ESSAY

OTTOMAN EMPIRE
The Ottoman Empire was one the most successful empires and one of the most powerful
civilizations of the modern period, it had many sultans that conquered many lands throughout
Asia, Europe and Africa. The empire built was the most influential and the largest of the many
Muslim empires. Their military and culture expanded over and into most of Europe. The empire
lasted many years for it a strong janissary army and ruled many cities.
The Ottoman Empire conquered and expanded under its Sultan Salim I, who ruled from (1512
to1520). But his son Sultan Suleiman, he strove the Ottoman Empire to conquering many and
most of its lands, Sultan Suleiman conquered great cities, and brought military machines, a
lasting culture to the great Ottoman Empire. Most of the history of this empire lies on the
achievements around this one ruler who was high minded and had lots of dignity and pride.
Suleiman called was now called “The Magnificent” for his numerous achievements and was also
named the “Law-Giver” for the laws he established as he conquered many cities. Suleiman ruled
with self-respect and fairness according to the Ottoman political theory. In the Ottoman state,
most of the power rested with the monarch. The Monarch’s main idea was to establish justice, it
meant shielding the poor and the helpless from shady officials and unfair taxation. The Sultan
had a central bureaucracy, which was led by the Grand Vizier, to be able to govern the Empire.
He also had the authority to capsize the verdicts of the courts if he thought that the decisions
were unjust. This did not put the Sultan above law instead he was chosen as the keeper of a
lawful government and fair government. The Sultan was given the title of “Caliph” as well,
meaning the supreme leader of Islam. When Suleiman became grew of old age, his two sons
plotted to remove him from power and achieve access to the crown. The crown in the empire did
not pass from father to son or to the next oldest brother but, it was given to the most worthy
successor. Because of this, there was always a struggle for the crown. Once a successor was
crowned, the other contenders were killed to eliminate any future competition as well as to have
full control and restore order. This devilish practice was later removed and replaced by making
the eldest son the heir and he should be kept insulated in a lavish imprisonment.
once the dynastic civil war was done, the determined Mehmed II the conqueror, who many
people considered the real creator of the empire, brought in European artillery knowledge and
took his newly built navy across Pera into an inlet of the Bosporus, to attack both the seaward
and landward walls of Constantinople to conquer the city. He later renamed is Istanbul. Salim the
Grim who created an Ottoman navy, which effectively captured Mesopotamia, Egypt and Syria
by capturing these countries he was able to acquire the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Suleiman the Magnificent reign was the main cause of the Ottomans expansion and its
importance. He made his way through Europe conquering many places.
The Ottoman Empire evolved and expanded over several centuries, as the ruling organization of
the Turks absorbed, modified and adapted the cultures of many different dominated lands and
their peoples. There was a powerful influence from the languages and customs of Islamic
societies. Throughout its history, the Ottoman Empire had large subject populations of Jews, and
Byzantine Greeks, who were allowed a certain amount of independence under the millet system
of the powerful Ottoman government. However, as the Ottomans moved further into the west
and the incorporation of the Balkan and Greek populations progressed, the Turkish and Arabic-
Persian-Greek influenced culture of its leaders, for itself to absorb some of the culture of the
conquered peoples.
When the Ottomans conquered Medina and Mecca, the Empire achieved speculative
leadership privileges over mostly all the Muslim Sunni states. The Ulama helped the sultan by
watching and accepting his actions under the Islamic law. Charitable foundations supplied
schools and mosques.
Five classes were divided among the people of the Ottoman Empire: First, was the ruling class,
all of who were linked to the sultan. Under the ruling class were the merchant class, which had a
largely free form of government taxation and regulation. The Artisans were a separate class; they
organized themselves according to guilds. The largest group in the Ottoman Empire was the
peasant class. They farmed leased land. The leased land was passed along from generation to
generation. The final groups were the pastoral people. They were clans and tribes who lived by
their own rules under the guidance of their chiefs, who swore allegiance to the Ottoman sultan.
The legal system approved in the Ottoman law was the religious law over its subjects. The
Empire always planned around a system of jurisprudence (the science of philosophy and law).
Power in the Ottoman Empire revolved around the administration of the rights to land, which
gave space for local authority to develop local crops. The Ottoman Empire aimed to permit the
incorporation of religious and cultural different groups. Ottomans had different court systems:
One for non-Muslims which appointed Jews and Christians to rule over their religious
communities and another for Muslims, the sultan ruled these laws but he could also interfere
with the court laws of non-Muslims if needed to.
Until the mid of the 18th century the sipahi cavalry formed the most of the Ottoman armies,
Numbered around fourty thousand men half of them were from European provinces. Regular
timar fiefs supported one horseman, the larger zaemets were expected to equip mounted
retainers. The Largest were the hass fiefs of the Sultan’s family, favorite ministers and viziers.
Spihais lived in a village, work their own lands, and pay the peasants for most of their services
and gained no salary.
The janissaries were two institutions created by sultans of the Ottoman Empire and they were
the military organization and civil service. This institution came from the practice by ottomans
leaders in Anatolia of hiring prisoners as troops. During the conquest of the Balkans they took
slaves which later became slaves of the sultan. These salves were Christian but were brought up
as Muslims and were devoted to loyalty the sultan and Islam. The better troops were enrolled in
the palace corps, trained to become officials in the Ruling Institution. The rest were taught
military education and later became part of the janissary army. They were known to be the best
and most effective soldiers of Europe.
 One primary cause for the decline of the Empire was the decline of the Sultanate. The
Sultanate was a powerful organization where the sultan would chose a capable successor from
his many sons. Over periods of time the sultanate weakened gradually. The weakening of the
empire began late in the ruling of Suleiman the Magnificent. Although he was the height of the
Golden Age, Suleiman became less concerned with the affairs of state added to that his two
qualified successors went against him, they were later executed. As Salim II became Sultan he
did not have much experience in the running of the government. He was fond of physical
pleasures rather than taking the governing responsibility seriously. After him the decline of the
Sultanate continued. Because the brothers of the Sultans were restricted in the harem, they
became incompetent. Another reason to the decline of the empire was that the Sultans deserted
the tradition of training their sons in related affairs and government. The collapse of the empire
focused mainly on the corruption of the government’s control over the empire. Added to this
problem was the major factor which was the change in the balance of power. Because of the
Ottoman military division called the janissary kept fighting and always conquering new lands
and became the most powerful state in the world. As time passed the janissaries and their
fighting methods became old-fashioned and no longer became an army that was unmatched. In
the end, the Ottoman Empire collapsed, the government declined with the degeneration of the
sultanate as well as the Ottomans failed to industrialize and the empire was destroyed when war
overwhelmed it during World War I.
As stated above, the Ottoman Empire was the greatest and one of many empires that still leads
influence and remembrance throughout history. It had many great leaders and each brought great
changes through their reigns in the empire. The Ottoman Empire accepted many religions and
brought in many cultures, their established laws caused people to move to its empire but in the
end all great empires fail to maintain their strong and well-built structure. Unfortunately the
Ottoman Empire dealt with bad economic outcomes and fail leadership of its sultanate which
caused its fall and collapse.
WE ARE THE VOICE THAT
THUNDERS FOR THE RIGHT TO
SILENCE THE OPPRESSERS!
THE END!