THE OTTOMANS RULED OVER VAST LANDS IN EUROPE, THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA – AS WELL AS THE CAUCASUS. UNDER SULEIMAN THEY BECAME THE CALIPHATE AND THE ROLE OF THE OTTOMANS AS THE PROTECTOR OF MUSLIMS WAS REINFORCED BY ABDUL HAMID THE SECOND DURING THE LATTER END OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. THE SULTANATE WAS A MULTI RACIAL, MULTI ETHNIC AND MULTI RELIGIOUS ENTITY BASED ON TOLERANCE – UNLIKE THE EMPIRES OF BRITAIN, FRANCE, RUSSIA AND AUSTRIA WHOSE MEDDLING IN THE INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF THE EMPIRE CREATED TODAY’S POWDERKEG ..