Y309: the Ascendancy of the Ottoman Empire 1453-1606 | OCR A-Level History A (H505)

Y309: the Ascendancy of the Ottoman Empire 1453-1606

140 questions
14 subtopics
Thematic study and historical interpretations, one of twenty-one
Y301 to Y321

The Ascendancy of the Ottoman Empire 1453–1606 is unit Y309 of OCR History A, one of the twenty-one options in unit group 3, the thematic study and historical interpretations; a student sits one of them.

Its four key topics and three depth studies are Sultans and the organisation of the State, imperial expansion, consolidation, provincial administration and society in Ottoman vassal states, the impact of Ottoman expansion on European rulers, the Fall of Constantinople 1453, the Battle of Mohacs 1526, the Battle of Lepanto 1571. 140 recall questions across 14 subtopics.

Sample questions from Y309: the Ascendancy of the Ottoman Empire 1453-1606

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

Sultans and the organisation of the State: Sultans and their accessions, army

Explain the law of fratricide and the reasoning behind it.

Show the answer
Mehmed II's law code permitted a new sultan to have his brothers put to death, on the argument that the peace of the world was worth more than the lives of rival claimants; Mehmed III had nineteen brothers killed in 1595.
Sultans and the organisation of the State: central political system, finances and the economy

What was the Şeyhülislam responsible for?

Show the answer
He headed the religious establishment and issued rulings on whether the sultan's policies conformed to sacred law, which gave imperial decisions religious cover.
Imperial expansion: expansion in the Mediterranean, lack of resistance and weaknesses

Which campaigns brought the Levant under Ottoman rule, and when?

Show the answer
Selim I beat the Safavids at Chaldiran in 1514, then destroyed the Mamluk sultanate at Marj Dabiq in 1516 and outside Cairo in 1517, adding Syria, Egypt and the Hejaz.
Consolidation, provincial administration and society in Ottoman vassal states: conquest, vassals, the timar and society

In what sense was Ottoman society meritocratic, and in what sense rigid?

Show the answer
Talent could carry a slave from a Balkan village to the office of Grand Vezir, but the line between the tax-paying and the ruling class was policed, and ordinary subjects could not simply move across it.
The impact of Ottoman expansion on European rulers: Impact on Spain and impact on France

Who were the Moriscos, and why did the Ottoman threat make them a Spanish anxiety?

Show the answer
They were Muslims of Spain who had been forced to convert to Christianity, and the crown feared they would act as a fifth column in league with the corsairs and the sultan.
The impact of Ottoman expansion on European rulers: the alliance, the Habsburgs, Venice and Lepanto

How and when did Venice lose Cyprus?

Show the answer
An Ottoman army invaded in 1570, took Nicosia that September and forced the surrender of Famagusta in August 1571, ending Venetian rule on the island.
Depth study: The Fall of Constantinople 1453 — the siege, the fall and its significance

What happened to Constantine XI?

Show the answer
He was last seen fighting at the breach and his body was never certainly identified, which allowed the later legend of the emperor who would return.
Depth study: The Battle of Mohacs 1526 — condition of Hungary in 1526

What difference did John Zápolya make to the campaign?

Show the answer
The Transylvanian voivode commanded a substantial army that never joined the king, whether from distance, deliberate delay or factional calculation, and its absence has been argued over ever since.

The 14 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Sultans and the organisation of the State: Sultans and their accessions, army	Recall questions on Sultans and their accessions, characters, reputations, absolutism, splendour and ceremony, their successes and weaknesses, administrative and military systems, personnel, Devshirme, Janissaries, the army.	9
Sultans and the organisation of the State: central political system, finances and the economy	Recall questions on the central political system, the Porte, the Divan, the Grand Vezir, the harem and influence of Sultan’s wives, religious administration and justice, integration of religion, politics and law, finances and the economy.	11
Imperial expansion: Reasons for expansion and expansion in the Balkans	Recall questions on reasons for expansion and expansion in the Balkans including the conquest of Constantinople, Hungary, Vienna.	10
Imperial expansion: expansion in the Mediterranean, lack of resistance and weaknesses	Recall questions on expansion in the Mediterranean, expansion in the Levant, the impact of war between the Ottomans and Austrian Habsburgs, the lack of resistance and weaknesses of their enemies.	10
Consolidation, provincial administration and society in Ottoman vassal states: conquest, vassals, the timar and society	Recall questions on how territories were absorbed, accommodation of conquered peoples, vassal states and their obligations, the timar system, askeri and reaya, meritocracy, slavery, the child levy and what peasants gained.	12
Consolidation, provincial administration and society in Ottoman vassal states: religious minorities, provincial government and taxation	Recall questions on what conquered peoples lost, the Orthodox and Catholic churches, non-Muslim subjects under Islamic law, the tiers of provincial administration, divided authority, the Outer Service and Ottoman taxes.	8
The impact of Ottoman expansion on European rulers: Impact on Spain and impact on France	Recall questions on impact on Spain, threats to North African outposts, the western Mediterranean and the coast of Aragon, links with the Moriscos and Barbary corsairs, the extent of the Ottoman threat to Spain, impact on France: relations with the Ottomans.	8
The impact of Ottoman expansion on European rulers: the alliance, the Habsburgs, Venice and Lepanto	Recall questions on Franco-Ottoman cooperation and European views of it, Mohács and Vienna, the Reformation, the Hungarian frontier, Venice and Cyprus, and the European response to Lepanto.	12
Depth study: The Fall of Constantinople 1453 — the Byzantine Empire, Mehmed II and preparations for the siege	Recall questions on the remnant Byzantine Empire, its last emperor, church union, Mehmed II’s need for victory and his qualities, his preparations in 1452, the numbers on each side and the Janissaries.	8
Depth study: The Fall of Constantinople 1453 — the siege, the fall and its significance	Recall questions on Ottoman artillery, the Golden Horn, religious motivation, the final assault, the fate of Constantine XI, the sack, reactions in Christendom and Islam, economic effects and debates over 1453 and Mehmed’s motives.	12
Depth study: The Battle of Mohacs 1526 — condition of Hungary in 1526	Recall questions on the condition of Hungary in 1526, Ottoman ambitions in the Balkans and Central Europe in 1526.	9
Depth study: The Battle of Mohacs 1526 — the battle and its consequences	Recall questions on the Hungarian army, the decision to fight, the battle of 29 August 1526, Louis II’s death, Hungarian losses, the succession crisis, the new frontier, the threat to the Habsburgs and the debate over Hungary’s collapse.	11
Depth study: The Battle of Lepanto 1571 — situation, course of the Battle and its significance	Recall questions on the situation in the eastern Mediterranean after the Siege of Malta, the impact on the Ottoman Empire of the death of Suleiman I in 1566 and aims of the Holy League.	11
Depth study: The Battle of Lepanto 1571 — reasons for the Ottoman defeat	Recall questions on reasons for the Ottoman defeat, the battle as a turning point, consequences for the Ottomans and its significance for the ascendancy of the Ottoman Empire.	9

Y309: the Ascendancy of the Ottoman Empire 1453-1606 is 140 of the 6,240 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.