The expansion of the Ottoman Empire: bloody and gentle

goes beyond the surface of historical stories and discusses the deep causes of events from a macro social perspective

The founders of the Ottoman Empire - Turks were originally Western Turks , who originally lived in Central Asia. At the beginning of the 13th century, Genghis Khan led the Mongolian iron cavalry to sweep across Eurasia. In the face of Mongolia's burning, killing and looting, the Turks had to move westward to the Byzantine border area of ​​Asia Minor, and actively attached themselves to another country established by the Turks—— Sultanate of Roma. In

1299, the Roma Sultanate declined due to Mongolian aggression, and the Turks became independent and established the Ottomans. In the 114th century, there were two heroes in Ottoman - Urhan and Murad I . During Urhan's tenure, the Ottomans carried out military reforms, established a standing army composed of the new army and the fief army provided by the feudal lord, and divided the army into infantry and cavalry. Urhan also achieved a world record by the way - he established the world's first military band, which enabled the Ottoman army to maintain high morale when fighting.

Urhan's son Murad I was a sultan with a strong desire to conquer. During his tenure in office, Ottoman's iron hoofs set foot on the European continent, which made Catholic countries terrified. 1362, the Ottomans occupied Adriatic Fort , and moved the capital here 7 years later.

1389, Murad I fought the last battle of his life-Battle of Kosovo. The participating parties in this battle are the coalition forces composed of the Ottoman army and Serbia, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Albania and other countries in the Balkans.On the eve of the decisive battle, the Serbian assassin, Murad I, the leader of the generation, stabbed him with a short blade with poison. His son Bayezit I did not indulge in grief, but turned grief into strength, struggled to integrate the Ottoman army that had lost its commander, and defeated the coalition forces the next day, achieving a decisive victory in the Balkan conquest. Since then, Ottoman has expanded rapidly.

1453, after Mohammed II ascended the throne, he immediately captured the Byzantine capital Constantinople , destroying the millennium empire. In the 16th century, the Ottoman sword of conquest pointed to the east, defeating the two great powers of Iran and the Mamluks one after another. In this way, the Ottomans not only obtained the trade routes of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea and the wealth of Egypt, but also controlled Mecca and Medina.

In the middle of the 16th century, the most famous Sultan Suliman I in Ottoman history came to the throne. Under his rule, Ottoman entered its heyday. To the west, the Ottomans captured Belgrade and occupied Hungary . To the east, the Ottomans controlled the Mesopotamia. In Africa , Tripoli, Algeria and Tunisia were included in the Ottoman territory. Since then, the Ottomans have become a giant empire spanning the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa.

The Ottoman conquest was rather bloody. The wars and massacres never stopped, not only causing massive deaths of troops, but also massacres of many innocent civilians. The cruelest thing about is that when the Ottoman Sultan ascended the throne, he would slaughter all his brothers and sisters to ensure that no one could compete with him. The bloody family tradition of also makes the Ottoman court full of intrigue far beyond other countries.

But at the same time, the Ottoman conquest was gentle compared to other great empires. The Ottoman sultans seldom used force and power when administering conquered areas, but adopted a policy of tolerance and self-government to ensure the stability of the entire empire. The Ottomans implemented the "Mitler" system in the empire, which was a system of local self-government. cultural and educational institutions and enjoy full autonomy within the empire.

At the same time, the Ottoman sultans were also very willing to recruit talents from the conquered regions into the court and let them participate in political affairs. Throughout the entire history of the Ottoman Empire, there are not a few Greeks and Jews who serve as prime ministers under one person and over 10,000 people.

Quickly defeat the enemy with bloody sharp blades, and then appease the conquered nation with gentle roses, this is the magic weapon for the rapid expansion of the Ottomans.