Figure 1.-- The Ottomans were one of a number of nomadic Turkish tribes originating in the vast Eurasian steppe. They were not the first to emerge from the Steppe preceeded by other fierce warrior people like the Huns. The first Turkic people to enter the Mideast were the Selejuk Turks. The Turkic tribes followed a primitive shamanistic religion. Once in contact with settled populations they accepted Islam. First the Seljuks and than the Ottomans played an important role in Western history. The Turks were at the core of the Ottoman Empire, but after a series of conquests, the Turks became a minority in their own empire. This CDV portrait from Constabtinople shows an Ottoman officer nd we think his young son. It was taken about 1880, based on the studio award medals show cased on the back. The studio was Pascal Sebah in Constantinople.

The Ottomans were one of a number of nomadic Turkish tribes originating in the vast Eurasian steppe. They were not the first to emerge from the Steppe preceeded by other fierce warrior people like the Huns. The first Turkic people to enter the Mideast were the Selejuk Turks. The Turkic tribes followed a primitive shamanistic religion. Once in contact with settled populations they accepted Islam and under Islamic influence, the Seljuks played a key role in the development of the Mideastern Turko-Persian tradition. They helped bring Persian culture to Anatolia. It also led to the settlement of other Turkic tribes in the northwestern peripheral parts of the empire. This played the strategic purpose of fending off invasions from other Steppe tribes and neighboring states and resulted in the Turkicization of the area. The Selejuks wre weakened by wars with the Crusaders. The Ottoman rose out of one of the various Turkic tribes that had been drawn into the Mideast, the Oguz Turks, Their time came as the Mongols devestated the major states of the Mideast. Led by Osman, they began a spectacular rise in the power vacuum created as the Mongols fell back to Central Asia. by the The Turks were the core of the Ottoman Empire, but as they conquered other people, primarily the Christian Balkans and Arab lands, they became a minority in their own empire. Ethnic data on the Ottoman Empire is not known with any precession until the final years of its existence. The Empire functioned for nearly six centuries. The first official census was a major undertaking (1881–1893) and by that time the Christian Balkans had been lost. And even the Census that was compiled had some weaknesses because it relied heavily on tax data and there are major problems wth useing taxation system for census purposes. The ethnic groups composing the Ottoman Empire has varied over time as the Empire first expanded and than declined. These people have included besides the core Turkic popultion: Albanians, Arabs, Armenians, Bosnians, Bulgars, Croats, Greeks, Jews, Kurds, Serbs, Slovenes, Ukranians, Tartars, and others.

Arabs

Ethnic Arabs were tribes from the Arabian Peninsula. After the Islamic outburst Arabs armies conquered most of the Mideast and North Africa. Except for Anatolia and Persia, the population of these areas were Arabized. This means that they became during the Caliphate culturally Arab, spolke Arabic, adopted Islam, and identified themselves as Arabs. Ethnically they were, however, not Arab and varied substantially from place to place. These people becme the largest cultural group of the various people conquered by the Ottomans. The Ottoman conquered most of the Arab lands (16th century). Control over the Levant and Mesopotamia was well enforced, but more limited and varied over time for the more far-flung areas like the Persian Gulf and Arabian emirates as well as North Africa beyond Egypt.

Armenians

The Ottomans after finally taking Constantinople (1453) turned eastward an added Armenia to their growing empire. The Islamic Ottomans were relatively tolerant to religious diversity, at least in comparison to contemporary Christian practices. The Ottomans created the Armenians as a millet, meaning a civil-religious minority governed by the Armenian Church within the overall authority of Empire. Although the Ottoman were an advanced civilization in the 15th century. The Ottomans expanded into the Balkans and for a time threatened Western Europe. Armenians and Turks for several centuries lived in relative harmony. Armenians became known as the "loyal millet". Although Armenians because they were Christians were not equal and, as a result, were subject to certain restrictions. They were generally acceptd as loyal subjects of the Empire. There was very little ethnic violence. In part because of Islam, the Ottomans never experienced the modernizing movements (Renaissance, Enligtenment, Reformation, or Industrial Revolution) which transformed European civilization. As a result, by the 18th century, the Ottoman Empire had become a backwater of Europe. As the Ottoman Empire declined, Imperial rule became increasingly oppresive. After the French Revolution, Western ideals of liberal constitutional government, individual rights, national self determination, began to influence the Armenians and other national groups within the Ottoman Empire. These groups became increasingly disturbed by autocratic, backward Ottiman rule. Most Christian minorities within the Ottoman Empire were located in the Balkans. Befinning with the Greeks, these groups assisted by Russia and European powers gradually achieved independence. The Armenians by the 1880s were increasingly isolated as the only important Christian minority left in the Empire. The only other Christian group of importnce were the Greek communities in western Anatolia. Growing Armenian nationalism increasingly separated thm from Turks about future political strucures. Armenians demanded increasing autonomy, even independence. Some Turks began to envision a new Pan-Turkic empire extending from Turkey into central Asia where there were also Turkish popultion. Separating The Turks in Anatolia from the Turks in Central Asia were the Armenians in eastern Anatolia and the Caususes. Turkish nationalist began to see the increasingly nationlistic Chfristian Armnians as an impediment to their pan-Turkish empire.

Greeks

Jews

Jewish communities were established throughout the Roman Empire after the failure of the Jewish revolt and the Roman supression of the Jews. Several of the communities were established in Anatolia (often referred to as Asia Minor). Other Jewish communities were established in the Balkans and Levant which for a time were controlled by Byzantium. Generally these communities did not experience the severe repression that the Roman Catholic Church directed at the Jews. Gradually Byzantium was overwealmed, first by the Arabs and than by the Ottoman Turks. As the Ottomans occupied Anatolia and other areas formerly controlled by Byzantium, Jews came under their control. The great Byzantine capital, Constantinople, finally fell (1453). More Jews entered the Empire when the Ottomans offered refuge to the Jews expelled by Spain and Portugal--the Sephardic Jews. As the Ottoman Empire expanded, Turks became a minority in an Empire populated by Balkan Christians and Muslim Arabs. The Ottomans also held people from these areas with some suspicion, fearing the development of nationalist movements. The Jews on the other hand were a small minority. Thus they were often favored by sultans who often placed great trust in them. Ottoman rule in many cases help protect Jews from sometimes antagonistic local populations. Thus the situation of Jews in the Ottoman east was very different than in the Christian west.

Kurds

After the Mongol period, several Kurdish principalities were for a time independent, but the Kurds were unable to unite. They soon found themselves caught between the Safavids and Ottomans with the Ottomans finally prevailing. Ottoman Sultan Selim I defeated Safavid Shah Ismail I (1514), allowing him to annexed Armenia and Kurdistan. Selim entrusted the organisation of the newly conquered territories to Idris, a Kurd of Bitlis. Idris divided the territory into sanjaks (districts). He sought to integrate the Kurds seemlessly into the Ottoman Empire. He did not to interfere with the established principle of heredity. He appointed the reining local chiefs as Ottoman governors. He also reorganized the productive pastoral country between Erzerum and Erivan. The population had been desvestated by Timur's Mongol army. He moved Kurds from Hakkari and Bohtan into the area.

Serbs

Turks

The Ottomans were one of a number of nomadic Turkish tribes originating in the vast Eurasian steppe. They were not the first to emerge from the Steppe preceeded by other fierce warrior people like the Huns. The first Turkic people to enter the Mideast were the Selejuk Turks. The Turkic tribes followed a primitive shamanistic religion. Once in contact with settled populations they accepted Islam and under Islamic influence, the Seljuks played a key role in the development of the Mideastern Turko-Persian tradition. They helped bring Persian culture to Anatolia. It also led to the settlement of other Turkic tribes in the northwestern peripheral parts of the empire. This played the strategic purpose of fending off invasions from other Steppe tribes and neighboring states and resulted in the Turkicization of the area. The Selejuks were weakened by wars with the Crusaders. The Ottomans rose out of one of the various Turkic tribes tht had been drawn into the Mideast, the Oguz Turks, Their time came as the Mongols devestated the major states of the Mideast. Led by Osman, they began a spectacular rise in the power vacuum created as the Mongols fell back to Central Asia. by the The Turks were the core of the Ottoman Empire, but as they conquered other people, primarilt the Christian Balkans and Arab lands, they became a minority in their own empire.

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Created: 4:25 PM 12/26/2014
Last updated: 4:25 PM 12/26/2014