Muslim empire of the Turks from 1300 to 1920, the successor of the
Seljuk Empire. It was founded by
Osman I and reached its height with
Suleiman in the 16th century. From 1453 its capital city was Istamboul (
Istanbul; formerly
Constantinople).
At its greatest extent the Ottoman Empire's boundaries were: in Europe as far north as Hungary and part of southern Russia; Iran; the Palestinian coastline; Egypt; and North Africa. From the 1600s the empire was in decline. There was an attempted revival and reform under the Young Turk party in 1908, but the regime crumbled when Turkey sided with Germany in World War I. The sultanate was abolished by Kemal Atatürk in 1922; the last sultan was Muhammad VI.
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