A survey of the Ottoman Empire from its late 13th to early 14th century origins as a border principality through the classical age of Mehmed the Conqueror and Süleyman the Magnificent when, as a mature Islamic empire, it ruled lands in Europe, Asia, and Africa, to the internal and external challenges it faced during the 17th century that forced it to either transform or decline. The end point is the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699. Attention is also paid to the immediate predecessors of the Ottomans — the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate, the Mongols, and the principalities known as beyliks that came into being with the decline of the Seljuks and led to the rise of the Ottomans. Coverage includes topics in Ottoman institutions, economy, society, and culture.