The Ottoman Sultanate (1299-1922 as an empire; 1922-1924 as caliphate only), also referred to as the Ottoman Empire, written in Turkish as Osmanlı Devleti, was a Turkic imperial state that was conceived by and named after Osman (l. 1258-1326), an Anatolian chieftain. At its peak in the 16th and 17th centuries, the empire controlled vast stretches including Anatolia, southwestern Europe, mainland Greece, the Balkans, parts of northern Iraq, Azerbaijan, Syria, Palestine, parts of the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, and parts of the North African strip, in addition to the major Mediterranean islands of Rhodes, Cyprus, and Crete. Renowned the strongest military superpower of its time, the empire stagnated and faced prolonged decline from the late 16th century CE onwards until it was replaced by the modern Republic of Turkey after the First World War (1914-1918).
More about: Ottoman EmpireDefinition
Timeline
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1299 - 1326Reign of Osman I.
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1326Prusa (Bursa) falls to Ottoman control shortly after Osman's death; it becomes the capital of the Ottoman Empire.
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1326 - 1362Reign of Orhan, as the second sovereign of the Ottoman Empire.
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1361Adrianople (Edirne) falls to Prince Murad, the son of Orhan, later Murad I.
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1362 - 1389Murad I rules as the sovereign of the Ottoman Empire and brands himself as a sultan.
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1389Murad I defeats a European coalition army led by the Serbians at the Battle of Kosovo but dies at the climax of battle.
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1389 - 1402Bayezid I rules as the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
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25 Sep 1396The Battle of Nicopolis, aka the Nicopolis Crusade, where a western Christian army is defeated by the Ottoman Turks.
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1402Bayezid I is defeated by the forces of Timur at the Battle of Ankara and is captured.
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1402 - 1413Ottoman Interregnum; Mehmed I emerges victorious.
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1421 - 1451Reign of Murad II.
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10 Nov 1444Murad II resumes defeats Crusader forces at the Battle of Varna.
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1451 - 1481Mehmed II rules as the Sultan.
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29 May 1453Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II sacks Constantinople.
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1475 - 1783Crimean Tatars serve as vassals to the Ottomans.
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1481 - 1512Reign of Bayezid II.
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1512Selim I deposes his father Bayezid II.
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1512 - 1520Reign of Selim I; the Ottoman Empire doubles in size.
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1514Battle of Chaldiron; Selim I defeats the army of the Safavid Shah Ismail I.
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1516 - 1517Selim I conquers the Mamluk Sultanate, taking Syria, Palestine, Hejaz and Egypt. Ottoman Sultanate declares itself as a Caliphate.
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1520 - 1566Reign of Suleiman the Magnificent.
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1521Belgrade falls to the Ottomans.
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1523Suleiman I conquers Rhodes.
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1526Battle of Mohács; Suleiman I defeats the Hungarian field army under Louis II.
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1529Ottomans fail to take Vienna.
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1566Suleiman I dies while campaigning in Hungary.
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1566 - 1574Reign of Selim II.
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1570Ottomans conquer Cyprus.
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1571Battle of Lepanto; the Ottoman navy is defeated by the Holy League.
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1596 - 1609Celali revolts throughout Anatolia.
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1669Crete falls to the Ottoman Sultanate.
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1683Ottomans fail to take Vienna for the second time.
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1699Treaty of Karlowitz.
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1789 - 1807Reign of Selim III.
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1826Conservative Jannisary corps are disbanded.
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1839 - 1876Tanzimat reforms are introduced.
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1876 - 1878First Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire.
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1876 - 1909Reign of Abdul Hamid II.
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1908 - 1920Second Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire.
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1909Abdul Hamid II is deposed by the Young Turks party.
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1914 - 1923Armenian population of Anatolia is subjected to genocide.
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1918The Ottoman Empire is defeated in World War I.
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1922 - 1924Abdulmejid II serves the office of the Caliphate only, as a symbolic figure.
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1923The Republic of Turkey declares independence under Mustafa Kemal.
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1924Mustafa Kemal abolishes the institute of Caliphate.
