Education and Culture in the Ottoman Classical Period

Throughout history, the Turks have established numerous states of varying sizes. Among these, the Ottomans were the longest-ruling and demonstrated the highest level of performance in terms of culture and civilization. The process of Turks’ migration from Central Asia to the Near East and Anatolia, along with their conversion to Islam, began in the tenth century and continued for about 200 years. During this time, numerous dynasties established different states from India to Egypt and Yemen. Foremost among these dynasties were the Seljuks, who ruled in Iran, Mesopotamia, present-day Syria, and Anatolia. After converting to Islam, the Seljuk Turks built a high civilization in such fields as science, art, literature, and politics. Due to external factors such as the Crusades and Mongol invasions, however, as well as internal factors such as throne disputes and the conditions of nomadic life, the high culture and civilization that had been established were unable to be sustained. In the thirteenth century, many small dynasties fought for political supremacy in Anatolia. Toward the end of the century, Ertuğrul and his son Osman, from the Oghuz Turks tribe, laid the foundations for the Ottoman Empire in northwestern Anatolia, just before the Byzantine Empire. This small organization grew rapidly for geographical, military, strategic, and other reasons, ruling over more than half of Anatolia within a century and becoming neighbors with the kingdoms of Wallachia and Serbia (today Serbia and southern Romania) in the Balkans. After the battle in Ankara in 1402 between Yıldırım Bayezid, the fourth Ottoman sultan, and Timur, the great ruler of Central Asia, the Ottoman Empire experienced a serious crisis for about a decade but quickly recovered and conquered Istanbul 40 years later.