AP World History 3.1-3.2: Development of Empires

Ottoman Empire

A multiethnic empire that existed approximately from 1299 to 1922 and was centered in Anatolia and southeastern Europe before expanding across parts of the Middle East, North Africa, and the Balkans.

Who founded the Ottoman state, and when is its traditional foundation date?

Osman I is traditionally regarded as the founder, and Ottoman historiography commonly dates the foundation to about 1299. Numismatic evidence suggests that effective independence may not have occurred until around 1326.

What major event occurred on 29 May 1453, and why was it important?

Mehmed II conquered Constantinople, ending the Byzantine Empire and making the city the Ottoman capital. The conquest also marked a major transition in Ottoman imperial expansion.

How did Ottoman capitals change over time?

The capitals progressed from Söğüt to Nicaea (İznik), Prousa (Bursa), Adrianople (Edirne), and finally Constantinople after 1453.

How did Ottoman territorial control change between 1481 and 1913?

Its area expanded from about 1.22 million square kilometers in 1481 to approximately 5.2 million in 1683, then contracted to roughly 2.55 million by 1913.

What title did the Ottoman ruler traditionally hold?

The ruler was a sultan. The Ottoman government was generally an absolute monarchy, although constitutional periods introduced representative institutions.

What form of government did the Ottoman Empire have before and after its constitutional periods?

It was an absolute monarchy for most of its history, including approximately 1299–1876, 1878–1908, and 1920–1922. It operated as a parliamentary constitutional monarchy during 1876–1878 and 1908–1920.

What was the Ottoman Empire's principal state religion and legal school?

Sunni Islam was the state religion, and the Hanafi school was the principal legal school associated with the state.

Ottoman Caliphate

The Ottoman sultans held the caliphal title from 1517 to 1924. The caliphate outlasted the empire itself, surviving the abolition of the sultanate in 1922 until its abolition by Turkey in 1924.

Which Ottoman ruler is identified as the first Ottoman caliph?

Selim I is identified as the first Ottoman caliph, beginning in 1517.

How did the Ottoman Empire's religious population differ from its state identity?

Although Sunni Islam was the state religion, the empire governed large Christian and Jewish populations as well as Muslims. Its imperial structure therefore encompassed substantial religious diversity.

What was the significance of the Ottoman Empire's geographic position?

Its territories connected southeastern Europe, Anatolia, the eastern Mediterranean, and parts of the Middle East and North Africa. This position helped make the empire a major intermediary among European, Asian, and African political and economic spheres.