The Ottoman Empire was the largest empire from around the 14 th century to early 18 th century. Their main activities included trade, slavery, spread of Islam religion, and wars to capture other empires. This paper will discuss the fall of Constantinople and its significance to both Asia and Europe and the advancements of the Ottoman Turks, why the Ottomans were so successful in conquering Eastern Europe and how the conquest affected Western Europe. The paper also will also discuss what life was like under the Ottoman Turks.
Constantinople was the capital city of the Latin Empire, Roman Empire, and Byzantine Empire before becoming part of the Ottoman Empire. In entire Europe, Constantinople was the wealthiest and largest city from mid-5 th to early 13 th century. The city was well known for its masterpieces in architecture like the Greek Orthodox cathedral of Hagia Sophia, the sacred Imperial Place, the Hippodrome, and the Galata Tower (Weiker, 2008). The fall of Constantinople was significant for both Europe and Asia since it marked a different era for the ruling empire in the world.
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Asia and Europe later took part in most trade and bilateral deals with the Ottoman Turks such as the exchange of products between the empires and slavery activities especially from Asia. New trade routes and regulations were also established thus changing the way trade was being conducted. The fall of Constantinople also enhanced the advance of the Ottoman Turks who later formed a stronger and more powerful empire in the world. The central position of the captured Constantinople put the Ottoman Turks in a strategic position to advance and even conquer more empires through their respective skills and ability to control trade activities.
Reasons behind Ottoman’s successful Eastern Europe Conquest
The Turkish Ottomans were relentless, formidable, and ruthless when it came to combat and this gave an upper hand in conquering most empires. Since the Ottomans were not that good in book keeping and administration, their conquering missions were still successful due to alternative strategies that they used (Weiker, 2008). Their ability to foresee future possibilities enabled them to give some of the conquered people autonomy and give them tasks that were relevant but out of reach by the Ottomans. For instance, the Ottoman gave autonomy to most people who were good scholars regardless of their fighting techniques (Kostopoulou, 2016). However, Ottomans kept most of the important positions and roles to themselves but only delegate a few responsibilities. The Ottomans also acknowledged the power of unity in their Empire thus going to greater lengths to unite the populations under their religion, Islam.
Additionally, the Ottomans had a significant advantage in terms of troops and resources over most empires in Central Europe and Middle East. In spite of the Ottoman’s spirited defense, they could still afford to take loses bulldoze over their enemies and conquer empires such as Albania, Moldavia, and Wallachia (Akgunduz & Gokcekuyu, 2017). The Ottomans were also in a good position to acquire and use better weapons than their enemies who were poor. Nonetheless, they mainly fought the Christians rather than other Turkish tribes since they were pursuing a holy cause (Weiker, 2008). This gave them the driving power that motivated them to be resilient. Their persistent efforts to conquer empires was also an important factor in determining their success since they did not stop at one conquered castle but always aimed for another one. Additionally, the Ottomans made significant alliances with other countries hence strengthening their trade diplomatic ties.
Effects of the Ottoman Conquest to Western Europe
After the conquest, Western Europe was threatened by the rapid success of the Ottoman Empire, since it had already laid siege to Vienna twice. At that time, Ottoman warriors and armies were the best in the world and they also had a well-developed and successful bureaucracy system (Weiker, 2008). The Ottoman Empire was also adept when it came to intelligence gathering, something that led to the development of the first “opinion polls” that allowed them to maintain direct access with the pulse of their empire (Weiker, 2008). The level of power and organization displayed by the Turkish Empire was not only a threat to Western Europe but also a threat to the entire world. Another effect of the Ottoman conquest is the influence of Ottoman music to Western musicians like Beethoven and Mozart who acknowledged the distinct nature of the Ottoman music (Akgunduz & Gokcekuyu, 2017). Moreover, the combination of both tastes of music often added color to the entire composition. Trade impacts included the exchange of tulips and other products like artifacts from Turkey to Western Europe, something that also served as a unifying factor between the two empires.
The spread of Islam in Western Europe was also enhanced by the Ottoman conquest as Islamic missionaries like the Imams could intermingle with the local populations in Western European Empire. The Islam religious teachings was accompanied by successful trade ties and hence the creation of Muslim world (Weiker, 2008). The significant impact relating to the spread of Islam is still felt until now in both in Western Europe and the rest of the world. Muslim is now the second largest religious group after Christianity with more than 2 billion followers globally thanks to the significant spreading methods used by Ottoman missionaries.
Life under the Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were dominant during their era with dominant activities such as slavery. Slavery played an important role in building the empire’s society and economy and their main slave sources were East and North Africa, the Balkans, Eastern Europe and the Caucasus (Şahin, 2017). Life under slavery could also change and drop drastically especially after large military operations. The total number of slaves captured during the Ottoman Empire era was more than 2.5 million since slavery was a legal and vital factor of the empire’s economy and social aspects. Ottoman slavery was characterized into classes, with the higher one being that from the Turkish culture (Akgunduz & Gokcekuyu, 2017). Other positions that were held by Ottoman slaves included the janissaries and the castrated harem guards while others took the forefront on matters regarding Ottoman politics. However, more intelligent slaves could be bought at higher prices to take official positions in areas like palace schools.
Wars were also part of the life under the Ottoman Turks and the main recruits were illiterate and from peasant backgrounds. Wars experienced ranged from fighting against the Greeks, Australia, and New Zealand in a conquest perspective (Weiker, 2008). The life under the Ottoman army was harsh compared to most present military standards and the soldiers were expected to portray blind obedience without justification or explanations to their Army officers (Akgunduz & Gokcekuyu, 2017). Due to the large numbers of soldiers that formed the solid foundation for the Ottoman army, pressure started to pile up regarding urgent and competing demands of providing them with the basic needs; food, shelter, and clothing, especially those on the front-line.
Conclusion
The Ottoman Empire was successful in most of the due to their quests due to their relentless, formidable, and ruthless nature when it came to combat and this gave an upper hand in conquering other empires. Moreover, life under the Ottoman Turks was characterized by war and slavery to mention but a few and the slaves could range from a group of illiterate people to a well-organized and educated people.
References
Akgunduz, A., & Gokcekuyu, E. (2017). The Ottoman Sociopolitical Impact on the West during the European Reformation. Muslim World , 107 (4), 632–651. https://doi.org/10.1111/muwo.12213
Kostopoulou, E. (2016). Autonomy and Federation within the Ottoman Empire: Introduction to the Special Issue. Journal of Balkan & Near Eastern Studies , 18 (6), 525–532. https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2016.1196039
Şahin, K. (2017). The Ottoman Empire in the Long Sixteenth Century. Renaissance Quarterly , 70 (1), 220–234. https://doi.org/10.1086/691834
Weiker, W. F. (2008). The Ottoman Bureaucracy: Modernization and Reform. Administrative Science Quarterly , 13 (3), 451–470. https://doi.org/10.2307/2391053
