Ottoman Empire

In 1683, when the Ottoman forces were besieging Vienna, the empire reached its high-water mark and then began its slow, steady decline after suffering a major defeat in this battle. Only very gradually did Europeans come to perceive it as the Sick Man of Europe, however, since it was still formidable enough to play an important role in the defeat of Russia in the Crimean War of 1854-56. This was its last major victory, however, since by 1878 it had lost most of the Balkans, or Rumelia as it was known to the Ottomans, and with it much of its tax revenue and the recruitment ground for the Janissaries. It lost Crete in 1896 and Macedonia and Thrace after the Balkan Wars in 1912-13, and ceased to be a European power. Compared to the Western powers that were becoming urban and industrialized in the 19th Century, the Ottoman...
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