Ever since the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman Empire has been one of the most powerful nations on the planet. In the 1500's and 1600's the Ottomans expanded into Europe, Asia, and Africa. It conquered Egypt and Sudan, the Barbary States, the Arabian Peninsula, and took many Eastern European lands as well. It also defeated the Persians in several wars. However, in the 1800s, it began to lose lands and was defeated in many wars. It was on the verge of collapse, but after WW-I Mustafa Kemal made the empire rich by making new trade partners and regaining old lands. BY the 1930s, the empire was restored to its former glory.Its navy was the strongest in the world, and its armies were formidable as well. An air force was also being constructed.