伊斯兰教主张发动一场反对异教徒的正义战争，这对奥斯曼帝国的扩张起到了一定的推动作用，但是奥斯曼人同样以善于包容而著称。从西班牙宗教法庭逃离出来的犹太人在伊斯坦布尔受到欢迎，基督教信徒也在帝国官僚机构、武装部队乃至后宫中扮演举足轻重的角色。然而，历史的潮流还是转而朝着有利于欧洲的方向发展，即便是在帝国鼎盛时期也是如此。聪明才智和军事才干不如欧洲人，受制于自身领导人拙劣的财政管理能力，对巴尔干半岛上蔓延的一小撮民族主义分子又无能为力，奥斯曼帝国开始分崩离析——有时会发生一些突如其来的震荡，但多半却在不知不觉中衰微。The empire's expansion was driven in part by Islamic notions of a just war against the ★infidel[3], but the Ottomans were also notable for their relative tolerance. Jews fleeing the ★Spanish inquisition[4] were welcomed to Istanbul. Christian converts became key figures in the bureaucracy, armed forces and the ★harem[5]. Even at the empire's peak, however, the tide of history was turning in Europe's f__ ③ .___ Challenged by the Europeans' intellectual and military ★prowess[6], hampered by the fiscal ineptitude of its leaders, and powerless to suppress the petty nationalisms that infected its Balkan possessions, （3）the empire began to unravel—at times abruptly, at others imperceptibly.