Notes

Life in the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman empire would rule a vast area at the intersection of Africa, Asia, and Europe for six centuries. Osman, from whose name Ottoman came, took power in 1293. From his rule in Anatolia, the empire spread to encompass not only Anatolia, but also the Balkans, Greece, the Black Sea region, Egypt, and parts of North Africa and Southwest Asia.
The City and the Empire
Long before the Turks conquered Constantinople, it had been known by the name Istanbul. To the Greeks, the Byzantine capital was simply “the city,” and so it became known among the Turks as well. Its fall to the Ottomans signaled a major shift in power in the region, and despite the destruction done to Constantinople, the Ottomans recognized its value as a center of trade and culture.
Ottoman rulers taxed their Christian subjects not only in wealth, but also in children. Ottoman officials selected young boys from Christian communities to serve as soldiers known as the janizaries. Janizaries made up one group within the social hierarchy of the Ottoman empire.
Social Hierarchy for Ottoman Men
Ottoman Social Hierarchy
Types of People
men of the sword soldiers
men of the pen scientists, lawyers, judges, poets
men of negotiation merchants, tax collectors, artisans
men of husbandry farmers, herders

The Safavid Empire
The Ottomans came to rule a vast territory comprising lands on three continents. Why did their empire only extend as far east as the fringe of Persia? Because in Persia, another empire had emerged. Shorter-lived than the Ottoman empire, the Safavid empire lasted from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, and it comprised most of modern Iran and the neighboring regions. As with the Ottomans, Islam played a central role in public and private life; however, in contrast to the Sunni Ottomans, the Safavids were Shiite.