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Ottoman Empire

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The Ottoman Empire (sometimes referred to in diplomatic circles as the "Sublime Porte" or simply as "the Porte") was a Turkish state that comprised modern Turkey, part of the Middle East, North Africa and south-eastern Europe in the 14th to 20th centuries, established by the Seljuq Turkish tribe of Söğüt in western Anatolia. The Ottoman Empire was among the world's most powerful polities in the 16th and 17th centuries when the countries of Europe felt threatened by its steady advances through the Balkans towards Hungary - threatening Austria which it confronted at the Battle of Vienna in 1683. It was repelled. This marked the furthest extent of its expansion.

The empire began a slow stagnation and decline, culminating in its defeat in, and dismantling after, the Allies in World War I. The Arab Revolt and Lawrence of Arabia played a significant role in the liberation of the Middle East, but the Arabs were denied full autonomy after the war, which led in no small part to today's issues there.

Ottoman Empire (Wikipedia) - from which the above text is drawn.