In the 11th century AD, the Abbasid Caliphate had appointed the chieftains of a nomadic Turkish tribe called the Seljuks as deputies to oversee Muslim Persia. The Seljuks had a long and contentious history with the Byzantine Empire. They used their authority to engage in battles with outlying Byzantine provinces in Anatolia, known in the present day as Turkey. Splinter groups of Seljuks established their own small emirates throughout the Anatolian frontier, chipping away at the edges of the Byzantine Empire. Invasions by Mongol hordes made the region even more unstable.
Chronicle of John Skylitzes. Madrid National Library. Web.
In a clash between Byzantines and Arabs at the Battle of Lalakaon (863), Amer, the emir of Malatya, was defeated.
Osman Gazi, a leader of one of the emirates, unified the various Seljuk factions and established the Ottoman Empire in AD 1299. The Seljuks were kept busy with the defense of the region from the Mongol hordes. Even so, they still preserved culture and knowledge that the Ottoman Empire was known for. Its lasting legacy can be seen in the art, culture, language, and government of the area. Richly brocaded textiles and exotic fabrics such as silk, for example, were trademarks of the Ottoman Empire, along with the traditional spices which had made this region economically and politically important during the medieval era.
The Ottoman Empire occupied most of Anatolia. Ottoman forces crossed the Aegean Sea and began to conquer European territory in a wide arc from the Balkans to the Black Sea. As the lands surrounding the Byzantine capital fell to the invaders, Constantinople began to look like the bull’s-eye of a target. Sultan Osman located his capital in Bursa, not far from Constantinople. It was just a matter of time before the declining Byzantine Empire fell.
The Europeans recognized this threat and were outraged. For a thousand years, Constantinople had represented Christendom to the Western world. Now it was in danger from a people whose culture was unfathomable to Europeans. The Turkish language, both written and spoken, was difficult to learn, and the desert cultures were mysterious. The European kingdoms organized crusades to defend what they saw as Christian land. But the armor-clad knights of countless feudal kingdoms were unable to stop advancing Ottoman armies.
Peter Hermes Furian/Shutterstock
The Ottoman Empire reached its greatest extent in 1683.
Battling alongside the Turks were the Janissaries, an elite class of soldiers. The Janissaries were captured Christian children who had been converted to Islam and forced into military service. Disciplined and committed to the Muslim cause, the Janissaries were feared throughout Europe. The creation of this elite unit of soldiers made the word “Janissary” known and respected throughout Europe. In fact, this term is still used in academic and military circles today.
In AD 1453, after 150 years of bloodshed, the Ottoman Turks launched a successful offensive against Constantinople. Continuous cannon fire blasted the massive city walls into rubble. Finally, Constantinople fell. The conquering Ottoman Turks changed its name to Istanbul, erasing the last traces of the Byzantine Empire. But by any name, this strategically located city conferred great power on those who controlled it.
So it is D. Please mark as brainliest?
