The Muslim empire of the Turks (1299–1922), established in northern Anatolia by Osman I and expanded by his successors to include all of Asia Minor and much of south-east Europe. Ottoman power received a severe check with the invasion of Tamerlane in 1401, but expansion resumed several decades later, resulting in the capture of Constantinople in 1453. The empire reached its zenith under Suleiman I (1520–66), dominating the eastern Mediterranean, including North Africa, and threatening central Europe, but thereafter it began to decline. Still powerful in the 17th century, it had, by the 19th century, become the ‘sick man of Europe’, eventually collapsing in the early 20th century.

Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire dominated the Eastern Mediterranean area for over six centuries but its decline in the early 20th century was rapid.

Source: MAPS IN MINUTES™ © RH Publications (1997)