A Time to Die Out

The many subtle differences between the Ottoman Empire of the 16th-17th centuries and its status by the 19th-20th were what allowed its decline and fall after World War I. A considerable one of these changes was in the role of government and politicians. As did China, the Ottoman Empire experienced a decentralization of government where the Sultan's power was greatly decreased and most power was held by local governors. The once formidable Janissaries belonging to the Sultan were falling into indolence and neglect. If their leader could not even put on a show of competence, why should the people be expected to follow him? Though reforms were made, steps later taken to rectify the problem, sultans would never have quite the same role that they did before. This was perhaps aided by the growing influence of Western ideals and religion within a predominantly Islamic empire. The power of the government had before been greatly dependant upon the differences and segregation of religious groups. As the Christian and Jewish nations grew within the Ottoman Empire, spreading belief, there came a need to actually put down the other groups and purify their own Muslims. Yet with the spread of Western ideals, the younger, educated middle-class began to call for a new system entirely, one that represented its people without care for religion. As Justin said in his post, the "Young Ottomans" called for a secular, democratic government. "Islamic Modernism" was taking hold of the empire, instating a constitution and a representative government in which the sultan had only a small role. This was, of course, met by an attempt to return things to how they had been before. The sultan pushed to suspend both new government measures, restate himself as sultan and caliph, to regain power through Islam. This system, however, could no longer work with the younger generation demanding a western perspective. The final blow to the religious and political power that this Islamic nation still held was dealt - the people no longer believed in a nation united by faith, but now by one based on land boundaries. It was now the Turks and the World, no longer the Muslims against Europe and America. No longer united, the Ottomans fell not to outside force, but to the tide of its own people eager for the new age.