Ottomans

__**Introduction (1280-1922)**__ **Tyler Hinrichs, Danny Muk, Donald Martinez, Armand Amonette** The Ottoman Empire stretched from the Persian Gulf to parts of Africa near the Mediterranean Sea. Its neighboring empires were the Safavid Empire, Arabia, Hapsburg Empire and Ethiopia. Because of the placement of the empire it had a great trade route. It is also surrounded by water. The Ottomans were around from the 13th century to 1922. == =__**Political**__= The Ottomans had an imperial system of government, meaning that there was one person who made all of the influential decisions in the empire. The Ottomans had their society split into three different categories socially. The upper class consisting of the sultan, his family, diplomats, and generals. The soldiers, led by the Janissaries, the elite cavalry of the Ottomans. Then there is the lower class, the peasants, who were just that, they did all of the menial labor, cooking, building.

The major rulers were as follows...
 * Reign || Osmanli Dynasty ||
 * 1280-1324 || Osman I ||
 * 1324-1360 || Orhan ||
 * 1360-1389 || Murat I ||
 * 1389-1402 || Bayezid I, the Thunderbolt (deposed) ||
 * 1402-1403 || Isa (claimed Asia Minor) ||
 * 1402-1411 || Suleiman (claimed Rumelia) ||
 * 1409-1413 || Mesa (claimed Rumelia) ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1413-1421 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mehmet I (claimed Asian Minor, 1402-1413 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1421-1451 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Murat II (abdicated in favor of Mehmet II 1444-1446) ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1451-1481 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mehmet II, the Conqueror ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1481-1512 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bayezid II (deposed) ||

=**__Economic__**= The Ottoman Empire traded with the territories that they had conquered. They traded with Turks, Armenians, Greeks, Slavs, Jews, and Romanians.This had many different effects on the Empire. They were based on their trade, labor and checks that the Ottomans had. They traded spices that the slaves grew. They were based on their slavery and trade which ultimately brought their end. The slaves and everyone they had conquered had risen against them and didn't join them in the first World War. Their slavery helped them use their agriculture and Industry which were the main sources of their economy. The spices that they created helped them use their agriculture and brought up their economy. That ultimately helped them survive for the time that they did. Only trading with people they conquered and they knew would not and could not disobey the Ottomans. Also only using the industry and agriculture that they created.

= = =__Social__= Daily life of the Ottomans revolved around coffeehouses which allowed men to gather and smoke. The Ottomans adopted coffee shops through 17th century English merchants in America. In coffeehouses the Ottomans would share and exchange information which would allow information to spread quickly. Other purposes of the coffee house was to gossip, do business, and play chess. Coffeehouses were pivotal to the social life of the Ottoman empire. Coffeehouse played a major role in the culture of the the Ottomans in Constantinople. These places allowed poets and scholars to gather and read their works aloud and debate politics and others ideas.

The Ottoman Empire consisted of three major classes. A ruling class, nobles, and the lower peasant class. These three classes play a major part in the Ottoman Empire. The ruling class consisted of the Sultan, the ruler of the Ottoman Empire, and the royal family. The role of the ruling class was to collect taxes, organize the wealth and to keep the order of the empire. The noble class consisted of A noble's role in the Ottoman empire was to administer agricultural estates for peasants to labor on. The role of the peasants was to work on estates owned by nobles and become agricultural laborers and support the government by paying taxes.

The most popular and practiced religion in the Ottoman Empire is Islam. Islam was the official religion of the Ottoman Empire. Islam is a monotheistic religion that follows the Qur'an and the Ottoman government made special laws affecting those who didn't practice Islam, though the people of the Ottoman empire retained their right to religious freedoms. Because of people who did not practice Islam and instead were Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, and other religions, they became divided. The people who did and did not practice Islam created a millet system which were lead by a religious leader would have to be responsible for the needs and governing of nation. The most popular millet was the Muslim-millet since it followed the empires official religion. =**__References__**= http://naqshbandi.org/ottomans/maps/ --- Ottoman empire map <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"millet System." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Population by Religion of the Ottoman Empire, 1895-1896." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2012.