NationStates Jolt Archive

The Ottoman Empire
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Flag of the Ottoman Empire

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Coat of Arms for the Ottoman Empire

Population:
Ottoman Empire & Vassal States: 40 million

Government:

Capital: Istanbul
Provincial Capitals:
Sarajevo, Skopje, Thessaloniki, Damascus, Baghdad, Beirut, Jerusalem, and Mecca

Leader:
Sultan: Selim III
Grand Vizier: Kör Yusuf Ziyaüddin Pasha
Cabinet: The Divan- Made up of viziers led by Grand Vizier.

Economy:

History:

The Ottoman Empire was created in 1299 then known then as " The Principality of Osman." It was founded by Osman I and he established their capital at Bursa. As the Seljiks of Rum declined the Osmanli Kingdom of Bursa took control and continued to expand. With this new area under control they turned their attention to the west. In 1356 they crossed the Dardanelles and took a fort that had been destroyed earlier that morning by an earthquake.
Over the next one hundred years the Ottoman Army took most of the Balkans and Asia Minor.

During 1451-81, the empire saw advancements into Greece and the Northern Balkans. They also took Constantinople, which they had cut off by land since 1356.

During 1512-20, The Ottomans captured Moldavia Northern and Eastern Egypt, and the Mediterrenean coast of the Middle East.

During 1520-66, The Ottomans took Medina and Mecca and continued to control the eastern part of the Red Sea. They also conquered Iraq, and a large part of North Africa.

These were the last major expansions for nearly two hundred years. They did take more of Bosnia and Translyvania.
With the start of the Napoleonic Wars, the Ottoman Empire entered the conflict to regain Egypt from the French who had taken it a few years before. The Sultan Selim III aligns himself with the Allies against the French at the beginning of the war.