The Ottoman Empire - Demise of a Major Power (1/2) | DW Documentary

For 600 years, the Ottoman Empire was a superpower. This two-part documentary tells the story of how this vast empire vanished in less than a century.

The Ottoman Empire extended across three continents and the seven seas. Over the hundred years from Greek independence in 1830 to the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, the Ottoman Empire withdrew from Europe for good after a presence in the Balkans lasting almost 500 years. The shared past is often downplayed by national historians, but the Balkan states are strongly influenced by the complexities of Christian, Muslim and Jewish peoples living together, says Mark Mazower from Columbia University. It was more of a ‘side by side’ existence based on the Ottoman Empire’s "millet” system, where non-Muslims enjoyed the protection of the sultan but had to pay special taxes in return. Over the course of the 19th century, the region’s religious identities slowly became clear national ones; people now saw themselves as Serbs, Greeks, Armenians and Bulgarians. This rising nationalism, along with attempts by the major European powers to get their hands on the region’s resources and the inability of the Ottoman Empire to implement reforms, brought about the end of Ottoman rule in Europe. Using rare picture and film footage and with contributions by international historians, this two-part documentary analyses the last century of the Ottoman Empire and tries to understand its demise.

World War I - The Ottoman Empire

The documentary explains the role the Germans played in the creation of Jehad to combat the British Empire in India. And the common hatred Germany & Turkey had against Russia.

The Ottomans: Europe’s Muslim Emperors

Rageh Omaar ends his series with a look at how the collapse of the Ottoman Empire created a legacy of tension and conflict that continues to this day.
Watch Episode 3 here Watch Episode 1 here

Watch Episode 2 here

The Ottomans: Europe’s Muslim Emperors

Rageh Omaar explores the contrasts between two very different Ottoman sultans, Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century and the reign of Abdul Hamid II in the 19th century.
Watch Episode 2 here
Episode 1 »

The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors

Rageh Omaar examines the history of the Ottoman empire. He starts by looking at the unlikely roots of the Ottomans, as nomadic horsemen in a rural backwater of modern day Turkey.
Watch Episode 1 here