The Middle East had been scientifically ahead of the West. Baghdad had the first university, the House of Wisdom. The Middle East innovated in mathetmatics, navigation, and weaponry. The Ottoman Empire had its leading Enderun School at Topkaki Palace, a multicultural boarding school that would gather the most promising young minds from around the empire to develop a well informed civil service. Yet as reactionary clerics increaseed in influence, science was more strongly discouraged, multicultural academic meritocracy was disbanded, and a stagnated regime that refused to plug into the developments of a changing world fell behind. While Europe expanded and experimented, publishing and translating a network of scientific research and theory, the Ottoman Empire struggled to maintain its dominant status as a global power.
Discussion: Science and Religion
What are the killer apps?
01.01.1515
1515 - Books Forbidden
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Favoring the sanctity of script and giving into the pressure of religious scribes, Selim I forbids the use of printed books by Turks, punishable by death, re-affirming a decree made by his father Sultan Bayezid II in 1483. This ban lasts into the 18th century.
01.01.1535
1529 - First Siege of Vienna
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At the height of Ottoman power, forces led by Suleiman the Magnificent stretch into Austria in a failed attempt to expand on a century of conquest in Europe. Despite the severe losses dealt to the European powers, this Ottoman failure marks the beginning of its empire's decline.
01.01.1565
1577 - Short-lived Observatory
Turkish scientist Taqi al-Din builds one of the Islamic world's largest observatories, but it is destroyed within three years as a result of rising clerical pressure and false predictions on the scientist's behalf.
01.01.1660
1662 - Royal Society
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The Royal Society of London, a society for the advancement of science, receives its charter from King Charles II and serves as a model for similar institutions in Paris, Vienna, and Berlin.
01.01.1675
1675 - Royal Observatory
King Charles II commissions Christopher Wren to build the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, a landmark in the development of European navigation and astronomy.
01.01.1684
1683 - Pivotal Defeat
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Again extending their reach, Ottoman forces lay siege to Vienna for two months and ultimately are defeated by the Habsburg-controlled Holy Roman Empire led by Leopold I. The Ottomans lose four times as many men as their opponents and go on to spend the next 16 years forfeiting their European territory. The military outcome is for Europe a religious and cultural victory as the Holy Roman Empire expands its influence over the region and the Ottoman Empire shrinks.
01.01.1690
1687 - Principia
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Sir Isaac Newton publishes the Principia, founding classical mechanics, Newton's law of universal gravitation, and laws of planetary motion.
01.01.1716
1700s - Academic Decline
The once merit-based school in Topkaki Palace, which fed into Ottoman civil service and management, by now relies more on bribery and favoritism, only admitting Muslims when it once brought in students from a variety of backgrounds.
01.01.1735
1740s - Precise Artillery
English scientist Benjamin Robins applies Newtonian mechanics to the problem of artillery and provides a description of the impact of air resistance on high-speed projectiles. The development of Western science is interlinked with the development of Western military technology.
01.01.1748
1752 - Political Testaments
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Frederick II of Prussia writes the first of his two Political Testaments, emphasizing state service over tyranny. Frederick leads a landmark program of reforms including state-sponsored arts for the public, religious tolerance, accurate artillery for the armed forces, and a highly disciplined modern military, transforming Prussia into a great power.
01.01.1755
1754 - Sultan Osman III
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Sultan Osman III presides over a weakening Ottoman Empire. While Frederick the Great modernizes Prussia and puts reason before religion in the state, Osman III presides over a declining empire with low tax revenue, high inflation, rampant corruption, and increasing fundamentalist influence over the government.
01.01.1826
1826 - The Auspicious Incident
The Janissaries were a force of elite troops originally formed in the 1300s to protect the Sultan's household. By the 1800s they had become a ruling class of viziers with corruptive influence over the government. In 1826 the Janissaries lead a major revolt in response to Mahmud II's plans to create a modern military. The sultan has the Janissary barracks destroyed and executes thousands of members of the order, effectively bringing it to an end. The Ottoman leadership deals with continuous rebellion from its Balkan territories and religious forces dissatisfied with attempts to modernize.
01.01.1856
1856 - Dolmabahçe Palace
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The new Ottoman palace is gilt with 14 tons of gold leaf, but Ottoman rulers more effectively emulate western appearance than Western essence.
01.01.1914
1920 - Ottoman Losses
Dealing with increasing internal strife and rebellion and fighting on the less successful side of World War I, the Ottoman state is finally partitioned by Western nations at the Treaty of Sevres.
01.01.1922
1922 - A New Turkey
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The occupying European armies are expelled, but the Sultanate is also abolished, effectively ending 623 years of Ottoman rule with the founding of a new Turkish state. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk goes on to lead a series of secular reforms to advance the country, but it never regains the power held by the 1500s Ottomans.
01.01.1798
1803 - Shrapnel Shells
British artillery begins using the shrapnel shell. The next 100 years see major advances in military technology from Britain and the U.S.
01.01.1618
1612 - Treaty of Nasuh Pasha
Weakened by its ongoing struggles with European powers, the Ottoman Empire agrees to return Persian territory gained 22 years prior.
01.01.1788
1789 - French Revolution
French society undergoes a radical period of transformation led by Enlightenment principles. Europe aftermath includes the rise of political ideology, the increased role of secularism and the development of Total War.
01.01.1637
1637 - Discourse on the Method
French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes publishes a philosophical treatise establishing the Cartesian subject and introducing the Cartesian coordinate system.
