There were abdications and depositions but never a hiatus. They were never overthrown by a foreign power and no usurper ever gained the throne. The Western world called them Ottoman, but their Turkish name is Osmanli, taken from the first ruler of the Ottoman state, Osman.

It seemed amazing at the time, 1453 AC, that this previously obscure clan breached the walls and conquered the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. But the Byzantine Empire, weakened by repeated Mongolian sacking, suffering from subsequent internal confusion, and with no powerful leadership to guide them, fell to the Turkish invaders. Under Mehmed the Conqueror, the Ottomans rebuilt the devastated city of Constantinople into the fabulously wealthy capital they renamed Istanbul, with large warehouses, the Covered Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, and several mosque complexes.

It was Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent however, who brought the Ottoman Empire to its zenith. The fourth Ottoman sultan to reign, from 1520 until 1566, he presided over the most powerful state in the world. A remarkable military strategist, he more than doubled the Ottoman land holdings he inherited from his father. He also brought a profusion of elegant mosques, baths, schools, fountains, and gardens to Istanbul. A virtual renaissance occurred in literature, the arts, the sciences, and he set a new standard of jurisprudence.

Upon Süleyman’s demise, the gradual decline of the Ottoman Empire began, finally disintegrating completely three hundred years later in 1924 when Kemal Ataturk abolished the Muslim caliphate and founded the Republic of Turkey. Much of the original splendor created by the Ottomans remains in Istanbul, though, and experiencing an architectural marvel such as Süleymaniye Mosque gives a unique view to a unique period in Turkish history.