Question

How did the Ottoman Empire slowly decline between the death of Suleyman I and the early nineteenth century?

Answer 1

The Ottoman Empire slowly decline in this period because it stagnated economically, politically, and technologically.

Explanation:

Until the reign of Suleiman I the Ottoman Empire was a thriving empire. It was one of the largest and one of the most powerful empires. The empire had excellent strategic location and seemed to use it very well in order to become even more powerful.

After the death of Suleiman I and the 19th century the empire started to slowly decline though. The reasons were mostly of economic, political, and technological aspects. Because of the restrictions that the Ottomans put when it came to trade between the east and Europe and because of the high taxes the Europeans started to avoid trade through them. On top of it, the New World was discovered as well as other sea routes to India so the income of the Ottoman Empire went significantly down.

Unlike the western countries which had political progress and reformed themselves, the Ottomans kept the sultanate, which in turn resulted in the country stagnating. Another major problem was the technology, as the empire only selectively imported technology while not producing any of its own. This gave advantage tot he other empires, while the Ottoman Empire was set back.