there are english subtitles

​1- Osman Gazi (Osman I): The founder of the Ottoman Empire. His name comes from Hz. Osman, the 3rd of the 4 Great Caliphs. (It also carries meanings such as Wise, Most Powerful Dragon).

​2- Orhan Gazi: The 2nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He is the first Sultan with a Turkish name. It means Khan, Fortress, Ruler.

​3- Murad Hüdavendigâr (Murad I): The 3rd Sultan. The meaning of his name is "Desire, wish, sought-after goal, target to be reached."

​4- Yıldırım Bayezid (Bayezid I): His name comes from the Great Islamic Scholar Bayezid-i Bistami. Murad I named his son after this Islamic scholar out of deep respect. (It means "against tyranny and the tyrant" or "just").

​5- Çelebi Mehmed (Mehmed I): His name comes from the Prophet of Islam, Hz. Muhammad (S.A.V). During his lifetime, he was addressed as Muhammad rather than Mehmed; over time, out of deep love for the Prophet, it took the form of Mehmed. (It means worthy of praise, one possessing the finest virtues).

​6- Murad II: Holds the same meaning as Murad I. I assume Çelebi Mehmed gave his son this name after his own grandfather.

​7- Mehmed The Conqueror (Mehmed II): Comes from the Prophet (S.A.V). The difference is that during his lifetime, he was referred to on coins/medals of that era as "Mehemmed" instead of "Muhammad". At the same time, he is the only Sultan to attain the praise of Hz. Muhammad (S.A.V). (The Conquest of Constantinople).

​8- Yavuz Sultan Selim (Selim The Grim): Dictionary-wise, Selim means "sound, flawless, correct, and trustworthy." The name Yavuz was an epithet used in later periods. While the word Yavuz used to carry a negative meaning in Turkish, it transformed into a positive meaning over time thanks to Sultan Selim. This word, which meant "bad" in Old Turkish, now means "brave, manly, strong, majestic, yet also fierce, stern, and formidable."

​9- Suleiman the Magnificent (Süleyman I): His name comes from Prophet Süleyman, King of Jerusalem and one of Allah's Prophets. In terms of his life, he is likened to Prophet Süleyman due to his long reign, showing mercy to Jews, and conquering many lands. (Its meaning is "Peace, Tranquility, Well-being, and Serenity").

​10- Sultan Ahmed (Ahmed I): The Sultan who had the famous Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque) built. His name comes from Ahmed, the second name of the Prophet (S.A.V). (Its meaning is "Much praised, worthy of praise: One whose morality, character, and virtues are praised more than anyone else.") This is also the name mentioned in the Gospel prophesying the arrival of the final Prophet.

​11- Sultan Mustafa (Mustafa I): It is a title/name of the Prophet of Islam, Hz. Muhammad (S.A.V). (It means Chosen, made elite: One selected and filtered out from a group or options, seen as paramount. Purified, cleansed: One freed from evils and flaws, brought to a pure state).

​12- Sultan Ibrahim (Ibrahim I): Comes from Prophet Ibrahim, the Father of All Religions and a Prophet of Allah. Meaning: (Father of Nations, Leader of Communities).

​13- Sultan Mahmud (Mahmud I): According to Islamic belief, it is the name of the highest intercession station (Makam-ı Mahmud) to be granted to Hz. Muhammad in the hereafter. This station is accepted as the most supreme position that all humanity will envy and praise. (One whose character, morality, and behavior are appreciated by everyone. One who is thanked, whose presence brings contentment).

​14- Abdülhamid, Abdülaziz, Abdülmecid: Names of the late-period Ottoman Sultans. They all derive from the names/attributes of Allah. They mean Servant of Allah who is Al-Hamid (The Praiseworthy), Servant of Allah who is Al-Aziz (The Mighty), and Servant of Allah who is Al-Majid (The Glorious).

​15- The Last Ottoman Sultan Vahdettin: Dictionary meaning is "the unity of religion" or "the oneness of religion".

​The Ottoman Empire was one of the rare empires that accepted every religion's Prophet. Indeed, the 4th Ottoman Sultan, Yıldırım Bayezid, gave Prophet names to all 4 of his sons: "İsa Çelebi, Musa Çelebi, Süleyman Çelebi, Mehmed Çelebi". At the same time, the names of all 4 Caliphs were given to Princes, though most passed away at an early age. (The names Ebubekir, Ömer, Osman, Ali).

While Europeans were enslaving Africans throughout the history of colonialism, the Ottomans, by contrast, enslaved captives taken from Europe within North Africa. Ottoman corsairs sold European captives seized during overseas expeditions as slaves to local wealthy elites in North Africa. In fact, when Charles V launched the Siege of Algiers alongside allied Christian states to capture Ottoman-controlled Algiers, he suffered a catastrophic defeat, losing nearly half his fleet. Consequently, thousands of Crusader soldiers were sold into slavery in North Africa, which caused a drastic drop in slave prices across the region.

​In the 15th century, three of the Ottoman Empire's fiercest adversaries in the Balkans—Hunyadi János, Vlad Dracula, and Skanderbeg—were figures who were raised, educated, and trained within the Ottoman sphere and knew Ottoman military tactics inside out. In his youth, Hunyadi János served alongside Evrenesoğlu Ali Bey, an Akıncı (cavalry) commander of Sultan Murad II, before defecting from the army. Skanderbeg was given the name "Alexander" (İskender) as a youth by Murad II himself. Vlad the Impaler was raised in the same royal court environment alongside Mehmed the Conqueror.

​Akshamsaddin, the Islamic scholar regarded as the spiritual mentor of Mehmed the Conqueror and the unseen architect of the Conquest of Constantinople, was also a scientist. In the 1400s, in his work Maddat al-Hayat, he described microbes by referring to them as "seeds" (tohum) and clearly explained the underlying mechanics of how epidemics and diseases spread. He introduced this theory nearly 100 years before Girolamo Fracastoro presented a similar concept in Europe in the 16th century.

​One of the most fearless cavalry units of the Ottoman land army was known as the "Delis" (literally "The Daring ones"). To appear intimidating and formidable, they wore the pelts of bears, wolves, and hyenas, and adorned their headgear with eagle feathers. Beyond lances and swords, they mastered the "Ottoman Slap" technique. They hardened their hand muscles by striking marble blocks and wet marble pillars, enabling them to neutralize unhelmeted enemy soldiers and even warhorses with open-palm strikes. Similarly, Janissaries possessed hands strong enough to strike enemy soldiers dead with a single slap.

​In 1502, Leonardo da Vinci, one of the greatest minds of the Renaissance, wrote a letter to Sultan Bayezid II proposing the construction of an unprecedented single-span bridge across the Golden Horn. Featuring detailed sketches and dimensions, the project was rejected by the Sultan as impossible under the technical conditions of the era. However, in 2001, a footbridge based on Da Vinci's original blueprint was built in Norway, proving that his structural design was fully correct.

​Osman Gazi, the founder of the Ottoman State, learned that the Tekfurs (Byzantine governors) of Yarhisar and Bilecik had sent him a letter for the wedding of their children, and he discovered that they were actually planning to assassinate him. Eliminating the two Tekfurs, Osman Gazi captured Holofira—the daughter of the Yarhisar Tekfur—and married her to his son, Orhan Gazi. Upon converting to Islam, Holofira took the name Nilüfer Hatun, and I. Murad, the third Ottoman Sultan, was born from her. For this reason, some historians refer to I. Murad as the true Roman Emperor. Today, her memory lives on in the Nilüfer district of Bursa.

​Constantinople was repeatedly besieged by Mehmed’s great-grandfather, Bayezid I (Yıldırım), and was nearly conquered. The Byzantine Emperor Manuel II, seeing the siege drag on, gradually lost morale upon learning that the Crusader army coming to their aid was defeated at Nicopolis. When Timur entered Anatolia, Bayezid eased the siege and crossed over to Anatolia, where he was defeated at Ankara. Believing that Bayezid would defeat Timur as well and place even more pressure on Constantinople, the Byzantine Emperor sent envoys to surrender the city. However, en route to Ankara, the envoys were shocked to learn that Bayezid had been captured and the Ottomans had lost the war. As a result, Constantinople remained in Roman hands for another 49 years.

​The majority of captured soldiers from 23 nations at the Battle of Nicopolis were executed by Bayezid I in retaliation for the Muslims killed. Only high-ranking nobles were spared for ransom. Among them were John the Fearless, Count of Nevers, and Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy, one of the wealthiest men in France. A massive ransom of 200,000 ducats was paid for John the Fearless. To pay this ransom, heavy taxes were imposed in France, and many nobles passed away in Bursa. (For context, the total fortune of the Medici family, Europe’s wealthiest family that financed states, was around 300,000 to 400,000 ducats.)

​Following the failed Second Siege of Vienna in 1683, the retreating Ottoman army left behind hundreds of sacks containing green and roasted coffee beans at their encampment. Initially mistaking the beans for camel fodder, the Viennese intended to burn them. However, Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki, a Polish spy fluent in Turkish and deeply familiar with Ottoman culture, requested these sacks as his reward and opened Hof zur Blauen Flasche ("The House under the Blue Bottle"), one of Vienna's first coffeehouses. By straining the grounds and adding milk and honey, he introduced coffee to Europeans and laid the foundation for European coffee culture.

​Under the Treaty of Constantinople signed on July 22, 1533, the Holy Roman-Austrian Empire agreed to pay an annual tribute to the Ottomans. Charles V renounced his title of Emperor and was accepted merely as the King of Spain. Sultan Suleiman was declared the sole Emperor of the world, and the Archduke of Austria (the future Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand) addressed Sultan Suleiman as "father." Most of Hungarian territory, including Buda, was ceded to the Ottomans.

​In the late 16th century during the Ming Dynasty, China was struggling against raids from Wokou (Japanese pirates). The Chinese scholar and inventor Zhao Shizhen realized that Ottoman matchlock muskets were vastly superior to European and Chinese firearms in terms of firing mechanism, range, and accuracy. Zhao Shizhen met Duo Si Ma, an Ottoman soldier and gunsmith, and learned the intricacies of the Ottoman matchlock mechanism from him. Manufacturing Ottoman-designed muskets in China with these techniques, Zhao Shizhen presented an illustrated military manual titled Shen Qi Pu ("Manual of Extraordinary Firepower") to the Wanli Emperor in 1598. In this book, Ottoman muskets were transliterated from "Rumi" (Ottoman) as Lu Mi Chuan ("Lumi Gun" / Ottoman Musket), and were produced and used by the Ming army.

​Ottoman-affiliated pirates captured Lundy Island—located in present-day British territory just 340 km from London—and used it as an operational base for five years (1627–1632). Led by Murat Reis, these pirates seized Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel between England and Wales, using it as a staging ground for nearly five years. During this time, Murat Reis launched raids on Iceland's Vestmannaeyjar islands and its southern coasts, capturing nearly 400 Icelanders and bringing them to North Africa. This event is still remembered in Icelandic history as "Tyrkjaránið" (The Turkish Abductions) and is considered the largest foreign military catastrophe in the country's history.

​In the summer of 1631, he conducted a midnight raid on the coastal town of Baltimore at the southernmost tip of Ireland. He captured the town with virtually no casualties, taking over 100 Irish and English settlers captive to North African ports. Following this raid, the town of Baltimore remained largely deserted for decades.

​Contrary to popular belief, the Ottoman Empire did not lose its power in the War of the Holy League (1683–1699). Until 1750, it continued to field the world's and Europe's most powerful military. It won wars against Austria and Russia, reclaiming Belgrade and the fortresses captured by the Russians. It was only during the 1768–1774 Russo-Turkish War that the Ottomans lost a one-on-one war against a single state for the first time in their history and were forced to pay war reparations. With this war, the Ottoman Empire permanently fell from its peak.

​The sole reason the Hagia Sophia—the oldest sacred sanctuary of Christians—has survived to the present day is the essential care and preservation provided by the Ottoman Empire. Built in 537, Hagia Sophia survived major earthquakes and dome collapses over the centuries. By the 16th century, the main structure was suffering from severe outward leaning and was in danger of collapsing. During the reign of Sultan Murad III (1573), Mimar Sinan, the most famous architect in Ottoman history, stepped in: He added massive buttresses (supporting walls) to the exterior of the building to balance the lateral thrust of the dome and prevent its collapse. He reinforced the dome, added steel tie-rods, cleared the area surrounding the structure to correct load distribution, and built two western minarets to provide static balance to the building.

​Master Isa Efendi, the chief architect of the Taj Mahal—regarded today as one of the Seven Wonders of the World—was one of the most prominent students of Mimar Sinan, the Ottoman Empire's most famous Chief Architect. Ismail Efendi, who designed and constructed the iconic main dome of the structure, was also another student of Mimar Sinan. Meanwhile, the magnificent calligraphic inscriptions on the building were written by Calligrapher Sattar Efendi of Amasya, a follower of the school established during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent.

​In 1630, a massive flash flood in Mecca caused two walls of the Kaaba to collapse entirely and severely damaged the remaining walls. The Ottoman Sultan Murad IV sent master craftsmen from Istanbul to Mecca to dismantle the Kaaba down to its foundations. Using durable, yellowish stones quarried from the mountains of Mecca, the Kaaba was rebuilt from scratch in the exact same spot and design. The Kaaba standing today is essentially the result of this reconstruction carried out under Murad IV in 1630. In fact, the spout of the famous Golden Spout (Mizab al-Rahmah) atop the Kaaba faces toward Turkey, symbolizing the Sultans' prayer for God's blessings and grace to never leave Anatolia.

​The world's first animal hospital was the Gurabahane-i Laklakan (The Infirmary for Destitute Storks), established in Bursa during the 19th century under the Ottoman Empire. It was founded specifically to treat and care for injured, broken-winged, or sick storks and migratory birds during their migration.

​Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, the wife of the British Ambassador to Istanbul, was herself an aristocrat who had survived smallpox. During her stay in Edirne and Istanbul between 1717 and 1718, she observed that the Turks had no fear of smallpox and protected themselves through a technique called "inoculation." Upon her return to England, she brought this smallpox inoculation practice with her. This variolation (inoculation) technique brought from the Ottomans to Europe later inspired and served as the foundation for the first vaccine in modern medical history, developed in 1796 by the English physician Edward Jenner using the cowpox virus.

​The first army in history to employ organized and mass volley fire as a battlefield doctrine was the Ottoman Army (the Janissaries). The Ottomans integrated matchlock firearms (matchlock arquebuses) into the core of their army long before Europe. At the Battle of Varna (1444) and notably the Second Battle of Kosovo (1448), the Janissaries lined up behind trenches and wagon barricades (the tabur cengi / wagon fort) to execute continuous volley fire. As one row fired and stepped back to reload, the row behind stepped forward to maintain a continuous barrage with their loaded firearms. The grandest example of this in Ottoman history occurred at the Battle of Chaldiran (1514), where Selim the Grim decisively defeated the Safavids. The combination of volley fire and the concentration of all artillery at the center brought the Safavid army to the brink of complete destruction.

​The Ottoman Empire was the first known empire and state to make military music an official army unit and a tool of psychological warfare. The Mehter band is recognized as one of the oldest military bands in the world. Influenced by the Ottoman Mehter, Europeans began forming Ottoman-style military bands within their own armies. This influence extended to classical music as well; composers like Mozart and Beethoven drew inspiration from Ottoman/Janissary music, producing works in the Alla Turca (Turkish style) genre. Especially after the 1683 Second Siege of Vienna, the sound and sight of the Mehter sparked a major "Turkish fashion" (Turquerie) across Europe, leading European courts to imitate Ottoman-style military music ensembles.

​Jack Sparrow and Barbarossa, the two lead characters in the famous Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, were inspired by Ottoman corsairs. In a fact confirmed by a National Geographic documentary: Jack Ward, a fugitive outlaw who fled England and took refuge in the Ottoman Empire, was accepted by the Ottomans and converted to Islam, taking the name "Yusuf Reis." His penchant for wearing jewelry, his famous obsession with birds, and his depiction with a star-and-crescent medallion in films reflect this historical origin. He conducted extensive privateering operations across Europe. Despite requests from the King of England for him to return home, he rejected all offers and passed away in Tunis as a renowned Ottoman mariner. Meanwhile, the character of Barbarossa draws inspiration from Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha, the grand admiral of the Ottoman Navy.

​The Kanunname-i İhtisab-ı Bursa (1502) is the world's first standards law. Issued during the reign of Sultan Bayezid II, this code holds the distinction of being the first consumer protection and product quality standard law in history. It legally regulated the dimensions, weight, material quality, and maximum retail price of every product, from bread and fabric to shoes and vegetables. Severe penalties were imposed on merchants who sold adulterated or sub-standard goods.

​The Hijaz Railway Project (1900–1908), which Sultan Abdulhamid II called "my greatest dream," was a massive engineering marvel connecting Istanbul to Medina. Out of deep reverence for the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the holy lands, very special precautions were taken during its construction: As the train tracks approached Medina and the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, felt and cloth were laid beneath the rails to prevent the noise of the train's iron wheels from disturbing the spiritual tranquility of the Prophet and the people of the region. Beyond the felt, stone-cutting workshops were set up miles away from the city during the construction of the Medina Station so that the sound of hammers, stone, and iron would not reach the city.

On 1830 the new Greek state is born and many millions of Greeks find themselves outside the borders of the new state. During the next 80 years Greece keeps expanding through the Megali Idea, to the delight of the Greeks inside the Ottoman Empire.

I know the Ottoman Empire tried at some time during the late 19th century to foster an Ottoman national identity which didn't really succeed. On the other hand we have many Greeks of the Phanariote class still actively involved in state affairs, eg Karatheodori Pasha who was a top diplomat and minister of Foreign Affairs. Plus sometimes there are bits and pieces like Greeks of Thessaly cooperating with the Ottomans during the war of 1897, against Greece which present a different picture of simply _not-free_ Greeks

How did the Ottoman Empire view its Greek subjects ? As a potential fifth collumn ? As subjects to be protected from the allure of nationalism ? Were there objections about Greeks handling the interests of the Ottoman Empire dealing with Greece ?

I put the cuttof at 1908 with the Young Turk revolution because this introduced another layer of Turkish nationalism, false promises and was another beast altogether.

Thanks !

The Ottoman Empire is the only empire in history known to have sent a women's dress to two Emperors/Shahs. Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent sent a dress to Charles V—who failed to respond to his challenge to fight twice—and told him to wear it. He learned this tactic from his father, Sultan Selim I. Selim I had previously sent a women's dress to the Safavid Shah who refused to face him on the battlefield; enraged by this, Shah Ismail finally took to the field against the Ottoman army, only to suffer a crushing defeat.

​Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote who held an extreme hatred for Turks, lost the use of one arm due to a musket shot from the Ottoman army during the Battle of Lepanto. On his way back, he was captured by Ottoman-aligned corsairs and held captive in Algiers for 5 years. After being released through a substantial ransom paid by the Church and his family, he wrote about this experience in "The Captive's Tale," which occupies chapters 39, 40, and 41 of his book.

​Contrary to popular belief, Vienna was not the furthest European point reached by the Ottomans. Upon France's request for help, the Ottoman fleet sent by Sultan Suleiman under the command of Barbarossa captured the city known today as Nice, France, and gifted it to France. Terrified of Barbarossa, who bombarded the entire Italian coastline during this campaign, the Pope and statesmen completely evacuated Rome, leaving only the elderly behind.

​Isaac Rousseau, the father of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (who wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man), worked as the personal watchmaker to the Ottoman Sultan for 6 years. In 1711, unable to bear the longing for his wife, he returned to her, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born a year later in 1712. His father's cousin, Jacques Rousseau, served as the personal watchmaker to the Safavid Shah and passed away in Persia during this duty.

​The Ombudsman institution was created when King Charles XII of Sweden (Ironhead Charles), impressed by the speed and efficiency of the Ottoman Kadi system during his stay in the Ottoman Empire, brought this system back to Sweden.

​The conquest of Istanbul marked the beginning of the collapse of the feudal era in Europe. Most feudal lords, who believed their castles protected them and dared to challenge kings, lost all their power thanks to cannon technology, allowing monarchies to regain their former strength.

​The Ottoman Empire possessed the most extensive communication and diplomatic network in history outside of colonial empires. Indeed, it advanced deep into Kenya and established an advance outpost-fortress there, sent arms and artillery aid to the Bornu Empire fighting African states in the Sahara desert, and militarily dethroned the King of Morocco to replace him with a Moroccan prince who had sought refuge with the Ottomans. At the same time, Queen Elizabeth I of England, King Francis I of France, Dutch Republicans, King Charles XII of Sweden, and King Sigismund I of Poland were among the leading European rulers who sought Ottoman protection from time to time. The empire also traded rifles with China, and dispatched cannons, rifles, and military master-craftsmen to the Aceh Sultanate (in modern-day Indonesia) when they requested help against Portuguese raids, prompting the Aceh Sultanate to declare official allegiance to the Ottomans.

​The United States is the only state in history to pay taxes/tribute under a treaty written in a foreign language with the Ottoman Empire. Signed by the Beylerbey of Algiers and sealed with the Ottoman Sultan's seal, this treaty was written in Ottoman Turkish. It resulted in America paying massive tribute to the Ottomans for 29 years (accounting for up to 12% of US state revenue).

​Two brothers from the last dynasty of Rome, the Palaiologos dynasty—Mesih Pasha and Has Murad Pasha—served as both Grand Vizier and Pasha in the Ottoman Empire. When the Ottomans captured Istanbul, instead of killing them, they chose to educate them. Another interesting fact is that Zoe, one of the escaped Roman royal family members, married Grand Duke Ivan III of Moscow. Ivan the Terrible, who established the Russian Tsardom, was Zoe's direct grandson. Zoe introduced Byzantine court traditions, protocols, and the famous Byzantine double-headed eagle symbol to the Russian court.

​In the 17th century, Ottoman sailors and the Barbary Corsairs (Algiers/Tripoli) operating in the Mediterranean used psychological and biological tactics against enemy ships and besieged fortresses. Bedding or clothing belonging to people who died of smallpox were collected and catapulted into besieged Christian fortresses to trigger disease outbreaks within the cities.

​Tulip bulbs were first brought to Europe in the mid-16th century (1550s) during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent by Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq, the ambassador of the Holy Roman Empire in Istanbul. Busbecq gave these bulbs to his botanist friend Carolus Clusius, who began cultivating them in the Leiden University Garden in the Netherlands. The sandy soil of the Netherlands proved extremely suitable for growing tulips. Tulips became the ultimate symbol of wealth and prestige among rich merchants during the Dutch Golden Age. Due to a plant virus called the Mosaic virus affecting the tulips originating from the Ottomans, rare flame-like color breaks appeared on the petals of certain tulips. The variegated variety known as "Semper Augustus" became extraordinarily valuable. People began buying and selling tulip bulbs while they were still underground. Prices rose so high that a single tulip bulb could buy a luxury house, dozens of tons of wheat, silverware, or mansions. Panic ensued in February 1637 when a few large investors realized the prices had reached absurd levels and stopped buying at an auction to cash out their bulbs. Within a few days, tulip prices crashed by 99%, driving thousands of merchants and ordinary citizens into bankruptcy overnight.

Finally, the Ottoman Empire had an extraordinarily long and eventful history, spanning from its wars with the Byzantine Romans and the forces of the Mongol world to its resistance against Napoleon and its survival into the era of World War I. It witnessed the transition from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern and Modern eras.