THE GREATER MIDDLE EAST Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

THE GREATER MIDDLE EAST - Essay Example Most of these groups were Christians and they included Armenians, Balkan, Persians among others (Howland, 1940). Because of Osman, Orhan, Murad I, and Bayezid I the Ottoman-Turkish Empire emerged as the most powerful Empire in the world. These leaders originated from the Turkish tribe and formed a dynasty of professional officers that led the empire in conquering Christians, Europe and other states in the Middle East. Howland (1940) argues that Ottoman-Turkish Empire was created by Turkish tribe. In addition, it was led by Osman I from r. 1290 to 1326. During that time Osman I converted many soldiers from other religions to Islam and made them Turkish warriors. These warriors were the custodian of Islamic faith and held the title ‘ghazi’. The warriors fought against the Christian Byzantine state and their success meant the spread of Islamic religion in lands that they conquered. However, Langer and Blake (1932) claim that, since Osman’s ancestors were from the Kayi tribe Ottoman-Turkish Empire was, therefore, founded by that tribe. In my opinion, Langer and Blake’s arguments are based on false assumptions. If Osman belonged in the line of his ancestors, it does not make Kayi tribe the founder of Ottoman-Turkish Empire. Instead, it is the people who physically volunteered in forming the Empire that would be identified as the founders. However, Langer and Blake would have argued that Kayi tribe was one of the contributors to the formation of Ottoman-Turkish tribe. This is because Osman’s ancestors were the founders of the dynasty. On the other hand, Howland assumptions are true. Indeed, the Turkish tribe established Ottoman-Turkish Empire under the influence of Osman I. The empire was a combination of Osman’s people, known as the Ottoman, and the Turks. Furthermore, the two groups happened to be in a similar geographical location called the Anatolia where they settled in 1071. Turks came into the