Ottomans!

In the earlier part of the Ottoman Empire, which we studied last semester, the Ottomans had strict policies that essentially kept the Muslims in control and strongly encouraged assimilation of foreigners into their culture. However, the alter Ottoman Empire was the opposite, with a short time that was an exception. The early Ottoman Empire taxed non-Muslims, and took their children for the janissaries. The control the Ottomans had on trade also allowed them to heavily tax any foreign traders, to their great advantage. The advancement of technology weakened them, allowing the Europeans access to trading ports all over the world, and from that the Ottoman policies declined. A number of unfair treaties were made, such as abolishing tax on foreign traders and not requiring to follow Ottoman law. This allowed traders to move more freely, and would have brought outside cultures in, rather than keeping them out. The Young Turks and Young Ottomans, while from different times, were essentially in favor of the same thing: Westernization. The Young Ottomans pushed for a constitution, and got one, if only for a short time. When Abd al-Hamid II proclaimed himself caliph, he attempted to re-establish the Ottoman EMpire as a religious nation. He attempted to recreate the difference between Muslim and non-Muslim citizens, but some of the population had already taken a liking to Western culture, so there was backlash from the Young Turks, who rose to power and secularized everything. Had the Europeans never been able to get their culture into the Ottoman Empire through trade, which happened becaus of unequal technology, I doubt power would have changed hands in the way it did.

Oh, How Time Will Change the Empires...

The main difference between the cultural and political policies of the old Ottoman Empire and the newer Ottoman empire was the role of religion. In the 16th and 17th century, the Ottoman Empire was at the top of the Islamic world. They let other religious groups into their land, but they still maintained power by taxation. The Janissaries not only held a lot of power within the empire, but their ways showed a great deal of Islamic power. The empire used to be huge and independent from other countries. This all changed in the 19th and 20th centuries. The supporters of the Islamic Reform, led for a short time by the Young Turks, called for a secular government and state. This motion sucked the power out of the Islamic leaders and completely changed the places of power in the empire. Even before this, a treaty was proposed to limit the power of the sultan, who had formerly held all power in the empire. This, plus the addition of some western ideas into the empire turned it from being the all powerful Islamic state that it was to a land that was widely accepted by its people as the Turkish State. This was one of the final straws needed to completely disintegrate the former Ottoman empire, which led to its final fall after World War 1.

Looking Back on the Ottomans

The Islamic empire of the 19th and 20th centuries had an entirely different sense of identity than the Islamic empire of the 16th and 17th centuries because the policies of the reformed empire renounced its strictly Islam lifestyle for a secular nationalist society, abolishing the distinguishing characteristic of the empire. During the the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottoman empire represented the Islamic world. Islam was the empire's official religion, and, although people of other customs were permitted to live within its boundaries, they were not equal to those who followed the Islamic faith. They were forced to pay the jizya, a special tax imposed upon non Muslims, and their sons and daughters could be taken and trained to enter the harem or join the janissaries. Other religions were accepted, but Islam was the true religion of the Ottoman empire. In contrast, the Ottoman empire of the 19th and 20th centuries found that it could not exist by creating boundaries between its own people through its divisive religious policy. The Young Ottomans believed that the empire should be reformed based on western values, both reform of the people and the government. Although the Sultan Abd al-Hamid II abrogated the constitution that served to westernize the government, the Young Turks soon formed, demanding that people in the "Turkish nation" live a secular public life rather than one reliant on the Islam. Those still tied to the idea of Islamic superiority acquiesced to the nationalist ideas that erupted from the old Ottoman empire. The Law of Public Rights declared the secularization of all public services, finalizing the Young Turks' goals of a secular society. With the advancement of the western world, the Ottoman empire that had been so tightly bound to its seat of Islamic power transformed by necessity into a more Western empire.

Ottoman Empire who?

The Ottoman Empire went from being one of the most powerful empires around to one that doesn't even exist. How did this happen? That is the question. The Ottomans decline was started by the developing nationalism throughout the empire as well as European infuence.

In the first half of the 19th century, they fought off European invaders, and became even more strictly Muslim. In Sumatra, Islamic traditions were being reinforced (so women had to wear veils, and men had to wear traditional Arab dress.) This contributed to them resisting the Dutch penetration. In the Caucasus regions of Chechnya and Dagenstan, Muslims set up jihads to counter Russian intrusion. When France invaded Algeria, Muslims started a resistance movement, and efforts were made to create an Islamic state. The people in these sections of the Ottoman empire began to unify themselves.

During the Tanzimat reform in the second half of the 19th century, a group of people with a Western-style education, including lower-level officials, military officers, writers, poets, and journalists, came together, and were called the "Young Ottomans." These individuals encouraged Western influence.

When Sultan Abd al-Hamid established his strict rule, there was much opposition amongst military and civilian elites, called the Young Turks. They thought of a secular government, which was revolutionary at the time. They also began to think of themselves as a Turkish national state. The Young Turks took power in 1908, and secularized schools and courts, allowed for elections, made laws for people of all religions, and strongly pushed for Turkish to be the main language. They also advanced women's rights. They opened schools for women, and allowed them to dress in Western style clothing. They even allowed some women to get divorces. Religion became less a part of the government and more a personal matter.

The Ottoman Empire went from the strongest empire around in the 16th and 17th centuries to being split up in many different countries. Religion went from being the main factor in the government to being a personal matter. Women's right also took leaping steps forward, and they earned more rights and respect.

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.

Politics of Ottoman

READ Strayer, p. 575-577.
WRITE a blog post comparing the identity politics and policies of the 19th and 20th century Ottoman empire and those of the 16th and 17th centuries. Think about possible connections between the Ottoman policies we studied at the beginning of the year and the fate of the empire in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Ottoman Empire of the 16th and 17th century had many differences from the empire in the 19th and 20th century. The old empire a mostly a Muslim population and didn’t have as much diversity from the Ottoman Empire of the 20th century. In the 19th and 20th century, it had a diverse population because along with the Muslims, they had Turks and many other non-Muslims. It was a secular state with people who were loyal to the government that ruled it, rather than a Muslim state that is based on religious principles. Lower level officials, military officers, writers, poets, and journalists appeared in the empire during the reform process. They were called the “Young Ottomans” and were active during the 19th century. They favored a constitutional regime and wanted to embrace the Western knowledge, but rejecting its materialism. They believed that they could find Islam as the basis for freedom and progress. Eventually, the Ottoman empire would turn into more of a democracy than an empire because the “Young Turks”, military and civilian elites who looked at the empire as if it was a Turkish national state, pushed for schools, courts, elections, and competing parties. The Ottoman Empire was blooming into a better state in the 20th century compared to the end of the 17th century, where the empire had its decline. Only over a few centuries, the Ottoman Empire gained Western knowledge and culture and turned into more of a democratic government rather than an empire.

Before and After - The Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire that we are familiar with is a strong, commanding presence in the world. This Empire accepts, for the most part, a patchwork of different ethnicities, backgrounds, cultures and religions. They are a primarily Muslilm empire, with a forced jizya and peppered with sultans and caliphs. However, they do not persecute non-Muslims or force religious conversion, as was popular with some other empires of the time. The Ottomans control a vast and central location in Europe, Africa and Asia and can often act as middle men for trading passages. Because of this the empire is quite wealthy, powerful and intimidating. Their vast size and tight control of their empire makes them a force to be reckoned with, and one that is not often met with opposition. This is the empire I picture when I think of the Ottomans, and is a generally accurate description of their methods and power during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Less than 200 years later, and the Ottoman Empire is almost completely unrecognizable. The once-noble empire is a lesser power, unable to compete with the economies and technology of its western neighbors. Other nations have picked away at it for so long that it is no longer regarded as a large empire, and now resides almost completely in eastern europe. The Ottomans themselves have also begun to question their own identities and loyalty to their country. Some groups, such as the Young Ottomans and Young Turks, advocate for a more secular approach to government. This and other radical changes occuring within the Empire were all attempting to rebuild the crumbing empire, but were not successful. The general lack of nationality in the Ottoman empire and its inability to keep up with new technology led to its eventual downfall.