Melissa Wilde HONS 3375 Feb.

17th, 2014 Ottoman Empire: The Rise and Fall

Wilde 1

At the end of the era of Mongol conquest, it became evident that the Ottoman Empire was the Muslim state to watch. Unique traits of this empire allowed them to flourish for 5 decades, surviving until 1922 while maintaining a firm hold on Istanbul, their strategically positioned capital city that was once the headquarters of the great Byzantine Empire. Through strong leadership, strategic land acquisition and an organized military presence, the Ottoman Empire grew to achieve greatness. The strong leadership began with Osman, who was the original leader of the empire, who was then followed by Sultan Mehmed II, who conquered Constantinople in 1453. Overtaking the Byzantine capital was key in growing the empire to new heights. The following sultans expanded southwards (to Egypt and Syria) and westwards (to Belgrade and Vienna). Conquering Constantinople was well calculated because it is positioned directly on the Dardenelles strait, which was the aquatic link between Europe and Asia. This allowed the newly named Istanbul to grow into a diverse center for culture and trade. This city was also central enough to set an example for many neighboring provinces on Ottoman way of life, and also serve as a religious center for Islam. The military had an element of duality in the Ottoman Empiresince firearms were considered less dignified, the governing body designated a separate class of soldiers (comprised primarily of previously captured Christian slaves) to operate guns and other sophisticated weaponry. These troops, called janissaries, were paid directly from the empires treasury. These soldiers were completely separate from the cavalrymen, who were Islamic soldiers who fought using traditional means (swords, bows and arrows) in exchange for land grants. The changing dynamics between these two parts of the military would prove challenging to the Ottoman Empire, and eventually help contribute to their downfall.

Wilde 2 Despite the flourishing success of the Ottoman Empire for a very long time, there were key factors that aided in their eventual decline. Military unrest within the corps, financial troubles, lack of continued expansion and the incoming Safavid Empire all added to the factors that unhinged the Ottoman Empire. The first military coup that surfaced was with the cavalrymen that found their services being passed over for the janissaries, whose expertise in gunpowder weaponry was infinitely more useful on the contemporary Ottoman battlefield. Combined with the inflation brought about by an influx of silver from the New World, the cavalrymen found much of their land was being seized and returned to the state. This spurred on the cavalrymen and other affected by the loss of land grants to revolt all over the province of Anatolia. Later in Ottoman history the janissaries staged their own revolt, forcing the sultan to abdicate in 1730. Military conflict outside of the empire raged on too, with a 200-year war between the Ottomans and Venetians dominating many resources for a great deal of time, to little or no result in the end. Along with the inflation from the New World silver, many other financial troubles plagued the Ottomans. Old trade agreements with European states began to negatively impact the Ottoman trade market in terms of duties and fees being set far below the contemporary standard. Through this European states would grow stronger, and since the Ottomans had retreated from Vienna in 1529, they had missed their opportunity to forge into Europe and conquer more territory. Finally, the growth of the empire was contained by the increased pressure of the Safavid empire in the East, who would then grow to become a superpower in their own right as a new type of Islamic state.