Ottoman Empire
- For the thrash metal band, see The Ottoman Empire.
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| Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) | دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet ("The Eternal State") | ||
| The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) | |||
| Official language | Ottoman Turkish | ||
| Capital | Söğüt (1299-1326), Bursa (1326-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), İstanbul (1453-1922) | ||
| Imperial anthem | Ottoman imperial anthem | ||
| Sovereigns | Padishah of the Osmanlı Dynasty | ||
| Population | ca 40 million | ||
| Area | 6.3m km² (1902); maximum extent 19.9m km²(1595 estimate) | ||
| Establishment | 1299 | ||
| Dissolution | October 29, 1923 | ||
| Currency | Akçe, Kuruş, Lira | ||
| See also | |||
| Part of the History of Turkey series | |||
The Ottoman Empire (Ottoman Turkish: دولتِ عَليه عُثمانيه Devlet-i Âliye-i Osmaniye; literally, "The Sublime Ottoman State"), also sometimes known as the Turkish Empire, existed from 1299 to 1922. At the height of its power in the 16th and 17th centuries, its territory included Anatolia, the Middle East, parts of North Africa, and much of south-eastern Europe to the Caucasus. It comprised an area of about 5.6 million km² [1], though it controlled a much larger area, if adjoining areas dominated mainly by nomadic tribes—where the empire's suzerainty was recognized—are included. The empire interacted with both the East and the West throughout its 600-year history.
The Ottoman Empire was established by the Kayı tribe of Oghuz Turks in western Anatolia and was ruled by the Osmanlı dynasty, the descendants of those Turks. It was founded by Osman I (Arabic: عُثمَان ʿUthmān; hence the name Ottoman Empire). In 1453, following its capture from the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople (modern İstanbul) became the new capital of the Ottoman Empire, under the name "Kostantiniyye" (قسطنطنيه). In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottoman Empire was among the world's most powerful political entities, with the powers of eastern Europe constantly threatened by its steady advance through the Balkans and the southern part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Its navy was also a powerful force in the Mediterranean. On several occasions, it even invaded central Europe, laying siege to Vienna in its attempts to conquer the Habsburg domain, and was only finally repulsed by great coalitions of European powers at sea and on land. It was the only non-European power to seriously challenge the rising power of the West between the 15th and 20th centuries, to such an extent that it became an integral part of European balance of power politics.
At its highest point, the Ottoman Empire contained many important places of classical antiquity, including Homer's Troy and Achaea, Zeus' Europa, Io's Bosphorus, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus together with all the Seven Wonders of the World, the sarcophagus of Alexander the Great, Abraham's oasis and wells, the Nile River, the Mount of the Sermon, and the Hill of Golgotha.
The dissolution of the empire was a direct consequence of World War I, when Allied Powers defeated the Central Powers in Europe as well as the Ottoman forces in the Middle East. At the end of the war, the Ottoman government collapsed and the empire was conquered and divided among the victorious powers. Subsequent years saw the declaration of new states from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire, whose central lands became the Republic of Turkey. The members of the ruling Osmanlı family were subsequently exiled from Turkey for political reasons. In 1999, after 76 years, Turkey's parliament granted Turkish citizenship to the family's descendants.
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History
The history of the Ottoman Empire spans more than seven centuries. Older classifications of this history were based on military gains and losses. Current approaches use wider perspectives, such as periods of growth or dissolution, or else use economic perspectives to delineate periods of stagnation and decline.
- For more details on this topic, see Timeline of the Ottoman Empire.
Early stage (origins)
The history of the House of Osman can be traced to the Turkic migrations from Asia, which began during the 10th century. The Kayı was one of the main tribes taking part in this migration. When they began to settle in Anatolia in the 12th century, they accepted the suzerainty of the Seljukid State of Anatolia[citation needed], which was at first a puppet and vassal of the Il Khanate of the Mongol Empire. This allowed the Kayı protection from outsiders—which in turn gave them a chance to develop their own internal structure—and gave them some military power through cooperation with the non-Turkic populations of eastern Anatolia.
According to tradition, it was in 1299—when the Seljukid state was in the process of collapse—that Osman I declared independence for the Ottoman beylik, which had gradually been developed by a group of now-settled Kayı. During this period, the various Anatolian beyliks came into conflict with one another, with the Ottoman beylik eventually emerging as the supreme power in the region.
Rise (1299–1453)
- Main article: Rise of the Ottoman Empire
The rise of the empire defined the characteristics and nature of the state. The Ottomans definitively carved out their own preserve in history under the rule of Mehmed II.
In this period, many discussions occurred among the Ottoman élite on how to organize a new state from the many different cultures of the empire. Given the historical facts of other great empires, the Ottoman élite believed that the power of the sword was not enough to build and maintain a powerful state[citation needed]. It was important to find strong and capable men and bind them together in willing cooperation to conquer large sections of Europe, Asia, and Africa. It was also important to organize and govern their conquests. The Ottoman élite gave precedence to the political ideas that constituted the life of the empire, which became their ruling institution[citation needed].
Though the Ottoman state existed before Osman I, he is regarded as the founder of the empire, as he named it and was the first bey to declare his independence. He extended the frontiers of the empire towards the Byzantine Empire, while other Turkish beyliks suffered from infighting. Under Osman I, the Ottoman capital moved to Bursa. He minted the first coin under his name, demonstrating the confidence his people had in him[citation needed]. In centuries to come, his age would be recalled with the phrase, "May he be as good as Osman".
Mehmed II was only 12 years old when he became sultan, and he was reputed to have been a capable warrior. His military prowess was demonstrated with his conquest of Constantinople. Mehmed II also enjoyed the full support of the empire. He used this to reorganize the state structure and military.
Growth (1453–1683)
- Main article: Growth of the Ottoman Empire
The growth of Ottoman power can be grouped into two main characteristic periods. The first period is that of conquest and growth, from the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 to the death of Suleiman the Magnificent in 1566. This was a period of great achievement for the Ottoman Empire. The second period, extending from 1566 to 1683, is that of the consolidation of a now large and stable state, during which time many changes were occurring in the empire's social structures.
In 1389, the Ottomans ended Serbian power at the Battle of Kosovo, which paved the way for expansion into Europe. Sultan Selim I (1512–1520) expanded the empire's eastern frontiers, defeating Safavid Persia in the Battle of Chaldiran and establishing a naval presence in the Red Sea. Selim's successor, Suleiman the Magnificent, increased the empire's size and power even further. After capturing Belgrade, Suleiman struck a major blow against Hungary at the 1526 Battle of Mohacs, causing that kingdom to fall into anarchy. He then attacked Vienna, but failed to take the city when he was forced to retreat before the onset of winter. Soon, Transylvania, Walachia, and Moldavia, became tributary principalities of the Ottoman Empire.
In the east, Suleiman the Magnificent took Baghdad from the Persians in 1535, giving the Ottomans control of the Middle East. The Ottomans reached their "Golden Age" during Suleiman the Magnificent's reign.
The Siege of Vienna was not intended to begin an Ottoman expansion into Germany. The Turks were reacting to Austrian Habsburg interference with Hungary. But the siege turned some of the Ottoman allies against it. The Pope abandoned his secular interests to agitate for a general crusade against the Ottoman Empire. In the following decades, the Ottoman Empire was not just an occupying force; it was an instrument in European politics. The Battle of Vienna was a turning point in the 300-year struggle between the forces of Central European kingdoms and the Ottoman Empire. It brought about a long period of stagnation, ending 230 years of growth and the empire's expansion into Europe.
Stagnation (1683–1827)
- Main article: Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire
What followed was a long succession of sultans who were capable but not comparable to Mehmed II, Selim I or Suleiman I. The empire was also weakened by many wars, particularly against Persia, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russia, and Austria.
By this period, despite a notable resilience, the Ottoman Empire had ceased to be Europe's foremost power. After the defeat of Kara Mustafa by an combined army of Poland and the Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Vienna in 1683 the empire lost some of its standing in Europe. In the Treaty of Karlowitz, that ended the Great Turkish War in 1699, the Ottomans ceded large territories which had been in their possession for two centuries. They also acknowledged, for the first time in their history, that the Austrian Empire could sign a treaty with them on equal terms.
Further wars and territories were lost to Austria in the Balkans. Certain areas of the empire, such as Egypt and Algeria, became independent from the Ottoman Empire in all but name, and subsequently came under the influence of France and Britain. A series of ten wars was fought between the Russian and Ottoman empires from the 17th to the 19th centuries.
The Ottoman defeat of the Russians in the Pruth Campaign in 1712 and the Treaty of Passarowitz led to a short, peaceful era between 1718–1730. During this period—called the "Tulip Era" (لاله دورى Lâle Devri) due to extensive use of the tulip motif in the period's art—Ottoman policies towards Europe began to change. The empire began to improve the cities bordering the Balkans to act as a defense against the expansionist movements of the different European States. Other tentative reforms were also enacted: taxes were lowered; there were attempts to improve the image of the Ottoman state; and the first civilian industrial investments began. These measures, however, failed to put an end to the empire's decline. The technological and scientific advantages the Ottomans had once enjoyed over the European countries were vanishing[citation needed].
Sultan Selim III initiated several efforts to modernize the system and revitalize the empire. These efforts, however, were hampered by reactionary forces within the empire, primarily religious groups and the Janissary military units.
- For more details on this topic, see Ottoman military reform efforts.
Decline (1828–1910)
- Main article: Decline of the Ottoman Empire
The period of the Ottoman Empire's decline was characterized by the reorganization and transformation of most of the empire's structures in an attempt to bolster the empire against increasingly powerful rivals. This reorganization (تنظيمات tanzîmât) gave its name to the Tanzimat period of reform, which lasted from 1839 to 1876. During this time, many significant changes were effected: a fairly modern conscripted army was organized; the banking system was reformed; and the guilds were replaced with modern factories. Economically, the empire had difficulties in repaying its loans to European banks. At the same time, it had military difficulties in defending itself from foreign invasion and occupation: Egypt, for instance, was occupied by the French in 1798, while Cyprus was occupied by the British in 1876. In a significant change from the past, the empire stopped entering conflicts alone and began to enter into alliances with European countries. There were a series of alliances with countries such as France, Holland, Britain, and Russia. A prime example of this change was the Crimean War, in which the British, French, Ottomans, and others united against Tsarist Russia.
It was also during this period that the Ottoman Empire first experienced the effects of the rise of nationalism that swept many countries during the 19th century. A national consciousness and ethnic nationalism became at this time probably the most significant of the ideas that the Ottoman Empire imported from the West. The empire was forced to deal with the issues related with the nationalism both within and beyond its borders. Uprisings in Ottoman territory had many far-reaching effects during the 19th century and determined many of the choices that the Ottoman Empire would have to make during the 20th century. Many Ottoman Turks questioned whether the policies of the state were the issue: some felt that the sources of the inter-ethnic conflicts were external forces, supporting the conflicts for hidden goals[citation needed]. While this period had many achievements, the ability of the Ottoman state to strongly influence the ethnic uprisings was questionable.
The Ottoman Empire's First Constitutional Era (برنجى مشروطيت دورى Birinci Meşrûtiyyet Devri), was a short-lived period. A wide-ranging group of reformers, primarily educated in Western universities, believed that a constitutional monarchy could ease the empire's growing social unrest. Through a military coup in 1876, they forced Sultan Abdülaziz to leave his position to Murad V. However, Murad V quickly proved to be mentally ill, and was deposed within a few months. His heir-apparent Prince Abdülhamid was invited to assume power, with the promise that he would declare a constitutional monarchy, which he did on 23 November 1876. The subsequent constitution—called "Basic Law" (قانون اساسى Kanun-i Esâsi)—was written by members of the Society of Union and Progress, but was in effect for only a few short months.
Dissolution (1908–1922)
- Main article: Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire
The period of the Ottoman Empire's final dissolution begins with the onset of the empire's Second Constitutional Era (ايکنجى مشروطيت دورى İkinci Meşrûtiyyet Devri). The main force behind this change dates back to the 1889 founding of the Committee of Union and Progress (اتحاد و ترقی جمعيتى İttihâd ve Terakki Cemiyeti), out of which eventually emerged a movement that would become known as the "Young Turks" (ژون تورکلر Jön Türkler). A group of students at Istanbul's military academy, the Young Turks plotted against Sultan Abdülhamid II but, once discovered, were forced to flee abroad. Eventually, one of their leaders—Ahmed Riza—managed to organize a group around the Committee of Union and Progress. This group advocated a program of orderly reform under a strong central government, as well as the exclusion of all foreign influence. It worked together with a similar reform group—the League of Private Initiative and Decentralization, under one Prince Sabaheddin—whose goals were somewhat different: Sabaheddin's group favored administrative decentralization, European assistance to implement reforms, and also promoted industrialization. On 3 July 1908, a revolt was begun that quickly spread throughout the empire and resulted in the sultan announcing the restoration of the 1876 constitution and reconvening parliament.
The Committee of Union and Progress managed to defeat Sabaheddin's group in the elections held in 1908. Now in power, the Young Turks introduced a number of new initiatives intended to promote the modernization of the Ottoman Empire. They promoted industrialization and administrative reforms, and their reforms of provincial administration quickly led to a higher degree of centralization. In addition, they implemented the secularization of the legal system and subsidies for the education of women, and altered the administrative structure of the state-operated primary schools. Their domestic reforms were in some ways quite successful, but their foreign policy proved to be disastrous.
The three new Balkan states formed at the end of the 19th century and Montenegro, sought additional territories from the Albania, Macedonia, and Thrace, behind their nationalistic arguments. The incomplete emergence of these nation-states on the fringes of the Ottoman Empire during the nineteenth century set the stage for the Balkan Wars. Initially under the encouragement of Russia, a series of agreements were concluded: between Serbia and Bulgaria in March 1912 and between Greece and Bulgaria in May 1912. Montenegro subsequently concluded agreements between Serbia and Bulgaria respectively in October 1912. The Serbian-Bulgarian agreement specifically called for the partition of Macedonia which resulted in the First Balkan War. The Second Balkan War soon followed.
In a final effort to regain some of these lost territories and to challenge British authority over the Suez canal, a triumvirate—the Three Pashas, led by Minister of War Enver Pasha—agreed to join the Central Powers in World War I.
The Ottoman Empire had some successes in the beginning years of the war. The Allies—including the newly formed Australian and New Zealand Army Corps ("ANZACs")—were defeated in the Battle of Gallipoli, Iraq, and the Balkans, while British naval landing attempts were repulsed and some territories were regained. Fighting the Russians in the Caucasus, however, the Ottomans lost ground—and over 100,000 soldiers—in a series of battles. The 1917 Russian revolution gave the Ottomans a chance to regain these areas, but continued British offensives ultimately proved to be too much. The Ottomans were eventually defeated due to key attacks by the British general Edmund Allenby, as well as assistance from the Arab Revolt and the Republic of Armenia. The Armenian Republic was declared during the war, and Ottoman territories were annexed.
- For more details on this topic, see Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, Armenian Genocide.
The initial peace agreement with the Ottoman Empire was the Armistice of Mudros, followed by the Treaty of Sèvres. Britain obtained virtually everything it had sought—according to the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement made together with France in 1916, while the war was still going on—from the empire's partition. The other powers of the Triple Entente, however, became entangled in the Turkish War of Independence. Angered by the Sèvres agreement, Mustafa Kemal—who had been an important force at the 1915 Battle of Gallipoli—raised an army that expelled the Greeks, the Italians, and the French, confronted the Republic of Armenia, and eventually threatened the British as well. In the end, these Turkish revolutionaries, under Mustafa Kemal's leadership, asserted their right to an independent national existence.
- For more details on this topic, see Turkish War of Independence.
The final blow to the Ottoman Empire came in 1922, with the 1 November 1922 abolition of the sultanate and the overthrow of Sultan Mehmed VI Vahdettin, who left the country on 17 November. The Republic of Turkey was officially declared on 29 October 1923.
State
On 29 May 1453, the Ottoman army under Mehmed II conquered Constantinople from the Byzantine Empire, which had endured with that city as its seat for over 1,000 years. From the Byzantines, the nascent Ottoman Empire took not only the official name of their capital, but also a number of administrative structures.
Like the Byzantines before them, the Ottomans practised a system in which the state had control of the clergy. In the Ottoman judiciary, for example, the courts were run by kadı (قاضی), who were religious judges appointed by the sultan and who exercised direct control over members of the religious establishment. The Byzantine forms of land tenure were largely retained—with a number of unique adjustments—in the Ottoman Empire. At the same time, however, certain pre-Islamic Turkish practices that had survived the influx of administrative and legal practices from Islamic Iran continued to be important in Ottoman administrative circles. Ultimately, then, the Ottoman administrative system was a blend of influences derived from the Turkish nomads, the Byzantines, and the Islamic world.
The Ottoman state revolutionized its administrative system with the aid and experience of Greeks and other Christians, Muslims, and Jews, while many other states still held tightly to their own religions and national identities. The rapidly expanding state utilized skilled local people to manage the empire, people who were often selected from among loyal Phanariot Greeks, Armenians, and others. From the perspective of the West, this eclectic administration was apparent even in the diplomatic correspondence of the empire, which was undertaken in the Greek language. In diplomatic circles, the empire was often referred to as the "Sublime Porte", a literal translation of the Ottoman باب عالی (Bâb-ı Âlî), which was the one gate of the imperial Topkapı Palace that was open to foreigners and was where the sultan greeted ambassadors.
The Ottomans were primarily administrators and not producers in the sense that the empire did not employ a program of economic exploitation, as did the colonial empires of the modern European states. According to Ottoman understanding, the primary responsibility was to defend the empire's land and to secure security and harmony within its borders[citation needed].
Sultans
The Ottoman sultan, or padishah, served as the empire's sole regent and was considered to be the embodiment of its government, though he did not always exercise complete control.
The Ottoman dynasty is known in Turkish as Osmanlı, meaning "House of Osman". The first rulers in the dynasty called themselves bey, or "chieftain", which was a way of acknowledging the sovereignty of the contemporary Seljuk sultanate and its successor, the Ilkhanate. The first Ottoman to claim the title of "sultan" (سلطان)—an Arabic title roughly equivalent to "king"—was Murad I, who ruled from 1359 to 1389. With the 1453 capture of Constantinople, the road was open for the Ottoman state to become an empire, with Sultan Mehmed II as its padishah (پادشاه), which is a Persian term meaning "lord of kings" and roughly equivalent to "emperor".
In addition to such secular titles, from 1517 onwards the Ottoman padishah also served as the Caliph of Islam, and thus the Ottoman Empire was—from 1517 until 3 March 1924—synonymous with the Caliphate; that is, the Islamic state. As such, he had theoretical lordship over other Muslim rulers around the world.
The sultan employed many other formal titles as well, such as "Sovereign of the House of Osman", "Sultan of Sultans", and "Khan of Khans". In Europe, the Ottoman padishah was often referred to as "the Grand Turk".
Organization
- Main article: State organisation of the Ottoman Empire
Though the state apparatus of the Ottoman Empire underwent many reforms during its long history, a number of its basic structures remained consistently the same. Primary among these structures was the primacy of the sultan. Despite important decisions always being made by a group of people in the Dîvân, the final decision always belonged to the sultan.
The Dîvân, in the years when the Ottoman state was still a beylik, was composed of elders of the tribe. It was later modified so as to include professionals from the military and also local élites, such as religious and political advisors. These individuals became known as viziers. Later still, beginning in the year 1320, a Grand Vizier (صدر اﻋظم Sadr-ı a'zam) was appointed in order to assume certain of the sultan's responsibilities. The Sublime Porte, which became synonymous with the Ottoman government, was in fact the gate to the Grand Vizier's headquarters and the place where the sultan held the greeting ceremony for foreign ambassadors. At times throughout Ottoman history, the Grand Vizier became as important as, or more important than, the sultan himself. After the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, the Ottoman state became a constitutional monarchy without executive powers, and a parliament was formed, with representatives chosen from the provinces.
Throughout Ottoman history, however—despite the sultan's supreme de jure authority and the Grand Vizier's sometime de facto one—there were many insistences in which local governors acted with a degree of independence, sometimes even in opposition to the ruler. There are, for instance, eleven incidences in which the sultan was dethroned because he was perceived as a threat to the state. On the other hand, although new sultans were always chosen from among the sons of the previous sultan, there was a strong educational system in place that was geared towards eliminating the unfit and establishing a common trust among the ruling élite for the son before he was actually crowned. Only two failed attempt were made in the whole of Ottoman history to unseat the ruling Osmanlı dynasty, a fact which is suggestive of a high level of political stability.
At the height of its power, the Ottoman Empire contained 29 provinces, in addition to the tributary principalities of Moldavia, Transylvania, and Wallachia.
Successes of the Ottoman state
One of the great successes of the Ottoman Empire was the great unity that it brought about among its highly various population. The indirect source of this unity was allowed for by the laws of Islam, which stated that Muslims, Christians, and Jews—who constituted the vast majority of the Ottoman population—were all related in that they were "People of the Book" (Arabic: اهل الكتاب; ahl al-Kitâb). According to this standard, in the Ottoman Empire non-Muslims were granted cultural and religious freedom, so long as they paid their taxes and showed their loyalty to the sultan. As early as the rule of Mehmed II, the Ottomans had foreseen the results of such policies: Mehmed II, for instance, granted extensive rights to Greek Orthodox Christians and invited many Jews to settle in Ottoman territory.
From an early date, Greek citizens of the empire were able to achieve high positions in the fields of commerce, politics, religion, and the military. The Patriarch of Constantinople, for example, developed a great degree of power, both religious and political; the Phanariot Greeks worked as the sultan's statesmen in Western Europe and as local rulers in the Balkans; and Aegean Greeks were granted wide commercial rights and also developed a fleet that quickly became the empire's maritime weapon. In fact, some Greek citizens prospered to such a degree that they eventually opposed the Greek War of Independence of 1821–1831. In the area of religion, many Ottoman Greeks—long since opposed to Western churches as a result of the Fourth Crusade—even came to regard the Ottoman state as the "protector of Orthodoxy".
The Ottoman Jews enjoyed similar privileges to those of the Greeks, and indeed came to enjoy some of the most extensive freedoms in Jewish history. The city of Thessaloniki, for instance, received a great influx of Jews in the 15th century and soon flourished economically to such an extent that, during the 18th century, it was the largest and possibly the most prosperous Jewish city in the world. By the early 20th century, Ottoman Jews—together with Armenian and Greeks—dominated commerce within the Empire.
It was, however, the Muslim communities who prospered the most under the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman law did not recognize such notions as ethnicity or citizenship, but instead divided its population according to the rubric of religion; thus, a Muslim of any ethnic background enjoyed precisely the same rights and privileges as a Muslim of Turkish ethnicity. On the other hand, a Christian of Turkish ethnicity had only the restricted political rights of other Christians. Under such conditions, Muslim Arabs of the Middle East and North Africa came to view the Ottoman state as a revived Islamic empire, and were willing to fight and fall for it, as evidenced by the examples of 1560 Battle of Djerba and the 1827 Battle of Navarino.
As a result of these facts, the Western practice of referring to the Ottomans as "Turks" is a rather misleading one. As Donald Quataert points out, this conflation of the Ottoman and the Turkish
has some basis since the Ottoman family was ethnically Turkish in its origins, as were some of its supporters and subjects. But ... the dynasty immediately lost this "Turkish" ethnic identification through intermarriage with many different ethnicities. As for a "Turkish empire," state power relied on a similarly heterogeneous mix of peoples. The Ottoman empire succeeded because it incorporated the energies of the vastly varied peoples it encountered, quickly transcending its roots in the Turkish nomadic migrations from Central Asia into the Middle East. (2)
Failures of the Ottoman state
- Main article: Failures of the Ottoman Empire
The fall of the Ottoman state is often attributed to the failure of its economic structure. The Ottoman state organization was planned when the economics of the period was agricultural. Its public functions were depended on public investments through an institution called vakifs. As the economy of the times changed, the Ottoman state was isolated from the public as its economic participation in development of the inns, hospitals, libraries, or indeed as explained before every function was dependent on public cooperation. As the west moved to industrialization, Ottomans failed to adapt their system to the changes. Turn of the 19th century modern taxation was not used and utility investments were not adapted to modern needs. Also with the change of trade roads, the Ottoman Empire lost its main income source. Inability to industrialize the state and too great a dependence on farmers as a source of revenue through taxation was counted among the main factors. Its inability to establish economic and political hegemony over other nations, despite the fact that it was an empire, earned it the name "Sick man of Europe". The economy of the Ottoman state was no match to its counterparts which signalled the end of the empire.
Size of the empire brought its problems. Inefficiencies originating from the size of the empire were also significant. Trying to keep the empire intact through internal and external wars was a costly process which compromised the Ottoman Empire's capacity to introduce reform.
Communication technology, of its time, did not migrate into state structure. With improvements in communication the population that was distributed along the trade routes became concentrated on the centers. This population was highly affected by the economic competition of that time. The populations that moved into cities were faced with hardships which tested their patience, persistence, and adaptability. The Ottomans had to keep the system running under these social pressures.
The trade dynamics was based on non-state elements. As early as the 1470s Greeks and Jews were the premier traders, not the Ottomans. Ottoman state concept was based on establishing the public order. Consequently, the Ottomans were forced to protect the Greek elite in order to maintain a functioning economy. They were, moreover, constantly obliged to deal with social unrest among the empire's Greek community. When the Greek elite turned against the Ottomans, the empire lost control. The Greek elite blamed the economic problems on the Ottomans and offered an escape route to Greeks by pursuing a nation of their own. In reality, even after the Greek revolution, the same elite was controlling the economy with the trade routes having already been altered.
By many accounts, the circumstances surrounding the fall of the Ottoman Empire closely paralleled the fall of Byzantium, particularly in terms of the ongoing tensions among the empires' populations and its inability to relate with them. In the case of the Ottomans, the introduction of a parliamentary system during the Tanzimat was too late to reverse the damage.
Economy
- Main article: Economy of the Ottoman Empire
The economic structure of the Empire was defined by the geopolitical structure. The Ottoman Empire stood in between West and East, thus blocking the route eastward and forcing Spanish and Portuguese navigators to set out in search of a new route to the Orient. The empire was controlling the route that Marco Polo once used. When Christopher Columbus discovered America, the Ottoman Empire was at its highest position - an economical power which extended over three continents. Current Ottoman studies imply that the change in politics between Ottomans and central Europe did depend on the opening of the new sea routes. It is also possible to see the decay of the Ottoman Empire by measuring the diminishing significance of the land routes. While central Europe was moving forward, Ottoman were holding on to their traditions. The pragmatic thinking of Ottomans that once helped to reform the systems left behind by Roman Empire was once again giving out the same signs which Ottomans found centuries ago.
- See also: The Capitulations of the Ottoman Empire
Law
- Main article: Law of the Ottoman Empire
Legally, the Ottoman Empire was organized around a system of local jurisprudence; that is, local legal systems which did not conflict with the state as a whole were largely left alone. The Ottoman system had three court systems: one for Muslims, which was run by the kadıs, or Islamic judges; one for non-Muslims, involving appointed Jews and Christians ruling over their respective religious areas; and one which regulated trade and had its origins in the empire's capitulation agreements with foreign powers. The entire system was regulated from above by means of the administrative kanun (قانون) laws.
These court categories were not, however, wholly exclusive in nature: for instance, the Islamic courts—which were the empire's primary courts—could also be used to settle a trade conflict or disputes between litigants of differing religions, and Jews and Christians often went to them so as to obtain a more forceful ruling on an issue. Women nearly always choose the Islamic courts, as these courts tended to be fairer towards them and to give them more just recompense.
Throughout the empire, there were two systems of law in effect: one was the Islamic sharia (شريعة) law system, and the other was the Turkish kanun system. The Ottoman state tended not to interfere with non-Muslim religious law systems, despite legally having a voice to do so through local governors. The Islamic sharia law system had been developed from a combination of the Qur'ān (قرآن); the Hadīth (حدیث), or sayings of the prophet Muhammad; ijmā' (اجماع), or consensus of the members of the Muslim community; qiyas (قياس), a system of analogical reasoning from previous precedents; and local customs. The kanun law system, on the other hand, was the secular law of the sultan, and dealt with issues not clearly addressed by the sharia system. Both systems were taught at the empire's law schools, which were in Istanbul and Bursa.
Military
- Main article: Military of the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman military was a complex system of recruiting and fief-holding. In the Ottoman army, light cavalry long formed the core and they were given fiefs called timars. Cavalry used bows and short swords and made use of nomad tactics similar to those of the Mongol Empire. The Ottoman army was once among the most advanced fighting forces in the world, being one of the first to employ muskets. The famous Janissary corps provided élite troops and bodyguards for the sultan. After the 17th century, however, the Ottomans could no longer produce a modern fighting force because of a lack of reforms, mainly because of the corrupted Janissaries. The abolition of the Janissary corps in 1826 was not enough, and in the war against Russia, the Ottoman Empire severely lacked modern weapons and technologies.
The modernisation of the Ottoman empire in the 19th century started with the military. This was the first institution to hire foreign experts and which sent their officer corps for training in western European countries. Technology and new weapons were transferred to the empire, such as German and British guns, air force and a modern navy. The empire was successful in modernising its army. However, it was still no match against the major western powers.
Culture
- Main article: Culture of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman culture covers expressive activities and the symbolic structures that happened under the umbrella of the Ottoman Empire. That is an inclusive statement for all the religious and ethnic cultures of the state. Also, there is a specific intersecting culture that originated from living multi-culturally that reached its highest levels among the Ottoman elites. Ottoman elites were not monolithic, but composed of many different ethnic and religious people.
With the turn of the 19th century, nationalistic states including Turkey began to write their own history. Most of the references to Ottoman culture were buried either in the archives or destroyed. What we know about that period mainly originates from opposing state archives and their official view points. These references cannot be claimed fair or inclusive. It is also hard to reach defending views given the fact that the empire ceased to exist. Current studies show that empire culture was very rich and colorful.
Contrary to wide spread beliefs, coming from a nomadic culture, Ottoman Turks were in peace with different cultures that they came in contact with. Originally, Ottomans belonged to central-Asian culture. Ottomans later integrated Persian and Byzantine cultures into their way of life, instead of being assimilated into these cultures. When considering the Turkish folkloric or Ottoman elite art, we can see that they have conserved the colors and symbols that were inherited from their origins. Ottoman elites used Persian in their art to express their own inner world. The Ottoman court life was a harmony of Turkish and the Persian Shahs, but had many Byzantine and European influences.
This Ottoman multicultural perspective reflects on their policies. One of the reasons that the Ottoman Empire lasted this long was the high tolerance policies pursued originating from their nomadic inheritance. This statement should be taken as a comparison to assimilative medieval times (east and west). The Ottoman State pursued multi-cultural and multi-religious politics. When we talk about Ottoman tolerance, we talk about the structures that accommodate different perspectives. A good example was the Ottoman justice system. Another can be cited with the local governors to the regions. As the Ottomans moved further west, the Ottoman leaders themselves absorbed some of the culture of the conquered regions. With the intercultural marriages, the new cultural structures were gradually added to the Ottomans, creating the characteristic Ottoman elite culture. When compared to common Turkish arts (folkloric), the assimilation of the Ottoman elites to these new cultures is apparent.
Religion
Before the Turks adopted Islam, they practiced a polytheistic religion. After their first contact with Arabs and the battle of Talas, a number of Turkic tribes accepted Islam and propagated their new faith further into Turkistan. The process of conversion was over long before the birth of the Ottoman empire.
As early as 1453, after having conquered Constantinople, they granted special privileges to the Greek Orthodox rulers of the old Byzantine Empire. Christians became subjects of the Ottoman Empire but not subject to Muslim faith or law. All Orthodox Christian peoples of the Empire were subjects to the "Millet of Rum" (Greek nation) - independently of their ethnic origin - and Greeks were granted high political and commercial privileges (something which instigated Slavic nationalism in the 19th century). Similarly, all Muslim followers, independently of ethnic origin, had equal rights as Ottoman citizens.
The Ottoman state never officially enforced religious conformity, nor did it harshly pursue a policy of individual conversion. The fact that opposition to the Ottoman state had always been on a national scale supports this idea. Going back to 1391, Bayezid I with Thessalonica(Selanik) actively adopted policies of lenient behaviors towards those with different faiths. Sultans took their primary concern to be service of the interests of the state, as the Ottoman Empire could not survive without toil, cooperation and taxes. For centuries, the Ottoman Empire was often a refuge for the Jews of Europe, who were often persecuted or expelled from the countries of Christian Europe (see History of the Jews in Turkey). The Ottoman state's relation with the Orthodox Church was very peaceful. The Ottoman state kept the orthodox structure intact until the national uprisings. Currently under Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople we can see encompassing national Orthodox jurisdictions such as Bulgarian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, and Russian Orthodox. Some of these policies were slowly changed with the adoption of parliamentary monarchy.
After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the succeeding state of Turkey separated regilion and state during a process of modernization and nation-building. Constantinople was "Turkified" externally, changing its name to Istanbul. Some churches, including the Hagia Sophia, were converted to mosques. The sultans were careful not to destroy the Christian mosaics but covered them with plaster. In 1935, after five centuries, the complete removal of the plaster was carried out after the new Republic of Turkey, "in the interest of art", converted the Hagia Sophia into a museum. This very treatment of those old Christian mosaics — a treatment not of destruction but of conscious preservation — illustrates the similar fate of the Christian people of the Balkans who likewise had a cultural revivification as nations and states.
References
- Cleveland, William L. "The Ottoman and Safavid Empires: A New Imperial Synthesis" in A History of the Modern Middle East. pp. 37–56. ISBN 0813340489.
- Creasy, Sir Edward Shepherd. History of the Ottoman Turks: From the beginning of their empire to the present time. R. Bentley and Son, 1877.
- Finkel, Caroline. Osman's Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire, 1300–1923. ISBN 0719555132.
- Imber, Colin. The Ottoman Empire, 1300–1650: The Structure of Power. ISBN 0333613864.
- Jelavich, Barbara. History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. ISBN 0521252490.
- Lybyer, Albert Howe. The Government of the Ottoman Empire in the Time of Suleiman the Magnificent. ISBN 0404146813.
- Necipoğlu, Gülru. Architecture, Ceremonial, and Power: The Topkapi Palace in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries. ISBN 0262140500.
- Quataert, Donald. The Ottoman Empire, 1700–1922. ISBN 0521547822.
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
External links
In English
- Ottoman Web Site – Contains detailed information about the Ottoman Empire
- Royal Ark: Turkey – Extensive site with a lot of detailed information
- World Civilizations: The Ottomans – Comprehensive site that covers much about the state and the government
- The Ottomans – Covers various aspects of the Ottoman Empire in detail
- Capitals of Ottoman Empire
- Everything About Ottoman Coins
- Napoleonic Ottoman 15mm wargaming miniatures – Contains information about the Ottoman Empire 1787- 1820
In Turkish
- Turkcebilgi.com Ottoman Empire Pages
- Flags of Ottoman Empire
- Everything About Ottoman Empire – Everything about the history and culture of Ottoman Empire
- Madeni Osmanlı paraları hakkında herşey
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