular threat, repeatedly defeating Ottoman forces and expanding at Ottoman expense in the Black Sea region and the Caucasus.

Internally, the empire struggled with administrative inefficiency, military obsolescence, and economic difficulties.

Recognizing these problems, Ottoman rulers and reformers attempted various modernization efforts. Selim III, ruling from 1789 to 1807, initiated reforms aimed at creating a modern army and reforming administrative structures.

His efforts met resistance from conservative elements, particularly the janissaries, who saw reforms as threatening their interests. Mahmud II finally succeeded in eliminating the janissary corps in 1826, opening the way for more comprehensive reforms.

The Tanzimat period, from 1839 to 1876, was the most ambitious Ottoman reform effort. These reforms aimed to modernize the empire along European lines while preserving its independence.

The Tanzimat edicts proclaimed equality of all subjects regardless of religion, reformed taxation and military service, and introduced new legal codes based partly on European models. New schools were established, and efforts were made to create a more efficient, centralized administration.

Despite these reforms, the empire continued to lose territory and face internal challenges. Nationalist movements among the empire’s various ethnic groups, inspired by European nationalism, increasingly threatened Ottoman unity.

Greece won independence in the 1820s, followed gradually by other Balkan nations. Egypt, though nominally remaining part of the empire, became effectively autonomous under Muhammad Ali and his successors, and later became a British protectorate.

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw accelerating crises. The reign of Abdulhamid II from 1876 to 1909 was marked by autocratic rule, though it also saw continued modernization efforts, including the expansion of railway and telegraph networks.

Growing discontent among educated Ottomans, particularly military officers and intellectuals, led to the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, which forced the sultan to restore the constitution and parliament.

The Young Turks came to dominate Ottoman politics, pursuing aggressive modernization and centralization policies.

Their emphasis on Turkish nationalism, however, alienated many non-Turkish subjects and contributed to the empire’s fragmentation. The Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 resulted in the loss of nearly all remaining Ottoman territories in Continental Europe.

The empire’s entry into World War I on the side of the Central Powers in 1914 proved catastrophic. Though Ottoman forces achieved notable victories, including at Gallipoli, the war drained the empire’s resources and led to the occupation of much of its territory by Allied forces.

Following defeat in World War I, the victorious Allies carved up Ottoman territories and sought to partition Anatolia itself through the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920.

This treaty would have left only a small Turkish state in central Anatolia. However, a nationalist resistance movement led by Mustafa Kemal, later known as Atatürk, rejected the treaty and fought a war of independence against occupying forces and the sultan’s government.

The nationalist victory led to the abolition of the sultanate in 1922 and the formal proclamation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, with Atatürk as its first president.

The last Ottoman sultan, Mehmed VI, fled into exile. In 1924, the caliphate itself was abolished, ending the Ottoman dynasty’s claim to leadership of the Islamic world. The Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 recognized the new Turkish state and established its modern borders.

The Ottoman Empire’s legacy remains profound and complex. For over six centuries, it shaped the history of southeastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Ottoman architecture, art, and culture continue to influence these regions.

The empire’s millet system and relative religious tolerance, despite not meeting modern standards, allowed diverse communities to coexist for centuries. Many modern Middle Eastern states emerged from former Ottoman territories, and the borders drawn after the empire’s collapse continue to influence regional politics.

The Ottoman Empire’s history demonstrates the rise and fall of one of history’s great empires, showing how military prowess, administrative sophistication, and cultural achievement can create an enduring state, while also revealing how failure to adapt to changing circumstances, nationalist movements, and great power competition can lead to an empire’s destruction.