Evaluate the reasons why the Ottoman army and navy were so s
Evaluate the reasons why the Ottoman army and navy were so successful in the period 1451-1529 During the period 1451-1529, the Ottoman Empire flourished and the military was one great reason for and result of this development. The military were made up of two distinct groups, the Kapti Kullari forces and the local forces. Those in the Devshrime, who were not chosen for palace service or to cater the government, were forced to join the Janissaries who made up the core of the standing army. As these Janissaries had been trained as slaves from a young age, they gave loyal and disciplined support to the sultan, which further established the control of the sultan. The army was well equipped with clothing and armed with swords, bows, spears and later muskets. The slave forces also contained cavalry, armourers, artillerymen and wagon drivers. Secondly, the local forces were called upon in times of war and consisted mainly of cavalry, foot soldiers and raiders. The Sipahis (cavalry) of the local forces were feudal sipahis and were not supported by the state, but instead by the timar system. This meant that they were given land. The land was not owned by sipahis however; they were given the right to earn of it by the sultan. The
It could be said that Mehmed was power hungry and was just looking for the next city for his men to destroy, but the direction of the military under Mehmed was a great thing for the Ottoman Empire. Mehmed gathered a large fleet of galleys and smaller ships totalling 130 vessels altogether. Each individual sultan brought their own particular input to the Ottoman army and navy in there respective reigns. He was deeply interested in extending and modernising the Ottoman sea power. Not until the time of Suleiman, did the leader of the navy even get a place in the imperial council. After cities were conquered the Janissaries were encouraged by their commanders to take valuable items with them, but they never pillaged the place and always respected religious structures of the enemy. The Ottoman Empire began as a military state and all the early sultans through to the reign of Suileiman distinguished themselves as military leaders. Despite the tensions that such a system naturally produced, the units fought well together. He enlarged the sultan-approved Janissary corps, built training schools and introduced the development of new weaponary and tactics. The Ottoman military may have been an excellent fighting force but were by no means out-of-control in their methods both on and off the battlefield. The sultan was detrmined to find a way to gain control of the Golden Horn, the natural harbour, without having to storm the defensive boom, which had been constructed across the entrance. The Ottoman army was a composite force, which was formed of a salaried standing army and of units similar to the feudal levies of medieval Europe. The capture of Constantiniople in 1453 by Mehmed had provided the Ottomans with many advanced shipyards for their disposal. One such example of this great respect held by the Ottoman military came with the conquest of Constantinople. After the city was captured, it was not simply burnt to the ground, rather, funded by the Ottoman government, it was rebuilt to a higher glory then that previously owned.
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Acceptance Essays
