I.

Rise of the Ottoman Empire

1. Seljuk Turk warrior nomads transformed themselves into the rulers of a highly
Bureaucratic empire.
2. Under Osman (r. 1299 1326), the Turks consolidated their power by attracting artisans,
merchants, bureaucrats, and clerics

Ottomans became champions of Sunni Islam

By the mid- fourteenth century, The Ottomans created a vast multiethnic,

Multilingual empire in the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia

Ottomans created a large bureaucracy with the Sultan at the head

3. The conquest of Constantinople

The empires spectacular expansion was due to their mighty military power,
which also generated vast financial and administrative rewards

The most spectacular triumph of Mehmed the Conqueror (r. 1451 1481)
was the 1453 conquest of Constantinople, the capital of the Roman- Byzantine
Empire, which he renamed Istanbul.

The fall had positive cultural benefits for Western Europe, as Christian refugees brought
classical text to Western Europe, stimulating a Europe an
Renaissance

Ottoman military expansion continued with the conquest of Europe an cities in

Greece, Bosnia, Italy, Hungary, Croatia, and Austria.

By the late fifteenth century, Ottomans controlled ports and sea routes on the
Mediterranean, blocking Europe and access to Asian trade

4. The tools of empire building

Under Suleiman (r. 1520 1566), Ottomans reached the height of their territorial
Expansion with 20 30 million subjects.

 Called The Great Turk, the Lawgiver, and the Magnificent; was a
gifted military leader and administrator.

b. Ottoman dynastic power fused the secular with the sacred

Sultans called themselves shadow of God on earth
Sultans became defenders and protectors of the faith, constructing mosques and
supporting Islamic schools.

5. Diversity and control allowed the Ottoman Empire to endure into the twentieth century

While Turkish was the official language of administration, Ottomans promoted a flexible
and tolerant language policy

Ottomans allowed for regional autonomy, allowing local appointees to keep a portion of
taxes for Istanbul and for themselves

In order to limit local autonomy, Ottomans created a corps of infantry soldiers and
bureaucrats with direct allegiance to the sultan called Janissaries
Christian boys between the ages of 8 and 18 conscripted from
Europe, devshirme
Recipients of the best Islamic education in the world in Ottoman
military, religious, and administrative techniques

6. Overland commerce and Ottoman expansion

Maritime trade overshadowed but did not eliminate overland commerce, and land routes
reemerged and thrived in parts.
Aleppo in Syria emerged as the most important spectacular commercial center in
southwest Asia, linking India and Baghdad
Ottomans had great respect for their successful merchants, as they had to master
the challenges of the caravan trade and their routes.

Ottoman Empire encouraged overland routes as they provided considerable tax

revenue
They maintained safe military rest stops along the route, some accommodating as large
as 800 travelers and their animals
Government leaders and merchants both paid local leaders cash as protection
money, to stop raids along the route.

II. The Atlantic world

The development of new Atlantic sea lanes began an epochal transformation in world
history
Europeans were able to conquer and colonize the Americas, unlike Africa or
Asia, because of their diseases like smallpox, typhus, and cholera, which
decimated Amerindians.
. Atlantic Ocean system emerged and enriched Europeans, as Europeans
transported African slave labor to the Americas in numbers far greater than
Europeans.
This accidental discovery led to conquest and great wealth for Europeans
The New World term reflects the European view that this land was new
because it was previously unknown to them.
Competition for the spoils of the Atlantic, in addition to the Indian Ocean
system, heightened European rivalries.

Westward voyages of Columbus

October 12, 1492, on behalf of Spain, Columbus reached San Salvador in the
Bahamas, and ushered in a new era of world history.
Columbuss goals were to make money and Christianize the world, which drove
the European colonization of the Americas.

First encounters
Columbuss first encounters with Tainos in the Caribbean symbolized European
contrasting images of Amerindians as innocents or savages
Columbus mislabeled Tainos as Indians as he believed he had reached India
He described the Tainos as a child- like people who had no religion and were
ready for conversion, but possessed gold