In the late 1200’s a group of people known as the Turks began to build power in the Anatolian Peninsula

Who were the Turks?

The area had been in chaos since the Mongol invasions and soon the Turks had founded the Ottoman Dynasty

The Ottomans built a strong military by developing an elite guard called janissaries – children enslaved from the local population and converted to Islam

The janissaries were trained as foot soldiers or administrators and they served the sultan, or Ottoman leader

As knowledge of firearms spread the Ottomans began to master the new technology

With the janissaries, the Ottomans expanded quickly and took much of the old Byzantine Empire

Instanbul, Not Constantinople

Under Mehmed II, the Ottomans moved to defeat the Byzantine Empire and take the capital city (Constantinople)

• With 80,000 troops fighting against only 7,000 defenders, Mehmed laid siege to Constantinople
• Using massive cannons the Ottomans attacked the city for two months until they finally breached the walls
  • One of these was a 26-foot gun that fired 1,200-pound boulders
• In May, 1453, the Ottomans took Constantinople, killed the Byzantine Emperor, and the Byzantine Empire was finally destroyed
• Constantinople was renamed Istanbul and became capital of the Ottoman Empire
  • Sultan Mehmed II opened Constantinople to new citizens of many religions and backgrounds. Jews, Christians, and Muslims, Turks and non-Turks all moved in.

As knowledge of firearms spread the Ottomans began to master the new technology

With the janissaries, the Ottomans expanded quickly and took much of the old Byzantine Empire

New Routes to the East

The Ottomans control of such an important trade route now meant Europe would need to look for alternative trade routes to Asia

By the late 1600s, the Ottomans expanded into the Middle East, Northern Africa, & Eastern Europe and controlled much of the Mediterranean Sea.

Suleiman the Magnificent

Ottoman rulers were called sultans & they governed with absolute power