Ottoman Turkey, Safavid Persia, and Mughal India (1450-1650)

1. Discuss the rise of the Ottoman Empire. What was the organization and extent of the Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent?

The Seljuk Turks originated from an area north of the Aral Sea in Central Asia. Osman I is regarded as the founder of the empire. He extended the frontiers of Ottoman settlement towards the Byzantine Empire, while other Turkish tribes suffered from infighting. Under Osman I, the Ottoman capital moved from SÐ"¶Ð"oÐ"јt in western Anatolia to Bursa in northwestern Turkey. The strategic conquest or fall of Constantinople by Muhammad II extended Ottoman rule over the Eastern Mediterranean and Balkans. It was the final defeat and collapse of the Byzantine Empire. The city became the new capital of the Ottoman Empire, being renamed Istanbul.

Suleiman I was the tenth Osmanli Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and its longest-serving, reigning from 1520 to 1566. Under his leadership, the Ottoman Empire reached its zenith and became a world power, and Suleiman was considered one of the pre-eminent rulers of 16th-century Europe. The Ottoman Empire was primarily a military state, its civics and economy did not reflect a policy of aggression however. Its administration was built on three groups: the qadis, the timariots and the Ghulam system. The qadis were responsible for judiciary issues, the timariots Ð'-the former cavalry- had the responsibility of police. The Ghulam system delegated high military and civil positions to slaves. The head of the administrative structure was the Grand Vizier, also a slave. In the provinces Begs administered the countryside and Pashas the cities.

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