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=media type="custom" key="29532619" align="right"= =Describe the rise of the Ottoman Empire in the 14th and 15th centuries, including the capture of Constantinople in 1453.=
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** Topics on the Page **

 * Origins of the Empire **
 * Accomplishments of Rulers **
 * Women's Roles **
 * The Conquest of Constantinople **
 * Hagia Sophia **
 * Ottoman Bureaucracy **

How did the Ottoman Empire gain so much land and power? Watch this video to find out!

Although the details are somewhat obscure, the Ottoman Empire seems to have originated from a tribe of Turkish nomads who migrated from Central Asia into Anatolia to escape the advance of the Mongols during the late 12th century.


 * Osman Gazi**, their ruler, gave his name to the dynasty (Osmanli, or Ottoman) which would rule over significant portions of three continents during the next five centuries.


 * Picture to the right is Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman miniature painting. Located at Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi, Istanbul **

The Ottoman Empire was established in the vicinity of the city of Bursa, which became the first Ottoman capital, and were able to expand rapidly from this position.

One important reason for their success was their location, which was in between two weakened, disintegrating powers.


 * The Sultanate of Rum had been shattered by the Mongol invasions, and much of Anatolia was now ruled by small Muslim Turkish states similar to the Ottomans.
 * Meanwhile, to the west, the Byzantine Empire (The last remaining remnant of the Roman Empire) was continuing its long decline. The Byzantine capital, Constantinople, once one of the most prosperous and populous cities in the world was a shell of it's former self, especially in the wake of the brutal fourth Crusade, which culminated in the sack and plunder of Constantinople by the Venetian-led Crusader army.




 * As Constantinople's power diminished, the Ottomans took the place of the Byzantines as the major trading and economic power of the Eastern Mediterranean, reaping the wealth of Turkey's key position as a center of trade routes.**

For a short crash course on Ottoman beginnings (and a small portion about their relationship with Venice) [|click here].



This video details the Janissaries of the Ottoman Empire, explaining their role and importance in the rise of the Empire.

Click here for an interview on the differing aspects of multiculturalism in the Ottoman Empire.

Click here to see a timeline of the Islamic World from 500-1800 CE. See how the Ottoman Empire fits into a larger, global narrative.
 * What global events helped and hindered the expansion of the Ottoman Empire?
 * What categories do you see most of on the timeline? Military action? An effort to spread ideologies? Advancement in architecture?
 * What does this tell you about the priorities of Ottoman rulers?

Click here and here for lesson plans created by Discovery and the Turkish Cultural Foundation.

Check this game by BrainPop. Can you place the events of the Ottoman Empire in order?

//Focus Question: What were the accomplishments of Ottoman rulers up to Mehmed II?//
The Ottoman rulers after Osman built upon his successes, expanding in all directions. They gradually absorbed the other ghazi states of Anatolia, and established a firm power base there as a regional Muslim power. At the same time, they continued to take territories away from the Byzantine Empire and other Christians in the Balkans.
 * They fought with the Venetians in Greece, destroyed the power of the kingdom of the Serbs in 1389, and defeated an army of crusaders from western Europe at Nicopolis in 1396.
 * They suffered a serious setback when Beyazid I was defeated and captured by Timurlane at the Battle of Ankara in 1402, but they regrouped under the leadership of Mehmed I.
 * By 1453 they were in a dominant position in the Balkans and Anatolia, surrounding Constantinople, the Byzantine capital, on all sides and in a powerful military position compared to most of their neighbors. In these circumstances, Mehmed II decided to complete the Ottoman conquest of the Byzantines by taking Constantinople.

The Sultanate of Women, also known as the Period of Women, was a period of time during the 16th and 17th centuries when women exerted a significant amount of influence within the Ottoman Empire.
 * Roxelana: A Woman with Power at the Ottoman Empire

Check out this documentary on the Harem influence on Turkish society Contrary to contemporary perception, women in early Ottoman society enjoyed freedom of circulation, working opportunities, and held leadership positions in charitable organizations

Click here for a presi on the role of women in the Ottoman Empire
 * Women's unusual high status in society
 * Often worked in commercial cities making silk
 * The Harem
 * See Harem and the Ottoman Women
 * Polygamy sometimes happened in bigger cities to form business ties, but monogamy was the norm

For more reading on the Sultanate of Women, check out Leslie P. Pierce’s book //The Imperial Harem//

**//Focus Question: Why did Mehmed II attack Constantinople, and what effects did the fall of the city have?//**
Click here for a podcast describing Mehmed II's sack of Constantinople Click here for a bio on Mehmed II

[|History Channel documentary on the siege of Constantinople] The video focuses on the Ottoman military's use of cannon fire to destroy the formidable walls of Constantinople.

This is a [|primary source account] by a citizen of Christian Constantinople on the May 29, 1453 when the Ottomans conquered it.

History Fun Fact: Constantinople may have fallen as a result of human error. It is believed that on May 29, 1453, a guard may have left the Kerkoporta gate unlatched, letting Ottoman soldiers walk in, opening up the other gates, and allowing their massive army to march in.

However, the fall of Constantinople also ended up bringing benefits to the Christian powers.


 * Refugees escaping the fall of the Byzantines fled west to Italy, and the ideas and texts they brought with them began to encourage new ways of thinking in that part of the world.
 * This greatly helped to cause what would later become known as the Renaissance.

The Conquest of Constantinople
 * The siege lasted all of April and May of 1453
 * The attacks were first aimed at fortresses but eventually shifted to naval attacks
 * Some historians mark the end of the Middle Ages by the capture of Constantinople
 * The siege also sparked the European Renaissance and paved the way for ideological exchange between Europe and the Islamic world

If this isn't sticking for you, here's a song to remind you of the success of the Ottoman's (that you'll never be able to get out of your head). To commemorate the 500th anniversary of the takeover of Constantinople, "[|Istanbul (Not Constantinople)]" performed by They May Be Giants.

** The Hagia Sophia **
The [|Hagia Sophia]was born through a reconstruction project after the Nika Riots of 532 A.D.


 * The people of Constantinople had become utterly disdained with the leadership of Emperor Justinian and full-fledged riots spread across the city.
 * After brutally suppressing the rebellion, Justinian hoped to salvage his image by reconstructing a destroyed church, known as the Hagia Sophia, into a massive, beautiful feature.
 * Justinian employed architects Anthemius and Isadore the Elder to pursue the project, and the church was built within an astonishingly quick five years (in consideration that the Notre Dame took up to a century to build).
 * With over 40 sunlight windows, imperial seating, and a domed roof, the Church was generally considered to be the most beautiful cathedral in the world.
 * After the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, the Muslim conquerors were so impressed with the structure that they decided to convert it to a mosque. Four minarets and multiple Islamic Scriptures were added.
 * Today the Hagia Sophia is a major tourist site for people of all faiths.



For a better understanding of the geography of Constantinople, visit this interactive map.




 * Background on The Ghazi, Ottoman Bureaucracy and the Janissary**


 * //The Crusader of the Ottomans ("The Ghazi")-//** The weakness of the Byzantine Empire, combined with its status as a Christian power and thus an enemy of the Muslims made its Ottoman neighbors a magnet for //ghazis.//
 * Like the Christian crusaders, Ghazis sought to fight their religious enemies to expand Muslim territory earning land, honor, and plunder as a reward.
 * These ideologically-driven soldiers bolstered the Ottoman's manpower into the hundreds of thousands.
 * As Ghazis flocked to the Ottoman banner and as the Ottomans earned spectacular victories over the Byzantines, the Ottomans became the standard-bearers in the fight against Christian Byzantium and this power and prestige helped them to swallow Muslim lands to the east.


 * //The Bureaucracy of the Ottoman Empire-//** One major advantage of the Ottoman empire was its efficient bureaucracy.
 * The Ottomans notably financed and built markets along major trade routes, which made trade more safe, more comfortable, and more profitable.

//**The Janissary**-// Early Ottoman rulers often faced a major difficulty: Tribal and family loyalties within their fledgling empire often left it vulnerable to rebellion and disunity. When on campaign in the west, subjects in the east would often seek to empower their own family by rising in rebellion.
 * To solve this problem, the Sultan created a unit known as the Janissaries.
 * Recruited from (generally) young Christian children of conquered lands in Greece, the Janissaries were trained from a young age to be military and political leaders and taught to be loyal and answerable to the Sultan alone.
 * Using these loyal children as key bureaucrats and elite soldiers, the Sultan cemented the loyalty of key institutions, created an efficient, trained bureaucracy that was a marvel of its time, and also created an elite core of professional soldiers, uniformed, disciplined, loyal, and armed with cutting-edge firearms, which gave them a devastating advantage over their enemies.


 * More background on the Capture of Constantinople**

The benefits of attacking the final outpost of Byzantine authority were numerous for Mehmed II, who would be called "The Conqueror" for successfully taking the city. Not only did Ottoman territory surround Constantinople, but it was centrally located within the eastern Mediterranean, easy to defend, and had easy access to sea shipping and trade.

By capturing Constantinople, Mehmed II emerged as a dominant horse in the Islamic world because of his success in destroying the Byzantines, who had been a long-time enemy of many different Islamic states. There had been many attempts to capture Constantinople in the past, yet all had ended in defeat before Mehmed's conquest. However, Mehmed, with his cutting-edge heavy cannon, could threaten the famously formidable walls of Byzantine with far more devastating effect and his victory catapulted his fame and made him a hero of the Muslim world.

Once he had taken the city, Mehmed II also assumed a Roman title for himself, attempting to acquire some additional prestige and legitimacy: he began calling himself //Kayser-i-Rum//, or Roman Caesar.

The Hagia Sophia, perhaps the greatest Christian Cathedral of the time, and one of the largest domed structures in the world, was converted into a mosque.

Once captured, Mehmed II reestablished the Ottoman government system and codified laws. He also encouraged the study of mathematics and astronomy.

The siege and capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans under Mehmed II and the conquest of Greece by them soon afterwards destroyed the final remnants of the Roman Empire that had been established by Augustus Caesar over a millennium earlier, and news of its fall was met with dismay across the Christian West.

For a full recap of the Ottoman Empire, check out Discovery’s documentary For more on the Ottoman Empire’s decline, check out The Decline of the Ottoman Empire

[] (Chapter 7, The Ottoman Empire, ca. 1450) (Link no longer functioning).
 * //References://**

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[|http://www.public.iastate.edu/~cfford/342worldhistoryearly.html]

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[|http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/battleswars14011600/p/Byzantine-Ottoman-Wars-Fall-Of-Constantinople.htm]