W6 : ATA101 History of Turkish Modernization Midterm Review

Emergence of the modern Turkey is the consequence of the structural modernization reforms started in the
Ottoman era.

The history of Turkish modernization and birth of the Turkish Nation State are the last stages of the modernization
movement in the Ottoman era.

Origin of the Ottomans is a nomadic Turkoman tribe known as Kayi Tribe migrated from inner Mongolia to Seljukid
Anatoia in the 13th century.

The term, "Turkoman", refers to nomadic tribes in Anatolia and the Balkans who were shepherds migrating into
the uplands in the spring, and downlands in the in the fall.

Kayi Tribe settled in a piece of land in the North-western Anatolia where was on the main trade road on the
Seljukid-Byzantine frontier.

Kayi Tribe conquered Byzantine provinces and founded a frontier principality in the late 13th century.

Osman Beg was the founder of the Ottoman dynasty and the second leader of the tribe in Anatolia.
When the Ottomans conquered the prosperous Byzantine city Burusa (Bursa) on the ancient Silk Road, the small
frontier principality became a multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-linguist state.

Bursa was the main silk manufacturing and trade center of the time and trade, craft and prosperity on the main
artery of the trade and military road to Constantinople and the Balkans.

Bursa became the first capital of the Ottomans and consisted the core of the multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-
cultural Ottoman imperial society.

Reconciliation and religious freedom were the basis of the Islamic state tradition inherited from the earlier Islamic
empires and the Ottomans made this principle the heart of their state mentality since the early Ottoman era.

The Byzantine historian George Pachymeres was one of the main contemporary source for the early Ottoman era
because George Pachymeres met with Orhan Beg in the first Ottoman capital city Bursa.
Pachymeres met Orhan Beg and many other Ottomans in Bursa and he mentions in his account that they were very
friendly and positive people trying to understand the manner of the Byzantines.

The Early Ottoman era was the period of conquest and Ottomans conquered the Byzantine lands until the fall of the
last city of the Byzantine Empire.

Sultan Mehmed II is considered the ultimate founder of a new Islamic Empire in 1453.

Mehmed II conquered the capital city of Byzantine Empire, which made the Ottoman state an empire.

Ottoman state structure in the imperial era was a well- functioning medieval system whose power was based on:
Conquest of new territories,
New peasant subjects to collect taxes to finance the military campaigns
Collecting custom dues and tariff taxes from Silk Road and Spice Road to pay the salaries of the Ottoman
bureucrats and soldiers in the central army

The Ottoman imperial system was fair in taxation and the policy of reconciliation ensured the stability, peace and
religious freedom for the non-Muslims, which was the key policy of the Ottoman state system ruled different ethnic
and religious communities in piece until the age of nationalism in the 19th century.
What Are the Consequences of the Conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans ?

Artists and scientists of the Byzantine Empire fled to Europe, especially to Italy.

Byzantine libraries, ancient manuscripts and maps were taken to Europe, especially to Italy.

Byzantine aristocrats took refuge in Europe and became a part of the ruling elite of the Western Europe, which opened the
way to a political revival and re-discovery of the Byzantine political culture in the Western Europe.

Art and science of the ancient Greek, ideologies, literature and philosophy became a part of the intellectual world of Europe
in the second half of the 15th century.

A new page in the history of the world was opened: The age of scientific development and structural changes in the West .

The conquest of Constantinople was the beginning of the early modern age.
The early modern age was a new era was mainly the era of geographic explorations, reform, renaissance, scientific
development, new war technologies and age of colonization

Trade center of Europe moved from Mediterranean to Western Europe and maritime trade routes of Atlantic
replaced Danube and Baltik trade roads.

New sea roads to China and India were discovered, which was end of the trade on the ancient land roads such as Silk
and Spice Road

The renaissance and the scientific revolution constituted the most significant period of discovery and growth in
sciences in the World history.

War technology developed in Europe very quickly in this period and the new technologies were introduced in
producing military goods.

Consolidated power created the foundation for Europe’s first modern nation-states such as Spain, France, England,
Portugal and the feudal structure of Europe consisting of land lords unified under one rule.

The early modern age was the age of small central monarchies and the new political system became the dominant
political structure of Europe.
Discovery of the New World caused the influx of a huge amount of gold and silver transferred from America to Europe.

The central monarchies of Europe spent more money for geographic explorations, and development of new war and
production Technologies, construction of palaces and religious buildings, which prepared the first global economic
crisis of the modern ages in the world history.

The Ottomans on the Eve of a New Era

The first half of the 16th century was the ‘’Golden Age’’ of the Ottoman Empire.

Sultan of the Golden Age was Suleyman I (r. 1521-1566) , popularly known as “the Magnificent” or “the Lawgiver”.

During the reign of Sultan Suleyman I, the Ottoman empire reached the height of its military and political power.

At the end of the Golden Age in 1566, the Ottoman rule extended over a great portion of Europe, Asia, and Africa and
the ancient trade roads, Silk Road and Spice Road, were taken under the control of the Ottoman Empire.

The Golden Age was the zenith of the Ottoman art and culture that the Ottoman court artists created splendid
examples of illuminated and illustrated Islamic art.
This period had a lasting impact on the Islamic art in the World because an original Islamic culture, art and
civilization was developed in this age.

The religious complexes of the royal architect Sinan, animal and plant figures in calligraphy, Islamic manuscript
painting, textiles, and ceramics were important developments of this era.

During the Golden Age, the Ottoman Empire was a well- functioning medieval empire and the leader of the Islamic
world.
The Ottomans in the New Age

But the structural problems and stagnation had already started after the Sultan Suleyman’s reign

When the World system had changed, it is too hard to introduce developments and transform the old system in
such big imperial boundaries.

New sea roads cut the trade and tax revenue of the Silk and Spice roads.

Ottoman war technology was now old fashion.

Central authority weakened and uprisings in the distant provinces such as in Basra and Yemen were the main
political problems and the Ottoman system required modernization reforms in the new age.

First attempt of the Ottoman intellectuals and state officers against the stagnation was to seek ways to restore the
perfect system of the Golden Age.

The Ottomans lost a big amount of tax revenue collected from Silk Road and Spice Road, when the maritime sea
roads replaced the ancient land roads.
The global inflation caused by the gold and silver coming from the New World decreased the purchasing power of
the Ottoman silver money, so the Ottoman central treasure could not finance the military campaigns, which was the
beginning of the terror and uprisings of the standing army of the Ottomans , Janissaries.

There was a big revolt of janissary corps in Istanbul in 1592 in the reign of Sultan Murat III, when the Jannissaries
were paid by the newly minted coins containing less silver than before.

On the other hand, war with Iran in the east and with Habsburgs in the West created new financial crisis in the
emprie in the late 16th and early 17th century.

Ottomans formed diplomatic relations with the rising new powers of the West and made an allience with Queen
Elizabeth I in 1587 and British merchants gained tax privileges in the Ottoman ports.

Murat III was the first sultan curious about the developments in the West and the sultan ordered books to be
translated about discovery of America and history of French Military Successes.

Revolts, continuous wars and economic problems created a negative the mood in Istanbul and Sultan Murat III was
the first sultan who organized 51 days long festival of his sons’ circumcision ceremony to improve the moral of his
people.
17th century was the era of reforms mainly on the millitary modernization.

The reforms were mainly on millitary modernization agaist the threat of Habsburgs on the western frontier, the
struggle with Iran in the eastern frontier and war with Venice in the Mediterranean Sea

Although provincial uprisings were suppressed, trade were encouraged and corrupted officials executed, these reforms
in the 17th century did not bring permanent solutions to the structural problems.

In the 17th century, increase in the power of local governors and notables in the provinces created a new political
structure similar to European feudalism.

These local governors and notables formed private armies, which increased their autonomy and control of tax revenues
in the provinces, which resulted to large scale unemployment, famine, and plague and worsen the economic, social
and military crisis in the empire during the 17th century.
17th century was a long war period of the Ottomans with Austria and its allies

The Karlovitz Peace Treaty sign in 1699 with Austria marked the first land loss of the Ottoman Empire and the
Ottomans lost their lands in central Europe.

The Main Problems of Stagnation in the 18th Century and Tulip Period:

Uprisings of Janissaries, their increasing control on trade and the economy of big cities

Increasing power of local notables and noble families against the central authority

But Ahmed III was the sultan of the Tulip Period who implemented peace and reform policies at first time to start
the first serious modernization movement in the history of the Ottoman Empire.

The sultan signed peace treaties with his enemies, so his reign became the thirty years long peace and
development period for the Ottoman Empire.

He established the first Ottoman embassies in Europe to follow and learn the developments in the West.
The first publishing house and a paper mill to produce paper for the printing house were opened in Istanbul in the
Tulip Period.

Also the first fireman organizationwas formed and the first vaccinations for infectious diseases were applied in the
Tulip Period.

Many new social and cultural practice of the modern world were entered the Ottoman lands in Tulip Period.

Ahmet III’s last and most important modernization attempt was to modernize the army.

His sincere attempt was for military modernization forming modern military corps called `New Order`

This attempt was resulted with a big revolt of unruly Janissaries under the leaderhip of a janissary, Patrona Halil and
dethronement of the Sultan Ahmed III.

This was the end of the first serious attempt of modernization in the Ottoman Emire in 1730.
Selim III is the Ottoman sultan from 1789 to 1807 and his reign was deeply influenced by the French Revolution.

Sultan Selim III (r. 1789 to 1807) undertook a program of Westernization under the strong intellectual and political
influence of the French Revolution.

As a poet and an accomplished composer of Ottoman classical music, Sultan Selim III had enjoyed greater freedom of
supporting art, artists and cultural development prior to his accession to the throne.

The sultan opened the first permanant Ottoman embassies in the major European capitals.

Reforms of Sultan Selim III were more focused on modernization of the army, provincial governorships, taxation, and
land tenure system.

Sultan Selim III founded new military and naval schools.

Also in 1797 the sultan formed new corps of infantry, called New Order, to replace the Janissary corps.

Janissaries organized a revolt once more and dethroned and killed Selim III.
19th century was marked the sucess of the reformist Sultan Mahmud II Ottoman sultan (1808–39)

most significant reform was to abolished the Janissary corps and this achievement was called the ‘’Fortunate Event’’.

Sultan Mahmud II was the first Sultan portrayed as a modern man and European style monarch and for this his reason,
conservative groups called him as “infidel sultan”.

Sultan Mahmud II introduced modern educational instititutions such as the medical and surgery school, a modern
school to educate public officers.

the first public schools for kids opened in the reign ofThe Sultan Mahmud II and the first Ottoman newspaper was
published in 1831.

Sultan Abdulmecid succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839 and started a new era of modernization by
declaring the ‘’Noble Edict of the Rose Chamber’’, which was the code of the Ottoman modernization that would
guarantee the security of life, property, and honor to all subjects of the empire regardless of their religion or race.

The empire experienced the revolt of the governor of Egypt in the reign of Sultan Abdülmecid and the Ottoman
governor of Egypt Kavalalı Mehmet Ali Pasha founded a dynasty in Egrypt and became an Ottoman vassal in 1840.
Sultan Abdulaziz (1861-1876) suceeded his brother and the sultan bercame the first Ottoman sultan who travelled
to Western Europe and Egypt and formed important alliences and diplomatic relations.

Abdülaziz cultivated good relations with the Second French Empire and the British Empire .

The large budget given for modernization efforts and expanding the Navy resulted in a series of financial crisis

Ottoman government borrowed loans from British and French banks for modernization reforms and when the
debts could not be paid, England and France established debt administration controlling the Ottomans’ source of
tax revenues in 1881

Sultan Abdulaziz was overthrown by his ministers in 1876 and killed suspiciously, which was the sad end of the
modernization era in the history of the Ottoman Empire.