The breakdown of Ottoman power in the 1800s is one of the most important events to understand in order to grasp how things evolved later on and led to where we are now. This thread will examine how the Ottoman “Empire” became a puppet state of stronger powers.
[THREAD]
[THREAD]
Napoleon’s failed campaign in the east led France to ally with Russia in meddling in the Ottoman sultanate. In 1808 a series of French & Russian backed military coups started, supporting the Janissaries against Sultan Selim III who was deposed and killed.
The Janissaries pushed to invite Russia to invade, their clerics making Fatwas inciting friendship with Russia & France against the English enemy.
This conflict went on until it was ended when the British backed Mahmut II massacred the janissaries and ended their role in 1826.
This conflict went on until it was ended when the British backed Mahmut II massacred the janissaries and ended their role in 1826.
The following year the Ottomans disastrously lost the battle of Navarino, after which Russia, its allies lost, pushed for invasion in the Balkans. Mahmut II was pressured by England to immediately sue for peace to end this war to prevent the entire empire falling to Russia.
France, in agreement with Britain, invaded Algeria for influence in the Mediterranean. The Ottomans lost all naval power in, and were forced into the treaty of Constantinople in 1832 recognizing Greek independence.
This ended all Ottoman influence in the Mediterranean.
This ended all Ottoman influence in the Mediterranean.
Within this power vacuum the governor of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha had consolidated his power. In 1812 he attempted to forge an alliance with Britain to expand his domain into the levant, but the latter’s fear of a new Arab power made it refuse.
The loss of Algeria and the disaster in Morea pushed Muhammad Ali to invade the levant in 1832 successfully in the first Egyptian-Ottoman war, which forced Mahmut II to recognize Ali’s reign over Egypt, Crete, Hejaz, Nejd and the levant in the treaty of Kutahya in 1836.
During his rule, which began in 1805, Muhammad Ali aimed to modernize Egypt and consolidate his power. He implemented various reforms, such as improving agricultural productivity, promoting industrialization, and strengthening the military.
Under his leadership, Egypt saw significant economic and military development, turning it into a formidable regional power. He also undertook a revival of the sciences in Egypt which led to a renaissance of the Arabic language, translation, and higher education in all fields.
As Muhammad Ali strengthened Egypt's military capabilities, he embarked on ambitious military campaigns beyond Egypt's borders. He sought to expand his territory into the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, and Sudan, aiming to establish a broader state under his control.
As he expanded his rule into Arab-speaking regions, Muhammad Ali's policies created a sense of shared identity among the Arabs of the region. This sense of unity and common Arab identity began to grow stronger, and it laid the groundwork for the development of Arab nationalism.
The rise of Egypt pushed the Ottomans to ally with Russia, their old nemesis. They allowed Russian troops to station in their lands & signed a pact in 1833. This and the unwillingness of France & Britain to see a powerful Arab state emerge caused the second Egyptian-Ottoman war.
Muhammad Ali Pasha then attempted to ally with France to secure his gains, which terrified England & Russia. Britain, Austria & Russia allied to counter Egypt. The latter asked France for help but France refused, agreeing instead to divide the Arab state into zones of influence.
Western intervention created the Ottoman victory in the war and forced the retreat of Egyptian forces from all the lands he conquered outside Egypt and Sudan, after which the bases Egypt previously occupied were handed over to French and British administration.
After this war, the Ottoman Empire became a vassal. In the treaty of Balta Liman the British colonized it by opening up its markets to British goods, while France had influence over the levant. Britain’s colonization of Iraq & France’s colonization of Syria thus started here.
Reforms in administration also were forced upon the ottoman government in the “Tanzimat” period, which led to the transformation of the empire into a modern secular nation. With the Islamic facade of the Empire falling, it began losing all its legitimacy.
The Tanzimat era led to the loss of power of the Ottoman sultan, French and British diplomacy now held the power. Courts in the levant were forced to assign European judges which started an era of westernization and secularization in the region.
In 1860 Britain pressed Abdulmajid I into enacting the Vilayets law which centralized power in the hands of the British controlled Sublime Port (Bab ‘Ali), which gave western companies expanded control in the Ottoman provinces.
Tax exemptions were given to European traders which suffocated the local economy & reforms to education made the religious authority lose all power.
In 1876 Abdülhamid II revived the constitution and made the sultanate into a constitutional monarchy with an “elected” parliament.
In 1876 Abdülhamid II revived the constitution and made the sultanate into a constitutional monarchy with an “elected” parliament.
IGermany which had recently unified started meddling in the Ottoman Empire and Germany began it with projects such as the Berlin-Baghdad Railway and the Hejaz Railway. In parliament each country supported a political faction, and this later led to a series of military coups.
In 1908 the German-backed “Union and Progress Party” won in the Ottoman parliament. British pressuring Abdülhamid II into disbanding the parliament and suspending the constitution under the guise of “returning the Islamic caliphate”, which is where modern day Islamism started.
Germany supported the 1908 Young Turk coup which removed Abdülhamid from power. Britain supported the Liberty Party to win the 1912 elections, and Germany again responded with another coup in 1913. This led to the Ottoman empire entering WW1 as a *vassal of Germany, not an ally.
After the Ottoman defeat in WW1 Britain returned the Liberty Party to rule, renaming it the Freedom and Accord Party. On the behest of Britain the party began imprisoning and taking to court all the members of the Union and Progress Party who were put on trial Nuremberg style.
The British-backed Freedom and Accord Party created the Turkish National Movement, and who supervised the Grand National Assembly which then became the Turkish parliament, which disbanded the empire officially and exiled the Ottoman family. Turkey was born with British backing.
How is it then that those who appose the Arab revolt claim it as treason? In all possible ways, the ones whom the Arabs revolted against had committed the exact same thing they accused the Arabs of and to an even bigger extent.
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