History of the Ottoman Empire

Part of a series on the
History of the Ottoman Empire
Timeline
Rise (1299–1453) Beylik of Osman Interregnum (1402–1413) Fall of Constantinople
Classical Age (1453–1566) Sultanate of Women (1533–1656)
Transformation (1566–1703) Köprülü Era (1656–1703)
Old Regime (1703–1789) Tulip Era (1718–1730)
Decline & Modernization (1789–1908) Nizam-i Djedid (late 18th and early 19th) Tanzimat Era (1839–1876) 1st Constitutional Era (1876–1878)
Dissolution (1908–1922) 2nd Constitutional Era (1908–1920) World War I (1914–1918) Partitioning (1918–1922) Abolition of the Sultanate (1922) Abolition of the Caliphate (1924)
Historiography (Ghaza, Decline)
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History of Turkey
Prehistory Prehistory of Anatolia Palaeolithic Anatolia c. 500,000–  10,000 BC Mesolithic Anatolia c. 11,000–  9,000 BC Neolithic Anatolia c. 8,000–  5,500 BC
Bronze Age Troy 3000–700 BC Hattians 2500–2000 BC Akkadian Empire 2400–2150 BC Luwians 2300–1400 BC Assyria 1950–1750 BC Kussara 1780–1680 BC Achaeans (Homer) 1700–1300 BC Kizzuwatna 1650–1450 BC Hittites 1680–1220 BC Arzawa 1500–1320 BC Mitanni 1500–1300 BC Hayasa-Azzi 1500–1290 BC Lycia 1450–350 BC Assuwa 1300–1250 BC Diauehi 1200–800 BC Neo-Hittites 1200–800 BC Phrygia 1200–700 BC Caria 1150–547 BC Tuwanuwa 1000–700 BC Ionia 1000–545 BC Urartu 859–595/585 BC
Iron Age Diauehi 1200–800 BC Neo-Hittites 1200–800 BC Phrygia 1200–700 BC Caria 1150–547 BC Doris 1100–560 BC Aeolis 1000–560 BC Tuwanuwa 1000–700 BC Ionia 1000–545 BC Urartu 859–595/585 BC Median Empire 678–549 BC Lydia 685–547 BC
Classical Age Classical Anatolia Classical Thrace Achaemenid Empire 559–331 BC Kingdom of Alexander the Great 334–301 BC Kingdom of Cappadocia 322–130 BC Antigonids 306–168 BC Seleucid Empire 305–64 BC Ptolemaic Kingdom 305–30 BC Kingdom of Pontus 302–64 BC Bithynia 297–74 BC Attalid kingdom 282–129 BC Galatia 281–64 BC Parthian Empire 247 BC–224 AD Armenian Empire 190 BC–428 AD Roman Republic 133–27 BC Commagene 163 BC–72 AD Ancient Rome 133 BC-27 BC–330 AD Sasanian Empire 224–651 AD (briefly in Anatolia)
Medieval Age Medieval Anatolia Eastern Roman Empire (330–1453; 1204-1261 in exile as Empire of Nicaea) Rashidun Caliphate (637–656) Great Seljuk State (1037–1194) Danishmends (1071–1178) Sultanate of Rum (1077–1307) Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (1078–1375) Anatolian beyliks (1081–1423) County of Edessa (1098–1150) Artuqids (1101–1409) Empire of Trebizond (1204–1461) Latin Empire (1204–1261) Karamanids (1250–1487) Ilkhanate (1256–1335) Kara Koyunlu (1375–1468) Ak Koyunlu (1378–1501)
Ottoman Era Periods of Ottoman Empire Rise (1299–1453) Classical Age (1453–1566) Transformation (1566–1703) Old Regime (1703–1789) Decline and modernization (1789–1908) Defeat and dissolution (1908–1922)
Republic of Turkey Periods of Turkey War of Independence (1919–1922) Provisional government (1920–1923) One-party period (1923–1930) (1930–1945) Multi-party period (1945–present)
By topic Turkic migration Oghuz Turks Turkification Ancient peoples of Anatolia History of Anatolia History of Thrace Religion Islam Christianity Judaism Economic history Military history Diplomatic history Constitutional history Cultural history Genetic history LGBT history
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The Ottoman Empire was founded c. 1299 by Osman I as a small beylik in northwestern Asia Minor just south of the Byzantine capital Constantinople. In 1326, the Ottomans captured nearby Bursa, cutting off Asia Minor from Byzantine control. The Ottomans first crossed into Europe in 1352, establishing a permanent settlement at Çimpe Castle on the Dardanelles in 1354 and moving their capital to Edirne (Adrianople) in 1369. At the same time, the numerous small Turkic states in Asia Minor were assimilated into the budding Ottoman sultanate through conquest or declarations of allegiance.

As Sultan Mehmed II conquered Constantinople (today named Istanbul) in 1453, transforming it into the new Ottoman capital, the state grew into a substantial empire, expanding deep into Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East. With most of the Balkans under Ottoman rule by the mid-16th century, Ottoman territory increased exponentially under Sultan Selim I, who assumed the Caliphate in 1517 as the Ottomans turned east and conquered western Arabia, Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Levant, among other territories. Within the next few decades, much of the North African coast (except Morocco) became part of the Ottoman realm.

The empire reached its apex under Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century, when it stretched from the Persian Gulf in the east to Algeria in the west, and from Yemen in the south to Hungary and parts of Ukraine in the north. According to the Ottoman decline thesis, Suleiman's reign was the zenith of the Ottoman classical period, during which Ottoman culture, arts, and political influence flourished. The empire reached its maximum territorial extent in 1683, on the eve of the Battle of Vienna.

From 1699 onwards, the Ottoman Empire began to lose territory over the course of the next two centuries due to internal stagnation, costly defensive wars, European colonialism, and nationalist revolts among its multiethnic subjects. In any case, the need to modernise was evident to the empire's leaders by the early 19th century, and numerous administrative reforms were implemented in an attempt to forestall the decline of the empire, with varying degrees of success. The gradual weakening of the Ottoman Empire gave rise to the Eastern Question in the mid-19th century.

The empire came to an end in the aftermath of its defeat in World War I, when its remaining territory was partitioned by the Allies. The sultanate was officially abolished by the Government of the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara on 1 November 1922 following the Turkish War of Independence. Throughout its more than 600 years of existence, the Ottoman Empire has left a profound legacy in the Middle East and Southeast Europe, as can be seen in the customs, culture, and cuisine of the various countries that were once part of its realm.