Introduction
The rise and dominance of the Ottoman Empire in the 14th and 15th centuries was influenced by many factors both internal and external. One of the main reasons for the emergence of this Empire was the legacy of feudalism, where the nobilities were given lands in exchange for military service. The peasants on the other hand provided labor for military protection. This military prowess and other factors discussed in this paper resulted in the expansion of the Empire from Caucus to the Indian Ocean during its apex when Suleyman, the magnificent was the Sultan. This Empire’s expansion and success were fueled by its internal structure’s flexibility to best adapt to the prevailing circumstances. The systems administration was divided into two parts the civil and the military administration. The former dealt with internal affairs of the Empire, such as control of clergy and traditions, while the latter ensured the security of the Empire and sought to expand its borders. It is therefore clear that the emergence and success of the Empire were influenced by many factors, such as economic policies, a good army, autonomy for religion and ethnic groups, and its centralized structure.
The emergence of The Empire
One of the main external factors that led to the rise of the Ottoman Empire was the decline and fall of the Sultanate of Ram Muslim state in the 13th century. Therefore, the Anatolian Beyliks were left to govern themselves and they were often in conflict with each other. By the 15th century, one of the beys, the Osmanoglu, gained dominance over the others and established the Ottoman Empire (Ahmed 2020). From the onset, the success of the Ottoman Turks was largely influenced by their early leaders like Osman I, Beyzaid II, and Mehmed II, famous for conquering Constantinople and naming it Istanbul. In the late 15th century, the conquered city became a major trading center and contributed largely to the economic success of the Empire. Thanks to a stable economy and army Selim I, a sultan and the son of Beyzaid II, conquered Arabia, Egypt, and Palestine. However, the greatest Sultan was Suleiman, the magnificent. He ensured that the Empire prospered by creating favorable laws and encouraging literature and art during the period when the Ottomans were at their peak.
Its Centralized Structure
Without an effective centralized government, the Ottoman Empire would not have risen to control most of Southern Europe, western Asia, Northern Africa, or even the small Byzantine region. A despotism form of government where the Sultan was given absolute power gave its government a type of bureaucracy that favored military stability since all people were answerable to him. Governments that have one supreme leader are more likely to prosper compared to those governed by a committee. The leader in the Ottoman empire was given supreme authority and was responsible for ensuring the army was stable for wars. The Sultan had the authority to give nobilities titles such as viziers or wazir, who acted as advisors, and Katibs, who were secretaries for the Empire. He could also appoint someone as an Agha, a title that allowed a person to own large portions of land and be very respected within the community. These key leaders controlled how decisions were made in the Empire and helped solve disputes among people in the community.
As earlier stated, the Ottomans had a dual administrative structure that ensured that important matters were delegated to different parties and efficient delivery. The bigger arm of the government, which was the central government, was composed of the Sultan and his Katibs, who acted as bookkeepers. This administrative unit was known as the House of Osman and comprised various wazir, military officers, Askeri’s, and religious leaders called the ulemas. The House of Osman contributed greatly to the kingdom’s success as all people were forced to remain loyal to it and follow its commands. Nevertheless, the Sultan did not operate without opposition from the local governors. Records show that on more than ten occasions, a sultan was forcefully removed from office in allegations that they were an enemy of the state. In this form of governance, the Sultan was the final decision maker, but oversight from other people, like local governments, led to responsible leadership in the Ottoman empire.
The Ottoman empire also succeeded because of the law and order shown by people of the low class called the rayah. This class comprised o townspeople, villagers, and farmers and was mainly under provincial and civil governance. When a rayah committed a crime, they were only supposed to be punished by an ulema, the interpreters of Islamic religion in the Ottoman Empire. The system also had judges, qadi, who functioned as mediators and guardians for people, especially children in the states (Flatz 2021). All rayah were expected to follow the sharia and kanun law, failure to which they were subject to various punishments. The non-Islamic people who lived within the borders of the Ottoman Empire were called zimmi and were protected as long as they lived legally within the borders. The maintenance of law and order in the law class people was given to qadi, who was answerable to the Sultan. The well-structured government of the classical Ottoman empire was a major contributor to the emergence and success of the Empire.
A Good Organized Army Capable of Expanding Territory
In the initial stages of the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, the army played a bigger role compared to other factors explained in this paper and elsewhere. The first military army was organized by Sultan Osman I and consisted mainly of tribespeople from West Anatolia. This army contributed greatly to having the other beys in the former Ram Muslim state join the Empire. By the mid-14th century, the Empire had expanded to southern Europe partially due to the collapse of Byzantine control and mainly due to the army’s military prowess. The Ottoman Army was the most advanced organization and technique and was the first to use Cannons and gun powder late in the 13th century. These cannons were improved to falconets and played a pivotal role in the siege of Constantinople.
Besides the advanced use of cannons, the Ottoman Army was known for its mobility relying on the speed of the army rather than the use of heavy machinery. The army was notorious for using willy tactics such as pretending to retreat then, forming a crescent-shaped formation, and attacking with the calvary. The Ottoman Turks were also very ambitious, and after resisting the last crusade in late 1300, they started to focus on how to capture Constantinople. This led to the advancement of technologies to overcome the strong wall fortifications of the city, and the Ottomans used gunpowder and bombards to put down the city’s walls. The city’s defeat was a major turning point in the ways wars would be fought and brought an end to the medieval period. Sultan Mehmed II later changed the capital of the Empire from Adrianople to Constantinople and renamed the city Istanbul. In the decades that followed this conquest, the Empire would grow to become one of the largest in the world, signifying the importance of a strong modern army to its growth.
Good Economic Policies
The administration of the Ottoman Empire pursued good economic policies, particularly prioritizing the development of major cities. The focus was on ensuring careful use of the currency, with emphasis placed on manufacturing, agriculture, religion, and efficient markets. After the capture of Constantinople, the Ottoman empire gained control of major trade routes that were popular during Roman and Byzantine rule. The Sultans blocked the silk roads, meaning traders from Europe and Asia had to pay heavy taxes to access the roads. The Ottomans also controlled sea routes next to their territory, so people who used the sea to commute had to pay taxes. The Empire also got involved in sea trade, transporting silk, and gaining revenue, a common strategy during Sultan Suleyman Hadim. The Ottoman empire was land rich and, therefore, could hold many crops, although many people preferred to be nomads. Nonetheless, food was always abundant when the Empire was at its peak.
International trade was limited for this Empire as archived documents in Europe show no contacts with the Ottomans. However, the domestic trade between the members of the Empire cannot be ignored or underestimated as the contact between people, especially in major cities like Istanbul, Edirne, Beirut, and Damascus, has been high. Likewise, huge taxation, which was used to fund the military and the noble class of the population, was raised from these cities and agriculture. Manufacturing was also a major contributor to the emergence and success of the territory, with guilds being particularly popular in the mid-15th century. The Empire’s real GDP was estimated to be around $ 800 during the 14th century and rose to $ 1400 in the 19th century. This shows that the economy was stable, allowing the leader to focus on other matters, such as military expansion.
Autonomy of Religion
Unlike many previous Islamic caliphates, the Ottoman empire allowed autonomy of religion on its borders. They did this even though Sunni Islam was the dominant religion of the states, and the Sultan acted as the caliph, a Muslim political leader. The fact that the Muslims were given more privileges than the other religions made many dhimmis transition to Islam. This, in turn, increased the number of loyal people to the Sultan, who would be guaranteed loyalty from Muslims as a caliph. It also contributed to preventing the division of the Empire since there was a presence of non-Muslims in the region before the Empire expanded. The Ottoman Empire expanded to almost all regions because of many principles that it adopted in its leadership and management. The Empire was known to have a religious sympathy for people of different religions and was able to win the hearts of many people, particularly the native Christians.
Religious scholars have come to agree that the Ottoman millet system, which gave non-Muslim’s power to conduct their affairs without following Islamic rules, was one of the earliest instances of religious pluralism. By allowing the zimmis right to conduct their affairs as long as they adhered to the laws of dhimmi, the Empire could have a lot of taxes collected and the economy well supported. The al-dhimmi also ensured that conflicts likely to arise due to religious differences and disputes were prevented. Both the Islamic people and non-Islamic citizens contributed to the money available for the Sultan through various offering platforms.
The autonomy of religious beliefs has been a subject of much argument by many scholars. However, it can be evidenced by a painting in a church in Armenia showing Ayatollah protecting the church. Ultimately, the kind treatment given to the Christians and the privileges they saw their Muslim brothers receive would always end up in their assimilation to Islam. Laws to force expansion into Islam, such as the devshirme where Christians were forced to a certain number of their male children to the state and be converted into Islam, also favored the growth of the Empire. In some cases, the given children rose to prominence. This ensured that the Empire continued to expand and had more people serving the Sultan.
Good Education
For any civilization to prosper, a good education for its citizens is always required. The Ottoman Empire expansion was, among other internal things, a benefactor of a good education system. Most people in the nobility class had access to education up to the secondary level, while people in the poor could access primary education for free. The system of teaching in this Empire was referred to as Sibyan Mektepleri, and most of these schools were located in religious centers. Education has contributed to the Empire’s economy since people were expected to pay fees to enroll in the secondary schools Mekteps (Ahmed 2020). The primary schools called the Medreses were funded by the sultans, and their graduates got a chance to work in religious services.
Non-Muslims also had a chance to get educated in the Ottoman empire through foreign schools called Frerler Mektebleri. These schools have been argued to have been based more on European models and to be more standard when compared to Sibyan Mektepleri. Although the Ottoman Empire fell behind its European counterparts in the late 18th century, its educational systems were particularly good during its peak. The educated people could abide by the Islamic faith and therefore were obedient to their Sultan, as the caliph said. They were able to follow the teachings of the holy Quran that humans must be trustworthy, responsible, and hardworking, which led to the Empire’s success. The education was too able to give people discipline and strategic organization, and they were therefore capable of organizing themselves well in the military and winning wars. However, when the Turkish education system began to fall behind, the Ottoman empire was left by the European system and, with time, abolished.
Effective taxation systems
The taxation systems in the Ottoman empire were good, effective, and constantly changing, ensuring that its wazirs and sultans were well funded to support their missions. First, the Empire inherited the newly conquered regions’ taxation policies and principles, reducing its conflicts with the locals. This strategy was used when Ottoman Empire defeated Belgrade, and instead of asking them to pay taxes using the Empire’s policies, the Sultan requested to have the tax books of the state before it was conquered (Zürcher, 2019). This, with time, led to confusion since different regions had different taxation systems and forced the Empire to do tax reforms and have a more uniform strategy. This great taxation strategy of always changing the system over time to fit the changing times gave the Empire a strategic advantage over the other communities, consequently resulting in growth and expansion.
Conclusion
The main internal and external factors that led to the emergence and success of the Ottoman Empire were a good military army, exceptional economic policies, and a good centralized administrative structure. Other major factors that contributed to this success are effective taxation systems, good education policies that accommodated Muslims and non-Muslims, and religious autonomy. The Empire’s success, as is with many facets of life, was not reliant on one variable and did not happen over a day. Other key minor factors not discussed in this essay, such as sports, science and technology, food, literature, leadership quality of the sultans, the strength of the neighbors, diseases, and language, could also have played a pivotal role. Since the study of this topic is always continuous further research needs to be done to establish if there are any silent factors or narrative fallacies that could have led to deceiving conclusions. However, in the early 20th century, the Empire fell, and there were causes for its fall, too, opening doors for extensive research on the topic.
References
Ahmed, Emin Osmanoğlu. 2020. “The Ottoman Perception in Process: Turkey Social Studies Textbook Analysis.” Educational Research and Reviews 15 (3): 129–37.
Flatz, Vera. 2021. “The Beginnings of an Empire. The Transformation of the Ottoman State into an Empire, Demonstrated at the Example of Grand Vizier Mahmud Pasha’s Life and Accomplishments.” Historia.scribere, no. 13 (June): 257.
Zürcher, Erik Jan. “Young Turk Governance in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.” Middle Eastern Studies 55, no. 6 (2019): 897-913.