OTTOMAN EMPIRE, or "Empire of the Osmanlis,• comprehends all the countries which are more or less under the authority of the Turkish sultan, and includes, besides Turkey in Asia. and that part of Turkey in Europe •adlieh is under his iln111(11hto ercignty, the vassal principalities of Moldavia and WallachM e., Roumania). Servia, and Montenegro, in Europe; Egypt with Nuldsi, Tripoli, and Tunis, in Africa; and it part of Arabis, including the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, in Asia. Tin special description. topography, history, etc.. of these countries will he found under their heads, and this article will consist solely of a brief ske:ch of the origin, growth, and present state of the Ottoman empire.
The Ottomans, or Osmanlis, to whom the generic epithet of Turiss is by common nsage now confined, are descendants of the Ogilzian Turks. a tribe of the gre Turkish nation, which in the 13th C. inhabited the steppes e. of the.Casnian sss Tim tide of Mongol invasion which was then setting in from the me.. swept the names before it, and they. to the number of 00.000, under their chief, Sunman, fled westward to tile mountainous region of Armenia After the chief's death, the, majority of the tribe became scattered over Mesopotamia; but a few thousands under Orthoamel, his young •4t F 3n, marched westward to aid the Seljuk sultan of Konieh agrin-t the Khaurezmi.m:nid 310 and 'waived from the grateful monarch a grant of land in Plisysia.—His s OTIIM (N (i1 V.) (1289-1023), laid the .fonnilation of the independent power of the Turks; and Otlinruds son and successor, ORNITAN (1323-09), continued the same aggres-ive policy, and gained a footing in Europe by the taking of Galiipoli, Koiridfeastron, and other fortresses on the coast. The Greeks, with the usual contempt of eivilizition for barbarism, male light of these losses, that the Turks had only taken from thin ft "hogs' sty" an 1 a "pottle of wine," in allusion to the magazines and cellars ladlt by Justinian.at bat, as the historian KnolleP, quaintly riot "by takins of such hog-stys and potties of wine, the Turks had gone so far into Thraeia that A iurath, a few years later, placed his royal seat at Adrianople." Sultan Orklta:t, perceive g the advantage of possessing a force trained exclusively for war, organized the body of V.% ops known as Jasizsries (q.v.), and to these his successor added the Sp:thtis (q v.) an I the Ifsailis.—AsfunsTII I. (1339-90), the successor of Orklian, rapidly reduced the Byzatoina empire within the limits of Constantinople and some neighboring districts in Thrace : nil Balgaria. A formidable confederacy of the Slavonian tribes of the uppes Pannbe was formed against and, supported by multitudes of warriors from Hungary and Italy. they advanced into Servia to give him battle; lint their army, amounting, it is sidd. to 600,000 men, was defeated with dreadful slaughter at Kossova (1390); and thonsli the salmi) was assassinated on the eve of the battle, his SOD, BAJAZET I. (q.v.) (1390-1402), followeu up this Victory by ravaging Servia intl Wallachia. Moldavia was also ov run. and a second crusading army, under the king of limits:1r)% totally routed at `ii polls (1093); but the defeat and capture of the sultan by (q.v.), gave nople a respite for 11;11f a century, by raising up numerous claimants for the Turkish throne; and it was not till 1413 that I3ajazet's youngest son, Mosa:tmEn I. (1410-221, e.stahlished his claimto the scepter. A war which broke out with the Venetian republic at this time produeed the most disastrous consequences to the mercantile and maritime interests of the 'hurls, and internal disorders prevented any aggressions on their neigh ‘MCIZATIt II. (1422-00) a prince of considerable ability, completed the conquest of the Greek empire by reducing :Macedonia and Gseece proper; and finding, that the Hungarians find roneluded a secret treaty of offense and defense with the Turkish 'sultan Caraniania against• him, lie attacked the former, but was defeated by Huuyady and compelled to retreat. Disheartened at his ill success, he resigned the throne; hut on receiving news of a formidable invasion by the army of the papal crusade. resumed the direction of affairs, and totally defeated the invader*. with whom were Hunyady (q.v.) and Scanderbeg (q.v.), at Varna (1411).—MOITAMMED II (q v.) (1450-81), the sworn foe of Christianity, greatly enlarged the Turkish territories. It was lie who stormed Constanti nople in 1453. and destroyed the last relic of the empire of the Ctesars.—His son, BAJAZET II. (1481-1512), -extended his dominions to the present limits of the Turkish empire is Asia and Europr•, including, however, also the country to the n. of the Black sea, as far e. as the mouth of the Don, portions of Dalmatia, in Daly. Bajazet was the first to feel the evil effects of the military organization of sultan Orkhan, but all his attempts to get rid of his formidable soldiery were unsuccessful. He attempted the invasion of Egypt, but was totally defeated by the Marueluke sultan at Arbela His successors, SELIM I. (q.v.) (1512-20) and SOINMAN I. (q.v.) (1520-66), raised the Otto man empire to the height of its power and splendor. During their reigns no ship beloug ing to a nation hostile to the Turks dared then navigate the Mediterranean, so completely did their fleets command that sea.—SEmm II (1566-74), a pacific prince, put an end to a war with Austria, which had been commenced in the previous reign, by a peace in which it was stipulated that the Emperor Maximilian Il. should pay a tribute of 30,000 ducats annually for the possession of Hungary, and that each nation should retain its conquests. During his reign occurred the first collision of the Turks with the Russians. It had occurred to Selim that the connection of the Don and Volga by a canal would, by allow ing the passage of ships from the Black sea into the Caspian, be a valuable aid to both military and commercial enterprise, and accordingly he sent 5.000 workmen to cut the canal, and an army of 80,000 men to aid and protect them. But, unluckily, the posses sion of Astrakhan formed part of the programme, and the attack of this town brought down on the Turks the vengeance of the Russians, a people till then unknown in southern Europe, and the projected canal-schetne was nipped in the bud. The rest of this sultan's reign was occupied in petty wars with Venice, Spa n, and his rebellious feudatory of Noldavia.—His son, ANIL:RATH M. (1574-95), such was then the prestige of the Turks, dictated to the Poles that they should choose as their kiug Stephen Bathory,Woiwode of Transylvania; and received the first .English embassy to Turkey in 1589, the object of the embassy being to conclude an alliance against Philip II. of Spain. To this the sultan agreed; but the destruction of the Spanish armada soon after rendered his interference unnecessary. •
Aker an exhausting, though successful, war with Persia, succeeded a long contest with Austria, in which the Turks at first obtained the most brilliant success, penetratilft to within 40 in. of Vienna, hut afterward suffered such terrible reverses that they were compelled lo evacuate all Hungary and Transylvania (hitherto a feurlatory),.aud were only saved from destrnNion by the Poles, who entered Moldavia, and drove out the Transylvanians and Hungarians, thus affording the Turks an opportunity of rallying, and even recovering some of their losses. The latter part of this war happened during the reign of MonAmmEn III. (1595-1604). and afforded unmistakable symptoms of the decline of Turkish prowoss; and is rebellion of the pasha of Caramania, in Asia, which was quelled not as a Mohammed II. or a Bajazet I. would have 'quelled it, hut by yield-• ing to the pasha's demands, afforded an equally convincing proof of the growing weak ness of the central administration, and set an example to all ambitious subjects in future; During the reigns of ACITNIET T. (1601-17), MUSTAFA (1617-17. 1622-23). OTEIMAN IL, (1617-22), and AiNtun'ATu IV. (1623-40), Turkey was convulsed by internal dissensions,. nevertheless, a successful war was waged with Austria for the possession of Hungary; but this success was more than counterbalanced in the e., where shah Abbas the great conquered Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, and Armenia: and in the n., where the Poles took possession of some of the frontier fortresses. While Amurath was recovering his lost provinces in the e., the khan of the Crimea, countenanced by the Poles, and Rus sians. threw off his allegiance. Mustafa, the grand vizier. a man of great ability and integrity, continued to direct the helm of government under Inruiumt (1640-48); took: front the Poles their conquests; and in a war with the Venetians (1645) obtained Candia and almost all the Venetian strongholds in the lEgean sea, though with the toss of some towns in Dalmatia.—MOTIAMMED IV. (1648-87) commenced his reign under the most unfavorable auspices; be was only seven years of age, and the whole power was vested in the janizaries and their partisans,who used it to accomplish their own ends; but luck ily for Turkey. an individual of obscure birth, named Mohammed Koprili, supposed to be of French descent, was when over 70 years of age, appointed vizier: and the extra ordinary talents of this man proved to be the salvation of Turkey at this critical junc ture. lie was succeeded (1661) in office by his son Achmet, a man of equal ability, and under his guidance the central administration recovered its control over even the most. distant provinces; a formidable war with Germany, though unsarecessfully carried on (166;1), was concluded by a peace advantageous to the Turks; Crete was wholly subdued, and Podolia wrested from the Poles: though. shortly afterwards, much of this last acqui sition was recompered by John Sobieski (q.v.). Achmet's successor overran the Aus-• trian territories, and laid siege to Vienna; but the siege was raised. and his army defeated by a combined army tinder the duke Charles of Lorraine, and John Sobieski, king of Poland. The Austrians followed up this victory by repossessing themselves of Hungary,• inflicting upon the Turks a bloody defeat at Moliacz (1687); hut the fortunate appoint ment of a third Koplin as grand vizier by SO1.Y3IAN Il. (1687-91) was the means of restoring glory and fortune to the Turkish arms.—The reigns of ACIIMET II. (1691-95), and MusTAFA 11. (1695-1702), were occupied with wars against Austria; but with the death of Kilprili (1601) fortune deserted the Turks, and the peace of ('arlowitz (1699) for ever put an end toTurkish domination in Ilitugary.—AC1IME• III. (170240) was forced by the intrigues of Charles 111. (q.v.) of Sweden, while residing at Bender, into a war with Russia; a step which was immediately followed by an invasion by the czar Peter. The czar, imprudently relying on the aid of the woiwode of :Itoldavin, found bitnself in great straits, fruit which he was rescued by the genius of his quet n, afterward Catharine 1. The recovery of the Morea from the Venetians, and the loss of Belgrade and parts of Servia and Wallnchia, which were, however, recovered during the subsequent reign of AlAntiuu I. (1730-54), and the commencement of a )(mg war with Persia (see NADne SirAH), were the other prominent occurrences of Achmet's reign. In 1736 the career of Russian aggression commenced with tl:c seizing. of Azof. Oezakof, and other important fortresses: but a scheme for the partition of Turkey between Aus tria and Russia was foiled by the continued series of disgraceful defeats inflicted upon the Austrian armies by the Turks: the Russians, on the other hand, were uniformly successful; but the czarina, becoming very desirous of peace. resigned her conquests in Moldavia, and concluded a treaty at Belgrade. Among the benefits conferred by sultan Alahmtel on his subjects, not the least was the introduction of the art of printing.—Itis successor, OTHNIAN III. (1754-57), soon gave place to MUSTAFA III. (1757-74), under whom the empire enjoyed profound tranquillity; but after his death, the Russians, in violation of the treaty of Belgrade, invaded Moldavia.—The war with Russia continued during the succeeding reign of Annue-11Amin (1774-89); the fortresses on the Danube fell; and the main army of the Turks was totally defeated at Shumla. The campaign was ended July 10,1774, by the celebrated treaty of Kutshouk-Kainardji. In detii rat of its provisions, the czarina took possession of the Crimea and the whole count ry east wind to the Caspian. The sultan was compelled. by his indignant subjects, to take tie arms in 1787. In 1788 Austria made another foolish attempt to arrange with Russia a partition of Turkey; but, as before, the Austrian .forces were completely routed. Tic Russians, however, with their usual success, had overrun the northern provinces, taken all the principal fortresses, and captured or destroyed the Turkish fleet. —The accession of SEIM' 111. (q.v.) (1789-1807) was inaugurated by renewed vigor in the prosecution of the war; but the Austrians had again joined the Russians. Bel7rade surrendered to the Austrians, while the Russians took Bucharest, Bender, Akerman, and (see SuvonoF); but the critical aspect of affairs in western Europe made it advisahle for Russia to terminate the war, and a treaty of peace was accordingly signed at Jassy. Jan. 9, 1792. By this treaty the provisions of that of Kainardji were confirmed; the Dniester was made the boundary-line, the cession of the Crimea and the Kuban was cotilirmed, and Belgrade was restored to the sultan.