Ottoman Empire

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Definition

The Ottoman Sultanate (1299-1922 as an empire; 1922-1924 as caliphate only), also referred to as the Ottoman Empire, written in Turkish as Osmanlı Devleti, was a Turkic imperial state that was conceived by and named after Osman (l. 1258-1326), an Anatolian chieftain. At its peak in the 16th and 17th centuries, the empire controlled vast stretches including Anatolia, southwestern Europe, mainland Greece, the Balkans, parts of northern Iraq, Azerbaijan, Syria, Palestine, parts of the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, and parts of the North African strip, in addition to the major Mediterranean islands of Rhodes, Cyprus, and Crete. Renowned the strongest military superpower of its time, the empire stagnated and faced prolonged decline from the late 16th century CE onwards until it was replaced by the modern Republic of Turkey after the First World War (1914-1918).

More about: Ottoman Empire

Timeline

  • 1299 - 1326
    Reign of Osman I.
  • 1326
    Prusa (Bursa) falls to Ottoman control shortly after Osman's death; it becomes the capital of the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1326 - 1362
    Reign of Orhan, as the second sovereign of the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1361
    Adrianople (Edirne) falls to Prince Murad, the son of Orhan, later Murad I.
  • 1362 - 1389
    Murad I rules as the sovereign of the Ottoman Empire and brands himself as a sultan.
  • 1389
    Murad I defeats a European coalition army led by the Serbians at the Battle of Kosovo but dies at the climax of battle.
  • 1389 - 1402
    Bayezid I rules as the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
  • 25 Sep 1396
    The Battle of Nicopolis, aka the Nicopolis Crusade, where a western Christian army is defeated by the Ottoman Turks.
  • 1402
    Bayezid I is defeated by the forces of Timur at the Battle of Ankara and is captured.
  • 1402 - 1413
    Ottoman Interregnum; Mehmed I emerges victorious.
  • 1421 - 1451
    Reign of Murad II.
  • 10 Nov 1444
    Murad II resumes defeats Crusader forces at the Battle of Varna.
  • 1451 - 1481
    Mehmed II rules as the Sultan.
  • 29 May 1453
    Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II sacks Constantinople.
  • 1475 - 1783
    Crimean Tatars serve as vassals to the Ottomans.
  • 1481 - 1512
    Reign of Bayezid II.
  • 1512
    Selim I deposes his father Bayezid II.
  • 1512 - 1520
    Reign of Selim I; the Ottoman Empire doubles in size.
  • 1514
    Battle of Chaldiron; Selim I defeats the army of the Safavid Shah Ismail I.
  • 1516 - 1517
    Selim I conquers the Mamluk Sultanate, taking Syria, Palestine, Hejaz and Egypt. Ottoman Sultanate declares itself as a Caliphate.
  • 1520 - 1566
    Reign of Suleiman the Magnificent.
  • 1521
    Belgrade falls to the Ottomans.
  • 1523
    Suleiman I conquers Rhodes.
  • 1526
    Battle of Mohács; Suleiman I defeats the Hungarian field army under Louis II.
  • 1529
    Ottomans fail to take Vienna.
  • 1566
    Suleiman I dies while campaigning in Hungary.
  • 1566 - 1574
    Reign of Selim II.
  • 1570
    Ottomans conquer Cyprus.
  • 1571
    Battle of Lepanto; the Ottoman navy is defeated by the Holy League.
  • 1596 - 1609
    Celali revolts throughout Anatolia.
  • 1669
    Crete falls to the Ottoman Sultanate.
  • 1683
    Ottomans fail to take Vienna for the second time.
  • 1699
    Treaty of Karlowitz.
  • 1789 - 1807
    Reign of Selim III.
  • 1826
    Conservative Jannisary corps are disbanded.
  • 1839 - 1876
    Tanzimat reforms are introduced.
  • 1876 - 1878
    First Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1876 - 1909
    Reign of Abdul Hamid II.
  • 1908 - 1920
    Second Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1909
    Abdul Hamid II is deposed by the Young Turks party.
  • 1914 - 1923
    Armenian population of Anatolia is subjected to genocide.
  • 1918
    The Ottoman Empire is defeated in World War I.
  • 1922 - 1924
    Abdulmejid II serves the office of the Caliphate only, as a symbolic figure.
  • 1923
    The Republic of Turkey declares independence under Mustafa Kemal.
  • 1924
    Mustafa Kemal abolishes the institute of Caliphate.
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