The Ottoman Empire and its conflicts provide one of the longest continuous narratives in military history. They were never overthrown by a foreign power, and no usurper succeeded in taking the throne. This volume covers the rise of the Ottomans, and their early years of fighting for a foothold across the Bosphorus, before exploring the main campaigns and the part played by such elite troops as the Janissaries and the Sipahis. At its height under Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire became the most powerful state in the world - a multi-national, multilingual empire that stretched from Vienna to the upper Arab peninsula.