What Was the Real Name of the Ottoman Empire: Empire or State?

The Ottoman Empire, founded in 1299 by Osman Bey, a member of the Kayı tribe of the Oghuz Turks, ruled over a vast territory spanning from the Balkans to Africa for six hundred years, leaving a significant mark on history.

The official name of the Ottoman State was 'Devlet-i Âliyye,' meaning the exalted state. In all official Ottoman sources in Ottoman Turkish, the state was referred to as Devlet-i Âliyye. Only in the later years of the Ottoman Empire, starting from the second half of the 19th century, it was also referred to as 'Devlet-i Âliyye Osmanlı.'

The term 'Empire' is mostly found in Western sources and has been adopted into our language in that form. In the languages of the regions where the Ottomans ruled, such as Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia, the Ottoman Empire is referred to as an empire. In widely accepted English sources, the Ottoman Empire is referred to as the 'Ottoman Empire,' and in official correspondence of that period, it is also referred to as 'Turkey' by Western sources. It is even mentioned as 'Turkey' in the Treaty of Sèvres and the Treaty of Lausanne.

In drawings, maps, and treaty texts from Western sources, the Ottoman State, written as the 'Turkish Empire' or 'Turkey,' can be found in official documents.

Although the term 'Devlet-i Âliyye' meaning exalted state is prevalent in Ottoman history to refer to the grand state, the reason we generally say 'Ottoman Empire' is due to the tradition in Turkish daily conversation to refer to the ruler or the ruler's name instead of saying 'state.' Therefore, because the founder of the Ottoman State, Osmangazi, was its founder, it continued to be referred to as the Ottoman State. However, the official name of the empire was 'Devlet-i Âliyye.'

Sources: Murat Bardakçı, Wikipedia