Ottoman Empire
By: Najeebah and Mariam Ahmed
What has the Ottoman Empire done for us?
Were examples of:
-Fair governing-Multiculturalism
-Trade
Who did the Ottoman Empire Colonize
Major Leaders of the Ottoman Empire
"Verify you shall Constantinople. What a wonderful leader will he be, and what a wonderful army will that army bet." -Hadith
Conquest of Constantinople
-preparations for the taking of constantinople
-"verify you shall constantinople. what a wonderful leader will he be, and what a wonderful army will tht army bet"
-1453, the first Ottoman frontier forces were seen in front of the city, the siege was starting
6 April 1453
Sultan Mehmed pitched his imperial tent by the door of St. Romanus in Topkapi neighborhood. The same day the city was besieged from the Golden Horn to the Marmara Sea from the land.
6-7 April 1453
First cannons fired. Some of the fortresses in Edirnekapi neighborhood were destroyed.
9 April 1453
Baltaoglu Suleyman Bey launched the first attack to enter the Golden Horn inlet.
9-10 April 1453
Some of the fortresses on Bosphorus were taken. Baltaoglu Süleyman Bey seized the Marmara Islands.
11 April 1453
The big walls were bombarded by cannon fires. Holes and cracks were opened here and there. Serious destruction inflicted by ceaseless bombardment.
12 April 1453
The Ottoman fleet attacked the ships protecting the Golden Horn. The victory of the Christian ships decreased the morale of the Ottoman army. At the order of Sultan Mehmed, the Byzantine ships were pounded by mortar fire, and one galley was sunk.
18 April 1453, Night
The Sultan gave his first crucial order. The attack lasted four hours but it was scattered.
20 April 1453
A naval skirmish took place close to Yenikapi neighborhood between the Ottoman fleet and four Byzantine warships with three supply ships full of food and weapons sent by the Papacy. The Sultan came to the shore himself and ordered Baltaoglu Süleyman Pasha to sink those ships by any means possible. The Ottoman fleet could not stop enemy's ships. With this failure, the Ottoman army lost its morale and showed the signs of defeat. Ottoman soldiers started defecting from the army. Soon, the Byzantine Emperor wanted to take advantage of this situation and offered peace.
The offer was supported by the Vizier Çandarli Halil Pasha, but was rejected by Sultan Mehmed. The siege and bombardment of the fortresses with cannons continued.
During this chaos and widespread feeling of defeat, a letter from the Sultan's spiritual teacher Aksemseddin promised good news about the conquest. Encouraged by this spiritual support, Fatih Sultan Mehmed escalated the attack and decided to add an element of surprise: the Ottoman fleet anchored in Dolmabahçe bay would be moved to the Golden Horn by land.
22 April 1453
In early hours of the morning, Byzantines were shocked and horrified when they saw Ottoman galleys moving down on the hills of the harbor. Seventy ships carried by cows and balanced by hundreds of soldiers via ropes were slid over slipways. By the afternoon, the ships were inside the well protected bay.
The surprise appearance of the Ottoman fleet in the bay created panic among Byzantine residents of Constantinople. The wall on the shore of the Golden Horn became a vulnerable spot and some of the Byzantine forces were moved there. This weakened the defense of the land walls.
28 April 1453
The attempt to burn the Ottoman ships in the bay was prevented by heavy cannon fire. A bridge was constructed between Ayvansaray and Sutluce neighborhoods to attack the walls located on the shore of the bay.
An offer of unconditional surrender was delivered to the Emperor through the Genoese. If he surrendered he could have gone wherever he wanted and the life and property of his people would have been spared. The Emperor rejected this offer.
7 May 1453
A three hour long attack was launched on the stream of Bayrampasa with a 30,000 strong force; but it was failed.
12 May 1453
A thunderous attack made towards the point between Tekfur Palace and Edirnekapi was defeated by the Byzantine defence.
16 May 1453
When the underground tunnel dug in the direction of Egrikapi intersected the Byzantine underground tunnel, an underground skirmish erupted.
The same day, an attempt to cut the big chain blocking the entrance of the Golden Horn failed. The following day the attack was repeated, but again ended with failure.
18 May 1453
Ottoman forces launched another attack from the direction of Topkapi neighborhood by using a wooden mobile tower. The Byzantines burned the tower at night and emptied the trenches that were filled by Ottomans.
Over the following days, bombarding of the land walls was continued.
25 May 1453
Fatih Sultan Mehmed, sent Isfendiyar Beyoglu Ismail Bey as an ambassador offering the Emperor to surrender for the last time. According to this offer, the Emperor and his followers could take their wealth and go anywhere they wished. The people who decided to stay could keep their belongings and estates. This offer too was rejected.
26 May 1453
According to rumors, European countries and especially Hungarians were planning to mobilize their troops to help the Byzantines unless the siege was ended. Upon hearing these rumors Sultan Mehmed gathered his war council. In the meeting Candarli Halil Pasha and his party defended their previous position, that is, of putting an end to the siege. Sultan Mehmed with his tutor Zaganos Pasha, his teachers Aksemseddin, Molla Gürani and Molla Hüsrev opposed the idea of quitting.
They decided to continue the war and Zaganos Pasha was commissioned for preparations.
27 May 1453
The general attack was announced to the Ottoman army.
28 May 1453
The army spent the day by resting and preparing for the next day's attack. There was a complete silence among soldiers. Sultan Mehmed inspected the army and encouraged them for the great attack.
On the other side, a religious ceremony was held in Hagia Sophia Church. The Emperor urged people to participate in the defense. This would be the last Byzantine ceremony.
29 May 1453
Mehmet II conquered ConstantinoplePlatoons positioned for the assault. Sultan Mehmed gave the order to attack at midnight. Inside Constantinople, while the soldiers positioned for war, people filled the churches.
The Ottoman army launched its final assault. The first assault was performed by infantry and it was followed by Anatolian soldiers. When 300 Anatolian soldiers were killed, the Janissaries started their attack. With the presence of Sultan Mehmed, the Ottoman army was motivated and hand to hand fights started. A young soldier, Ulubatli Hasan, who first erected the Ottoman flag on Byzantine land wall, was martyred. Upon the entrance of the Janissaries from Belgradkapi neighborhood and the surrender of the last defenders in Edirnekapi front, the Byzantine defense collapsed. The Emperor was killed during street skirmishes.
Turkish forces entered from every direction and crushed the Byzantine defense completely. Towards noon Sultan Mehmed entered the city. He went directly to Haghia Sophia Church and ordered to convert it into a mosque.
Colonization
Economic experiences as a result-both by the colonizer and those colonized:
-Lots of trade
-Crossroads of trade between the East and the West
Political reasons for colonization:
-Hadith mentions the conquering of Constantinople.
-Expanding the Empire and spreading religion
Social reasons for the colonization:
Social experiences as a result-both by the colonizer and those colonized
-Fair system
-One of the first multicultural societies.
-Multiculturalism and a variety of faiths is what made it so successful.
-Rabbis had urged jews to move their due to the fair system set up by the Ottomans.
The Ottoman Empire was also a Caliphate under the dynasty and was the last Sunni
Islamic Caliphate of the late medieval and early modern era. Ottoman rulers claimed
Caliphal authority since Mehmed II's conquest of Constantinople in 1453. His grandson
Selim I, through conquering and unification of Muslim lands became the defender of the
Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina which further strengthened the Ottoman claim to
Caliphate in the Muslim World.