and dominance by the Ottoman Empire.
One of the most significant aspects of society in the Ottoman Empire was its conception of leadership and succession. One of the most significant aspects of this culture was its rigid social institutions and one was the strong adherence to the view that leadership was imparted by divine right. Whole families were considered to be chosen as the source of present and future leadership. Two practices were involved in preparing princes for rule. One was sending them off to provinces with tutors (as Plato would have advised) to learn the business of governing. Another was that the princes who were sent to be schooled had to compete with one another to determine which among them was ripest for the throne. Once these practices died out of succession training, future sultans were inadequate in leadership and helped lead to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Nonetheless, one family lineage produced the rulers for the Ottoman Empire from its rise until its complete collapse, “One family reigned over the Ottoman Empire for seven centuries, and, unlike most dynasties, they ruled in an unbroken line, thirty-sex if them altogether, from the 13th century until the 20th century…They were never overthrown by a foreign power and no usurper ever gained the throne. The Western world called them Ottoman, but their Turkish name is Osmanli, taken from the first ruler of the Ottoman state, Osman” (History 1).
One cannot discuss the rise of the Ottoman Empire without relating their culture to the Byzantine culture. The Islamic and Byzantine civilizations had much influence over one another. This came because of their proximity to one another, their various wars over territory or tribute and was no doubt accelerated by various parts of the Byzantine Empire being occupied by the Islamic Empire throughout the middle ages. Another aspect of society that the two civilizations shared in common that was not...