Ottoman Empire

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.
  • 26 Sep 1371
    The Battle of Maritsa takes place by the Maritsa River, modern-day Greece, between the forces of the Serbian Empire and those of the Ottoman Empire, ending in a victory for the Ottomans and the end of Serbian power in the region.
  • 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.
  • 28 Jul 1402
    The Battle of Ankara is fought between the forces of Timur of the Timurid Empire and those of the Ottoman Empire under sultan Bayezid I, ending in a victory for Timur and the Ottoman Interregnum.
  • 1421 - 1451
    Reign of Murad II.
  • 10 Nov 1444
    The Battle of Varna is fought between the armies of the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Murad II and the Christian Crusaders under King Wladyslaw III ending in a complete victory for the Ottomans and allowing for the fall of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453.
  • 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.
  • 30 Sep 1520
    Suleiman I (Suleiman the Magnificent) becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning until 6 September 1566, and presiding over the empire's "golden age" in which it reached its artistic, literary, military, and political height.
  • 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.
  • 2 Oct 1540
    The Ottoman Empire and Venice sign the peace treaty ending the Third Ottoman-Venetian War of 1537-1540, ceding Venice's territories in Greece to the Ottomans.
  • 1566
    Suleiman I dies while campaigning in Hungary.
  • 1566 - 1574
    Reign of Selim II.
  • 28 Mar 1566
    The Valletta Stone is laid by Grand Master of the Order of Malta, Knight's Hospitaller, Jean Parisot de Valette as the foundation stone for the capital city of Valletta on Malta following the successful defense of the island against the Ottomans during the Great Siege of Malta.
  • 1570
    Ottomans conquer Cyprus.
  • 1571
    Battle of Lepanto; the Ottoman navy is defeated by the Holy League.
  • 7 Oct 1571
    The naval Battle of Lepanto is fought between the European Holy League of Catholic states and the Ottoman Empire in the Gulf of Patras, Ionian Sea, ending in a victory for the Holy League and crushing defeat for the Ottomans. The battle takes its name from the Ottoman naval base the fleet sailed from.
  • 1596 - 1609
    Celali revolts throughout Anatolia.
  • 25 Mar 1611
    Birthday of Evliya Celebi, Ottoman Turkish explorer and writer, who traveled for over 40 years and recorded his adventures and observations in his *Seyahatname* ("Book of Travel"). He died in 1682 around the age of 70.
  • 17 May 1620
    The first merry-go-round seen at a fair is documented in the journal of British traveler Peter Mundy, as he moved through the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1669
    Crete falls to the Ottoman Sultanate.
  • 1683
    Ottomans fail to take Vienna for the second time.
  • 1699
    Treaty of Karlowitz.
  • 5 Jul 1770
    The naval Battle of Chesma begins between the Russian Empire and Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774, resulting in a Russian victory on 7 July and a significant loss of ships and crew for the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1789 - 1807
    Reign of Selim III.
  • 1826
    Conservative Jannisary corps are disbanded.
  • 1839 - 1876
    Tanzimat reforms are introduced.
  • 30 Mar 1856
    The Treaty of Paris is signed between Russia and the alliance of France, Great Britain, the Ottoman Empire, and Sardinia-Piedmont, ending the Crimean War of 1853-1856.
  • 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.
  • 29 Sep 1911
    The Italo-Turkish War (Turco-Italian War) begins between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire over claims to the region of modern-day Libya. The war ended in a victory for the Italian forces in October 1912 and the establishment of Italian Libya.
  • 2 Nov 1912
    The Battle of Lule Burgas, fought in the region of modern-day Turkey between the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire, ends in a victory for the Bulgarians during the First Balkan War. The battle, which started 28 October, was the largest military engagement in Europe between the end of the Franco-Prussian War and the start of World War I.
  • 1914 - 1923
    Armenian population of Anatolia is subjected to genocide.
  • 24 Apr 1915
    The Armenian Genocide of 1915-1917 begins when authorities of the Ottoman Empire begin arresting and deporting Armenian community leaders and intellectuals. An estimated 1.5 million Armenians and others died during the genocide, and more were killed during and after World War I.
  • 25 Apr 1915
    The Battle of Gallipoli begins as allied forces land on the Gallipoli peninsula then held by the Central Powers which included the Ottoman Empire. The allies suffered heavy casualties, especially on the first day, which is commemorated in Australia, New Zealand, and Tonga as Anzac Day.
  • 10 Jun 1916
    The Arab Revolt is declared by Sharif Hussein bin Ali in Mecca as he fires the first shot in the uprising against the Ottoman Empire.
  • 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.
  • 1 Nov 1922
    The Ottoman Empire, founded circa 1299, is dissolved when the Grand National Assembly of Turkey abolishes the monarchy and the last sultan, Mehmed VI, abdicates and leaves the capital.
  • 1923
    The Republic of Turkey declares independence under Mustafa Kemal.
  • 1924
    Mustafa Kemal abolishes the institute of Caliphate.
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