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The image of the Empire founded by Othman in the 13th century is not a popular one in the modern mind. There are no romantic images as surround many other great empires such as those of Greece and Rome. The images that are most in the public mind are those of a war-like, uncivilized people conquering the great jewel of Christianity--Constaniople, the enslavement of Christian children, the asault on Christain Europe, and the supression of the Greeks in the 19th century. The new sultan's murder of his brothers and the titilating stories of harems did nothing to improve the Ottoman image. The geocide of the Armenian people is also often blamed on the Ottomans, although it seems more the result of the rise of Turkish nationalism and the modern secular Turish state. The image of the Ottomans is generally that of the declining Ottoman state of the 19th century when it had become the backward, coruption-ridden Sickman of Europe. This is very different than the state of the Empire at it height. Art and education flowered under the Ottomans at a time when it was many Christain kingdoms that were backwards. Much of the neagative evaluation of the Ottomans comes from the application of 20th century standards which of course is inappropriate. The Ottomans were in fact more open and tolerant through much of their history than contemporaty Christian kingdoms. It is true that there were practices such as child gatherings and the forced conversion and enslavement of Christian children. It is also true as slaves of the Sultan their living conditions were often notably improved. It is also necessary to note what was happening to Jewish and Islamic populations in Chistian kingdoms. There were no expulsions and forced mass conversions as after the Reconquista in Spain and Portugal, no excesses like the Holy Inquisition in Catholic countries, no devestating religious wars, and no terrifying massacres such as the St. Barthomew Day Massacres in France and gettos and periodic pogroms for the Jews througour Chrisendom. In fact, discenting Christain communities usually fared better under the Ottomans than Byzantine and Roman Catholic soverigns. This is not to say that many subject people did not suffer under Ottoman rule. Subject people usually do. Under the Ottomans some did suffer, but others flouished. It is to say that the role of the Ottoman Turks in European history has often not been accurately or fairly presented.
The Ottomans were one of a number of Turkish tribes that migrated into Anatolia from the vast central Asian steppe. The Ottomans were a nomadic people following a primitive shamanistic religion. Once in contact with settled populations they accepted Islam and under Islamic influence, the Ottomans acquired a fierce fighting tradition--that of the
"gazi" warrior. The Ottoman Empire was founded Othman, who died at Pausa, in Bithynia, in 1326. Othman was followed by a series of waring princes, considered some of the most war-like in history. The Ottoman Empire was founded Othman or Osman I (1259-1326). Othman was born in Bithynia. On the overthrow of the sultanante of Iconium in 1299 by the Nongols, Osman seized a portion of Bithynia and subsequently a portion of Nicæa, and gradually subdued a great part of Asian Minor, and so became the founder of the Turkish or Ottoman Empire.
The Ottomans rapidly expanding the boundaries of their Turkish dominions in Anatolia, at the expense of the Byzantine Empire. The rise of the Ottomans meant the end of many ancient cultures, but in fact much of Anatolia had already been Helanized. For many people, life after the conquest changed little. Conquest by the Ottomans did not mean mass slaughter, conversion, or expulsion as would have been the case under a Christian conqueror. There was presure to convert to Islam, but usually not force. Except for religion, life went on much as before the Turks. Non-Orthodox Christians indeed found greater freedom to paractice their faith than under the Byzantines. Even into the early 20th century there were great similarities in dress, diet, and life style shared by Greek and Turkish villages in Anatolia.
The Emperor Constantine in 330 AD moved the Capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople, founding the Eastern Roman Empire which was to become known as
the Byzantine Empire or Byzantium. One of Byzantium's many achievements was to transform the linguistic and cultural heritage of Ancient Greece into a vehicle for
the new Christian civilization. The Ottomans in the 14th century rapidly conquered Byzantine territory in Anatolia, but the fortifications of Constaninople proved a major impediment. The Ottomans crossed the Hellespont about 1357 when Amurath I made Adrianople the capital of the Turkish Empire, gradually reduceing the remaining European dominions of the Byzantines. After a long siege, Mahomet II overcame the defenses of Constantinople (1453). The fall of Byzantium was a major turing pont in European history. Athens fell in 1456 and most of Greece was in Ottoman hands by 1460. They then pushed further north into the Balkans. The Ottoman Empire for the next 150 years is at the height of its power, exapnding north, east, and south--including areas that has even been outside of the Roman Empire at its height.
The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople sent shock wave across Europe. Thousands of Byzantine refugees fled to Latin West, especially Italy, but spreading out throughout Christain Europe. They carried with them classical and Hellenistic knowledge and presious manuscripts that helped fuel the developing European Renaissance.
The Ottomans with the fall of Byzantium gained control of the Black Sea. They gradually displaced the Venetians in the northern Aegean. Expansion south into Syria and Egypt further closed lucrative trade routes to European shipping. The control of territory from the Russian steppe to Egypt allowed the Ottomons to interdict established European trade routes to the East. It was Ottoman control of the spice trade routes that was a factor in pushing the European voyages of discovery. The Portugues sailed south around Africa and Columbus sailed west to seek alternative trade routes to the East. While the Ottomans controlled land routes they were unable to stop the Portuguese and other Europeans from reaching India and establishing sea links with the East.
The Ottomans had several advantages in their competion with Christian kingdoms. One was their enormous wealth. The control of trade routes between Asia and Europe was a tremendous asset. European powers, such as Venice and Genoa, paid great sums to the Ottomans to gain access to these routes.
The Ottomans proceeded to conquer the Balkans, but were turned back at the gates of Vienna. The Ottomans by the late 16th century had reached a point beyond their ability to effectively project poert. Military campaigns were pursued with with Austria in the Balkans and with Christian powers in the Mediterranean, but significant adavances were niot achieved despite the expenditure of vast sums. Crete which had held on so long fell in 1669. The Köprülü vizirs prepared a planned new assault on Vienna in 1683, but this resulted in an ignominious defeat.
Ottoman expansion was greatly feared in the Christian West. The Ottomans, often in contrast to the Christian kingdoms, usually allowed religious groups to continue to practice their own faiths within the conquered territories. The Ottomans also tended to preserve the established feudal institutions. They often permitted the the different ethnic and religious groups within the Empire to adopt laws to regulate their own communities. The Ottoman administrative and governmental systems were well developed and highly effective, especially in the early years more so than Christain kingdoms. Most lands under Ottoman rule were competently managed, although this deteriorated in the final era of the Empire.
The Ottoman Empire evolved fro nomadic tribal warriors. As the Ottoman Empire expanded, organized state institutions were needed. One of these institutions was a standing army. Early Ottoman victories were achieved by tribal armies with warriors loyal to their commander. The Empire needed a standing army loyal to the bey or sultan.
The first Ottoman standing army was created by Sultan Murad I in the late 14th century.
The term janissary (yeniçeri) means new troops in Turkish. The Sultan had a problem in that any troops recruited from Ottoman tribes would have tribal loyalties and thus not completely loyal to the sultan himself. The sultan decided to recruit the janissaries from Christian families in the Balkans. The Ottomon Empire expanded to control areas populated by Christians. These peoples were not conscripted for miliyary service and instead paid a tax. But this limited the Ottoman military capacity. Thus conscripting boys from Christian families made fuller use of the population. And from the sultan's point of view, these Chritian boys had the advantage of not having tribal loyalties. Thus there were first loyalties were to him. As boys they became the sultn's property, essential the legal status of slaves. They were in fact pampered slaves who receive a quality education. Virtually all converted to Islam.
Slavery is an ancient central to the ecomonies of many ancient societies. This did not change with the coming of Islam and subsequently the rise of the Ottoman Empire. Slavery as an institution is recognized and thus sanctioned by the Holy Koran. The Koran consuls fair treatment of slaves, but slavery is sanctioned by Sharia Law. Thus approved by both religion and custom, slavery became an important institution in both the Ottoman economy and society. It was not as important as in some societies, but it was important. Slavery was entrenched in the operation of the Ottoman
state in both administrative and militiary areas. [Erdem, p. 18.] Slavery was was a central element in the harem system as part of the use of slave domestics and concubines. Slavery was an important aspect of the privat lives of individuals in the Muslim areas of the Empire. This was much less true in the Christian areas (primarily the Balkans) where slavery had largely disappeared by the time of the Ottoman conquest. The source of slaves varied over time. Both the Crimean Tartars and the Arabs played an important role in the Ottoman slave trade.
The Ottomons had not kept pace with technological progress in modern weapons and this had begin to show in the campaign against the Austrians. Cooperation with France, the dominate European power of the era did not prevent more defeats. The Austrains seized Hungary and even southern Greece was loss for a time to Venice. The Ottoman Empire slowly declined and by the 19th century had become known as the Sickman of Europe.
After the loss of Hungary in the late 17th century and further territory in the early 18th century, the situation improves for the Ottomnas as the regan Serbia and Walachia (1736-37). This stoped further Austrian advances into the Balkans. There was in fact a prolonged peaceful error. The decline of the Empire's military strength was, however, apparent. The Ottomans couldcnot match the tremendous resources of many power and by the 19th centurty, Ottoman technical abilities had fallen seriously behind those of Europe, eben those of Russia--the least developed European power. One has to ask why the Ottoman, once a center of learning and craftsmanship failed to enter the modern era of scientific learning, industry, and entrepreneurship that was sweeping Christian Europe. No great centers of edication were maintained by the Sultans to rival the expanding European universities. One has to be led to the conclusion that the conservative Islam of the Ottomans did not inspire the best minds in the Empire to contemplate scientific questions. The Ottomans themselves were military men, yet increasingly it was the weaponry produced by increasingly sophisticated scientific developments that were desciding battles. Islam also led to a social consevatism not unlike China which saw no need to inovate or learn from people they thought to inferior or non-belivers in Islam. Informs were attempted, but none struck at the very heary of the problem, the very nature of the culture and society and failure to embrace a modern mindset open to innovation and embracing the concept of progress.
Unable to reform itself, the Ottomans faced even more serious challenges than before. Now internal challenges arose. Subject people were inspired by the nationalism promoted by the French Revolution and then Napoleon. The Ottoman's Christian subjects in the Balkans began to demonstrate a growing nationalit spirit further encouraged by the clear signs of declining Ottoman military power. The first country to achieve independence was Greece, but nationalism and a desire for independence was rising throughout the Balkans. The subject nationalities not only received support from overseas compatriots, but also by direct intervention--especially from Russia which desired to open the Dardenelles and returtn Constantinople to Christendom. The Ottomans by the 19th century were clearly seen as the "Sick Man of Europe" and unable to resist the Russians by themselves. Far sighted individuals attempted the Tanzimat reforms to redress the problems caususing the Empire's decline. The other Great Powers were concerned with Russia's expansion. The British in paticular were concerned with Russian movement south and possible threats to India and Egypt where there was an overland connection to India and thought was being given to the future Suez Canal. The British, French, and Austria even fought the Crimean War (1853-56) to limit Russian advances. Britain and other European powers were limited in the degree of aid that could be offered the Ottomans as European newspapers were full of lurid stories of Turkish reprisals and attrocities against peoples widely seen as Christian freedom fighters. These stories of attricites, many based on fact, often included references or were in addition to other articles on the white slave trade and Christian women being forced into the Sultan's harem. Lord Byron had gone to Greece to write poetic odes to the valiant Greeks and the other natioanl groups were regarded in much the same light. Gradually the Ottomans were forced to great increasing autonomy to Balkan principalities and by the end of the century there were independent kingdoms in Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia.
The chronic weakness of the Ottoman Empire and the disolutory leadership of the sultan resulted in a revolt by the Young Turks (1909). The Young Turks had some liberal ideals. They forced Sultan Abdul Hamid to end absolutionist rule and approve a constitution as well as install a liberal government. Many also believed in a more ethnically pure Turkish state. The reforms, however, had only limited impact on the Ottoman state. The Ottomans suffered other defeats in a war with Italy (1911–1912) and the Balkan Wars (1912–1913). The Ottoman Empire which was heavily courted by Germany had been hard-pressed by Russia saw the opportunity to win back lost territory and joined the Central Powers in World War I. The Ottomans entered the War after the Western Front had settled down to static trench warfare, but the Germans had achieved major victories against the Russians on the Eastern Front. The Ottomons declared war on Russia on October 29, 1914. The first operation was a combined German-Turkish bombardment of Russian Black Sea ports. Russia and Britain and France quickly declared war on Turkey (November 2-5). The first Ottoman offensive was aimed at the Russian Caucauses (December). After initial successes, the Russiand retook much lost ground (August 1915). Russian pleas for assistance was one of the factors leading to the dusastrous Allied offensive at Galipoli (February 15). The Turkish forces at Galipoli were commanded by Mustafa Kemal who later as Kemal Attaturk was to found the Turkish Republic. After heavy losses of both ships and men, the Allies withdrew (December 1915). Beritish Indian forces launched an offensive against Turkish held Mesopotamia (late 1914). The campaign there seasawed Back and forth (1915). A British Army was destoyed, but the British finally took Bagdad and moved into northern Mesopotamia. The campaign in Egypt and Palesine began with an Ottoman attack on Suez. The Brirish struck back and finally took Jerusalem. The Arab Revolt further undercut the Ottoman poition. The final British offensive destoyed three Ottoman armies. The Ottomans with their armies being destroyed in the field agreed to an armistice on Mudros, endng the fighting. After four centuries of dominating the Balkans and the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire collapsed.
While the Ottomans were in th 14th and 15th centuries in many ways more progressive thn many Christian kingdoms, this gradually chganged and the Ottomans did not participate in the economic expansion and scintific development that by the 16th century was beginning to transform Europe. The Ottoman Empire by the 18th century had become a backwater of Europe and the economy and culture reflected this. One reader points out that the Balkans areas that had the shortest history under the Ottomans and reccaimed by the Austraians after a relatively short period of Ottomon rule (Croatia, Hungary, and Slovenia) are today the most developed area of the Balkans. The areas under the longest period of Ottoman rule and never ruled by the Austrians (Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia) are among the least developed. (We exclude Greece here because of the significant post-World War II development as a democratic country and member of the European Union which differed from the rest of the Balkans.) Of coure the reason for this difference is more complex than a simple Ottoman/Turkish differnce, but this would appear to be a significant factor.
The history of the Ottoman Empire is perhaps the most poorly understood of of any state in the European system. There are a number of reasons for this. The primary one is that Ottoman history is so politically controversial in th modern world, even battles and events from medieval era are highly cintentious. In both Turket and the successor states the history of the Ottoman Empire has been obscured by both modern politics and national myth. Ottoman history in Trkey emphasizes the great rulers like Suliman the Magnificent and presents Ottoman history as largely Turkish history, often ignoring the fct that the Empire was a large mult-ethnic entity in which non-Turks often played major roles. The successors states tend to do the opposities, emphazing the oppresive nature of Ottoman rule and in many cases falsifying the historical record. As a result, readers interested in the Empire need to exercise extreme care as to the sources consulted. [Finkel]
Erdem, Y Hakan. Slavery in the Ottoman Empire and its Demise,
Finkel, Caroline. Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire (2006). This is an excellent ballanced history of the Ottoman Empire.
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