The Ottoman Empire 1299-1922
The Islamic world’s most significant empire was the Ottoman Empire. Created by Turkic warrior groups that aggressively raided agricultural civilizations over three centuries, the Ottoman Empire stretched from northwestern Anatolia, over much of the Middle East, and down into North Africa. For Central Asian pastoral peoples, their relative independence, an open association between men and women, and political influence all rapidly faded under the Empire’s enforcement of Islamic law. The spread of Islam was contentious on three fronts.
The interaction between the Islamic world and Christendom has a long-running narrative. Perhaps the most significant confrontations between Christianity and Islam resulted in the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The mostly Christian population of Anatolia had been under control of the Byzantine state and Constantinople was the heir apparent to Rome. It housed numerous artifacts and paintings associated with Christendom. As Ottoman Turks waged war against the Christian population, they settled into the area. When Constantinople fell, it was renamed Istanbul which became the capital of the Ottoman Empire. By 1500, nearly 90 percent of Anatolia’s population had converted to Islam and became Turkic speakers. The Byzantium guardian of Orthodox Christianity was gone and now was a thriving Islamic Imperial capital.
The Ottoman Empire moved into southeastern Europe. In the Balkans, the Ottoman Empire encountered a large number of Christians with far fewer Turkish settlers. In stark contrast to Anatolia, Christians in the Balkans encouraged the overthrow of their Christian rulers. Under their domain, the Balkan people had been taxed heavily. When the Ottoman Empire entered the region, they were almost welcomed.
Perhaps due to the comparative ease with which the Ottoman Empire took control, the Christian Eastern Orthodox and Armenian churches were granted a considerable amount of autonomy. They were permitted to regulate internally their social, religious and educational needs. Christian merchants, landlords, government officials, and clergy became a part of the Ottoman elite without having to convert to Islam. The Jewish sects that had recently been forced out of Spain as part of the Reconquest fled to the Balkans for better opportunities and became prominent bankers and traders in the Ottoman Empire.
To state that the implementation of Turkish control over the Balkans was without adversity would be an understatement. Christians were forced to hand over their young boys to Turkish authorities. The young boys would be converted to Islam and be prepared for life as a civil administrator or military service. For the Balkan people, the removal of young boys from their society meant that the Ottoman Empire had deliberately prevented the expansion of a purely Christian society. The next generation of Balkans would be limited in their ability to raise a Christian army to rebel against Turkish and Islamic rule.
The Ottoman Empire represented a real threat to the spread of Christianity. When Constantinople fell in 1453, it marked the end of the Roman Empire. In 1529, Vienna was sieged for the first time, followed by a second Ottoman siege in 1683. Again, there was grave concern that Islam would once again take over much of Europe. The “terror of the Turk” was a contributing factor for European expansion into the New World Territories. The Spanish conquest of the New World, for example, required that conquistadors read a papal bull proclaiming all who inhabited the land were now seen as Christians and as such, were required to act within the laws of Christianity.
As the Ottoman Empire took over Christian lands, it also incorporated a large number of Arabs. The Persian Safvid Empire, from where Islam originated and practiced the Shia form of Islam, had been the long-standing protector of the Islamic Holy Cities of Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem. Now the prestige fell to the Ottoman Empire that practiced the Sunni form of Islam. For over 100 years, 1534- 1639, the two factions of Islam, Sunni and Shia, fought over who would have control.
Yet, despite the divisions within Islam, the influence of Persian culture upon the Ottoman Empire was bountiful. Traditions of Persian splendor were reflected in paintings, poetry, and literature. The Ottoman elite welcomed the influence and held the Persian culture in high regard as they became patrons and displayed paintings in their homes.