rivalries.
Thirty-six years after the conclusion of the Berlin Congress, the Balkan
tinderbox exploded on 28 June 1914, when Serbian nationalists assassinated the
Austrian crown prince, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo, sparking the
First World War.
ABDÜLHAMID II
With the removal of Midhat Paşa in 1877, the center of
power began to shift back from the office of the grand vizier to the sultan.
Despite the defeat at the hands of the Russians and the territorial losses
imposed by the Congress of Berlin, the new sultan, Abdülhamid II (1876–1909), remained
committed to the reforms introduced during the Tanzimat period. Indeed, it was
during his reign that a new and Western-educated officer corps emerged.
Ironically, the same officers would play an important role in deposing the
sultan in April 1909. In addition to emphasizing military training, the sultan
expanded elementary and secondary education (including the opening of a new
school for girls in 1884), introduced a modern medical school, and established
the University of Istanbul. To create a modern communication system for the
empire, he developed telegraph services and the Ottoman railway system,
connecting Istanbul to the heartland of the Arab world as far south as the holy
city of Medina in Hejaz. The Hejaz railroad, which was completed in July 1908,
allowed the sultan to dispatch his troops to the Arab provinces in case of a
rebellion.
As with the reforms introduced by the men of Tanzimat, the
principal objective of Abdülhamid II’s modernization schemes was to establish a
strong and centralized government capable of maintaining the territorial
integrity of the empire. In practical terms, this meant suppressing uprisings
among the sultan’s subjects and defending the state against the expansionist
policies of European powers. Despite the sultan’s best efforts, however, the
empire continued to lose territory.
Building on their occupation of Algeria in 1830, the French
imposed their rule on Tunisia in May 1881. A year later, the British invaded
and occupied Egypt. In addition to these losses, the Ottoman Empire also
continued to lose territory in the Balkans. After the Congress of Berlin, the
only area left under Ottoman rule was a relatively narrow corridor south of the
Balkan Mountains that stretched from the Black Sea in the east to the Adriatic
in the west, incorporating Thrace, Thessaly, Macedonia, and Albania. Greece,
Serbia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria coveted the remaining territory of the dying
Ottoman Empire. In accordance with the promises made at the Congress of Berlin,
the Ottomans handed much of Thessaly and a district in Epirus to Greece in July
1881. Despite these gains, Greece continued to push for additional territorial
concessions including the island of Crete, where several uprisings, encouraged
by Athens, forced the sultan in 1898 to agree to the creation of an autonomous
Cretan state under Ottoman suzerainty. The island finally became part of Greece
in December 1913.
Aside from the military disasters and territorial losses
that the empire suffered, the reign of Abdülhamid II proved to be a period of
significant social, economic, and cultural transformation. The autocratic
sultan continued with the reforms that had been introduced by the men of
Tanzimat. There was, however, a fundamental difference. The statesmen of the
Tanzimat had begun their governmental careers as translators and diplomats
attached to Ottoman embassies in Europe, and thus wished to emulate European
customs and institutions. Abdülhamid II, in contrast, may have been a
modernizer, but one who believed strongly in preserving the Islamic identity of
the Ottoman state. With the loss of its European provinces, the number of
Christian subjects of the sultan decreased and Muslims began to emerge as the
empire’s majority population. The Muslim population was not only loyal to the
sultan but also felt a deep anger toward the sultan’s Christian subjects
Thirty-six years after the conclusion of the Berlin Congress, the Balkan
tinderbox exploded on 28 June 1914, when Serbian nationalists assassinated the
Austrian crown prince, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo, sparking the
First World War.
ABDÜLHAMID II
With the removal of Midhat Paşa in 1877, the center of
power began to shift back from the office of the grand vizier to the sultan.
Despite the defeat at the hands of the Russians and the territorial losses
imposed by the Congress of Berlin, the new sultan, Abdülhamid II (1876–1909), remained
committed to the reforms introduced during the Tanzimat period. Indeed, it was
during his reign that a new and Western-educated officer corps emerged.
Ironically, the same officers would play an important role in deposing the
sultan in April 1909. In addition to emphasizing military training, the sultan
expanded elementary and secondary education (including the opening of a new
school for girls in 1884), introduced a modern medical school, and established
the University of Istanbul. To create a modern communication system for the
empire, he developed telegraph services and the Ottoman railway system,
connecting Istanbul to the heartland of the Arab world as far south as the holy
city of Medina in Hejaz. The Hejaz railroad, which was completed in July 1908,
allowed the sultan to dispatch his troops to the Arab provinces in case of a
rebellion.
As with the reforms introduced by the men of Tanzimat, the
principal objective of Abdülhamid II’s modernization schemes was to establish a
strong and centralized government capable of maintaining the territorial
integrity of the empire. In practical terms, this meant suppressing uprisings
among the sultan’s subjects and defending the state against the expansionist
policies of European powers. Despite the sultan’s best efforts, however, the
empire continued to lose territory.
Building on their occupation of Algeria in 1830, the French
imposed their rule on Tunisia in May 1881. A year later, the British invaded
and occupied Egypt. In addition to these losses, the Ottoman Empire also
continued to lose territory in the Balkans. After the Congress of Berlin, the
only area left under Ottoman rule was a relatively narrow corridor south of the
Balkan Mountains that stretched from the Black Sea in the east to the Adriatic
in the west, incorporating Thrace, Thessaly, Macedonia, and Albania. Greece,
Serbia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria coveted the remaining territory of the dying
Ottoman Empire. In accordance with the promises made at the Congress of Berlin,
the Ottomans handed much of Thessaly and a district in Epirus to Greece in July
1881. Despite these gains, Greece continued to push for additional territorial
concessions including the island of Crete, where several uprisings, encouraged
by Athens, forced the sultan in 1898 to agree to the creation of an autonomous
Cretan state under Ottoman suzerainty. The island finally became part of Greece
in December 1913.
Aside from the military disasters and territorial losses
that the empire suffered, the reign of Abdülhamid II proved to be a period of
significant social, economic, and cultural transformation. The autocratic
sultan continued with the reforms that had been introduced by the men of
Tanzimat. There was, however, a fundamental difference. The statesmen of the
Tanzimat had begun their governmental careers as translators and diplomats
attached to Ottoman embassies in Europe, and thus wished to emulate European
customs and institutions. Abdülhamid II, in contrast, may have been a
modernizer, but one who believed strongly in preserving the Islamic identity of
the Ottoman state. With the loss of its European provinces, the number of
Christian subjects of the sultan decreased and Muslims began to emerge as the
empire’s majority population. The Muslim population was not only loyal to the
sultan but also felt a deep anger toward the sultan’s Christian subjects
Similar Books
