History of The Balkans - The Ottoman Empire (15th To 19th C.)

The Ottoman Empire (15th To 19th C.)

Further information: Growth of the Ottoman Empire and Ottoman conquest of the Balkans

Much of the Balkans was under Ottoman rule throughout the Early modern period. Ottoman rule in the Balkans was long, lasting from the fourteenth-century up until the early twentieth. The Ottoman Empire was religiously, linguistically and ethnically diverse, and a much more tolerant place for religious practices when compared to other parts of the world at the time. The different groups in the empire were organised along confessional lines called the Millet (Ottoman Empire) system. Among the Orthodox Christians of the empire a common identity was forged based on a shared sense of time defined by the ecclesiastical calendar, saint's days and feasts.