What were the religious beliefs of the Ottoman Empire?

Sunni Islam was the official religion of the Ottoman Empire.

What role did the Ottoman Empire play in the diffusion of religion in the region?

The Ottoman Empire now included so much of the territory where Islam was practiced, and so many of the Islamic holy places, that Suleiman was widely regarded as the religious leader of Islam, as well as the earthly ruler of most Muslims.

What major religious group did the Ottomans come into contact with to the north?

1300–1402. In their initial stages of expansion, the Ottomans were leaders of the Turkish warriors for the faith of Islam, known by the honorific title ghāzī (Arabic: “raider”), who fought against the shrinking Christian Byzantine state.

How far north did Islam spread?

Through the Muslim conquest of Persia, in the 7th century, Islam spread as far as the North Caucasus, which parts of it (notably Dagestan) were part of the Sasanid domains.

How did Ottoman religious tolerance help or hinder the Ottoman expansion?

In the Ottoman Empire, there was religious tolerance because religion played a critical role in enhancing peace and stability. Religious leaders were respected because they were depended upon during calamities and disasters. Moreover, religious leaders had a big role to play in ensuring that people lived in harmony.

How did the Ottomans conquer the Balkans?

Ottoman Turkish soldiers first entered the Balkans around 1345 as Byzantine mercenaries and later returned to conquer it. They soon defeated the Bulgars and the Serbs. Incidentally, that Serbian defeat (which took place at the field of Kosovo in 1389) was a defining moment for Serbian history.

How did the Ottoman Empire work?

In the Ottoman Empire, wholly different principles were at work. In its prime the Ottoman Empire was defined by its ruler, by its faith and by its military, all acting together. If we understand these forces, we can see reasons for its great successes and later for its great failures.

How to make sense of the rapid changes in Balkan history?

To make sense of the rapid changes during the last two hundred years of Balkan history, we need some sense of what went before, by looking at the Habsburg and Ottoman “old regimes” in the Early Modern period.

How did the Ottomans create a sophisticated state apparatus?

To create a sophisticated state apparatus, the Ottomans freely adopted useful institutions from the societies they conquered. The Seljuk Turks had accepted Islamic religious, educational and legal institutions, and thus Ottoman society inherited from the Seljuks a system of mosques, schools and courts.