Ottoman Empire Six hundred years, three hundred years of prosperity, and three hundred years of decline. It is a huge empire across Europe, Asia and Africa, and the crossroads of the world. The rise and fall of the country has affected the direction of world history. What made the Ottoman Empire last for 600 years in the East and West?
. The Ottomans are the father of Turkish
Ottoman Empire incorporated many ethnic groups into a ruling system and coexisted for a long time, allowing many civilizations to integrate with each other, avoiding the short-lived fate of nomadic empires. Widely absorb the achievements of civilizations from the East and the West, combine the cultural characteristics of farming and nomadic peoples, and create a unique Ottoman civilization.
But this neighboring country, which was compared with the advanced countries in Western Europe at that time, began to awaken and strive for reforms as early as the mid-17th century, it seemed so difficult to accept the advanced culture of Western Europe, and the road to modernization was so long and tortuous.
The cradle of the Ottomans in the Amu River is the longest process and the largest water volume in Central Asia. It is one of the two major water sources of the Aral Sea . It originates from the alpine glaciers at an altitude of 4,900 meters in the southeast of the Pamir Plateau . The Wahsh River in Shangyuan is located in Afghanistan, flowing from east to west, and its starting point is at the intersection with the Penchi River . It is 1,415 kilometers long to the southern coast of the Aral Sea. If calculated from the source of the East Pamir River, the total length is 2,540 kilometers.
Ottoman Turks originally lived in the Amu River Basin in Central Asia and belonged to the descendants of the Ugus in Western Turks. Ugus is the ancestor of the current Turkmen , Turkish , Azerbaijani, Crimean Tatars, and Chinese Salars. They believe in Islam.
The ancestors of the Turks came from the prairie of Central Asia. Around 1300 AD, they migrated to the westernmost end of Asia and established their own country here. Just after the efforts of the three founding sultans, the Turks became independent as their "imperial" and left an invincible reputation in Europe.
Ottoman was born around 1260 in Seryut, northeastern Anatolia. After Ottoman (reigned about 1299-1323), in order to gain support from the Islamic church, he joined forces with Malheton, the daughter of Islamic Sufi elder Sheikh Edbari. The father-in-law gave him a "sword of victory" at Ottoman's wedding and gave him the glorious crown of the Islamic jihadist. This sword later became a sacred object inherited by all monarchs of the Ottoman Empire when they ascended the throne!
Ottoman was given great spiritual power and many supporters. For Ottoman to achieve hegemony in the future, more Muslim soldiers defected to Ottoman. The Ottoman waved the sword of victory in Islam, fought east and west, and began the battle process of establishing the Ottoman Empire.
Ottoman is the father of Türkiye. The Ottoman Turkish country under his rule is also a small land in the west of the Asia Minor Peninsula. However, it is said that in the Ottoman dream, the world became a ring. Two continents of Eurasianity, Mediterranean and Black Sea two seas surrounded Constantinople, transformed into two sapphire and two jades clustered with a diamond, and put them on Ottoman's hands.
When the Tatars first saw iron, they called iron " Timur ". Later, they began to call the great leader among them "Timur". The young Timur went from being a leader in Samarkand to a hero who ruled most of Asia in just one generation. He locked up Bayezid I, the fourth sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigned 1389-1402. Bayezid conquered a large area of land in Europe and crushed a crusade against the Turks, but was defeated by Timur. The Ottoman Empire almost became one of many countries destroyed by Mongolian iron hooves, drowned in the dust of history.
453 Conqueror Mumah II Sultan (reigned by 1451-1481) captured Constantinople. He destroyed the Byzantine Empire that had existed for more than a thousand years. Since then, the Ottoman Turkish Empire has established its capital in Istanbul and has truly become the master of two continents and two seas. Conqueror Mohammed designed a set of court and government systems that influenced the entire empire's history. From the 14th to the 17th century, the Turkish Guards were an invincible military force in the Eurasian continent.
The cold Selim I (reigned 1512-1520), the grandson of the conquering Muhammad. The Ottoman Empire greatly expanded its territory during his reign. His army rushed out of the Asia Minor Peninsula and conquered Syria, , the Red Sea, and Egypt. He included the Islamic holy places Mecca and Medina under the protection of the empire, and at the same time took away the title of Caliph from the rulers of Egypt, making the Ottoman Empire an absolute leader in the Islamic world.
529 Suleiman I (reigned by 1520-1566) held troops under the city of Vienna, known in history as Suleiman the Great, and was the most famous sultan in the history of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire reached its peak in his hands and became the leading military and diplomatic power in Europe and Asia.
As the great-grandson of Mohammed II, Suleiman I will surpass the achievements of the conqueror himself and push the Ottoman Empire to the peak of power and reputation while expanding its territory. However, after the death of Mohammed II, the inherent practice of siblings in the Ottoman family has evolved into a long-term internal strife. Both sides of the fight were Mohamed's sons, one was Bayezid II, and the other was his younger brother Prince Jem.
Suleiman the Great loved his queen Roxelana throughout his life, and their love left behind many folklores. However, Roxerana was in power and began a period of harem interference in politics that lasted for more than a hundred years in the history of the Ottoman Empire.
Reformer Mahmoud II (reigned 1808-1839), a pioneer of the modernization of the Ottoman Empire. In the heyday of the 16th century, since then, the balance of power began to tilt towards Europe, but the Ottomans went downhill. The systems and concepts within the empire gradually became outdated, and the outside was constantly squeezed by the Holy Roman Empire and the emerging Russian Empire . Mahmoud overcomes internal and external resistance and leads the empire on the road of modernization and reform.
European countries after European countries are at the forefront of historical changes, Habsburg dynasty , Spain, Tsarist Russia, Napoleon Empire , and the British Empire, and the Ottomans in the Eastern power.
856, the Crimean War ended. The Crimean War was a war in which Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire joined forces to fight against the Russian Empire. Throughout the 19th century, four major wars occurred between Russia and Turkey, with one Russian-Turkey war about every 20 years or so, of which Turkey only achieved defensive victory in the Crimean War, and the remaining three were defeated by Russia. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the expansion of the Russian Empire was seen as a major threat to the balance of power in Europe, and the squeeze on the living space of the Ottoman Empire was particularly severe.
After that, more than 20 countries have been split from the Balkans of the Ottoman Empire, Middle East and African territory. Many of these countries quickly became colonies of European powers such as Britain, France, and Russia.
Abdul Hamid II Sultan (reigned from 1876-1909) was the most turbulent era in the Eurasian international situation, but this sultan was also the most indomitable sultan in the history of the empire. He suppressed reforms internally, established centralized and high-pressure rule, harmed ethnic minorities, and implemented negative foreign policies externally. The imperial territory shrank significantly during his reign, and Türkiye also received the nickname "Sick Man in Europe". In 1909, his rule was overthrown by the young Turkish revolution, and the Ottoman Empire established a constitutional monarchy.
html At the end of the 119th century, Türkiye and the German Empire became increasingly close.Germany greatly helped the Ottoman Empire's military modernization process. When the outbreak of World War I , the diplomatic isolation faced by Türkiye led to an offensive and defensive alliance with Germany.
In the end, the Ottoman Empire itself also overturned after its defeat in " Battle ".
The history of the six hundred years of world empire has become a past that is nostalgic and regretful, and modern Türkiye has opened a new chapter with the appearance of a republic.
In Türkiye's ups and downs, Chinese people can find the shadow of their motherland and the roots of many international status quo. That period of imperial era was an indelible and unavoidable historical memory in modern times between Europe and Asia, and even the entire world.
, the rise and fall of Türkiye
The Republic of Türkiye is a country spanning Europe and Asia, and its territory includes the Anatolian Peninsula in West Asia and the Eastern Thrace region of the Balkan Peninsula. Turkish Strait is a general term for the Marmara Sea, Bosphorus and Dardanelles Strait . It is the only waterway connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, forming a natural dividing line between these two regions, and also dividing Eurasian continent . The land area is 783,600 square kilometers, with a population of 84.68 million by the end of 2021, with Turkish accounting for more than 80% and Kurdish accounting for about 15%.
Turkey has eight land neighbors, bordering Bulgaria in the northwest, bordering Greece in the west, Georgia in the northeast, Georgia in the east, Armenia , Iran and Azerbaijan in the southeast, and connecting Iraq and Syria in the southeast. Surrounded by sea water on three sides, the Black Sea is located in the north, the Mediterranean Sea is located in the south, and the Aegean Sea is located in the west.
There is a place for the Turks in the great empire in history. In the Middle East, four great empires emerged. The Turkish empires ranked last in chronological order, but in terms of achievements, they surpassed the empires founded by the Persians, Romans, and Arabs.
On this vast strategic land connected to the continent, the Turks achieved long-term unity. As a new force from the East, Türkiye has contributed to history in two aspects.
Türkiye revived Islam, reunified the Islamic world in Asia, and brought new life to European lands belonging to the Eastern Christian world. The Turks continued history, connected the East and the West, filled the vacuum left by the collapse of the Arab Empire in Asia and Europe, and nurtured the Ottoman civilization.
As a nomadic people, the Ottoman Empire is an Islamic country and a Turkish country. It is ruled by a Turkish family dynasty, using Turkish , and has a common racial identity, symbolic symbols and customs. The Ottoman Empire was a brotherhood among Muslims and their reverence for the common religious system. It is characterized by its a world-class empire.
Its territory is so vast, covering different cities, plains, river valleys, mountains and deserts, and there are different ethnic groups, different social forms, especially people with different religious beliefs. The Ottoman Conquerors not only became the master of the Orthodox world, but also became the open and active protector of the Orthodox Church. Therefore, Orthodox believers would rather accept the rule of Muslim Padishah than "slavement by the Latin Pope."
The universal patriarch of Greece gained status under the Ottoman Empire, surpassing other Orthodox churches, and was more like a universal religious authority than any period under the Byzantine Empire. "Peace under the Ottoman rule" was achieved between Muslims and Christians, and the similarities between the Ottoman Empire and the Roman Empire can be seen from its characteristics.
The Ottoman family ruled a country that was a multi-ethnic empire under the rule of the royal family.Whether the nationals are Turkish or from other nations, Muslims, Christians or Jews, their most important identities are Ottomans, members of a single political body that transcends national, religious and racial concepts. In that era, only the Ottoman Empire recognized all three monotheistic beliefs.
In the early history of the Ottomans, they had been slaves in other regions and prospered under slavery. These slaves were either captured in war, recruited, bought in the market, or given as gifts to the Sudan, or they may have been voluntarily applied for their effectiveness. They converted to Islam, accepted an abstinence, left their families, and gave up all their possessions. In return, attendants can receive comprehensive education and rigorous training, have the opportunity to be promoted and become senior officials. In this way, the conquerors achieved domination of the state through the conquered.
Sultan reproduces and raises them in the harem to adulthood through women in slave homes. For better or worse, this practice brought a variety of national ancestry to the Ottoman Empire.
Initially, slaves from the Ottoman Empire only existed in the army. At first, they were just the Sultan's guards. As the number of people increased, these infantry gradually became the backbone of the Ottoman army. Coupled with them were the Muslim cavalry, artillery and informal troops recruited from the fiefdom. The Ottoman army, composed of these units, has become a large-scale modern army, well-trained, well-equipped, organized, and strict discipline. Whether in terms of command unity, the sophistication of weapons and equipment, or the tenacious fighting spirit, the Ottoman army surpassed any European army of the same era.
Under the personal command and encouragement of the Sultan with great military talents, the Ottoman army continued to fight for conquest for two and a half centuries. They fought on both sides and built an empire spanning three continents.
For the first time in history, an oriental country with a unified and unique system has penetrated into Western world , which has had a profound impact on an important part of Europe. With its excellent military capabilities and inherent discipline and organization, the Ottoman Empire rose to become a great empire that was terrifying the world in that era. The greatest Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, the last of the ten great sultans in a row in the Ottoman Empire, under his rule, the Ottoman Empire reached its peak.
Behind Suleiman are 25 Sudans who cannot compete with their predecessors. Their ruling ability was sometimes good and sometimes bad, and the Ottoman Empire lasted for another three and a half centuries in the ups and downs of fate. At this time, the Ottoman Empire's Sultan no longer had the will and ability to govern the country, but was easily attracted by the harem, and the women in the harem (Sultanas) often became the rulers behind the sultan. Generation after generation of crown princes were imprisoned in the "cage" of the palace walls, isolated from the world. At the same time, the pendulum of history went to the other side, and the contrast of military power changed drastically.
The industrial and economic strength of the West has rapidly improved, and technological progress has also been achieved in the military field. The Eastern World no longer has a wise leader at this time, so it cannot match the West and can only change from offensive to defensive.
Not only that, the Ottoman Empire, which had always been heavily invested in the navy and the army, had already been empty in the treasury. Shortly after Suleiman's death, it suffered a heavy blow from the economic crisis that swept across most of the Mediterranean world. Gold and silver mined from Western America crossed the ocean, crossed the Atlantic Atlantic into the Ottoman Empire, causing the depreciation of the Ottoman Empire's silver coins and high inflation.
Over the past century, the population of the Ottoman Empire has doubled. Without new conquest goals, the land of the Ottoman Empire could no longer accommodate so many people, creating a poor landless peasant.Due to the development of military technology and the increase in demand for professional infantry in the new era war, the Sipahi cavalry has become an outdated army. They have lost their land, and the dissatisfied are colluding with each other and participate in a series of rebellious activities, and a large tract of land has turned into desolation. The power of ruling fell from the central government to the hands of the land classes and local forces.
Generations of lack of decisiveness could not withstand their pressure and gradually opened public office to all Muslims who are free people. At the same time, they can also bequeath their posts to their sons. Over the years of centuries of conquest, the Slave House once sent generations of diligent public officials to the Imperial management system. Now, the slave home is gradually eroded and eventually no longer exists.
The original ingredients are pure Guards become mixed. During the war, this is reflected in the decline of unity and self-discipline. In increasingly common peace times, the Guards will become a force that causes trouble and rebellion in the country, and the central government is often unable to curb them.
In the second half of the 17th century, Europe was trapped in a civil war, and the Ottoman Empire enjoyed a period of recovery under the rule of the Kopruli family. Just as the 17th century was approaching its end, under the gaze of Europeans, the Ottomans' reputation on the battlefield suffered a heavy blow that could not be ignored.
Ottoman army suffered a humiliating defeat in the Second Vienna Siege and the subsequent series of battles. The commander of the Ottoman army was a conceited and incompetent Great Vizier, who was determined to create achievements that surpassed Suleiman, but in fact he was just the son-in-law of a Sultan who did not care about state affairs.
In the eyes of Europeans, the situation has undergone an obvious reversal, and the history of Turkish Muslims as a major threat to the Christian world has come to an end. The powerful Turks fell completely. From then on, the Ottoman Empire continued to lose battles on the battlefield, signed unfavorable peace treaties, and then continued to lose its territory. This situation continued until the 20th century.
, Türkiye's qualified heir
Starting from the early 18th century, a new empire that threatened the East and the West at the same time rose - this is the Russian Empire of Peter the Great .
This tsar was an absolute monarch like the sultans of the heyday of the Ottoman Empire. He created a modern professional army equipped with Western weapons to conquer the world. But, ironically, this aggressive new threat extended the lifespan of the Ottoman Empire.
The decline of the Ottoman Empire became a check and balance force between European countries and Russia. For European countries, they must save the Sudan's empire at all costs and allow it to act as a buffer between them and the Tsar. For mutual benefit, the Ottoman Empire became increasingly close to and dependent on Western countries .
Traditionally, the Ottomans were very indifferent to foreigners. The Sudan had to rely on Greek Christians, who had accumulated rich experience in communicating with the Western world during their sailing and business, and were familiar with Western languages, behaviors and living habits. The most capable of them were entrusted by the Sudan to gain certain political power in the direction and control of the empire.
Christians as free people began to have a place in the administrative system like the same free Muslims. The Ottomans, who had always had strong flexibility, still adhered to the previous principle of flexibility: all subjects could contribute to their country regardless of race or religion.
Just as the 18th century came to an end, the Ottoman Empire once again suffered a shameful failure on the battlefield. During the protracted war, the Russian fleet infiltrated the Eastern Mediterranean and landed in Greece and Beirut. Then, Napoleon invaded Egypt again. In order to expel the French from this wealthy province, the Turks had to join forces with Britain and Russia.
So, the 19th century became the era of reform.Selim III was the first Sudan to carry out reforms, and the French Revolution and the war that followed became a precedent for him to learn from. He tried to form a new army, equipped it in the Western way, and trained with Western officers. As a result, he was overthrown and deposed by the Guards, and his life was taken away. Twenty years later, Mahmoud II, who inherited Selim III's mantle, carefully planned a ruthless action and destroyed the Guards in one fell swoop. Mahmoud II himself became the greatest reformer in the modern history of the Ottoman Empire.
The goal of Mahmoud II and his reform assistant is to create a modern army, restore the central government's influence in the local area, and then establish a new administrative system and secular legal system, and ultimately allow all the people of Sudan to enjoy equal rights, namely the "Tanzhimat" reform bill. Throughout the 19th century, the Tanzmatt Reform Act played a template for internal reform.
Tanzhimait's reform goal was to transform the Ottoman Empire from a medieval society at the age of 500 into a modern country built on Western constitutional principles in half a century. Tanzmatt's reforms have been weathered and have struggled to find a balance between the conservative religious system and the growing intellectual elite who pursue progress and the world. During these 50 years, the administrative and judicial systems of the Ottoman Empire have undergone obvious changes, many local provinces have also undergone reforms, and the living conditions of non-Muslim communities have also improved.
In the 1870s, the reform of the Ottoman Empire reached its peak, and a brief period of parliamentary constitutionalism occurred. Then, the situation took a sharp turn and Sultan Abdul Hamid II began a complete autocratic rule. The education system of the Ottoman Empire was improved, so that new ideas and social concepts were rooted in the hearts of generations of young people. It is very ironic that this brought bad luck to Sudan himself after the next generation grew up: the young Turks launched a revolution and overthrew his rule.
Nationalism was a strange thing to a multi-ethnic empire like the Ottoman Empire, but it began to seriously threaten the Sudan's territory after the Greek War of Independence. During the Balkan War in the early 20th century, nationalism reached its peak.
Western countries support the Balkan nationalist movement based on the concept of liberalism, and the Russians also played a role in fueling the fire for their own interests. As a result, the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the Balkan War, and almost all of Türkiye's territory in Europe changed from an Ottoman province to an independent nation-state.
Before this, in order to suppress Russia's power, Western powers often supported the Ottoman Empire, which was the "sick man of Europe". As a result, the Ottoman Empire formed an alliance with Germany in World War I, which also sounded the death knell for the empire.
However, after the empire ceased to exist, Türkiye survived as a nation-state. Kemal Ataturk is the greatest of all nationalist leaders in the Middle East. His insights surpassed those of his contemporaries' young Turkish comrades-in-arms. From his youth, he was very aware that the era of belonging to the empire was about to end and the era of belonging to the nation-state was coming.
He founded the Turkish Republic and became the successor of the Ottoman Empire. Today, Türkiye occupies Asia Minor, and its territory is similar to its ancestors' Seljuk Empire . After half a century of ups and downs, contemporary Türkiye has become the most stable of all inheritance countries of this last Middle Eastern Empire. The Turkish Republic is no longer a world power, but is still a Turkish country in essence. It is a continuation of the empire and a product of Tanzmat's reform.
As the middle class that governs the country rises in various professional fields and in the army, they gradually grow and mature, while at the same time full of determination to inherit national heritage and restore national glory.After becoming a secular country, Türkiye, which has both traditional cultures in the East and the West, has maintained relatively stable in the turbulent Middle East.
Kemal Ataturk is the new "father of the Turks", and he deserves to be the qualified heir to the Ottoman Sultan, the father of the historical Turks.
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