鄂图曼帝国(Ottoman Empire)

位小亚细亚的前土耳其帝国。鄂图曼帝国创始人奥斯曼一世原为比希尼亚的伊斯兰王公，攻占曾一度由塞尔柱王朝控制的邻近地区。西元1300年左右建立了他自己的王朝。1345年鄂图曼军队第一次入侵欧洲，征服了巴尔干的许多地区。但在1402年被帖木儿击败，1453年鄂图曼在穆罕默德二世领导下（1429～1481年在位）攻陷君士坦丁堡，拜占庭帝国遂亡。君士坦丁堡（後改称伊斯坦堡）成为鄂图曼帝国的新都。在谢里姆一世与苏莱曼一世的统治下，鄂图曼帝国成为世界上最大的帝国。苏莱曼控制了波斯、阿拉伯、匈牙利和巴尔干地区。到16世纪初，鄂图曼也击败了在叙利亚和埃及的马木路克，海军在巴尔巴罗萨的领导下很快的称霸於巴贝里海岸。自谢里姆一世，鄂图曼苏丹也拥有哈里发的头衔。16世纪中叶以後，帝国开始由盛转衰。1683～1792年间的对外战争屡遭挫折，失地累累。18世纪俄土战争与奥地利和波兰的战争加速了帝国的衰弱。在19世纪被称为「欧洲的病人」。巴尔干战争（1912～1913）中丧失了在欧洲的大部分领土。第一次世界大战鄂图曼帝国是站在德国一边，战後协定，瓦解了帝国。1922年凯末尔废除了苏丹制，建立土耳其共和国。亦请参阅Janissary、Young Turks。

English version：

Ottoman Empire

Former Turkish empire centered in Asia Minor. It was named for Osman I (1259-1326), a Muslim prince in Bithynia who conquered neighboring regions once held by the Seljuq dynasty and founded his own dynasty c. 1300. Ottoman troops first invaded Europe in 1345, sweeping through the Balkans. Though defeated by Timur in 1402, by 1453 the Ottomans, under Muhammad II the Conquerer (1429-1481), had destroyed the Byzantine empire and captured its capital, Constantinople (Istanbul), which henceforth served as the Ottoman capital. Under Selim I (1467-1520) and his son Süleyman I the Magnificent, the Ottoman empire became the largest in the world, Süleyman taking control of Persia, Arabia, Hungary, and the Balkans. By the early 16th century the Ottomans had also defeated the Mamluks in Syria and Egypt; and their navy under Barbarossa soon seized control of much of the Barbary Coast. Beginning with Selim, the Ottoman sultans also held the title of caliph, the spiritual head of Islam. Ottoman power began to decline in the late 16th century with the destruction of the imperial fleet in 1571 at the Battle of Lepanto. Ottoman forces besieged Vienna in 1683; their defeat and subsequent losses led to their relinquishing Hungary in 1699. Continuing corruption and decadence gradually undermined the government. In the 18th century the Russo-Turkish Wars and wars with Austria and Poland further weakened the empire, which in the 19th century came to be called the “sick man of Europe.” Most of its remaining European territory was lost in the Balkan Wars (1912-13). It sided with Germany in World War I; postwar treaties dissolved the empire, and in 1922 the sultanate was abolished by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who proclaimed the Republic of Turkey. See also Janissary, Turks, Young Turks.