Ottomans

The Ottoman Empire had existed since 1300, and at its peak in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was one the world's most powerful empires, stretching from northern Africa through the Middle East, Asia Minor, the Balkans, and what is now southern Russia. The Ottomans finally took Constantinople in 1453 after many years of trying, thereby severing the city's long link with the West, back to the ancient empire of Rome. By 1529 they had pushed to the gates of Vienna and toward the western Mediterranean basin.The Ottomans appeared unstoppable, but were actually near the limit of their expansion. Europeans had been making advances in technology that the Ottomans could not match. For example, the Turks had to purchase cannons from Europe, and often had to hire European cannoneers. In 1683 they failed once more to take Vienna. At this point the string of successful Ottoman rulers came to an end, while the power and organization of their European enemies was growing. Much of the Ottoman Empire's energy was dissipated in struggles over succession. The bureaucracy that ran the empire became unwieldy and often corrupt. The Ottomans fell behind in industry, as well. The profits they enjoyed from the trade between Asia and Europe eroded as the Europeans learned to sail directly to the East Indies. The trade balance actually reversed as the Ottomans found they needed European goods more than Europe needed theirs. Eventually the Ottoman armies went into decline. The empire came to depend more on slave and captive soldiers, especially its famed Janissaries. The Europeans were generally content to let the Ottomans remain where they were, although the Russians fought for the plains north of the Black Sea. The Industrial Revolution left the Ottomans completely at the mercy of Europe. For a time the British even propped up the Ottoman Empire to keep it from being occupied by their enemies.

From the game's History encyclopedia.