Ottoman Empire Compare And Contrast Essay

There are many different ways in which an empire or country may find success. If done so correctly, the empires can use these different aspects to improve and preserve their empires. The Ottoman Empire and The Shogun Empire of Japan each found success in different ways. The Ottoman Empire was a prominent empire when concerning expansion, however Japan was not. They each were centralized and organized, however Japan was a stronger power when it came to this centralization due to the correct timing. Other aspects or policies that determined the strength of these two empires was their military strength as well as religious tolerance and freedom. Success within land empires is derived from many different aspects specifically a strong military, prosperous expansion, and

In the beginning of the Ottoman Empire, around 1300, the Byzantine Empire weakened due to the Ottomans success in the Byzantine/Ottoman wars, demonstrating the military power of the Ottoman Empire. Later, during the reign of Orhan (1324-1362) the system of janissaries was developed. The janissaries were infantry or soldiers, originally slaves from conquered lands, who fought under each individual sultan bringing military power to the empire. The Shogun Empire showed military success with the system of samurais. The samurai soldiers, meaning “those who serve”, were members of the military who fought during the Tokugawa Shogunate. The samurai were kept in control due to the code of honor they followed known as bushido. Although the samurai soldiers were considered military elite, in 1592, under the ruler Hideyoshi, they invaded Korea but were defeated by the Chinese and Korean armies, preventing the empire from expanding. The Ottoman empire, however, found more success as their strong military was used as the main force of expansion allowing them to expand to many different areas, leading to a large and prosperous