The Ottoman Empire was a Sunni Islamic state founded by Oghuz Turks under Osman I in northwestern Anatolia in 1299
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<i>During the 16th and 17th centuries, in particular at the height of its power under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire was a powerful multinational, multilingual empire controlling much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia, the Caucasus, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa.[11] At the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries.
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In November 1914, the Empire entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers, in which it took part in the Middle Eastern theatre. There were several important Ottoman victories in the early years of the war, such as the Battle of Gallipoli and the Siege of Kut, but there were setbacks as well, such as the disastrous Caucasus Campaign against the Russians. The United States never declared war against the Ottoman Empire.
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The occupation of Constantinople and Ä°zmir led to the establishment of a Turkish national movement, which won the Turkish War of Independence (1919-22) under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal (later given the surname ~Ataturk~). The sultanate was abolished on 1 November 1922, and the last sultan, Mehmed VI (reigned 1918-22), left the country on 17 November 1922. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey declared the Republic of Turkey on 29 October 1923. The caliphate was abolished on 3 March 1924.
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