Chapter 8Three Continents: Conflict and Commerce

The Abbasid Caliphate at the Height of Its Power

The Abbasid Caliphate at the Height of its Power

1. In 750 the weakened Umayyads fell to the Abbasids (750-1258) who moved the capital from Damascus to Baghdad (Persian for "city of God") which was built between 762 and 766 on the banks of the Tigris River. The location was strategic since it could take advantage of the river traffic to the Persian Gulf and the caravans from the Mediterranean and central Asia. The greatest extent of the Abbasid Empire was under Haroun al-Rashid (786-809).

2. In the wake of the Abbasid victory, many of the Umayyad leaders were executed. One who escaped was Abd al-Rahman who made his way to Spain where he re-established the Umayyad dynasty in 756. The Umayyad power began to deteriorate in the middle of the tenth century and Muslim Spain disintegrated into the smaller states of Seville, Malaga, Toledo, Saragossa, and Granada under the control of various families.

3. In 788 a independent Sunnite regime was established in Morocco. By the tenth century the Umayyads of Cordoba had gained control of Morocco but were quickly replaced in the middle of the eleventh century by the Almoravids. The Almoravids also conquered western Algeria and southern Spain. Their capitals were at Marrakech and Seville. As the Christians in Spain gained territories in the twelfth century, the weak Almoravids were succeeded by the Almohads (Muslim Berbers) from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The Almohads soon conquered parts of southern Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, and Tripoli in response to Norman expansion from Sicily.

4. In 909 control over Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) was seized by a claimant who professed to be a descendent from Fatimah, Muhammad's daughter. In the second half of the tenth century, Egypt was conquered by the Fatimids and they transferred the capital from Tunisia to newly built Cairo. By 1000 the Fatimids also controlled southern Syria, the Hejaz, and Yemen as well as most of North Africa. In the early eleventh century the Fatimid empire began to disintegrate permitting Byzantine control over northern Syria and make possible the successes of the Crusaders.

5. In the east, Iran was increasingly difficult for the Abbasids to govern as independent dynasties were created. Out of weakness the caliph recognized their defacto control. Among the most important were the Samanids controlling Khorasan and Transoxiana from Bukhara and the Zaidi sect of Shi'ites who flourished in northern Iran and northern Yemen in the ninth century.

6. The Seljuk Turks, originating in the steppes of Turkistan, served as mercenaries for the Abbasids. Taking advantage of the weakness of the Abbasid, the Seljuks seized Baghdad and control of the empire. In 1071 the Seljuks defeated the Byzantines in eastern Anatolia and then seized most of the peninsula.

Question:1. Examine the expansion and disintegration of the Abbasid Empire.

The Abbasid Caliphate at the Height of its Power

1. In 750 the weakened Umayyads fell to the Abbasids (750-1258) who moved the capital from Damascus to Baghdad (Persian for "city of God") which was built between 762 and 766 on the banks of the Tigris River. The location was strategic since it could take advantage of the river traffic to the Persian Gulf and the caravans from the Mediterranean and central Asia. The greatest extent of the Abbasid Empire was under Haroun al-Rashid (786-809).

2. In the wake of the Abbasid victory, many of the Umayyad leaders were executed. One who escaped was Abd al-Rahman who made his way to Spain where he re-established the Umayyad dynasty in 756. The Umayyad power began to deteriorate in the middle of the tenth century and Muslim Spain disintegrated into the smaller states of Seville, Malaga, Toledo, Saragossa, and Granada under the control of various families.

3. In 788 a independent Sunnite regime was established in Morocco. By the tenth century the Umayyads of Cordoba had gained control of Morocco but were quickly replaced in the middle of the eleventh century by the Almoravids. The Almoravids also conquered western Algeria and southern Spain. Their capitals were at Marrakech and Seville. As the Christians in Spain gained territories in the twelfth century, the weak Almoravids were succeeded by the Almohads (Muslim Berbers) from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The Almohads soon conquered parts of southern Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, and Tripoli in response to Norman expansion from Sicily.

4. In 909 control over Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) was seized by a claimant who professed to be a descendent from Fatimah, Muhammad's daughter. In the second half of the tenth century, Egypt was conquered by the Fatimids and they transferred the capital from Tunisia to newly built Cairo. By 1000 the Fatimids also controlled southern Syria, the Hejaz, and Yemen as well as most of North Africa. In the early eleventh century the Fatimid empire began to disintegrate permitting Byzantine control over northern Syria and make possible the successes of the Crusaders.

5. In the east, Iran was increasingly difficult for the Abbasids to govern as independent dynasties were created. Out of weakness the caliph recognized their defacto control. Among the most important were the Samanids controlling Khorasan and Transoxiana from Bukhara and the Zaidi sect of Shi'ites who flourished in northern Iran and northern Yemen in the ninth century.

6. The Seljuk Turks, originating in the steppes of Turkistan, served as mercenaries for the Abbasids. Taking advantage of the weakness of the Abbasid, the Seljuks seized Baghdad and control of the empire. In 1071 the Seljuks defeated the Byzantines in eastern Anatolia and then seized most of the peninsula.

Question:1. Examine the expansion and disintegration of the Abbasid Empire.

Golden Age of Islam Abbasids

BaghdadCentralized government

Grand vizier and an advisory councilWealth based on agriculture and tradeDecline

Rival dynasties in the Empire Look to Turkish and Persian leadership Economic strength of North and West Africa Religious schism

The Umayyads Crossed into the Iberian Peninsula, 710 Umayyad caliphate established, 756 Education Jews

Islamic Theology, Philosophy, and Science Ibn Sina (Avicenna) Ibn Rushd (Averoës) Muhammad al-Ghazali Translation of Greek and Persian science Medicine, Maimonides

Architecture Literature

Example of Middle Eastern Islamic ironwork on window

The Early Crusades

The Early Crusades

1. In 1071 at Manzikert in Asia Minor a mercenary army of Seljuk Turks in the service of the Arabs defeated a Greek army. The Turks soon occupied much of Asia Minor as well as Jerusalem. Fearful, Emperor Alexius I Comnenus (1081-1118) of Constantinople issued a call for help to Pope Urban II (1088-1099). In 1095 at the Council of Clermont, Urban challenged Christians to begin a holy war to recover the Holy Land. The initial response was a ragtag rabble under the leadership of Peter the Hermit and Walter the Penniless. As it made its way to Constantinople, the Peasants' Crusade terrorized the people of the Balkans. Alexis wisely ushered the peasant crusaders on to Asia Minor where the Turks massacred them.

2. Coming primarily from France and Germany, the armies of the First Crusade (1096-1099) converged on Constantinople with several thousand cavalry and perhaps 10,000 infantry. During three years of campaigning, Antioch fell in 1098 and after a five-week siege in 1099 so too did Jerusalem. In both cases, the Muslim and Jewish inhabitants were massacred. The region as a whole was divided into the principality of Antioch, the counties of Tripoli and Edessa, and the kingdom of Jerusalem. Antioch, Edessa, and Tripoli were all held as fiefs under the rule of the kingdom of Jerusalem.

3. With narrow strips of land and a small population, the Christian hold was precarious. It was only a matter of time until the Muslims attacked. When they did, Edessa fell in 1144. Leading the reinforcements of the Second Crusade were King Louis VII of France and Emperor Conrad III of Germany. It failed. In 1187 the sultan Saladin captured Jerusalem.

4. The Third Crusade brought together the three major monarchs of Europe: Richard I, the Lionhearted, of England, Philip II Augustus of France, and Frederick Barbarossa of Germany. Barbarossa took a land route in 1190 but drowned crossing a river in Asia Minor. His army disbanded before reaching the Holy Land. Philip traveled by land in 1191 to Genoa and then by sea to Acre. He was joined shortly by Richard sailing from Normandy. Together the forces captured Acre but Philip and Richard quarreled and Philip returned to France, leaving his troops in the Holy Land. Although unable to recapture Jerusalem, Richard did confirm peace with Saladin in 1192 and safe conduct for Christians to Jerusalem.

5. In the Fourth Crusade, Venetians induced Crusaders to attack Christian Zara, a trading rival. Captured in 1202, the Crusaders turned to Constantinople that was sacked in 1203. A year later, the Latin Empire of Constantinople was created, lasting until 1261.

6. The Fifth Crusade fruitlessly attacked Acre and then turned its efforts on Egypt where Damietta was placed under siege in 1218. After its fall in 1219, Christians turned to the Nile Delta but were forced to flee when the Egyptians broke the dams in the canals. Damietta had to be surrendered for a safe retreat.

7. On the Sixth Crusade, Frederick II of Germany negotiated in 1229 an agreement with the sultan for the restoration of Christian Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and several towns in Palestine. In return, he promised not to aid Crusaders warring in Egypt. The fall of Acre in 1291 ended the Crusader states.

Question:1. What were the objectives of the Crusades and why did they ultimately fail?

The Early Crusades

1. In 1071 at Manzikert in Asia Minor a mercenary army of Seljuk Turks in the service of the Arabs defeated a Greek army. The Turks soon occupied much of Asia Minor as well as Jerusalem. Fearful, Emperor Alexius I Comnenus (1081-1118) of Constantinople issued a call for help to Pope Urban II (1088-1099). In 1095 at the Council of Clermont, Urban challenged Christians to begin a holy war to recover the Holy Land. The initial response was a ragtag rabble under the leadership of Peter the Hermit and Walter the Penniless. As it made its way to Constantinople, the Peasants' Crusade terrorized the people of the Balkans. Alexis wisely ushered the peasant crusaders on to Asia Minor where the Turks massacred them.

2. Coming primarily from France and Germany, the armies of the First Crusade (1096-1099) converged on Constantinople with several thousand cavalry and perhaps 10,000 infantry. During three years of campaigning, Antioch fell in 1098 and after a five-week siege in 1099 so too did Jerusalem. In both cases, the Muslim and Jewish inhabitants were massacred. The region as a whole was divided into the principality of Antioch, the counties of Tripoli and Edessa, and the kingdom of Jerusalem. Antioch, Edessa, and Tripoli were all held as fiefs under the rule of the kingdom of Jerusalem.

3. With narrow strips of land and a small population, the Christian hold was precarious. It was only a matter of time until the Muslims attacked. When they did, Edessa fell in 1144. Leading the reinforcements of the Second Crusade were King Louis VII of France and Emperor Conrad III of Germany. It failed. In 1187 the sultan Saladin captured Jerusalem.

4. The Third Crusade brought together the three major monarchs of Europe: Richard I, the Lionhearted, of England, Philip II Augustus of France, and Frederick Barbarossa of Germany. Barbarossa took a land route in 1190 but drowned crossing a river in Asia Minor. His army disbanded before reaching the Holy Land. Philip traveled by land in 1191 to Genoa and then by sea to Acre. He was joined shortly by Richard sailing from Normandy. Together the forces captured Acre but Philip and Richard quarreled and Philip returned to France, leaving his troops in the Holy Land. Although unable to recapture Jerusalem, Richard did confirm peace with Saladin in 1192 and safe conduct for Christians to Jerusalem.

5. In the Fourth Crusade, Venetians induced Crusaders to attack Christian Zara, a trading rival. Captured in 1202, the Crusaders turned to Constantinople that was sacked in 1203. A year later, the Latin Empire of Constantinople was created, lasting until 1261.

6. The Fifth Crusade fruitlessly attacked Acre and then turned its efforts on Egypt where Damietta was placed under siege in 1218. After its fall in 1219, Christians turned to the Nile Delta but were forced to flee when the Egyptians broke the dams in the canals. Damietta had to be surrendered for a safe retreat.

7. On the Sixth Crusade, Frederick II of Germany negotiated in 1229 an agreement with the sultan for the restoration of Christian Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and several towns in Palestine. In return, he promised not to aid Crusaders warring in Egypt. The fall of Acre in 1291 ended the Crusader states.

Question:1. What were the objectives of the Crusades and why did they ultimately fail?

The Crusades Pope Urban II, 1095 Unite Christians under the Latin church Hoped for commercial gains for the Italian city-states Decline of the Byzantine Empire Declining protection of the Seljuk Turks Divided Muslim World

Fragmented politicsSeljuk TurksSyria

Crusader States Constantinople captured, 1098 Jerusalem captured, 1099 Feudal Crusader states

Muslim Counterattacks Salah ed-Din (Saladin) Jerusalem falls, 1187 Failure of the Third Crusade, 1189-1192

Latin Empire of Constantinople, 1202-1261 Culture exchange Trade Religious animosity

The Mongol Empire in 1255

1. The Mongols were a nomadic people originating in the southern grasslands of China south of Lake Baikal. They primarily raised horses and herded sheep. Their organization was by clans and related the clans to tribes. The unification of the tribes came under Temuchin (1206-1227) in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. Through the tribe of his wife, Temuchin allied with the Chin ruling north China. In 1206 a meeting of the tribes in the Gobi Desert elected Temuchin their great khan ("ruler"). Genghis Khan, as he was now known, was the unquestioned leader. In 1227 Genghis was assassinated, the same year that Peking fell. His forces went on to take the southern reaches of the Yellow River in 1234 and by 1241 held all of north China. In the ascendancy of the Mongols, millions had been left slaughtered in their wake. 2. The army, never more than 130,000, was recruited from the Uigher Turks, the Manchus, and other nomadic people. It was divided into myriads of 10,000 with subdivisions of 1,000, 100, and 10. They were superior horsemen possessing a powerful compound bow, needed supplies, and remounts. Although their tactics utilizing siege warfare and cavalry that encircled and compressed the enemy were very successful, these were less effective in tropical terrain and hilly regions than in the arid Mongol heartland.

3. The empire of Genghis Khan was divided among his four sons: Juji (who had died and his three sons received the inheritance), Chaghatay, Ogotai, and Tului. Ogotai was designated the grand khan. Eventually the khanates became independent: in central Asia was the Khanate of Chaghatay (Changhadai); in Russia the Khanate of Kipchak (Golden Horde, the sons of Juji); in Persia the Khanate of Persia (IlKhanate, Ogotai); and in Mongolia to southern China the Khanate of the Great Kahn (Tului).

4. In 1237 a Mongol expedition set out to conquer Europe. They were led by Batu, grandson of Genghis, and swept across Russia, capturing Moscow, Kiev, and other cities. The Mongols then advanced through Poland, East Prussia and Bohemia, and Hungary, capturing Buda and Pest. By the end of 1241 the Mongols were set to invade the Holy Roman Empire. Europe was saved when Ogotai died at the end of 1241. The Mongol princes and generals rushed back to their homeland to elect a new khan. Batu withdrew to the Volga valley and remained there to form the khanate of the Golden Horde.

5. The capital of the Khanate of the Great Khan was moved from Karakorum to Khanbaligh (modern Beijing) in 1264 (Beijing, the former Chin capital, was captured in 1227). The summer palace was at Shang-tu.

6. Chosen in 1260 as the great khan was Khubilai (1260-1294) grandson of Ghengis. He adopted the Chinese dynastic name of Yüan in 1271. Only about 400,000 Mongols lived in China during the Yüan period.

7. The Mongols conquered Tibet, Korea, Sung China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma, Persia, Mesopotamia, and Syria. They were stopped by the Egyptians in Palestine in 1260 and Japan in 1274 and 1281. In 1281 Khubilai Khan sent an army of nearly 150,000 to Japan but failed to subdue it, especially after a massive typhoon destroyed the entire Mongol fleet. In 1293 the Khan's forces failed against Java.

Questions:1. What weaknesses existed in the khanate system?2. How was the Mongol empire enlarged after the death of Genghis khan?

The Mongol Empire in 1255

1. The Mongols were a nomadic people originating in the southern grasslands of China south of Lake Baikal. They primarily raised horses and herded sheep. Their organization was by clans and related the clans to tribes. The unification of the tribes came under Temuchin (1206-1227) in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. Through the tribe of his wife, Temuchin allied with the Chin ruling north China. In 1206 a meeting of the tribes in the Gobi Desert elected Temuchin their great khan ("ruler"). Genghis Khan, as he was now known, was the unquestioned leader. In 1227 Genghis was assassinated, the same year that Peking fell. His forces went on to take the southern reaches of the Yellow River in 1234 and by 1241 held all of north China. In the ascendancy of the Mongols, millions had been left slaughtered in their wake. 2. The army, never more than 130,000, was recruited from the Uigher Turks, the Manchus, and other nomadic people. It was divided into myriads of 10,000 with subdivisions of 1,000, 100, and 10. They were superior horsemen possessing a powerful compound bow, needed supplies, and remounts. Although their tactics utilizing siege warfare and cavalry that encircled and compressed the enemy were very successful, these were less effective in tropical terrain and hilly regions than in the arid Mongol heartland.

3. The empire of Genghis Khan was divided among his four sons: Juji (who had died and his three sons received the inheritance), Chaghatay, Ogotai, and Tului. Ogotai was designated the grand khan. Eventually the khanates became independent: in central Asia was the Khanate of Chaghatay (Changhadai); in Russia the Khanate of Kipchak (Golden Horde, the sons of Juji); in Persia the Khanate of Persia (IlKhanate, Ogotai); and in Mongolia to southern China the Khanate of the Great Kahn (Tului).

4. In 1237 a Mongol expedition set out to conquer Europe. They were led by Batu, grandson of Genghis, and swept across Russia, capturing Moscow, Kiev, and other cities. The Mongols then advanced through Poland, East Prussia and Bohemia, and Hungary, capturing Buda and Pest. By the end of 1241 the Mongols were set to invade the Holy Roman Empire. Europe was saved when Ogotai died at the end of 1241. The Mongol princes and generals rushed back to their homeland to elect a new khan. Batu withdrew to the Volga valley and remained there to form the khanate of the Golden Horde.

5. The capital of the Khanate of the Great Khan was moved from Karakorum to Khanbaligh (modern Beijing) in 1264 (Beijing, the former Chin capital, was captured in 1227). The summer palace was at Shang-tu.

6. Chosen in 1260 as the great khan was Khubilai (1260-1294) grandson of Ghengis. He adopted the Chinese dynastic name of Yüan in 1271. Only about 400,000 Mongols lived in China during the Yüan period.

7. The Mongols conquered Tibet, Korea, Sung China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma, Persia, Mesopotamia, and Syria. They were stopped by the Egyptians in Palestine in 1260 and Japan in 1274 and 1281. In 1281 Khubilai Khan sent an army of nearly 150,000 to Japan but failed to subdue it, especially after a massive typhoon destroyed the entire Mongol fleet. In 1293 the Khan's forces failed against Java.

Questions:1. What weaknesses existed in the khanate system?2. How was the Mongol empire enlarged after the death of Genghis khan?The Mongol Empire in 1255

Steppes of Central Asia with Heavenly Mountains in background

Mongol Conquest of Eurasia Genghis Khan (Temuchin)

WarsTechniques of warfareLaw code, YasaAdministrative structureDivision of land among his sons

Ogotai succeeded his father to become the second khan Mongol attacks on Kiev and eastern Europe Kubilai becomes the fifth khan, 1260

Civil warPeking established as the capitalExpansion

DeclineMongol defeat, Battle at the Spring of Goliath, 1260With Baghdad under Mongol control, Egypt became the political

center of IslamFailed campaigns against Poland and Lithuania

Legacy of the Mongols Yuan Dynasty, 1279-13

Kublai Khan (1260-1294) first emperor of China and MongoliaFour hierachical classesFavored Muslim and non-Chinese to administerTradePoverty, slavery, degradation for the Chinese brought rebellions

Il-Khanate of Persia, 1256-1359 Hulagu named il-khan by brother Kublai Khan Around 1300 the il-khan converts to Islam Civil wars ended the dynasty in 1349

The Golden Horde Retained nomadic habits Submission of Russian princes, 1240-1242 Battle of Kulikovo, 1380, prince of Moscow defeats Mongols Ivan III, prince of Moscow, renounces allegiance to the khan Golden Horde splits up

Tomb of Tamerlane in Samarkand

Khanate of Chagatai Silk Road passes through the territory No room to expand, turned energies inward leading to dynastic struggles

and civil war Khanate broke up in the 14th century

Timurlane (Timur the Lame) Career of conquest begins in Samarkand Depopulated lands left in his soldier’s wake Empire collapses after his death (1405)

Legacy of the Mongols Population reduced by half Racism Turkic language Reshapes religious patterns

Islamic Culture in Persia Il-khans converted to Islam and adopted Persian language

(Farsi) Freed of Arab domination, developed separate linguistic,

political, and cultural lines Literature

Mamluk dynasties Turkish and Mongol origins, former slaves and soldiers Following collapse of the Ayyubids, slaves became the

masters Hierarchical and feudal system of government Protect trade routes, support education

The Ottoman Empire’s Growth and Decline

Ottoman Empire's Growth and Decline

1. The Ottomans are named after a Turkish emir named Osman (1299-1326) who founded a dynasty when he set up a border state on the Byzantine frontier in western Anatolia about 1288. Taking advantage of the collapse of the empire of the Seljuk Turks, the Ottomans began expansion in the fourteenth century.

2. In 1345 Ottoman forces crossed into the Balkans where they were able to take advantage of the weakness created by the Black Death. At Kossovo in 1389 the Ottomans decisively defeated Christian Balkan forces. The Christians were again routed at Nicopolis in 1396.

3. Mehmet II (1451-1481) turned his attention on Constantinople (Istanbul). He assembled a fleet at Gallipoli, amassed armaments, and built the fortress of Rumeli Hisar on the European shore of the Bosporus. In April 1453 the siege began. Fifty-four days later, May 29, 1453, the city walls were breached and Constantinople fell. Renamed Istanbul, it was to be the new capital. Considering themselves the successors to the Byzantine emperors, the Ottomans began further imperialistic expans~on. Anatolia was conquered in the east and in the west the Ottomans drove into the Aegean and then up the Adriatic coast. In 1480 the Italian port of Oranto was taken. Wallachia in the north was conquered in 1476 but the resistance from the Hungarians kept the Ottomans in check thereby preventing them from going up the Danube valley.

4. South of Asia Minor, the Ottomans conquered Egypt in 1517 and held Syria and Palestine by 1526. Throughout the rest of the century attacks would be pressed in North Africa until it too was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire.

5. In 1521, after consolidating their eastern provinces, the Ottomans under Suleiman I (1520-1566), the Magnificent, began a thrust up the Danube and gained the Serbian capital of Belgrade. At the battle of Nohacs in 1526 the Hungarians were crushed. Three years later, Vienna was under siege. The Turkish forces withdrew, however, due to the insistence of the Janissaries (the elite, professional soldiers of the Ottoman army) that they return home before winter.

6. In 1571 a large Turkish fleet was smashed at Lepanto by an armada of over two hundred ships from Spain, Venice, and the papacy. Although defeated, the Turks rebuilt their fleet and continued to exercise control over the Mediterranean.

7. The Ottomans were on the move again in the seventeenth century across the Hungarian plain and by 1683 were laying siege to Vienna. Defeated by a large united Christian force that used heavy artillery (the Turks had none), the Ottomans withdrew. In the Peace of Karlowitz in 1699 the Turks gave up Hungary and Transylvania to Austria.

Question:1. What successes and failures did the Ottomans have in their expansion up to the end of the fifteenth century? 2. what was the driving force for Ottoman expansion?3. What was the threat of Ottoman expansion to Europe?

Ottoman Empire's Growth and Decline

1. The Ottomans are named after a Turkish emir named Osman (1299-1326) who founded a dynasty when he set up a border state on the Byzantine frontier in western Anatolia about 1288. Taking advantage of the collapse of the empire of the Seljuk Turks, the Ottomans began expansion in the fourteenth century.

2. In 1345 Ottoman forces crossed into the Balkans where they were able to take advantage of the weakness created by the Black Death. At Kossovo in 1389 the Ottomans decisively defeated Christian Balkan forces. The Christians were again routed at Nicopolis in 1396.

3. Mehmet II (1451-1481) turned his attention on Constantinople (Istanbul). He assembled a fleet at Gallipoli, amassed armaments, and built the fortress of Rumeli Hisar on the European shore of the Bosporus. In April 1453 the siege began. Fifty-four days later, May 29, 1453, the city walls were breached and Constantinople fell. Renamed Istanbul, it was to be the new capital. Considering themselves the successors to the Byzantine emperors, the Ottomans began further imperialistic expans~on. Anatolia was conquered in the east and in the west the Ottomans drove into the Aegean and then up the Adriatic coast. In 1480 the Italian port of Oranto was taken. Wallachia in the north was conquered in 1476 but the resistance from the Hungarians kept the Ottomans in check thereby preventing them from going up the Danube valley.

4. South of Asia Minor, the Ottomans conquered Egypt in 1517 and held Syria and Palestine by 1526. Throughout the rest of the century attacks would be pressed in North Africa until it too was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire.

5. In 1521, after consolidating their eastern provinces, the Ottomans under Suleiman I (1520-1566), the Magnificent, began a thrust up the Danube and gained the Serbian capital of Belgrade. At the battle of Nohacs in 1526 the Hungarians were crushed. Three years later, Vienna was under siege. The Turkish forces withdrew, however, due to the insistence of the Janissaries (the elite, professional soldiers of the Ottoman army) that they return home before winter.

6. In 1571 a large Turkish fleet was smashed at Lepanto by an armada of over two hundred ships from Spain, Venice, and the papacy. Although defeated, the Turks rebuilt their fleet and continued to exercise control over the Mediterranean.

7. The Ottomans were on the move again in the seventeenth century across the Hungarian plain and by 1683 were laying siege to Vienna. Defeated by a large united Christian force that used heavy artillery (the Turks had none), the Ottomans withdrew. In the Peace of Karlowitz in 1699 the Turks gave up Hungary and Transylvania to Austria.

Question:1. What successes and failures did the Ottomans have in their expansion up to the end of the fifteenth century? 2. what was the driving force for Ottoman expansion?3. What was the threat of Ottoman expansion to Europe?

House of Osman Osman, Turkish emir Ghazis maintain the warrior life, guardians of Islam Janissary corps, male child slaves become professional

warriors Expansion at the expense of the Byzantine Empire Economy Edirne (Adrianople) Battle of Kosovo (1389) and Nicopolis (1396)

Constaninople Mehmed II (1451-1481)

Assault on Constantinople, 1453