83 Turkish Ottoman Empire Interesting Fun Facts

(Last Updated On: April 16, 2021)

The great Ottoman Empire or Turkish Empire was an empire founded in 1299 by the Oghuz Turks under Osman I of northwestern Anatolia with many facts, successes, and achievements. Here are some interesting facts about the history of the Ottoman Empire that will blow your mind.

Ottoman Empire facts

The Ottoman Empire was a state that managed a lot of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa between the 14th and early 20th centuries. It was based on the end of the 13th century in northwestern Anatolia within the city of Söğüt (modern-day Bilecik Province) by the Turkoman tribal leader Osman I.

After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe and with the conquest of the Balkans, the Ottoman beylik was remodeled right into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror.

1. Name

The Turkish phrase for “Ottoman” initially referred to the tribal followers of Osman within the fourteenth century. The phrase subsequently got here for use to seek advice from the empire’s military-administrative elite. In distinction, the time period “Turk” (Türk) was used to seek advice from the Anatolian peasant and tribal inhabitants and was seen as a disparaging time period when utilized to city, educated people.

2. It Took Teamwork

The conquest of Constantinople was achieved not merely by means of Turkic peoples, but additionally with the assistance of Greek sailors, Serbian troopers, Hungarian craftsmen, and seafaring technology from Italian buying and selling cities, Ottoman Empire facts.

3. Centre of interactions for six centuries

With Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) as its capital and control of lands across the Mediterranean Basin, the Ottoman Empire was at the center of interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds for six centuries.

The empire continued to keep up a versatile and powerful economy, society, and army all through the 17th and for a lot of the 18th century.

4. Unity Through Diversity

As long as completely different communities absorbed by the Ottomans paid their taxes, maintained peace, and acknowledged the sultan, they had been in a position to settle authorized points inside their very own community. This recognition of various peoples put the range to work for the polity, and the dearth of a homogeneous culture was really helpful and has become an indicator of the Ottoman Empire.

5. A Blend of Styles

The Ottomans revolutionized imperial practices on this planet as they blended European civic culture with strategies of empire construction set by their regional predecessors, notably the Mongols, Persians, and Byzantines.

6. Blood Isn’t as Thick as Power

The pattern of fratricide was set by Murad I in 1362 when he had all of his brothers murdered. From right here on out, every new sultan would typically take the throne by having all of their male kinfolk murdered. Even infants wouldn’t be spared from this brutal pattern of Ottoman Empire facts.

7. Spread it Out

An even enjoying area for achievement was created by forbidding a concubine from taking the bed of the sultan after giving a start to a son. Instead, they’d accompany their son to a province, the place the prince could be given a governorship.

8. Origin Story

The Ottomans had been birthed by Osman after he based the Osmanli dynasty. Ottoman is just an anglicized model of Osman, the Ottoman Empire facts.

9. Stick and Stones

The time period “Turk” was really a derogative time period utilized by the elite to disparage peasants. If somebody was not a peasant, nor within the elite, however as an alternative an informed urban-dweller, then they had been an Rūmī, that means Roman.

10. The Slow Play

Osman’s great-grandson was on a mission to construct the great Ottoman Empire and was near doing so before being captured by the Mongol king Tamerlane. The Ottomans nearly lost all of it throughout ensuing civil warfare, however as an alternative to urgent the problem, they took a step back and mirrored upon this experience before launching a brand new marketing campaign to place collectively a bigger, more resilient empire.

11. Tanzimat

During a long interval of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman army system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian empires. The Ottomans consequently suffered extreme army defeats within the late 18th and early 19th centuries, which prompted them to provoke a complete process of reform and modernization often known as the Tanzimat.

Thus, over the course of the 19th century, the Ottoman state grew to become vastly more highly effective and organized, regardless of struggling additional territorial losses, particularly within the Balkans, the place quite a few new states emerged.

12. Brother Vs. Brother

During the growth of the Ottoman Empire, there have been moments of instability because of the rites of succession. Only the sultan’s sons had been eligible to succeed, which led to huge energy struggles by means of the years. Fratricide thus emerged as a dynastic technology, Ottoman Empire facts.

13. The Rise

Janissaries had been anticipated to have full and utter loyalty to the Sultan and had been forbidden from marriage or to interact in any type of commerce, whereas additionally being exempt from taxes. They had been an elite army pressure on this planet till the 17th century, after they gave in to their privilege as a category and contributed to the decline of the empire, utilizing their energy to depose any sultan they didn’t favor.

14. Slavery

Slavery was part of Ottoman society, with most slaves employed as home servants. Agricultural slavery, similar to that which was widespread within the Americas, was comparatively uncommon. Unlike methods of chattel slavery, slaves below Islamic legislation weren’t thought to be movable property, however maintained fundamental, although restricted, rights.

15. Body, Mind, and Spirit

In the Ottoman Empire, oil wrestling was essentially the most popular sport. Special colleges had been established which taught not solely the artwork of wrestling however had been additionally spiritual facilities, not in contrast to Japanese Sumo, Ottoman Empire facts.

16. Hamidian massacres

From 1894 to 1896, between 100,000 and 300,000 Armenians residing all through the empire had been killed in what grew to become often known as the Hamidian massacres, Ottoman Empire facts.

17. Magnificent For Nothing

Suleiman the Magnificent introduced the Ottoman Empire to hovering heights and had a fierce rivalry with the Hapsburg Empire, which was dominating Western Europe at the time.

Suleiman really allied with the French throughout this time, creating lasting relations with the French that will sow seeds for the longer term. Due to their ties with the French, Ottoman artwork and literature were largely influenced by and paralleled that of the French.

18. Twist of Fate

When the Ottomans captured Tunis in 1574 from Spanish rule, the religious destiny of North Africa was determined, as they now fell below Muslim rule, which might dominate the area by means of to immediately.

19. First Conversion

After the Ottomans conquered the Greek city of Thessaloniki in 1430, they transformed the Church of the Acheiropoietos right into a mosque, making it the first Christian church to be transformed into an Islamic mosque, Ottoman Empire facts.

20. A Marriage of Convenience

Early within the Ottoman Empire, marriage was coveted for its capability to forge alliances, and never a lot more. It was quickly disbursed of, and sultans as an alternative started to favor concubines with a view to producing heirs to the throne.

21. Languages

Ottoman Turkish was the official language of the Empire. It was an Oghuz Turkic language extremely influenced by Persian and Arabic. The Ottomans had a number of influential languages:

Turkish, spoken by nearly all of the people in Anatolia and by nearly all of Muslims of the Balkans besides in Albania and Bosnia; Persian, solely spoken by the educated; Arabic, spoken primarily in Egypt, the Levant, Arabia, Iraq, North Africa, Kuwait and elements of the Horn of Africa and Berber in North Africa.

In the final two centuries, utilization of those grew to become restricted, although, and particular: Persian served primarily as a literary language for the educated, whereas Arabic was used for Islamic prayers.

22. Heir Factory

Any variety of concubines had been allowed within the palace at one time and all the sons born from a slave concubine had been thought-about respectable—if the sultan wished for it, that’s. When a sultan died, a concubine with a respectable son was then thought-about free.

23. Ottoman Signing

Sign Language was developed in a posh within the Ottoman court docket. The silence was enforced all through the court docket and regarded respectful by sultans, who typically communicated in the signal.

Deaf pages, doormen, executioners, and companions of the sultan had been used and valued for his or her capability to speak silently, in addition to their lack of ability to overhear delicate information and the added issue they’d have had been bribed by outsiders.

24. Rome 2.0

The Ottoman conquest of Byzantine Constantinople, which is also known as Rome 2.0, was the muse for organizing the Ottoman Empire. This conquest was performed by land and sea after they minimize off each side of the city with ships after which penetrated the city partitions with their military.

The Byzantines tried to guard their city with a floating chain of ships, so the Ottomans merely loaded their ships onto carts and wheeled them across the hills of the city, and positioned them into the harbor.

25. A Father’s Safety

Suleiman as soon as sat behind a display screen and watched his son be strangled to loss of life with a bowstring after he grew to become too popular amongst the military for the sultan’s perceived security, Ottoman Empire facts.

26. Charm School

Harems served an objective within the Empire. The object was to lift ladies in a royal method and to organize them to function as royal wives sooner or later, Ottoman Empire facts.

27. Start ‘Em Young

The Janissaries had been essentially the most prestigious Ottoman infantry unit. They had been the Sultan’s guards and Europe’s first standing military, established within the 14th century below Murad I. These elite troops had been comprised of Christian slaves kidnapped as boys and compelled to transform to Islam.

28. Population

An inhabitants estimate for the empire of 11,692,480 for the 1520–1535 interval was obtained by counting the households in Ottoman tithe registers and multiplying this quantity by 5.

For unclear causes, the inhabitants within the 18th century were decrease than those within the 16th century. An estimate of seven,230,660 for the first census held in 1831 is taken into account a severe undercount, as this census was meant solely to register possible conscripts.

29. Harems and Man Caves

Royal Ottomans historically break up their houses between the husband and spouse, and the ladies had been allowed a harem—sacred place—within the family. Men didn’t enter the women’s area, and ladies didn’t enter the men’s. The harem was a vigorous, social place, and all girls of all backgrounds had been welcome to go to.

30. The Hand of the Emperor

The Ottoman emperor dominated by means of subalterns who had been recruited to serve his imperial dynasty from the exterior of the empire. As the Spanish empire was gaining viciously illiberal over completely different religious teams, the Ottomans prolonged safety to completely different religions.

31. Plague and pandemics

Plague remained a serious scourge in Ottoman society till the second quarter of the 19th century. “Between 1701 and 1750, 37 larger and smaller plague epidemics were recorded in Istanbul, and 31 between 1751 and 1801.”

32. Don’t Talk to Me Kahvaltı

While coffee has its origins in Ethiopia and Yemen, Turkish coffee developed below the Ottomans. Coffee influenced Ottoman culture a lot that the Turkish phrase for breakfast—kahvaltı—interprets to “before coffee.”

33. The Fall of an Empire

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Ottoman Empire, a lot decreased by this level, was rife with social battle. After army reforms led to disastrous wars in Italy and the Balkans continued unrest led to coups.

They entered into World War I in alliance with the Central Powers, however, before long they had been dissolved and partitioned. The occupation of Constantinople mobilized the Turkish national motion, and they might acquire sufficient energy to win the Turkish War of Independence, abolishing the Ottoman Sultanate in 1922.

34. Impractical sword

Osman’s lavishly-decorated sword and belt are the Ottoman equal of the coronation crown jewels, nevertheless, it’s uncertain that what’s seen immediately on display within the Topkapı Palace Museum in Istanbul is what Osman held in his hand. Putting it merely, Osman was unlikely ever to have had such an impractical sword, although it may very well be that the unique blade was later plated and embellished.

35. A Chain Reaction

The Ottoman Empire dominated each of the eastern Mediterranean and eastern land commerce routes. In the face of this, western Eurasian rulers had been impotent, and European powers had been compelled to rent navigators to discover maritime routes to Asia with a view to alternate straight with the Chinese imperial sphere. I don’t assume I’ve to inform you how this modified the world, however it may be mentioned Columbus’ unintended discovery was a product of those circumstances.

36. Sports

The fundamental sports activities Ottomans had been engaged in had been Turkish wrestling, searching, Turkish archery, horseback using, equestrian javelin throw, arm wrestling, and swimming. European model sports activities golf equipment had been shaped with the spreading reputation of soccer matches in 19th century Constantinople.

The main golf equipment, in accordance with timeline, had been Beşiktaş Gymnastics Club (1903), Galatasaray Sports Club (1905), Fenerbahçe Sports Club (1907), MKE Ankaragücü (previously Turan Sanatkaragücü) (1910) in Constantinople.

Football golf equipment had been shaped in different provinces too, similar to Karşıyaka Sports Club (1912), Altay Sports Club (1914), and Turkish Fatherland Football Club (later Ülküspor) (1914) of İzmir.

37. Trickle-Down Economy

The spahis had been like European knights, as they got a fief as their wage. However, in contrast to feudal Europe, sipahis had no particular rights over the peasant farmers of their land and even needed to pay them a considerable wage, Ottoman Empire facts.

38. A Multitude of Voices

The official language was Turkic, however, the minor languages of the empire included Albanian, Arabic, Assyrian, Bulgarian, Croatian, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Kurdish, Persian, and Somali, amongst many others.

39. Education

In the Ottoman Empire, every millet established an education system serving its members. Education, due to this fact, was largely divided into ethnic and religious traces: few non-Muslims attended colleges for Muslim college students and vice versa. Most establishments that did serve all ethnic and religious teams taught in French or different languages.

40. Centuries of Slaves

Slavery was utilized by the Ottomans up till 1908 when feminine slaves had been nonetheless offered all through the Empire. In the 17th century, Ivan Sulyma freed Christian slaves after organizing a revolt on a slave gallery and was awarded a medal from Pope Paul V.

41. Ottomans should not the identical to ‘Turks’

Perhaps essentially the most stunning truth concerning the Ottoman Empire is that lots of the ‘Turks’ talked about within the European chronicles had been no such factor. It is because of European ignorance (that has lasted centuries) and to nation constructing in Turkey that the Ottoman sultans have grown to be ‘Turkish’ sultans. Quite typically in European Renaissance literature, the sultan was known as the ‘Great Turk’, a title that will have meant nothing to the Ottoman court docket. So let’s clear this up:

the Ottoman Empire, for many of its existence, predated nationalism. The attacking forces on the well-known ‘Fall of Constantinople’ towards the Byzantine Empire in 1453 weren’t all ‘Turks’; actually, not all the besieging forces had been even Muslim.

42. How did they get there?

Between the 15th and 17th centuries, the methods of appointment to judicial, military, and political offices were fairly clear. Graduates of madrasas or Muslim colleges were nominated as judges of the province, teachers, or imams of the madrasas. Talking about most judicial offices has been the domain of a few elite families since the sixteenth century.

43. Fife Holder

The thieves’ cavalry were inherently Muslim, and the thieves had the right to inherit Ottoman Empire facts.

44. Something about the brothers

Viziers and provincial governors were generally converted to Christianity, Ottoman Empire facts.

45. Replacement

The Ottoman Empire with its mind and adventure replaced the Byzantine Empire as the main power of the Eastern Mediterranean.

46. Know Your Limits

An enormous issue that contributed to why the Ottoman Empire lasted so long in a more and more fractured, but the globalizing world, was that it remained content with its imperial attain and energy, refraining itself from indulging in competitors throughout the Atlantic Ocean and the Cape of Good Hope.

47. Semper Paratus

Military officers went by means of strict coaching and had been instilled with structured self-discipline. While organizing camp throughout campaigns, they weren’t allowed to devour alcohol, had been closely rationed, and saved up stringent sanitation measures, which was putting in distinction to the remainder of medieval Europe at the time.

48. Law

The Ottoman authorized system accepted the religious legislation over its topics. At the identical time the Qanun (or Kanun), a secular authorized system, co-existed with religious legislation or Sharia. The Ottoman Empire was all the time organized around a system of native jurisprudence, Ottoman Empire facts.

49. Fall

The Janissaries lasted till 1826 when over 135,000 of them revolted towards Mahmud II however had been squashed, exiled, and imprisoned. Referred to because of the Auspicious Incident, these Janissaries had been formally disbanded, with over 6,000 of them being executed. It is believed that Mahmud purposely incited their revolt by forming a brand new military alongside the European traces of the empire.

50. Carpet weaving

The artwork of carpet weaving was notably important within the Ottoman Empire, carpets having an immense significance each as ornamental furnishings, wealthy in religious and different symbolism and as a sensible consideration, because it was customary to take away one’s sneakers in residing quarters.

The weaving of such carpets originated within the nomadic cultures of central Asia (carpets being a simply transportable type of furnishing), and ultimately unfold to the settled societies of Anatolia.

51. Turkey

After World War I, much of the territory was occupied by the Allies, Ottoman elites established modern Turkey during the Turkish independence war.

52. In the panel

The empire reached its peak under Solomon I in the sixteenth century when it extended from the Persian Gulf (east) to Hungary (northwest) and Egypt (south) to the Caucasus (north).

53. Poor phase

In the 17th century, the Ottomans weakened internally and externally as a result of the war, especially against the Persian, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. This was the result of a constitutional monarchy where the sultan had little power.

54. Turkey Formation

While campaigning in Gallipoli and Palestine, prominent army officer Mostafa Kamal Pasha was formally sent from Istanbul to take control of the conquering Caucasus army and break it down. This army played a supportive role in the victory of Turkey’s independence war (1–12–20), and the remnants of the fallen empire were established on October 28, 1220.

55. Preparation is Key

A powerful, centralized army order aided the Ottoman’s speedy enlargement, as the remainder of Europe and Eurasia had been in a multitude of disorganized states and tribes. The Ottomans adopted the Roman methods of army planning, the place before embarking on an army endeavor, they consulted veterans and warfare specialists, stockpiled their assets, and dispatched scouts out to survey their routes.

56. Sons of girls from the harem

More than 30 of the sultans had been the sons of girls from the harem. Why is that salient? Because none of those girls had been Turkish; it’s unlikely any of them had been even born Muslim.

Most of their backgrounds have been lost to the mists of time, nevertheless, it appears most had been European girls, so Serbs, Greeks, Ukrainians. It is probably going that later ‘Turkish’ sultans had been genetically far more Greek than Turkish.

57. With Some Exceptions

While there was great religious freedom below the Ottomans, it didn’t apply to the Safavids, who had been Shi’ite Muslims, not Sunni, Ottoman Empire facts.

58. Science

Taqi al-Din constructed the Constantinople observatory of Taqi al-Din in 1577, the place he carried out observations till 1580. He calculated the eccentricity of the Sun’s orbit and the annual movement of the apogee.

However, the observatory’s main objective was nearly definitely astrological moderately than astronomical, resulting in its destruction in 1580 because of the rise of a clerical faction that opposed its use for that objective. He additionally experimented with steam energy in Ottoman Egypt in 1551, when he described a steam jack pushed by a rudimentary steam turbine.

59. Highly Effective

Yes, the Janissaries have all the celebrities, however, the sipahi had a more necessary function within the army because of the cavalry unit and spine of the military. It has been instructed by historians that European battle techniques developed the best way to did notably to fight the extremely mobile and speedy tempo of the sipahis.

60. Built to Last

Enduring for over 600 years, the Ottomans had been essentially the most sturdy try by a modern empire to kind a state. During its reign, it included the areas of Anatolia, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and elements of the Middle East and North Africa, encompassing 19.9 million sq. km. and over 35 million people at its peak.

61. Raiders of the Empire

Another essential part of the structured Ottoman army was the akinji, who had been raiders of the frontier. They had been closely relied on for numerous tactical functions, performing out guerrilla warfare ploys that included together with penetrating enemy territory, disrupting traces of communication and provide, clearing of roads and bridges, and inducing concern among the many enemies inhabitants.

62. Literature

The two main streams of Ottoman written literature are poetry and prose. Poetry was by far the dominant stream. Until the 19th century, Ottoman prose didn’t include any examples of fiction: there have been no counterparts to, for example, European romance, brief story, or novel. Analog genres did exist, although, in each Turkish folk’s literature and in Divan poetry.

63. Architecture

Ottoman structure was influenced by Persian, Byzantine Greek, and Islamic architectures. During the Rise interval (The early or first Ottoman structure interval), Ottoman artwork was looking for new concepts.

The growth interval of the Empire grew to become the classical interval of structure when Ottoman artwork was at its most assured. During the years of the Stagnation interval, the Ottoman architecture moved away from this model, nevertheless.

During the Tulip Era, it was below the effect of the extremely ornamented types of Western Europe; Baroque, Rococo, Empire, and different types intermingled. Concepts of Ottoman structure focus primarily on the mosque.

The mosque was integral to society, city planning, and communal life. Besides the mosque, it’s also possible to search out good examples of Ottoman structure in soup kitchens, theological colleges, hospitals, Turkish baths, and tombs.

64. Fire Away!

The Ottomans beloved their gunpowder. They specialized in large canons, which might be assembled on the battlefield and will shoot as much as a mile in distance. Needless to say, they had been devastating and awe-inspiring weapons to have on the battlefield. The Basilic cannon contributed mightily to the siege of Constantinople in 1453, as its 544 kg cannonballs brought on large injury to the city’s partitions.

65. Suleiman was even more magnificent than you assume

In the west, he has grown to be often known as Suleiman the Magnificent. In the east, he’s remembered as Suleiman the Lawgiver. However, here’s a full record of his titles and they’re fascinating:

“Sultan of the Ottomans, Allah’s deputy on earth, Lord of the Lords of this world, Possessor of men’s necks, King of believers and unbelievers, King of Kings, Emperor of the East and the West, Majestic Caesar, Emperor of the Chakan’s of great authority, Prince and Lord of the happiest constellation, Seal of victory, Refuge of all the people in the whole entire world, the shadow of the almighty dispensing quiet on the Earth.”

66. Mixing Religion and Law

In 1877, the first try at codifying the Sharia-based legislation of an Islamic state was made with the Mecelle code. The Ottomans used the effect of earlier European codifications to create this civil legislation, and it has had a long-lasting influence on the Islamic world and the people around it.

67. Inflicted by Napoleon

On 20 May 1799, Napoleon laid siege to the port of Acre, the place he fired the few cannons he had on the mighty defenses, whereas the defenders sought refuge behind the city’s partitions. As Napoleon was now dedicated to the siege, Ottoman forces had been in a position to collect aid pressure and march to assistance from the city.

Napoleon had all the time picked competent generals and, despite the fact that his pressure was small, one Jean-Baptiste Kléber was a battle-hardened and extremely successful common.

His pressure of around 2,000 males (later joined by over 2,000 of Napoleon’s males) met the Ottoman aid pressure at Mount Tabor in Palestine. By comparability, Abdullah Pasha al-Azm, the governor of Damascus, had gathered a military of over 30,000.

The French had been outnumbered about 9-1; however, as we’ve got seen, numbers don’t depend on all the things, and the Battle of Mount Tabor was probably the best (typically forgotten) humiliation of Ottoman martial energy.

68. Arab Revolt

The Arab Revolt started in 1916 with British help. It turned the tide towards the Ottomans on the Middle Eastern front, the place they appeared to have the higher hand in the course of the first two years of the warfare.

69. Rivalry within the Court

Eunuchs wielded huge effect within the royal court docket, they usually had been break up alongside racial traces. There was a Chief Black Eunuch and a Chief White Eunuch, who had been fierce rivals. They had been the administrates of the court docket harem, and had been concerned in nearly all the things occurring within the imperial palace.

70. The founding father of the Ottoman empire

Osman, a Seljuk Turk, is the person who’s seen because the founding father of the empire (his name is usually spelled Ottman or Othman, therefore the time period ‘Ottoman’).

The Seljuks had arrived from the Asiatic steppes within the 11th century AD and had been in Anatolia for generations, whereas Osman had dominated a tiny Anatolian territory at the end of the 13th century and the early 14th century. He was very a lot a warrior within the mold of different great cavalry officers of the Middle Ages (like Genghis Khan before he received an empire).

71. Music and performing arts

Ottoman classical music was a necessary part of the education of the Ottoman elite. Various Ottoman sultans had been completed musicians and composers themselves, similar to Selim III, whose compositions are sometimes nonetheless carried out immediately. Ottoman classical music arose largely from a confluence of Byzantine music, Armenian music, Arabic music, and Persian music.

72. A Caged Existence

Fratricide quickly pale away resulting from its stunning unpopularity, and potential heirs had been as an alternative imprisoned within cages often known as “kafes.” Confinement was strictly enforced, and there have been events the place a sultan got here to the throne after being constricted to the Cage for his or her total lives. Yeah, most likely not the very best preparation for a ruler of an empire.

73. Young Turk motion

The defeat and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire (1908–1922) started with the Second Constitutional Era, a moment of hope and promise established with the Young Turk Revolution. It restored the Ottoman structure of 1876 and introduced in multi-party politics a two-stage electoral system (electoral legislation) below the Ottoman parliament.

The structure provided hope by releasing the empire’s residents to modernize the state’s establishments, rejuvenate its energy, and allow it to carry its personal towards exterior powers. Its assurance of liberties promised to dissolve inter-communal tensions and transform the empire right into a more harmonious place. Instead, this era grew to become the story of the twilight wrestle of the Empire.

74. Genesis

The Ottoman Empire (Turkish: Osmanli aramparatorluğu) is an empire that lasted from 1299 to 1923. It is one of the largest empires to rule the borders of the Mediterranean. During its strength, it includes Anatolia, the Middle East, a part of North Africa, and Southeast Europe.

75. Name suggestions….

The “Bob-E-Eli” translation of the Ottoman name in French is “high door”. Because of the goodwill that the Sultan had done for the foreign ambassadors at the Palace Gate. It is also interpreted as an indication of the empire’s position as the gateway between Europe and Asia.

76. Establish

The empire was first founded by Osman in the 16th and 17th centuries, Ottoman Empire facts.

77. Brother-in-law

Capri Mehmed Pasha, the founder of the Albanian Kaprali political dynasty of the Ottoman Empire, was appointed by Turhan, the mother of seven-year-old ruler Mehmed IV, to become his great-grandfather, Ottoman Empire facts.

79. Military Class

As the sultan, the viziers also served as military commanders. On the other hand, it was the cavalry that made up the majority of the military class. Also, men in Islamic judicial-religious terms were also designated as “military.”

80. Eunach slaves

Such slaves, acquired from alongside the Nile river or Europe, had been used as guardians on the entrances of harems, guaranteeing that the ladies could be protected from males which could pose more of an, er, menace to them—and in addition guaranteeing that the sultan might trust that his heirs had been actually his.

81. Cuisines

Much of the delicacies of former Ottoman territories immediately is descended from shared Ottoman delicacies, particularly Turkish, and together with Greek, Balkan, Armenian, and Middle Eastern cuisines.

Many frequent dishes within the area, descendants of the once-common Ottoman delicacies, embrace yogurt, döner kebab/gyro/shawarma, cacık/tzatziki, ayran, pita bread, feta cheese, baklava, lahmacun, moussaka, yuvarlak, köfte/keftés/kofta, börek/boureki, rakı/rakia/tsipouro/tsikoudia, meze, dolma, sarma, rice pilaf, Turkish coffee, sujuk, kashk, keşkek, manti, lavash, kanafeh, and more.

82. The Ottomans may very well be unfortunate

Only as soon as did a sultan die in battle and just one sultan was ever captured by an enemy. Unfortunately for the early empire, these sultans had been father and son. In 1389, on the well-known Battle of Kosovo, Murad I used to be in his tent as his forces fought a brutal and bloody engagement with Serb forces.

A recent account states that: “having penetrated the enemy lines and the circle of chained camels, [serb forces] heroically reached the tent of Murat (sic) … (and killed him) by stabbing him with a sword in the throat and belly.”

83. World War I

The warfare started with the Ottoman shock assault on the Russian Black Sea coast on 29 October 1914. Following the assault, Russia and its allies, France and Britain declared warfare on the Ottomans. There had been a number of necessary Ottoman victories within the early years of the warfare, such because of the Battle of Gallipoli and the Siege of Kut, Ottoman Empire facts.