KEY DATES OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

1299: Osman I founds Ottoman dynasty in Anatolia. The Byzantine city Bilecik, falls to the Turks, marking the first of many conquests
1326: Osman I’s son, Orhan takes over the sultanate. He conquers Bursa, and Bursa becomes the first Ottoman capital
1331–1338: Large Byzantine cities of Iznik, Izmit, and Uskudar fall to Turkish forces
1444: Murad abdicates the throne to his twelve-year-old son, Mehmed II, who came to be known as ‘‘The Conqueror’’
1453: The Byzantine capital, Constantinople, falls to the Ottomans after a fifty-three day siege
1454–1455: All of Serbia and several other cities are annexed by the Ottoman Empire
1473: Mehmed II gains control of all of Anatolia during the Battle of Otlukbeli
1483: Bayezid II takes control of Herzegovina
1512–1520: Selim I greatly expands the Empire; Syria, Egypt, and the Hejaz are annexed. Ottomans now control all traditional trade routes
1540: Hungary becomes an Ottoman province
1570: Cyprus is conquered, leading to the formation of an alliance between Spanish, Venetian, and papal states of Europe
1595: Europeans form an anti-Ottoman alliance
1606: A peace treaty is signed between the Ottomans and Austria
1699: The European coalition defeats the Ottoman army; Treaty of Karlowitz is signed
1710: First Russo-Turkish War begins
1711: Treaty of Perth is signed after a Russian defeat
1768: Russo-Ottoman War begins
1774: Russians defeat the Ottomans; Treaty of Kuchuk-Kairnarji is signed
1798: Napoleon Bonaparte invades Egypt
1801: Ottoman and British forces combine to drive the French from Egypt
1805: Muhammad Ali becomes viceroy of Egypt
1838: Muhammad Ali declares Egyptian independence from Ottoman Empire
1839: Muhammad Ali defeats the Ottomans at the Battle of Nizip
1840: Britain negotiates the Treaty of London, making Muhammad Ali the ruler of Egypt and returning Syria to the Ottomans
1853: Crimean War begins
1856: Treaty of Paris is signed
1867: Bulgaria, Serbia, and Montenegro declare war on Ottoman Empire
1875: Ottoman Empire declares bankruptcy
1909: Abdu¨lhamid II is removed from power
1911: Italy declares war against the Ottomans
1923: Treaty of Lausanne is signed, formally ending all hostilities; modern Turkey is founded

In the book 'Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450' Thomas Benjamin, editor in chief, Thomsom Gale, Farmington Hills,U.S.A, 2007. p. 415. Edited to be posted  by Leopoldo Costa.