Once spanning three continents and spreading over two million square miles, the Ottomans were the strongest empire in the sixteenth century (both militarily and economically). No country dared to cross the Ottomans, and was infamously known as the “Terror of Europe”. However, almost a century and a half later, their size was reduced to half its original size. Consequently, they soon became known as the “Sick Man of Europe”. So the question remains: How did the Ottoman Empire lose power throughout the early 19th century to Post-World War 1? And, how did they gain back key territories after the war to form a new Turkish state? now known as Turkey. There are many factors that played into the demise and second uprising of the empire, but there …show more content…
The Ottoman Empire, unlike its European counterparts, was made up of a plethora of people groups who were all technologically advanced and somewhat educated. About 10 million were Turks, 6 million Arabs, 1.5 million Kurds, 1.5 million Greeks, and 2.5 million Armenians. The wide range of ethnicities would lead to the creation of the Millet System, implemented in 1831, which gave religious minorities their own jurisdiction and some extent of autonomy. This was meant to keep the empire together, but it also made it hard for the central government to get tasks done, However, most of the Ottoman Empire was made up of these religious minorities, and so the empire was almost a coalition of loosely connected countries under the Sultan. Rather than spreading equity among the empire, the Millet System made the empire more distant, making it hard for effective decisions to be made. Another key factor that played into the rule was corruption. A system of forced labor, known as devşirme began in the 14th century, where Christian boys, mostly from the Balkans, were taken from their homes to serve the Ottoman government. However, the practice began to die out as Ottoman soldiers preferred recruiting their own sons into the army, rather than sons from Christian families. The practice died out in the 1700s. According to John Standford Shaw, a …show more content…
While some historians argue that the Battle of Lepanto and the failed Siege of Vienna were the major turning points of Ottoman Expansion, and part of it is true, however, the decay of Ottoman control was a slow process until World War 1. As mentioned previously, major European powers saw the Ottomans as an established nation. However, the final blow for the Ottomans came during World War one, where they aligned with the axis powers, signing a secret treaty with Germany. They fought hard to keep allies out of territory, but eventually lost in 1915 & 1916. With over 500,000 soldiers dead, and 3.8 million injured, the allies decided to split up Ottoman lands, even carving away Anatolia. Anatalia was a major Turkish stronghold, and this was seen as a disgrace among the Ottoman generals. They had lost their war primarily because they were just weakened by three separate wars in the span of just three years: The Libyan Wars with Italy and the First & Second Balkan Wars. Unlike the other western powers, the Ottomans had their empire conquer weaker but technologically advanced people. The British and French colonized Africa and Asia, but those natives never had access to technology like guns or radios. And so with the corrupted generals in the Libyan territory, and the uprising of the Balkants, the Ottomans lost much of their resources and men in between 1911 and 1913 (just before
Between 1301 to 1922, in the region north of present day Syria, was known as the Ottoman empire. It was rooted in the belief that Islam as an ideology should be in power. One territory held by the Ottoman empire was their homeland of Turkey. In 1907, the Sultan Abdul Hamid II, wanted for the most part to have people who were educated outside of the country limited in what they could do, and if not then they were expunged, as he thought that they were the cause of his land’s plight and decline. This resulted in him becoming very unpopular with his people, thus having many secret societies created practically under his nose. The most important being The Young Turks.
"Between 1453 and 1526 Muslims founded three major states in the Mediterranean, Iran, and South Asia: respectively the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empire" (Dale 1). Everyone knows the Mediterranean, Iran, and South Asia because of modernization and technology. These regions are seen in newspapers and television for their current status, but not a lot of people have ever considered how they were back in the 15th century. The majority of our generation knows Istanbul, but what about Constantinople? The 15th century was the Gunpowder Empires era in which three major empires ruled the Mediterranean, Iran, and South Asia: Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal. Even though the Mughals were not as successful as the Ottomans, they both share similarities in
The growth of the empire was also quite different. The Ottomans experienced growth through further conquest of the Asia Minor, Constantinople, Eu...
While taking the class of Early Modern European History there was two states that really stuck out and peaked my interest the most. They were the Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe. If you compare and contrast both the Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe during the 16th Century through the 18th Century, you will see that there are a number of similarities as well as differences when you look at the expansion of the states. You will also see many of these contrasts as well when you look in terms of each states military and commerce. Although the Ottoman Empire existed before the 16th century and continued to exist past the 18th century and in great decline until the early 20th century, when looking at the state as a whole the time period of 1500’s through the 1700’s is a period of growth and strength. It is perhaps even known as a golden era for the state, when taking in to comparison the Early Modern Europeans where the same time period marks a change in how society thought and how people were treated.
The efforts made in modernizing and creating reforms during the nineteenth century were defensive in both regions. The Ottoman
The Ottoman Empire success was largely due to their military technology, and equipped soldiers with weapons. Along with these successes they also had a strong leader, known as Suleiman, who came to the throne as one of the wealthiest rulers in the world.The wealth and stability of the Empire at its time led to this period of time to be knowns as the Golden Era . He strengthened the government and improved the system of justice throughout the empire. Their law was based on the Islamic power, but Suleiman consulted his advisors and councils before making important decisions, he did not let his power get out of hand. “The Ottomans inherited three universalist traditions: one from their s...
The Ottoman Empire were Muslims and included Hungary, Syria, Egypt, Bulgaria, and Albania, and they marched on land. The Ottoman Empire is said to have first appeared somewhere around the 1300’s, and can be related to the decline of the Byzantine Empire. They began conquering Christian lands and by the late 1600’s all Christians were afraid of the “terrible Turk”. It is no wonder that many other people were afraid of the Ottoman Empire since they seem to be really rather powerful and they conquered a lot of land. It was in the 1330’s when the Morroccan Abu Abdallah Ibn Battuta passed through Constantinople and became impressed with the Ottomans who seemed to be gaining power rather quickly, he noticed that they had close to 100 forts and
Though, the use of superlatives is often incorporated with regards to understanding and defining many geopolitical structures that have existed since the dawn of tim. It is not an exaggeration to state that the Ottoman Empire was one of the longest lived, richest, and most successful empires that the world has ever seen. Beginning in 1299 and lasting up until the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1922, the 623 year span of time in nearly continual power that this Empire was able to exercise was unmatched at that time; either within Europe or elsewhere in the World. The key to this great wealth and power was due to the fact that the Ottoman Empire existed upon the nexus of trade between Asia and Europe. Occupying this important chokepoint, the Ottomans were able to derive a great deal of riches based upon control and management of the trade that flowed between that of the East and West.
There is a point of time in certain a country’s history where they become dominant and more powerful than ever before. During this elongated process a country becomes an empire. The British and the Ottomans were states that succeeded in this process, but becoming an empire such as theirs required vast amounts of political and social maneuvering to expand their boundaries, called imperialism. Imperialism is, “a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force”. By becoming a modern nation enjoying economic prosperity and political stability, the British and the Ottomans created an imperialistic impact over the globe with distinctive motivations and approaches especially during the transition period of gaining ample amount power and influence globally.
The Tanzimat: Reform in the Ottoman Empire. During its prime, the Ottoman Empire was one of the largest and most powerful empires in the entire world. Unfortunately for the Ottomans, various problems arose, and eventually the empire started to decline. This resulted in a period of reform, known as the Tanzimat.
Today, there are virtually no multinational states remaining and one would be hard-pressed to find a government that has remained in place since the pre-World War I era. In that sense, it is highly unlikely that the Ottoman Empire could have survived the tumultuous 20th Century. Nevertheless, it may have had a chance. If not for European intervention, Ottoman reforms may have succeeded. However, even with those reforms, they had to compete with the rise of nationalism, which would have been difficult.
They also lived peacefully because of their less-populated population. In 1914, Turks entered the World War I by being on the side of Germany and also the Austria-Hungary Empire. At the same time Armenia was helping Russia to fight with the Turks. Because of this war, Turks tried to remove Armenians from the Ottoman Empire. On April 24, 1915, the Armenian genocide began.
Memory is defined as “the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information” (“Tmesis”, n.d.); and it is a purely mental process that always access to stored information. Memories can either be pleasant or unpleasant, but the fact is, they still exist either way. They are an essential part of who we are and without them, we would struggle to establish our identity. Besides being images of the past, memory is equally emotions too. Emotions are the main reason a memory is either stored or forgotten. They are a key factor in memory.
The Ottoman Empire reached the peak of its power in the 1500s. While other empires were experiencing their downfalls, the Ottoman Empire’s power seemed to be increasing. In fact, this empire can be ranked as the strongest power due to its tactical internal organization of power, minorities, and religion, due to its physical expansion which provided more resources, more advancements, and more people to support the empire, and due to its large military strength that provided security, reduced rebellion, and challenged the other powers.
This source was written by Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq during his time as a diplomat in Istanbul. The source was likely written in 1555, which is the year that I traveled to Istanbul. Yes, I agree that this method of earning government and military positions strengthened the Ottoman Empire. In my opinion, be able to earn your own position in the society is the perfect motivation to keep striving yourself.