For all the many hundreds of years during which the formation and development of our country took place, relations with the tribes that lived on the territory of present-day Turkey were tense. The most powerful opponents have always been the Ottoman Turks, whose dynasty ruled the Ottoman Empire for many years.
Where did they come from?
Even in the middle of the first millennium of our era, during the beginning of the Great Migration of Peoples, the first representatives of the Turkic-speaking tribes appeared in Asia Minor. But during the period of power and strength of Byzantium, when the central government was still strong, they all successfully assimilated and did not have much influence on the history of that region. This went on for nearly a thousand years. By that time, Byzantium was barely able to withstand the constant attacks of the Arabs, and therefore could not effectively resist attempts from outside penetration.
At the same time, the Seljuks moved their capital deep into Anatolia, which was located in close proximity to the Byzantine lands. Of the arrived Oghuz Turks,Greeks, Armenians and Persians over the following years began the formation of the Turks we know today. But this process was very long and difficult, since many nationalities lived in those parts from ancient times, many of which professed Christianity.
Turks are not Turks
Even the appearance of a large number of Turks, who by that time already professed Islam, did not radically change the situation. Oddly enough, but for hundreds of years, representatives of the two religions coexisted quite peacefully with each other, even though it was the Turks who occupied leading positions in power.
And therefore, “Turks”, who later turned into Turks, can be called with a stretch only the “core” of that society, while the rest of the population initially had nothing to do with this ethnic group. So how did the Ottomans appear at all, whose dynasty then ruled for several centuries?
Establishment of the Ottoman Sultanate
The mixture of Islam and the traditional tribal structure of the Turks themselves predetermined the features of the resulting sultanate. As a result - a weak center, controlled not only by the ruler, but also by the bureaucracy. By the way, it was not the Turks who played the leading role in it, but all the same Greeks and Armenians. The outlying provinces were ruled by a whole "vassal institution", which was played by influential beys. Accordingly, these "districts" were called beyliks. From one came the Ottomans. Their dynasty began with one particularly perspicacious ruler.
To bring this state of affairs to goodcouldn't. Ultimately, it was the beys who began to rule the country, using an extensive network of their relatives at court. In the 13th century, the history of the future Turkey almost ended: first, Shiite sectarians rebelled, and then the Mongols invaded. The Sultan is dead. The beyliks were also in distress… Except for the one that belonged to Bey Osman.
In 1299, he became the ruler of his own state, since, by and large, there was no one to obey him. It was he who was the historical figure from whom all subsequent Ottoman sultans went.
Assimilation of Byzantine provinces
Osman was very lucky: the center of the pro-Mongolian state was far away, and the weak and decrepit Byzantium was close. He began to gradually annex its provinces to his country, along the way buying off part of the loot from the Mongol emissaries. The successors of the nimble bey became the successors of a successful policy: first, they finally "raked" the whole of Asia Minor under them, and then they reached the Balkans.
In 1396, the Turks were able to defeat the united army of the crusaders, and in 1400 they even attacked Constantinople. For the first time they did not succeed, but all the same, the days of the old Byzantium were finally numbered. In 1453, Constantinople was taken from the second attempt, and all territories, including the Balkan Peninsula, finally came under the rule of the Ottomans.
Road to the East
In 1475, the Crimean Khanate also recognizes itself as a vassalOttoman Empire. After that, the most important trade routes fell into the hands of the Turks, which they could not help but use. In 1514, the strengthened empire managed to defeat the army of Safavid Iran. After that, the country gets free access to the Arab East and, more importantly, dramatically increases its own territories. Already in 1516, the Turks completely occupy all of Syria and rush further. Ottoman sultans "on horseback" in the literal and figurative sense.
Just a year later, they invade Egypt, completely abolishing the power of the caliphs along the way. Moreover, the latter turned out so well that the Turkish sultan became almost the official successor of the last caliph, which made it possible to completely avoid the inevitable struggle for power and civil war in this situation. In principle, even otherwise, the Sultan would still have been warmly received by the “electorate”, since in recent years the Ottoman Empire has grown rapidly, grew richer, treated the conquered peoples well, and therefore there were enough people who wanted to voluntarily join it.
It is difficult to consider this an accident, since in a few years a small Bey province has already been able to prove the existence of smart rulers, pursuing an independent and reasonable policy. It was the Ottomans, whose dynasty achieved outstanding success, who elevated Turkey to the pinnacle of her greatness. The former Turkic allotment has grown and strengthened so much that it began to pose a serious threat to all of Europe and the Russian Empire.
In addition, the Turks left the world a developed culture, many examples of which are stillthe pride of museums all over the world. But who were the Ottoman sultans? The list of rulers in our article cannot give a complete list of them (it is too large), but it gives a basic idea of them.
The Most Significant Ottoman Sultans
Of course, we cannot help but dwell on the personality of Osman I Ghazi. It was he who was the ruler of a small province of the Turkic sultanate, subsequently rising to the ruler of an independent state. Who was this man?
Born in 1258, died in 1324 (according to chronicles). Contemporaries considered him "a brave and strong-willed man" who had a "barbaric but fair nature." He has been on the throne since 1281. Buried in Bursa, his tomb became the center of pilgrimage for all righteous Muslims of that time. All Turkish rulers, entering into the rights of government, uttered the words of an oath … which was carved on the tomb of the first Ottoman, acting as an epitaph. So, the Ottoman sultans in order…
Sultan Orhan
Years of life - from 1281 to 1360. He was the youngest son of Osman. He completed the capture of Asia Minor, created regular troops (those same Janissaries), was the first of the Ottoman rulers to begin the targeted conquest of Europe. It is Orhan who is considered the person to whom the Turks owe the formation of their ethnic group.
Sultan Murad II
Personality no less bright than all his outstanding predecessors. He lived from 1403 to 1451. He strengthened the state of the Ottomans, harshly suppressing all internal turmoil and civil strife. During his reign, the PopeEugene V called all Christians to the next Crusade. The absurdity of the situation was that Murad was not at all an enemy of Christians: two faiths coexisted perfectly in his country, his wife was the daughter of the Serbian king, who freely professed Christianity.
He agreed to the unfavorable terms of the treaty proposed by the Vatican. The Crusaders sealed him with an oath on the Gospel, and he on the Koran. But soon the papal legates broke their word. There was a battle at Varna. The crusaders were utterly defeated, and the Turks received a direct route to the lands of Eastern Europe. Who were the other Ottoman sultans, the chronology of whose reign is considered on the pages of our article.
Sultan Suleiman I Kanuni
The name of this person is probably known to everyone who is fond of the series "The Magnificent Age". He lived from 1495 to 1566. Known as "Great", "Magnificent", "Legislator". Perhaps he was the last of the first Ottomans, truly worthy of the glory of their ancestors. Under him, Turkey really lived through its peak of prosperity, and under his descendants, the collapse and decline of the empire began. It can be said that the Ottoman dynasty during the time of Suleiman the Magnificent began to fade, because he failed to raise a worthy descendant.
He expanded the boundaries of his empire so that its outskirts reached the Strait of Gibr altar. He dreamed of following in the footsteps of Macedonian and uniting the whole world under the wing of his country, carried out many reforms that remained relevant until the 20th century.
History has also preserved himattachment to the favorite Roksolana, who managed to become officially his wife. This could not be achieved by any other concubine in the previous two hundred years. In the last years of his life, he led a campaign against Hungary, but did not live to see the victory. His death was hidden until Sultan Selim ascended the throne. He was the son of Suleiman and Roksolana. A drunkard and a weak-willed man, he began the collapse of the empire. Who were the other Ottomans (the dynasty of Turkish sultans)?
Sultan Murad IV
Years of life - 1612-1640 Ruled for 17 years, "famous" as a bloody dictator. But his reign also had positive results - it was Murad who managed to put an end to the flourishing collapse of the army and the arbitrariness of the viziers. Killing just for the sake of killing, he managed to return justice to the courts … He returned Erivan and Baghdad, which had already been lost by that time, but he no longer had time to enjoy the fruits of victory. He was an extremely sensible and even self-critical person, but on his deathbed he ordered his brother Ibrahim to be strangled. He was the last heir of the Ottomans in the male line, but…
He was saved by his mother. Ibrahim ruled from 1640-1648. A weak ruler, a self-willed and extremely lustful person: concubines for him were caught even in city baths. Often, the beauties turned out to be the wives and daughters of prominent citizens, and officials at the palace had to spend huge sums to settle things … In the end, the higher clergy and Janissaries were completely tired of this whole mess, the overly "loving" ruler was simply strangled. What were the rest of the Ottoman sultans whose years of rule were marked by the fin althe decline of a once great empire?
Sultan Mahmud II
He lived from 1784 to 1839. He sincerely respected Peter the Great and himself dreamed of becoming a reformer of the rather rotten and rickety Ottoman Empire. He created a post office, paid great attention to printing, published newspapers and completely reformed almost the entire state apparatus. But all this was done too late: it was already impossible to stop the processes of disintegration of the state. Known for turning to Nicholas I for help when it was necessary to suppress the uprising in the Egyptian provinces.
In the Russian army itself, there were sentiments about the return of Constantinople to the bosom of the Orthodox Church, and "purely technically" it was possible to do this. But Nicholas I did not want to spoil relations with England and France, and a weak Turkey was much more profitable than a strengthened Egypt. Mahmud himself did not live long, at the 54th year of his life, he died without leaving the next binge.
Do the Ottomans live in our time? The dynasty in our time, one might say, has not been preserved. There are no direct heirs, only distant descendants live in Turkey and Europe.
