N. Africa & SW Asia:
The Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire established itself around 1300 and lasted until 1922. At its height, the Ottoman Empire controlled what is now Turkey, parts of Northern Africa, southwestern Asia, and southeastern Europe. The Ottomans were descendants of Turkoman nomads who entered Anatolia in the 11th century as mercenary soldiers. The term Ottoman comes from Osman, the founder and first sultan of the empire. At the end of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, the Ottomans conquered its capital of Constantinople (now Istanbul), which became the capital of the Ottoman Empire. By the mid-1500's the Balkans, present-day Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, all belonged to the Ottomans. The Empire suffered a slow decline during its last 300 years. When World War I began in 1914, the Ottoman Empire held only Asia Minor, parts of southwestern Asia, and a part of the Balkans. The Ottomans were defeated in war and the empire came to an end in 1922.