Ottoman Trade

The Ottoman Empire thrived in the area of trade because of a few key factors. First of all they originated in Anatolia which had a lot of fertile land within the empire which would aid in trading agricultural products. They also were a militaristic society which would give them more trading partners as they conquered new lands. Last but not least, they Ottoman Empire was right in the middle of all land trade routes between Europe and Asia.

Europeans would trade the Ottoman for goods they had received in trade with the Asians such as silk, spices and incense. In return the Europeans would give the Ottomans wood, fur, metal, and even gems in some cases. However the most profitable trade that the Ottoman had with Europe was that of firearms and ammunitions. The Catholic Church forbid the sale of firearms to the Ottoman, but the profits were too high to pass up. These firearms are what led to many Ottoman military victories.
The Persian silk merchants were also pretty high on the Ottomans list of trade partners because they were highly interested in the slave trade. Ottoman slave merchants would follow the military and take on some conquered people as slaves. Most of the slaves were utilized in Ottoman society, however these Persian silk merchants would pay high prices for slaves.

The Asians traded what everyone wanted which was the porcelains, spices, silk, etc. to the Ottomans and they had to pay mostly with bullion (gold and silver). Some attribute this export of gold to aiding the fall of the Ottoman Empire.