Timeline of the Ottoman Empire facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The Ottoman Empire was a powerful state that lasted for over 600 years, from the late 1200s to the early 1900s. It was founded by Osman I and grew to control a huge area, including parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. This timeline shows some of the most important events in its long history.

A map showing how the Ottoman Empire grew from 1307 to 1683.

The 1300s: Early Days and Growth
The 1400s: Expansion and a Short Pause
The 1500s: Golden Age and Great Power
The 1600s: Challenges and Changes
The 1700s: Reforms and Losses
The 1800s: Revolts and Modernization Attempts
The 1900s: The End of an Empire
See also

The 1300s: Early Days and Growth

Year	Date	Event
c. 1298		The reign of Osman I began. He was the founder of the Ottoman Empire.
1302	July 27	Battle of Bapheus. This was the first war between the Ottomans and the Byzantine Empire.
1326		Orhan Gazi became the new leader.
1326		Siege of Bursa. The Ottomans took over Bursa. This city then became their capital.
1329	June 10–11	Battle of Pelekanon. The Ottomans gained control of more land in Anatolia.
1328-31		Siege of Nicaea. The Ottomans conquered Nicaea.
1362	March	Orhan Gazi passed away. Murad I became the new leader.
1365		Battle of Sırp Sındığı. Bulgaria had to pay taxes to the Ottomans.
1369		Edirne was conquered. This city was also a capital for a time.
1371	September 27	Battle of Maritsa. Serbia was forced to become loyal to the Ottoman Empire.
1389	June 15	Battle of Kosovo. Most of Serbia was conquered. Murad I died in this war. Bayezid I became the new leader.
1396	September 25	Battle of Nicopolis. Bulgaria was completely conquered.
1399		The Bursa Great Mosque was built by Bayezid I.

The 1400s: Expansion and a Short Pause

Year	Date	Event
1402	July 20	Battle of Ankara. The Ottomans faced a tough time and a period of weakness. Their leader, Bayezid I, was captured.
1402-13		Ottoman Interregnum. This was a time of civil war among the sons of Bayezid I. The empire was reunited in 1413 by Mehmed I.
1413	July 5	Battle of Çamurlu. Mehmed I became the leader and brought peace back.
1421	May 26	Murad II became the new leader.
1422		Siege of Constantinople (1422). This was the first big attempt by the Ottomans to take Constantinople.
1432	March 30	Mehmed the Conqueror was born. He would become a very famous sultan.
1444	November 10	Battle of Varna. The Ottomans won, increasing their power in the Balkans.
1448	October 17–20	Battle of Kosovo II. The Balkans fully came under Ottoman control.
1453	May 29	Mehmed II (the Conqueror) captured Constantinople. This was a huge victory and ended the Byzantine Empire.
1459		Serbia was conquered.
1460		Mehmed II conquered Morea.
1461		Mehmed II conquered Trabzon, ending the Empire of Trebizond.
1462		Mehmed II started building his famous Topkapi Palace.
1463		Bosnia was conquered.
1475		Gedik Ahmet Pasha captured Caffa. Crimea became a state that paid taxes to the Ottomans.
1478		Albania was conquered.
1481	May 3	Mehmed II died. Bayezid II became the new leader.
1481		There was a struggle for the throne between Sultan Cem and Bayezid II.

The 1500s: Golden Age and Great Power

Year	Date	Event
1512	April 24	Selim I, known as "the Inflexible," became the leader.
1514		Battle of Chaldiran. Selim I defeated the Safavids. This brought East Anatolia under Ottoman control.
1516		Battle of Marj Dabiq. Selim I defeated the Mamluk Sultanate. Syria and Palestine came under Ottoman rule.
1517		Battle of Ridaniya. Selim I defeated the Mamluks again. Egypt came under Ottoman rule.
1517		Piri Reis presented his famous world map to Selim I.
1519		Hayreddin Barbarossa, a ruler in Algeria, joined the Ottomans.
1520		The reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (Suleiman I) began. This was a golden age for the empire.
1521		Suleiman I conquered Belgrade.
1522		Suleiman I captured Rhodes.
1526		Battle of Mohács. Suleiman I won a major victory against Hungary.
1529		Suleiman I laid siege to Vienna, but did not capture it.
1534-36		Suleiman I led campaigns against the Safavids, taking Baghdad.
1538		The Ottoman navy defeated the Holy League in the Battle of Preveza.
1541		Buda was conquered, and Ottoman rule was set up in Hungary.
1551		Siege of Tripoli (1551). Tripoli was taken over.
1555		Peace of Amasya was signed with the Safavid Empire. This set borders in the east.
1565		A failed attempt to conquer Malta in the Great Siege.
1566	September 6	The reign of Suleiman the Magnificent ended. Selim II became the new leader.
1570-73		Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–73). Cyprus was conquered.
1571		Battle of Lepanto. The Holy League defeated the Ottoman navy.
1574		Conquest of Tunis. Selim II died, and Murad III became the new leader.
1575		The Selimiye Mosque was completed by the famous architect Mimar Sinan.
1578		Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–90). When this war ended, the Ottomans had reached their largest size in the east.
1590		Treaty of İstanbul was signed with the Safavids. This gave the Ottomans more land in the east.
1593-1606		Long Turkish War. This war lasted 13 years.
1596	October 23–26	Battle of Keresztes.

The 1600s: Challenges and Changes

Year	Date	Event
1603-18		Ottoman–Safavid War. The Ottomans lost some lands they had gained earlier.
1622	May 20	Osman II was killed.
1639		Treaty of Zuhab was signed with the Safavid Empire. This set new borders, giving the Ottomans control of Mesopotamia (Iraq).
1648		Sultan Ibrahim was removed from power. Mehmed IV became the new leader.
1651		Kösem Sultan was killed.
1656		Köprülü Mehmed Pasha became Grand Vizier. This started the Köprülü era, a time when a powerful family led the empire.
1661		Köprülü Mehmed Pasha died. His son, Fazıl Ahmed Pasha, became Grand Vizier.
1663-64		Austro-Turkish War. This war ended with the Peace of Vasvár.
1669		The Ottomans conquered Heraklion (Kandiye).
1672-76		Polish–Ottoman War. The Ottomans gained control of Kamianets-Podilskyi. This war marked the largest size of the Ottoman Empire in Europe.
1676		Fazıl Ahmed Pasha died. Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha became Grand Vizier.
1683	September 12	Battle of Vienna. The Ottomans were defeated in a major battle.
1686		Buda was lost to the Austrian Habsburgs.
1687		Mehmed IV was removed from power.
1697	September 11	Battle of Zenta. Another big defeat for the Ottomans.
1699		Treaty of Karlowitz. The Ottomans gave up most of Hungary to Austria. This was a sign of the empire starting to shrink.

The 1700s: Reforms and Losses

Year	Date	Event
1715		Morea was recaptured by the Ottomans.
1718		Treaty of Passarowitz was signed.
1718		The start of the Tulip era, a time of peace and new ideas (until 1730).
1729		The first printing press in Turkish was set up by Ibrahim Muteferrika.
1730		Patrona Halil led a revolt. The Tulip era ended, and Ahmet III was removed from power.
1739		Treaty of Belgrade was signed.
1770	July 5 - 7	Battle of Çeşme. The Ottoman fleet suffered a big defeat against Russia.
1774		Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca was signed.

The 1800s: Revolts and Modernization Attempts

Year	Date	Event
1804	February 14	The First Serbian Uprising began, marking the start of the Serbian Revolution.
1807	May	The Kabakçı Mustafa rebellion led to the removal of Sultan Selim III.
1808	July 21	Mahmud II became the new sultan.
1813	April 23	The Second Serbian Uprising began.
1821		The Greek War of Independence started.
1826	June 15	Auspicious Incident. The old Janissary army corps was forcefully ended after a rebellion.
1830		Algeria was conquered by the French.
1832	July 21	Greece became an independent country.
1839		The Tanzimat period began, a time of major reforms to modernize the empire.
1853	October 4	The Crimean War began with Russia. Britain, France, and Sardinia joined the Ottoman side.
1860	October 21	The first newspaper in Turkish, Tercümen'ı Ahval, was published.
1862	February 5	A united Romanian state was formed.
1875	October 30	The Ottomans could not pay their public debt.
1876	December 23	The Constantinople Conference was held, ending the Tanzimat reforms.
1877	April 24	The Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) began with Russia.
1878	March 3	Treaty of San Stefano. Romania and Serbia became independent. Bulgaria became a self-governing area.
1878	June 4	Cyprus was taken over by Britain.
1881		Tunisia became a French colony.
1882		Egypt came under British control.

The 1900s: The End of an Empire

Year	Date	Event
1908		The Second Constitutional Era began with the Young Turk revolution.
1908	October 5	Bulgaria became fully independent.
1908	October 7	Austria-Hungary took over Bosnia.
1911	November 11	Italo-Turkish War. The Ottomans were defeated by Italy, losing Libya and ending their presence in North Africa.
1912	October 8	First Balkan War. Albania declared its independence.
1913	May 17	First Balkan War. The Ottoman Empire lost almost all its land in Europe, except for Istanbul and a small area around it.
1914	August 2	The Empire joined World War I on the side of the Central Powers. Cyprus was officially taken by Britain.
1915	April 24	The Ottoman Empire began the forced movement of Armenians.
1915	April 25	The Gallipoli Campaign. The Ottoman army, led by Mustafa Kemal, successfully stopped a British invasion.
1915	December 7	Siege of Kut. A major defeat for the British army.
1918	October 30	Armistice of Mudros. This agreement ended fighting in the Middle East during World War I.
1919	May 15	Greek troops landed in and occupied Izmir. This led to anger among the Turkish people.
1919	May 19	The Turkish War of Independence began.
1920	August 10	Treaty of Sèvres. This treaty planned to divide the Ottoman Empire. Turkish nationalists rejected it.
1922	November 1	The Ottoman dynasty was ended by the new Republic of Turkey.
1923	July 24	Treaty of Lausanne was signed, setting the borders of modern Turkey.
1924	March 3	The Caliphate was abolished by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.