How the Ottoman Empire Came to Prosperity (Research Paper Sample)

How the Ottoman Empire Came to Prosperity
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How the Ottoman Empire Came to Prosperity
In history, the state of Ottoman was a small principality located in the North-west part of Anatolia. This was one of the many petty states which came into existence as a result of the wreckage noticed from the Seljuk state of Rum. Due to the attractions of the ghazis and the Jihad war fighters, the Ottoman state came into existence. The Jihad fighters and the Ottoman state joined hand in struggling against the west for the Christian Byzantine Empire. The fact that the Ottoman’s Empire Straddled Europe and Asia transformed the empire into an important conduit of trade throughout history. The agrarian economy of the empire was one of the reasons as to why the empire’s prosperity endured. Evidently, literature points out that the empire’s government was built around a land tenure system which was under the funding of a military bureaucracy aimed at preserving prosperity and order. Despite the fact that the Ottoman faced defeat at the hands of Timur Lang, a Central Asian conqueror in 1402, the Empire quickly consolidated, rebuilt, and extended their power in the next years, forming a basis of their prosperity.
There are several factors which resulted to the prosperity of the Ottoman’s empire. Incidentally, the collapse of the kingdom of Rum of the Seljuk Turkic available in Eastern Anatolia resulted to an increased power of the Ottoman’s empire. Prior to the collapse of the kingdom, it is evident that the during the 13th and the 14th century, the Turkic community who originated from central Asia played an important role when it came to the civilization of the administrators and soldiers under the service of the Abbasid caliphs. However, after the Seljuk Turkic kingdom collapsed after the Mongols invasion in 1243, the Ottomans were provided with a chance of rising in power. Prevalently, the Mongols raided Anatolia but they did not have the chance of ruling Anatolia. As a result, a chaotic period of war resulted whereby the Turkic people stated fleeing the Mongols and in turn over populating the region. Among the fleeing people were the Ottomans who later came to dominate the other group of fleeing individual. Several decades down the line, the Ottomans had already begun building an empire in Anatolia.[Yazbak, Mahmoud. "The Politics of Trade and Power: Dahir al-'Umar and the Making of Early Modern Palestine." Journal of the Economic & Social History of the Orient 56, no. 4/5 (December 2013): 696-736.]
Mehmed 1’s victory also contributed towards the prosperity of the empire. Prevalently, the victory of Mehmed 1 resulted to the empire’s reunification of the empire as well as new conquests available in Asia Minor and Europe. Dating back in history, By the 1350s, the Ottoman community had advanced from their stronghold available in Asia Minor across Europe’s Bosporus straits. Thrace was conquered during this time and during the end of the century, a larger portion of the Balkans had been added to the significantly expanding territories. It is prevalent that the rise in power of the Ottomans was only a temporary setback during the early 1400s, specifically at the time when the Timur armies invaded Anatolia and overthrown Bayazid, the Sultan of Ottoman. This resulted in drastic effects a decade later after the civil war which took place between the sons of Bayazid over the throne of their father. This later came into an end as Mehmed 1’s victory reunited the brothers resulting in new conquests hence prosperity for the empire.[Ağir, Seven. 2013. "The Evolution of Grain Policy: The Ottoman Experience." Journal of Interdisciplinary History 43, no. 4: 571-598.] [Srougo, Shai. 2011. "Professional characteristics of the Jewish guild in the Muslim world: Thessaloniki dockers at the end of the Ottoman era." Mediterranean Historical Review 26, no. 2: 115-133.]
The fact that the Ottoman’s conquered Constantinople city during the mid 14th century also contributed towards the prosperity of the empire. Constantinople was a great city which had a long capital over the Byzantine Empire which was once known to be a powerful city. It is evident that conquer of this great city added an element of prosperity among the Ottoman’s Empire as the empire was able to undertake the capture of the entire city later during the mid 15th century. As literature puts it, the Ottomans had enough strength of capturing this city despite alternating warfare and alliances with the Byzantines. Two centuries down the line after the conquest, the armies which succeeded the Ottoman rulers further extended the Ottoman Empire to Egypt and Syria as well as across North Africa. This extended the empire’s rule in the outlined locations. In addition, the empire also extended its ruling to the Black and the Red seas as well as into Hungary. Furthermore, it is also prevalent that the Ottoman’s Empire became a source of formidable power within the Mediterranean Sea region. The powerful fleet of the Ottomans made it possible for the empire to capture various island bases such as the Crete, Rhodes, and Cyprus with an aim of driving the Venetians and the Genoese from a larger percentage of the eastern Mediterranean. This act was also meant to threaten the Southern Italians of a possible invasion at any point in time. Incidentally, it is evident that the Ottomans grew from humble origins before becoming the great protectors of the Islamic heartlands thanks to the Constantinople City conquest. Arguably, in between the 16th and the 19th century, the empire became a major force within the European politics.[Mather, James. 2011. "The Turkey Merchants." History Today 61, no. 5: 27-32.] [Özervarlı, M. Sait. 2013. "Intellectual Foundations and Transformations in an Imperial City: Istanbul from the Late Ottoman to the Early Republican Periods." Muslim World 103, no. 4: 518-534.]
The act of befitting the empire which was initially founded with an aim of spreading Islam also contributed towards the prosperity of the Ottomans. This directly contributed towards prosperity of the empire as befitting the Ottoman state was geared towards expansion of the empire’s economic state and hence prosperity. Factually, the Turkic cavalrymen, who were also responsible as conquests of the Ottomans during the 13th and the 16th century displayed a warrior aristocracy which further ensured that they were granted with a full control of the land which was owned by peasant producers in annexed locations for the support of their households. The befitting also provided the empire with an ability of exercising control over revenue and labor. Evidently, a considerable portion of the economic resources which were under the control of the Ottoman sultans made it possible for the empire to sustain an expansion project which focused on protecting its territories from all directions.[Mitri, Tarek. 2012. "Christians in the Arab World." Ecumenical Review 64, no. 1: 43-49.]
Judicious alliances as well as incessant warfare which the Ottomans took part played a considerable role in bring about the empire’s prosperity. Dating back to 1325, it is evident that the Ottoman captured Bursa which in turn became its capital. Come 1338, the Byzantines had already been expelled from the city of Anatolia. This shows that the Ottomans were able to extend its territory basically through warfare. Furthermore, the Ottomans also extended its territory both to the eastern and western sides at the expense of the princedoms from Turkey. Furthermore, literature also points out that in 1354, Ottoman took Ankara to the central part of Anatolia. In this same year, the Ottoman Empire occupied the European side, Gelibolu to be exact, which became its base for expanding into the south-eastern part of Europe. Finally, in 1361, the Ottomans overtook Edirne which further became the empire’s capital.[Karabela, Mehmet. 2013. "Revolution and Constitutionalism in the Ottoman Empire and Iran." Political Studies Review 11, no. 3: 474-475.] [Ibid]
The system implemented by the Empire also gave rise to its prosperity and in turn ensure endurance. Factually, the Ottoman’s Empire endured for a long time based on the fact that the empires land-tenure system which funded the bureaucracy of the military preserved pros...