Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire, founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922, ruled for 623 years — one of the longest-lived empires in history. At its height under Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566), it controlled 5.2 million square kilometres across southeast Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. The collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I directly created most of the modern Middle East's national borders — and many of the region's conflicts.