The Ottoman Empire

Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz

Ottoman Sultan, Bayezid II
On May 3, 1481 AD, the 7th Ottoman Sultan, Mohammad II (known as al-Fateh or the Conqueror), died, after a reign of 32 years and was succeeded by his son, Bayezid II. He transformed the Ottoman state into an empire by conquering Constantinople and ending Byzantine or the Eastern Roman Empire. He set out to revitalize the city, renamed it Islambol (today’s Istanbul) and made it the capital of his empire. The first decree issued by him was security and freedom of the residents who were almost all Christians. Hours later, he rode to the Hagia Sofia to proclaim the Islamic creed, converting the grand cathedral into an imperial mosque. When he stepped into the ruins of the Boukoleon, the Palace of the Caesars, built over a thousand years before by Theodosius II, he recited the famous Persian couplet of the Iranian poet, Shaikh Sa’di: "The spider weaves the curtains in the palace of the Caesars; The owl calls the watches in the towers of Afrasiab."
He began to build the Grand Bazaar, and also constructed during this period was Topkapı Palace, which served as the official residence of the Ottoman sultans for the next four hundred years. The city, built by Rome's first Christian Emperor, Constantine I, on the coastlines of Bosphorus Strait was thus transformed from a bastion of Christianity to a symbol of Islamic culture. Sultan Mohammad II extended Muslim rule as far as the borders of Italy and his death probably saved Rome from possible subjugation. He initiated administrative reforms and was fluent in several languages, including Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Greek and Latin. He invited scholars to his court, including the Iranian polymath, Ala od-Din Ali ibn Mohammad Qushji, who as a disciple of the astronomer-king Ulugh Beg, was an astronomer, mathematician and physicist from Samarqand.

Hungary, the Ottoman province of Majarestan
On May 1, 1544 AD, Hungary was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and for over some two centuries remained as the province of Majarestan.

Romania cecedes from Ottoman Empire
On May 10, 1877 AD, the Ottoman provinces of Wallachia and Moldavia, along with Transylvania, which was under Austrian rule, declared themselves independent as a new country called Romania, taking advantage of the declining state of Turkish Empire, which for almost five centuries had established Muslim rule in southwestern Europe. A war followed and four years later, Romania became formally independent on March 26, 1881.

The Ottomans achieved a resounding victory over the Spaniards and other European Christian powers
On 4th of the Islamic month of Rajab in 948 AH, the Ottomans achieved a resounding victory over the Spaniards and other European Christian powers who tried to attack Algeria with a huge army. More than twenty thousand European invaders were killed and their corpses scattered for several kilometers along the Algerian coast. The Ottomans captured about 130 ships, and reaffirmed their superiority in the Mediterranean over the European powers.

Turkish language’s Arabic-Persian alphabet changed to the Latin script by Turkey’s dictator, Mustafa Kamal
On April 29, 1928 AD, at the behest of West European powers, Turkey’s dictator, Mustafa Kamal, forced the Turkish Muslim people to change their centuries-old writing of the Turkish language from the Arabic-Persian alphabet to the Latin script. The goal was to deprive Turkey and the Turks of their Islamic identity and make them culturally subordinate to Europe. Mustafa Kamal, who styled himself Ataturk (Father of Turks), was an avowed opponent of Islam, and in addition to forcibly replacing the traditional dress of the Turkish people with the European style of dressing, he banned the recitation of the Azan or the Call to Prayer from the mosques. Although these laic measures harmed the Turkish Muslims and for several decades made them subservience to the West, they failed to undermine their strong faith in Islam.

Montenegro
On May 21, 2006 AD, following a referendum, Montenegro declared its independence from Serbia. From 1499 till the second part of the 19th century, it was part of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, and after World War became part of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia. Following disintegration of Yugoslavia, and the break out of the Kosovo crisis in late 1990s, Montenegro severed its political and economic ties with Serbia. Finally, in 2003, the two countries agreed to form The Serbia-Montenegro Federation, before going their separate way by holding the referendum of 2006. Montenegro covers an area of almost 14,000 sq km. It is situated in Balkan Peninsula and lies on the coastlines of Adriatic Sea. It shares borders with Serbia, Bosnia, and Albania. Some 30 percent of its citizens are Muslims.

The Ottomans under the command of Sultan Murad I defeated the Serbian army
On 13th of the Islamic month of Rajab in 792 AH, the Ottomans under the command of Sultan Murad I defeated the Serbian army led by Prince Lazar in the famous battle of Kosovo, also known as the Battle of Blackbird's Field, about 5 km northwest of modern-day Pristina. In this battle which brought the Balkans under Turkish control both Murad and Lazar lost their life.