The Ottoman Empire was founded by Osman I (Arabic Uthmān), for whom it is named. As sultan Mehmed II conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453, the state grew into a mighty empire.
The Empire reached its apex under Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century when it stretched from the Persian Gulf in the east to Hungary in the northwest; and from Egypt in the south to the Caucasus in the north.
After its defeat at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, however, the empire began a slow decline, culminating in the defeat of the empire by the Allies in World War I.
