History Summarized: The Ottoman Empire

Leave it to the furniture boys to pioneer a Comfort-First attitude towards Imperialism.
Join Blue in investigating the history of the Ottoman empire, and find out why "The Sick Man of Europe" is more than their nickname implies.

Further reading: Osman's Dream by Caroline Finkel

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[alecchristiaen]

fun fact: the magnificent is a title used for Suleiman mainly by enemies of the Ottomans.
When you enemies call you magnificent, you deserve the title.

[Priyo]

Ottomans: "I am the new Rome!"

Jannisary imperial guard: "Then allow us to introduce ourselves, your new Praetorian Guards. With all the treachery and political interference of the original."

Persia: "Time to restart the centuries long wars with you! Its just like the old days of Rome!"

[canadianadmiral]

Suleiman the Magnificent: “What if the Ottoman Empire was... really big?”

*And then it was*

[mattaffenit]

I see the Ottomans less as a sick man and more as an aging tiger.

It may not be the absolute monster it used to be, but it will fucking maul your face is you mess with it. Perfect example: the Gallipoli campaign.

[pkeros]

A Greek with a Turkish roommate. Sounds like the beginning to a sitcom.

[sparhelt]

I absolutely loved that you mentioned that Constantinople was called Konstantiniyye until 1922, when it was renamed to Istanbul. Too many people think it was renamed to Istanbul in 1453.

[JohnnyElRed]

"There can be a middle ground between golden age and horrible collapse."
Spanish Empire: "There is?!"

[zidfih]

Suleilman was so magnificent he is the only man who still looked cool with a giant onion on his head

[bobcricket]

You didn’t mention that Mehmed 2 and his men dragged 70 ships over a hill to attack Constantinople from two sides

[Donnerbalken]

The Ottomans, the not-at-all-sick man of Europa Universalis 4.

[tunakarasu]

Your pronunciation is amazing. As a turkish speaking person, you may be the best foreigner at pronouncing Turkish names that I know of. Also love the great content

[xanderalaniz]

My dad is a history teacher, and when we talked about the Ottomans while I was growing up, I think he had a good way of explaining it.

"The Ottoman Empire was TOO successful."

For almost 600 years, no nation in Europe could really challenge it like they did each other, and Ottoman leadership understood this. As centuries passed, this led to a resistance towards reforms and modernization (why do we need to make changes when what we're doing is already making us one of the wealthiest, most powerful nations on Earth?)

Meanwhile, Europe continues to change. The Congress of Vienna paves out international cooperation between European powers across the whole globe, lasting through the 19th century. The Crimean War brings forth new understadings of battle tactics and military strategy with modern weaponry. All these things go on while the Ottomans remain largely the same. Sociologically, Blue, that is not so much as "stagnation" as it is "social inertia, " which is just as deadly to nations.

The antebellum period before WWI came and the Ottomans finally understood the fatality of their hubris: the world had left them behind. Once that happened, all they could do was scramble for relevance... they still are today.

[russianbear]

Fun fact: Greeks after the fall of Constantinople still called themselves Romans until the early 1800's.

[burntcaramel]

"You know what would be magnificent?" said suleiman wearing an onion hat "what if the ottoman empire was... really big?"

[blublu]

not gonna lie, your perfect pronunciation threw me off at first. I'm really not used to hearing this good pronunciation from foreigners

[Jebbtube]

Forgot to mention how colonization of the Americas gave Europe access to goods and trade routes that made dealing with the Ottomans completely unnecessary, thus making it even harder for them to maintain a hold on the economy of Eurasia.

[ovs]

*_"EXCEPT TURKEY, TURKEY MAKES A BRAND NEW TURKEY"_*

[Ceyda-nmty]

Your pronunciation of Turkish words were very good. Im quite impressed👍

[mckaleighwatson]

"What if the Empire was as big as my hat?"
And then it was.

[littleprussian]

When Frederick II of Prussia was asked by a bavarian catholic, if he was allowed to live in Prussia and even spread his religion, he responded with: "All religions are equal and good, as long as it's followers are good people. And if muslims or hugenots come into our country, we shall build them mosques and churches."
Since day 1, Prussia was always a country of religious freedom.
From the Great Elector, who welcomed hugenots into his country, to the King of Soldiers, who rebuild an old barn into a mosque.
So it's no suprise that Prussia tried to keep positive relations with the Ottoman Empire.
Even Otto von Bismarck, the founding father of Germany, was a friend of the Ottoman Empire
(Quote: "The love between Turks and Germans is so old, that it will never break apart.").
Unlike all other european countries, who either wanted to take advantage of the "Sick man of Europe" condition or just didn't care, the germans wanted to help the Ottoman Empire, return to former glory and defend itself, from the french and british invaders.
In the late 19th century, Wilhelm II of Germany visited Istanbul, where he declared himself as the "Protector of all muslims".
In 1900, the germans gave the people of the Ottoman Empire a wonderful gift: the German Fountain (Which is located in Istanbul, by the way.).
Meant to showcase Germany's loyality towards the Ottoman Empire.
Since clean, free water was extremly rare in Istanbul, it was seen as an act of pure generousity by the locals.
In order to help the Ottoman Empire, fight off the Entente, the germans build a superfast railroad through the Ottoman Empire.
It ended up being extremly helpful in battle.
The german soldiers also called the ottomans "Waffenbrüder", which is a affactionate way to say war ally in Germany.
Despite the fall of both the German Empire and Ottoman Empire, both countries still tried to keep close ties during the 1920's.
For example: When the Turkish Republic was founded, Atatürk send most turkish exchange students to german universities.
The friendship between turks and prussians was also the reason why there was not only a peace treaty between Nazi Germany and the Turkish Republic, but also why turkish exchange students and tourists were treated pretty well in Nazi Germany.
In other words: Bismarck was right, not even the nazis were able to destroy the friendship between Germany and Turkey.
Nowadays, turks are the biggest ethnic minority in Germany and doner kebab is the most popular fast food in Germany.

I just want nobody to forget this part of history.