The ottoman empire

1. The ottoman empire • Was established in the 14th century • (1480-1520), internal problems kept the Turks from any further attacks on Europe • Sultan Suleiman I the Magnificent (1520-1566) brought the Turks back to Europe’s attention • The empire had a highly effective governmental system, which was extremely effective when ruled by great Sultans or powerful grand viziers (Prime Ministers) • Had a well-organized military system which helped the Ottoman Empire • Had specially trained boys called Janissaries, which were Christian boys taken from their parents and converted to the Muslim faith, and put through rigid military discipline • By 1683 the Turks had sieged Vienna, but was then faced by a mixed army of Austrians, Poles, Bavarians, and Saxons, and forced the Turks to retreat, which meant the Ottoman Empire wouldn’t be a threat to Europe any longer

2. Limited Monarchy and Republics • Throughout most of Europe during the 17th century kings and their ministers were in control of central governments, and constantly tried to impose order by strengthening their power • In Eastern Europe, the Polish aristocracy controlled a powerless king • In Western Europe, the two great states of The Dutch Republic and England successfully resisted the power of hereditary monarchs

3. The Weakness of the Polish Monarchy • Consisted of the Union of Jagiello who was the grand prince of Lithuania, and the Polish queen Jadwiga, and resulted in a large Lithuanian-Polish state in 1386 • In 1569 a formal merger happened between the two crowns • The union of Poland and Lithuania under the Jagiello dynasty had become the largest kingdom in Christendom at the early part of the 15th century • In 1572, the Jagiello dynasty came to an end, and a new practice arose of choosing outsiders as kings, and they thought that this way of finding kings would help bring the country alliances • By the end of the 17th century, Poland had become a weak, decentralized state