The Ottoman Empire originated from Turkish tribes migrating to Asia Minor between 1000-1200 AD. They converted to Islam and eventually replaced Arabic-speakers as rulers of Islamic kingdoms. By the 1200s, the Ottomans had risen to power in Asia Minor as local lords competed for control in the region between the declining Byzantine and Seljuk Empires. The Ottomans expanded their empire through military conquest, capturing Constantinople in 1453 and much of the Balkans. In its peak under Suleyman the Magnificent from 1520-1566, the Ottoman Empire spanned Europe, Asia Minor, and parts of Arabia.

1. THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE Origins and Timeline

2. WHO WERE THE OTTOMANS?
A Turkish people
 Originally from Central Asia
 Turkish tribes began migrating to Middle East around the year 1000 A.D.
Served as soldiers for Islamic rulers—converted to Islam
Kept own language; adopted some Persian and Arabic customs—
eventually replaced Arabic-speakers as rulers of most Islamic
kingdoms
Many Turks migrated into the region of Anatolia or Asia Minor

4. ASIA MINOR

5. ASIA MINOR
Bridge between Europe and
Asia—trade and people had to go
through
Under control of Byzantine
Empire until Battle of Manzikert
in 1071—Seljuk Turkish army
defeated the Byzantine Greeks
Turkish tribes began settling in
Eastern Anatolia

6. OTTOMAN ORIGINS
By 1200s, Asia Minor was a
frontier region—between
collapsing Byzantine and Seljuk
Empires
Local lords competed for power
Original Ottomans were the
warriors (ghazis) of a Turkish
lord (sultan) named Osman
Frontier origins would always be
important for Ottomans
Their civilization “grew up” in
area of mixed cultures and
religions
Non-Turks and non-Muslims
would always play an important
role in empire—as long as they
were loyal to the sultan

7. EXPANSION
Ottomans grew in power—conquered Asia Minor and much of the
Balkans
Battle of Kosovo (1389): Ottomans defeated the powerful Serbian
Empire
Military strength
 Use of gunpowder
 Janissaries—elite soldiers of the sultan
Ottoman rulers wanted to conquer the legendary city of
Constantinople above all….

9. JANISSARIES

10. FALL OF
CONSTANTINOPLE
1453—Sultan Mehmed II Fetih
(The Conqueror) captures the city
 Last Byzantine emperor died in
battle
Orthodox Christians were an
officially tolerated religion (along
with Judaism)—lived under the
authority of their own laws and
leaders (the millet system)
Most churches stayed churches—
except for the Haghia Sophia
Mehmed repaired sewage system
and aqueducts of city

11. SULEYMAN THE MAGNIFICENT
Early sultans were active political
and military leaders—all powerful
 No official system of succession
early on—sons of the previous
sultan would fight for the throne
Later sultans withdrew from
politics—Grand Viziers (advisers)
gained power
Suleyman the Magnificent—most
powerful sultan in Ottoman
history
 Ruled 1520-1566
 Expanded empire into Europe
(defeat of Hungary) and Arabia
 Great builder
 Known as Suleyman “the Lawgiver”
to the Turks

12. BUILDINGS OF SULEYMAN