History

It was obvious to Selim III that reform was needed. Inspired by the American and French revolutions, he created a new corps, the nizam-i jedid ("the new order"), on Western models, even adopting European-style uniforms. Threatened by a loss of power and privilege within the system, the Janissaries revolted, and in a conciliatory gesture that cost him the throne, Selim dissolved the nizam-i jedid in 1807. In the next few years, the Janissaries executed many of the reformers as well as Selim's successor, Mustafa IV; Mahmud II was spared only because he was the sole surviving Ottoman prince. Proceeding with caution, Mahmud's first action was to deal with the anarchy that had taken root in the provinces, selecting more obedient governors. Meanwhile, nationalistic sentiments were the cause of revolts in Serbia, Greece, Algeria, and Romania; Serbia gained autonomy in 1829, while Greek rebels, aided by Russia, were able to secure independence by 1830. Faced with a series of defeats, it was clear that the Janissaries were of little use in the defense of the empire, allowing Mahmud to gain enough support to finally have the corps destroyed. The corps was abolished on June 15, 1826, in a staged massacre, and a new army trained in European techniques by German military advisors was formed.

Finally rid of the Janissaries' influence, Mahmud II, followed by his successor, Abdülmecid, was able to embark on significant modernization that would last for 40 years. The period of Tanzimat (literally, "reordering") was ushered in, aimed at strengthening the power of the government while encouraging an economic and social structure similar to that of Europe.

Influential during this period was the arrival of telegraph lines into Istanbul in 1855, facilitating a literary renaissance that would develop into an incubator for new nationalistic ideas. Supporters of this patriotism were called "New Ottomans," whose objectives of preserving territory and limiting autocratic rule would be attainable through the adoption of a constitution. Considered dissidents, many of these supporters were forced to flee, pursuing their nationalistic aims from posts abroad.

The reforms, however, failed to alleviate a worsening financial crisis brought on by a flood of foreign products, ending in a Franco-English monopoly on tobacco, salt, alcohol, silk, and other essentials. Loans to foreign banks were bankrupting an empire that had come to be known as "the Sick Man of Europe." European powers used this weakness to manipulate political balances. This foreign domination was no more evident than in the Ottoman participation in the Crimean War (1854-56), when the Ottomans granted the Catholic French the right to protect Christian sites in the Ottoman-held Holy Land. The Orthodox Russians found the excuse they needed to further their territorial ambitions and declared war on the Sultanate. Britain and France entered the conflict to protect their commercial interests, and the Russians were ultimately defeated. Even though the outcome was territorially favorable to the Ottomans, the empire was demoralized, having gone from imperial power to political pawn in less than 300 years.

Abdülhamid II succeeded in temporarily reinvigorating the failing empire, but it was too little too late. In 1875 he was confronted with a rebellion by a pan-Slavic movement in the Balkans that was united under Russian protection. Battered, and driven back almost to Istanbul, the Ottomans were forced to sign the disastrous Treaty of San Stefano in which much of the Ottoman's European territory was lost. Anti-Russian powers swiftly united behind Britain to force a modification of the treaty in 1878 at the Conference of Berlin. Nevertheless, the damage had been done. European imperialism was costing them more losses: Tunisia to the French in 1881, Egypt to the British in 1882, and East Rumalia to Bulgaria in 1885.

Abdülhamid II responded by reaffirming his designation as caliph and beginning a policy of reinvigorating Islamic unity. With nationalistic tendencies developing among the Arab groups and Albanians, he hoped to create a sense of solidarity geared at holding the empire together.

Succumbing to external and internal pressures, he reluctantly instituted the first written constitution establishing a parliamentary system modeled on those in the West. For the first time in the history of the empire, absolute Ottoman rule had been relinquished, but as a condition to accepting the document, Abdülhamid insisted on retaining the right as final arbiter on unresolved issues. When the opposition became too outspoken in 1877, he simply neglected to reconvene the parliament, essentially shutting down the constitution and ruling autocratically for the next 30 years. Harshly criticized for repression, censorship, and paranoia of conspiracy, he was nevertheless effective in his Westernization of the empire, concentrating on public works, economic development, education, and communications. The telegraph, which provided access to information from beyond the empire's borders, was also useful to his network of spies, providing Abdülhamid with a means for controlling potential insurgencies from within.

The strengthening of the ideal of nationalism, both within the empire and among the provinces, had important negative consequences. Armenian revolutionary groups were springing up in response to a new sense of national identity. Concerned with another separatist movement and suspicious of an Armenian allegiance with European powers, Abdülhamid suppressed these insurgencies in a series of brutal massacres in which an estimated 300,000 Armenians were killed. (This number is disputed.) More separatist movements arose: Greeks in Crete demanding unification with Greece rebelled, resulting in the loss of the island, while Bulgar aggression in Macedonia was inciting unrest among the Greeks there.

European response to Abdülhamid's regime was less than positive, but the Ottomans continued to receive consistent support from the Germans, who, along with the concessionary rights to a Berlin-to-Baghdad railway, enjoyed substantial commercial privileges.

Abdülhamid's crushing policy of censorship was unable to staunch the flow of new ideas. In the late 1880s an organized movement called the Committee for Union and Progress (CUP), made up primarily of military officers and rebels in Macedonia, was organized. In the name of "Liberty, Justice, Equality, and Fraternity" these Young Turks orchestrated a successful nonviolent coup d'état in 1908 designed to reinstate the constitution. Abdülhamid was deposed and his brother Mehmed V was released from prison as token head of state.