Answer:
A.
Explanation:
Even though Constantinople and the surrounding lands were under the
control of a Muslim ruler, the people were allowed to practice their own
religions. The sultan Mehmed II even allowed the Orthodox Church to
operate and maintain its autonomy to accept Ottoman rule. Due to
Western states' conflict at the time, most of the Orthodox Christian
population welcomed Ottoman rule and protection.
The Ottoman Empire continued to expand in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries. Mehmed's grandson, Selim the Grim, defeated the Safavids,
© 2020 Penn Foster World History (v2) : Lesson 3 : Page 93
Inc.
who had controlled Persia. He then moved east and went on to conquer
Syria and Palestine and marched to conquer North African lands.
Finally, Selim conquered Cairo in Egypt. The Ottoman Empire was at its
greatest extent under Selim's son, Suleyman. Suleyman expanded the
empire into Hungary and Austria and closed his grip on the
Mediterranean. At its height, the empire wrapped around the
Mediterranean Sea and grew to dominate trade throughout the region,
connecting Western Europe to Northern Africa and Central Asia. These
regions had significant river systems that benefited both agricultural
production and the transport of products. Interestingly, the Ottoman
Empire's control of trade between the West and the East motivated
Portugal to seek alternative trade routes, which eventually took them to
the Americas.
