A timeline of the Ottoman Empire.

1. The Ottoman Empire
1299 - 1915

2. The Audacious Ottomans
The Ottoman Empire started in what is
now Turkey and through a profound
campaign of conquest, extended to
parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Its
primary purpose was to gain land and
to spread the Islamic teachings of its
rulers. They were the longest
continuous dynasty in history.

3. 1299: Osman I Starts on the
Offensive
Osman (whom the Ottoman Empire is
named after) fearlessly leads an
assault against the Seljuks and wins.
He becmes the first ruler of the
Ottoman Dynasty.

4. 1326: Ottoman Capital Moved to Bursa
Osman and his troops decimate Bursa,
a large city in northwest Turkey, and
make it the capital of the Empire.

5. 1362 – 1389: The Reign of Murad I
After the death of his father, Orhan, in
1362, Murad comes to power. He lives
up to the family legacy, conquering
and killing as usual and establishes the
system of Janissaries, which are
highly-skilled and elite royal guards.

6. 1389: Battle of Kosovo
The Ottoman troops, led by Sultan
Murad I (the grandson of Osman I),
annihilate the Serbians and conquer
most of Serbia. However, the
Ottomans suffer many casualties, one
of which being their fearless leader
Murad, substantially setting back their
progress.

7. 1396: Battle of Nicopolis
A gruesome battle between a sundry
army, made up of Hungarian, Bulgarian,
Wallachian, French, Burgundian, and
German forces, and the ferocious
Ottomans, results in Ottoman victory,
the siege of the Danubian fortress of
Nicopolis, the destruction of the Second
Bulgarian Empire, and the utter
conquest of Bulgaria.

8. 1453: Constantinople Finally Falls
Mehmed II captures Constantinople and
renames it Istanbul-the capital of the
Ottoman empire, kills the emperor
Constantine XI, and finally subdues
both the Byzantine Empire and the
Romans. The fall of Constantinople is
said to have marked the end of the
Middle Ages.

9. 1460 – 1473: Mehmed II Goes on a
Conquering Spree
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•
•
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1460: Mehmed conquers Morea.
1461: Mehmed conquers Trabzon.
1463: Bosnia is conquered.
1473: The Battle of Otlukbeli takes
place and Mehmed defeats Uzun
Hasan.
Expanding the Ottoman empire.

10. 1517: Selim I Bring Egypt Under
Ottoman Rule
During the Battle of Ridaniya, Selim
defeats Turman bay II of the Mamlik
Sultanate of Egypt and takes the
powerful Arabic title of caliph.

11. 1520 - 1566: Suleiman Rules
After the death of Selim I, Suleiman the
Magnificent (I) succeeds the throne.
Suleiman not only eradicates entire
armies and conquers prominent
countries, but he instigates the Ottoman
“Golden Age.” As a distinguished poet,
goldsmith, and catalyst of culture,
Suleiman empoweres artists, architects,
and scholars.

12. 1521: Belgrade Falls to Suleiman
Suleiman personally leads his army and
captures Belgrade. Furthering Ottoman
expansion and strengthening authority
over Europe.

13. 1522: Hospitallers Driven from Rhodes
Suleiman heroically defeats the
Hospitallers and conquers Rhodes.

14. 1529: Siege of Vienna
The Siege of Vienna, an attempt by
Suleiman the Magnificent to capture
Vienna, Austria, indicates the apex of the
Ottoman empire’s expansion. Despite the
Ottoman empire’s prolific power, they are
unable to take Vienna. However,
Suleiman’s attack is not completely in
vain, for the daring maneuver maintains
the Ottoman’s control of the southern
Pannonian Plain and leaves a substantial
amount of damage in its wake.

15. 1538: The Sea Battle of Preveza
The Battle of Preveza, between the
impeccable Ottoman navy and a fleet
of Christian alliance, promptly resolves
with the hasty obliteration of the
Ottoman's enemies.

16. 1550: The Sultanate of Women Begins
The Sultanate of Women, a onehundred and thirty year long period
where women wielded an inordinate
amount of political influence over both
state affairs and the male Sultans, is,
as sexist as this may sound, argued to
have notably contributed to the great
decline of the empire.

17. 1571: Defeat at the Battle of Lepanto
The Battle of Lepanto takes place after a
fleet of the Holy League, a Catholic
coalition of various maritime states,
defeats the main fleet of the Ottoman
navy off the western coast of Greece. In an
attempt at swift retaliation, Ottoman
forces collide with the Holy League. The
ambush results in the further destruction
of even more Ottoman fleets and the
prevention of Ottoman expansion further
along the European side of the
Mediterranean.

18. 1610: Kuyucu Murat Pasha Ends the
Jelali Revolts
The Jelali Revolts are a series of
rebellions in Anatolia against Ottoman
authority. The revolts are the
rebellious product of the oppressed
peasant class who are fed up with
harsh Ottoman rule, degenerate
officials, and the outdated timariot
system. The suppression of the Jelali
Revolts is a devastating blow to the
Turkmens, whom revolted.

19. 1612: Treaty of Nasuh Pasha
The Treaty of Nauh Pasha is a treaty
between the Ottoman Empire and
Safavid Persia. The terms of the
contract basically prompt the
Ottomans to fork over some territory
gained by the Treaty of Istanbul in
1590, and in return, the Persians must
pay an annual accolade of 59,000
kilograms of silk.

20. 1660: The Great Fire of Istanbul
Breaks Out
A devastating conflagration sweeps
over Istanbul, destroying a great deal
of homes, property, and moral,
temporarily slowing the advancement
of the empire.

21. 1683: Ottomans Attack Vienna
After Vienna’s besiege by the Ottoman
Empire for two months straight, the
Holy Roman Empire and the Holy
League are bloodthirsty. An extensive
series of attacks brought on by
Sobieski, leader of the opposing army,
lays waste to the Ottomans, freeing
Europe from the Ottoman Turks and
solidifying Christianity as the main
religion for all of Europe.

22. 1807: Reformist Sultan Selim III
Dethroned
The Ottoman government, in a state of
vast corruption, rejects Selim III’s
noble ideas for reform. They dethrone,
imprison, and eventually murder him
to ensure their unethical well being.

23. 1821 - 1832: The Greek War of
Independence
The Greek War of Independence or
Greek Revolution, a revolutionary war
waged by a party rebellious Greeks
known as the Filiki Eteria, results in
the defeat of the Ottoman Empire and
independence for Greece.

24. 1826: An Auspicious Incident
After the suppression of yet another
brisk revolt by the Janissaries, Mahmud
II permanently disbands the centuryold Janissary corps by killing the
leaders of the revolt and exiling and
imprisoning insubordinate members.

25. 1854: The Crimean War
The Crimean War, a conflict in which
Russia loses to an authoritative
alliance of France, Britain, Sardinia,
and the Ottoman empire, is one of the
first wars to be majorly documented
by writers and photographers. Can you
imagine fighting for your life while
somebody clicks away in the
background? “Before you finish killing
that guy can you look at the camera
and say, ‘Cheeeeese?’”

26. 1877: Russo-Turkish War Begins
The Russo-Turkish War is a conflict between the
Ottoman Empire and the Eastern Orthodox
coalition, an alliance formed between the Russian
Empire and several Balkan countries. The RussoTurkish war starts because Balkans feel they have a
right to independence, and Russia wants to recover
lost land from the Crimean War. The War results in
the Russian obtainment of Kars, Batumi, and several
other provinces in the Caucasus and the furthered
independence of the Balkans.

27. 1878: San Stefano Treaty Forced Onto
Ottomans by Russia
The San Stefano Treaty is a treaty
whipped up by Russia, ensuring that
the Ottoman Empire release their tight
grip over the Balkans and let them
form an independent vassal state
known as the Principality of Bulgaria.
The treaty is reluctantly signed and
after nearly 500 years of Ottoman
oppression, Bulgaria becomes free.

28. 1909: Sultans Overthrown by Young
Turks
The Young Turks Revolution of 1909
reprieves the suspension of Ottoman
parliament and the Ottoman
constitution of 1876, which had both
been banned by Sultan Abdulhamid II.
The victorious revolution marks the
beginning of the Second Constitutional
Era.

29. 1912: The First Balkan War
The First Balkan War pits the Balkan
League, comprised of Siberia, Greece,
Montenegro, and Bulgaria, against the
Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire,
who are both strategically and
numerically inferior, suffer a crushing
defeat and loose the remainder of
their European territories.

30. 1914: World War I Begins
World War I, a major, world-wide
conflict between the Central Powers
and the Allied Powers, form on June
28th, 1914. Turkey officially enters the
war on the 28th of October when they
bomb Russian Black Sea ports, placing
them on the side of the Central
Powers.

31. 1915: The Gallipoli Campaign
The Gallipoli Campaign is fought on
the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman
Empire. The attack, waged by Russia
and Allied powers in an attempt at
conquering the glorious Ottoman
capital, Constantinople, results in
Ottoman victory and is revered as one
of the greatest Ottoman victories
during the war.

32. 1918: The Ottomans Exit World War I
An armistice in October, 1918 ends the fighting
between the Ottoman Empire and Allies. The
Ottoman Empire has been weakened by the
monumental war and is at risk of invasion and
conquest by the Allies. However, the Allies spare
further bloodshed, and leave Sultan Mehmed VI in
peace, in hopes that the retention of his power will
ensure post war stability. Although the Ottoman
rule endures World War I, they suffer a great loss of
territory due to depleted recourses and
uncommitted leaders.

33. 1922: Mohammed IV Flees
The last Sultan, Mohammed IV, driven
out by enemy forces, flees
Constantinople.

34. 1924: Nothing More
All connections with Sultans are cut off
from Turkey, and New Republic, lead
by Ataturk, takes over.

35. The Obliterated Ottomans
The Ottoman Empire certainty did not go from “audacious” to “obliterated” in
a blink of an eye. The resilient empire embarked on a grandiose campaign of
conquest, but eventually fell due to a variety of factors: the ongoing struggle
of their fragile economy that greatly lacked in manufacturing, the age-old
mistake of over expanding and spreading themselves too thin, to the point at
which they did not have enough jurisdiction over anywhere, and lastly, a
substantial amount of setbacks and defeats (pretty much the majority of what
went on after 1683).
You may have noticed the random red oval/sphere/scrap in the top right
corner throughout the presentation. No, this is not meant to be a distraction
from my work, but a representation of the Ottoman Empire. Like a balloon,
the Ottomans expanded and grew bigger and bigger, sucking in whole
countries at a time, similar to a way that a balloon would suck in air.
However, what happens to balloons that suck in too much air? They pop. Like
a balloon that got too big for its britches, the Ottoman Empire spread itself
too thin, to the point at which it could not administer even basic authority
over its conquered land, and, under pressure from various opponents, the
Ottoman Empire went out with the inevitable, resounding, “POP!”