Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire is one of the major forces that shaped the political, economic and the social arena of most of the countries in South Eastern Europe. Weidenfeld (1995) asserts that the might of the empire was not only felt in Europe but also in many parts of African Islamic states and in the Middle East (p.45). Osman I. was the founder of the Empire in 1299. It grew from a small state called Constantinople (now known as Istanbul) to the mighty Empire. From scratch to larger empire, Ottoman Empire was faced by numerous challenges during its rule. This article is aimed at looking the progress and the growth of the Ottoman Empire up to the C. 1600. The article will look into the strengths of the Empire that led to its expansion. Apart from the expansion and the rule of Ottoman Empire, the article will also briefly look into the factors that ultimately led to the decline of the expansion of the Empire.
Growth of the Ottoman Empire
Like all the Empires in the human history, Ottoman Empire started off from nowhere. According to Darwing (2008 p.34), the fall of the older Byzantium and Abbasids Empire is one of the wheels behind the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. The empire started to expand in the eleventh century when the Turkish tribes living in Iran formed the basis of the mercenary soldiers of Abbasid caliphs. The influence of the tribe was followed by the formation of the confederation in the modern Iraq, called the Seljuk confederation. This was possible mainly because in 1055, and the Abbasids was hospitable enough to invite in Bagdad the Turkish leader to assume the military and administrative roles of the region. In return, the Turkish leader vowed to protect the Caliph’s vast territory.
The real Ottoman expansion, however, started off from Anatolia, (Inalcik, 1973 p.24). The Turkish warlike communities in the region were becoming more hostile to Byzantium. They started their rebellion by raiding the Christian communities in the region. Their successes in raiding the Christian empires were inspired by the passion and zeal for enrichment. Osman I. was the man behind the surge in the expansion of the empire in 1300. After the demise of Osman, his son Orhan took over the throne and proceeded on with the expansion. He captured the town of Bursa and made it is a capital of his new state.
The expansion into the Southern Europe and the Northern Africa proceeded and in the mid fourteen century, the Turks surged into the Balkans after crossing the Marmara Sea. The capture of Belgrade according to Inalcik (1994) and the ultimate entry into Hungary was the biggest expansion of the Ottoman Empire that was witnessed in the first half of the fourteen century (p.37). The decline of the Arabs, the Greeks and the weak politics in the Middle East left a void that the Empire filled to have a larger territory at the end of the fourteenth century.
Most of the Orthodox population accepted the Ottoman rule, something that influenced the expansion of the Empire into the vast Christian population. In 1453, Mehmed II made Constantinople the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The expansion did not stop there, in 1480 the empire continued with the expansion deep into Albania Veneta and later into Otranto and Apulia (Islamoslu, 1997 p. 40). The death Mehmed II in May 1481 challenged the further invasion of the troops as most of the invading troops were recalled back.
The beginning of the fifteenth century according to Inalcik (2006), formed a new era of the empire’s expansion (p. 180). The empire navy formed the greater part of the expansion as they protected the trade routes through the sea. Apart from the sea trade routes, the empire also enjoyed the vast overland trade routes between Europe and Asia. Under the rule of Sultan Selim I, the empire flourished with success dramatically expanding into the eastern, southern frontier defeating Shah Ismail in the Battle of Chaldiran. After establishing the Ottoman rule in Egypt, the empire was destined to expand up to Portugal. The victory in the Battle of Mohacs in1526 led to the establishment of the Turkish rule into Hungary. His attack into Vienna in 1523 bored no fruits as he lost into the war and was forced to surrender. Genc asserts that the empire gained access into the East taking control of Mesopotamia from the Persians (1984 p.59). Between 1550 and 1567, the empire got involved in numerous battles under the rule of Selim and Suleiman. During the battles, the empire gained conquest of Algiers, Tunis, Rhodes, Tripoli and the Balearic Islands. After these battles, the empire was faced with various challenges that reduced its stretch and expansion.
In 1959, the Ottoman expanded into Africa conquering Somalia and Horn of Africa. This increased their influence in the Indian Ocean. The Empire faced series of event before 1566 and after 196, the empire started stagnating. The war at Vienna in 1683 saw the expansion of the empire come to a halt. However, the stagnation was blamed on the poor leadership from most of the sultans.
What international factors aided the expansion?
The expansion of the Ottoman Empire was aided by numerous factors ranging from political, economic and social factors. Foremost, the fall of the Arabs left a void that the Ottomans filled. Before the Ottomans came into being, most of the trade across Africa and the Middle East were done by the Arabs, (Menguc, 2013 p.382). The Arabs rule and the effect in these regions in the late fourteenth century meant that a void was left and what was remaining was for someone to take the chances. The up rise of the Ottoman Empire at that moment saw most of the merchants who traded with the Arabs starting to trade with the Ottomans. The availability of money lenders from the trading Arabs was willing and ready to finance most of the trades. Apart from the finances, the Ottomans fund an area where they could learn on the challenges of expansion. The Ottomans could learn on the mistakes that the Arabs faced and hence could develop on them and avoid the same mistakes.
According to Deringil (2000 p.569), the strong leaders that the Ottomans witnessed since the late thirteenth century propelled the empire into might. All the way from Osman I, the empire witnessed a series of able and willing leaders whom through their leadership made the empire thrive.
The military and the navy power that the empire enjoyed was the greater difference with other empires. Ottoman Empire had a strong navy that was capable of protecting the traders in the sea. Apart from the sea bound security, those traders who were trading on land were protected by the military. The empire was, therefore, capable of maintaining a strong economy that is important for the growth of any empire.
The differences and the division between the Christian states gave the Ottoman Empire a leeway of success. The rivaling Roman Empire and the Greek Orthodox meant that they never had unity. Most of the Orthodox population gave support to the Ottoman rule assisting the empire to control most of the Christian land.
Most of the states that the Ottoman Empire vested their power had no established form of politics. The weak politics in part of Europe, Middle East and in North Africa was a clear indication that no one was capable of standing the Turks way. Such states appreciated the development and vowed to support the empire. In return; most of the states were expecting protection and trade of their good.
The availability of trading goods such as cotton and silk from Balkan formed the economic basis of the empire. The empire traded in silk and cotton from countries in Africa and the Middle East to Europe. The availability of the goods in plenty meant that the empire could not run short of the material.
What was the most important factor that stopped the expansion?
In 1683, a battle broke in Vienna. The war took almost two month at the expense of the empire’s financial status. During this time, the empire was already feeling the heat of inflation. During the war, almost 138,000 men took part in the war and only 50,000 of them were experienced. The Turks were inspirited during the battle leading to a terrible failure. After two months of struggle, they gave in the war ending the 300 years control over the city. It is after this war that the forces felt demoralized and failed to proceed with the expansion. The expansion of the Ottoman Empire was halted in the late sixteenth century due to the numerous factors. One of the factors that led to a decline in the expansion was the lack of development within the empire. At the end of the fifteenth century, the world witnessed the rise of different empires and worse enough; the Roman Empire was uniting with the Greek Orthodox, (Elkem 1970 p. 345). Most of the empires that rose during this time embraced technology and came with them new things. The Ottoman Empire, on the other hand, was stagnant and never embraced change. The change that most countries needed led to the rebellion and the ultimate decline in support from such countries. The countries like France and Spain rebelled from the empire and won many battles in the quest to form their political basis.
In the sixteenth century according to Jung (1998 p.10) the empire faced numerous battles followed by rebellions from the countries that they had conquered. In 1571, the Ottoman fleet faced a great defeat ever witnessed by the Holy Fleet of Lepanto. The defeat meant that the Ottoman Empire navy was growing weaker and could never protect the trade route anymore. Since the trade routes were of more importance, the Empire loss of the control on the sea was a signal that a new era was dawning.
In between 1574 and 1589, the empire suffered a severe financial crisis and inflation. The long wars with the Habsburgs and Persia drew the empire into a financial crisis that dragged it in the expansion conquest. The decline of the traditional military of the empire especially the sipahi troops forced the empire into using the mercenaries. The mercenaries were not as effective as the military. The conquest of the empire on the territory grew weaker and headed to a decline.
The internal rebellion especially from the janissaries for internal reforms within the empire led to a crisis. During the rebellion, the sultan was killed leading to lack of unification. Without unity, there was no direct control of the empire. The expansion into new territories did not materialize.
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