The Ottoman Empire was one of the largest and longest lasting empires in history starting around 1299 and declining and ended in 1923. The empire was named after Osman Bey but Sultan Suleiman was the tenth and the longest reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1520 till his death 1566. The Ottomans conquered Bursa, now a city in Turkey, and settled there to create a government. Their direction of expansion was West into Europe and to the North. The Ottomans didn't expand to the South and East because they had a limit to where they could go. Expanding to the South or East would mean attacking other Muslim empires which was against Islam, because the Quran permits a Muslim to attack other Muslims, “whoever kills a believer intentionally - his recompense is Hell” . This showing a way that Islam and its disciples impacted expansion for the Ottoman Empire. Since it was restricted in the religion of Islam for a Muslim to kill another Muslim, it affected the direction of …show more content…
Islam is based on revelations received by the Prophet Muhammad, the last prophet. The Arabic word Islam means “submission” reflecting the faiths central principle of submitting to the will of God. Muhammad is the last and greatest of the prophets, whose revelations alone are pure and uncorrupted. The Prophet dedicated the remainder of his life to spreading a message of monotheism in a polytheistic world. Religion was very important in the Ottoman Empire and it had a great influence on the various activities done in the empire. Unlike some of the rules of western Europe, the Ottoman sultans never attempted to impose religious uniformity. The empire had possession of Sunni Islam’s three holiest shrine cities, Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem. This provides the starter point that if the Ottoman Empire consists of the major Islamic cities where the Muslims worship than there must be many Muslims within the empire and that was the
Three Muslim empires rose during the spread of Islam. These empires are different, yet also similar. They are the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals. They united other Muslims but also conquered other territories to form their own empires.
I begin by very briefly going over the history of Islamic expansion into Central Asia. The expansion in my view can be separated into two periods, the pre-Abbasid period and the Abbasid and post-Abbasid period. Pre-Abbasid period is the period before the Abbasid Empire took hold of expansion in Asia, and it can be characterized by fluctuation. Fluctuation in terms of which lands the Muslims had expanded into; many times the Muslims will defeat an army, the defeated armies regroup attack the Muslims and so on. The Post-Abbasid Empire period is characterized by stability and fruitfulness; the period after which turmoil had settled in the area and the people and land got a chance to flourish under the ruling of Islam. And while the beginnings of these effects does start in the Umayyad Empire before, the full results of Islam’s rule over Central Asia can be most clearly seen during the Abbasid era.
1. The three main factors that resulted in the Ottoman expansion of the 14th century were rooted in geopolitics, military technology a nd strategy, and political strategy. The Ottoman capital and center of economics (post-1453) was located at Istanbul, which was not only the geographical “gateway” to Europe, but also connected Asia and Europe, which made Istanbul an extremely important area for commerce and merchants travelling from one continent to the other. Even after the Ottoman takeover of the Byzantines, they were able to expand even more partly due to the capitol and funds gained through commerce in Istanbul. The Ottomans also created an army that was aided by new technologies such as firearms as well as horses, which helped them expand exponentially through the Middle East. The balance within their military, with the Calvary coupled with armed Janissaries, furthered their military might. Lastly, the political strategy of Osman and his heirs helped to further Ottoman goals including expansion.
The Ottoman Empire were Muslims and included Hungary, Syria, Egypt, Bulgaria, and Albania, and they marched on land. The Ottoman Empire is said to have first appeared somewhere around the 1300’s, and can be related to the decline of the Byzantine Empire. They began conquering Christian lands and by the late 1600’s all Christians were afraid of the “terrible Turk”. It is no wonder that many other people were afraid of the Ottoman Empire since they seem to be really rather powerful and they conquered a lot of land. It was in the 1330’s when the Morroccan Abu Abdallah Ibn Battuta passed through Constantinople and became impressed with the Ottomans who seemed to be gaining power rather quickly, he noticed that they had close to 100 forts and
The Muslim Empire began to expand vastly under the Umayyads, with the empire becoming so large many people were converting to Islam religion. The Umayyads were the second of the four major caliphates after the death of Muhammad. The Empire used many different ways to spread the Islamic civilization consisting of war, classes, and appeal. The Islamic civilization spread so strongly because of the way it allured the common man.
The Ottoman Empire government was based largely on religion much like other powers during that time. This strengthened the relations of the nobility and the common folk because they all shared a common view on religion. Unlike the Russian empire, they were all connected through their religion which gave them a shared interest or link to each other which closed the gaps between the peasants and aristocracy. The military was even trained to be more loyal to their religious beliefs than their leader. This tactic has been used many times in many nations around the world. The government keeps the military in check through a “higher power.” Every religiously based government is binded in a tighter bond than an ordinary one; this keeps everyone united. The Ottoman Empire was by far the strongest and largest empire; they were the most cosmopolitan, as well. The land they have conquered, their trade, and their religiously based government are all reasons as to why the Ottoman Empire impacted global history the
Islam is a religion that is based on the submission oneself to the will of God, who is called Allah. Muslims are the people believe in that, regardless of their culture, background or ethnicity. It is believed that God’s prophets brought a message for the people to worship one God without intermediaries and that prophet Muhammad was the end of G...
Islam is a monotheistic religion which is originated from the Middle East or more specifically in the Arabian Peninsula early in the 7th century. This religion was founded on the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed who named this religion after the Arabic word acceptance. Islam has 2 major sects the Sunni and Shi’a. This split occurred when Mohammed died. The Sunni believed that the new leader of Islam should be determined through election but the Shi’a thought that the new leader should be Imam Ali a cousin and son in law of Mohammed. Another branch of Islam is Druze but only a small minority of Muslims who live in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine are followers of this sect (3 Faiths with One God - Islam, Arab American National Museum).
The Ottoman Empire can be classified as the strongest power in 1500 because of its strategic approach to the allocation of power, the acceptance of minorities, and the use of religion to unite the empire. The way power is divided within a country is very important. If the population has no control, they will feel the need to rebel, and if power is divided too greatly, the problem of rivalry and internal wars occur. The Ottoman Empire was able allocate powers in a way that both diverted the need for rebellion, as well as in a way that united the empire. Uniting power is an important aspect that helps a country remain stable; Europe, for example, was constantly experiencing instability due to the conflicts in power: monarchs were persistently threatening one another, and there was a disconnect in religious leaders (such as having three popes at one time, each with their own opinions and beliefs). The Ottoman Empire, however, did not experience such instability, as power was more successfully divided within the empire: it was always given to a single person in order to avoid rivalries. In fact, a single family ruled for seven centuries without any conflict. (BBC) As well, the millet system un...
Islamic civilization began in Arabia, but it spread to many areas in the proximity of the peninsula. It spread as far as Spain, as well as many areas between the two locations. The civilization reached the Eastern Roman Empire, Persia, Egypt, and Africa. The Muslim warriors were extremely courageous, and their religious zeal aided in the conquests of many empires surrounding Arabia. However, the weakn...
OTTOMAN EMPIRE Ottoman Empire is one of the most significant and greatest countries in the world that has a long-lasting empire. Strategically, this country is located in a great area in the Middle East. Ottoman Empire found its identity in the early 1300s and stayed strong after several wars, including World War I. Ottoman Empire was at the height of its power, spread over three continents, and dominated much of Southeast Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Moreover, it has served as a bridge between the eastern and western world. There were certain individuals that had a magnificent impact on this country’s history.
In the seventh century, a new faith arose in the Middle East known as the Islamic religion. Just like Christianity and Judaism, the Islamic religion believed in one God known as Allah. The founder of Islam was a very unique individual known as Mohammad. Mohammad had an amazing spiritual experience that transformed his life and made a great impact in history. He experienced visions and revelations from Allah which he accepted as messages. Mohammed
Islam stands for harmony and perfectibility with an unmatched depth and breadth of scope that comprises all aspects of spirit and life. It knows all the roads that lead to all the happiness and blessing. It does not set man into gods place. Islam vindicates men unique nature and all other living creatures, that is special and he created with lofty calling them his own. It can replace their inequities and contradictions with a more universal, more perfect and powerful idea.
Though, the use of superlatives is often incorporated with regards to understanding and defining many geopolitical structures that have existed since the dawn of tim. It is not an exaggeration to state that the Ottoman Empire was one of the longest lived, richest, and most successful empires that the world has ever seen. Beginning in 1299 and lasting up until the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1922, the 623 year span of time in nearly continual power that this Empire was able to exercise was unmatched at that time; either within Europe or elsewhere in the World. The key to this great wealth and power was due to the fact that the Ottoman Empire existed upon the nexus of trade between Asia and Europe. Occupying this important chokepoint, the Ottomans were able to derive a great deal of riches based upon control and management of the trade that flowed between that of the East and West.
As Casale states the Atlantic was not of great importance to the Ottomans. Instead there interes...