The Ottoman Empire, at its zenith spanned across
three continents namely Asia, Africa and Europe. The Ottomans controlled the
Mediterranean waters and the lands on its periphery including Spain on the west
and modern day Turkey on the East. The name ‘Ottoman’ has its history in the
founder of the dynasty, Osman 1, ‘Ottoman’ being the anglicized version of
Osman.
The Ottomans established themselves formally as an
empire with the fall of the Byzantine capital Constantinople, modern day
Istanbul, in 1453. Now, to me, The City of Istanbul attracts. I am not sure
about the source of that attraction but I believe the history and the culture
of the city play a significant part substantiating that attraction apart from
Bollywood’s portrayal of the city.
Istanbul has a very special geographical status in
terms of the modern day nation-state arrangement of territories across
continents. The city cannot be discussed in isolation with the Ottoman Empire
and its history. The story of the rise of the Ottoman Empire is as interesting
as it gets. It has lessons concerning how religion can be made a weapon to wage
wars and expand territories. The history of the Ottoman Empire teaches us the
art of sustaining an overarching government with immense diversity within its
subjects; a lesson modern day nation states continue struggling with.
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