Christians In Ottoman Europe example essay topic

To understand the Ottoman Empire is to understand a power mightier than even that of the Roman's. It is a look back at not only boundaries and war, but an entire civilization all of its own. A civilization so advanced that it consumed land from the Danube River in Europe to the Deserts of the Arabian Plains. The Ottoman power was to be realized in by the first Ottoman leader, Osman.

He was one of the few leaders to dear attack the Byzantine Empire. Osman was able to turn nomadic tribes, Arabs, and Persians fleeing the Mongols, into a fierce army of well-trained soldiers. The notoriety of the Ottomans would be felt in 1326. By this point, the raiding of Christians in Above: A portrait during the early 14th century of Osman leading his people to a victory against the Byzantines. The Byzantine lands had led to and escalation of power amongst the Ottomans.

It was time to strike directly at the Byzantines. Throughout the 1320's - 30's, the Ottomans captured much of the Byzantine lands, leaving all but Constantinople and some lands in Europe. After Osman had led a small kingdom to become an empire, his sons would rule. To preserve their throne, the Byzantines cut a deal to allow the Ottomans a share of the lands in the Europe. Still, by the campaign against the Byzantines, the Ottomans dealt a great deal of damage to the Christians in the west, and success to the Turks in the east. The Ottomans continued to press into Kosovo and Eastern Europe under the control of Murad I. After he exploited the Murad I led the Ottomans to one of their great focal points by capturing land in Europe and conquering the Byzantines.

Next on the of sultans was Bayazid. He was a sultan with great intentions. With the western lands stable at the moment, it was time to again press into Anatolia (present-day Turkey) and the Arab lands. His attempts, as a Muslim leader, to conquer Muslim lands offended many soldiers in his own ranks.

The Christians in Ottoman Europe, who were invaded by Muslims, however, were more than glad to return the favor. With The Christians doing his dirty work for him, his reign soon fell. He died as a prisoner in Anatolia due to insurgents and rebels in his land. Sultan Muhammad I, however, came in time to get control re-established.

The task was on him to recover many of the lands his father, Bayazid, had lost. He utilized a tactic his father used also. He used the ethnic groups to exp land his land. Because Muslims and Christians lived in his Empire and they were bo the angry at one another, he was able to exploit both.

The Christians had the options to take revenge on their enemies, the Muslims, by invading the Islamic land in the east. The Muslims, in turn, exacted their anger against the Christians by fighting them in Europe. Either way, the sultan got more land as they were both fighting for him. He did, however keep the Christians generally out of power by removing the princes of Serbia and Bulgaria and replaced them with Ottoman administration. He kept the Christians as his brute force for his campaigns in the East. Despite his death, the European campaigns continued to grow, along with those into the East under the authority of Muhammad II.

Muhammad II is highly regarded as one of the greatest of the sultans in politics and military skill. With Muhammad II in power, the growth of the empire continued rather than withdrawal. He defeated the last prince south of the Danube River in Europe. He also took the Euphrates in modern-day Iraq.

Perhaps his greatest feat was in 1452 by eliminating that 150-year old thorn in the side of the Ottoman Empire by conquering Constantinople. After conquering the city named for the first Christian Roman emperor, Muhammad II renamed the city to a more fitting 'Istanbul' With empire being as large as it was, it is no surprise that Bayazid II decided to end the conquests and consolidate his gains and returns stability to the Ottomans. Selim the Magnificent came along with the more liberal view of 'why stop when we " re on a roll?' He was able to conquer more lands at one ruling than any other sultan could. In 1517, he summoned power enough to conquer the Mam luk Empire of the Middle East. In defeating them he gained Syria, Egypt, Arabia and Palestine. He didn't stop there, he then crossed the Danube River and conquered Hungary in 1529.

Even after that, the conquered the rest of Iraq, Northern Africa, and Anatolia. Thus bringing the Ottoman Empire to its peak. Here we can clearly see that the Ottoman Empire was comparable only to the Roman Empire in size. In 1984, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a Marxist group launched an armed rebellion against Turkey. They would raid Turkish bases and towns and retreat across the border into Iraq, which the Turks could not enter. Eventually, Turkish troops did cross into Iraq to retaliate against the PKK.

In 1999, the PKK had a major setback. The US assisted the Turks in capturing the PKK's leader, Abdullah Ocalan, whom is looking at the death penalty. The Turks said they would give rights to the Kurds if they surrendered, but they replied with terrorist bombings..