Ottoman Empire - Expansion, Reforms, Collapse

Ottoman Empire

Table of Contents

Introduction & Top Questions
The Ottoman state to 1481: the age of expansion
- Origins and expansion of the Ottoman state, c. 1300–1402
  - Osman and Orhan
  - Murad I
  - Bayezid I
- Restoration of the Ottoman Empire, 1402–81
  - Mehmed I and Murad II
  - Mehmed II
- Ottoman institutions in the 14th and 15th centuries
  - Changing status of the Ottoman rulers
  - Institutional evolution
  - Military organization
The peak of Ottoman power, 1481–1566
- Domination of southeastern Europe and the Middle East
  - Bayezid II
  - Selim I
  - Süleyman I
- Classical Ottoman society and administration
The decline of the Ottoman Empire, 1566–1807
- Internal problems
  - The triumph of the devşirme
  - Corruption and nepotism
  - Economic difficulties
  - Social unrest
- External relations
- Reform efforts
- Military defeats and the emergence of the Eastern Question, 1683–1792
- Imperial decline in the 18th and early 19th centuries
  - Resistance to change
  - Contacts with the West
  - Military reforms
  - Selim III and the nizam-ı cedid
The empire from 1807 to 1920
- Rule of Mahmud II
  - Internal reform
  - Move toward centralization
- The Tanzimat reforms (1839–76)
  - Purpose of the Tanzimat
  - Reform in education
  - Reforms in law
  - Obstructions to reforms
- The 1875–78 crisis
- The Ottoman constitution, 1876
- Rule of Abdülhamid II
  - Pan-Islamism
  - Preservation of the empire
  - The Young Turk Revolution of 1908
- Dissolution of the empire
  - Rise of the CUP
  - Internal developments
  - Turkish nationalism
  - Foreign relations
  - The people
  - World War I, 1914–18
  - Allied war aims and the proposed peace settlement
Sultans of the Ottoman Empire

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

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For Students

Ottoman Empire summary

Ottoman Empire Timeline

Key People of the Ottoman Empire

Decline of the Ottoman Empire

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The triumph of the anti-reform coalition that had overthrown Selim III was interrupted in 1808 when the surviving reformers within the higher bureaucracy found support among the ayans of Rumelia (Ottoman possessions in the Balkans), who were worried by possible threats to their own position. The ayans were led by Bayrakdar (“Standard Bearer”) Mustafa Paşa. The forces of Mustafa and the grand vizier Çelebi Mustafa Paşa together recovered Istanbul, deposed Mustafa IV, installed Mahmud II—the son of Abdülhamid I—as ruler, and recommenced some of the reforming policies that had been initiated by Selim. The ayans took care to protect their ...(100 of 25173 words)

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