Empires of Asia Section 1: Muslim Empires - The Ottoman Empire lasted from about 1300 to 1922. The Ottomans were named after Osman I, a Turkish chieftain who founded a state in Anatolia, now Turkey, in the late 1200's. - The Ottomans claimed to be the champions of Sunni Islam. In 1453, Sultan Mehmet II conquered Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. - The city, now called Istanbul, became the capital of the Ottoman Empire. - By 1600, the …showed first 75 words of 1401 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1401 total…era was also a time of critical difficulties. The military government grew dull and strict. - It discouraged individual freedoms and slowed commercial development. Government financial problems led to cuts in the income of samurai. - Their declining incomes added to the samurai's growing dissatisfaction with Japan's rigid social structure, which prevented them from rising to better stations in life. - Finally, poor harvests and harsh lords drove many peasants to join together in protest.