Ottoman Empire

The Formation of the Ottoman Empire

The formation of the Ottoman Empire started about the beginning of the fourteenth century. The first land controlled by the Ottoman Empire was the Anatolian peninsula. The Ottoman Empire would become on of the most successful states because of a variety of reasons including the fall of the Byzantium Empire, military tactic, and more to be addressed. This combination of reasons was required for the Ottoman Empire to become so powerful.

The beginning of the Ottoman Empire can be associated with the decline of the Byzantium Empire. Expanding new states led to a lost of power for the Byzantium empire (Quataert, 2005). In an attempt to remain powerful the Empire reinvented itself and remained in control of Anatolian provinces. Three major problems later arose for the Empire.

First, the strategic location of the Empire led to conflicts with the Venetian and Genoese merchant states. Another problem was powerful states in the north, such as Bulgarian and Serbian kingdoms. The largest problem, which led to the formation of the Ottoman state, was the migration of Turkish nomads into the Middle East around the first millennium. The nomads had beliefs such as a fragmented state and leadership by overall agreement. The beliefs of these nomads would become the key to Ottoman Empire success (Quataert, 2005).

As the empire grew, the flexibility of the empire led to more support. Issues such a religion were not a major factor since Ottoman Empire accepted different religious groups. Both Christians and Muslims saw the economic benefits of the empire. The Ottoman dynasty was Turkish is origin, though it emerged in a Christian and Muslim area. Ottomans gained support by gazis, which were warriors against Christians. Although, at the same time the empire was against Christians they were recruiting Christians into their military force. The Ottomans also fought against Turcoman leaders which further showed that the empire was not a religious state (Quataert, 2005).

Geography also played an important part in the formation of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans were very adaptive to conditions and accepted allegiances from different sources. They also made multi-sided appeals for support. One of the most important events in the expansion of the Ottoman Empire was the occupation of the town Tzympe in 1354. This town was one of three waterways which separate Europe and Asia. Rivals in Anatolia were now outmatched when Ottomans took control of this strategic town (Quataert, 2005).

The military approach used by the Ottoman Empire was an intelligent move to gain control of surrounding lands. First the military would establish some sort of suzerainty. This meant the Empire would have a degree of control over a surrounding state, particularly in foreign affairs. This would eventually lead to dependence for the Ottoman Empire. The second step of the military approach was to gain direct control of the country. The Ottoman military used a gradual assimilation to become in control of the country. Social and economic order changed little when the Ottoman Empire would take control. This two step approach was used effectively to acquire land and grow rapidly (Inalcik, 1954).

Osman I was not viewed as the strongest leader of the Ottoman Empire, but was one of the first. Osman I lead four hundred horsemen to a battle. He then chose to side on the losing army, this decision would lead to victory. The troops he fought with were of a Seljuk Sultan. After the battle the Seljuk Sultan rewarded Osman I with land which he would declare himself ruler in 1299. Eventually Ottoman capital would be moved to Bursa. From the formation of this empire to centuries later the core government remained essentially unchanged. The government emphasized a tolerance for citizens to manage their own affairs and have much independence from the government (Inalcik, 1954).

After Osman's death the Ottoman Empire continued to expand. Power was temporarily lost in 1402 when Timur Lenk invaded Anatolia and took Sultan Bayezid I prisoner. Lenk