The Ottoman Empire: A Comparative Analysis

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The emergence of the Ottoman empire began in 1299 by Oghuz Turks under the rule of Osman 1 in Northwestern Anatolia. Conquests in the Balkans between the years 1362-1389 and the overthrowing of the Byzantine empire had a profound impact on the geopolitics of the Ottoman empire, ultimately transforming the Ottoman empire as a transcontinental empire and claimant to the caliphate. The Ottoman empire was the leading empire of the Islamic world that controlled large swaths of territory that ranged throughout Europe into the Middle East and North Africa. The Ottoman empire was a major threat to the hegemony of Christian Europe, as a result of the falling of Constantinople--Christian Europe’s fears fomented and were increasingly dubious on how this …show more content…
On the contrary, were these European encounters a fundamental upbringing for the Ottoman empire, ultimately were these encounters bent on conquest and a significant element to the rise and decline of Ottoman authority. Empirical evidence, quantitative and qualitative data will be provided to back up the specific research question. Measuring the Ottoman empires military capacity, political infrastructure, economic advantages, strategic geographical positioning for sea trade and technological advancements as my independent variables will be tested to find the endogenous variable. The general outcome (dependent variable) is how these independent variables aforementioned weakened the European international trading and military structure in the mid 14th and 15th century. Analyzation of the causal relationship between the independent variables and dependent variable will help in understanding the linkage of trade relations between the Ottoman’s and European’s and whether or not Ottoman expansion was driven by religious intentions. Investigation to this question will require meta data on the aforementioned independent variables to find a connecting factor to back up my claims on the dependent variable. Thus, it is essential to look at trade routes that gave the Ottomans a comparative advantage over the Europeans in exporting and importing its goods. Were these trade routes a significant driver of economic growth? Did technological advancements (higher grade armaments or warships) help the military conduct operations to conquer these strategic trade routes? Looking at the political infrastructure of the Ottoman empire is vital to comprehend if conquest was religiously motivated, and where the true power of authority was vested.

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