ABSTRACT
The Ottoman Empire was one of the great powers of the early modern world, ruling large swathes of Eastern Europe along with much of the Middle East and North Africa, and it played a crucial role in European history. The territory the Ottomans ruled was very familiar to Western European imaginations, encompassing regions most Christians considered rightfully their own: the Holy Land, the eastern and African provinces of the old Roman Empire and Constantinople. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the Ottoman Empire was one of the strongest powers in Europe. Several Christian nations forged political alliances with the Ottomans and trade relations were strong even between the empire and its rivals. The Ottomans placed restrictions on non-Muslim religious practice, limiting the size and number of churches and synagogues, and prohibiting public processions and the ringing of church bells. The boys were converted to Islam and educated at the palace in preparation for a lifetime of military or administrative service.
