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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This map shows the territorial expansion of the Ottoman Empire from 1300 to its greatest extent in 1683-99, highlighting different periods under rulers such as Mehmed II, Selim I, and Süleyman the Magnificent, and marking key cities, seas, and geographical boundaries in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

For Students

Ottoman Empire Timeline

Key People of the Ottoman Empire

Decline of the Ottoman Empire

Sultans of the Ottoman Empire

inOttoman Empire

Written by Stanford Jay Shaw, Malcolm Edward Yapp•All

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Oct 5, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

Date:: c. 1300 - 1922

Major Events:: World War I; Napoleonic Wars; French Revolutionary wars; Fall of Constantinople; Armenian Genocide

Key People:: Kemal Ataturk; Mehmed II; Philip II; Leopold I; Janos Hunyadi

Related Topics:: Young Turks; Janissary; Associations for the Defense of Rights; Blue Mosque; Young Ottomans

Related Places:: Russia; Saudi Arabia; Israel; Turkey; Syria

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The table provides a chronological list of the sultans of the Ottoman Empire.

Sultans of the Ottoman Empire
sultan	reign
Osman I	c. 1300–24
Orhan	1324–60
Murad I	1360–89
Bayezid I	1389–1402
Mehmed I	1413–21
Murad II	1421–44
Mehmed II	1444–46
Murad II (second reign)	1446–51
Mehmed II (second reign)	1451–81
Bayezid II	1481–1512
Selim I	1512–20
Süleyman I	1520–66
Selim II	1566–74
Murad III	1574–95
Mehmed III	1595–1603
Ahmed I	1603–17
Mustafa I	1617–18
Osman II	1618–22
Mustafa I (second reign)	1622–23
Murad IV	1623–40
İbrahim	1640–48
Mehmed IV	1648–87
Süleyman II	1687–91
Ahmed II	1691–95
Mustafa II	1695–1703
Ahmed III	1703–30
Mahmud I	1730–54
Osman III	1754–57
Mustafa III	1757–74
Abdülhamid I	1774–89
Selim III	1789–1807
Mustafa IV	1807–08
Mahmud II	1808–39
Abdülmecid I	1839–61
Abdülaziz	1861–76
Murad V	1876
Abdülhamid II	1876–1909
Mehmed V	1909–18
Mehmed VI	1918–22