Since 1500: The Age of Global Integration, Ottoman Territorial Expansion and Government.
Chapter 9, Page 392 -
Immediately following the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman
Sultans moved to extend their control over the Balkans. Aided by the
rugged terrain in the region. In the sixteenth century, Papal called
for crusades against the Ottomans were ignored as Europeans, more
interested in economic gains than religious confrontations with the
Muslim Ottoman government, sought to establish commercial and political
relations. Ottoman sultans, particularly Selim I, who routed the Mamluks
in Egypt and gained control of Palestine and Syria in 1517. The defeat
of the Mamluks gave the Ottomans control over most of the Arab world,
including the key Muslim cities of Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem. The
Ottoman rulers moved the Caliphate to Istanbul and assumed leadership
over the Sunni Islamic world. They now viewed themselves as the guardians
of Islam and the military might of their Empire as the Sword of Islam.
Ultimately, the sultans also took the title of Caliph. Ottoman expansion continued during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566) when the empire reached the apex of its power. Suleiman, brilliantly led his armies against rulers in central Europe and in 1521 seized the Serbian capital of Belgrade. In an age of mighty kings, Suleiman was arguably the most powerful and dynamic. He was a successful military commander and a clever diplomat. Competing European powers, such as France, sought and secured his protection. By exploiting the rivalry between the Austrian Habsburg emperors and the French Valois kings, Suleiman's forces conquered most of Hungary. His political alliance with the French soon expanded into mutually beneficial economic relations. In 1529 Suleiman laid siege to Vienna, but over-extended communication lines and heavy rainfall made transporting heavy cannon difficult, and the Ottoman forces failed to take the city before the onset of winter. Since the Janissaries (the elite, professional soldiers of the Ottoman army) and the cavalry refused to campaign during the winter months, Suleiman was forced to retreat without taking the Habsburg capital. It is said that the Ottoman army left behind sacks of coffee, a new product that soon gained popularity among the Europeans.
Although thwarted at Vienna, by 1566 the Ottomans had extended their control
over much of North Africa and the strategic islands of Crete and Rhodes.
At its height, Suleiman's empire incorporated Hungary and the Balkan Peninsula,
extensive territory around the Black Sea, the entire Anatolian Peninsula,
Arab territories bordering the eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea,
Egypt and the northern Sudan, most islands in the eastern Mediterranean,
nd the costal areas of North Africa east of Morocco. Like many ancient
Roman emperors, Suleiman failed to leave a worthy successor to his throne.
("The Joyous One"), made her son his successor, Suleiman had his favorite
and more able son killed. Following Suleiman's death in 1566, Hurrem Haseki's
son succeeded to the throne as Selim II, but his alcoholic, nicknamed
"The Sot," proved no match for his capable and abstemious father.
Ottoman military and naval supremacy waned under his rule, and at the
Battle of Lepanto in 1571, the navies of the Habsburgs and the Italian
city-states crushed the Ottoman fleet. The defeat marked the beginning
of a military decline that lasted more than two hundred years.