While reading this section i also wondered how a small Turkish tribe came to be so popular. It happened right after the fall of the extremely powerful Roman Empire and the two are connected. After the fall of the Roman Empire from attacks on all fronts, there was absolute chaos for 100s years. During a time like this, it is perfect for someone to take over since everyone is looking for a leader. This is what the Ottomans did. In 1453 was a milestone because the last remaining city in the Eastern Roman Empire (Constantinople) was destroyed. Constantinople is where Constantine moved the Capital. This was a political move, so that Rome could feel better associated with the troublesome east. Constantinople survived many attacks, but the Ottomans finally overtook it, renaming it Istanbul. The Ottoman Empire, like the Roman Empire, started out small and over time accumulated more and more land until they because an international super power. Of course eventually they fell like all Empires at the beginning of the 20th century. One of the reasons empires like this can fall is because they stretch themselves out too much, but feel invincible because of all of the power. This leads to an almost rot from the inside of the empire. Also food becomes a Major problem when one empire controls so much because so many people rely upon them for a constant food supply. Rome dealt with this by having Sicily be their bread basket and basically they imported most of the food from Egypt in the extremely fertile Nile Delta. Rome was well situated because it was reasonably close to the coast in the huge Mediterranean Sea. This sea also has fairly calm waters so food can be imported from far away places like Egypt and not go bad or overboard.