Part ofa series on the |
|---|
| History of the Ottoman Empire |
.svg) |
| Timeline (Territorial evolution) |
Rise(1299–1453) |
Classical Age(1453–1566)
|
Transformation(1566–1703)
|
Old Regime(1703–1789)
|
Decline and Modernization(1789–1908)
|
Dissolution(1908–1922)
|
| Historiography (Ghaza,Decline) |
TheOttoman Empire was founded c. 1299 byTurkoman chieftainOsman I as a smallbeylik in northwesternAnatolia just south of theByzantine capitalConstantinople. In 1326, theOttoman Turks captured nearbyBursa, cutting off Asia Minor from Byzantine control and making Bursa their capital. The Ottoman Turks first crossed into Europe in 1352, establishing a permanent settlement atÇimpe Castle on theDardanelles in 1354 and moving their capital toEdirne (Adrianople) in 1369. At the same time, thenumerous small Turkic states inAsia Minor were assimilated into the buddingOttoman Sultanate through conquest or declarations of allegiance.
As SultanMehmed IIconquered Constantinople (today namedIstanbul) in 1453, transforming it into the new Ottoman capital, the state grew into a substantial empire, expanding deep into Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East. With most of theBalkans under Ottoman rule by the mid-16th century, Ottoman territory increased exponentially under SultanSelim I, who assumed theCaliphate in 1517 as the Ottomans turned east and conquered westernArabia, Egypt,Mesopotamia and theLevant, among other territories. Within the next few decades, much of the North African coast (except Morocco) became part of the Ottoman realm.
The empire reached its apex underSuleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century, when it stretched from thePersian Gulf in the east toAlgeria in the west, and fromYemen in the south toHungary and parts ofUkraine in the north. According to theOttoman decline thesis, Suleiman's reign was the zenith of the Ottoman classical period, during which Ottoman culture, arts, and political influence flourished. The empire reached its maximum territorial extent in 1683, on the eve of theBattle of Vienna.
From 1699 onwards, the Ottoman Empire began to lose territory over the course of the next two centuries due to internal stagnation, costly defensive wars, European colonialism, andnationalist revolts among its multiethnic subjects. In any case, the need to modernise was evident to the empire's leaders by the early 19th century, and numerous administrative reforms were implemented in an attempt to forestall the decline of the empire, with varying degrees of success. The gradual weakening of the Ottoman Empire gave rise to theEastern Question in the mid-19th century.
The empire came to an end in the aftermath of its defeat inWorld War I, when its remaining territory waspartitioned by theAllies. The sultanate was officially abolished by theGovernment of the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara on 1 November 1922 following theTurkish War of Independence. Throughout its more than 600 years of existence, the Ottoman Empire has left a profound legacy in the Middle East andSoutheast Europe, as can be seen in the customs, culture, and cuisine of the various countries that were once part of its realm.
With the end of theFirst World War and theDissolution of the Ottoman Empire, questions arose in a geopolitical and historical context about the reasons for the emergence and decline of theOttomans, the reasons for the emergence and decline of their empire and how both events were defined. On the eve ofWorld War II, the geographical position and the geopolitical weight ofTurkey, the major historical heir to the Ottoman Empire, gave weight to the issues as propaganda. The first item on the agenda of theTehran conference was the issue of Turkey's participation in World War II by the end of 1943.[1]
With the demise of theSeljukSultanate of Rum during 12th to 13th century,Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent states, the so-calledAnatolian Beyliks. For the next few decades, these Beyliks were under the sovereignty of Mongolians and their Iranian Kingdom Ilkhanids. By 1300, a weakenedByzantine Empire had lost most of its Anatolian provinces to these Turkish principalities. One of the beyliks was led byOsman I (d. 1323/4), from which the name Ottoman is derived, son ofErtuğrul, aroundEskişehir in western Anatolia. In the foundation myth expressed in the story known as "Osman's Dream", the young Osman was inspired to conquest by a prescient vision of empire (according to his dream, the empire is a big tree whose roots spread through three continents and whose branches cover the sky).[2] According to his dream the tree, which was Osman's Empire, issued four rivers from its roots, theTigris, theEuphrates, theNile and theDanube.[2] Additionally, the tree shaded four mountain ranges, theCaucasus, theTaurus, theAtlas and theBalkan ranges.[2] During his reign as Sultan, Osman I extended the frontiers of Turkish settlement toward the edge of theByzantine Empire.
During this period, a formalOttoman government was created whose institutions would change drastically over the life of the empire.
In the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over the Eastern Mediterranean and theBalkans. Osman's son,Orhan, captured the city ofBursa in 1326 and made it the new capital of the Ottoman state. The fall of Bursa meant the loss of Byzantine control over Northwestern Anatolia.
After securing their flank in Asia Minor, the Ottomans then crossed into Europe from 1352 onwards; within a decade, almost all of Thrace had been conquered by the Ottomans, cutting offConstantinople from its Balkan hinterlands. The Ottoman capital was moved to AdrianopleEdirne in 1369. The important city ofThessaloniki was captured from theVenetians in 1387. The Ottoman victory atKosovo in 1389 effectively markedthe end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe. TheBattle of Nicopolis in 1396, widely regarded as the last large-scalecrusade of theMiddle Ages, failed to stop the advance of the victorious Ottoman Turks. With the extension of Turkish dominion into the Balkans, the strategicconquest of Constantinople became a crucial objective. The Empire controlled nearly all formerByzantine lands surrounding the city, but theByzantines were temporarily relieved whenTimur invaded Anatolia in theBattle of Ankara in 1402. He took SultanBayezid I as a prisoner. The capture of Bayezid I threw the Turks into disorder. The state fell into a civil war that lasted from 1402 to 1413, as Bayezid's sons fought over succession. It ended whenMehmed I emerged as the sultan and restored Ottoman power, bringing an end to theInterregnum.
.png)
Part of the Ottoman territories in the Balkans (such as Thessaloniki, Macedonia and Kosovo) were temporarily lost after 1402, but were later recovered byMurad II between the 1430s and 1450s. On 10 November 1444, Murad II defeated theHungarian,Polish andWallachian armies underWładysław III of Poland (also King of Hungary) andJános Hunyadi at theBattle of Varna, which was the final battle of theCrusade of Varna.[3][4] Four years later, János Hunyadi prepared another army (of Hungarian and Wallachian forces) to attack the Turks, but was again defeated by Murad II at theSecond Battle of Kosovo in 1448.
The son of Murad II,Mehmed the Conqueror, reorganized the state and the military, and demonstrated his martial prowess by capturingConstantinople on 29 May 1453, at the age of 21.
 | This sectioncontains too many images for its overall length. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page. Please helpimprove this article by removingindiscriminate collections of images or by adjusting images that aresandwiching text in accordance with Wikipedia'sManual of Style. (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The Ottoman conquest ofConstantinople in 1453 by Mehmed II cemented the status of the Empire as the preeminent power in southeastern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. After taking Constantinople, Mehmed met with the Orthodox patriarch, Gennadios and worked out an arrangement in which theEastern Orthodox Church, in exchange for being able to maintain its autonomy and land, accepted Ottoman authority.[5] Because of bad relations between the latter Byzantine Empire and the states of western Europe as epitomized byLoukas Notaras's famous remark "Better the Sultan's turban than the Cardinal's Hat", the majority of the Orthodox population accepted Ottoman rule as preferable to Venetian rule.[5]
Upon making Constantinople (present-dayIstanbul) the new capital of the Ottoman Empire in 1453, Mehmed II assumed the title ofKayser-i Rûm (literallyCaesar Romanus, i.e. Roman Emperor.) In order to consolidate this claim, he would launch a campaign to conquer Rome, the western capital of the formerRoman Empire. To this aim he spent many years securing positions on theAdriatic Sea, such as inAlbania Veneta, and then continued with theOttoman invasion of Otranto andApulia on 28 July 1480. The Turks stayed inOtranto and its surrounding areas for nearly a year, but after Mehmed II's death on 3 May 1481, plans for penetrating deeper into theItalian peninsula with fresh new reinforcements were given up on and cancelled and the remaining Ottoman troops sailed back to the east of the Adriatic Sea.
During this period in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Ottoman Empire entered along period of conquest and expansion, extending its borders deep into Europe and North Africa. Conquests on land were driven by the discipline and innovation of the Ottoman military; and on the sea, the Ottoman Navy aided this expansion significantly. The navy also contested and protected key seagoing trade routes, in competition with the Italian city states in theBlack,Aegean andMediterranean seas and the Portuguese in theRed Sea andIndian Ocean.
The state also flourished economically due to its control of the major overland trade routes between Europe and Asia.[6]
The Empire prospered under the rule of a line of committed and effectiveSultans. SultanSelim I (1512–1520) dramatically expanded the Empire's eastern and southern frontiers by defeatingShah Ismail I ofSafavidPersia, in 1514 at theBattle of Chaldiran.[7] Selim I establishedOttoman rule in Egypt, and created a naval presence on theRed Sea. After this Ottoman expansion, a competition started between thePortuguese Empire and the Ottoman Empire to become the dominant power in the region.[8] This conquest ended with the execution ofTuman Bay II.
Selim's successor,Suleiman the Magnificent (1520–1566), further expanded upon Selim's conquests. After capturingBelgrade in 1521, Suleiman conquered the southern and central parts of theKingdom of Hungary (the western, northern and northeastern parts remained independent).[9][10]
After his victory in theBattle of Mohács in 1526, he establishedTurkish rule in the territory of present-day Hungary (except the western region) and other Central European territories, (See also:Ottoman–Hungarian Wars). He then laidsiege to Vienna in 1529, but failed to take the city after the onset of winter forced his retreat.[11]
In 1532, he made anotherattack on Vienna, but was repulsed in theSiege of Güns, 97 kilometres (60 mi) south of the city at the fortress ofGüns.[12][13] In the other version of the story, the city's commander,Nikola Jurišić, was offered terms for a nominal surrender.[14] However, Suleiman withdrew at the arrival of the August rains and did not continue towards Vienna as previously planned, but turned homeward instead.[14][15]
After further advances by the Turks in 1543, the Habsburg rulerFerdinand officially recognized Ottoman ascendancy in Hungary in 1547. During the reign of Suleiman,Transylvania,Wallachia and, intermittently,Moldavia, became tributary principalities of the Ottoman Empire. In the east, the Ottoman Turks tookBaghdad from the Persians in 1535, gaining control ofMesopotamia and naval access to thePersian Gulf. By the end of Suleiman's reign, the Empire's population totaled about 15,000,000 people.[16]
Under Selim andSuleiman the Magnificent, the Empire became a dominant naval force, controlling much of the Mediterranean.[17] The exploits of the Ottoman admiralBarbarossa Hayreddin Pasha, who commanded theOttoman Navy during Suleiman's reign, led to a number of military victories over Christian navies. Important naval victories of the Ottoman Empire in this period include theBattle of Preveza (1538);Battle of Ponza (1552);Battle of Djerba (1560); conquest ofAlgiers (in1516 and1529) andTunis (in1534 and1574) from Spain; conquest ofRhodes (1522) andTripoli (1551) from theKnights of St. John; capture ofNice (1543) from theHoly Roman Empire; capture ofCorsica (1553) from theRepublic of Genoa; capture of theBalearic Islands (1558) from Spain; capture ofAden (1548),Muscat (1552) andAceh (1565–67) from Portugal during theIndian Ocean expeditions; among others.
The conquests ofNice (1543) andCorsica (1553) occurred on behalf of France as a joint venture between the forces of the French kingFrancis I and the Ottoman sultanSuleiman I, and were commanded by the Ottoman admiralsBarbarossa Hayreddin Pasha andTurgut Reis.[18] A month prior to the siege of Nice, France supported the Ottomans with an artillery unit during the Ottomanconquest of Esztergom in 1543.France and the Ottoman Empire, united by mutual opposition to Habsburg rule in both Southern and Central Europe, became strong allies during this period. The alliance was economic and military, as the sultans granted France the right of trade within the Empire without levy of taxation. By this time, the Ottoman Empire was a significant and accepted part of the European political sphere. It made a military alliance with France, theKingdom of England and theDutch Republic againstHabsburg Spain, Italy andHabsburg Austria.
Suleiman I's policy of expansion throughout the Mediterranean basin was however halted inMalta in 1565. During a summer-long siege which was later to be known as theSiege of Malta, the Ottoman forces which numbered around 50,000 fought theKnights of St. John and the Maltese garrison of 6000 men. Stubborn resistance by the Maltese led to the lifting of the siege in September. The unsuccessful siege (the Turks managed to capture the Isle ofGozo together withFort Saint Elmo on the main island of Malta, but failed elsewhere and retreated) was the second and last defeat experienced by Suleiman the Magnificent after the likewise inconclusivefirst Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1529. Suleiman I died of natural causes in his tent during theSiege of Szigetvár in 1566. TheBattle of Lepanto in 1571 (which was triggered by theOttoman capture of Venetian-controlled Cyprus in 1570) was another major setback for Ottoman naval supremacy in the Mediterranean Sea, despite the fact that an equally large Ottoman fleet was built in a short time andTunisia was recovered from Spain in 1574.
As the 16th century progressed, Ottoman naval superiority was challenged by the growing sea powers of western Europe, particularly Portugal, in thePersian Gulf, Indian Ocean and theSpice Islands. With the Ottoman Turks blockading sea-lanes to the East and South, the European powers were driven to find another way to the ancient silk and spice routes, now under Ottoman control. On land, the Empire was preoccupied bymilitary campaigns in Austria and Persia, two widely separated theatres of war. The strain of these conflicts on the Empire's resources, and the logistics of maintaining lines of supply and communication across such vast distances, ultimately rendered its sea efforts unsustainable and unsuccessful. The overriding military need for defence on the western and eastern frontiers of the Empire eventually made effective long-term engagement on a global scale impossible.[citation needed]
 | Some of this section'slisted sourcesmay not bereliable. Please help improve this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed.(September 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
European states initiated efforts at this time to curb Ottoman control of the traditional overland trade routes between East Asia and Western Europe, which started with theSilk Road. Western European states began to avoid the Ottoman trade monopoly by establishing their own maritime routes to Asiathrough new discoveries at sea. ThePortuguese discovery of theCape of Good Hope in 1488 initiateda series of Ottoman–Portuguese naval wars in the Indian Ocean throughout the 16th century. Economically, thePrice Revolution caused rampant inflation in both Europe and the Middle East. This had serious negative consequences at all levels of Ottoman society.
The expansion ofMuscovite Russia underIvan IV (1533–1584) into the Volga and Caspian region at the expense of the Tatar khanates disrupted the northern pilgrimage and trade routes. A highly ambitious plan to counter this conceived bySokollu Mehmed Pasha, Grand Vizier underSelim II, in the shape of a Don-Volga canal (begun June 1569), combined with an attack on Astrakhan, failed, the canal being abandoned with the onset of winter. Henceforth the Empire returned to its existing strategy of utilizing the Crimean Khanate as its bulwark against Russia.[19] In 1571, the Crimean khanDevlet I Giray, supported by the Ottomans,burned Moscow.[20] The next year, the invasion was repeated but repelled at theBattle of Molodi. TheCrimean Khanate continued to invade Eastern Europe in a series ofslave raids,[21] and remained a significant power in Eastern Europe and a threat to Muscovite Russia in particular until the end of the 17th century.[22]
In southern Europe, a coalition of Catholic powers, led byPhilip II of Spain, formed an alliance to challenge Ottoman naval strength in the Mediterranean. Their victory over the Ottoman fleet at theBattle of Lepanto (1571) was a startling blow to the image of Ottoman invincibility. However, historians today stress the symbolic and not the strictly military significance of the battle, for within six months of the defeat a new Ottoman fleet of some 250 sail including eight moderngalleasses[23] had been built, with the shipyards of Istanbul turning out a new ship every day at the height of the construction. In discussions with a Venetian minister, the Ottoman Grand Vizier commented: "In capturing Cyprus from you, we have cut off one of your arms; in defeating our fleet you have merely shaved off our beard".[23] The Ottoman naval recovery persuaded Venice to sign a peace treaty in 1573, and the Ottomans were able to expand and consolidate their position in North Africa.[24] However, what could not be replaced were the experienced naval officers and sailors. The Battle of Lepanto was far more damaging to the Ottoman navy in sapping experienced manpower than the loss of ships, which were rapidly replaced.[25]
By contrast, theHabsburg frontier had settled into a reasonably permanent border, marked only by relatively minor battles concentrating on the possession of individual fortresses. The stalemate was caused by a stiffening of the Habsburg defences[26] and reflected simple geographical limits: in the pre-mechanized age,Vienna marked the furthest point that an Ottoman army could march from Istanbul during the early spring to late autumn campaigning season. It also reflected the difficulties imposed on the Empire by the need to support two separate fronts: one against the Austrians (see:Ottoman wars in Europe), and the other against a rival Islamic state, theSafavids of Persia (see:Ottoman wars in Near East).
Changes in European military tactics and weaponry in themilitary revolution caused theSipahi cavalry to lose military relevance. TheLong War against Austria (1593–1606) created the need for greater numbers of infantry equipped with firearms. This resulted in a relaxation of recruitment policy and a significant growth inJanissary corps numbers. Irregular sharpshooters (Sekban) were also recruited for the same reasons and on demobilization turned to brigandage in theJelali revolts (1595–1610), which engendered widespread anarchy in Anatolia in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.[27] With the Empire's population reaching 30,000,000 people by 1600, shortage of land placed further pressure on the government.[28]
However, the 17th century was not an era of stagnation and decline, but a key period in which the Ottoman state and its structures began to adapt to new pressures and new realities, internal and external. TheSultanate of women (1534–1683) was a period in which the political influence of theImperial Harem was dominant, as the mothers of young sultans exercised power on behalf of their sons. This was not wholly unprecedented;Hürrem Sultan, who established herself in the early 1530s as the successor ofHafsa, the firstvalide sultan, was described by the Venetianbaylo Andrea Giritti as "a woman of the utmost goodness, courage and wisdom" even though she "thwarted some while rewarding others".[29] But the inadequacy ofIbrahim I (1640–1648) and the minority accession ofMehmed IV in 1646 created a significant crisis of rule, which the dominant women of theImperial Harem filled. The most prominent women of this period wereKösem Sultan and her daughter-in-lawTurhan Hatice, whose political rivalry culminated in Kösem's murder in 1651.[30]
This period gave way to the highly significantKöprülü Era (1656–1703), during which effective control of the Empire was exercised by a sequence ofGrand Viziers from the Köprülü family. On 15 September 1656 the octogenarianKöprülü Mehmed Pasha accepted the seals of office having received guarantees from the ValideTurhan Hatice of unprecedented authority and freedom from interference. A fierce conservative disciplinarian, he successfully reasserted the central authority and the empire's military impetus. This continued under his son and successorKöprülü Fazıl Ahmed (Grand Vizier 1661–1676).[31] The Köprülü Vizierate saw renewed military success with authority restored inTransylvania, the conquest ofCrete completed in 1669 and expansion into Polish southernUkraine, with the strongholds ofKhotyn andKamianets-Podilskyi and the territory ofPodolia ceding to Ottoman control in 1676.[32]
This period of renewed assertiveness came to a calamitous end when Grand VizierKara Mustafa Pasha in May 1683 led a huge army to attempt a second Ottoman siege of Vienna in theGreat Turkish War of 1683–1699. The final assault being fatally delayed, the Ottoman forces were swept away by allied Habsburg, German and Polish forces spearheaded by the Polish kingJan[33] at theBattle of Vienna.
The alliance of theHoly League pressed home the advantage of the defeat at Vienna and, thus, fifteen (15) years of see-sawing warfare, culminated in the epochalTreaty of Karlowitz (26 January 1699), which ended the Great Turkish War.[34] For the first time, the Ottoman Empire surrendered control of significant European territories (many permanently), includingOttoman Hungary.[35] The Empire had reached the end of its ability to effectively conduct an assertive, expansionist policy against its European rivals and it was to be forced from this point to adopt an essentially defensive strategy within this theatre.
Only two Sultans in this period personally exercised strong political and military control of the Empire: the vigorousMurad IV (1612–1640) recapturedYerevan (1635) and Baghdad (1639) from theSafavids and reasserted central authority, albeit during a brief majority reign.Mustafa II (1695–1703) led the Ottoman counterattack of 1695–96 against the Habsburgs in Hungary, but was undone at the disastrous defeat atZenta (11 September 1697).[36]
During this period threats to the Ottoman Empire were presented by the traditional foe—the Austrian Empire—as well as by a new foe—the rising Russian Empire. Certain areas of the Empire, such asEgypt and Algeria, became independent in all but name, and later came under the influence ofBritain and France. Later, in the 18th century, centralized authority within the Ottoman Empire gave way to varying degrees of provincial autonomy enjoyed by local governors and leaders.
However, Russian expansion presented a large and growing threat.[37] Accordingly, KingCharles XII of Sweden was welcomed as an ally in the Ottoman Empire following his defeat by the Russians at theBattle of Poltava in 1709 (part of theGreat Northern War of 1700–1721.)[37] Charles XII persuaded the Ottoman SultanAhmed III to declare war on Russia, which resulted in the Ottoman victory at thePruth River Campaign of 1710–1711.[38] Following theAustro-Turkish War (1716–1718), the subsequentTreaty of Passarowitz signed on 21 July 1718, brought a period of peace between wars. However, the Treaty also revealed that the Ottoman Empire was on the defensive and unlikely to present any further aggression in Europe.[39]
During theTulip Era (1718–1730), named for Sultan Ahmed III's love of thetulip flower and its use to symbolize his peaceful reign, the Empire's policy towards Europe underwent a shift. The Empire began to improve the fortifications of its cities in the Balkan peninsula to act as a defence against European expansionism. Cultural works, fine arts and architecture flourished, with more elaborate styles that were influenced by theBaroque andRococo movements in Europe. A classic example is theFountain of Ahmed III in front of theTopkapı Palace. The famousFlemish-French painterJean-Baptiste van Mour visited the Ottoman Empire during the Tulip Era and crafted some of the most renowned works of art depicting scenes from daily life in the Ottoman society and the imperial court.[40]
Upon the death of Peter the Great in 1725, Catherine, Peter's wife succeeded to the throne of the Russian Empire as Czarina Catherine I. Together with Austria, Russia, under Empress Anne, Catherine I's niece, engaged in a war against the Ottoman Empire from 1735 until 1739. TheTreaty of Belgrade signed on 18 September 1739, ended this war and resulted in Ottoman recovery ofBelgrade and other territories from Austria, but the loss of the port of Azov to the Russians. However following the Treaty of Belgrade, the Ottoman Empire was able to enjoy a generation of peace as Austria and Russia were forced to deal with the rise of the Prussians under King Frederick the Great.[41]
This long period of Ottoman peace and, indeed, stagnation is typically characterized by historians as an era of failed reforms.[citation needed] In the latter part of this period there wereeducational and technological reforms, including the establishment of higher education institutions such as theIstanbul Technical University.[42] Ottomanscience and technology had been highly regarded in medieval times, as a result of Ottoman scholars' synthesis of classical learning with Islamic philosophy and mathematics, and knowledge of such Chinese advances in technology as gunpowder and the magnetic compass. By this period, though, the influences had become regressive and conservative. In 1734, when an artillery school was established with French teachers in order to impart Western-style artillery methods, the Islamic clergy successfully objected under the grounds oftheodicy.[43] Not until 1754 was the artillery school reopened on a semi-secret basis.[43] Earlier, theguilds of writers had denounced theprinting press as "the Devil's Invention", and were responsible for a 53-year lag between its invention byJohannes Gutenberg in Europe in c. 1440 and its introduction to the Ottoman society with the first Gutenberg press in Istanbul that was established by theSephardic Jews of Spain in 1493 (who had migrated to the Ottoman Empire a year earlier, escaping from theSpanish Inquisition of 1492.) However, the printing press was used only by the non-Muslims in the Ottoman Empire until the 18th century. In 1726,Ibrahim Muteferrika convinced theGrand VizierNevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha, theGrand Mufti, and the clergy on the efficiency of the printing press, and later submitted a request to Sultan Ahmed III, who granted Muteferrika the permission to publish non-religious books (despite opposition from somecalligraphers and religious leaders.)[44] Muteferrika's press published its first book in 1729, and, by 1743, issued 17 works in 23 volumes (each having between 500 and 1,000 copies.)[44][45]
Other tentative reforms were also enacted:taxes were lowered, there were attempts to improve the image of the Ottoman state, and the first instances of private investment and entrepreneurship occurred.
Following the period of peace, which had lasted since 1739, Russia began to assert its expansionistic desires again in 1768. Under the pretext of pursuing fugitive Polish revolutionaries, Russian troops enteredBalta an Ottoman-controlled city on the border of Bessarabia and massacred its citizens and burned the town to the ground.[46] This action provoked the Ottoman Empire into theRusso-Turkish War (1768–1774), during which, in January 1769, a 70-thousand Turkish-Tatar army led by the Crimean KhanQırım Giray made one of the largestslave raids in the history, which was repulsed by the 6-thousand garrison of theFortress of St. Elizabeth, which prevented Ottoman Empire from further progress. After that, the Ottomans were pushed back to the shores of the Black Sea by the troops of GeneralRumyantsev. TheTreaty of Küçük Kaynarca of 1774 ended the Russo-Turkish War (1768-1774) and allowed that the Christian citizens of the Ottoman-controlled Rumanian provinces of Wallachia and Moldavia would be allowed freedom to worship.[47] Russia was made the guarantor of their right to Christian worship.
A series ofwars were fought between theRussian and Ottoman empires from the 18th to the 19th century. By the late 18th century, a number of defeats in several wars with Russia led some people in the Ottoman Empire to conclude that the reforms ofPeter the Great had given the Russians an edge, and the Ottomans would have to keep up with Western technology in order to avoid further defeats.[43]
Ottoman military reform efforts begin withSelim III (1789–1807) who made the first major attempts to modernize the army along European lines. These efforts, however, were hampered by reactionary movements, partly from the religious leadership, but primarily from the Janissary corps, who had become anarchic and ineffectual. Jealous of their privileges and firmly opposed to change, they created aJanissary revolt. Selim's efforts cost him his throne and his life, but were resolved in spectacular and bloody fashion by his successor, the dynamicMahmud II, whoeliminated the Janissary corps in 1826.
.jpg)
TheSerbian revolution (1804–1815) marked the beginning of an era ofnational awakening in theBalkans during theEastern Question.Suzerainty of Serbia as a hereditary monarchy under its owndynasty was acknowledgedde jure in 1830.[48][49] In 1821, theGreeksdeclared war on the Sultan. A rebellion that originated in Moldavia as a diversion was followed by the main revolution in thePeloponnese, which, along with the northern part of theGulf of Corinth, became the first parts of the Ottoman empire to achieve independence (in 1829). By the mid-19th century, the Ottoman Empire was called the"sick man" by Europeans. Thesuzerain states – thePrincipality of Serbia,Wallachia,Moldavia andMontenegro – moved towardsde jure independence during the 1860s and 1870s.
As regards trade imbalance, only Istanbul ran an import surplus. Both Lampe and McGowan argue that the empire as a whole, and the Balkans in particular, continued to record an export surplus throughout the period. As early as 1850, French authorities became concerned that imports of 27.3 million francs from the Ottoman Empire exceeded what France was exporting to them 19.9 million francs and were anxious to balance the two figures[50] The balance of trade however moved against the Ottomans from the 18th century onwards. They would re-export high value luxury goods, mainly silks from theFar East and exported many of its own goods. Luxury goods began being imported. Through the 18th century, exports moved to unprocessed goods whilst at the same time commodities were imported from European colonies. Most of these commodities were produced byslave labor undercutting domestic production. However, according to most scholars, a favourable balance of trade still existed at the end of the 18th century.[51] 19th century trade increased multi-fold, however exports remained similar to 18th century levels. Foodstuffs and raw materials were the focus with carpets and raw silk appearing in the 1850s.[52]
From the 18th century onwards, foreign merchants and Ottoman non-Muslims became dominant in the growing international trade. With increasing affluence, their political significance grew especially in Syria. Muslim merchants however dominated internal trade and trade between the interior and coastal cities. In 1793, Aleppo alone issued 1,500 certificates to Ottoman non-Muslims for such privileges which through the course of the eighteenth century allowed them to replace their European counterparts. Istanbul boasted over 1,000 registered merchants in the early twentieth century, of which only 3% were British, French or German merchants;[53]
During this period, the empire faced challenges in defending itself against foreign invasion and occupation. The empire ceased to enter conflicts on its own and began to forge alliances with European countries such as France, the Netherlands, Britain and Russia. As an example, in the 1853Crimean War, the Ottomans united with Britain,France and theKingdom of Sardinia againstRussia.
During theTanzimat period (from Arabic: تنظيمtanẓīm, meaning "organisation") (1839–76), the government's series of constitutional reforms led to a fairly modern conscripted army, banking system reforms, the decriminalisation of homosexuality, the replacement of religious law with secular law[54] andguilds with modern factories. In 1856, theHatt-ı Hümayunpromised 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[55] guarantees to ensure the Ottoman subjects perfect security for their lives, honour and property; the introduction of the first Ottoman paperbanknotes (1840) and opening of the first post offices (1840); the reorganisation of the finance system according to the French model (1840); the reorganisation 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 first nationwide Ottoman census in 1844 (only male citizens were counted); the first national identity cards (officially named theMecidiye identity papers, or informallykafa kağıdı (head paper) documents, 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); theDisestablishment of the Istanbul Slave Market and theSuppression of the slave trade in the Persian Gulf (1847); the establishment of the first modern universities (darülfünun, 1848), academies (1848) and teacher schools (darülmuallimin, 1848); 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); theProhibition of the Circassian and Georgian slave trade (1854–1855); 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)[56] and the Ottoman Stock Exchange (Dersaadet Tahvilat Borsası, established in 1866);[57] 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); the Press and Journalism Regulation Code (Matbuat Nizamnamesi, 1864); among others.[55]
The Ottoman Ministry of Post was established in Istanbul on 23 October 1840.[58][59] The first post office was thePostahane-i Amire near the courtyard of theYeni Mosque.[58] In 1876 the first international mailing network between Istanbul and the lands beyond the vast Ottoman Empire was established.[58] In 1901 the first money transfers were made through the post offices and the first cargo services became operational.[58]
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.[60] Following this successful test, installation works of the first telegraph line (Istanbul-Adrianople–Şumnu)[61] began on 9 August 1847.[62] In 1855 the Ottoman telegraph network became operational and the Telegraph Administration was established.[58][59][61] In 1871 the Ministry of Post and the Telegraph Administration were merged, becoming the Ministry of Post and Telegraph.[59] 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.[62] On 23 May 1909, the first manualtelephone exchange with a 50 line capacity entered service in theBüyük Postane (Grand Post Office) inSirkeci.[62]
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.
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.[63] 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.[64] 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.[64] In turn, the higher educational levels of the Christians allowed them to play a large role in the economy.[64] In 1911, of the 654 wholesale companies in Istanbul, 528 were owned by ethnic Greeks.[64]
New railways were built during this period, including the first in the Ottoman Empire.
| Railway | Year established | Cities serviced |
|---|---|---|
| Cairo–Alexandria line | 1856 | Cairo–Alexandria |
| İzmir–Selçuk–Aydın line | 1856 | İzmir–Selçuk–Aydın |
| Köstence–Boğazköy railway line | 1860 | Köstence–Boğazköy |
| Smyrne Cassaba & Prolongements | 1863 | İzmir,Afyon,Bandırma |
| Rusçuk–Varna railway line | 1866 | Rusçuk,Varna |
| Bükreş–Yergöğü railway line | 1869 | Bükreş,Yergöğü |
| Chemins de fer Orientaux | 1869 | Vienna,Banja Luka,Saraybosna,Niš,Sofia,Filibe,Adrianople andIstanbul (starting from 1889 between Paris and Istanbul as theOrient Express) |
| Chemin de Fer Moudania Brousse | 1871 | Mudanya,Bursa |
| Istanbul-Belovo railway line | 1873 | Istanbul,Belovo |
| Üsküp–Selânik railway line | 1873 | Üsküp,Selânik |
| Mersin-Tarsus-Adana Railway | 1882 | Mersin,Tarsus,Adana |
| Chemins de Fer Ottomans d'Anatolie | 1888 | Istanbul,İzmit,Adapazarı,Bilecik,Eskişehir,Ankara,Kütahya,Konya |
| Jaffa–Jerusalem railway | 1892 | Jaffa,Jerusalem |
| Beirut-Damascus railway | 1895 | Beirut,Damascus |
| Baghdad Railway | 1904 | Istanbul, Konya,Adana,Aleppo,Baghdad |
| Jezreel Valley railway | 1905 | Acre,Haifa,Bosra,Hauran,Yagur,Daraa,Samakh,Beit She'an,Silat ad-Dhahr |
| Hejaz Railway | 1908 | Istanbul, Konya, Adana, Aleppo,Damascus,Amman,Tabuk andMedina |
| Eastern Railway | 1915 | Tulkarm,Lod |
| Beersheba Railway | 1915 | Nahal Sorek,Beit Hanoun,Beersheba. |
TheCrimean War (1853–1856) was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of thedeclining Ottoman Empire. Britain and France successfully defended the Ottoman Empire against Russia.[65]
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.[66] 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,[67] shortly after the beginning of the Crimean War.[68]
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.[69] Toward the end of theCaucasian Wars, 90% of theCircassians were exiled from their homelands in theCaucasus and settled in the Ottoman Empire.[70] Since the 19th century, the exodus to present-day Turkey by the large portion of Muslim peoples from the Balkans, Caucasus,Crimea andCrete,[71] had great influence in molding the country's fundamental features. These people were calledMuhacir under a general definition.[72] 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.[64] Crimean Tatar refugees in the late 19th century played an especially notable role in seeking to modernise Turkish education.[64]
Therise of nationalism swept through many countries during the 19th century, and it affected territories within the Ottoman Empire. A burgeoningnational consciousness, together with a growing sense ofethnic nationalism, made nationalistic thought one of the most significant Western ideas imported to the Ottoman Empire. It was forced to deal with nationalism both within and beyond its borders. The number of revolutionarypolitical parties rose dramatically. Uprisings in Ottoman territory had many far-reaching consequences during the 19th century and determined much of Ottoman policy during the early 20th century. Many Ottoman Turks 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. 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.
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.[73][74] In 1821 theFirst Hellenic Republic became the firstBalkan country to achieve its independence from the Ottoman Empire. It was officially recognised by thePorte in 1829, after the end of theGreek War of Independence.
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 of 1877–1878, the empire granted independence to all three belligerent nations.Bulgaria also achieved independence[75] (as thePrincipality of Bulgaria); its volunteers had participated in the Russo-Turkish War on the side of the rebelling nations.
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 stabilise and reorganise the Balkans, and set up new nations. German ChancellorOtto von Bismarck, who led the Congress, undertook to adjust boundaries to minimise the risks of major war, while recognising 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[77] 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 stabilisation. 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.[78]
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 the Balkans or to the heartland in Anatolia.[79][80] Muslims had been the majority in some parts of the 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 Muslim land.[81]
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 with 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. Other Ottoman provinces in North Africa were lost between 1830 and 1912, starting withAlgeria (occupied by France in 1830),Tunisia (occupied by France in 1881) andLibya (occupied by Italy in 1912).
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.[82] Following pressure from the European powers and Armenians, Sultan Abdul Hamid II, in response, assigned the Hamidiye regiments to eastern Anatolia (Ottoman Armenia).[83] These were formed mostly of irregularcavalry units of recruitedKurds.[84] From 1894 to 1896, between 100,000 and 300,000 Armenians living throughout the empire were killed in what became known as theHamidian massacres.[85] Armenian militants seized the Ottoman Bank headquarters in Istanbul in 1896 to bring European attention to the massacres, but they failed to gain any help.
The Ottoman Empire had long been the "sick man of Europe" and after a series of Balkan wars by 1914 had been driven out of nearly all of Europe and North Africa. It still controlled 28 million people, of whom 17 million were in modern-day Turkey, 3 million in Syria, Lebanon, and 2.5 million in Iraq. Another 5.5 million people were under nominal Ottoman rule in the Arabian peninsula.[86]
TheSecond Constitutional Era began after theYoung Turk Revolution (3 July 1908) with the sultan's announcement of the restoration of the1876 constitution and the reconvening of the Ottoman Parliament. It marked the beginning of thedissolution of the Ottoman Empire. This era is dominated by the politics of theCommittee of Union and Progress (CUP), and the movement that would become known as theYoung Turks. Although it began as a uniting progressive party, the CUP splintered in 1911 with the founding of the oppositionFreedom and Accord Party (Liberal Union or Entente), which poached many of the more liberalDeputies from the CUP. The remaining CUP members, who now took a more dominantly nationalist tone in the face of the enmity of theBalkan Wars, dueled Freedom and Accord in a series of power reversals, which ultimately led to the CUP (specifically its leadership, the "Three Pashas") seizing power from the Freedom and Accord in the1913 Ottoman coup d'état and establishing total dominance over Ottoman politics until the end of World War I.
Profiting from the civil strife,Austria-Hungary officially annexedBosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, but pulled its troops out of theSanjak of Novi Pazar, another contested region between the Austrians and Ottomans, to avoid a war. During theItalo-Turkish War (1911–12) in which the Ottoman Empire lostLibya, theBalkan League declared war against the Ottoman Empire. The Empire lost theBalkan Wars (1912–13). It lost itsBalkan territories exceptEast Thrace and the historic Ottoman capital city ofAdrianople during the war. Some 400,000 Muslims, out of fear of Greek, Serbian or Bulgarian atrocities, left with the retreating Ottoman army.[87] TheBaghdad Railway under German control was a proposal to build rail lines into Iraq. The railway was not actually built at this time but its prospect worried the British until that issue was resolved in 1914. The railway did not play a role in the origins of World War I.
The Young Turk government had signed a secret treaty with Germany and established theOttoman–German Alliance in August 1914, aimed against the common Russian enemy but aligning the Empire with the German side. The Ottoman Empire entered World War I after theGoeben andBreslau incident, in which it gave safe harbour to two German ships that were fleeing British ships. These ships then—after having officially been transferred to theOttoman Navy, but effectively still under German control—attacked the Russian port ofSevastopol, thus dragging the Empire into the war on the side of theCentral Powers, in which it took part in theMiddle Eastern theatre. There were several important Ottoman victories in the early years of the war, such as theBattle of Gallipoli and theSiege of Kut, but there were setbacks as well, such as the disastrousCaucasus Campaign against the Russians. The United States never declared war against the Ottoman Empire.[88]
In 1915, as theRussian Caucasus Army continued to advance in eastern Anatolia with the help ofArmenian volunteer units from theCaucasus region of theRussian Empire,[89] and aided by someOttoman Armenians, the Ottoman government decided to issue theTehcir Law, which started thedeportation of the ethnic Armenians, particularly from the provinces close to the Ottoman–Russian front, resulting in what became known as theArmenian genocide.[90][91][92] Through forced marches and gang skirmishes, the Armenians living in eastern Anatolia were uprooted from their ancestral homelands and sent southwards to the Ottoman provinces inSyria andMesopotamia. Estimates vary on how many Armenians perished, but scholars give figures ranging from 300,000 (per the modern Turkish state), 600,000 (per early estimates by Western researchers)[93] to up to 1.5 million (per modern Western and Armenian scholars).[94][95][96][97][98][99]
TheArab Revolt which began in 1916 turned the tide against the Ottomans at the Middle Eastern front, where they initially seemed to have the upper hand during the first two years of the war. When theArmistice of Mudros was signed on 30 October 1918, the only parts of theArabian peninsula that were still under Ottoman control wereYemen,Asir, the city ofMedina, portions of northernSyria and portions of northernIraq. These territories were handed over to the British forces on 23 January 1919. The Ottomans were also forced to evacuate the parts of the former Russian Empire in the Caucasus (in present-dayGeorgia, Armenia andAzerbaijan), which they had gained towards the end of World War I, following Russia's retreat from the war with theRussian Revolution in 1917.
Under the terms of theTreaty of Sèvres, thepartitioning of the Ottoman Empire was solidified. Thenew countries created from the former territories of the Ottoman Empire currently number 39.
Theoccupation of Constantinople along with theoccupation of İzmir mobilized theestablishment of the Turkish national movement, which won the 1919–1923Turkish War of Independence under the leadership ofMustafa Kemal Pasha.[100] TheSultanate was abolished on 1 November 1922, and the last sultan,Mehmed VI Vahdettin (r. 1918–1922), left the country on 17 November 1922. The new independentGrand National Assembly of Turkey (GNA) was internationally recognized with the Treaty of Lausanne on 24 July 1923. The GNA officially declared theRepublic of Turkey on 29 October 1923. TheCaliphate was constitutionally abolished several months later, on 3 March 1924. The Sultan and his family were declaredpersonae non gratae of Turkey and exiled.
In 1974, descendants of the dynasty were granted the right to acquire Turkish citizenship by theGrand National Assembly, and were notified that they could apply.Mehmed Orhan, son of Prince Mehmed Abdul Kadir of the Ottoman Empire, died in 1994, leaving the grandson of Ottoman SultanAbdülhamid II,Ertuğrul Osman, as the eldest surviving member of the deposed dynasty. Osman for many years refused to carry a Turkish passport, calling himself a citizen of the Ottoman Empire.[citation needed] Despite this attitude, he put the matter of an Ottoman restoration to rest when he told an interviewer "no" to the question of whether he wished the Ottoman Empire to be restored. He was quoted as saying that "democracy works well in Turkey."[101] He returned to Turkey in 1992 for the first time since the exile, and became a Turkish citizen with a Turkish passport in 2002.[102]
On 23 September 2009, Osman died at the age of 97 in Istanbul, and with his death the last of the line born under the Ottoman Empire was extinguished. In Turkey, Osman was known as "the last Ottoman".[103]
Harun Osmanoğlu, the 3rd generation grandson ofAbdul Hamid II, is the eldest living member of the former ruling dynasty.
In many ways, the circumstances surrounding the Ottoman Empire's fall were a result of tensions between the Empire's different ethnic groups and the various governments' inability to deal with these tensions. The introduction of increasedcultural rights,civil liberties and aparliamentary system during theTanzimat proved too late to reverse thenationalistic andsecessionist trends that had already been set in motion since the early 19th century.[citation needed]
| Identities | .png) | |
|---|---|---|
| Northern regions | ||
| Arab world | ||
| Foreigners | ||
