Ottoman Empire: Quick Facts

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Facts

Date	c. 1300 - 1922

Did You Know?

Ottomans invented currently used surgical instruments such as forceps, scalpels, and catheters.
The capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans caused many scholars to flee to Italy and bring with them knowledge that helped spark the Renaissance.
Europeans have given Suleiman the moniker "The Magnificent", but he was called "The Lawgiver" by his own subjects.

Photos and Videos

This map shows the territorial expansion of the Ottoman Empire from 1300 to its greatest extent in 1683-99, highlighting different periods under rulers such as Mehmed II, Selim I, and Süleyman the Magnificent, and marking key cities, seas, and geographical boundaries in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

Stone walls and round towers of Rumelihisari Fort rise above dense green trees along the Bosporus in Istanbul, Turkey, with cars and water in the foreground.

Mosque of Süleyman, Istanbul

Inside the powerful Ottoman army

The Ottomans' failed siege of Vienna explained

Listen to a Turkish perspective on the Gallipoli Campaign, known to Turkish people as the Battle of Çanakkale, 1915–16

Uncovering the history of the Armenian Genocide

Examine how the Allied powers dismembered the Central Powers of World War I by a treaty that failed to prevent World War II

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Topics

Phanariote Sublime Porte Young Turks Sinan, the Ottoman Empire’s Master Architect Janissary Associations for the Defense of Rights Blue Mosque Young Ottomans Philikí Etaireía Soviet Union Holy Roman Empire Roman Empire Third Reich ancient Egypt East Germany Prussia Austria-Hungary Sumer Assyria

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Major Events

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War of Greek Independence

World War I

World War I

Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

Napoleon I

French Revolutionary wars

Map showing the changing boundaries of the Byzantine Empire around the eastern Mediterranean. Three areas are marked: the largest outline shows the empire's greatest extent under Justinian I (527-565), a medium pink area shows the empire in about 1020, and a smaller red area shows the empire in about 1360. Key regions include Asia Minor, Greece, the Balkans, and parts of Italy, North Africa, and the eastern Mediterranean coast, with Constantinople marked as the capital.

Fall of Constantinople

Uncovering the history of the Armenian Genocide

Armenian Genocide

Battle of Balaklava

Battle of Balaklava

Balkan Wars

Balkan Wars

“Big Four”

Treaty of Versailles

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Russo-Turkish wars

Battle of Lepanto

Battle of Lepanto

Map illustrating the Sykes-Picot Agreement of May 1916, showing the division of the Middle East into zones of British, French, and Russian control or influence after World War I. Areas are color-coded: British rule in pink, French rule in blue, Russian rule in orange, and regions under various protections or joint control in lighter shades. Modern countries shown include Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Armenia, and surrounding regions.

Sykes-Picot Agreement

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Second Northern War

Large groups of Allied soldiers gather along the shore and hillsides at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli Peninsula, with boats and piers visible in the water during the 1915 Gallipoli campaign.

Gallipoli Campaign

Black and white photo by Roger Fenton showing soldiers gathered among rows of tents in a valley encampment during the Crimean War, with rocky hills in the background.

Crimean War

The Siege of Malta (1565)

Siege of Malta

Young Turk Revolution

Young Turk Revolution

Kayaköy, Turkey: church

Greco-Turkish wars

Timur

Battle of Ankara

The Death of King Wladyslaw II at Varna

Battle of Varna

Banat

Banat

historical region, Europe

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Rumelia

historical area, Europe

Yugoslavia, 1919–92

Yugoslavia

former federated nation [1929–2003]

Albania

country, Europe

Algeria

country, Africa

Map of Turkey and surrounding countries showing the location of Antioch in south-central Turkey, near the border with Syria. Neighboring countries including Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Iraq, and Cyprus are also labeled. An inset globe highlights the region within a global context.

Antioch

modern and ancient city, south-central Turkey

Flag of Bulgaria with three horizontal stripes: white on top, green in the middle, and red on the bottom.

Bulgaria

country, Europe

Map showing the extent of the Abbasid caliphate in the 9th century, with regions under direct Abbasid rule shaded in green, and surrounding areas under Abbasid suzerainty or controlled by other dynasties-Aghlabids of Tunisia, Idrisids of Morocco, Tahirids in the east, and the Umayyad emirate of Spain-indicated in different colors. Major cities such as Baghdad, Cairo, Mecca, and Cordoba are labeled, along with key regional boundaries.

Caliphate

Islamic history

Cyprus

country, Europe

Flag of Egypt with horizontal red, white, and black stripes and a gold eagle centered on the white stripe.

Egypt

country, Africa

Greece

country, Europe

Flag of Hungary featuring three horizontal stripes of red, white, and green.

Hungary

country, Europe

Iraq

country, Asia

Israel

country, Middle East

Small boats and fishing vessels are docked in the old port of Jaffa, Israel, with historic stone buildings rising up the hillside in the background.

Jaffa

ancient port, Middle East

Key People

Kemal Atatürk

Kemal Atatürk

president of Turkey

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Mehmed II

Ottoman sultan

Portrait of Philip II, King of Spain, shown in ornate armor with one hand resting on a helmet, painted in the manner of Sir Anthony More against a dark background.

Philip II

king of Spain and Portugal

Leopold I

Leopold I

Holy Roman emperor

János Hunyadi

János Hunyadi

Hungarian general and governor

ʿAbbās I

ʿAbbās I

Ṣafavid shah of Persia

Jamal al-Din al-Afghani

Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī

Muslim journalist and politician

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Fernand Braudel

French historian and educator

Mother Teresa

Roman Catholic nun

Süleyman I

Süleyman the Magnificent

Ottoman sultan

Engraving of Mohammed Ali, founder of modern Egypt, shown with a full white beard, wearing a traditional hat and embroidered jacket, facing slightly to the viewer's left.

Muḥammad ʿAlī

pasha and viceroy of Egypt

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Bayezid II

Ottoman sultan

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Köprülü Mehmed Paşa

Ottoman grand vizier

Mimar Sinan: Mosque of Süleyman I the Magnificent

Sinan

Ottoman architect

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Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Paşa

Ottoman vizier

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Roxelana

wife of Süleyman the Magnificent

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Ismāʿīl I

shah of Iran

Faisal I

Faisal I

king of Iraq

Nikolay Pavlovich, Count Ignatyev

Nikolay Pavlovich, Count Ignatyev

Russian statesman

Portrait of Mahmud II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, standing in ornate military dress beside a blue-draped table, with a cityscape and green curtain in the background.

Mahmud II

Ottoman sultan

Read More: Key People of the Ottoman Empire

Caption: It May be Turned to Mourning for its Loss. Our picture shows a group of the wounded lately from the Dardanelles, Ottoman Empire (Turkey) at the festivities, ca. 1914-1918. (World War I)

Understanding the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire. Wall hanging of a an Ottoman empire coat of arms. Sultans of the Ottoman Empire had their own monograms or tughras which served as a royal symbol. Turkey, Turkish Culture

Turkish and Ottoman History Quiz

Squadron of soldiers of the Ertugrul Cavalry Regiment of the Imperial Guard of Abdulhamid II of the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople, now Istanbul, Turkey.

The Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire. Wall hanging of a an Ottoman empire coat of arms. Sultans of the Ottoman Empire had their own monograms or tughras which served as a royal symbol. Turkey, Turkish Culture

The Ottoman Empire and the Middle East