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Part ofa series on the |
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| History of the Ottoman Empire |
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| Timeline (Territorial evolution) |
Rise(1299–1453) |
Classical Age(1453–1566)
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Transformation(1566–1703)
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Old Regime(1703–1789)
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Decline and Modernization(1789–1908)
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Dissolution(1908–1922)
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| Historiography (Ghaza,Decline) |
In the 18th century, theOttoman Empire faced threats on numerous frontiers from multiple industrialised European powers as well as internal instabilities.[1] Outsider influence, internal corruption and the rise of nationalism demanded the Empire to look within itself and modernize. Kickstarting a period ornal reforms to centralize and standardize governance; European style training regimens for the military, standardized law codes and reformed property laws were initiated to better collect taxes and control the resources within the borders.[2] The period of these reforms is known as theTanzimat starting in 1839.[3]
Despite the Ottoman empire's precarious international position, the central state was significantly strengthened.[citation needed] The process of reforming and modernization in the empire began with the declaration of theNizam-I Cedid (New Order) during the reign of SultanSelim III and was punctuated by several reform decrees, such as theHatt-ı Şerif of Gülhane in 1839 and theHatt-ı Hümayun in 1856.[citation needed] Over the course of the 19th century, the Ottoman state became increasingly powerful and rationalized, exercising a greater degree of influence over its population than in any previous era.[4]
Despite these attempts at revitalisation, the empire could not stem therising tide of nationalism, especially among the ethnic minorities in its Balkan provinces, where the newly implemented administrative and infrastructural reforms often intensified local tensions and nationalist movements rather than alleviating them. Numerous revolts and wars of independence, together with repeated incursions by Russia in the northeast and France (and later Britain) in the North Africaneyalets, resulted in a steady loss of territories throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.[citation needed]
By 1908, theOttoman military became modernized and professionalized along the lines of Western European armies.[citation needed] The period was followed by the defeat anddissolution of the Ottoman Empire (1908–1922).[citation needed]
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Therise of nationalism swept through many countries during the 19th century, and it affected territories within the Ottoman Empire.[citation needed] A burgeoningnational consciousness, together with a growing sense ofethnic nationalism, made nationalistic thought one of the most significant ideas imported to the Ottoman Empire.[citation needed] The empire was forced to deal with nationalism from both within and beyond its borders.[citation needed] The number of revolutionary, secret societies which turned intopolitical parties during thenext period rose dramatically.[citation needed] Uprisings in Ottoman territory had many far-reaching consequences during the 19th century and determined much of the Ottoman policy during the early 20th century.[citation needed] Much of the Ottoman ruling elite questioned whether the policies of the state were to blame: some felt that the sources ofethnic conflict were external and unrelated to issues of governance.[citation needed] While this era was not without some successes, the ability of the Ottoman state to have any effect on ethnic uprisings was seriously called into question.[citation needed]
The Russian extension in this century developed with the main theme of supporting the independence of the Ottomans' former provinces, and then bringing all of the Slav peoples of the Balkans under Bulgaria or using Armenians in the east to set the stage.[citation needed] At the end of the century, from the Russian perspective, Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro and the autonomy of Bulgaria were achieved. That alarmed the Great Powers.[citation needed] After the Congress of Berlin, the Russian expansion was controlled by stopping the expansion of Bulgaria.[citation needed] The Russian public felt that at the end of Congress of Berlin thousands of Russian soldiers had died for nothing.[citation needed]
The military of the Ottoman Empire remained an effective fighting force until the second half of the 18th century when it suffered a catastrophic defeat against Russia in the1768-74 war.[5]Selim III came to the throne with an ambitious effort for military reforms in 1789. He failed and was replaced byMahmud II in 1808 who established martial law throughAlemdar Mustafa Pasha. At first, he allied with the Janissaries to break the power of the provincial governors and then turned on the Janissaries and removed them altogether during the 1826Auspicious Incident. Efforts for a new system (1826–1858) began following the Auspicious Incident.
Economic historianPaul Bairoch argues thatfree trade contributed todeindustrialization in theOttoman Empire. In contrast to theprotectionism of China, Japan, andSpain, the Ottoman Empire had aliberal trade policy, open to foreign imports.[citation needed] This policy had its origins in thecapitulations of the Ottoman Empire, dating back to the first commercial treaties signed with France in 1536 and taken further withcapitulations in 1673 and 1740, which loweredduties to 3% for imports and exports.[citation needed] The liberal Ottoman policies were praised by British economists such asJohn Ramsay McCulloch in hisDictionary of Commerce (1834), but later criticized by British politicians such asPrime MinisterBenjamin Disraeli, who cited the Ottoman Empire as "an instance of the injury done by unrestrained competition" in the 1846Corn Laws debate:[6]
There has been free trade in Turkey, and what has it produced? It has destroyed some of the finest manufactures in the world. As late as 1812 these manufactures existed, but they have been destroyed. That was the consequence of competition in Turkey, and its effects have been as pernicious as the effects of the contrary principle in Spain.
TheOttoman public debt loomed large during this period.[citation needed] The Empire had previously not taken foreign loans. But with the demands of theCrimean War, the Empire took its first loans in 1854[citation needed]. The public debt quickly ballooned, becoming larger than any other European nation's.[citation needed] ThePanic of 1873 depressed the economy, and was followed by poor harvests.[citation needed] The Ottomans found themselves unable to repay the loans, and so defaulted on their debt in 1875. The Ottomans owed their loans to various European countries and their citizens, who were deeply upset at the failure of their investment and lobbied their governments to intervene. This effort became theOttoman Public Debt Administration, which grew to become a major and independent arm of the Ottoman bureaucracy, whose sole goal was providing returns to European creditors.[7]
Thestagnation and reform of the Ottoman Empire (1683–1827) ended with the dismemberment ofOttoman Classical Army. The issue during the decline and modernization of the Ottoman Empire (1828–1908) was to create a military (a security apparatus) that could win wars and bring security to its subjects. That goal took multiple Sultans with multiple reorganizations during this period. At the end of this period, with theSecond Constitutional Era in 1908,Ottoman military became modernized and professionalized in the form of European Armies.[citation needed]
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Mahmud II had to deal with multiple issues inherited from generations past. These issues lasted all through his reign. Shortly, theEastern Question with Russia, England, and France, and military problems arising from mutinous Janissaries and factious Ulemas. He also faced numerous internal conflicts with Egyptians, Wahabbis, Serbians, Albanians, Greeks, and Syrians, and had administrative problems from rebellious Pashas, who would fain have founded new kingdoms on the ruins of the House of Osman.
Mahmud understood the growing problems of the state and the approaching overthrow of the monarchy and began to deal with the problems as he saw them. For example, he closed the Court of Confiscations, and took away much of the power of the Pashas. He personally set an example of reform by regularly attending theDivan, or state council. The practice of the sultan's avoiding the Divan had been introduced two centuries prior, during the reign ofSuleiman I, and was considered to be one of the causes of the decline of the Empire. Mahmud II also addressed some of the worst abuses connected with theVakifs, by placing their revenues under state administration. However, he did not venture to apply this vast mass of property to the general purposes of the government.
In 1804 theSerbian Revolution against Ottoman rule erupted in theBalkans, running in parallel with theNapoleonic invasion. By 1817, when the revolution ended, Serbia was raised to the status ofself-governing monarchy under nominal Ottomansuzerainty.[8] In 1821 theFirst Hellenic Republic became the firstBalkan country to achieve its independence from the Ottoman Empire. It was officially recognized by thePorte in 1829, after the end of theGreek War of Independence.
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In 1814, a secret organization called theFiliki Eteria was founded with the aim of liberatingGreece. The Filiki Eteria planned to launch revolts in thePeloponnese, theDanubian Principalities, and capital with its surrounding areas. The first of these revolts began on 6 March 1821 in the Danubian Principalities which was put down by the Ottomans. On 17 March 1821, theManiots declared war which was the start of revolutionary actions from other controlled states. In October 1821,Theodoros Kolokotronis had capturedTripolitsa, followed by other revolts inCrete,Macedonia, andCentral Greece. Tensions soon developed among different Greek factions, leading to two consecutive civil wars.Mehmet Ali of Egypt agreed to send his sonIbrahim Pasha to Greece with an army to suppress the revolt in return for territorial gain. By the end of 1825, most of the Peloponnese was under Egyptian control, and the city ofMissolonghi was put under siege and fell in April 1826. Ibrahim had succeeded in suppressing most of the revolt in the Peloponnese andAthens had been retaken.Russia, Britain andFrance decided to intervene in the conflict and each nation sent a navy to Greece. Following news that combined Ottoman–Egyptian fleets were going to attack the Greek island ofHydra, the allied fleet intercepted the Ottoman–Egyptian fleet in thebattle of Navarino. Following a week-long standoff, abattle began which resulted in the destruction of the Ottoman–Egyptian fleet. With the help of aFrench expeditionary force proceeded to the captured part of Central Greece by 1828.
TheGreek War of Independence saw the beginning of the spread of the Western notion of nationalism, stimulated therise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire, and eventually caused the breakdown of the Ottomanmillet concept. Unquestionably, the concept of nationhood prevalent in the Ottoman Empire was different from the current one as it was centered on religion.
Mahmud II's most notable achievements include theabolition of the Janissary corps in 1826, the establishment of a modern Ottoman army, and the preparation of theTanzimat reforms in 1839. By 1826, the sultan was ready to move against the Janissary in favor of a more modern military.Mahmud II incited them to revolt on purpose, describing it as the sultan's "coup against the Janissaries". The sultan informed them, through afatwa, that he was forming a new army, organized and trained along modern European lines. As predicted, they mutinied, advancing on the sultan's palace. In the ensuing fight, the Janissary barracks were set in flames by artillery fire resulting in 4,000 Janissary fatalities. The survivors were either exiled or executed, and their possessions were confiscated by the Sultan. This event is now calledthe Auspicious Incident. The last of theJanissaries were then put to death by decapitation in what was later called theBlood Tower, inThessaloniki.[9]
These marked the beginning of modernization and had immediate effects such as introducing European-style clothing, architecture, legislation, institutional organization, and land reform.
TheRusso-Turkish War of 1828–1829 did not give him time to organize a new army, and the Sultan was forced to use these young and undisciplined recruits in the fight against the veterans of the Tsar. The war was brought to a close by the disastrousTreaty of Adrianople. While the reforms in question were mainly implemented to improve the military, the most notable development that arose out of these efforts was a series of schools teaching everything from math to medicine to train new officers.[citation needed]
Later in his reign, Mahmud became involved in disputes with theWāli ofEgypt andSudan,Muhammad Ali, who was technically Mahmud's vassal. The Sultan had asked for Muhammad Ali's help in suppressing a rebellion in Greece, but had not paid the promised price for his services. In 1831, Muhammad Ali declared war and managed to take control ofSyria andArabia by the war's end in 1833. In 1839, Mahmud resumed the war, hoping to recover his losses, but he died at the time news was on its way toConstantinople that the Empire's army had been defeated atNezib by an Egyptian army led by Muhammad Ali's son,Ibrahim Pasha.
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In his time the financial situation of the Empire was dire, and certain social classes had long been oppressed by burdensome taxes. In dealing with the complicated questions that arose, Mahmud II is considered to have demonstrated the best spirit of the best of theKöprülüs. AFirman of 22 February 1834 abolished the vexatious charges which public functionaries when traversing the provinces, had long been accustomed to taking from the inhabitants. By the same edict all collection of money, except for the two regular half-yearly periods, was denounced as an abuse. "No one is ignorant," said Sultan Mahmud II in this document, "that I am bound to afford support to all my subjects against vexatious proceedings; to endeavor unceasingly to lighten, instead of increasing their burdens, and to ensure peace and tranquility. Therefore, those acts of oppression are at once contrary to the will of God, and to my imperial orders."[10]
Theharaç, or capitation tax, though moderate and exempting those who paid it from military service, had long been made an engine of gross tyranny through the insolence and misconduct of government collectors. The Firman of 1834 abolished the old mode of levying it and ordained that it should be raised by a commission composed of theKadı, the Muslim governors, and theAyans, or municipal chiefs ofRayas in each district. Many other financial improvements were affected. By another important series of measures, the administrative government was simplified and strengthened, and a large number of sinecure offices were abolished. Sultan Mahmud II gave a valuable personal example of good sense and economy, organized the imperial household, suppressed all titles without duties, and eliminated all the positions of salaried officials without functions.
In 1839, theHatt-i Sharif proclamation launched theTanzimat (from Arabic: تنظيمtanẓīm, meaning "organisation") (1839–76), period. Previous to the first of thefirmans, the property of all persons banished or condemned to death was forfeited to the Caliph, which kept a motive for acts of cruelty, besides encouragingdelators. The second firman removed the ancient rights of Turkish governors to condemn men to instant death at will; thePaşas, theAğas, and other officers were enjoined that "they should not presume to inflict, themselves, the punishment of death on any man, whether Raya or Turk, unless authorized by a legal sentence pronounced by thekadi, and regularly signed by the judge."
The Tanzimat reforms did not halt the rise of nationalism in theDanubian Principalities and thePrincipality of Serbia, which had been semi-independent for almost six decades. In 1875, the tributary principalities of Serbia andMontenegro, and theUnited Principalities ofWallachia andMoldavia, unilaterally declared their independence from the empire. Following theRusso-Turkish War (1877–1878), the empire granted independence to all three belligerent nations.Bulgaria also achieved virtual independence[citation needed] (as thePrincipality of Bulgaria); its volunteers had participated in the Russo-Turkish War on the side of the rebelling nations.
The government's series of constitutional reforms led to a fairly modern conscripted army, banking system reforms, the decriminalization of homosexuality, the replacement of religious law with secular law[11] andguilds with modern factories.
The Ottoman Ministry of Post was established in Istanbul on 23 October 1840.[12][13] The first post office was thePostahane-i Amire near the courtyard of theYeni Mosque.[12]
The introduction of the first Ottoman paperbanknotes (1840) and opening of the first post offices (1840); the reorganization of the finance system according to the French model (1840); the reorganization of the Civil and Criminal Code according to the French model (1840); the establishment of theMeclis-i Maarif-i Umumiye (1841) which was the prototype of theFirst Ottoman Parliament (1876); the reorganisation of the army and a regular method of recruiting, levying the army and fixing the duration of military service (1843–44); the adoption of anOttoman national anthem andOttoman national flag (1844); the institution of a Council of Public Instruction (1845) and the Ministry of Education (Mekatib-i Umumiye Nezareti, 1847, which later became theMaarif Nezareti, 1857); the abolition of slavery and slave trade (1847); the establishment of the first modern universities (darülfünun, 1848), academies (1848) and teacher schools (darülmuallimin, 1848).
Samuel Morse received his first ever patent for thetelegraph in 1847, at the old Beylerbeyi Palace (the presentBeylerbeyi Palace was built in 1861–1865 on the same location) in Istanbul, which was issued by SultanAbdülmecid who personally tested the new invention.[14] Following this successful test, installation works of the first telegraph line (Istanbul-Adrianople–Şumnu)[15] began on 9 August 1847.[16]
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While the Ottoman Empire had population records prior to the 1830s, it was only in 1831 that the Office of Population Registers fund (Ceride-i Nüfus Nezareti) was founded. The Office decentralized in 1839 to draw more accurate data. Registrars, inspectors, and population officials were appointed to the provinces and smaller administrative districts. They recorded births and deaths periodically and compared lists indicating the population in each district. These records were not a total count of the population. Rather, they were based on what is known as "head of household". Only the ages, occupation, and property of the male family members only were counted.
The first nationwide Ottoman census was in 1844. The first national identity cards which officially named theMecidiye identity papers, or informallykafa kağıdı (head paper) documents.[citation needed]
In 1856, theHatt-ı Hümayun promised equality for all Ottoman citizens regardless of their ethnicity and religious confession; which thus widened the scope of the 1839Hatt-ı Şerif of Gülhane. Overall, the Tanzimat reforms had far-reaching effects. Those educated in the schools established during the Tanzimat period includedMustafa Kemal Atatürk and other progressive leaders and thinkers of theRepublic of Turkey and of many other former Ottoman states in theBalkans, the Middle East and North Africa. These reforms included[17] guarantees to ensure the Ottoman subjects perfect security for their lives, honor and property;
Establishment of the Ministry of Healthcare (Tıbbiye Nezareti, 1850); the Commerce and Trade Code (1850); establishment of the Academy of Sciences (Encümen-i Daniş, 1851); establishment of theŞirket-i Hayriye which operated the first steam-powered commuter ferries (1851); the first European style courts (Meclis-i Ahkam-ı Adliye, 1853) and supreme judiciary council (Meclis-i Ali-yi Tanzimat, 1853); establishment of the modern Municipality of Istanbul (Şehremaneti, 1854) and the City Planning Council (İntizam-ı Şehir Komisyonu, 1855); the abolition of thecapitation (Jizya) tax on non-Muslims, with a regular method of establishing and collecting taxes (1856); non-Muslims were allowed to become soldiers (1856); various provisions for the better administration of the public service and advancement of commerce; the establishment of the firsttelegraph networks (1847–1855) andrailways (1856); the replacement of guilds with factories; the establishment of the Ottoman Central Bank (originally established as theBank-ı Osmanî in 1856, and later reorganised as theBank-ı Osmanî-i Şahane in 1863)[18] and the Ottoman Stock Exchange (Dersaadet Tahvilat Borsası, established in 1866);[19] the Land Code (Arazi Kanunnamesi, 1857); permission for private sector publishers and printing firms with theSerbesti-i Kürşad Nizamnamesi (1857); establishment of the School of Economical and Political Sciences (Mekteb-i Mülkiye, 1859).
In 1855 the Ottoman telegraph network became operational and the Telegraph Administration was established.[12][13][15]
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TheCrimean War (1853–1856) was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining Ottoman Empire. Britain and France successfully defended the Ottoman Empire against Russia.[20]
Most of the fighting took place when the allies landed on Russia'sCrimean Peninsula to gain control of the Black Sea. There were smaller campaigns in westernAnatolia, theCaucasus, theBaltic Sea, the Pacific Ocean and theWhite Sea. It was one of the first "modern" wars, as it introduced new technologies to warfare, such as the first tactical use of railways and the telegraph.[21] The subsequentTreaty of Paris (1856) secured Ottoman control over theBalkan Peninsula and theBlack Sea basin. That lasted until defeat in theRusso-Turkish War of 1877–1878.
The Ottoman Empire took itsfirst foreign loans on 4 August 1854,[22] shortly after the beginning of the Crimean War.[23]
The war caused an exodus of theCrimean Tatars. From the total Tatar population of 300,000 in theTauride Province, about 200,000 Crimean Tatars moved to the Ottoman Empire in continuing waves of emigration.[24] Toward the end of theCaucasian Wars, 90% of theCircassians were exiled from their homelands in theCaucasus and settled in the Ottoman Empire.[25] During the 19th century, there was an exodus to present-day Turkey by a large portion of Muslim peoples from the Balkans, Caucasus,Crimea andCrete. By the early 19th century, as many as 45% of the islanders may have been Muslim, who had a great influence in molding the country's fundamental features. These people were calledMuhacir under a general definition.[26] By the time the Ottoman Empire came to an end in 1922, half of the urban population of Turkey was descended from Muslim refugees from Russia.[27] Crimean Tatar refugees in the late 19th century played an especially notable role in seeking to modernize Turkish education.[27]
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Influenced by the Age of Enlightenment and the rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire, theArmenian national liberation movement developed in the early 1860s. The factors contributing to its emergence made the movement similar to that of the Balkan nations, especially the Greeks. The Armenian elite andvarious militant groups sought to improve and defend the mostly rural Armenian population ofWestern Armenia the eastern Ottoman Empire from Muslims. The Armenian national liberation movement also sought torecreate an Armenian state in the Armenian-populated areas controlled at the time by the Ottoman and Russian empires.
Abdülaziz continued the Tanzimat and Islahat reforms. New administrative districts (vilayets) were set up in 1864 and a Council of State was established in 1868. Public education was organized on the French model andIstanbul University was reorganized as a modern institution in 1861. Abdülaziz was also the first sultan who traveled outside his empire. His 1867 trip included a visit to the United Kingdom. The Press and Journalism Regulation Code (Matbuat Nizamnamesi, 1864); among others.[17] 1876 the first international mailing network between Istanbul and the lands beyond the vast Ottoman Empire was established.[12] In 1901 the first money transfers were made through the post offices and the first cargo services became operational.[12] In 1868 homosexuality was decriminalised[28]
The Christianmillets gained privileges, such as in theArmenian National Constitution of 1863. ThisDivan-approved form of theCode of Regulations consisted of 150 articles drafted by the Armenian intelligentsia. Another institution was the newly formedArmenian National Assembly.[29] The Christian population of the empire, owing to their higher educational levels, started to pull ahead of the Muslim majority, leading to much resentment on the part of the latter.[27] In 1861, there were 571 primary and 94 secondary schools for Ottoman Christians with 140,000 pupils in total, a figure that vastly exceeded the number of Muslim children in school at the same time, who were further hindered by the amount of time spent learning Arabic and Islamic theology.[27] In turn, the higher educational levels of the Christians allowed them to play a large role in the economy.[27] In 1911, of the 654 wholesale companies in Istanbul, 528 were owned by ethnic Greeks.[27]
In 1871 the Ministry of Post and the Telegraph Administration were merged, becoming the Ministry of Post and Telegraph.[13] In July 1881 the first telephone circuit in Istanbul was established between the Ministry of Post and Telegraph in the Soğukçeşme quarter and the Postahane-i Amire in the Yenicami quarter.[16] On 23 May 1909, the first manualtelephone exchange with a 50 line capacity entered service in theBüyük Postane (Grand Post Office) inSirkeci.[16]
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The rise ofnational awakening of Bulgaria led to theBulgarian revival movement. UnlikeGreece andSerbia, the nationalist movement in Bulgaria did not concentrate initially on armed resistance against the Ottoman Empire. After the establishment of theBulgarian Exarchate on 28 February 1870, a large-scale armed struggle started to develop as late as the beginning of the 1870s with the establishment of theInternal Revolutionary Organisation and theBulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee, as well as the active involvement ofVasil Levski in both organizations. The struggle reached its peak with theApril Uprising of 1876 in several Bulgarian districts in Moesia, Thrace, and Macedonia. The suppression of the uprising and the atrocities committed by Ottoman soldiers against the civilian population increased the Bulgarian desire for independence.
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Because of the religious ties of the Albanian majority of the population with the ruling Ottomans and the lack of an Albanian state in past, nationalism was less developed among Albanians in the 19th century than among other southeast European nations. Only from the 1870s and onwards did a movement of 'national awakening' evolve among them - greatly delayed, compared to the Greeks and the Serbs. The 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War dealt a decisive blow to Ottoman power in the Balkan Peninsula. The Albanians' fear that the lands they inhabited would be partitioned among Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece fueled the rise of Albanian nationalism.[citation needed]
After the taking of its first loans, the Empire had taken further loans out in 1858, 1860, 1862, 1863, 1865, and every year between 1869 and 1874. But economic trouble loomed. ThePanic of 1873 depressed the economy, and poor harvests followed. Palace intrigues diverted political attention from the debt crisis. Finally, on October 6, 1875, the Empire suspended interest payments on its loans, and formally defaulted on October 30. The amount defaulted on was estimated at 224.5 million British Pounds (equivalent to £26,142,463,918 in 2023). But the entire income of the Empire had been a mere 21.7 million British pounds (equivalent to £2,644,715,464 in 2023), a ratio of 10.3.[7] For comparison, the modern debt to income ratio of the United States was around 7.8 in 2022.[30] The default on the Ottoman debt was met by outrage in European nations, to whom the debts were owed. The concerted efforts of the United Kingdom and France, whose citizens were the chief bondholders on the Ottoman debt, would lead to the creation of theOttoman Public Debt Administration in 1881. It would function as an independent arm of the Ottoman Bureaucracy, whose goal was to secure tax revenue to send back home to its citizen bondholders. Other represented nations were Germany, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, as well as internal Ottoman bondholders.[7] The Ottoman debt would prove to be a heavy weight on the Empire and only added to the other crises that emerged in the 1870s.[31]
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The reformist period peaked with the Constitution, called theKanûn-u Esâsî (meaning "Basic Law" in Ottoman Turkish), written by members of theYoung Ottomans, which was promulgated on 23 November 1876. It established the freedom of belief and equality of all citizens before the law. The empire'sFirst Constitutional era, was short-lived. But the idea ofOttomanism proved influential. A group of reformers known as theYoung Ottomans, primarily educated inWestern universities, believed that aconstitutional monarchy would give an answer to the empire's growing social unrest. Through amilitary coup in 1876, they forced SultanAbdülaziz (1861–1876) to abdicate in favour ofMurad V. However, Murad V was mentally ill and was deposed within a few months. His heir-apparent,Abdülhamid II (1876–1909), was invited to assume power on the condition that he would declare a constitutional monarchy, which he did on 23 November 1876. The parliament survived for only two years before the sultan suspended it. When forced to reconvene it, he abolished the representative body instead. This ended the effectiveness of theKanûn-ı Esâsî.
After Abdülaziz's dethronement, Murat was enthroned. It was hoped that he would sign the constitution. However, due to health problems, Murat was also dethroned after 93 days; he was the shortest reigning sultan of the Empire.[citation needed]
TheFirst Constitutional Era of theOttoman Empire was the period ofconstitutional monarchy from the promulgation of theKanûn-ı Esâsî (meaning "Basic Law" in Ottoman Turkish), written by members of theYoung Ottomans, on 23 November 1876 until 13 February 1878. The era ended with the suspension of the Ottoman parliament byAbdülhamid II.
TheRusso-Turkish War of 1877–1878 had its origins in a rise in nationalism in the Balkans as well as in theRussian goal of recovering territorial losses it had suffered during theCrimean War, reestablishing itself in theBlack Sea and following the political movement attempting to free Balkan nations from theOttoman Empire. As a result of the war, the principalities ofRomania,Serbia andMontenegro, each of which had hadde facto sovereignty for some time, formally proclaimed independence from theOttoman Empire. After almost half a millennium of Ottoman rule (1396–1878), the Bulgarian state was reestablished as thePrincipality of Bulgaria, covering the land between theDanube River and theBalkan Mountains (except NorthernDobrudja which was given to Romania) and the region ofSofia, which became the new state's capital. TheCongress of Berlin also allowedAustria-Hungary to occupyBosnia and Herzegovina andGreat Britain to take overCyprus, while the Russian Empire annexed SouthernBessarabia and theKars region.
TheCongress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a meeting of the leading statesmen of Europe's Great Powers and the Ottoman Empire. In the wake of theRusso-Turkish War (1877–1878) that ended with a decisive victory for Russia and her Orthodox Christian allies (subjects of the Ottoman Empire before the war) in theBalkan Peninsula, the urgent need was to stabilize and reorganize the Balkans, and set up new nations. German ChancellorOtto von Bismarck, who led the Congress, undertook to adjust boundaries to minimize the risks of major war, while recognizing the reduced power of the Ottomans, and balance the distinct interests of the great powers.
As a result, Ottoman holdings in Europe declined sharply;Bulgaria was established as an independent principality inside the Ottoman Empire, but was not allowed to keep all its previous territory. Bulgaria lostEastern Rumelia, which was restored to the Turks under a special administration; and Macedonia, which was returned outright to the Turks, who promised reform.Romania achieved full independence, but had to turn over part ofBessarabia to Russia.Serbia andMontenegro finally gained complete independence, but with smaller territories.
In 1878,Austria-Hungary unilaterally occupied the Ottoman provinces ofBosnia-Herzegovina andNovi Pazar, but the Ottoman government contested this move and maintained its troops in both provinces. The stalemate lasted for 30 years (Austrian and Ottoman forces coexisted in Bosnia and Novi Pazar for three decades) until 1908, when the Austrians took advantage of the political turmoil in the Ottoman Empire that stemmed from theYoung Turk Revolution andannexed Bosnia-Herzegovina, but pulled their troops out of Novi Pazar in order to reach a compromise and avoid a war with the Turks.
In return for British Prime MinisterBenjamin Disraeli's advocacy for restoring the Ottoman territories on the Balkan Peninsula during the Congress of Berlin, Britain assumed the administration ofCyprus in 1878[32] and later sent troops toEgypt in 1882 with the pretext of helping the Ottoman government to put down theUrabi Revolt; effectively gaining control in both territories (Britain formally annexed the still nominally Ottoman territories of Cyprus and Egypt on 5 November 1914, in response to the Ottoman Empire's decision to enter World War I on the side of theCentral Powers.) France, on its part, occupiedTunisia in 1881.
The results were first hailed as a great achievement in peacemaking and stabilization. However, most of the participants were not fully satisfied, and grievances regarding the results festered until they exploded intoworld war in 1914. Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece made gains, but far less than they thought they deserved. The Ottoman Empire called at the time the "Sick man of Europe", was humiliated and significantly weakened, rendering it more liable to domestic unrest and more vulnerable to attack. Although Russia had been victorious in the war that occasioned the conference, it was humiliated at Berlin, and resented its treatment. Austria gained a great deal of territory, which angered the South Slavs, and led to decades of tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bismarck became the target of hatred of Russian nationalists and Pan-Slavists and found that he had tied Germany too closely to Austria in the Balkans.[33]
In the long run, tensions between Russia and Austria-Hungary intensified, as did the nationality question in the Balkans. The Congress succeeded in keeping Istanbul in Ottoman hands. It effectively disavowed Russia's victory. The Congress of Berlin returned to the Ottoman Empire territories that the previous treaty had given to thePrincipality of Bulgaria, most notablyMacedonia, thus setting up a strong revanchist demand in Bulgaria that in 1912 led to theFirst Balkan War in which the Turks were defeated and lost nearly all of Europe. As the Ottoman Empire gradually shrank in size, military power, and wealth, many Balkan Muslims migrated to the empire's remaining territory in Balkans or to the heartland in Anatolia.[34][35] Muslims had been the majority in some parts of Ottoman Empire such as the Crimea, the Balkans, and the Caucasus as well as a plurality in southern Russia and also in some parts of Romania. Most of these lands were lost with time by the Ottoman Empire between the 19th and 20th centuries. By 1923, only Anatolia and easternThrace remained as the Muslim land.[36]
The reign ofAbdul Hamid II was pejoratively referred to asistibdad (despotism).[37] His reign struggled with the culmination of 75 years of change throughout the empire and an opposing reaction to that change.[27] He was particularly concerned with the centralization of the empire.[38] His efforts to centralize the Sublime Porte were not unheard of among other sultans. The Ottoman Empire's local provinces had more control over their areas than the central government. Abdul Hamid II's foreign relations came from a "policy of non-commitment".[39] The sultan understood the fragility of the Ottoman military, and the Empire's weaknesses of its domestic control.[39] Pan-Islamism became Abdülhamid's solution to the empire's loss of identity and power.[40] His efforts to promote Pan-Islamism were for the most part unsuccessful because of the large non-Muslim population, and the European influence onto the empire.[38] His policies essentially isolated the Empire, which further aided in its decline. Several of the elite who sought a new constitution and reform for the empire were forced to flee to Europe.[38] New groups of radicals began to threaten the power of the Ottoman Empire.
After gaining some amount of autonomy during the early 1800s, Egypt had entered into a period of political turmoil by the 1880s. In April 1882, British and French warships appeared inAlexandria to support thekhedive and prevent the country from falling into the hands of anti-European nationals.
In August 1882 British forces invaded and occupiedEgypt on the pretext of bringing order. The British supportedKhedive Tewfiq and restored stability, which was especially beneficial to British and French financial interests.Egypt and Sudan remained as Ottoman provincesde jure until 1914, when the Ottoman Empire joined theCentral Powers of World War I. Great Britain officially annexed these two provinces andCyprus in response.
In 1867, theCouncil of States took charge of drawing population tables, increasing the precision of population records. They introduced new measures of recording population counts in 1874. This led to the establishment of a General Population Administration, attached to the Ministry of Interior in 1881-1882.
The first official census (1881–93) took 10 years to finish. In 1893, the results were compiled and presented. This census is the first modern, general, and standardized census accomplished not for taxation nor for military purposes, but to acquire demographic data. The population was divided into ethno-religious and gender characteristics. Numbers of both male and female subjects are given in ethno-religious categories including Muslims, Greeks, Armenians, Bulgarians, Catholics, Jews, Protestants, Latins, Syriacs and Gypsies.[41][42]
Although granted their ownconstitution andnational assembly with the Tanzimat reforms, the Armenians attempted to demand implementation of Article 61 from the Ottoman government as agreed upon at the Congress of Berlin in 1878.[44]
During 1880 - 1881, while the Armenian national liberation movement was in its early stage; lack of outside support and inability to maintain a trained, organized Kurdish force diminished Kurdish aspirations. However, two prominent Kurdish families (tribes) mounted opposition to the empire, based more on an ethno-nationalistic standpoint. The Badr Khans were secessionists while the Sayyids of Nihiri were autonomists. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 was followed in 1880 - 1881 by the attempt of Shaykh Ubayd Allah ofNihri to found an "independent Kurd principality" around the Ottoman-Persian border (including the Van Vilayet) where Armenian population was significant. Shaykh Ubayd Allah of Nihri gathered 20,000 fighters.[45] Lacking discipline, his man left the ranks after pillaging and acquiring riches from the villages in the region (indiscriminately, including Armenian villages). Shaykh Ubayd Allah of Nihri was captured by the Ottoman forces in 1882 and this movement ended.[45]
TheBashkaleh clash was the bloody encounter between theArmenakan Party and the Ottoman Empire in May 1889. Its name comes fromBaşkale, a border town ofVan Eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. The event was important, as it was reflected on main Armenian newspapers as the recovered documents on the Armenakans showed an extensive plot for a national movement.[46] Ottoman officials believed that the men were members of a large revolutionary apparatus and the discussion was reflected in newspapers, (Eastern Express, Oriental Advertiser, Saadet, and Tarik) and the responses were on the Armenian papers. In some Armenian circles, this event was considered martyrdom and brought other armed conflicts.[47] The Bashkaleh Resistance was on the Persian border, which the Armenakans were in communication withArmenians in the Persian Empire. TheGugunian Expedition, which followed within a couple of months, was an attempt by a small group of Armenian nationalists from theRussian Armenia to launch an armed expedition across the border into the Ottoman Empire in 1890 in support of local Armenians.
TheKum Kapu demonstration occurred at the Armenian quarter of Kum Kapu, the seat of the Armenian Patriarch, was spared through the prompt action of the commandant, Hassan Aga.[48] On 27 July 1890,Harutiun Jangülian,Mihran Damadian andHambartsum Boyajian interrupted the Armenian mass to read amanifesto and denounce the indifference of theArmenian patriarch andArmenian National Assembly. Harutiun Jangülian (member fromVan) tried to assassinate the Patriarch of Istanbul. The goal was to persuade the Armenian clerics to bring their policies into alignment with national politics. They soon forced the patriarch to join the procession heading to theYıldız Palace to demand implementation of Article 61 of theTreaty of Berlin. It is significant that this massacre, in which 6000 Armenians are said to have perished, was not the result of a general rising of the Muslim population.[48] The Softas took no part in it, and many Armenians found refuge in the Muslim sections of the city.[48]
The Kurdish (force, rebels, bandits) sacked neighboring towns and villages with impunity.[49]
The central assumption of the Hamidiye system—Kurdish tribes (Kurdish chiefdoms cited among Armenian security concerns) could be brought under military discipline—proved to be "Utopian". ThePersian Cossack Brigade later proved that it can function as an independent unit, but the Ottoman example, which was modeled after, never replaced the tribal loyalty to Ottoman Sultan or even to its establishing unit.
In 1892, first time a trained and organized Kurdish force encouraged by the Sultan Abdul Hamid II. There are several reasons advanced as to why the Hamidiye light cavalry was created. The establishment of the Hamidiye was in one part a response to the Russian threat, but scholars believe that the central reason was to suppressArmenian socialist/nationalist revolutionaries.[50] The Armenian revolutionaries posed a threat because they were seen as disruptive, and they could work with the Russians against the Ottoman Empire.[50] The Hamidiye corps or Hamidiye Light Cavalry Regiments were well-armed, irregular, majorityKurdish cavalry (minor amounts of other nationalities, such as Turcoman) formations that operated in the eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire.[51] They were intended to be modeled after theCaucasian Cossack Regiments (example Persian Cossack Brigade) and were firstly tasked to patrol the Russo-Ottoman frontier[52] and secondly, to reduce the potential of Kurdish-Armenian cooperation.[53] The Hamidiye Cavalry was in no way a cross-tribal force, despite their military appearance, organization, and potential.[54] Hamidiye quickly find out that they could only be tried through a military court martial[55] They became immune to civil administration. Realizing their immunity, they turned their tribes into "legalized robber brigades" as they steal grain, reap fields not of their possession, drive off herds, and openly steal from shopkeepers.[56] Some argue that the creation of the Hamidiye "further antagonized the Armenian population" and it worsened the very conflict they were created to prevent.[57]
Kurdish chieftains also taxed the population of the region in sustaining these units, which Armenians perceived as exploitation. When Armenian spokesmen confronted the Kurdish chieftain (issue of double taxation), it brought about the enmity between both populations. The Hamidiye cavalry harassed and assaulted Armenians.[58]
In 1908, after the overthrow of the Sultan, the Hamidiye Cavalry was disbanded as an organized force, but as they were "tribal forces" before official recognition, they stayed as "tribal forces" after dismemberment. The Hamidiye Cavalry is described as a military disappointment and a failure because of its contribution to tribal feuds.[59]
A major role in theHamidian massacres of 1894-96 has been often ascribed to theHamidiye regiments, particularly during the bloody suppression of Sasun (1894). On July 25, 1897 the Khanasor Expedition was against the Kurdish Mazrik tribe (Muzuri Kurds) who owned a significant portion of this cavalry. The first notable battle in the Armenian resistance movement took place inSassoun, where nationalist ideals were proliferated byHunchak activists, such asMihran Damadian,Hampartsoum Boyadjian, and Hrayr. TheArmenian Revolutionary Federation also played a significant role in arming the people of the region. The Armenians of Sassoun confronted the Ottoman army andKurdish irregulars at Sassoun, succumbing to superior numbers.[60] This was followed byZeitun Rebellion (1895–1896), which between the years 1891 and 1895, Hunchak activists toured various regions ofCilicia andZeitun to encourage resistance, and established new branches of theSocial Democrat Hunchakian Party.
In this area, something resembling a civil war between Armenians and Muslims (involving Hamidiye (cavalry)) raged for months before being brought to an end through mediation by the Great Powers. However, instead of Armenian autonomy in these regions, Kurds (Kurdish tribal chiefs) retained much of their autonomy and power.[61] The Abdulhamid made little attempt to alter the traditional power structure of "segmented, agrarian Kurdish societies" – agha, shayk, and tribal chief.[61] Because of their geographical position at the southern and eastern fringe of the empire and mountainous topography, and limited transportation and communication system.[61] The state had little access to these provinces and were forced to make informal agreements with tribal chiefs, for instance, the Ottoman qadi and mufti did not have jurisdiction over religious law which bolstered Kurdish authority and autonomy.[61]
The1896 Ottoman Bank takeover was perpetrated by an Armenian group armed withpistols,grenades,dynamite and hand-held bombs against theOttoman Bank inIstanbul. The seizure of the bank lasted 14 hours, resulting in the deaths of 10 of the Armenian men and Ottoman soldiers. The Ottoman reaction to the takeover saw further massacres and pogroms of the several thousand Armenians living in Constantinople and SultanAbdul Hamid II threatening to level the entire building itself. However, intervention on part of the European diplomats in the city managed to persuade the men to give, assigning safe passage to the survivors to France. Despite the level of violence, the incident had wrought, the takeover was reported positively in the European press, praising the men for their courage and the objectives they attempted to accomplish.[62]
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Economically, the empire had difficulty in repaying theOttoman public debt to European banks, which caused the establishment of theCouncil of Administration of the Ottoman Public Debt. By the end of the 19th century, the main reason the empire was not overrun by Western powers was their attempt to maintain abalance of power in the area. Both Austria and Russia wanted to increase their spheres of influence and territory at the expense of the Ottoman Empire but were kept in check mostly by Britain, which feared Russian dominance in theEastern Mediterranean.
the Ottomans were able largely to maintain military parity until taken by surprise both on land and at sea in the Russian war from 1768 to 1774.
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