What kind of leadership was in place in the Ottoman empire?

Question

How large and strong was the military class? Do you know a good website with a brief history of the Ottoman empire?
Thanks.

Answer 1

Hello.
Since it's calleda Empire,I would guess they had an Emperor at fthe top.
They were a military society and one of fthe first to employ horses. They had contact with Ghengis Kahn so it was a pseudo-military leadership with ranks below fthe emperor.
Thanks anf good night,
JB :)

Answer 2

The Ottoman Empire (Ottoman Turkish: دولت عليه عثمانيه Devlet-i Âliye-i Osmâniyye; literally, "The Sublime Ottoman State"), also sometimes known in the West as the Turkish Empire, existed from 1299 to 1923. At the height of its power in the 16th and 17th centuries, its territory included Anatolia, the Middle East, parts of North Africa, and much of south-eastern Europe to the Caucasus. It comprised an area of about 5.6 million km²[1] (though if adjoining territories where the empire's suzerainty was recognised, dominated mainly by nomadic tribes, are included it controlled a much larger area). The empire interacted with both Eastern and Western cultures throughout its 624-year history. Eastern influence being the dominate culture in pre and post industrial age.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottoman Empire was among the world's most powerful political entities, with the powers of eastern Europe constantly threatened by its steady advance through the Balkans, the Kingdom of Hungary and the southern part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Its navy was also a powerful force in the Mediterranean. On several occasions, the Ottoman army invaded central Europe, laying siege to Vienna in 1529 and again in 1683 in an attempt to conquer the Habsburg domain, and was finally repulsed only by great coalitions of European powers at sea and on land. It was the only non-European power to seriously challenge the growing influence of the West between the 15th and 20th centuries, eventually becoming an integral part of European balance of power politics, hence blurring the distinctions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_empire

Answer 3

The Ottoman Empire inherited the structure of the Byzantine empire it conquered.The Sultan -always Muslim- was the head of state and it was an inherited succession.The rest of the functionaries were Greeks of Constantinople called "Fanariotes".
The army was powerfull and the elite were the "genitsari" Greeks that were seized as very young boys from Greece ,were turned into Muslims and had every privilege.The seizing of children took place once a year.
The empire collapsed after 1821 ,when the remaining Greeks revolted.
It's only contribution to civilization is the spread of Islam and multiple genocides.

Mac
A European

Answer 4

The Khalif was elected by the people. He had to be a Muslim, and study Muslim Law (Sharia). Once elected, this was a lifetime of service. The only challenge would be if he ordered his people to do something in conflict with Sharia Law, and he would have to be impeached. Once elected, the Khalif was equivalent to an Oracle, he spoke for Allah. His orders had to be followed to the letter.

The military class was actually quite small. The Muslims used Jannisaries (or captured soldiers) to expand the empire (in contrast to the Romans, who used a voluntary military).