Sultans, viziers & the state
Government
How the empire was ruled: the sultan and his court, the imperial council, the provinces, and the millet system that ordered its many peoples.
Ottoman Government — The Structure of Power in a Six-Century EmpireOverview
A comprehensive overview of how the Ottoman Empire was governed: the sultan, the imperial household, the Divan, the Grand Vizier, the ulema, the provinces, the millets, and the late-Ottoman constitutional reforms.
The Grand Vizier and the Divan
The Divan-ı Hümayun, the Grand Vizier as de facto prime minister, the Kazaskers, the Nişancı, the Defterdar, the Şeyhülislam, and the daily business of the Ottoman central government.
The Ottoman Provincial System
The Ottoman provincial system — eyalets, beylerbeyiliks, sanjaks, pashas, the timar, the ayan, the çiftlik, and the Vilayet Law of 1864.
The Sultan and the Imperial Court
The Ottoman sultan as absolute ruler, the Topkapı Palace, court ceremony, the harem as a political institution, and the protocol of the imperial household.
List of Ottoman Sultans
A chronological list of the 36 Ottoman sultans from Osman I (c. 1299) to Mehmed VI (1918-1922), with reign dates and brief notes on each reign.
Mehmed II the Conqueror
The life and reign of Mehmed II (1444-1446, 1451-1481), the Ottoman sultan who captured Constantinople in 1453 and transformed the Ottoman state into a major world power.
Suleiman the Magnificent
The life and reign of Suleiman I (1520-1566), the longest-reigning Ottoman sultan, under whom the Ottoman Empire reached the height of its power.
The Ottoman Millet System
The religious-millet system of the Ottoman Empire: the millet-i Rum, the Armenian millet, the Jewish millet, the berat system, the kocabaşı, the 1862/1863/1865 regulations, the Bulgarian Exarchate, and the abolition in 1924.
The Tanzimat Reforms
The Tanzimat era of 1839-1876: the Gülhane Decree, the Islahat Edict, the 1858 land code, the 1864 Vilayet Law, the Mecelle, and the first Ottoman constitution of 1876.
Topkapı Palace
Topkapı Palace in Istanbul: its layout, the four courtyards, the harem, the imperial treasury, the famous artifacts, and the daily life of the Ottoman court that resided there from 1453 to 1856.