The Ottoman Empire, or modern day Turkey, was during the Medieval period, a global superpower. With it's central location and vast reach of land the Ottoman empire quickly became a center of economy and religious diversity. Their decline however, began in the 1600's culminating in the battle of Vienna in 1683 where the Ottoman Turks suffered a huge loss. Over the next hundred years the empire began loosing more and more land, the loss of Greece being the greatest around 1830 after a revolt for independence. The Ottoman Empire dissolved around the time of the Balkan Wars and permenantly with World War 1.

So what does this have to do with the Romantic period? As before mentioned the Ottoman Empire had a central location on the Eurasian continent and the European side bordered with many smaller countries. With the Ottomans seeking to regain control and many citizens learning from revolts of the past, political unrest began to grow especially during the Romantic period. This led to people being taken as politcal prisoners and many more fleeing the country altoghether.

Some characters that are famous escaped Ottomans during the Romantic Period are Safie and her Father from "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley. Safie's father is in politcal danger and they fled to the DeLacey's house near Mont Blanc. Safie married into the family as an act of safety as well as love. Many Ottomans however were not as lucky and some even faced discrimination.