Ottoman Empire Paper
Harrison Steinhardt
Professor Degnitz
World History Since 1500
24 February 2015
The Success of the Ottoman Empire
The world has had its share of massive empires that have tried to dominate a region, or even the globe in some cases. The Ottoman nation was no exception to the ways of conquering and expansionist civilizations that preceded them. The success of great empires really relies on a multitude and the right combination of factors to allow it to last the test of time. For a so called tribe or a group of people to begin to even start conquering or uniting neighboring tribes, the tribe must have circumstances of great location, and an abundant amount of resources to support a large population. The Ottomans had this. On the Anatolian peninsula, in the late 1200s, a tribal leader by the name of Osman began to unite local tribes and his domain steadily grew. The Anatolia peninsula was a great place to feed a growing empire. To the north, they had control over the southern part of the Black Sea, and to the west and south, they had access to the Mediterranean Sea as well, and its trade routes. By the year 1453, the Ottoman Empire had conquered almost the entire Anatolian peninsula, and had moved their efforts to the west and had pushed as far as the Balkans under the Murad, Bayazid I, and Mehmet II. Mehmet was famous for capturing the Byzantine capital Constantinople, which was thought to be impossible to breach, even with the size of the army Mehmet II had. But, the Ottomans were extremely good at out gunning their enemies, “…the Turks made use of massive cannons with 26-foot barrels that could launch stone balls weighing up to 1,200 pounds each”(334). The Ottomans use of technology was another reason why they were so successful at conquering and expanding. The Ottomans were able to duplicate explosives that were used in Chinese warfare, and they mastered it to subdue their enemies. At one point in time, the technology of the Ottomans was better than that of
Professor Degnitz
World History Since 1500
24 February 2015
The Success of the Ottoman Empire
The world has had its share of massive empires that have tried to dominate a region, or even the globe in some cases. The Ottoman nation was no exception to the ways of conquering and expansionist civilizations that preceded them. The success of great empires really relies on a multitude and the right combination of factors to allow it to last the test of time. For a so called tribe or a group of people to begin to even start conquering or uniting neighboring tribes, the tribe must have circumstances of great location, and an abundant amount of resources to support a large population. The Ottomans had this. On the Anatolian peninsula, in the late 1200s, a tribal leader by the name of Osman began to unite local tribes and his domain steadily grew. The Anatolia peninsula was a great place to feed a growing empire. To the north, they had control over the southern part of the Black Sea, and to the west and south, they had access to the Mediterranean Sea as well, and its trade routes. By the year 1453, the Ottoman Empire had conquered almost the entire Anatolian peninsula, and had moved their efforts to the west and had pushed as far as the Balkans under the Murad, Bayazid I, and Mehmet II. Mehmet was famous for capturing the Byzantine capital Constantinople, which was thought to be impossible to breach, even with the size of the army Mehmet II had. But, the Ottomans were extremely good at out gunning their enemies, “…the Turks made use of massive cannons with 26-foot barrels that could launch stone balls weighing up to 1,200 pounds each”(334). The Ottomans use of technology was another reason why they were so successful at conquering and expanding. The Ottomans were able to duplicate explosives that were used in Chinese warfare, and they mastered it to subdue their enemies. At one point in time, the technology of the Ottomans was better than that of