Ottoman Empire

### Regional Language(s)

Greek, Bulgarian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Albanian, Shtokavian, Slovenian, Italian, Arabic, Armenian, Georgian, Russian, Azerbaijani, Spanish, Portuguese

### Succeded by

Mesopotamian Federation

The **Ottoman Empire** was a major nation which dominated the early post-solar flare era. At its peak, it controlled most of the Middle East, the Balkans, southern Ukraine, northern Africa, Iberia, and the Horn of Africa. It was the main superpower of its time, and was allied with many of its neighbors. It was also responsible for causing the collapse of the Iberian Empire and the Indian Union. Its main ally was the First Turkic Khaganate. It would fall due to the betrayal of Kyrylo during the final stages of the Benelux-Ottoman War. Around a century after its collapse, it would be revived.

## History

### Beginnings

The first sultan of the Ottoman Empire was Mustafa, who was known as "the founder" due to his role in creating the empire. His uncle led the Turkish rebellion in Anatolia before the Solar Flare, which was ultimately unsuccessful, but inspired Mustafa to create a Turkish state of his own. During the collapse of the Byzantines due to the solar flare, he was able to successfully conquer Constantinople and declared the Ottoman Sultanate.

### Roots of the Empire

Following this, Mustafa began a series of conquests across the eastern Mediterranean, conquering places such as Greece, Bulgaria, Crimea, Cyprus and most of Anatolia. Before his death, the Ottomans also expanded into northern Mesopotamia. He died in his sleep shortly afterwards. Mustafa had three sons, Osman, Mehmed, and Asuman, who would begin a struggle for the throne after his death.

### Mehmed the Conqueror

After the death of Mustafa, his three sons rushed to take Constantinople to secure the throne. Mehmed rallied an army in Ioannina to march on Istanbul, but was attacked by Osman's forces. Osman had rallied in Bulgaria, but was a poor tactician, and lost against Mehmed, and was captured. Asuman had rallied in Izmir, but was not aware that Mehmed already had taken Istanbul. He marched into Istanbul, but was caught off guard by a surprise attack by Mehmed from inside the palace, and he was defeated.

With his victory over his brothers, Mehmed was crowned the second sultan of the Ottomans. Under Mehmed, the empire would begin to expand massively, conquering the Kingdom of Greece, taking the Balkans, the Middle East, eastern North Africa, the Caucasus, and much of Persia. However, he also resided over one of the most unstable eras of the empire. The Janissaries in central Anatolia mutinied and carved out a short-lived Sultanate of Karaman, but this uprising was crushed, alongside a Romanian uprising which was also crushed. After the discovery of an old library which contained information on past political ideologies, various new political parties began to form and tensions rose. Mehmed managed to unite the state with a miraculous speech that united the masses into a new unified political party known as the Ottoman Party. This would be his last major achievement, as he died shortly after this.

### Levent Reign

Levent was the only child of Mehmed, and was crowned sultan after Mehmed's death. He had previously served as the grand vizier of the empire. He was crowned just before the beginning of the Great European War, which led to the downfalls of the British and Iberian Empires, and the solidification of Iberia, Morocco, and Italy under Ottoman rule. A year after the war, the Ottomans were briefly overthrown by the Syndicalist Party, who ruled the empire as the United Syndicates of Anatolia. However, Levent returned and marched into Van, beginning "Levent's Death March" against the Syndicalists. He would retake the whole empire. He had an extremely successful reign, taking over all of Arabia, toppling the Indian State, and gaining de facto control over all of India. He also moved the capital to Sevastopol, which was renamed to Akyar. However, he sadly passed away due to an unknown illness, and his son was still a child.

### Bohdan and the Cossack Coup

During the chaos caused by the death of Levent, a Ukrainian Cossack general by the name of Bohdan used the instability to coup the country. He declared himself Sultan, and began to install a new ruling class of Cossacks. His reign was an era of fright, propaganda and oppression unseen before this. Thankfully, his rule was short and he died in his palace within Sevastopol.

### Bohdan's Successor

Bohdan's successor was his daughter, Katya. She was the first female sultan in the history of the Ottoman Empire. She however only strengthened what her father had started with the implementation of the Cossack ruling class, and the oppression of minorities. Katya's most major achievement, however, was her breaking the Ottoman Empire's alliance with the Empire of Benelux, and invading them alongside the First Turkic Khaganate.

The war was long and brutal, and resulted in the deaths of many. Sevastopol was temporarily occupied by the European forces, which led to the events of "Black Wednesday", when the capital suffered major destruction and plundering by the occupiers. However, the war took a quick turn when the allied forces begun their push into Europa's territory, and defeated them. At the same time, however, trouble brewed.

### Kyrylo and the Second Finnish Empire

Kyrylo, a descendant of the Finnish Royal family, had enlisted himself into the Ottoman military. However, he suffered from schizophrenia and believed he had heard the heavenly voices of the Finnish emperors tell him to restore his empire. This led to Kyrylo's betrayal of the Ottoman Sultanate at the Battle of the Rhine, which matched Kyrylo and his forces against the startled and unprepared Ottoman Forces. It was a stunning victory for Kyrylo, and led to the founding and creation of the Second Finnish Empire.

This defeat for the Ottomans however, led to their demise. The battle had significantly weakened Ottoman military strength, and rebellion groups across the country took the opportunity and began ripping the empire apart from the inside. The Ottomans were left with only Anatolia and Mesopotamia as a result.

### The Mesopotamian Federation

The Mesopotamian Federation was the remnants of the Ottoman government. The Turks had lost control over North Africa, Arabia, the Levant, the Caucasus, Persia, Crimea, and the Balkans. This left Anatolia and Mesopotamia as the remaining lands under the crown, however this control was shaky. This led to the Baghdad Reformations, which led to the creation of a democratic Constitutional Monarchy centered in Baghdad. The Mesopotamian Federation was born.

### Conquest by Bharat

The Mesopotamian Federation lasted for around three decades, before being invaded from the east by the Second Empire of Bharat. The Federation was defeated and conquered, with all of their lands being annexed besides Ionia on the Anatolian Aegean coastline, where the remaining legacy of the Ottoman Empire remained up until the Greek rebellion, when it was destroyed.