MMW 13 Chapter Notes - Chapter Reading: Safavid Dynasty, Suleiman The Magnificent, Mehmed The Conqueror
6 May 2018
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Introduction
The Ottomans are a prime example of the separate development of Eastern and
Western Europe. Even though they have their ancestral seat in Eastern Europe, their culture
was very different from that of the lands to the West. Many histories have erased the Ottomans
as a powerful political and military force, so there are a lot of false assumptions about how they
occupied areas and very few sources describing their style of warfare. What can be said for
certain is that the Ottomans’ use of gunpowder weapons was one of the things that contributed
to their military success (especially early on). There is also the false assertion that the Ottomans
were Turks. After Orhan, no Ottoman sultan was Turkish. They had mothers from other areas in
the region, including Greece and Georgia.
The Formative Period (1300-1453)
The Ottomans have their roots in Anatolia in the Turkish Seljuk Dynasty. Osman (r.
1280-1326) was the founder of the Ottoman Empire and defeated the Byzantines in a battle and
started the Ottoman incursion into Byzantine territory. His victory attracted more soldiers and
followers which helped build a good foundation for empire. Orhan (r. 1326-1362), Osman’s son,
took up where he left off and married into the Byzantine imperial family and crossed the
Dardanelles. Murad I (r. 1362-1389) invaded Serbia.
The army was considered to be a part of the sultan’s household, and there were a lot of
code names for different sections of the military that followed the household hierarchy (eg: the
infantry was the hearth and the elite guard were gardeners). The palace horsemen were super
elite. The Janissaries were a special group of infantrymen who were all Christian boys taken
from their homes between the ages of 8 and 15 and trained to become elite warriors. They were
feared the world over and after they were first established, there would be visits every 5 years to
areas in the Balkans where the Ottomans would collect one boy from every 40 families. Boys
who were especially intelligent were picked to become educated for bureaucratic service and
some even became Grand Viziers (Prime Ministers), second only to the sultan.
The Ottomans were the first to incorporate firearms into their normal military structure.
Some of the early firearms were clumsy and disliked by many of the soldiers, but they were very
effective in battle and by mid 17th c, everyone carried pistols. The firearm movement was
started by Mehmed II (r. 1451-1481).
Wherever the Ottomans conquered, they left a garrison, a judge, and Muslim preachers.
They also relocated people to the imperial city as a matter of course.
There was a quota for conquered regions to send men to be soldiers in the infantry.
These soldiers would go ahead of the main army and raid.
The Tatar Khan (descendant of the Golden Horde Khans) would send 100,000
horsemen to aid the Ottomans when the Crimea was a vassal of the Ottomans (basically until
Catherine II of Russia annexed them in the 1700s) and would be greatly rewarded for it.
The Imperial Age (1453-1566)
The golden age of the Ottoman Empire is said to be from the fall of Constantinople in
1453 to the death of Suleyman I (r. 1520-1566). During this period, the Ottoman Empire
expanded West into parts of Europe. There was constant warfare with Eastern Europe and the
Ottomans played a huge role in the foreign policy of many of the most important rulers in
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Document Summary
The ottomans are a prime example of the separate development of eastern and. Even though they have their ancestral seat in eastern europe, their culture was very different from that of the lands to the west. Many histories have erased the ottomans as a powerful political and military force, so there are a lot of false assumptions about how they occupied areas and very few sources describing their style of warfare. What can be said for certain is that the ottomans" use of gunpowder weapons was one of the things that contributed to their military success (especially early on). There is also the false assertion that the ottomans were turks. They had mothers from other areas in the region, including greece and georgia. The ottomans have their roots in anatolia in the turkish seljuk dynasty. 1280-1326) was the founder of the ottoman empire and defeated the byzantines in a battle and started the ottoman incursion into byzantine territory.
