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. He also defeated the King of Hungary and laid siege to Vienna in 1526, and he turned the Ottomans into a huge naval power. Also, judging from his hat, he had the largest brain in human history. The Ottomans basically controlled about half of what the Romans controlled, but it was much more valuable because of all that Indian Ocean trade you remember from last week.