1071 - The Byzantines were defeated at the Battle of Manzikert.  This opened the door for the Turkish invasion of Anatolia.

1288 -  Osman Gazi succeeded his father as Emir of Sogut.

1301 - Osman Gazi won a decisive victory over Byzantine forces at the battle of Baphaeon.  (This date is considered, by some, to be the founding date of the Ottoman Empire, although others place it as late as 1331).

1326 - Ottomans conquered Bursa and made it their capital.

1326 - Osman Gazi died.  He was succeeded by his youngest son, Orhan.

1331 - Ottomans took control of the former Byzantine capital of Nicaea (Iznik).

1333 - Orhan defeated Byzantine Emperor Andronicus at Pelekanon.

1337 - Ottomans conquered Nicodemia (Izmit).

1345 - Allied with the Byzantine Emperor John Cantacuzenus, Orhan entered the Balkans and attacked the Serbs.

1346 - Orhan married John Cantacuzenus's daughter, Theodora.

1352 - Orhan's son, Suleyman, made advances at Tzympe.  The Ottoman occupation of the majority of Thrace began.

1354 - Ottomans seized both Gallipoli and Ankara.

1354 - Under political pressure, John Cantacuzenus was forced to abdicate and John Palaeologus became the new Byzantine Emperor.

1357 - Prince Suleyman died in Thrace.  Peace is declared between the Ottomans and the Byzantines.

1359 - Prince Murad renewed the Ottoman onslaught on Thrace.

1361 - Murad defeated the Byzantines at Adrianople (Edirne).

1362 - Orhan died and Muradsucceeded him.

1362 - The Ottomans successfully faced an uprising in Anatolia.

1366 - Murad moved the capital to Edirne.

1366 - The Pope called for a crusade against the Ottomans.  The crusade failed to have any major effect on Ottoman expansion.

1373 - A joint rebellion of Byzantine Prince Andronicus and Ottoman Prince Sevci against their fathers took place.  The rebellion was defeated a few months later.

1379 - King Sisman of Bulgaria is defeated by the Ottomans.  He accepted the status of a vassal.

1385 - Ottomans conquered Sofia.

1389 - The Ottoman Army, under the direction of Prince Bayezid, defeated the Balkan Slav's at the Battle of Kosovo.  It served as the Slav's last stand in the Balkans.

1389 -  Bayezidbecame Sultan after his father's death.

1389 - Bayezid called for the execution of the last Serbian Tsar, Lazar, and then he married Lazar's daughter, Despina.

1391 - Bayezid's army continued to expand the empire's holdings by conquering Albania.

1393 - Ottoman forces took control of Danubian Bulgaria.

1395 - Ottomans seized control of Wallachia and made advances on Hungary.

1396 - Catholic forces, under the direction of Pope Boniface IX and King Sigismund of Hungary, were defeated by the Ottoman army at the battle of Nicopolis.

1400 - Tamerlane invaded Anatolia and captured Sivas.

1402 - Bayezid and Tamerlane's forces met at the Battle of Ankara.  Bayezid was captured and held prisoner.

1403 - Bayezid committed suicide in captivity.  His death led to a war of succession among his three sons.

1413 - After a ten-year civil war, Prince Mehmed succeeded in defeating his older brothers Musa and Suleyman.  He quickly set out to reunite former Ottoman territories.

1421 - Mehmed died and his son, Murad, became Sultan.  He continued to reconquer lost territory in Anatolia.

1422 - Murad II executed his brotherMustafa, after Mustafa led a rebellion against him.

1430 - Ottomans conquered all of Greece.

1438 - Ottomans seized Translyvania.

1439 - Ottomans conquered Bosnia.

1444 - Murad II abdicated in favor of his young son, Mehmed II .

1444 - Murad II came out of seclusion to lead Ottoman forces to victory of crusader forces at the Battle of Varna.

1446 - Murad II reassumed the throne.

1448 - Murad II led Ottoman forces against Hungarian and Serbian forces at the second Battle of Kosovo.

1451 - Murad II died and his son, Mehmed II, took over once again.

1452 - Ottomans declared war on the Byzantines.

1453 - Sultan Mehmed II led Ottoman forces in an attack on Constatinople.  The city fell to him after a fifty-four day siege.

1453 - Bosnia was captured by the Ottomans.

1454 - The Ottomans subjugated Genoese colonies along the Black Sea

1456 - The Byzantine successor kingdom of Trebizond (Trabzon) was subordinated to the Ottomans.

1459 - Serbia was reclaimed by Mehmed II's forces.

1462 - Wallachia was reclaimed by Mehmed II's forces.

1463 - The Ottoman Empire went to war with Venice.

1468 - A long lasting revolt in Albania finally ended following the death of the movement's leader.

1479 - The sixteen year war with Venice came to an end.  The Venetians accepted defeat and relinquished Scutari (Uskudar).

1481 - Mehmed II died and his son, Bayezid, became sultan.

1481 - Bayezid II faced his brother Cem on the battlefield at the Battle of Yenisehir.  Bayezid's forces were victorious and Cem was forced to flee to Egypt and then to Rhodes.

1484 - A seven-year-long war between the Ottomans and the Mamluks of Egypt began.

1489 - The Ottomans gained temporary control of Cyprus from the Venetians.

1495 - Cem died, under suspicious circumstances, in Naples.

1511 - Persian leader, Shah Ismail led kizilbas revolt in Eastern Anatolia.

1512 - Beyazid II's youngest son, Selim, forced him to abdicate.  Selim then became sultan.

1513 - Selim had his brother, Ahmed, executed following a failed revolt.

1514 - Selim defeated Shah Ismail's forces in Anatolia at the Battle of Caldiran.

1515 - A short lived Janissary revolt took place.

1516 - Selim conquered the rest of Eastern Anatolia.

1516 - Selim defeated the Mamluks at both Aleppo, Damascus, and Jerusalem.

1517 - The Ottomans captured Egypt and executed Mamluk leaders.

1517 - Sherif of Mecca recognized Ottoman suzerainty over both Mecca and Medina, along with the rest of the pilgrimage route.  He also proclaimed Selim I caliph.

1520 - Selim died and he was succeeded by Suleyman I .

1521 - Ottomans finally conquered Belgrade after two previously unsuccessful sieges.

1522 - Suleyman's army conquered Rhodes.

1529 - The Ottomans conquered Budapest and besieged Vienna for the first time.

1531 - The Austrians attempted to retake Budapest, but they failed.

1533 - The Ottoman navy was used to capture Tunis.  This gave the Ottomans control of the eastern half of the Barbary Coast.

1534 - Ottoman armies marched into Baghdad and Tabriz.

1535 - Holy Roman Emperor Charles V attacked Tunis.

1538 - Ottoman navy defeated a Crusader fleet at the Battle of Preveza.

1541 - Austrians tried to recapture Budapest a second time.  Once again, they failed.

1541 - The Holy Roman Empire's naval fleet attacked Ottoman forces in Algiers.

1549 - The Ottomans conquered Georgia.

1551 - Ottoman forces seized the city of Tripoli.

1552 - Ottomans failed to capture control of the Strait of Hormuz from the Imperial Portuguese forces.

1554 - Ottomans conquered present day Armenia and Azerbaijan.  This began the Ottoman-Russian stalemate over the Caucuses.

1559 - Civil war broke out between two of Suleyman's sons, Selim and Bayezid.

1561 - Prince Bayezid was apprehended in Iran and executed.

1565 - The Siege of Malta took place.

1566 - Suleyman I died and was succeeded by his son, Selim II.

1569 - The Ottomans declared war on the Russian Empire.

1570 - Tunis was recaptured from the Europeans.

1570 - Cyprus was recaptured from the Venetians.

1571 - The newly formed Holy League defeated the Ottoman navy at the decisive Battle of Lepanto.

1572 - The Austrians retook Tunis.

1574 - The Ottomans took control of Tunis once again.

1574 - Selim II died and was replaced byMurad III.

1578 - The Ottoman fleet was victorious over Portuguese forces at the Battle of Alcazar.

1579 - The Shah's forces  retook Tabriz.

1585 - After heavy fighting, the Ottomans again regained Tabriz from the Persians.

1589 - A second Janissary revolt took place in Istanbul.

1593 - A thirteen-year war with the Hapsburgs of Austria began.

1594 - Uprising in Wallachia occurred under the leadership of King Michael.

1595 - Murad III died and Mehmed III became sultan.

1596 - Wallachia broke away from Ottoman control.

1599 - King Michael recaptured Translyvania from the Ottomans.

1603 - The Shah of Persia invaded Azerbaijan.  The ensuing conflict between the Ottomans and the Persians lasted for thirty-six years.

1603 - Following his father's death, Ahmed I became sultan.

1606 - The Ottomans signed the disastrous Treaty of Zsitva-Torok, which ended hostilities between the Ottomans and the Hapsburgs.  At the same time, it also required that the Ottomans give up their long held claim to any territory in Hungary.

1609 - Ahmed I suppressed a revolt led by the Celalis in Anatolia.

1617 - Ahmed I died and his mentally deranged brother, Mustafa, became sultan.

1618 - Mustafa is quickly deposed and replaced by Ahmed I's son, Osman II.

1618 - The Ottomans withdrew from Azerbaijan as part of a peace agreement with Persia.

1621 - Ottoman forces invaded Poland.

1622 - Osman II was assassinated by the Janissaries.  His uncle, Mustafa, became sultan once again.

1623 - Mustafa I was deposed a second time by the Janissaries and his nephew, Murad IV became sultan.

1624 - A four-year period of rebellion and anarchy broke out throughout the empire.

1624 - Cossack raids began on the Black Sea coast.

1624 - Conflict with Persia began again and the Shah seized Baghdad.

1632 - Murad IV reestablished control over the government.  He dismissed several top officials and ruled alone.

1638 - The Ottomans retook Baghdad from the Persians.

1640 - Murad IV died childless.  His mentally incompetent brother was crowned Sultan Ibrahim.

1645 - The Ottomans invaded the Venetian colony of Crete.  They laid siege to the Cretans' capital, Candia.  This siege lasted for twenty-five years.

1648 - The Venetian blockade of the Dardanelles began.

1648 - Ibrahim was deposed and assassinated by the Janissaries.  His seven-year-old son, Mehmed, became
Sultan Mehmed IV.   The young Sultan was dominated by his mother Turhan and grandmother Kosem, who became the de facto leader of the empire.

1649 - The Janissaries and other military leaders seized control of various areas of the empire.  This led to heavy fighting between factions and anarchy in the streets of the major cities.

1656 - Koprulu Mehmed was appointed grand vizier and granted dictatorial powers.  He quickly consolidated his control.

1657 - The eleven-year blockade of the Dardanelles by the Venetians ended.

1659 - Ottomans reestablished control over Translyvania and Wallachia.

1661 - Koprulu Ahmed became grand vizier.

1663 - Ottomans went to war with the Hapsburgs of Austria.

1664 - The Ottoman army suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of St. Gotthard.  This defeat resulted in the surprisingly favorable Treaty of Vasvar, which was a reaffirmation of the terms agreed upon in the Treaty of Zsitva-Torok.

1669 - The city of Candia fell to the Ottomans, ending the conflict between Venice and the Ottoman Empire.

1672 - The Sultan declared war on Poland.

1676 - The Ottomans received large concessions from Poland in the Treaty of Zuravno, which ended conflict between the two powers.

1676 - Koprulu Ahmed died and Kara Mustafa began his seven-year grand vizierate.

1681 - The Ottomans relinquished permanent control of Ukraine to the Russians.

1683 - Kara Mustafa ordered the second failed siege of Vienna.

1684 - The Holy League (consisting of the Republic of Venice, the Austrian Empire, and Poland) united against the Ottomans in war.

1686 - The Austrians conquered Buda.

1686 - The Venetians took Morea.

1686 - The Russians joined the Holy League.

1687 - The Ottomans lost the second Battle of Mohac.  This loss resulted in an army rebellion which led to the deposition of Mehmed IV.  He was replaced by his brother, Suleyman II.

1688 - Belgrade fell to the Austrians.

1689 - Koprulu Mustafa became grand vizier.

1690 - Ottoman forces retook Belgrade.

1691 - Suleyman II died and was succeeded by his brother, Ahmed II.

1691 - The Austrians gained a decisive victory over the Ottomans at the Battle of Slankamen.  Koprulu Mustafa was killed in the battle.

1695 - Ahmed II died and his nephew, Mustafa II became sultan.

1695 - The Russians took Azov.

1697 - Despite an initially successful counter-attack, the Ottomans were defeated by the Austrians at the Battle of Zenta.

1698 - Koprulu Huseyin began his four years as grand vizier.

1699 - Treaty of Karlowitz was signed.  It drew to a close the fifteen years of conflict between the Ottomans and the Holy League (except for Russia).

1700 - A peace agreement was agreed upon by Russian and Ottoman diplomats.

1703 - The janissaries rebelled and Mustafa II was deposed in favor of his brother, Ahmed III.

1709 - Charles XII of Sweden took refuge in Sweden.

1711 - Ottoman forces defeated the Russians at the Battle of Pruth.

1713 - A favorable peace settlement was reached with the Russians.

1714 - A four-year war with Venice began, it ended with the Ottoman recovery of Morea

1716 - War with Austria broke out.

1717 - The Austrians conquered Belgrade.

1718 - Damad Ibrahim Pasha began his twelve-year grand vizierate.

1718 - The Ottoman were forced to sign the Treaty of Passarowitz with Austria.  It ceded Ottoman possessions in Serbia and Wallachia to Austria.

1723 - A four-year conflict with Iran began with the Ottoman occupation of Azerbaijan.

1730 - Ahmed III was deposed and replaced by his nephew, Mahmud I.

1730 - War with Persia brook out again and Persian forces retook Azerbaijan.

1736 - The Ottomans went to war with Austria and Russia.

1739 - The Ottomans signed a peace treaty with Austria and Russia that allowed them to recover Belgrade.

1740 - The Ottomans entered into an alliance with the Swedish against the Russians.

1743 - Persia and the Ottoman Empire went to war against each other.

1754 - Mahmud I died and was succeeded by his brother, Osman III.

1757 - Osman III died and was succeeded by his cousin (Ahmed III's son), Mustafa III.

1768 - The Ottomans and the Russians declared war on each other.

1770 - Greeks rebelled with Russian support.

1773 - Ali Bey led a Mamluk rebellion in Egypt.

1774 - Mustafa III died and was replaced by his brother, Abdulhamid I.

1774 - The latest war between the Ottomans and the Russians ended with the Treaty of Kucuk Kaynarca.  It forced the Ottomans to relinquish control of the Crimea and part of the Black Sea coast.

1783 - Russia annexed the newly independent Crimean Khanate.

1787 - The Ottomans declared war on Russia.

1788 - The Swedes joined the war against the Russians.

1789 - Abdulhamid I died and was succeeded by his nephew, Selim III.

1792 - The Ottomans signed the Treaty with Jassy with the Russians.  The treaty heavily favored the Russians.

1798 - Napoleon invaded Egypt.

1804 - Serbs revolted against Ottoman rule.

1805 - Mehmed Ali began his forty-three year autonomous reign over Egypt.

1807 - The military revolted against Selim III and he was deposed in favor of his cousin, Mustafa IV.

1807 - Mustafa IV was deposed and replaced by his brother, Mahmud II.

1808 - An Anti-Ottoman Franco-Russian alliance formed.

1808 - An Austrian supported British-Turkish alliance formed to counter-balance the Franco-Russian alliance.

1812 - The Treaty of Bucharest ended the conflict between the Ottomans and the French and Russians.  It restored all of Moldavia and Wallachia to the Sultan.

1814 - Greeks revolted against Ottoman rule.

1821 - The eight-year Greek War of Independence began.

1824 - Greek Republic was declared in Athens.

1826 - Mahmud II destroyed the Janissaries.

1827 - The Russians invaded the Balkans

1829 - The Treaty of Adrianople ended hostilities between the Russians and the Ottomans.

1830 - The Treaty of London granted Greeks freedom.

1832 - Mehmed Ali led his forces to victory over the Ottomans at the Battle of Konya.

1833 -Mahmud II signed the Treaty of Hunkar-Iskelesi, which guaranteed the Russians safe passage through the Straits.

1838 - The Anglo-Turkish Convention took place and the British agreed to aid the Sultan in his struggles against Mehmed Ali.

1839 - Mahmud II died and was replaced by his young son, Abdulmecid I.

1839 - The Ottomans were horribly defeated by Mehmed Ali's forces at the Battle of Nezib. Despite his victory, the British were able to force Mehmed Ali to negotiate for peace.

1839 - Tanzimat reforms began with the Imperial Rescript of Gulhane.  This was the first movement towards a constitutional government in the Ottoman Empire.

1853 - The Crimean War began.

1856 - The Treaty of Paris ended the Crimean War by preserving the pre-war status quo.

1861 - Abdulmecid I died and was succeeded by his brother, Abdulaziz.

1865 - The Young Turks organization was formed.

1875 - The Ottoman Empire declared de facto bankruptcy.

1876 - Abdulaziz was deposed and the first Ottoman Constitution was adopted.

1876 - Abdulaziz's nephew, Murad V, was crowned Sultan, although after only a few days he was replaced by his brother, Abdulhamid II.

1877 - The Russian army invaded Ottoman territory and made significant territorial gains.

1878 - The Ottomans and Russians signed the Treaty of San Stefano, which was heavily in the Russians favor.

1878 - The Treaty of Berlin was signed; it negated the Treaty of San Stefano.

1885 - Bulgarians occupied Eastern Rumelia.

1887 - The Anglo-Turkish Convention failed and de facto rule of Egypt by the English begins.

1896 - Insurrection in Crete led to a two-year war with Greece.

1908 - Young Turk Revolution took place and the Constitution of 1876 was reinstated.

1909 - The forces of Abdulhamid II staged a failed counter-revolution and he was deposed in favor of his brother, Mehmed V.

1911 - Ottomans declared war on Italy.

1912 - First Balkan War began.

1913 - Second Balkan War began.

1914 - World War I began.  The Ottomans allied themselves with Germany and Austria-Hungary.

1918 - The armistice was signed, ending hostilities.

1918 - Mehmed VI replaced his recently deposed brother, Mehmed V.

1919 - Paris Peace Conference began.

1919 - The four-year-long Turkish War for Independence was started by forces under the command of
Mustafa Kemal.

1920 - The Treaty of Sevres was signed, establishing the French mandate over Lebanon and Syria and the British mandate over Iraq and Palestine.

1922 - The National Assembly abolished the Sultanate.

1923 - The Treaty of Lausanne was signed and ratified, establishing a Turkish state with borders based on the 1918 armistice.

1923 - The National Assembly proclaimed the formation of the Republic of Turkey.

1924 - The National Assembly abolished the Caliphate and Caliph Abdulmecid II, along with all of the ruling family, was expelled from Turkey.