The Reasons Why The Ottoman Empire Essay

Philip Sherrard, author of The Great Ages of Man: Byzantium, said, “The elaborate defense works that surrounded Constantinople made it in its day the best-fortified city in the world,” (Doc B). Even the massive castles in medieval manors could not compare to the strategic systems of the Byzantines. They had three walls surrounding their city that withstood Persian and Arab invaders from the East and Avar and Slav invaders from the North (Doc A). Their technology was so advanced and their techniques so secure that out of the twenty-four efforts made to capture the city during one thousand one hundred years, only two were successful. The Byzantines military technology was so far ahead of the rest of the world

Starting from the 1800s, the idea of nationalism spread into Europe, and into the Ottoman Empire. The idea of nationalism weakened the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was a multi-ethnic empire, and nationalism grew in these different ethnics. They were allowed to still use their own language, have their ruler, and have their culture, which made them easier to break free from the Ottoman Empire.

Under Osman, the Ottomans took advantage of the bloody and deadly rivalries that existed between the Byzantines, the Bulgars, Serbs, Venetians, Genoans, and other Christian powers in Eastern Europe, laying siege to, and capturing the main Byzantine strongholds between Soghut and Nicaea. After Osman died in 1326, his son and successor Orhan came to power, reigning from 1326 to 1362; he continued the extended siege of Bursa and took the city in

The Ottoman had several scenes of decline and each one had marked their history and are linked with it so I will explain each one. The armistice of 1918 ended the fighting between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies but didn´t bring stability or peace to the region. The British controlled Syria, Palestine and Mesopotamia.

Constantinople was built by Constantine, Justinian’s predecessor. Justinian built barriers on all sides of the city to protect it from invasion. The two water barriers on opposite sides of the city had thick walls to protect the city (Document 5). On the back side of the city where the palace and Hagia Sophia are located, massive walls were built and the opposite side has a moat and a wall. Therefore, the only easy entrance into the city was the Golden Gate (Document 5).

In Document B it states that in Constantinople the elaborate defense worked to create a surrounding wall around Constantinople. The walls were erected in the 5th century to protect the city against the Goths and Huns. The Goths and Huns, captured Rome. They served their purpose well, holding off invaders for nearly one thousand years, a single wall bounded the city’s seaward sides, which were defended by the Byzantine fleet. On the landside, the Byzantines constructed a moat and three walls that were 25 feet thick. Invaders were faced first with the moat some 60 feet wide and 22 feet deep that was normally dry but could be flooded by pipes. Behind the moat was a low wall to shield a line of archers. If the attackers could overcome this first defense, they were confronted by a second wall, 27 feet high, which sheltered more troops. Beyond the second the third and strongest bulwark. Its towers, some 70 feet high, housed more archers and missile throwers. Only the force of gunpowder finally demolished the protecting walls, bringing Constantinople down. During 1,100 year history of the Byzantine Empire, 24 efforts were made to capture the city of Constantinople. Only two were successful. The Crusaders entered the city in 1204 but were eventually thrown out a few decades later. The Turkish invasion in 1453 marked the end of the Byzantine Empire. A couple examples of architecture in the Byzantine Empire

The Fall of Constantinople featured the armies of the Ottoman Empire, led by the young sultan Mehmed II, and the heavily favored Byzantine army, led by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI. This conflict only took two months, and in those months, changed the face of artillery forever. Mehmed II sought to expand his empire into South-Eastern Europe, and immediately set his aim on the capital of the Byzantine Empire at Constantinople. He clearly saw the strategic value of the city, as it connected Eastern Europe with Asia (Damyanov, 1996). Mehmed II led an attack with little warning. In the early days of the battle, Constantine XI was confident that his army could withstand the

The downfall of Constantinople was one of the greatest fortified cities in the world. The Fall of Constantinople was the takeover of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, and happened after an attack by the Ottoman Empire against the defending army. The commander of the attack by the Ottoman Empire was Emperor Constantine XI. It all began when Constantine found a new capital at the Bosporus, which he named Constantinople. Sultan Mehmed II, ruler of the Ottoman Turks, was the leader of the assault. The city of Constantinople was defeated by around ten thousand men. On the opposing side, the Turks had between one hundred thousand and one hundred fifty thousand men on their side with the advantage. This battle and attack lasted for fifty days. The Turks used huge cannons to destroy the walls and warships were used by the Turks as well.

Constantinople was the newfound Christian capital of the eastern Roman Empire, otherwise known as the Byzantine Empire. Throughout its long history, there have been many different attacks on the religious capital city. Over a period of 1123 years, Constantinople was a solid city controlled by the Byzantines apart some small upsets. Multiple attacks and sieges were attempted to overthrow the city, however, most failed miserably. It wasn’t until 1453 that the city finally fell to the Ottoman Empire. Some victories of the Byzantines may have been caused by a weapon called Greek fire, believed to be invented around the 650’s AD (Groller). The weapon was similar to today’s weapon, napalm.

The Ottoman Empire is almost directly correlated to the decline of Byzantium. The Ottomans had men stationed in nearly 100 forts and 100 castles. Doing this enabled him to maintain pressure on the Christian infidels out east. The Ottoman Empire had not had their own foothold until around 1354, when they got a hold of a peninsula roughly 100 miles southwest of Constantinople. When this was accomplished, it was recognized that the time of the Ottomans conquering Constantinople was edging closer and closer. Using their superiority, intellect and vast numbers the Ottomans attacked the weakest part of the Byzantine defense, the west walls of Constantinople. The Ottoman Empire was very strong and some had seen them as bullies.

The Byzantine Empire, sometimes known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the predominantly Greek-speaking continuation of the eastern half of the Roman Empire during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Its capital city was Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), originally founded as Byzantium. It survived the 5th century fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. Both "Byzantine Empire" and "Eastern Roman Empire" are historiographical terms created after the end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire

Under the first emperor, Heraclius, the new empire struggled to keep its territory. Persia was conquering land rapidly, taking the empire’s territories in Syria and Palestine, along with Jerusalem. It took until 627 for Heraclius to gain a victory, recapturing Jerusalem from the Persians. It was not long, however, before Islam had sparked a desire for expansion in the Arabs. They quickly conquered Jerusalem, the entire Persian Empire, and headed to claim North Africa. In 677, the Arabs attempted to take Constantinople, the city along the port Byzantium was named for. Unlike Heraclius, the emperor during the second attempt on Constantinople had a better strategy, known as the “Greek Fire”. Leo III was able to not only defeat the Arabs at Constantinople, but also reclaim almost all of the Asia Minor, which was known as the Imperial Heartland for nearly three hundred years.

In the previous 200 years leading to the demise of Constantinople in 1453, the economy of the Byzantine Empire had begun to decline and would never recover. Recognizing the situation in 1369, Emperor John V fruitlessly pursued economic aid from other Western civilizations. As the economic situation of Constantinople continued to decline they became a vassal state (much like a colony) to the Turks. As a result, they were required to pay taxes and tribute to the Ottoman Empire. They were also required to provide military support to the Ottoman Empire. After many years of being a vassal state to the Ottoman Empire Murad II, the empire's new leader, decided in 1421 that he would conquer the Byzantine Empire. Murad decided to take away all rights given to the people of Constantinople and laid siege to their city. Although Murad was not able to see the city be

Today, there are virtually no multinational states remaining and one would be hard-pressed to find a government that has remained in place since the pre-World War I era. In that sense, it is highly unlikely that the Ottoman Empire could have survived the tumultuous 20th Century. Nevertheless, it may have had a chance. If not for European intervention, Ottoman reforms may have succeeded. However, even with those reforms, they had to compete with the rise of nationalism, which would have been difficult.

The rise of the Ottoman Empire started in Turkey and spread through most of the Middle East. Their military practice and successful transition to the use of gun powder made them one of the most successful ruling bodies in the Middle East. The Ottoman Empire which ruled until modern times had great influence on the Middle Eastern world. Their political and economic abilities astonished the western world. Their religious views and fears were instilled into any non-Muslim and helped the western world to find new trade. The rise of Christianity in the western world provided new ways to preserve the dead and ended the need for frankensence, the main export of the Ottoman Empire. This