23 January 2013
Eighteenth Century Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire was a state founded by Turkish tribes under Osman Bey in 1299. Under the leadership of Mehmed II, this fledgling nation became an empire with the conquest of Constantinople in 1452 by Mehmed II. The Ottoman Empire continued in its imperial form until it became the Republic of Turkey in 1923. As an empire, it was the most powerful state in the world with 32 provinces during the seventeenth century. In the last half of the seventeenth century, the Ottoman Empire functioned under the rule of the Koprulu family, a notable family of imperial bureaucrats from Albania who overhauled the bureaucracy and instituted military reforms. After the fall of the last Koprulu rulers, Ahmed III began his reign in 1703. This section in Turkey’s history is often denoted as the beginning of the Tulip Era, which refers to the popularity of tulip cultivation in Istanbul during the eighteenth century Ottoman Empire. The tulip was used as a symbol of the Janissary corps and the conflicts brought by early modern consumer culture. Stagnation and later reform dominated the Ottoman Empire during the eighteenth century, which was due in part to a time of peace. During this period, the Russian expansion was a significant threat, which resulted in endless wars between them and the Ottoman Empire. By the late eighteenth century, a number of defeats motivated the Ottoman Empire to modernize in order to keep up with Western technology to avoid further defeats. Consequently, the government’s main focus was on the reformation of military, education, and technology.
During the eighteenth century of the Ottoman Empire, the government was ruled under an Absolute Monarchy. An Absolute Monarchy is when a monarch, in the case of the Ottoman Empire the Sultan, had ultimate governing power over their country. The Sultan was chosen from a group of suitable heirs to the throne that were sent to the Palace School.