A historical map showing eyalets (administrative regions) of Ottoman Empire in
Europe and Asia in 1890.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, in particular at the height of its power
under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman
Empire was one of the most powerful states in the world – a multinational,
multilingual empire, controlling much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia, North Africa and the Horn of Africa.
At the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal
states, some of which were later absorbed into the empire, while others were
granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries.
With Constantinople as its
capital and control of vast lands around the Mediterranean basin, the Ottoman Empire was
at the centre of interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds for over six centuries. It was
dissolved in the aftermath of World War I; the collapse of the empire led to the
emergence of the new political regime in Turkey itself, as well as the creation of the new Balkan
and Middle East.
In some Western
accounts, the two names "Ottoman" and "Turkey" were often used interchangeably. This dichotomy
was officially ended in 1920–23, when the Ankara-based Turkish regime favoured
Turkey as a sole official name, which
had been one of the European names of the state since Seljuq times.
