||The English used in this article or section may not be easy for everybody to understand. (March 2012)|
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|Sublime Ottoman State
دولت عالیه عثمانیه
Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye
دولت ابد مدت
("The Eternal State")
Ottoman imperial anthem
|see: list of territories|
|- 1281–1326 (first)||Osman I|
|- 1918–22 (last)||Mehmed VI|
|- 1320–31 (first)||Alaeddin Pasha|
|- 1920–22 (last)||Ahmed Tevfik Pasha|
|- 1. Constitutional||1876-1878|
|- 2. Constitutional||1908-1918|
|- Succeeded ||July 24, 1923|
|- 1680||5,500,000 km2 (2,123,562 sq mi)|
|- 1856 est.||35,350,000|
|- 1906 est.||20,884,000|
|- 1914 est.||18,520,000|
|- 1919 est.||14,629,000|
|Currency||Akçe, Kuruş, Lira|
|Timeline of the Ottoman Empire|
The Ottoman Empire lasted from 1299 to 1923. It was centered in Turkey and controlled the eastern and southern lands around the Mediterranean Sea. The empire was created by Ottoman Turks and was most powerful from around 1400 to 1600, when it controlled trade and politics in southeastern Europe, southwest Asia, and northern Africa. Suleiman the Magnificent was one of the most powerful rulers.
The empire was a collection of conquered countries. The Sultan sent governors to rule these countries or provinces, with titles such as Pasha or Bey. The most famous in the early 19th century was Muhammad Ali Pasha. In later years, the Ottoman Empire began to weaken. In the latter part of the 19th century became known as "the sick man of Europe".
Sultan's family[change | change source]
The empire was a hereditary monarchy. The ruler's title was sultan. In the early years of the empire, shahzadahs, who were the sons of the Sultan, used to be sent to Sanjaks (different parts of the empire) to have experience and to later govern. This was because they were candidates for the Sultanate and Caliphate.
After Ahmed this system changed. In the new system the Sultan would keep all his male relatives locked in a small apartment called a kafes where they would never be able to see the outside world, and would therefore be unable to take power from him. Often, a new Sultan would simply have his male relatives killed, a simpler solution since it removed competition for the Sultanate and prevented rebel movements. However, the women in his harem often sought greater status and influence, and the Sultan's mother might become the most powerful political force in the Empire, because each mother in the harem would try to make her own son the next Sultan, since they knew he would probably be killed if he was not.
The Sultans quickly lost their ability to govern far-away territories well. Distant governors did whatever they wanted and made their own laws instead of obeying the Sultan. By its end, the Ottoman Empire grew so worn out and corrupt that it was ready to collapse.
Capital of Ottoman empire[change | change source]
Bursa was the first capital of the Ottoman Empire. Edirne in Thrace became the capital city of the Ottoman Empire in 1365, until Istanbul was conquered by the Turks and became the empire's final capital.
Vassal states[change | change source]
Many places were vassal states to the empire rather than being directly ruled. These included Transylvania, Moldavia, Wallachia, (Romania), Caucasus (Georgia, Dagestan, and Chechnya. Their rulers received a degree of independence and autonomy from the Ottoman Empire. The price for this autonomy was more money (tax or tribute) paid to the Sultan.
References[change | change source]
- The Treaty of Sèvres (10 August 1920) afforded a small existence to the Ottoman Empire. The ending of the Ottoman Sultanate in November 1, 1922, did not end the Ottoman State, but only the Ottoman dynasty. The official end of the Ottoman State was declared through the Treaty of Lausanne (July 24, 1923). It recognized the new "Ankara government", and not the old Constantinople-based Ottoman government, as representing the rightful owner and successor state. The TBMM declared the successor state to be the "Republic of Turkey" (October 29, 1923), less than a month after its international recognition as a state.
Other websites[change | change source]
Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews
Images and media from Wikiversity
Images and media from Wikispecies
Database entry from Wikidata
Documentation from MediaWiki
- The Ottoman Empire: A Chronogical Outline
- The Ottoman Empire: The Eternal State
- Ottoman Website
- History of Turkish Empire — gives detailed timetable.
- Turkish Oral Narrative
- Information about Ottomans
- Forced population transfers in early Ottoman imperial policy - covers the period 1300-1600
- Turkey in Asia is an old book in English from 1920
- Ottoman Empire Citizendium