The ottoman turks
The Byzantine Empire came to an end when the Ottoman Turks conquered the city of Constantinople in 1453. The Ottoman Turks were a Turkish-speaking nomadic group that had migrated from Central Asia into northwestern Asia Minor (Turkey).
Fall of Constantinople
Ottoman expansion threatened the crumbling Byzantine Empire as early as the 1300s. After several failed attempts to capture Constantinople, Muhammad II finally succeeded in 1453. They were able to succeed largely in part to the cannon and the musket, two fairly new weapons. The cannon allowed them to get through the wall of Constantinople. In the next 200 years, the Ottoman Empire continued to expand. |
Suleiman the Magnificent
The Ottoman Empire enjoyed its golden age under the sultan Suleiman, who ruled from 1520 to 1566. Called Suleiman the Magnificent by westerners, he was known to his own people as Suleiman the Lawgiver. A brilliant general, Suleiman modernized the army and conquered many new lands. He extended Ottoman rule eastward into Mesopotamia, and also into Kurdistan and Georgia in the Caucasus Mountain region. In the west, Suleiman advanced deeper into Europe. He was able to gain control of nearly all of Hungary through diplomacy and warfare. In 1529, his armies besieged the Austrian city of Vienna, sending waves of fear through western Europe. |
Although they failed to take Vienna, the Ottomans ruled the largest, most powerful empire in both Europe and the Middle East for centuries. At its height, the Ottoman Empire stretched from Hungary to Arabia and Mesopotamia and across North Africa. The Ottoman Empire, in fact, wouldn’t even collapse until after World War I!
Ottoman Culture
Suleiman was a wise and capable ruler. He strengthened the government of the rapidly growing empire and improved its system of justice. As sultan, Suleiman had absolute power, but he ruled with the help of a grand vizier and council. A huge bureaucracy supervised the business of government, and the powerful military kept the peace. As in other Muslim states, Ottoman law was based on Sharia, supplemented by royal laws. Government officials worked closely with religious scholars who interpreted the law.
Social Organization
The Ottomans divided their subjects into four classes, each with its appointed role. At the top were “men of the pen,” such as scientists, lawyers, judges and poets. Next came “men of the sword,” such as soldiers who guarded the sultan and defended the state. Below them were “men of negotiation,” such as merchants, tax collectors, and artisans who carried out trade and production. Last were “men of husbandry,” the farmers and herders who produced food for the community.
The Ottomans ruled diverse peoples who had many religions. The men of the sword and the men of the pen were almost always Muslim, while the other classes included non-Muslims as well
Janissaries
Like earlier Muslim empires, the Ottomans recruited officers for the army and government from among the huge populations of conquered peoples in their empire. The Ottomans levied a “tax” on Christian families in the Balkans, requiring them to turn over young sons to the government.
The boys were converted to Islam and put into rigorous military training the palace school. The best soldiers won a prized place in the janissaries, the elite force of the Ottoman army. The brightest students received special education to become government officials. They might serve as judges, poets, or even grand vizier.
Like the boys, non-Muslim girls from Eastern Europe were brought to serve as slaves in wealthy Muslim households. There, they might be accepted as members of the household. Some of the enslaved girls were freed after the death of their masters.
Suleiman was a wise and capable ruler. He strengthened the government of the rapidly growing empire and improved its system of justice. As sultan, Suleiman had absolute power, but he ruled with the help of a grand vizier and council. A huge bureaucracy supervised the business of government, and the powerful military kept the peace. As in other Muslim states, Ottoman law was based on Sharia, supplemented by royal laws. Government officials worked closely with religious scholars who interpreted the law.
Social Organization
The Ottomans divided their subjects into four classes, each with its appointed role. At the top were “men of the pen,” such as scientists, lawyers, judges and poets. Next came “men of the sword,” such as soldiers who guarded the sultan and defended the state. Below them were “men of negotiation,” such as merchants, tax collectors, and artisans who carried out trade and production. Last were “men of husbandry,” the farmers and herders who produced food for the community.
The Ottomans ruled diverse peoples who had many religions. The men of the sword and the men of the pen were almost always Muslim, while the other classes included non-Muslims as well
Janissaries
Like earlier Muslim empires, the Ottomans recruited officers for the army and government from among the huge populations of conquered peoples in their empire. The Ottomans levied a “tax” on Christian families in the Balkans, requiring them to turn over young sons to the government.
The boys were converted to Islam and put into rigorous military training the palace school. The best soldiers won a prized place in the janissaries, the elite force of the Ottoman army. The brightest students received special education to become government officials. They might serve as judges, poets, or even grand vizier.
Like the boys, non-Muslim girls from Eastern Europe were brought to serve as slaves in wealthy Muslim households. There, they might be accepted as members of the household. Some of the enslaved girls were freed after the death of their masters.
Literature and the Arts
The arts blossomed under Suleiman. Ottoman poets adapted Persian and Arab models to produce works in their own Turkish language. Influenced by Persian artistic styles, Ottoman painters produced magnificently detailed miniatures and illuminated manuscripts.
The royal architect, Sinan, a janissary military engineer, designed hundreds of mosques and palaces. He compared his most famous building, the Selimiye Mosque to the greatest church of the Byzantine Empire. “With God’s help and the Sultan’s mercy, I have succeeded in building a dome for the mosque which is greater in diameter and higher than that of the Hagia Sophia.”
The arts blossomed under Suleiman. Ottoman poets adapted Persian and Arab models to produce works in their own Turkish language. Influenced by Persian artistic styles, Ottoman painters produced magnificently detailed miniatures and illuminated manuscripts.
The royal architect, Sinan, a janissary military engineer, designed hundreds of mosques and palaces. He compared his most famous building, the Selimiye Mosque to the greatest church of the Byzantine Empire. “With God’s help and the Sultan’s mercy, I have succeeded in building a dome for the mosque which is greater in diameter and higher than that of the Hagia Sophia.”
crash course venice & ottoman empire
Instructions: as you watch the film, take bulleted notes on a separate sheet of paper. You should have between 10-15 key pieces of information.