20. The Ottoman Empire
Starting off our list of the most powerful empires throughout history is the Ottoman Empire. It feels natural to start with the Ottoman Empire because of how large it was and how much influence it had for so many centuries. The Oghuz Tribal leader Osman formed the Ottoman, or Turkish Empire, at the end of the thirteenth century. The Turkish state decided to expand its boarders and enter into the Balkans with the intention to conquer the surrounding territory and people. An important time in the Empire’s history is during the year 1453 when they ended the Byzantine Empire with the conquer of Constantinople, or modern day Istanbul; the leader during the time, Mehmed the Conqueror, was only 17 at the time of the defeat.
The power of the Empire came with its diversity; it was a multilingual, multinational Empire with enormous control over most of Southeast Europe. The Empire bridged the gap between Eastern and Western ways for more than six centuries before losing substantial geographical states in the Balkans in the early 20th century. During WWI the Empire committed extremely violent war crimes against the Armenians, Assyrians, and Pontic Greeks, and after the war came the fall of the Empire.