Evaluate the factors that contributed to the Ottoman rise to power.

Candidates will make an appraisal of a range of factors, weighing up their importance or otherwise to the rise to power of the Ottomans. Factors may predate the timeframe but they must be clearly linked to the rise of Ottoman power. Candidates may refer to geographical factors such as the location of Ottoman territory in Western Anatolia. They may also address the strength of the Ottoman army and use of military technology, the leadership skills of rulers such as Osman, the political and economic divisions of their opponents, coherent administrative structures, and the recruitment of talented non-Ottomans. Alternatively, they may adopt an alternative approach by focusing on the internal and external factors that contributed to the rise to power of the Ottomans. Candidates may reach a conclusion about the relative importance of the various factors which they identify.