Here is the Sultan's distinctive throne. The Ottoman Sultans who sat here presided over an empire that once included the middle east and much of Europe. Ottoman armies made it to the gates of Vienna, Austria in 1529, during the celebrated reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. But even Suleyman, at the height of Ottoman power, could not take Vienna. He had to make do with rebuilding Jerusalem, including new city walls which stand to the present day. In Istanbul, Suleyman constructed a mosque bearing his name that is even larger than the Blue Mosque.
Then it was downhill for the Ottomans following Suleyman. Labeled "the sick man of Europe", the Ottoman Empire lost territory over the next several centuries. Greece won its freedom from Ottoman rule in 1830. Allying with the World War I losers would spell doom for the Ottoman Empire. |
