The Ottomans managed to blend their pastoral nomadic roots with some very un-nomadic empire building some really impressive architecture like this and this and this, making them very different from, wait for it, the Mongols. The Empire, or at least the dynasty, was founded by Osman Bey, and Ottoman is a Latinization of Osmanli, which basically means, like, the House of Osmond. No, Stan, the house, yes, oh my gosh. The Ottomans were greatest in the 15th and 16th centuries under two famous sultans. First, Mehmed the Conqueror ruled from 1451 to 1481 and expanded Ottoman control to the Balkans, which is why there are Bosnian Muslims today. But Ottoman expansion reached its greatest extent under Suleiman the Magnificent, who ruled from 1520 to 1566. He took valuable territory in Mesopotamia and Egypt, thus securing control over the western parts of the Asian trade both over land and over sea.