The rise of the Ottoman Empire

The ottoman empire was a state that controlled much of South eastern Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa between the 14th and early 20th centuries. It is also regarded as the largest empire in the history, that lasted for 600 years. Now, you must be wondering how did the ottoman empire grow strong that it last for so long? Let’s find out.

What does Ottoman mean?

The term Ottoman has derived from the Arabic word ‘Uthman’, which means Osman, who dreamt of building the Ottoman Empire.

Do you know that this vast empire actually begun from a dream?

In the year 1929 A.D. a Turkish ruler named Osman I, had a dream about a massive tree growing from his head and then spreading it’s branches all across the world. Osman I with the help of his successors built the famous Middle Eastern Empire- The Ottoman Empire. Osman I was ruler of the Turkish tribes in Anatolia, who established government and laid down the foundation of Ottoman Empire.

Along with his son Orhan, he started conquering expanding his boundary in the North west and captured Bursa in 1326. Bursa then became the capital of the Ottoman State. After Osman’s death, it took years of political strategies and wars for the Ottoman Empire to grow. It saw expansion and was at peak between 1453 and 1566. In the Ottoman Empire the people were forced to change their religion and join the military; failing to do so had to pay specific taxes. It brought diversity from all over the world in terms of art and culture.

After which in the other half of sixteenth century the situations began to reverse. As they say empires rise only to fall. The empire struggled for succession, increasing costs for warfare, military defeats, decline and finally dissolution during the World War I.

The history has seen many empires rise and fall, but the Ottoman Empire is surely a remarkable one.