Running Head The Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire



The Ottoman Empire

Introduction

When considering the Ottoman Empire, one of the chief ideas to spring to mind is Islam. Certainly it is accepted that the Ottoman empire was traditionally an Islamic empire and remained officially so from its birth to its demise. However, to ascertain whether religion was the most significant motivation for their expansion this empire must be examined in further detail.

The Ottoman Empire sprung from nomadic tribes conquering neighbouring territories in Anatolia. The word Ottoman means literally 'those who are with Osman,' owing to their uniting leader being Osman. The empire began in the early 14th century, reached its apex under Suleyman the Great (1520-1566) and continued until World War 1. Religion seems to be a key factor in the early Ottoman Empire, indeed around the same time as the rise of this Empire was the seperation of the East and West via religious suffusing in Europe. (Fabricating the Ottoman state pp. 29).

"Historical context may help explain the existence, the ideologies, and the idiosyncrasies of these frontier principalities. It does not, however, make clear how a particular one of them transformed itself into a world empire." (Fabricating the Ottoman state pp. 34).

That is to say that it is understandable where the Ottoman's came from, however their transformation from a nomadic peoples to a vast empire and the motivations for this are shrouded.

Discusssion

1450-1750 was an extremely important time in the history of the world. The most common type of government was an absolutist. Although specifics within civilizations were varied the general concepts were the same. Governments influenced everything from religion to social status to trade. Ming China and the Ottoman Empire were two major world powers at this time. They were both ruled by absolute rulers but not only did their governments vary but their views on the merchant class were very different.

In Ming China absolutism was brought back after the fall of the Yuan Dynasty run by the Mongols. Their civilization was extremely ethnocentric. The emperors had complete and total rule over the land and all the people. Neo-Confucianism played a large role in the government. This included the reinstatement of the civil service exam which improved the quality of upper class officials and the subordination of women to men. Also the scholar-gentry class worked their way back up to the stop of the social ladder. The emperor had a council of officials called the eunuchs who played an extremely influential role on the government although they had no real power. The rulers were harsh and gave out strict and cruel punishments to all who did not obey. If an official was corrupt or dishonorable to the emperor he was subject to brutal beatings, torture, and even death. During the Ming era China closed its doors to all trade. The emperor put a stop to the Treasure Fleets because the people thought they were a waste of money and no products of value were being returned to the ...