Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire

The Byzantine Empire ended in 1453 with the conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the Ottoman Empire, under Suleiman the Magnificent, was nation that controlled most of Southeast Europe, Western Asia, the Caucasus, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa. For almost six centuries, the Ottoman Empire was at the center of interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds. However, in the nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire began to gradually decline. It allied themselves to the Germans, hoping to recover their lost territories, when they joined World War I. Even though the Ottoman Empire was able to hold themselves in the war, it did struggle with internal dissents.

Mehmed the Conqueror

After this, there was a competition between the Portuguese and the Ottoman Empire to see who the dominant power in the region was. Suleiman the Magnificent captured Belgrade in 1521, conquered both southern and central parts of the Kingdom of Hungary, and established Turkish rule in the Central European territories. Suleiman the Magnificent wanted to siege Vienna in 1529, but failed to take the city. When Suleiman´s reign ended, the Empire had extended over three continents and made a major part of the European politics. When the Suleiman died, there was a decline in the Ottoman Empire due to the lack of leadership. Instead of improving, the military strength of the Ottomans decreased while their enemies only grew. The death also had an effect on the Ottoman economic system because it began to decline as war caused inflation and trade began to move to other parts of Europe. However they still managed to stay a great power until

The Battle of Gallipoli took place on the Gallipoli peninsula during World War I in the Ottoman Empire. The Gallipoli peninsula provided a sea route to the Russian Empire. Russia´s allies, Britain and France, wanted to secure it by launching a naval attack followed by amphibious landing. Britain and France wanted the peninsula to capture Constantinople, the Ottoman capital. That attack failed, with causalities on both sides. The Gallipoli campaign was the final defense of the Ottoman Empire as it began to