The Ottoman Turks were the ethnic subdivision of the Turkish people who dominated the ruling class of the Ottoman Empire. This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (the Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Sogut (1299-1326), Bursa (1326-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), İstanbul (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanli Dynasty...

Brief history

The "Ottomans" became first known to the West in 1227; when they fled the Mongol Empire, into the Seljuk Empire, in what is now called Anatolia. However, the Ottoman Turks would create a state in Western Anatolia under Ertugrul, the capital of which was Sögüt; near Bursa to the south of the Marmara, the body of water between the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. Ertugrul established a principality, as part of the decaying Seljuk empire. His son Osman expanded the principality; and for him, both the empire and the people were named by Europeans as "Ottomans". Osman's son, Orhan expanded the growing empire, taking Nicaea, present-day Iznik, and crossed the Dardanelles strait, in 1362. But the Ottoman Empire came into its own, when Mehmed II captured the Byzantine Empire's capital, Constantinople (subsequently to be known as Istanbul), in 1453. Mongol Empires largest extent outlined in red; Timur-i-Lenks empire is shaded The Mongol Empire (Cyrillic: Их Монгол Улс) (1206–1368) was the largest contiguous (the land streched uninterrupted by borders or stretches of water) land empire in world history, ruling 35 million km² (13. ... The Seljuk Turks (Turkish: Selçuk; Arabic: سلجوق Saljūq, السلاجقة al-Salājiqa; Persian: سلجوقيان Saljūqiyān; also Seldjuk, Seldjuq, Seljuq) were a major branch of the Oghuz Turks and a dynasty that occupied parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries. ... Asia Minor lies east of the Bosporus, between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. ... ErtuÄŸrul, also ErtoÄŸrul, (1198-1281) was the father of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. ... Söğüt was a Seljuk Turkish tribe in western Anatolia that later gave birth to the Ottoman Empire. ... Map of the Sea of Marmara Satellite view of the Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara (Turkish: Marmara Denizi, Modern Greek: Θάλασσα του Μαρμαρά or Προποντίδα) (also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea) is an inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating the... Map of the Black Sea. ... The Aegean Sea. ... Iznik (formerly Nicaea) is a city in Anatolia (now part of Turkey) which is known primarily as the site of two major meetings (or Ecumenical councils) in the early history of the Christian church. ... Byzantine Empire (Greek: ) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, and arguably the most important. ...

The Ottoman Empire would come to rule much of the Balkans, the Fertile Crescent, and even Egypt, over the course of several centuries; with an advanced army and navy. The Empire would be dissolved by the Allies after the First World War, when Sultan Muhammad V died; and in 1922, the modern Republic was formed, by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe a region of south-eastern Europe. ... The Fertile Crescent is a region in the Middle East incorporating present-day Israel, West Bank, and Lebanon and parts of Jordan, Syria, Iraq and south-eastern Turkey. ... Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–10 November 1938), until 1934 Mustafa Kemal, Turkish army officer and revolutionist statesman, was the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey. ...

Culture and the Arts

The conquest of Constantinople, made the Ottomans the ruler of one of the most profitable empires on earth, connected to the flourishing Islamic cultures of the time, and at the crossroads of trade into Europe. The Ottomans would grow and make major developments in calligraphy, writing, law, architecture, and military science, and would become the standard of opulence.

Ottoman Calligraphy

Because Islam is a religion which focuses very heavily on learning the central text of the Qur'an, calligraphy became one of the foremost of the arts. Islam (Arabic: ; ( (help· info)), submission (to the will of God)) is a monotheistic faith, considered one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second-largest religion. ... The Quran (Arabic , literally the recitation; also called or The Noble Quran; also transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... Calligraphy in a Latin Bible of AD 1407 on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. ...

The early Yâkût period was supplanted in the late 1400's by a new style pioneered by Seyh Hamdullah (1429-1520) which became the basis for Ottoman Calligraphy. Focusing on the nesih version of the script, which became the standard for copying the Qur'an (See Arabic Calligraphy). Events Henry IV quells baron rebellion and executes The Earls of Kent, Huntingdon and Salisbury for their attempt to have Richard II of England restored as King Jean Froissart writes the Chronicles Medici family becomes powerful in Florence, Italy Births December 25 - John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, Lord Lieutenant of... Naskh (نسخ, also known as Naskhi or by its Turkish name Nesih) is a specific calligraphic style for writing in the Arabic alphabet. ... The Quran (Arabic , literally the recitation; also called or The Noble Quran; also transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... The stylized signature of Sultan Abdul Hamid I of the Ottoman Empire was written in an expressive calligraphy. ...

The next great change in Ottoman calligraphy comes from the style of Hâfiz Osman (1642-1698), whose rigorous and simplified style found favor with an empire at its peak of both territorial extent, and governmental burdens.

The late calligraphic style of the Ottomans was created by Mustafa Râkim (1757-1826) as an extension and reform of Osman's style, and placing greater emphasis on technical perfection which broadened the calligraphic art to encompass the sülüs script as well as the nesih script which had been the dominant standard script.

Ottoman Poetry

Ottoman poetry produced epic length verse, but is better remembered for shorter forms, for example the gazel. The epic poet Ahmedi (-1412) is remembered for his Alexander the Great, and his contemporary Sheykhi wrote verses on love and romance. Yaziji-Oglu produced a religious epic on Mohammed's life, drawing from the stylistic advances of the previous generation and Ahmedi's epic forms. Alexander the Great fighting Persian king Darius III (not in frame) Alexander Mosaic from Pompeii, from a 3rd century BC original Greek painting, now lost). ...

Ottoman painting

By the 1300's the Ottoman Empire's prosperity made manuscript works available to merchants and craftsman, and produced a flowering of miniatures which depicted pagentry, daily life, commerce, cities and stories, as well as chronicling events. While initially is illuminated manuscript work.

By the late 1700's European influences in painting are clear, with the introduction of oils, perspective, figurative paintings, use of anatomy and composition.

See also

• Ottoman Empire
• Osmanli dynasty

Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (the Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Sogut (1299-1326), Bursa (1326-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), İstanbul (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanli Dynasty...

External links

• Timur (Tamerlane) and the Ottoman Turks (broken link)
• Ottoman Empire