The Ottoman Empire

After nearly every major war, the map of the world has changed. When a country enters a war, it has no way of knowing whether it will be larger and more powerful or smaller and less powerful after the war ends. Some countries gain territory; some lose territory. Some new countries are created, and some countries cease to exist.

World War I was no exception. At the end of the war, Allied countries gained control of new territory. Central Powers lost territory. One country that underwent very great changes was the Ottoman Empire.

At one time, the Ottoman Empire was the most powerful empire in the world. Located on major trade routes between Europe and Asia, it became wealthy from trade during the 1500s and 1600s.

At that time, the Ottoman Empire covered a large area of land in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The center of the empire was the country of Turkey. After the 1600s, the size of the empire gradually declined as countries won their independence from the empire.

In 1912 and 1913, the years just before World War I, the Ottoman Empire was involved in two other wars known as the Balkan Wars. These wars weakened the power of the empire further. Many of its soldiers were killed, and its army was in poor shape. The wars had been expensive, too.