The
Ottoman Empire
One
family reigned over the Ottoman Empire for seven centuries, and, unlike most
dynasties, they ruled in an unbroken line, thirty-six of them altogether, from
the 13th century until the 20th century. They were never overthrown by a foreign
power and no usurper ever gained the throne. The Western world called them
Ottoman, but their Turkish name is Osmanli, taken from the first ruler of the
Ottoman state, Osman.
It
seemed amazing at the time, 1453 AD, that this previously obscure clan breached
the walls and conquered the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. But the
Byzantine Empire, weakened by repeated Mongolian sacking, suffering from
subsequent internal confusion, and with no powerful leadership to guide them,
fell to the Turkish invaders. Under Mehmed the Conqueror, the Ottomans rebuilt
the devastated city of Constantinople into the fabulously wealthy capital they
renamed Istanbul, with large warehouses, the Covered Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, and
several mosque complexes.
It
was Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent however, who brought the Ottoman Empire to
its zenith. The fourth Ottoman sultan to reign, from 1520 until 1566, he
presided over the most powerful state in the world. He brought a profusion of
elegant mosques, baths, schools, fountains, and gardens to Istanbul.
Upon
Süleyman's demise, the gradual decline of the Ottoman Empire began, finally
ending completely three hundred years later in 1924 when Kemal Ataturk abolished
the Muslim caliphate and founded the Republic of Turkey. Much of the original
splendor created by the Ottomans remains in Istanbul.
