Six centuries of imperial rule that, at its height, controlled territory across the Balkans, the Middle East, and North Africa — from Osman I's small frontier principality around 1299, through the epochal 1453 conquest of Constantinople that ended Byzantium, Suleiman the Magnificent's 16th-century golden age, a long 19th-century decline as "the sick man of Europe," and final collapse after World War I, when the 1922–23 abolition of the sultanate and caliphate made way for the modern Republic of Turkey.
This empire is the ruling context behind dozens of other pages in this atlas — the Balkans, the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, the Caucasus, Egypt, and North Africa all spent centuries under Ottoman rule, usually appearing there only as brief mentions. Here, that history gets its own real timeline. This page hands off to turkey-flags.html for the post-1923 story of the modern Turkish republic.
Scope of this page: the Ottoman state itself, c. 1299–1923, told as one continuous political lineage from its founding as a small Anatolian beylik to its formal abolition. Real, well-documented flags exist for most of this span — plain-colored battle standards in the earlier centuries, giving way to the crescent-and-star pattern that becomes standardized by the 19th century. Part of a larger atlas — see the map and linked pages at the bottom.
Six centuries of extent, snapshotted
Not an internal political split — the Ottoman state was always one government — but its own real territorial reach, growing from a single Anatolian beylik to a multi-continental empire and back down to Anatolia alone, shown as a handful of simplified extent snapshots. Press play, or drag the slider.
These are approximate extent snapshots, not surveyed borders. A precise year-by-year Ottoman frontier would need dozens of maps; this compresses six centuries into the same six eras already used in the timeline below, anchored on modern Turkey's own real traced coastline as the one constant core.
c. 1299
Founding beylik under Osman I
Anatolia traced from real public coastal-vertex data (modern Turkey's own border); the Balkans, Levant/Egypt/North Africa, and Arabia extent overlays are simplified schematic approximations, not surveyed historical frontiers.
How we know this. 6 of 6 eras on this page carry an evidence panel (1 attested, 1 placeholder image, 4 not yet checked). Only the ones marked attested are confirmed by the sources named under them; where sources disagree or a claim could not be confirmed, the panel says so.
the Republic of Turkey is founded — see turkey-flags.html
1922 – 1923
Abolition of the sultanate and caliphate
DissolvedMehmed VISunni Islam (Ottoman Caliphate)
Migration & conquest:Emigration: Greek-Turkish population exchange (1923)
Who & why: defeated in World War I and facing the Allied-backed partition Treaty of Sèvres, Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk) leads a nationalist resistance that wins the Turkish War of Independence. The Grand National Assembly formally abolishes the Ottoman sultanate on 1 November 1922, proclaims the Republic of Turkey on 29 October 1923, and abolishes the caliphate itself in March 1924, ending over six centuries of Ottoman rule.
What it represents: the closing point of this page's arc. The modern Republic of Turkey that succeeds the Ottoman state, keeping a close variant of its crescent-and-star flag, is covered on its own page in this atlas. Flags of the World dates the end of the Ottoman Empire to 1 November 1922 (sultanate eliminated) and the Republic to 29 October 1923; Wikipedia dates the Abdulmejid II caliphate standard 19 November 1922 - 3 March 1924.
Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this
Flags of the World (Turkey): apart from design specifications, nothing changed when the Ottoman Empire became the Republic of Turkey and the caliphate ended, and the 1936 law adopted the 1844 Ottoman design without alteration. Flags of the World (Ottoman Empire): empire ended 1 November 1922 when the sultanate was eliminated; republic proclaimed 29 October 1923. Wikipedia: empire abolished 1922; caliphate standard of Abdulmejid II 19 November 1922 - 3 March 1924; Turkish Flag Law 29 May 1936.
Not established: Pointer era: the 1922-1923 flag is not separately described; Wikipedia does not date the republic; the drawing links to the Turkey page for the republic's flag.
Paint guide
ProportionsN/A — transition marker, not an emblem of its own.
the standardized red crescent-and-star flag — still Turkey's flag today
1844 – 1922
Decline & the standardized flag
Empire, decliningAbdulmejid ISunni Islam (Ottoman Caliphate)
Migration & conquest:Immigration: Circassian & Caucasus refugees (1860s–70s)Immigration: Balkan & Crimean Muslim refugees (Muhacirs)Emigration: Armenian Genocide diaspora (1915–17)
Ruling house:House of Osman
Who & why: the empire enters a long era of territorial loss and internal reform (the Tanzimat, from 1839) as nationalist uprisings peel away Balkan territories through the 19th century and Western powers increasingly dominate its finances — the source of the era's grim nickname, "the sick man of Europe." The empire allies with Germany in World War I and is defeated, triggering the Allied occupation and partition plans that provoke the Turkish nationalist response.
What it represents: Wikipedia says the red flag with a white crescent and five-pointed star was officially adopted in 1844, linked to the Tanzimat, after an eight-pointed-star flag described as the state flag in 1793-1844; its footnote gives a rival claim that the five-pointed version was first official under Mahmud II (1826). Flags of the World reports the 1793 and 1844 dates from one author 'without providing any evidence'. The sources read do not say the flag passed unchanged to the Turkish republic; Wikipedia notes the Turkish Flag Law of 29 May 1936.
Attestedhow we know this
Wikipedia: 1844 official adoption of the red flag with white crescent and five-pointed star (Tanzimat), after an eight-pointed-star flag 1793-1844; a footnote gives a rival claim of 1826 under Mahmud II. Flags of the World (Turkey): the basic form was established in 1793 under Selim III (green navy flags changed to red, white crescent and star added) and 'the five-pointed star dates from approximately 1844'; the 1936 Turkish law adopted the 1844 Ottoman design unaltered. Flags of the World (Ottoman Empire) flags its own 1793/1844 dates from Znamierowski as unevidenced and notes 1857 and 1905 charts show a five-pointed star. Flags of the World's 19th-century chart page gives no 1844 date and shows charts with six-pointed (Steenbergen 1862) and eight-pointed (Webster 1884) stars.
Not established: Both sources date the five-pointed star to about 1844, but FOTW treats it as 'approximately' and unevidenced, Wikipedia has a rival 1826 claim, and a contributor recorded a seven-pointed star on one chart; the two sources may share one origin (Znamierowski). The 1922 end date and the claim that the flag is still Turkey's are covered under the 1922 row.
Paint guide
ProportionsStandardized 2:3, formalized 1844.
LayoutRed field, white crescent moon (open toward the fly), white five-pointed star.
Red#E30A17
White#F4EFE1
plain red crescent battle standard, the empire's height and long plateau
1517 – 1844
Imperial height under Suleiman & long plateau
Empire, imperial heightSelim ISunni Islam (Ottoman Caliphate)
Who & why: Selim I's 1516–17 conquest of the Mamluk Sultanate brings Egypt, the Levant, and the Islamic holy cities under Ottoman control, and his son Suleiman the Magnificent (r. 1520–1566) pushes the empire to its greatest extent — deep into Hungary, across North Africa, and throughout the Arabian Peninsula's coastlines — while overseeing a golden age of law, architecture, and administration. The empire remains a dominant Mediterranean and Middle Eastern power for the following two-plus centuries even as its relative strength against a modernizing Europe slowly erodes.
What it represents: Wikipedia says Zulfiqar (forked-sword) war flags were common in the 16th-17th centuries, that star-and-crescent flags are reported at Mohacs (1526) and Vienna (1683), that a 1613 Ottoman naval flag in Madrid was green with a white crescent, and that an 1793 decree required navy ships to fly a red flag with a white star and crescent. A plain red crescent banner as the empire's most widely used flag through 1517-1844 is therefore not what the sources read describe; the page's drawing is schematic.
Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this
Wikipedia: Zulfiqar war flags common in the 16th-17th centuries, star-and-crescent reported at Mohacs 1526 and Vienna 1683, a 1613 naval flag green with white crescent, an 1793 decree for a red star-and-crescent navy flag. Flags of the World agrees on the red Zulfikar flags (Selim I's red sandjak in Topkapi; red Zulfikar flags widespread in the 16th-17th centuries, citing the Encyclopaedia of Islam and Kilicbay 1999) and shows the two 1613 naval flags from Madrid (green with white crescent; white with red stripes and red crescent); its Turkey page says the red flag with white crescent and star was established apparently in 1793 when green navy flags were changed to red.
Not established: Two publishers agree on red Zulfikar war flags and green and white crescent naval flags before 1793, but neither supports a plain red crescent banner as the empire's flag across 1517-1844, so the page's caption and drawing are not confirmed; no source describes a land state flag of the period.
Paint guide
ProportionsNo single fixed ratio before 1844; shown at 2:3.
LayoutRed field, white crescent moon, no star in earlier variants.
Red#E30A17
White#F4EFE1
the plain red imperial banner, Constantinople's new capital
1453 – 1517
Conquest of Constantinople & a new capital
Empire, imperial capitalMehmed II (the Conqueror)Sunni Islam
Migration & conquest:Immigration: Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain (1492)Emigration: Byzantine Greek scholars to Italy (post-1453)
Ruling house:House of Osman
Who & why: Sultan Mehmed II ("the Conqueror") takes Constantinople on 29 May 1453 after a seven-week siege, ending the Byzantine Empire for good and making the city the Ottomans' new imperial capital, soon renamed Istanbul in common usage. The following decades see rapid consolidation across the Balkans and Anatolia, and Selim I's later conquests bring the Islamic caliphal title itself under Ottoman claim by 1517.
What it represents: Wikipedia says a simple crescent flag appears 'from its foundation in 1453', that Babinger thinks Mehmed 'possibly' took the star and crescent from the Byzantines, and that Selim I used a Zulfiqar flag in the 1510s. The sources read do not describe a plain red banner as dominant in 1453-1517, nor the Turkic and Byzantine red-field traditions named above.
Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this
Wikipedia: a simple crescent flag 'from its foundation in 1453', Babinger on a possible Byzantine origin of the star and crescent, and Selim I's Zulfiqar flag in the 1510s. Flags of the World (Zulfikar flags) shows Selim I's red sandjak (he reigned 1512-1520) and says it is in the Topkapi Museum, and its Turkey page links the crescent and star to Byzantium; nothing is dated 1453-1512.
Not established: No source states a plain red imperial banner for 1453-1517; only the 1510s red Zulfikar standard is documented for the end of the span, and the Byzantine origin of the crescent is reported as a possibility.
Paint guide
ProportionsNo fixed ratio recorded for this period.
LayoutPlain red field, no fixed emblem yet standardized.
Red#E30A17
plain green battle standard, rapid frontier expansion under early sultans
1362 – 1453
Rapid frontier expansion
Principality, expandingMurad ISunni Islam
Migration & conquest:Immigration: Anatolian Turkish colonists into the Balkans (sürgün)
Ruling house:House of Osman
Who & why: Murad I takes the title of sultan and crosses into the Balkans, capturing Adrianople (Edirne) around 1362 and making it a new forward capital; victory at Kosovo (1389) cements Ottoman dominance over Serbia. Bayezid I besieges Constantinople itself but is defeated and captured by Timur (Tamerlane) at Ankara in 1402, triggering a decade-long "Ottoman Interregnum" civil war among his sons before Mehmed I reunifies the state by 1413, setting up the eventual conquest of Constantinople two generations later.
What it represents: Wikipedia's page names the horse-tail standard (tugh) as the early Ottoman military symbol and cites a 1721 source for a crescent on infantry standards under Orhan (1324-1360). The sources read do not state that green battle standards were widely used in 1362-1453; the page's drawing is schematic.
Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this
Wikipedia: the horse-tail tugh was the early Ottoman military symbol and a 1721 source puts a crescent on infantry standards under Orhan (1324-1360). Flags of the World (18th-century page) shows the horse-tail standard (Thou or Thouy) from Tournefort (1718) and Picart (1737) and its Zulfikar page describes a light green Barbarossa standard from Suleiman's reign (16th century).
Not established: The tugh is attested by two publishers, but as a later (18th-century) record; no source dates a green battle standard to 1362-1453, and the Barbarossa standard is 16th-century.
Paint guide
ProportionsNo fixed ratio recorded for this period.
LayoutPlain green field, crescent motif in informal, inconsistent use.
Green#0F6B3C
White#F4EFE1
placeholder — Osman I's small frontier beylik, no fixed banner survives
c. 1299 – 1362
Founding beylik under Osman I
Principality, foundingOsman ISunni Islam
Ruling house:House of Osman
Who & why: Osman I leads a small Turkish frontier principality (beylik) in northwestern Anatolia, traditionally dated from around 1299, one of many rival Turkic beyliks left in the wake of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum's collapse. His successor Orhan captures the Byzantine city of Bursa in 1326, making it the young state's first real capital and setting the House of Osman on the path to become one of history's longest-ruling and most expansive dynasties.
What it represents: no securely documented single banner survives from this earliest frontier-principality period — shown here honestly blank, consistent with this atlas's treatment of other genuinely undocumented founding eras.
Placeholder imagehow we know this
This page's own caption calls the image a placeholder: «placeholder — Osman I's small frontier beylik, no fixed banner survives».
Not established: Whether a flag, banner or standard existed in this period was not checked. The colour shown is not evidence of one.
Paint guide
ProportionsN/A — no attested flag for this earliest period.
Reading the tags
Principality, founding — a small frontier beylik, pre-imperial
Empire, declining / dissolved — territorial loss through final abolition
Leader — the named ruler most associated with the era's start
State religion — the official/established faith, not the population's
More of the atlas
This page is one lineage in a larger set. The modern Republic of Turkey that succeeds the Ottoman state continues on its own page. See the region-wide empires hub and the other pages here: