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 deputy grand viziers, the chief ministries, and the daily business of the Ottoman central government.
The Provinces and the Millet System
The Ottoman provincial system — eyalets, beylerbeyiliks, sanjaks, beys, pashas — and the millet framework that gave religious communities internal autonomy.
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 choreography of imperial power.
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 Millet System
The religious-millet system of the Ottoman Empire: the millet-i Rum, the Armenian millet, the Jewish millet, the role of the milletbashi, and the historical debate about its origins.
The Tanzimat Reforms
The Tanzimat era of 1839-1876: the Gülhane Decree, the Islahat Edict, the 1858 land code, the 1864 Vilayet Law, and the first Ottoman constitution of 1876.
Topkapı Palace
Topkapı Palace in Istanbul: its layout, the four courtyards, the harem, the imperial treasury, and the daily life of the Ottoman court that resided there from 1453 to 1856.