 The Ottoman Turks became the leaders of the Islamic world in the Middle East and Europe.

 Decline of the Seljuks › Seljuks Turks were eventually weakened, because in addition to fighting outside invaders, Seljuks leader fought among themselves. › The tribes united under the rule of Osman to form the Ottoman Empire in › Osman’s troops captured Bursa, Turkey, in 1326 and made it their capital.

 The Ottoman Turks › The Ottoman Empire replaced the remaining Seljuk empire in Asia Minor › In 1354, Ottoman troops seized the European part of modern-day Turkey. › In 1450, all that remained under Byzantine control was Constantinople and the area surrounding it.

 Fall of Constantinople › In 1453, the Ottoman Sultan Muhammad II, conquered Constantinople. › Muhammad had 70 warships disassembled and moved over the land from the Bosporus waterway between Constantinople and Asia Minor. › The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI, was killed in the battle.

 Suleiman the Magnificent › Suleiman was an effective general who pushed even deeper into Europe. › He was loved and respected by the people. › Suleiman led the Ottomans into a golden age. › Suleiman also had mosques, schools, baths, hospitals, bridges, and covered markets built throughout the empire.

 Ottoman Culture › The Ottomans divided their people into four social classes. › The men of the sword and the men of the pen were mainly all Muslims. › The best soldiers won a place in the janizaries, the highest- ranking group of the Ottoman army.

 The Decline of the Ottoman Empire › The Ottoman Empire showed the first signs of weakness in the late 1700s. › In the 1700s, it lost the Crimea, a peninsula in the Black Sea, to Russia after a six-year war. › In the 1800s, Greece won its independence. › The empire also lost territories to France and Great Britain.

 The Safavid Empire spanned a broad region of Persia and was controlled by Shiite Muslims.

 Shah Abbas I › The Safavid height of power came during the reign of the shah, or king, named Abbas I. › Shah Abbas created a powerful military force, modeled after the Ottoman janizaries. › In 1598, Abbas made Isfahan his capital, where he built religious monuments, mosques, palaces, gardens, and hospitals. › Because Abbas trusted no one, he had his sons either blinded or put to death in order to avoid power struggles.

 Decline of the Safavid Empire › The Safavid Empire declined after the death of Shah Abbas I in › One cause of the decline was the pressure from Ottoman armies. › Another possible cause was the continuing struggles that took place between the Sunni Muslims and the Shiite Muslims. › A group of Afghan Sunni Muslims rebelled and captured Isfahan.