The Ottoman Empire: The Rise, Fall and Influence in Today's Middle East
By: Robert Rosen M01 A1 Written Assignment Throughout history, there have been many empires. Some of them lasted years, some lasted decades. But one stands alone as the longest running empire. The Ottoman Empire ruled from 1280-1922. The Empire saw 37 Sultans and an expansion of power and control over most of the Middle East and parts of Europe and Africa. The Empire had a slow, but sudden burst of growth. That burst was immediately followed by their undoing. But it left behind a long legacy which is still felt to this day in the Middle East.
During this period, the Mongols were running rampant. In order to avoid certain death, the Turkic Kayi tribe fled. The Byzantines were being fought by the Rum Seljuk. Kayi tribe chief Ertogrul offered his stable of 444 horse soldiers to aid in fighting the Byzantines. In exchange, he was given land. When Ertogrul died, his son Osman (1280-1326) took power. He was given a sword and he would go on to fight against the Byzantines, just as his father had before him. The basis of this war was religion, with the Byzantines Christian and Osman Islamic. Osman would raid Byzantine land, overtaking it in the name of Islam. Osman refused to make peace and finally took the city of Bursa, which became the very first capital of the Ottomans. (Goldschmidt Jr & Davidson, 2010, p. 131-132)
Osman's eventual death opened the door to his son to become ruler. Orhan (1288-1360) took a unique route to conquering land. Though initially he fought battles and contracted himself and his troops as mercenaries (p.133), he would later wait for local leaders to die and then take their land in a non-violent way. He had excellent organizational skills and an understanding of economics. This led to a gain in support, and not just from Islamic followers; Christians were believed to have supported him as well.
Subsequent sultans would continue the overtaking of land. They pushed into Anatolia, but then-current sultan Bayezid (r. 1389-1402) was captured by the opposition. He died while in capture setting up a blip in the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Bayezid had four sons and for eleven years, they argued over who was the successor. Mehmet I (r. 1413-1421) finally took over. The latter part of the 1400s would see three more sultans and a Hungarian attempt at a Crusade. The Ottomans pressed on, ultimately gaining control of Hungary, Transylvania and the Ukraine. In perhaps the greatest of victories, the Ottomans took Constantinople in 1453.
The turn of the century saw a interesting turn of events. Bayezid II (r. 1481-1512) was now Sultan. Instead of conquering more land, he opted to settle existing disputes within his rule. Land confiscated by his father was returned to their rightful owners (p.136). By this time, the Ottoman Empire was seen as the greatest empire since the early caliphate. They were strong and organized. The early 1500s would see this trend continue as Suleyman (known as the Lawgiver or the Magnificent) came in to ruling. From 1520 to 1566, he led the defeat of Hungary, Rhodes, Belgrade, Vienna, the North African coast and won two wars with the Safavids. He was responsible for the overhaul of Ottoman's laws and government. But just as things were steaming ahead for the Ottomans, the beginning of the Empire's downturn was taking shape.
Before delving into the downturn, there was a great deal of positive yet to be touched on. They created competition from within for earning a spot as a vizier. In a true show of loyalty to the throne, whomever took over as sultan had to put all of his brothers to death. While it is hard to see this as positive, it was a sure way to weed out the riffraff. They built a ruling class with four branches and governed in an orderly fashion. The Tanzimat Reforms were introduced in 1839. Among these laws was the security of honor life and property for all Ottoman subjects, regardless of race or religion (Tanzimat). With these reforms also came a modern infrastructure, schools and an introduction to Western science. And of course, the construction of the Suez Canal was the major achievement of this empire. But tough days and unwavering sultans entrenched in their ways would soon prevail.
The army's refusal to learn new methods, develop new tactics and training techniques were a major part of their undoing. With other countries developing new ways to fight, Ottoman complacency was leaving them in the dust. The devshirme system was crumbling. This system was how the Ottomans got their soldiers from the 15th to the 17th century. Boys were essentially kidnapped from their families and trained for either military or administrative service. This was also known as "boy levy". It is estimated that anywhere between 500,000 and one million boys, from ages 8-20, were taken this way. The early sultans encouraged competition between traditional leaders and the devshirme to be appointed a vizier. Suleyman the Magnificent made the terrible decision to appoint all devshirme as viziers, throwing off the balance of power. Normally, there would be equal numbers of landowners and devshirme, ensuring a level of fairness. Now however, the checks and balances of the previous regime were no longer. Eventually, the boy levies disappeared as did the top-notch training that came with it (141-142). Being appointed a vizier was now a result of "who you know, not what you know". When fundamentals fall to the wayside, control and consistency go with it. For example, in 1683 the Ottomans assaulted, but were defeated by Vienna. This was the Ottoman's second failed attempt at taking Vienna. This defeat all but solidified their fall from grace (Shuster, M).
The economic landscape also saw a monumental change. As the 1600s became the 1700s, the New World was discovered along with her spoils. There was also a change in the route for consumer goods and raw materials. Instead of stopping in the Middle East, the traders went around Africa directly to Asia. This slowed the movement of their goods when the foot traffic decreased. With England and other countries expanding their business, heavy inflation set in, which put a great deal of pressure on the higher-producing sect of the population (The Decline of Empires, 2001, p. 26). Unable to pay the high taxes, many moved from their farms to cities in search of work. With depleted demand, there was no work to be had. Many found themselves homeless. They turned to beggars, turning the already fractured economy worse yet (141-142).
One other major event to point to for the fall of the Ottoman Empire is when Suleyman's wife convinced him to have his own son killed (137). This self-serving request on the part of his wife meant leaving the throne to her own son upon Suleyman's death. Suleyman would eventually die leaving Selim II (r. 1566-1574) sultan of record when the Ottoman Empire began it's descension. Post-Suleyman, nearly a dozen and a half sultans followed. None would be able to stop the decline already set in motion. They were largely inexperienced and incapable, making it easy to see why the Ottoman Empire lost their control. Their failure to recognize industrialization led the empire to fall behind in efficiency and productivity. This economic stagnation further damaged the already weak empire. The lack of intelligence in leadership from the sultans were nails in the coffin. Simply put, the countries around them ate right, went to the gym and grew stronger, while the Ottoman stopped working out and rested on their laurels. World War I would see the ultimate demise of the Ottoman Empire.
The Ottomans entered World War I, joining German forces in there fight against the British during the summer of 1914 (203). Their appetite was great, but their eyes were bigger than their stomachs. Overtaken by the British, the Ottoman Empire breathed its last breath in the autumn of 1918. The war ended with the British occupying Iraq, Palestine, Trans-Jordan, Syria and Lebanon (Woodward, 2010). Western nations converged in an attempt to find post-war peace. A number of agreements were reached, largely as a result of the United States and President Woodrow Wilson. Even though there continued to be periodic unrest, conflict were generally resolved; except between Palestine and Israel.
Zionists yearned for Jewish land and they were primed to receive it, thanks to the Blafour Declaration of 1917. The declaration stated first that the British government "viewed with favor" the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people (Bickerton & Klausner, 2010, pg. 38-39). Arabs disagreed, but over time lost their land anyway, paving the way to decades of bloody battles between Israelis and Palestinians to this day.
The Ottoman Empire, though dead since 1922, lives on in many ways. The 1869 opening of the Suez Canal was perhaps their greatest structural achievement. This canal now connected Asia and Europe, allowing travelers to skip the long, costly trip around the tip of Africa. Though it has seen its share of controversy, it has also seen its share of triumphs. If you are looking for artifacts, travel to the Topkapi Palace Museum in Instanbul, Turkey. There, you can see the very sword received by Osman in the 1300s. This sword was given to him by a Sufi leader in his fight against the Byzantines (131). Another example of Ottoman effect is the multiculturalism that exists today in Turkey. It can be traced back to the Ottoman Empire. Capitulations, though detrimental to the Empire from an economical standpoint, were given to foreigners in the 1500s granting religious autonomy were a building block to the religious freedom of today. Jews, Christians and Muslims coexist as evidenced by alternate houses of worship erected next to one another.
It took time to grow and it took time to fall. But the Ottoman Empire and the 600-plus year rule is undeniable in its place in history. From aggressive land-conquering sultans to a sit-and-wait approach, the different ruling styles forged a middle eastern super power. Sadly, stagnation and a refusal to grow would catch up to the Ottomans. Poorly educated sultans and a failure to progress with the times would be the Ottoman Empire's ultimate demise. References
Bickerton, Ian J. and Klausner, Carla L. A history of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Upper Saddle River, NJ. 2010. Print. Pages 38-39
Brix, Emil, Klaus Koch and Elisabeth Vyslonzil, eds. The Decline of Empires. Oldenbourg, 2001. Print. Page 26
The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. Web.http://www.credoreference.com.library.esc.edu/entry/columency/tanzimat. 4 Oct. 2011.
Goldschmidt Jr., Arthur and Davidson, Lawrence. A Concise History of the Middle East. Boulder, CO. Westview, 2010. Print. Pages 131-33, 136-140, 142-3, 203
Shuster, Mike. The Middle East and the West: Rise of the Ottomans. NPR.com. esc.angellearning.com/section/default.asp?id=EMPU-8KDQZR, 18 Aug. 2004. Web. 4 Oct. 2011
Woodward, David R. The Middle East During World War One. BBC.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/middle_east_01.shtml. 10 Mar. 2011. Web. 7 Oct. 2011