Firstly, I would like to apologize. I know I posted the whole schedule thing in December, and none of it ever got written. I got extremely busy around then, and forgot to write all the posts.
Now, let us get into legendary…
Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire at peak in about 1680.
The Ottoman Empire was the fifth longest lived empire in history, spanning over 600 years from the early 1300s to 1922.
At its peak, the Empire encompassed most of the Middle East, Northern Africa, and the Balkan region of Europe, all the way to Austria in Central Europe.
The Ottoman Empire is famous for several things, all of which we will talk about in this article: indirectly discovering America, lasting over 600 years, and being the “sick man” of Europe.
Perhaps the most famous part of Ottoman History was the fact that they were the reason Columbus sailed West. In the late 1400s, the Ottomans were expanding very rapidly and completely controlled the overland route from Europe to Asia, and thus the rich spice and silk trade. The charged outrageous prices for the goods, and Spain and Portugal sought to break this monopoly. Portugal focused on sending explorers South along Africa.
Christopher Columbus, meanwhile, went to the King and Queen of Spain and proposed a voyage to find Asia by sailing West. As I’m sure you well know, he never did find Asia. But in this way, the Ottoman Empire was indirectly involved in the discovery of America.
When you think of long lasting empires, you probably think of Rome, Mongolia, or the British Empire. Actually, the British Empire only lasted about 400 years and the Mongolians only 162 years.
The Ottoman Empire lasted over 600 years, from around 1300 to 1922, when it dissolved into the Turkish Republic.
During those 600 years, it defeated the Byzantine Empire, multiple European Coalitions, and some of the strongest empires of those times. Eventually, it entered a period of general decline, finally meeting its end during World War 1.
Several other major conflicts of theirs include, the Conquest of Constantinople against the Byzantine Empire, consistent wars against Venice, Russia, the Persians, and the Habsburgs. Their final demise, starting the the Balkan Wars and ending with WW1, is largely given to the fact that their economy sucked and they failed to industrialize with modern military technologies.
Stemming off from the previous statement, we come to the “Sick Man” era, from about 1850 to the early 20th century. It was popularised by Tsar Nicholas l of Russia to describe their rapid decline, shrinking territory, and their dirt poor government. During this time, they lost their territory in Northern Africa, the Balkans, and other various territories. Their population was growing in disrest, and their government was stacking up debt faster than they could pay it.
Flag of the Ottoman Empire during WW1.
Every Ottoman flag. The 1517-1793 flag is the most common one used by historians.
National Geographic: why the Ottoman Empire rose and fell, Ohio University: the Ottoman Empire, Britannica: the Ottoman Empire
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