The internal structure and social structure of the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman Empire. State formation
At the end of the 13th century, a Turkish state arose in the western part of Asia Minor, which received the name of the Ottoman Empire in honor of its founder Osman Bey. Osman Bey was the commander of one of the ten warring emirates, which in turn arose on the basis of the Kenyan Seljuk Sultanate (the Kenyan or Rum Sultanate arose in the 70s of the 11th century in Asia Minor and was captured by the Mongols in the 13th century). It so happened that the emirate ruled by Osman had several geopolitical advantages, it was located in the western part of the Asia Minor peninsula and bordered on Bithynia, a province of Byzantium.
Osman did a lot to strengthen his power, first he eliminated his uncle Dundar, then he received the title of udjbey. Then, taking advantage of the geographical location of his emirate, or rather the fact that his neighbors were Christians, Osman declared himself a fighter for the faith (ghazi). In 1299, Osman lost his Seljuk overlord Ala al-Din Keykubad III, who was thrown out by his dissatisfied subjects, which made him even more independent.
During his reign (1281/88-1326), Osman began to dominate the Asian coast of the Sea of Marmara and strengthened the state centralization of power. In 1326, Osman died, the last news he received was the news of the long-awaited capture of Bursa, which later became the Ottoman capital.
Osman's successor was Orkhan (1326-1362). In 1327 Orkhan ordered to mint the first Akche coin in Bursa, thus he testified to complete independence from the Mongols and began to call himself Sultan. The entire reign of Orhan passed under the sign of great battles and seizures, which was served by the total militarization of the state. The Ottoman sultan was the owner of all land plots and gave them to his subjects for use (without the right to redeem). But there were such allotments that assumed service in the Turkish army for the use of land, such allotments were inherited. Thus, the basis of the Ottoman army was formed, which was replenished for larger battles at the expense of those who wanted to earn extra money. During the reign of Orhan, the Ottoman state was an eternal nightmare for others. The Turks captured Nicaea and Nicomedia, broke through to the shores of the Bosphorus and began to rule over most of Western Anatolia, and in 1354 switched their aggression to Europe.
After Orhan, Murad I (1362-1389) became the ruler of the Ottoman state, during his reign the Ottomans enriched the treasury and received indivisible hegemony at the junction of Asia and Europe. Also, the formation of board structures was completed, a sofa was created. In 1362, the Ottomans conquered Adrianople, renamed it Edirne and made it the capital of the state. Perhaps Sultan Murad I could have conquered even more lands for the Ottoman Empire, but internal strife constantly arose on his way, which he strangled very harshly. But despite internal quarrels, in 1386 Murad I and his army captured Sofia, and in June 1389 part of the Balkans came under the rule of the Ottomans. During the battle for the Balkans, Murad I was severely wounded by Milos Obilic and died.
Murad I's follower was his eldest son Bayazid, he ruled the Ottomans from 1389 to 1402, was known as a talented commander and a good strategist, Bulgaria, Serbia and Anatolia were captured by the Turks during his reign.
In 1396, Bayazid began his first campaign against Constantinople, but was forced to leave the oblog of the city, as the Hungarian king Sigismund of Luxembourg, who, in order to protect his borders, organized an anti-Turkish crusade and broke into Bulgaria. In September 1396, the greatest battle took place near Nikopol, in which Bayazid emerged victorious and captured 10,000 Catholics, and executed almost all of them by decapitation. This monstrous execution lasted a day, Bayazid ordered only 300 prisoners to be left alive, whom he later exchanged very profitably.
Subsequently, the shocked Europe left the Ottomans alone and in 1400 Bayezid again took Constantinople in the tax. But even now he failed to take the city, Timur prevented him from this, the Samarkand emir, who dreamed of world domination and in 1935 broke into Anatolia. Bayazid's son Yertogrul came to the defense of the Turkish lands, but during the battle near Sivas his army was defeated, and Yertogrul himself was captured and brutally killed along with other prisoners of war. This was the reason that Boyazyd retreated from Constantinople for the second time and advanced on a campaign now against Timur. But, Bayazid underestimated the enemy and on July 25, 1402, he lost the battle with a rout and was captured, where he died.
For ten long years, the Ottoman state was in a terrible state due to internal strife, and only in 1413 Mehmed I was strengthened on the throne, but then a popular uprising led by Sheikh Bedreddin overtook Turkey. The uprising began in 1416 and lasted six months, after which it was brutally suppressed, there were a lot of murders, repressions and persecution, not only of ordinary people, but also of the elite (to know, cultural and scientific figures), while the sheikh himself was hanged by a court decision .
This is how the united Ottoman state broke up through internal strife and uprisings, but soon Turkey, led by Sultan Murad II, regained its former power and resumed the conquest of the world.
Formation of the Ottoman state.
Seljukids and the formation of the state of the Great Seljuks.
The Turks in the era of the Great Migration of Peoples. Early Turkic Khaganates.
Lecture 4. Turkic world on the way to empire.
1. The Turks in the era of the Great Migration of Peoples. Early Turkic Khaganates.
In the second half of the 1st millennium AD. in the Eurasian steppes and mountainous regions of Central Asia, the predominant position was occupied by the tribes of the Turks. The history of the Turkic peoples is known mainly from the stories of their settled neighbors. The Turks had their own historical literature in Turkestan only in the 16th century. Of all the Turkish states, only the history of the Ottoman Empire can be studied from Turkish sources (in the Old Ottoman language).
The initial use of the word "Turk" served as a designation for a tribe headed by the Ashina clan, i.e. was an ethnonym. After the formation of the Turkic Khaganate, the word "Turk" became politicized. It came to mean the state at the same time. A broader meaning was given to it by the neighbors of the kaganate - the Byzantines and Arabs. They extended this name to the nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppes dependent on the Turks and related to them. At present, the name "Turk" is an exclusively linguistic concept, without regard to ethnography or even origin.
The Ashina clan is the creator of the first Turkic state. It arose in Altai in the VI century. An extensive tribal union of 12 tribes was formed here, which adopted the self-name "Turk". According to ancient legend, this name was the local name of the Altai Mountains.
The first historical person from the Ashin clan, who headed the union, was the leader of the Turks Bumyn. In 551, after the victory over the Rourans (bordering northern China), Bumyn became the head of a multi-tribal state. It included not only the Turks, but also other nomadic tribes subject to them. The name Türkic Khaganate was fixed for nirm (Turk el, el among the Turks - a tribe and a state in the Middle Ages).
Bumyn took the Juan title "kagan" (later form - khan). This title among nomadic peoples denoted the supreme ruler, under whose authority were other rulers of a lower rank. This title was equated with the title of the Chinese emperor. This title was worn by the rulers of many peoples - the Huns, Avars, Khazars, Bulgarians.
The Turkic Khaganate under the closest successors of Bumyn for short period expanded its boundaries Pacific Ocean to the Black Sea. In 576, during the period of the greatest territorial expansion, the Turks reached the borders with Byzantium and Iran.
According to the internal structure, the kaganate was a rigid hierarchy of tribes and clans. The championship belonged to the 12-tribal union of the Turks. The second most important was the Tokuz-Oghuz tribal union led by the Uighurs.
The supreme power belonged to the representatives of the Kagan Ashina clan. The kagan personified in one person the rudders of the leader, the supreme judge, the high priest. The throne was passed on by the seniority of brothers and nephews. Each of the princes of the blood received an inheritance in control. They received the title "Shad" (Middle Persian Shah). This is the so-called specific-ladder system of government.
The Turkic Khagans, having subjugated the ancient agricultural regions, themselves continued to roam in the steppes. They interfered little in the political, economic and cultural life of the occupied territories. Their local rulers paid tribute to the Turks.
During 582-603. there was an internecine war, which led to the disintegration of the kaganate into warring parts: the Eastern Turkic khaganate in Mongolia; Western Turkic in Central Asia and Dzungaria. Their history did not last long. Until the end of the 7th century they were under the rule of the Chinese Tang Empire.
For a short period of time, the second Turkic Khaganate (687 - 745) arose, at the origins of which the Ashina clan again stood, uniting the Eastern Turks. The state of the Western Turks was also restored with the dominant position of the Turgesh tribe. Hence the name of the kaganate - Turgesh.
After the collapse of the Second Turkic Khaganate, the Uighur Khaganate with its capital in the city of Orubalyk on the river became an important political force in Central Asia. Orkhon. Since 647, the Yaglakar clan was at the head of the state. The Uighurs professed Buddhism and Nestorianism. They were considered irreconcilable enemies of Islam. In 840, the Uighurs were defeated by the Yenisei Kyrgyz.
An important milestone in the history of the early Turkic states and peoples of Central and Central Asia was the conquest of the Arabs and the processes of Islamization that took place here. At the beginning of the 8th century Arabs conquered the entire Central Asian region. Starting from 713 - 714 years. the Arabs clashed with the Turks in the battles near Samarkand. The Türgesh Khagan refused to voluntarily submit to the caliphate and supported the struggle of the Samarkand people against the Arab presence. As a result, the Arabs in the 30s. 8th century dealt a decisive blow to the Turkic troops, and the Turgesh Khaganate disintegrated.
With the accession of Central Asia to the Caliphate, fractional internal borders were eliminated, and the different peoples of this region were united by one language (Arabic) and a common religion - Islam. Since that time, Central Asia has become an organic part of the Islamic world.
2. Seljukids and the formation of the state of the Great Seljuks.
At the end of the X century. the tribes of the Turks who converted to Islam began to play an active political role in Central Asia. Since that time, Islamized Turkic dynasties - Karakhanids, Ghaznavids and Seljukids - began to rule in the region.
The Karakhanids came from the top of the Karluk tribe. They were associated with the Ashina clan. After the defeat of the Uyghur Khaganate by the Yenisei Kyrgyz, the supreme authority among the Turkic tribes passed to them. In 840, the Karakhanid state was formed, which initially occupied the territory of Semirechye and Turkestan. In 960, the Karluks converted to Islam en masse. According to sources, 200 thousand tents immediately converted to Islam. The Karakhanid state existed until the beginning of the 13th century. His fall was accelerated by the blows of the Seljuks.
The Ghaznavids are a Turkic Sunni dynasty that ruled in Central Asia from 977 to 1186. The founder of the state is the Turkic gulam Alp-Tegin. After leaving the service of the Samanids in Khorasan, he headed a semi-independent principality in Ghazna (Afghanistan). The state of the Ghaznavids reached its greatest power under Sultan Mahmud Ghazni (998-1030). He significantly expanded the territory of his state, making successful trips to Central Asia and India. His campaigns played a big role in the spread of Sunni Islam in northern India. He also became famous for his wide philanthropy, providing ample opportunities for famous scientists to work at the court. The famous encyclopedist Abk Raykhan Biruni (973-1048) worked at his court. The great Persian poet Firdousi, author of the epic poem "Shah-name". Mahmud's son Masud (1031 - 1041) underestimated the dangers of the Sedjukids. In 1040 Masud's huge army was defeated by the Seljuks near Merv. As a result, they lost Khorasan and Khorezm. By the middle of the XI century. The Ghaznavids lost all Iranian possessions, and in 1186 after long struggle for survival, after numerous territorial losses, the state of the Ghaznavids ceased to exist.
In the IX - X centuries. Oghuz nomads lived in the Syr Darya and in the Aral Sea region. The head of the Oguz tribal union with the Turkic title "yabgu" headed the union of 24 tribes. The collision of the Oghuz with the culture of Central Asia contributed to their Islamization. Among the Oguz tribes, the Seljuks stood out. They were named after the semi-legendary leader Seljuk ibn Tugak.
The history of the rise of the Seljuks is connected with the names of two famous leaders, whom tradition considers the grandsons of the Seljuks - Chaghril-bek and Togrul-bek. Togrul-bek utterly defeated the Ghaznavids and became the master of Khorasan. Then he made trips to Iraq, overthrew the Buwayhid dynasty. For this, he received the title of "Sultan and King of the East and West" from the Caliph of Baghdad. The policy of conquest was continued by his son Alp Arslan (1063 - 1072). In 1071 he won a famous victory over the Byzantines at Manzikert. This victory opened the way for the Seljuks to Asia Minor. By the end of the XI century. the Seljuks captured Syria, Palestine, and in the east - the possessions of the Karakhanids.
As a result of the military campaigns of the Seljuks, a huge state was created, stretching from the Amu Darya and the borders of India to the Mediterranean. The reign of the sultans of the XI - XII centuries. It is customary to call the dynasty of the Great Seljukids.
The Seljuk Empire reached its peak during the reign of Sultan Malik Shah I (1072-1092). During his reign, the folding of state structures, begun under Togrul-bek, was completed. Unlike his predecessors, who bore Turkic names, Malik Shah took a name composed of Arab. Malik and Persian. Shah (both words mean king). Isfahan became the capital of the state. His vizier was Nizam al-Mulk (1064 - 1092), the author of the Persian-language treatise "Siyasat-name" ("The Book of Government"). In it, the Abbasid caliphate was declared the model of government. To realize this ideal, a new system of training officials and Sunni theologians was introduced.
During the reign of Malik Shah, the Seljuk state was relatively centralized. The Sultan, as the head of state, was the supreme owner of all the land of the empire. His power was inherited by his son. The second figure in the state is the vizier, who led central office management and departments - sofas. The provincial administration was clearly divided into military and civil.
A permanent army of Mamluk slaves was formed. They were brought from Central Asia, converted to Islam and trained in military affairs. Becoming professional soldiers, they received freedom and sometimes had a successful career.
Under the Seljukids, the system of iqta, which arose even under the Abbasids, became widespread. The Seljuk sultans allowed iqta to be inherited. As a result, large land holdings appeared that were not controlled by the central government.
In the state of the Seljuks, some elements of management, dating back to tribal principles, were preserved. one). The empire was considered as family property, so the management functions could belong to several brothers at the same time. 2). The Institute of Atabeks (literally - father-guardian) or mentors and educators of young princes. Atabeks had a huge influence on the young princes, sometimes even ruled for them.
In 1092, Nizam al-Mulk was killed, and Malik Shah died a month later. His death marked the beginning of the collapse of the Seljuk Empire. The sons of Malik Shah fought for power for a number of years. At the beginning of the XII century. The Seljuk Sultanate finally split into several independent and semi-dependent possessions: Khorasan (East Seljuk), Iraqi (West Seljuk) and Rum sultanates.
The Khorasan and Iraqi sultanates existed until the end of the 12th century. The Rum Sultanate was destroyed by the Mongols. During the XI - XIII centuries. there was a process of Turkization of Asia Minor. From the 11th to the 12th centuries from 200 to 300 thousand Seljuks moved here. The development of the Byzantine world by the Turks took various forms. Firstly, the displacement of the Greeks from their lands, which led to the depopulation of the territories of the former Byzantine provinces. Secondly, the Islamization of the Greeks. Mongol conquests led to a new wave of Turkization. Turkic tribes poured into Asia Minor, especially Anatolia, from East Turkestan, Central Asia and Iran.
3. Formation of the Ottoman state.
In the second half of the XIII - the first half of the XIV century. on the territory of Western and Central Anatolia (the Byzantine name for Asia Minor, which means “east” in Greek), about 20 Turkic beyliks or emirates arose.
The strongest of the emerging emirates was the Ottoman state in Bithynia (northwest of Asia Minor). This name was given to the state by the name of Osman, the ancestor of the emir who ruled there. Around 1300, the Ottoman beylik freed itself from subjugation to the Seljuks. Its ruler Bey Osman (1288 - 1324) began to pursue an independent policy.
During the reign of Osman's son Orhan (1324-1359), the Ottoman Turks conquered almost all the Muslim emirates in Asia Minor. They set about conquering the Byzantine possessions in Asia Minor. Initially, the capital of the Ottoman state was the city of Brusa. By the middle of the XIV century. The Ottomans went to the Black Sea straits, but could not capture them. They transferred their aggressive activity to the Balkans, which belonged to Byzantium.
The Ottomans faced in the Balkans not with a powerful state, but with a weak Byzantium and several warring states of the Balkans. The Turkish Sultan Murad I (1362 - 1389) captured Thrace, where he moved the capital, choosing the city of Adrianople for it. Byzantium recognized its vassal dependence on the Sultan.
The decisive battle that determined the historical fate of the peoples of the Balkans took place in 1389 on the Kosovo field. Sultan Bayazid I Lightning (1389 - 1402) defeated the Serbs, and then captured the Bulgarian kingdom, Wallachia and Macedonia. Having captured Thessaloniki, he went to the approaches to Constantinople. In 1394, he blocked the Byzantine capital from land, which lasted for a long 7 years.
European countries tried to stop the Turkish conquest. In 1396, led by the Hungarian king Sigismund, the crusading knightly army gave Bayezid's Turkish army a general battle. As a result, near Nikopol on the Danube, the brilliant knights from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Germany, France and Poland suffered a crushing defeat.
Constantinople was temporarily saved not by the West, but by the East. The troops of the Central Asian ruler Timur were advancing on the state of Bayezid. On July 20 (28), 1402, at Angora (modern Ankara), in Asia Minor, the armies of two famous commanders Timur and Bayazid met. The outcome of the battle was decided by the betrayal of the Asia Minor beys and tactical miscalculations by Bayezid. His army suffered a crushing defeat, and the Sultan was captured. Unable to bear the humiliation, Bayazid died.
After a long struggle for the power of the sons of Bayezid, Murad II (1421 - 1451) came to power. He made an attempt to capture Constantinople, which in 1422 rebuffed his troops. Murad lifted the siege, but the Byzantine emperor recognized himself as a tributary of the Sultan.
Twice unsuccessfully Western European monarchs tried to defend the Balkans and Constantinople. In 1444, the combined troops under the command of the King of Poland and Hungary, Vladislav III Jagiellon, were defeated by Murad's army. In 1448, the same fate awaited the Hungarian commander Janos Hunyadi on the Kosovo field.
Constantinople was taken after a long preparation by the young Sultan Mehmed II (1451 - 1481), who received the nickname "Fatih" - "Conqueror" for numerous conquests. May 29, 1453 Constantinople fell. The last symbol of the Byzantine Empire was Trebizond, whose basileus David the Great Komnenos (1458 - 1461) belonged to the descendants of the ancient imperial family of Komnenos. After the conquest of Trebizond, all the sultans, starting with Mehmed, included in their titles the name Kaiser-i Rum, i.e. "Emperor of Romagna"
After the capture of Constantinople, the Ottoman state turned into a world power, which for a long time played the most important geopolitical role in the East and West of Eurasia.
The Ottomans completely subjugated the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula to their power, in fact ousted European merchants and former leaders of Genoa and Venice from the trade routes in the Mediterranean. Genoa lost its largest colony in the Crimea (1475). Since that time, the Crimean Khanate has become a vassal of the Ottoman Empire.
By the beginning of the XVI century. the Turks captured all of eastern Anatolia and began to control the most important international trade routes. During the reign of Selim I (1512 - 1520) Ottoman Empire gained access to the Arab East, capturing northern Mesopotamia with large cities like Mosul, Mardin.
The Ottomans contributed to the destruction of the hegemony of the Arab world in the Middle East. In 1516 - 1520. under the leadership of Selim I, they crushed the Mamluk state of Egypt. As a result, Syria and Hijaz with Mecca and Medina were annexed to the Ottoman state. In 1516, Selim I assumed the title of padishah-i-islam ("Sultan of Islam") and began to fulfill the caliph's prerogatives, such as organizing the hajj. In 1517, Egypt became part of the Ottoman state.
After the victory over Mamluk Egypt, the only enemy in the East for the Ottomans was the power of the Safavids. During the 16th century Ottoman rulers sought to isolate the Safavid state by capturing the eastern coast of the Black Sea and part of the territories of the Caucasus (Eastern Armenia, Azerbaijan, Shirvan, Dagestan). In 1592, the Ottomans closed the Black Sea to all foreign ships.
From the beginning of the XVI century. The Ottoman Empire became involved in European politics. Its main rivals were the Portuguese and the Spaniards. On the other hand, an alliance was formed between the Ottoman Empire and the Protestant countries, as well as with France, which fought against the Habsburgs.
The Ottoman threat pursued Europe both from the sea and from land: in the Mediterranean Sea and from the territory of the Balkans. After even crushing victories, when the Ottoman fleet was destroyed by the Holy League at the Battle of Lepanto (1571), the Turks captured Tunisia. As a result of these campaigns, the Grand Vizier Mehmed Sokolu said to the Venetian ambassador: “You cut off our beard at Lepanto, but we cut off your hand in Tunisia; the beard will grow, the arm will never.
Until the middle of the XVI century. the Turks were really dangerous to the neighbors of their Balkan territories: Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria. They besieged Vienna three times, but could not overcome it. Their undoubted success was the control of Hungary. Subsequently, the Ottoman wars in Western Europe were local in nature and did not change the political map of this region.
4. Internal structure and social structure of the Ottoman Empire.
The main socio-political and economic institutions of the Ottoman Empire took shape in the second half of the 15th century, under Mehmed II (1451-1481) and Bayezid II (1481-1512). The reign of Suleiman I Kanuni ("Legislator"), or Suleiman the Magnificent (1520 - 1566), as he was called in Europe, is considered the "golden age" of the Ottoman Empire. By this time, it had reached the apogee of its military power and the maximum size of the territory.
Usually, during his lifetime, the sultan appointed his successor, who could be the son of any of the sultan's wives. Such direct inheritance from father to son continued in the Ottoman Empire until 1617, when it became possible to transfer supreme power by seniority. This order of succession was a constant threat to the lives of family members. The deadly dynastic struggle continued until the beginning of the 19th century. So, Mehmed III (1595 - 1603), having come to power, executed 19 of his brothers and ordered 7 pregnant wives of Ottoman princes to be drowned in the Bosphorus.
In the XVI century. in the Sultan's family, it was customary, according to the Seljuk custom, to send sons who had reached 12 years of age to distant provinces. Here they organized administration according to the capital model. Mehmed III initiated another practice. He kept his sons in isolation in a special room in the palace. These conditions were not conducive to the preparation of the rulers of a vast empire.
The harem played a prominent role in the Sultan's court. The sultana-mother reigned in it. She discussed state affairs with the Grand Vizier and the Chief Mufti.
The grand vizier was appointed by the sultan. He conducted administrative, financial and military affairs on behalf of the Sultan. The office of the Grand Vizier was called Bab-i Ali ("Great Gate"), in French La Sublime Porte ("Brilliant Gate"). Russian diplomats have "Brilliant Porta".
Sheikh-ul-Islam - the highest Muslim spiritual person to whom the Sultan entrusted his spiritual power. He had the right to issue a "fatwa", i.e. a special conclusion on the compliance of the government act with the Koran and Sharia. The Imperial Council, Divan-i Humayun, functioned as an advisory body.
The Ottoman Empire had an administrative division into eyalets (provinces), which were headed by governors - beylerbeys (from 1590 - Vali). Beyelbey had the title of vizier and the title of pasha, so the eyalets were often called pashaliks. The governor was appointed from Istanbul and submitted to the great vizier. In each province there were Janissary corps, the commanders of which (yeah) were also appointed from Stanbul.
Smaller administrative units were called "sanjaks" headed by military leaders - sanjakbeys. Under Murad III, the empire consisted of 21 eyyalets and about 2,500 sanjaks. Sanjaks were divided into counties (kaza), counties - into volosts (nakhiye).
The basis of social political structure The Ottoman Empire consisted of self-governing communities (taifa) that developed in all spheres of professional activity, in the city and in the countryside. The sheikh was at the head of the community. Cities had neither self-government nor municipal structure. They logged in government controlled. The actual head of the city was a qadi, to whom the sheikhs of trade and craft corporations were subordinate. The Qadi regulated and set the production and sales standards for all goods.
All subjects of the Sultan were divided into two categories: the military (askeri) - professional soldiers, Muslim clergy, government officials; and taxable (raya) - peasants, artisans, merchants of all faiths. The first category was exempt from taxation. The second category - they paid taxes, according to the Arab-Muslim tradition.
In all parts of the empire there was no serfdom. Peasants could freely change their place of residence if they did not have arrears. The status of elite groups of society was supported exclusively by tradition and was not enshrined in law.
In the Ottoman Empire XV - XVI centuries. there was no dominant nationality. The Ottoman state and society had a cosmopolitan character. The Turks, as an ethnic community, were a minority and did not stand out in any way from other peoples of the empire. The Turkish language as a means of interethnic communication has not yet developed. Arabic was the language of Scripture, science and legal proceedings. Slavic served as the spoken language of the court and the Janissary army. Greek was spoken by the people of Stanbul and the inhabitants of the former Byzantine cities.
The ruling elite, the army, the administration were multinational. Most of the viziers and other administrators came from Greeks, Slavs or Albanians. The backbone of the Ottoman army consisted of Slavic-speaking Muslims. Thus, the unity of the Ottoman society as an integral system was supported exclusively by Islam.
Millets are religious and political autonomies of the heterodox population. By the 16th century there were three millets: rum (Orthodox); Yahudi (Jews); Ermeni (Armenian-Gregorians, etc.). All millets recognized the supreme power of the Sultan, paid a poll tax. At the same time, they enjoyed complete freedom of worship and independence in solving their communal affairs. Millet-bashi was at the head of the millet. He was approved by the sultan and was a member of the imperial council.
However, in fact, non-Muslim subjects of the Sultan were not entitled to full rights. They paid more taxes, were not accepted for military service and did not hold administrative positions, and their evidence was not taken into account in court.
The timar system developed under conditions of a special form of land tenure, according to which all land and water resources were considered the property of the "Ummah", i.e., all Muslims. There was very little private property or "mulk". The main type of land ownership was the state.
Civil servants, the military received timars - inalienable land holdings, initially with the right to be inherited. It was not the land itself that complained, but the right to a part of the income from it.
Timars differed in terms of income. Once every 30-40 years, a census of all land holders was carried out in the empire. This census compiled a cadastre (defter) for each sanjak. Defter and kanun-name rigidly fixed tax rates, above which it was forbidden to take payments from peasants.
In the XVI century. the distribution of timars acquired a strictly centralized order. On the basis of the distribution of timars, the sipahi warriors were kept. From the end of the XV century. this army began to be forced out by warriors of a slave state (kapykulu), who were kept at public expense. Warriors - slaves were recruited in the Slavic regions at the age of 9-14 years. They were converted to Islam and specially prepared for military and civil service. Such infantry in the Ottoman army was called the Janissaries (from Turkish Yeni Cheri - “new army”). They lived according to the charter of the Bektashi dervish order. Over time, they became a closed military corporation - the guards of the Sultan.
Literature
Vasiliev L.S. History of the Religions of the East: 7th ed. correct and additional - M., 2004.
Gasparyan Yu.A., Oreshkova S.F., Petrosyan Yu.A. Essays on the history of Turkey. - M., 1983.
Eremeev D.E. At the Crossroads of Asia and Europe: Essays on Turkey and the Turks. – M.: Nauka, 1980.
Konovalova I.G. Medieval East: textbook. manual for universities / RAS, GUGN, Scientific and Educational Center for History. – M.: AST: Astrel, 2008.
Pamuk E. Istanbul is a city of memories. - M .: Publishing house of Olga Morozova, 2006.
Smirnov V.E. Mamluk institutions as an element of the military-administrative and political structure of Ottoman Egypt//Odysseus. - M., 2004.
Suleiman and Roksolana-Hyurrem [Mini-encyclopedia of the most interesting facts about the Magnificent Age in the Ottoman Empire] Author unknown
Ottoman Empire. Briefly about the main
The Ottoman Empire was formed in 1299, when Osman I Gazi, who went down in history as the first sultan of the Ottoman Empire, declared the independence of his small country from the Seljuks and assumed the title of Sultan (although some historians believe that for the first time only his grandson officially began to wear such a title - Murad I).
Soon he managed to conquer the entire western part of Asia Minor.
Osman I was born in 1258 in the Byzantine province of Bithynia. He died a natural death in the city of Bursa in 1326.
After that, power passed to his son, known as Orhan I Gazi. Under him, a small Turkic tribe finally turned into a strong state with a strong army.
The Four Capitals of the Ottomans
Throughout the long history of its existence, the Ottoman Empire has changed four capitals:
Següt (first capital of the Ottomans), 1299–1329;
Bursa (former Byzantine fortress of Brus), 1329–1365;
Edirne (former city of Adrianople), 1365–1453;
Constantinople (now the city of Istanbul), 1453–1922.
Sometimes the city of Bursa is called the first capital of the Ottomans, which is considered erroneous.
Ottoman Turks, descendants of the Kaya
Historians say: in 1219, the Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan attacked Central Asia, and then, saving their lives, leaving their belongings and domestic animals, everyone who lived on the territory of the Kara-Khidan state rushed to the southwest. Among them was a small Turkic tribe Kayi. A year later, it reached the border of the Kony Sultanate, which by that time occupied the center and east of Asia Minor. The Seljuks who inhabited these lands, like the Kays, were Turks and believed in Allah, so their sultan considered it reasonable to allocate to the refugees a small border allotment-beylik near the city of Bursa, 25 km from the coast of the Sea of Marmara. No one could have imagined that this small plot of land would turn out to be a springboard from which lands from Poland to Tunisia would be conquered. This is how the Ottoman (Ottoman, Turkish) empire will arise, populated by the Ottoman Turks, as the descendants of the kaya are called.
The further the power of the Turkish sultans spread over the next 400 years, the more luxurious their court became, where gold and silver flowed from all over the Mediterranean. They were trendsetters and role models in the eyes of the rulers of the entire Islamic world.
The Battle of Nikopol in 1396 is considered the last major crusade of the Middle Ages, which could not stop the advance of the Ottoman Turks in Europe.
Seven Periods of the Empire
Historians divide the existence of the Ottoman Empire into seven main periods:
The formation of the Ottoman Empire (1299-1402) - the period of the reign of the first four sultans of the empire: Osman, Orhan, Murad and Bayezid.
The Ottoman Interregnum (1402–1413) is an eleven-year period that began in 1402 after the defeat of the Ottomans in the Battle of Angora and the tragedy of Sultan Bayezid I and his wife in captivity at Tamerlane. During this period, there was a struggle for power between the sons of Bayazid, from which the youngest son Mehmed I Celebi emerged victorious only in 1413.
The rise of the Ottoman Empire (1413-1453) - the period of the reign of Sultan Mehmed I, as well as his son Murad II and grandson Mehmed II, ended with the capture of Constantinople and the destruction of the Byzantine Empire by Mehmed II, nicknamed "Fatih" (Conqueror).
Growth of the Ottoman Empire (1453-1683) - the period of the main expansion of the borders of the Ottoman Empire. It continued under the reign of Mehmed II, Suleiman I and his son Selim II, and ended with the defeat of the Ottomans in the Battle of Vienna during the reign of Mehmed IV (son of Ibrahim I the Mad).
Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire (1683-1827) - a period that lasted 144 years, which began after the victory of the Christians in the Battle of Vienna forever put an end to the aggressive aspirations of the Ottoman Empire in European lands.
The decline of the Ottoman Empire (1828-1908) is a period characterized by the loss of a large number of territories of the Ottoman state.
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire (1908–1922) is the period of reign of the last two sultans of the Ottoman state, the brothers Mehmed V and Mehmed VI, which began after the change in the form of government of the state to a constitutional monarchy, and continued until the complete cessation of the existence of the Ottoman Empire (the period covers the participation of the Ottomans in the First world war).
The main and most serious reason for the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, historians call the defeat in the First World War, caused by the superior human and economic resources of the Entente countries.
November 1, 1922 is called the day the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist, when the Turkish Grand National Assembly adopted a law on the separation of the Sultanate and the Caliphate (then the Sultanate was abolished). On November 17, Mehmed VI Vahideddin, the last Ottoman monarch, the 36th in a row, left Istanbul on a British warship, the battleship Malaya.
On July 24, 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne was signed, which recognized the independence of Turkey. On October 29, 1923, Turkey was proclaimed a republic, and Mustafa Kemal, later known as Atatürk, was elected its first president.
The last representative of the Turkish Sultan dynasty of the Ottomans
Ertogrul Osman - grandson of Sultan Abdul-Hamid II
“The last representative of the Ottoman dynasty, Ertogrul Osman, has died.
Osman spent most of his life in New York. Ertogrul Osman, who would have become the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire if Turkey had not become a republic in the 1920s, has died in Istanbul at the age of 97.
He was the last surviving grandson of Sultan Abdul-Hamid II, and his official title, had he become ruler, would have been His Imperial Highness Prince Shahzade Ertogrul Osman Efendi.
He was born in Istanbul in 1912, but lived most of his life modestly in New York.
12-year-old Ertogrul Osman was studying in Vienna when he learned that his family had been expelled from the country by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who founded the modern Republic of Turkey on the ruins of the old empire.
Osman eventually settled in New York, where he lived for over 60 years in an apartment above a restaurant.
Osman would have become Sultan if Atatürk had not founded the Republic of Turkey. Osman has always maintained that he has no political ambitions. He returned to Turkey in the early 1990s at the invitation of the Turkish government.
During a visit to his homeland, he went to the Dolmobakhce Palace near the Bosphorus, which was the main residence of the Turkish sultans and in which he played as a child.
According to BBC columnist Roger Hardy, Ertogrul Osman was very modest and, in order not to draw attention to himself, he joined a group of tourists to get into the palace.
The wife of Ertogrul Osman is a relative of the last king of Afghanistan.”
Tughra as a personal sign of the ruler
Tugra (togra) is the personal sign of the ruler (sultan, caliph, khan), containing his name and title. From the time of the ulubey Orkhan I, who applied an imprint of a palm dipped in ink to documents, it became customary to surround the signature of the Sultan with the image of his title and the title of his father, merging all the words in a special calligraphic style - a distant resemblance to a palm is obtained. The tughra is drawn up in the form of an ornamentally decorated Arabic script (the text may not be in Arabic, but also in Persian, Turkic, etc.).
Tughra is placed on all state documents, sometimes on coins and mosque gates.
For the forgery of the tughra in the Ottoman Empire, the death penalty was due.
In the chambers of the lord: pretentious, but tasteful
The traveler Theophile Gauthier wrote about the chambers of the lord of the Ottoman Empire: “The chambers of the Sultan are decorated in the style of Louis XIV, slightly modified in an oriental way: here one can feel the desire to recreate the splendor of Versailles. Doors, window casings, architraves are made of mahogany, cedar or massive rosewood with elaborate carvings and expensive iron fittings studded with gold chips. A most wonderful panorama opens from the windows - not a single monarch of the world has an equal in front of her palace.
Tughra Suleiman the Magnificent
So not only European monarchs were fond of the style of their neighbors (say, oriental style, when they arranged boudoirs like a pseudo-Turkish alcove or arranged oriental balls), but the Ottoman sultans also admired the style of their European neighbors.
"Lions of Islam" - Janissaries
Janissaries (Turkish yeni?eri (yenicheri) - new warrior) - the regular infantry of the Ottoman Empire in 1365-1826. The Janissaries, together with the sipahis and akynji (cavalry), formed the basis of the army in the Ottoman Empire. They were part of the capykula regiments (the personal guard of the Sultan, which consisted of slaves and prisoners). Janissary troops also performed police and punitive functions in the state.
The Janissary infantry was created by Sultan Murad I in 1365 from Christian youths aged 12–16. Basically, Armenians, Albanians, Bosnians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Georgians, Serbs, who were later brought up in Islamic traditions, were enrolled in the army. Children recruited in Rumelia were given to be raised by Turkish families in Anatolia and vice versa.
Recruitment of children in the Janissaries ( devshirme- blood tax) was one of the duties of the Christian population of the empire, since it allowed the authorities to create a counterbalance to the feudal Turkic army (sipahs).
The Janissaries were considered slaves of the Sultan, lived in monasteries-barracks, they were initially forbidden to marry (until 1566) and do household chores. The property of the deceased or perished Janissary became the property of the regiment. In addition to military art, the Janissaries studied calligraphy, law, theology, literature and languages. Wounded or old Janissaries received a pension. Many of them have gone on to civilian careers.
In 1683, the Janissaries also began to be recruited from Muslims.
It is known that Poland copied the Turkish army system. In the army of the Commonwealth, according to the Turkish model, volunteers formed their own Janissary units. King August II created his personal Janissary guard.
The armament and uniform of the Christian Janissaries completely copied the Turkish models, including the military drums, which were of the Turkish type, while differing in color.
The Janissaries of the Ottoman Empire had a number of privileges, from the 16th century. received the right to marry, engage in trade and crafts in their free time from service. Janissaries received salaries from the sultans, gifts, and their commanders were promoted to the highest military and administrative positions of the empire. Janissary garrisons were located not only in Istanbul, but in all major cities Turkish empire. From the 16th century their service becomes hereditary, and they turn into a closed military caste. Being the sultan's guard, the Janissaries became a political force and often intervened in political intrigues, overthrowing unnecessary sultans and enthroning the sultans they needed.
The Janissaries lived in special quarters, often rebelled, staged riots and fires, overthrew and even killed the sultans. Their influence acquired such dangerous proportions that in 1826 Sultan Mahmud II defeated and completely destroyed the Janissaries.
Janissaries of the Ottoman Empire
The Janissaries were known as courageous warriors who rushed at the enemy without sparing their lives. It was their attack that often decided the fate of the battle. No wonder they were figuratively called "the lions of Islam."
Did the Cossacks use profanity in a letter to the Turkish Sultan?
Letter of the Cossacks to the Turkish Sultan is an insulting response of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, written to the Ottoman Sultan (probably Mehmed IV) in response to his ultimatum: stop attacking the Sublime Porte and surrender. There is a legend that, before sending troops to the Zaporozhian Sich, the Sultan sent a demand to the Cossacks to submit to him as the ruler of the whole world and the viceroy of God on earth. The Cossacks allegedly replied to this letter with their own letter, not embarrassed in expressions, denying any valor of the Sultan and cruelly mocking the arrogance of the “invincible knight”.
According to legend, the letter was written in the 17th century, when the tradition of such letters was developed among the Zaporozhye Cossacks and in Ukraine. The original letter has not been preserved, but several versions of the text of this letter are known, some of which are replete with obscene words.
Historical sources cite the following text of a letter from the Turkish Sultan to the Cossacks.
"Proposal of Mehmed IV:
I, the sultan and lord of the Sublime Porte, the son of Ibrahim I, the brother of the Sun and the Moon, the grandson and vicegerent of God on earth, the ruler of the kingdoms of Macedonia, Babylon, Jerusalem, Great and Lesser Egypt, king over kings, ruler over rulers, an incomparable knight, no one victorious warrior, owner of the tree of life, relentless guardian of the tomb of Jesus Christ, guardian of God himself, hope and comforter of Muslims, intimidator and great defender of Christians, I command you, Zaporozhye Cossacks, to surrender to me voluntarily and without any resistance and do not make me worry with your attacks.
Turkish Sultan Mehmed IV.
The most famous version of the Cossacks' answer to Mohammed IV, translated into Russian, is as follows:
“Zaporozhye Cossacks to the Turkish Sultan!
You, Sultan, Turkish devil, and damned devil brother and comrade, secretary of Lucifer himself. What a hell of a knight you are when you can't kill a hedgehog with your bare ass. The devil vomits, and your army devours. You will not, you son of a bitch, have Christian sons under you, we are not afraid of your troops, we will fight with you with land and water, spread ... your mother.
You are a Babylonian cook, a Macedonian chariot driver, a Jerusalem brewer, an Alexandrian goat, a swineherd of Greater and Lesser Egypt, an Armenian thief, a Tatar sagaydak, a Kamenets executioner, a fool of all the world and illumination, the grandson of the asp himself and our x ... hook. You are a pig's muzzle, a mare's asshole, a butcher's dog, an unbaptized forehead, damn it ....
That's how the Cossacks answered you, shabby. You will not even feed the pigs of the Christians. We end with this, because we don’t know the date and we don’t have a calendar, a month in the sky, a year in a book, and our day is the same as yours, for this, kiss us on the ass!
Signed: Kosh ataman Ivan Sirko with the entire Zaporizhia camp.
This letter, replete with profanity, is cited by the popular Wikipedia encyclopedia.
Cossacks write a letter to the Turkish Sultan. Artist Ilya Repin
The atmosphere and mood among the Cossacks composing the text of the answer is described in the famous painting by Ilya Repin "The Cossacks" (more often called: "The Cossacks write a letter to the Turkish Sultan").
Interestingly, in Krasnodar at the intersection of Gorky and Krasnaya streets in 2008, a monument was erected "Cossacks write a letter to the Turkish Sultan" (sculptor Valery Pchelin).
From the book War Machine: A Guide to Self-Defense - 3 author Taras Anatoly EfimovichABOUT THE AUTHOR Anatoly Efimovich Taras was born in 1944, in the family of a regular officer of the Soviet military intelligence. In 1963-66. served in a separate reconnaissance and sabotage battalion of the 7th tank army. In 1967-75. participated in 11 operations conducted
From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (OS) of the author TSB From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (PO) of the author TSB From the book Sudak. Traveling to historical places author Timirgazin Alexey Dagitovich From the book Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions author Serov Vadim VasilievichOld songs about the main thing The name of the musical TV movie (directed by Dmitry Fix), shown on the night of January 1, 1996 on the 1st channel of Russian TV. The authors of the project are Leonid Gennadyevich Parfenov (b. 1960) and Konstantin Lvovich Ernst (b. 1961). Perhaps the song was the primary source
From the book Family Issue in Russia. Volume I author Rozanov Vasily VasilievichAbout the immaculate family and its main condition
From the book The Art of Driving a Car [with illustrations] author Tribal ZdenekON THE IMMACULATE FAMILY AND ITS MAIN CONDITION
From the book A Concise Dictionary of Alcoholic Terms author Pogarsky Mikhail ValentinovichI. Briefly about the car A good driver drives the car almost automatically. He reacts to visual and auditory stimuli with appropriate actions, for the most part unaware of their causes. If suddenly someone comes out of the side street, the driver slows down
From the book Encyclopedia of Islam author Khannikov Alexander Alexandrovich From the book School of Literary Excellence. From concept to publication: short stories, novels, articles, non-fiction, screenplays, new media by Wolf Jurgen From the book Four Seasons of the Angler [Secrets of successful fishing at any time of the year] author Kazantsev Vladimir AfanasyevichNever Forget the Essentials I sincerely believe that you can earn enough money through your writing, but I must warn you that it may happen that a few years of your life will be very difficult. At some point you will even think
From the book How to become a writer ... in our time author Nikitin YuriMISCELLANEOUS IN BRIEF USE DRIBLING With a sluggish bite, experienced master anglers often use the so-called dribbling, when the bait trembles finely for 5-10 seconds. near the bottom, attracting fish that are a few meters from the hole. Bite usually
From the author's bookMISCELLANEOUS FRAGRANCES FOR TROUT In fishing, like in any other hobby, there is no limit to improving your skills. One of the components of success in this case is the use of modern baits, developed taking into account the latest achievements of science. Many fishing
From the author's bookA BRIEF ABOUT MISCELLANEOUS ON UNDERWATER BRIDGES Many both predatory and non-predatory fish prefer to get their livelihood on various kinds of underwater brows. Therefore, in order to achieve good results in fishing, you need to carefully study these places. Sometimes some types of predatory
From the author's bookBRIEFLY ABOUT MISCELLANEOUS SPINERS What is the secret of catchability of oscillating lures made of two plates of different metals? Such baits are usually called bimetallic. Their peculiarity lies in the fact that the heterogeneous components of the spinner in this
From the author's bookQuite briefly ... Pascal once said: only when we finish a planned work, we understand ourselves where we should have started it. Well, for a professional author, this is just an excuse to go back and rewrite what was planned, for that he is a pro, but for a beginner, this is an impetus to cowardice and
History of the Ottoman Empire
History of the Ottoman Empire is over one hundred years old. The Ottoman Empire existed from 1299 to 1923.
Rise of an empire
Expansion and fall of the Ottoman Empire (1300-1923)
Osman (r. 1288-1326), the son and heir of Ertogrul, in the fight against the powerless Byzantium, annexed region after region to his possessions, but, despite his growing power, recognized his dependence on Lycaonia. In 1299, after the death of Alaeddin, he assumed the title "Sultan" and refused to recognize the authority of his heirs. By his name, the Turks began to be called Ottoman Turks or Ottomans. Their power over Asia Minor spread and strengthened, and the sultans of Konya could not prevent this.
Since that time, they have developed and rapidly increased, at least quantitatively, their own literature, although very little independent. They take care of maintaining trade, agriculture and industry in the conquered areas, create a well-organized army. A powerful state is developing, military, but not hostile to culture; in theory it is absolutist, but in reality the generals, to whom the sultan gave various areas to control, often turned out to be independent and reluctantly recognized the supreme authority of the sultan. Often the Greek cities of Asia Minor voluntarily gave themselves under the patronage of the powerful Osman.
Osman's son and heir Orhan I (1326-59) continued his father's policy. He considered it his calling to unite all the faithful under his rule, although in reality his conquests were directed more to the west - to the countries inhabited by Greeks, than to the east, to the countries inhabited by Muslims. He very skillfully used internal strife in Byzantium. More than once the disputing parties turned to him as an arbitrator. In 1330 he conquered Nicaea, the most important of the Byzantine fortresses on Asian soil. Following that, Nicomedia and the entire northwestern part of Asia Minor to the Black, Marmara and Aegean seas fell into the power of the Turks.
Finally, in 1356, a Turkish army under the command of Suleiman, the son of Orhan, landed on the European coast of the Dardanelles and captured Gallipoli and its environs.
Bâb-ı Âlî, High Port
In the activities of Orhan in the internal government of the state, his permanent adviser was his elder brother Aladdin, who (the only example in the history of Turkey) voluntarily renounced his rights to the throne and accepted the post of grand vizier, established especially for him, but preserved after him. To facilitate trade, the coinage was settled. Orkhan minted a silver coin - akche in his own name and with a verse from the Koran. He built himself a luxurious palace in the newly conquered Bursa (1326), by the high gate of which the Ottoman government received the name of the “High Port” (literal translation of the Ottoman Bab-ı Âlî - “high gate”), often transferred to the Ottoman state itself.
In 1328, Orhan gave his domains a new, largely centralized administration. They were divided into 3 provinces (pashalik), which were divided into districts, sanjaks. The civil administration was connected with the military and subordinated to it. Orkhan laid the foundation for an army of Janissaries, recruited from Christian children (at first 1000 people; later this number increased significantly). Despite a significant share of tolerance towards Christians, whose religion was not persecuted (even though Christians were taxed), Christians converted to Islam en masse.
Conquests in Europe before the capture of Constantinople (1306-1453)
- 1352 - capture of the Dardanelles.
- 1354 Capture of Gallipoli.
- From 1358 to Kosovo field
After the capture of Gallipoli, the Turks fortified on the European coast of the Aegean, the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara. Suleiman died in 1358, and Orkhan was succeeded by his second son, Murad (1359-1389), who, although he did not forget about Asia Minor and conquered Angora in it, transferred the center of gravity of his activity to Europe. Having conquered Thrace, in 1365 he moved his capital to Adrianople. Byzantine Empire was reduced to one Constantinople with its immediate environs, but continued to resist the conquest for almost a hundred years.
The conquest of Thrace brought the Turks into immediate contact with Serbia and Bulgaria. Both states went through a period of feudal fragmentation and could not be consolidated. In a few years, they both lost a significant part of their territory, pledged themselves to tribute and became dependent on the Sultan. However, there were periods when these states managed, taking advantage of the moment, to partially restore their positions.
At the accession to the throne of the following sultans, beginning with Bayazet, it became customary to kill the next of kin to avoid family rivalry over the throne; this custom was observed, although not always, but often. When the relatives of the new sultan did not represent the slightest danger due to their mental development or for other reasons, they were left alive, but their harem was made up of slaves made sterile through an operation.
The Ottomans clashed with the Serbian rulers and won victories at Chernomen (1371) and Savra (1385).
Battle of Kosovo
In 1389, the Serbian prince Lazar began a new war with the Ottomans. On the Kosovo field on June 28, 1389, his army of 80,000 people. agreed with Murad's army of 300,000 people. The Serbian army was destroyed, the prince was killed; Murad also fell in the battle. Formally, Serbia still retained its independence, but it paid tribute and undertook to supply an auxiliary army.
Assassination of Murad
One of the Serbs who took part in the battle (that is, from the side of Prince Lazar) was the Serbian prince Miloš Obilić. He understood that to win this great battle Serbs have little chance, and decided to sacrifice his life. He came up with a cunning operation.
During the battle, Miloš sneaked into Murad's tent, pretending to be a defector. He approached Murad as if to convey some secret and stabbed him to death. Murad was dying, but managed to call for help. Consequently, Miloš was killed by the Sultan's guards. (Milos Obilic kills Sultan Murad) From that moment on, the Serbian and Turkish versions of what happened began to differ. According to the Serbian version, having learned about the murder of their ruler, the Turkish army succumbed to panic and began to scatter, and only the taking control of the troops by the son of Murad Bayazid I saved the Turkish army from defeat. According to the Turkish version, the murder of the Sultan only angered the Turkish soldiers. However, the version that the main part of the army learned about the death of the Sultan after the battle seems to be the most realistic option.
Early 15th century
Murad's son Bayazet (1389-1402) married the daughter of Lazar and thereby acquired the formal right to intervene in the solution of dynastic issues in Serbia (when Stefan, son of Lazar, died without heirs). In 1393, Bayazet took Tarnovo (he strangled the Bulgarian king Shishman, whose son escaped death by converting to Islam), conquered all of Bulgaria, imposed tribute on Wallachia, conquered Macedonia and Thessaly, and penetrated Greece. In Asia Minor, his possessions expanded far to the east beyond Kyzyl-Irmak (Galis).
In 1396, near Nikopol, he defeated the Christian army, gathered in a crusade by the king Sigismund of Hungary.
The invasion of Timur at the head of the Turkic hordes into the Asian possessions of Bayazet forced him to lift the siege of Constantinople and personally rush towards Timur with significant forces. AT battle of Ankara in 1402 he was utterly defeated and taken prisoner, where he died a year later (1403). In this battle, a significant Serbian auxiliary detachment (40,000 people) was also killed.
The captivity and then the death of Bayazet threatened the state with disintegration into parts. In Adrianople, the son of Bayazet Suleiman (1402-1410) proclaimed himself sultan, who seized power over the Turkish possessions on the Balkan Peninsula, in Brousse - Isa, in the eastern part of Asia Minor - Mehmed I. Timur received ambassadors from all three applicants and promised his support to all three, obviously wanting to weaken the Ottomans, but he did not find it possible to continue its conquest and went to the East.
Mehmed soon won, killed Isa (1403) and reigned over all of Asia Minor. In 1413, after the death of Suleiman (1410) and the defeat and death of his brother Musa, who succeeded him, Mehmed restored his power over the Balkan Peninsula. His reign was comparatively peaceful. He tried to maintain peaceful relations with his Christian neighbors, Byzantium, Serbia, Wallachia and Hungary, and concluded treaties with them. Contemporaries characterize him as a just, meek, peaceful and educated ruler. More than once, however, he had to deal with internal uprisings, which he dealt with very vigorously.
Similar uprisings began the reign of his son, Murad II (1421-1451). The brothers of the latter, in order to avoid death, managed to escape in advance to Constantinople, where they met with a friendly welcome. Murad immediately moved to Constantinople, but managed to collect only 20,000 troops and therefore was defeated. However, with the help of bribery, he succeeded soon after in capturing and strangling his brothers. The siege of Constantinople had to be lifted, and Murad turned his attention to the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula, and later to the south. In the north, a thunderstorm gathered against him from the side of the Transylvanian governor Matthias Hunyadi, who defeated him at Hermannstadt (1442) and Nis (1443), but due to the significant superiority of the Ottoman forces, he was utterly defeated in the Kosovo field. Murad took possession of Thessalonica (previously conquered by the Turks three times and again lost by them), Corinth, Patras and a large part of Albania.
A strong opponent of him was the Albanian hostage Iskander-beg (or Skanderbeg), brought up at the Ottoman court and former favorite of Murad, who converted to Islam and contributed to its spread in Albania. Then he wanted to make a new attack on Constantinople, not dangerous to him militarily, but very valuable in its geographical position. Death prevented him from fulfilling this plan, carried out by his son Mehmed II (1451-81).
Capture of Constantinople
The pretext for war was that Konstantin Paleolog, the Byzantine emperor, did not want to give Mehmed his relative Orhan (son of Suleiman, grandson of Bayazet), whom he reserved for inciting unrest, as a possible contender for Ottoman throne. In the power of the Byzantine emperor was only a small strip of land along the banks of the Bosporus; the number of his troops did not exceed 6000, and the nature of the management of the empire made it even weaker. Many Turks already lived in the city itself; the Byzantine government, starting from 1396, had to allow the construction of Muslim mosques next to Orthodox churches. Only the extremely convenient geographical position of Constantinople and strong fortifications made it possible to resist.
Mehmed II sent an army of 150,000 against the city. and a fleet of 420 small sailing ships that blocked the entrance to the Golden Horn. The armament of the Greeks and their military art was somewhat higher than the Turkish, but the Ottomans also managed to arm themselves quite well. Murad II also set up several factories for casting cannons and making gunpowder, which were managed by Hungarian and other Christian engineers who converted to Islam for the benefits of renegacy. Many of the Turkish guns made a lot of noise, but did no real harm to the enemy; some of them exploded and killed a significant number of Turkish soldiers. Mehmed began preliminary siege work in the autumn of 1452, and in April 1453 he began a proper siege. The Byzantine government turned to the Christian powers for help; the pope hastened to answer with the promise of preaching a crusade against the Turks, if Byzantium would only agree to the unification of the churches; the Byzantine government indignantly rejected this proposal. Of the other powers, Genoa alone sent a small squadron with 6,000 men. under the command of Giustiniani. The squadron bravely broke through the Turkish blockade and landed troops on the coast of Constantinople, which doubled the forces of the besieged. The siege continued for two months. A significant part of the population lost their heads and, instead of joining the ranks of the fighters, prayed in churches; the army, both Greek and Genoese, resisted extremely courageously. The Emperor was at its head. Konstantin Paleolog who fought with the courage of desperation and died in the skirmish. On May 29, the Ottomans opened the city.
conquests
The era of power of the Ottoman Empire lasted more than 150 years. In 1459, all of Serbia was conquered (except for Belgrade, taken in 1521) and turned into an Ottoman pashalik. In 1460 conquered Duchy of Athens and after him almost all of Greece, with the exception of some seaside towns, which remained in the power of Venice. In 1462, the island of Lesbos and Wallachia were conquered, in 1463 - Bosnia.
The conquest of Greece brought the Turks into conflict with Venice, which entered into a coalition with Naples, the Pope and Karaman (an independent Muslim khanate in Asia Minor, ruled by Khan Uzun Hasan).
The war lasted 16 years in Morea, in the Archipelago and in Asia Minor at the same time (1463-79) and ended with the victory of the Ottoman state. Venice, according to the Peace of Constantinople in 1479, ceded to the Ottomans several cities in Morea, the island of Lemnos and other islands of the Archipelago (Negropont was captured by the Turks as early as 1470); Karaman Khanate recognized the authority of the sultan. After the death of Skanderbeg (1467), the Turks captured Albania, then Herzegovina. In 1475 they were at war with the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray and forced him to recognize himself as dependent on the Sultan. This victory was of great military importance for the Turks, since the Crimean Tatars supplied them with an auxiliary army, at times 100 thousand people; but subsequently it became fatal for the Turks, as it brought them into conflict with Russia and Poland. In 1476, the Ottomans devastated Moldova and made it a vassal.
This ended the period of conquests for a while. The Ottomans owned the entire Balkan Peninsula up to the Danube and the Sava, almost all the islands of the Archipelago and Asia Minor up to Trebizond and almost to the Euphrates, beyond the Danube, Wallachia and Moldavia were also heavily dependent on them. Everywhere was ruled either directly by the Ottoman officials, or by local rulers, who were approved by the Porte and were completely subordinate to her.
Reign of Bayazet II
None of the previous sultans did so much to expand the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire as Mehmed II, who remained in history with the nickname "Conqueror". He was succeeded by his son Bayazet II (1481-1512) in the midst of unrest. The younger brother Jem, relying on the Grand Vizier Mogamet-Karamaniya and taking advantage of the absence of Bayazet in Constantinople at the time of his father's death, proclaimed himself sultan.
Bayazet gathered the remaining loyal troops; hostile armies met at Angora. The victory remained with the elder brother; Cem fled to Rhodes, from there to Europe, and after long wanderings found himself in the hands of Pope Alexander VI, who offered Bayazet to poison his brother for 300,000 ducats. Bayazet accepted the offer, paid the money, and Jem was poisoned (1495). The reign of Bayazet was marked by several more uprisings of his sons, which ended (except for the last one) safely for their father; Bayazet took the rebels and executed them. Nevertheless, Turkish historians characterize Bayazet as a peace-loving and meek person, a patron of art and literature.
Indeed, there was some halt in the Ottoman conquests, but more due to failure than to the peacefulness of the government. Bosnian and Serbian pashas repeatedly raided Dalmatia, Styria, Carinthia and Carniola and subjected them to severe devastation; several attempts were made to take Belgrade, but to no avail. The death of Matthew Corvinus (1490), caused anarchy in Hungary and seemed to favor the Ottomans' plans against this state.
The long war, waged with some interruptions, ended, however, not particularly favorably for the Turks. According to the peace concluded in 1503, Hungary defended all its possessions and although it had to recognize the right of the Ottoman Empire to tribute from Moldavia and Wallachia, it did not renounce the supreme rights to these two states (rather in theory than in reality). In Greece, Navarino (Pylos), Modon and Coron (1503) were conquered.
By the time of Bayazet II, the first relations of the Ottoman state with Russia date back: in 1495, ambassadors of the Grand Duke Ivan III appeared in Constantinople to ensure unhindered trade in the Ottoman Empire for Russian merchants. Other European powers also entered into friendly relations with Bayazet, especially Naples, Venice, Florence, Milan and the pope, seeking his friendship; Bayazet skillfully balanced between everyone.
At the same time, the Ottoman Empire was at war with Venice over the Mediterranean, and defeated her in 1505.
His main focus was on the East. He started a war with Persia, but did not have time to finish it; in 1510, his youngest son Selim rebelled against him at the head of the Janissaries, defeated him and overthrew him from the throne. Bayazet soon died, most likely from poison; Other relatives of Selim were also exterminated.
Reign of Selim I
The war in Asia continued under Selim I (1512–20). In addition to the usual desire of the Ottomans to conquer, this war also had a religious reason: the Turks were Sunnis, Selim, as an extreme zealot of Sunnism, passionately hated Persian Shiites, on his orders, up to 40,000 Shiites living on Ottoman territory were destroyed. The war was fought with varying success, but the final victory, although far from complete, was on the side of the Turks. According to the peace of 1515, Persia ceded to the Ottoman Empire the regions of Diyarbakir and Mosul, lying along the upper reaches of the Tigris.
The Egyptian Sultan Kansu-Gavri sent an embassy to Selim offering peace. Selim ordered to kill all the members of the embassy. Kansu stepped forward to meet him; the battle took place in the Dolbec valley. Thanks to his artillery, Selim won a complete victory; the Mamluks fled, Kansu died during the escape. Damascus opened the gates to the winner; after him, all of Syria submitted to the sultan, and Mecca and Medina surrendered under his protection (1516). The new Egyptian sultan Tuman Bay, after several defeats, had to cede Cairo to the Turkish vanguard; but at night he entered the city and exterminated the Turks. Selim, not being able to take Cairo without a stubborn struggle, invited its inhabitants to surrender to capitulation with the promise of their favors; the inhabitants surrendered - and Selim carried out a terrible massacre in the city. Tuman Bey was also beheaded when, during the retreat, he was defeated and captured (1517).
Selim reproached him for not wanting to submit to him, the ruler of the faithful, and developed a bold theory in the mouth of a Muslim, according to which he, as the ruler of Constantinople, is the heir to the Eastern Roman Empire and, therefore, has the right to all the lands, ever included in its composition.
Realizing the impossibility of ruling Egypt exclusively through his pashas, who in the end would inevitably have to become independent, Selim kept next to them 24 Mameluke leaders, who were considered subordinate to the pasha, but enjoyed a certain independence and could complain about the pasha to Constantinople. Selim was one of the most cruel Ottoman sultans; in addition to his father and brothers, in addition to countless captives, he executed seven of his grand viziers during the eight years of his reign. At the same time, he patronized literature and himself left a significant number of Turkish and Arabic poems. In the memory of the Turks, he remained with the nickname Yavuz (inflexible, stern).
Reign of Suleiman I
Tughra Suleiman the Magnificent (1520)
The son of Selim Suleiman I (1520-66), nicknamed by Christian historians the Magnificent or the Great, was the exact opposite of his father. He was not cruel and understood the political price of mercy and formal justice; he began his reign by releasing several hundred Egyptian captives from noble families who were kept in chains by Selim. European silk merchants, robbed in Ottoman territory at the beginning of his reign, received generous monetary rewards from him. More than his predecessors, he loved the splendor with which his palace in Constantinople amazed the Europeans. Although he did not refuse conquests, he did not like war, only in rare cases did he personally become the head of the army. He especially appreciated the diplomatic art, which brought him important victories. Immediately after accession to the throne, he began peace negotiations with Venice and concluded with her in 1521 an agreement recognizing the Venetians' right to trade in Turkish territory and promising them the protection of their security; both sides pledged to hand over fugitives to each other. Since then, although Venice did not keep a permanent envoy in Constantinople, embassies from Venice to Constantinople and back were sent more or less regularly. In 1521, the Ottoman troops took Belgrade. In 1522, Suleiman landed a large army on Rhodes. six month siege the main citadel of the Knights of St. John ended with its surrender, after which the Turks proceeded to conquer Tripoli and Algeria in North Africa.
Battle of Mohacs (1526)
In 1527, Ottoman troops under the command of Suleiman I invaded Austria and Hungary. At first, the Turks achieved very significant successes: in the eastern part of Hungary, they managed to create a puppet state that became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, they captured Buda, and ravaged vast territories in Austria. In 1529, the Sultan moved his army to Vienna, intending to capture the Austrian capital, but he failed. September 27 began siege of Vienna, the Turks at least 7 times outnumbered the besieged. But the weather was against the Turks - on the way to Vienna, due to bad weather, they lost many guns and pack animals, and diseases began in their camp. And the Austrians did not waste time - they fortified the city walls in advance, and the Archduke of Austria Ferdinand I brought German and Spanish mercenaries to the city (his older brother Charles V Habsburg was both the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the king of Spain). Then the Turks relied on undermining the walls of Vienna, but the besieged constantly made sorties and destroyed all Turkish trenches and underground passages. In view of the impending winter, diseases and mass desertion, the Turks had to leave already 17 days after the start of the siege, on October 14.
Union with France
Austria was the closest neighbor of the Ottoman state and its most dangerous enemy, and it was risky to enter into a serious fight with it without enlisting anyone's support. The natural ally of the Ottomans in this struggle was France. The first relations between the Ottoman Empire and France began as early as 1483; since then, both states have exchanged embassies several times, but this has not led to practical results.
In 1517, the French king Francis I offered the German emperor and Ferdinand the Catholic an alliance against the Turks with the aim of expelling them from Europe and dividing their possessions, but this alliance did not take place: the interests of the named European powers were too opposed to each other. On the contrary, France and the Ottoman Empire did not come into contact with each other anywhere and they had no immediate reasons for enmity. Therefore, France, which once took such an ardent part in crusades, decided on a bold step: a real military alliance with a Muslim power against a Christian power. The last impetus was given by the unfortunate battle of Pavia for the French, during which the king was captured. The regent Louise of Savoy sent an embassy to Constantinople in February 1525, but it was beaten by the Turks in Bosnia in spite of [source not specified 466 days] the wishes of the Sultan. Not embarrassed by this event, Francis I from captivity sent an envoy to the Sultan with an offer of alliance; the sultan was to attack Hungary, and Francis promised war with Spain. At the same time, Charles V made similar proposals to the Ottoman Sultan, but the Sultan preferred an alliance with France.
Soon after, Francis sent a request to Constantinople to allow the restoration of at least one Catholic church in Jerusalem, but received a decisive refusal from the Sultan in the name of the principles of Islam, along with the promise of all kinds of protection for Christians and protection of their safety (1528).
Military successes
According to the truce of 1547, the entire southern part of Hungary, up to and including Ofen, turned into an Ottoman province, divided into 12 sanjaks; the northern one passed into the power of Austria, but with the obligation to pay the Sultan 50,000 ducats of tribute annually for it (in the German text of the treaty, the tribute was called an honorary gift - Ehrengeschenk). The supreme rights of the Ottoman Empire over Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania were confirmed by the peace of 1569. This peace could take place only because Austria spent huge sums of money on bribing Turkish representatives. The war between the Ottomans and Venice ended in 1540 with the transfer of the last possessions of Venice in Greece and the Aegean to the Ottoman Empire. In a new war with Persia, the Ottomans occupied Baghdad in 1536, and Georgia in 1553. In this way they reached the apogee of their political power. The Ottoman fleet sailed freely throughout the Mediterranean to Gibraltar and in the Indian Ocean often plundered the Portuguese colonies.
In 1535 or 1536, a new treaty "of peace, friendship and trade" was concluded between the Ottoman Empire and France; France henceforth had a permanent envoy in Constantinople and a consul in Alexandria. The subjects of the sultan in France and the subjects of the king in the territory of the Ottoman state were guaranteed the right to freely travel around the country, buy, sell and exchange goods under protection local authorities at the beginning of equality. Litigation between the French in the Ottoman Empire had to be dealt with by French consuls or envoys; in case of litigation between a Turk and a Frenchman, the French were protected by their consul. During the time of Suleiman, some changes took place in the order of internal management. Previously, the sultan was almost always personally present in the sofa (ministerial council): Suleiman rarely appeared in it, thus providing more scope for his viziers. Previously, the positions of the vizier (minister) and the grand vizier, and also the viceroy of the pashalik, were usually granted to people more or less experienced in government or military affairs; under Suleiman, the harem began to play a prominent role in these appointments, as well as cash gifts given by applicants for high posts. This was caused by the government's need for money, but soon became, as it were, the rule of law and was main reason the decline of Porta. The extravagance of the government has reached unprecedented proportions; True, the revenues of the government, thanks to the successful collection of tributes, also increased significantly, but, despite this, the Sultan often had to resort to defacing the coin.
Reign of Selim II
The son and heir of Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II (1566-74), ascended the throne without having to beat the brothers, since his father took care of this, wanting to secure the throne for him for the sake of his beloved last wife. Selim, reigned prosperously and left his son a state that not only did not decrease territorially, but even increased; this, in many respects, he owed to the mind and energy of the vizier Mehmed Sokollu. Sokollu completed the conquest of Arabia, which was previously only weakly dependent on the Porte.
Battle of Lepanto (1571)
He demanded that Venice cede the island of Cyprus, which led to a war between the Ottoman Empire and Venice (1570-1573); the Ottomans suffered a heavy naval defeat at Lepanto (1571), but despite this, at the end of the war they captured Cyprus and were able to keep it; in addition, they obliged Venice to pay 300 thousand ducats of military indemnity and pay tribute for the possession of the island of Zante in the amount of 1500 ducats. In 1574 the Ottomans took possession of Tunisia, which had previously belonged to the Spaniards; Algeria and Tripoli have previously recognized their dependence on the Ottomans. Sokollu conceived two great things: the connection of the Don and the Volga by a canal, which, in his opinion, was supposed to strengthen the power of the Ottoman Empire in the Crimea and re-subordinate to it Astrakhan Khanate, already conquered by Moscow - and digging Isthmus of Suez. However, this was beyond the power of the Ottoman government.
Under Selim II took place Ottoman expedition to Aceh, which led to the establishment of long-term ties between the Ottoman Empire and this remote Malay sultanate.
Reign of Murad III and Mehmed III
During the reign of Murad III (1574-1595), the Ottoman Empire emerged victorious from a stubborn war with Persia, capturing all of Western Iran and the Caucasus. Murad's son Mehmed III (1595-1603) executed 19 brothers upon accession to the throne. However, he was not a cruel ruler, and even went down in history under the nickname of the Just. Under him, the state was largely ruled by his mother through 12 grand viziers, who often succeeded each other.
Increased damage to the coin and the rise of taxes more than once led to uprisings in various parts of the state. The reign of Mehmed was filled with a war with Austria, which began under Murad in 1593 and ended only in 1606, already under Ahmed I (1603-17). It ended with the Peace of Sitvatorok in 1606, which marked a turn in mutual relations between the Ottoman Empire and Europe. No new tribute was imposed on Austria; on the contrary, she freed herself from her former tribute for Hungary by paying a lump sum indemnity of 200,000 florins. In Transylvania, Stefan Bochkay, hostile to Austria, was recognized as the ruler with his male offspring. Moldova, repeatedly tried to get out from vassalage, managed to defend during border conflicts with Commonwealth and the Habsburgs. From that time on, the territories of the Ottoman state no longer expanded except for a short period. The war with Persia of 1603-12 had sad consequences for the Ottoman Empire, in which the Turks suffered several serious defeats and had to cede the East Georgian lands, Eastern Armenia, Shirvan, Karabakh, Azerbaijan with Tabriz and some other areas.
The decline of the empire (1614-1757)
The last years of the reign of Ahmed I were filled with rebellions that continued under his successors. His brother Mustafa I (1617-1618), a protege and favorite of the Janissaries, to whom he made millions of gifts from state funds, after a three-month rule was overthrown by the fatwa of the mufti as insane, and the son of Ahmed Osman II (1618-1622) came to the throne. After the unsuccessful campaign of the Janissaries against the Cossacks, he made an attempt to destroy this violent army, which every year became less and less useful for military purposes and more and more dangerous for the state order - and for this he was killed by the Janissaries. Mustafa I was again elevated to the throne and dethroned again a few months later, and died a few years later, probably from poisoning.
Osman's younger brother, Murad IV (1623-1640), seemed to intend to restore the former greatness of the Ottoman Empire. He was a cruel and greedy tyrant, reminiscent of Selim, but at the same time a capable administrator and an energetic warrior. According to estimates, the accuracy of which cannot be verified, up to 25,000 people were executed under him. Often he executed wealthy people solely in order to confiscate their property. He again won in the war with the Persians (1623-1639) Tabriz and Baghdad; he also managed to defeat the Venetians and conclude an advantageous peace with them. He subdued the dangerous Druze uprising (1623-1637); but rebellion Crimean Tatars almost completely freed them from Ottoman rule. devastation Black Sea coast produced by the Cossacks, remained unpunished for them.
In internal administration, Murad sought to introduce some order and some savings in finances; however, all his attempts proved unworkable.
Under his brother and heir Ibrahim (1640-1648), under whom the harem was again in charge of state affairs, all the acquisitions of his predecessor were lost. The sultan himself was overthrown and strangled by the Janissaries, who enthroned his seven-year-old son Mehmed IV (1648-1687). The true rulers of the state in the early days of the latter's reign were the Janissaries; all government posts were replaced by their henchmen, management was in complete disarray, finances reached an extreme decline. Despite this, the Ottoman fleet managed to inflict a serious naval defeat on Venice and break through the blockade of the Dardanelles, which had been held with varying success since 1654.
Russian-Turkish war 1686-1700
In 1656, the post of grand vizier was taken over by the energetic man Mehmet Köprülü, who managed to strengthen the discipline of the army and inflict several defeats on the enemies. Austria was to conclude in 1664 a not particularly advantageous peace in Vasvar; in 1669, the Turks conquered Crete, and in 1672, at peace in Buchach, they received Podolia and even part of Ukraine from the Commonwealth. This peace aroused the indignation of the people and the diet, and the war began again. Russia also took part in it; but on the side of the Ottomans stood a significant part of the Cossacks, led by Doroshenko. During the war, Grand Vizier Ahmet Pasha Köprülü died after 15 years of ruling the country (1661–76). The war, which went on with varying success, ended Bakhchisarai truce, imprisoned in 1681 for 20 years, at the beginning of the status quo; Western Ukraine, representing after the war a real desert, and Podolia remained in the hands of the Turks. The Ottomans easily agreed to peace, since their next step was a war with Austria, which was undertaken by the successor of Ahmet Pasha, Kara-Mustafa Köprülü. The Ottomans managed to penetrate to Vienna and besiege it (from July 24 to September 12, 1683), but the siege had to be lifted when the Polish king Jan Sobieski made an alliance with Austria, hurried to the aid of Vienna and won near it a brilliant victory over the Ottoman army. In Belgrade, Kara-Mustafa was met by messengers from the Sultan, who had orders to deliver to Constantinople the head of an incapable commander, which was done. In 1684, Venice joined the coalition of Austria and the Commonwealth against the Ottoman Empire, and later Russia.
During the war, in which the Ottomans had not to attack, but to defend themselves on their own territory, in 1687 the Grand Vizier Suleiman Pasha was defeated at Mohacs. The defeat of the Ottoman troops irritated the Janissaries, who remained in Constantinople, rioting and plundering. Under the threat of an uprising, Mehmed IV sent them the head of Suleiman, but this did not save him himself: the Janissaries overthrew him with the help of a mufti's fatwa and forcibly elevated his brother, Suleiman II (1687-91), a man devoted to drunkenness and completely incapable of governing, to the throne. The war continued under him and under his brothers, Ahmed II (1691–95) and Mustafa II (1695–1703). The Venetians took possession of the Morea; the Austrians took Belgrade (soon again inherited by the Ottomans) and all the significant fortresses of Hungary, Slavonia, Transylvania; Poles occupied a significant part of Moldova.
In 1699 the war was over Treaty of Karlowitz, which was the first for which the Ottoman Empire did not receive any tribute or temporary indemnity. Its value significantly exceeded the value Peace of Sitwatorok. It became clear to everyone that the military power of the Ottomans was not at all great and that internal troubles were shaking their state more and more.
In the empire itself, the Peace of Karlovtsy aroused among the more educated part of the population the consciousness of the need for some reforms. This consciousness had previously been possessed by the Köprülü family, which gave the state during the 2nd half of the 17th and early 18th centuries. 5 Grand Viziers, who belonged to the most remarkable statesmen of the Ottoman Empire. Already in 1690 led. vizier Koprulu Mustafa issued Nizami-Cedid (Ottoman. Nizam-ı Cedid - “ New order”), which established the maximum rates of total taxes levied on Christians; but this law had no practical application. After the Peace of Karlovica, Christians in Serbia and the Banat were forgiven for a year's taxes; the highest government in Constantinople began at times to take care of the protection of Christians from extortions and other oppressions. Insufficient to reconcile Christians with Turkish oppression, these measures irritated the Janissaries and Turks.
Participation in the Northern War
Ambassadors at Topkapi Palace
Mustafa's brother and heir, Ahmed III (1703-1730), elevated to the throne by the uprising of the Janissaries, showed unexpected courage and independence. He arrested and hastily executed many officers of the army of the Janissaries and dismissed and exiled the grand vizier (sadr-azam) Ahmed Pasha, who had been imprisoned by them. The new grand vizier, Damad-Ghassan Pasha, pacified uprisings in various parts of the state, patronized foreign merchants, and founded schools. He was soon overthrown as a result of intrigue emanating from the harem, and the viziers began to be replaced with amazing speed; some remained in power for no more than two weeks.
The Ottoman Empire did not even take advantage of the difficulties experienced by Russia during the Great Northern War. Only in 1709 did she receive Charles XII, who had fled from Poltava, and, under the influence of his convictions, began a war with Russia. By this time, in the Ottoman ruling circles, there was already a party that dreamed not of a war with Russia, but of an alliance with it against Austria; at the head of this party was led. vizier Numan Keprilu, and his fall, which was the work of Charles XII, served as a signal for war.
The position of Peter I, surrounded on the Prut by an army of 200,000 Turks and Tatars, was extremely dangerous. The death of Peter was inevitable, but the Grand Vizier Baltaji-Mehmed succumbed to bribery and released Peter for the relatively unimportant concession of Azov (1711). The war party overthrew Baltaji-Mehmed and exiled to Lemnos, but Russia diplomatically secured the removal of Charles XII from the Ottoman Empire, for which they had to resort to force.
In 1714-18 the Ottomans were at war with Venice and in 1716-18 with Austria. By Peace of Passarovica(1718) The Ottoman Empire got back Morea, but gave Austria Belgrade with a significant part of Serbia, Banat, part of Wallachia. In 1722, taking advantage of the end of the dynasty and the subsequent unrest in Persia, the Ottomans began religious war against the Shiites, which they hoped to reward themselves for their losses in Europe. Several defeats in this war and the Persian invasion of Ottoman territory caused a new uprising in Constantinople: Ahmed was deposed, and his nephew, the son of Mustafa II, Mahmud I, was elevated to the throne.
Mahmud I's reign
Under Mahmud I (1730–54), who was an exception among the Ottoman sultans with his mildness and humanity (he did not kill the deposed sultan and his sons and generally avoided executions), the war with Persia continued, without definite results. The war with Austria ended with the Peace of Belgrade (1739), according to which the Turks received Serbia with Belgrade and Orsova. Russia acted more successfully against the Ottomans, but the conclusion of peace by the Austrians forced the Russians to make concessions; of its conquests, Russia retained only Azov, but with the obligation to tear down the fortifications.
During the reign of Mahmud, the first Turkish printing house was founded by Ibrahim Basmaji. The mufti, after some hesitation, gave a fatwa, with which, in the name of the interests of enlightenment, he blessed the undertaking, and the sultan allowed it as a gatti-sheriff. It was only forbidden to print the Koran and holy books. During the first period of the existence of the printing house, 15 works were printed in it (Arabic and Persian dictionaries, several books on the history of the Ottoman state and general geography, military art, political economy, etc.). After the death of Ibrahim Basmaji, the printing house was closed, a new one appeared only in 1784.
Mahmud I, who died of natural causes, was succeeded by his brother Osman III (1754-57), whose reign was peaceful and who died in the same way as his brother.
Reform attempts (1757-1839)
Osman was succeeded by Mustafa III (1757–74), son of Ahmed III. Upon his accession to the throne, he firmly expressed his intention to change the policy of the Ottoman Empire and restore the brilliance of its weapons. He conceived rather extensive reforms (by the way, digging channels through Isthmus of Suez and through Asia Minor), openly did not sympathize with slavery and set free a significant number of slaves.
General dissatisfaction, which had never been news in the Ottoman Empire before, was especially intensified by two cases: a caravan of the faithful returning from Mecca was robbed and destroyed by an unknown person, and a Turkish admiral's ship was captured by a detachment of sea robbers of Greek nationality. All this testified to the extreme weakness state power.
To settle the finances, Mustafa III began with savings in his own palace, but at the same time he allowed the coins to be damaged. Under the patronage of Mustafa, the first public library, several schools and hospitals were opened in Constantinople. He very willingly concluded an agreement with Prussia in 1761, by which he provided Prussian merchant ships with free navigation in Ottoman waters; Prussian subjects in the Ottoman Empire were subject to the jurisdiction of their consuls. Russia and Austria offered Mustafa 100,000 ducats for the abolition of the rights given to Prussia, but to no avail: Mustafa wanted to bring his state as close as possible to European civilization.
Further attempts at reform did not go. In 1768, the Sultan had to declare war on Russia, which lasted 6 years and ended Kuchuk-Kainarji peace 1774. Peace was already concluded under Mustafa's brother and heir, Abdul-Hamid I (1774-1789).
The reign of Abdul-Hamid I
The empire at this time was almost everywhere in a state of ferment. The Greeks, excited by Orlov, were worried, but, left without help by the Russians, they were soon and easily pacified and severely punished. Ahmed Pasha of Baghdad declared himself independent; Taher, supported by Arab nomads, accepted the title of Sheikh of Galilee and Acre; Egypt under the rule of Muhammad Ali did not even think of paying tribute; Northern Albania, which was ruled by Mahmud, Pasha of Scutaria, was in a state of complete rebellion; Ali, the Pasha of Yaninsky, clearly aspired to establish an independent kingdom.
The entire reign of Adbul-Hamid was occupied with the suppression of these uprisings, which could not be achieved due to the lack of money and a disciplined army from the Ottoman government. This was joined by a new war with Russia and Austria(1787-91), again unsuccessful for the Ottomans. She ended Treaty of Jassy with Russia (1792), according to which Russia finally acquired the Crimea and the space between the Bug and the Dniester, and the Treaty of Sistov with Austria (1791). The latter was comparatively favorable for the Ottoman Empire, since its main enemy, Joseph II, died, and Leopold II directed all his attention to France. Austria returned to the Ottomans most of the acquisitions she made in this war. Peace was already concluded under the nephew of Abdul Hamid, Selim III (1789-1807). In addition to territorial losses, the war made one significant change in the life of the Ottoman state: before it began (1785), the empire entered into its first public debt, first internal, guaranteed by some state revenues.
Reign of Selim III
Sultan Selim III was the first to realize the deep crisis of the Ottoman Empire and set about reforming the military and state organization of the country. With energetic measures, the government cleared the Aegean from pirates; it patronized trade and public education. His main focus was on the army. The Janissaries proved their almost complete uselessness in war, while at the same time keeping the country in periods of peace in a state of anarchy. The Sultan intended to replace their formations with a European-style army, but since it was obvious that it was impossible to immediately replace the entire old system, the reformers paid some attention to improving the position of traditional formations. Among other reforms of the Sultan were measures to strengthen the combat capability of artillery and fleet. The government took care of translating the best foreign writings on tactics and fortification into Ottoman; invited to teaching positions in the artillery and maritime schools French officers; during the first of them, she founded a library of foreign writings on military sciences. Workshops for casting cannons were improved; military ships of the new model were ordered in France. These were all preliminary measures.
Sultan Selim III
The Sultan clearly wanted to move on to reorganizing the internal structure of the army; he established a new form for her and began to introduce a stricter discipline. Janissaries until he touched. But then, firstly, the uprising of the Viddin Pasha, Pasvan-Oglu (1797), who clearly neglected the orders coming from the government, became in his way, and secondly - Egyptian expedition Napoleon.
Kuchuk-Hussein moved against Pasvan-Oglu and waged a real war with him, which did not have a definite result. The government finally entered into negotiations with the rebellious governor and recognized his lifelong rights to rule the Vidda Pashalik, in fact, on the basis of almost complete independence.
In 1798, General Bonaparte made his famous attack on Egypt, then on Syria. Great Britain took the side of the Ottoman Empire, destroying the French fleet in battle of Aboukir. The expedition had no serious results for the Ottomans. Egypt remained formally in the power of the Ottoman Empire, in fact - in the power of the Mamluks.
As soon as the war with the French ended (1801), an uprising of the Janissaries began in Belgrade, dissatisfied with the reforms in the army. Harassment on their part caused a popular movement in Serbia (1804) under the command of Karageorgi. The government supported the movement at first, but it soon took the form of a real popular uprising, and the Ottoman Empire had to start hostilities (see below). Battle of Ivankovac). The matter was complicated by the war started by Russia (1806-1812). The reforms had to be postponed again: the grand vizier and other senior officials and the military were in the theater of operations.
coup attempt
Only the kaymaqam (assistant to the grand vizier) and the deputy ministers remained in Constantinople. Sheikh-ul-Islam took advantage of this moment to plot against the Sultan. Ulema and Janissaries took part in the conspiracy, among whom rumors spread about the intention of the Sultan to disperse them into regiments of the standing army. The kaimaks also joined the conspiracy. On the appointed day, a detachment of Janissaries unexpectedly attacked the garrison standing troops who stood in Constantinople, and massacred among him. Another part of the Janissaries surrounded Selim's palace and demanded from him the execution of persons they hated. Selim had the courage to refuse. He was arrested and taken into custody. The son of Abdul-Hamid, Mustafa IV (1807-1808), was proclaimed sultan. The massacre in the city continued for two days. On behalf of the powerless Mustafa, sheikh-ul-Islam and kaymaks ruled. But Selim had his adherents.
During the coup of Kabakchi Mustafa (tur. Kabakçı Mustafa isyanı), Mustafa Bayraktar(Alemdar Mustafa Pasha - Pasha of the Bulgarian city of Ruschuk) and his followers began negotiations on the return of Sultan Selim III to the throne. Finally, with an army of sixteen thousand, Mustafa Bayraktar went to Istanbul, having previously sent Haji Ali Aga there, who killed Kabakchi Mustafa (July 19, 1808). Mustafa Bayraktar with his army, having destroyed quite a large number of rebels, arrived in the High Port. Sultan Mustafa IV, having learned that Mustafa Bayraktar wanted to return the throne to Sultan Selim III, ordered to kill Selim and Shahzade's brother Mahmud. The Sultan was killed immediately, and Shahzade Mahmud, with the help of his slaves and servants, was released. Mustafa Bayraktar, having removed Mustafa IV from the throne, declared Mahmud II Sultan. The latter made him sadrazam - the great vizier.
Reign of Mahmud II
Not inferior to Selim in energy and in understanding the need for reforms, Mahmud was much tougher than Selim: angry, vindictive, he was more guided by personal passions, which were moderated by political far-sightedness than by a real desire for the good of the country. The ground for innovations was already somewhat prepared, the ability not to think about the means also favored Mahmud, and therefore his activities still left more traces than those of Selim. He appointed Bayraktar as his grand vizier, who ordered the beating of the participants in the conspiracy against Selim and other political opponents. Mustafa's own life was spared for a time.
As the first reform, Bayraktar outlined the reorganization of the corps of the Janissaries, but he had the imprudence to send part of his army to the theater of operations; he had only 7,000 soldiers left. 6,000 Janissaries made a surprise attack on them and moved towards the palace in order to free Mustafa IV. Bayraktar, with a small detachment, locked himself in the palace, threw out the corpse of Mustafa to them, and then blew up part of the palace into the air and buried himself in the ruins. A few hours later, a three thousandth army loyal to the government arrived, headed by Ramiz Pasha, defeated the Janissaries and exterminated a significant part of them.
Mahmud decided to postpone the reform until the end of the war with Russia, which ended in 1812. Bucharest Peace. Congress of Vienna made some changes in the position of the Ottoman Empire, or, more correctly, defined more precisely and approved in theory and on geographical maps what had already taken place in reality. Dalmatia and Illyria were approved for Austria, Bessarabia for Russia; seven ionian islands received self-government under the English protectorate; English ships received the right of free passage through the Dardanelles.
Even in the territory that remained with the empire, the government did not feel confident. In Serbia in 1817 an uprising began, which ended only after the recognition of Serbia by peace of Adrianople 1829 as a separate vassal state, with its own prince at the head. In 1820 the uprising began Ali Pasha Yaninsky. As a result of the betrayal of his own sons, he was defeated, captured and executed; but a significant part of his army formed a cadre of Greek rebels. In 1821, the uprising, which grew into war for independence started in Greece. After the intervention of Russia, France and England and the unfortunate for the Ottoman Empire Navarino (sea) battle(1827), in which the Turkish and Egyptian fleets perished, the Ottomans lost Greece.
Military casualties
Getting rid of the Janissaries and Dervishes (1826) did not save the Turks from defeat both in the war with the Serbs and in the war with the Greeks. These two wars, and in connection with them, were followed by the war with Russia (1828–29), which ended Peace of Adrianople 1829 The Ottoman Empire lost Serbia, Moldavia, Wallachia, Greece, the eastern coast of the Black Sea.
Following this, Muhammad Ali, Khedive of Egypt (1831-1833 and 1839), broke away from the Ottoman Empire. In the struggle against the latter, the empire suffered blows that put its very existence at stake; but twice (1833 and 1839) she was saved by the unexpected intercession of Russia, caused by the fear of a European war, which would probably be caused by the collapse of the Ottoman state. However, this intercession brought real benefits to Russia: according to the peace in Gunkjar Skelessi (1833), the Ottoman Empire provided Russian ships with passage through the Dardanelles, closing it to England. At the same time, the French decided to take away Algeria from the Ottomans (since 1830), and earlier, however, was only nominally dependent on the empire.
Civil reforms
Mahmud II begins modernization in 1839.
The wars did not stop the reformist plans of Mahmud; private transformations in the army continued throughout his reign. He also cared about raising the level of education among the people; under him (1831), the first newspaper in the Ottoman Empire began to appear in French, which had an official character (“Moniteur ottoman”). From the end of 1831, the first official newspaper in Turkish, Takvim-i Vekai, began to appear.
Like Peter the Great, perhaps even consciously imitating him, Mahmud sought to introduce European mores into the people; he himself wore a European costume and encouraged his officials to do so, forbade the wearing of a turban, arranged festivities in Constantinople and other cities with fireworks, with European music, and in general according to the European model. Before the most important reforms of the civil system, conceived by him, he did not live; they were already the work of his heir. But even the little that he did went against the religious feelings of the Muslim population. He began to mint a coin with his image, which is directly prohibited in the Koran (the news that previous sultans also took portraits of themselves is highly doubtful).
Throughout his reign, in different parts of the state, especially in Constantinople, revolts of Muslims caused by religious feelings incessantly occurred; the government dealt with them extremely cruelly: sometimes 4,000 corpses were thrown into the Bosphorus in a few days. At the same time, Mahmud did not hesitate to execute even the ulema and dervishes, who were generally his fierce enemies.
During the reign of Mahmud there were especially many fires in Constantinople, partly due to arson; the people explained them as God's punishment for the sins of the sultan.
Board results
The extermination of the Janissaries, which at first damaged the Ottoman Empire, depriving it of a bad, but still not useless army, after a few years turned out to be extremely beneficial: the Ottoman army rose to the height of the European armies, which was clearly proven in the Crimean campaign and even more in the war of 1877-1878 and in the Greek war of 1897. Territorial reduction, especially the loss of Greece, also turned out to be beneficial rather than harmful for the empire.
The Ottomans never allowed military service for Christians; areas with a continuous Christian population (Greece and Serbia), without increasing the Turkish army, at the same time required significant military garrisons from it, which could not be set in motion in a moment of need. This applies especially to Greece, which, due to its extended maritime frontier, did not even represent strategic advantages for the Ottoman Empire, which was stronger on land than at sea. The loss of territories reduced the state revenues of the empire, but in the reign of Mahmud, the trade of the Ottoman Empire with European states, the country's productivity rose slightly (bread, tobacco, grapes, rose oil, etc.).
Thus, despite all external defeats, despite even the terrible battle of nizibe, in which Muhammad Ali destroyed a significant Ottoman army and was followed by the loss of an entire fleet, Mahmud left Abdul-Majid with a state strengthened rather than weakened. It was strengthened by the fact that henceforth the interest of the European powers was more closely connected with the preservation of the Ottoman state. The significance of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles has increased unusually; the European powers felt that the capture of Constantinople by one of them would deal an irreparable blow to the others, and therefore they considered it more profitable for themselves to preserve the weak Ottoman Empire.
In general, the empire nevertheless decayed, and Nicholas I rightly called it a sick person; but the death of the Ottoman state was postponed indefinitely. Beginning with the Crimean War, the empire began to intensively make foreign loans, and this acquired for it the influential support of its many creditors, that is, mainly the financiers of England. On the other hand, internal reforms that could raise the state and save it from destruction became in the 19th century. more and more difficult. Russia was afraid of these reforms, as they could strengthen the Ottoman Empire, and through its influence at the court of the Sultan tried to make them impossible; so, in 1876-1877, she killed Midhad Pasha, who turned out to be able to carry out serious reforms that were not inferior in importance to the reforms of Sultan Mahmud.
The reign of Abdul-Mejid (1839-1861)
Mahmud was succeeded by his 16-year-old son Abdul-Mejid, who was not distinguished by his energy and inflexibility, but who was a much more cultured and gentle person.
Despite everything done by Mahmud, the battle of Nizib could have completely destroyed the Ottoman Empire if Russia, England, Austria and Prussia had not concluded an alliance to protect the integrity of the Port (1840); they drew up a treatise by virtue of which the Egyptian viceroy retained Egypt at the hereditary beginning, but undertook to immediately clear Syria, and in case of refusal he had to lose all his possessions. This alliance aroused indignation in France, which supported Muhammad Ali, and Thiers even made preparations for war; however, Louis-Philippe did not dare to do so. Despite the inequality of forces, Muhammad Ali was ready to resist; but the English squadron bombarded Beirut, burned the Egyptian fleet and landed in Syria a corps of 9000 people, who, with the help of the Maronites, inflicted several defeats on the Egyptians. Muhammad Ali relented; The Ottoman Empire was saved, and Abdulmejid, supported by Khozrev Pasha, Reshid Pasha and other associates of his father, began reforms.
Gulhane Hutt Sheriff
At the end of 1839, Abdul-Mejid published the famous Gulhane hatti-sheriff (Gulhane - “house of roses”, the name of the square where the hatt-sheriff was announced). It was a manifesto that set out the principles that the government intended to follow:
- providing all subjects with perfect security regarding their life, honor and property;
- the right way to distribute and levy taxes;
- an equally correct way to recruit soldiers.
It was recognized as necessary to change the distribution of taxes in the sense of their equalization and to abandon the system of handing them over, to determine the costs of land and sea forces; publicity was established legal proceedings. All these benefits extended to all subjects of the Sultan without distinction of religion. The Sultan himself took an oath of allegiance to the Hatti Sheriff. The only thing left to do was keep the promise.
Humayun
After the Crimean War, the Sultan published a new Gatti Sheriff Gumayun (1856), in which the principles of the first were confirmed and developed in more detail; especially insisted on the equality of all subjects, without distinction of religion and nationality. After this Gatti Sheriff, the old law on the death penalty for converting from Islam to another religion was abolished. However most of these decisions remained only on paper.
The higher government was partly unable to cope with the willfulness of lower officials, and partly did not want to resort to some of the measures promised in the Gatti Sheriffs, such as, for example, the appointment of Christians to various posts. Once it made an attempt to recruit soldiers from Christians, but this caused discontent among both Muslims and Christians, especially since the government did not dare to abandon religious principles during the production of officers (1847); this measure was soon abolished. The massacres of the Maronites in Syria (1845 and others) confirmed that religious tolerance was still alien to the Ottoman Empire.
During the reign of Abdul-Mejid, roads were improved, many bridges were built, several telegraph lines were laid, and mail was organized according to the European model.
The events of 1848 did not resonate at all in the Ottoman Empire; only hungarian revolution prompted the Ottoman government to make an attempt to restore its dominance on the Danube, but the defeat of the Hungarians dispelled his hopes. When Kossuth and his comrades escaped on Turkish territory, Austria and Russia turned to Sultan Abdul-Majid demanding their extradition. The Sultan replied that religion forbade him to violate the duty of hospitality.
Crimean War
1853-1856 were the time of the new Eastern War, which ended in 1856 with the Peace of Paris. On the Paris Congress a representative of the Ottoman Empire was admitted on the basis of equality, and by this the empire was recognized as a member of the European concern. However, this recognition was more formal than real. First of all, the Ottoman Empire, whose participation in the war was very large and which proved an increase in its fighting ability compared with the first quarter of the 19th or the end of the 18th century, actually received very little from the war; the demolition of Russian fortresses on the northern coast of the Black Sea was of negligible importance to her, and Russia's loss of the right to keep a navy on the Black Sea could not be long and was canceled already in 1871. Further, consular jurisdiction was retained and proved that Europe was still watching on the Ottoman Empire as a barbarian state. After the war, the European powers began to set up their own postal institutions on the territory of the empire, independent of the Ottoman ones.
The war not only did not increase the power of the Ottoman Empire over the vassal states, but weakened it; the Danubian principalities in 1861 united into one state, Romania, and in Serbia, friendly to Turkey, the Obrenovici were overthrown and replaced by friendly ones to Russia Karageorgievichi; a little later, Europe forced the empire to remove its garrisons from Serbia (1867). During the Eastern campaign, the Ottoman Empire made a loan in England of 7 million pounds; in 1858,1860 and 1861 I had to make new loans. At the same time, the government issued a significant amount of paper money, the rate of which soon and strongly fell. In connection with other events, this caused the commercial crisis of 1861, which severely affected the population.
Abdulaziz (1861-76) and Murad V (1876)
Abdulaziz was a hypocritical, voluptuous, and bloodthirsty tyrant, more like the sultans of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries than his brother; but he understood the impossibility under the given conditions to stop on the path of reforms. In the Gatti Sheriff published by him upon accession to the throne, he solemnly promised to continue the policy of his predecessors. Indeed, he released from prison the political criminals imprisoned in the previous reign, and retained his brother's ministers. Moreover, he declared that he was giving up the harem and would be content with one wife. The promises were not fulfilled: a few days later, as a result of palace intrigue, the Grand Vizier Mehmed Kybrysly Pasha was overthrown, and replaced by Aali Pasha, who in turn was overthrown a few months later and then again took the same post in 1867.
In general, the grand viziers and other officials were replaced with extreme speed due to the intrigues of the harem, which was very soon reinstated. Some measures in the spirit of the Tanzimat were nevertheless taken. The most important of them is the publication (far, however, not exactly true) of the Ottoman state budget (1864). During the ministry of Aali Pasha (1867-1871), one of the most intelligent and dexterous Ottoman diplomats of the 19th century, the waqfs were partially secularized, Europeans were granted the right to own real estate within the Ottoman Empire (1867), reorganized state council(1868), issued a new law on public education, introduced formally metric system of measures and weights, not grafted, however, in life (1869). Censorship was organized in the same ministry (1867), the creation of which was caused by the quantitative growth of periodicals and non-periodicals in Constantinople and other cities, in Ottoman and foreign languages.
Censorship under Aali Pasha was distinguished by extreme pettiness and severity; she not only forbade writing about what seemed inconvenient to the Ottoman government, but directly ordered to print praising the wisdom of the sultan and government; in general, it made the whole press more or less official. Its general character remained the same after Aali Pasha, and only under Midhad Pasha in 1876-1877 was it somewhat softer.
War in Montenegro
In 1862, Montenegro, seeking complete independence from the Ottoman Empire, supporting the rebels of Herzegovina and counting on the support of Russia, began a war with the empire. Russia did not support it, and since a significant preponderance of forces was on the side of the Ottomans, the latter quickly won a decisive victory: the troops of Omer Pasha penetrated to the very capital, but did not take it, as the Montenegrins began to ask for peace, to which the Ottoman Empire agreed .
Revolt in Crete
In 1866, a Greek uprising began in Crete. This uprising aroused warm sympathy in Greece, which began to hastily prepare for war. The European powers came to the aid of the Ottoman Empire and firmly forbade Greece to intercede for the Cretans. Forty thousand troops were sent to Crete. Despite the extraordinary courage of the Cretans, who waged a guerrilla war in the mountains of their island, they could not hold out for long, and after three years of struggle, the uprising was pacified; the rebels were punished with executions and confiscation of property.
After the death of Aali Pasha, the grand viziers began to change again with extreme speed. In addition to harem intrigues, there was another reason for this: two parties fought at the court of the Sultan - English and Russian, acting on the instructions of the ambassadors of England and Russia. The Russian ambassador in Constantinople in 1864-1877 was Count Nikolai Ignatiev, who had undoubted relations with the disaffected in the empire, promising them Russian intercession. At the same time, he had a great influence on the Sultan, convincing him of the friendship of Russia and promising him assistance in the change of order planned by the Sultan. succession not to the eldest in the family, as it was before, but from father to son, since the Sultan really wanted to transfer the throne to his son Yusuf Izedin.
coup d'état
In 1875, an uprising broke out in Herzegovina, Bosnia and Bulgaria, which dealt a decisive blow to Ottoman finances. It was announced that from now on, the Ottoman Empire on its foreign debts pays in cash only one half of the interest, the other half - in coupons payable no earlier than after 5 years. The need for more serious reforms was recognized by many of the highest officials of the empire and, at their head, Midhad Pasha; however, under the capricious and despotic Abdul-Aziz, their holding was completely impossible. In view of this, the Grand Vizier Mehmed Rushdi Pasha plotted with the ministers Midhad Pasha, Hussein Avni Pasha and others and the Sheikh-ul-Islam to overthrow the Sultan. Sheikh-ul-Islam gave this fatwa: “If the ruler of the faithful proves his madness, if he does not have the political knowledge necessary to govern the state, if he makes personal expenses that the state cannot bear, if his stay on the throne threatens with disastrous consequences, should it be deposed or not? The law says yes.
On the night of May 30, 1876, Hussein Avni Pasha, putting a revolver to the chest of Murad, the heir to the throne (son of Abdul-Majid), forced him to accept the crown. At the same time, a detachment of infantry entered the palace of Abdul-Aziz, and it was announced to him that he had ceased to reign. Murad V ascended the throne. A few days later it was reported that Abdul-Aziz cut his veins with scissors and died. Murad V, who had not been quite normal before, under the influence of the murder of his uncle, the subsequent murder of several ministers in the house of Midkhad Pasha by the Circassian Hassan Bey, who was avenging the Sultan, and other events, completely went crazy and became just as inconvenient for his progressive ministers. In August 1876, he was also deposed with the help of the mufti's fatwa and his brother Abdul-Hamid was elevated to the throne.
Abdul Hamid II
Already at the end of the reign of Abdul-Aziz began uprising in Herzegovina and Bosnia caused by extremely plight the population of these regions, partly obliged to serve corvee in the fields of large Muslim landowners, partly personally free, but completely without rights, oppressed by exorbitant exactions and at the same time constantly fueled in their hatred of the Turks by the close neighborhood of free Montenegrins.
In the spring of 1875, some communities turned to the Sultan with a request to reduce the tax on sheep and the tax paid by Christians in return for military service, and to organize a police force of Christians. They didn't even answer. Then their inhabitants took up arms. The movement quickly covered all of Herzegovina and spread to Bosnia; Niksic was besieged by the rebels. Volunteer detachments moved from Montenegro and Serbia to help the rebels. The movement aroused great interest abroad, especially in Russia and in Austria; the latter appealed to the Porte demanding religious equality, tax cuts, revision of laws on real estate, and so on. The Sultan immediately promised to fulfill all this (February 1876), but the rebels did not agree to lay down their weapons until the Ottoman troops were withdrawn from Herzegovina. The fermentation also spread to Bulgaria, where the Ottomans, in the form of a response, carried out a terrible massacre (see Bulgaria), which caused indignation throughout Europe (Gladstone's brochure on atrocities in Bulgaria), entire villages were completely slaughtered, up to and including infants. The Bulgarian uprising was drowned in blood, but the Herzegovinian and Bosnian uprising continued into 1876 and finally caused the intervention of Serbia and Montenegro (1876-1877; see. Serbo-Montenegrin-Turkish War).
On May 6, 1876, in Thessaloniki, a fanatical crowd, in which there were also some officials, killed the French and German consuls. Of the participants or conniving in the crime, Selim Bey, the chief of police in Thessaloniki, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, one colonel to 3 years; but these punishments, far from being carried out in their entirety, satisfied no one, and the public opinion of Europe was strongly stirred up against a country where such crimes might be committed.
In December 1876, at the initiative of England, a conference of the great powers in Constantinople was convened to settle the difficulties caused by the uprising, which did not achieve its goal. The Grand Vizier at this time (since December 13, New Style, 1876) was Midhad Pasha, a liberal and an Anglophile, head of the Young Turk Party. Considering it necessary to make the Ottoman Empire a European country and wishing to present it as such as authorized by the European powers, he drafted a constitution in a few days and forced Sultan Abdul-Hamid to sign and publish it (December 23, 1876).
Ottoman parliament, 1877
The constitution was drawn up on the model of European ones, especially the Belgian one. It guaranteed individual rights and established a parliamentary regime; the parliament was to consist of two chambers, from which the chamber of deputies was elected by universal closed voting of all Ottoman subjects without distinction of religion and nationality. The first elections were made during the reign of Midhad; his candidates were chosen almost universally. The opening of the first parliamentary session took place only on March 7, 1877, and even earlier, on March 5, Midhad was overthrown and arrested due to palace intrigues. Parliament was opened with a speech from the throne, but dissolved a few days later. New elections were held, the new session was just as short, and then, without the formal repeal of the constitution, even without the formal dissolution of Parliament, it did not meet again.
Main article: Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878
In April 1877 the war with Russia began, in February 1878 it ended San Stefano world, then (June 13 - July 13, 1878) by the modified Berlin Treaty. The Ottoman Empire lost all rights to Serbia and Romania; Bosnia and Herzegovina were given to Austria to establish order in it (de facto - in full possession); Bulgaria constituted a separate vassal principality, Eastern Rumelia, an autonomous province, which soon (1885) united with Bulgaria. Serbia, Montenegro and Greece received territorial increments. In Asia, Russia received Kars, Ardagan, Batum. The Ottoman Empire had to pay Russia an indemnity of 800 million francs.
Riots in Crete and in the regions inhabited by Armenians
Nevertheless, the internal conditions of life remained approximately the same, and this was reflected in the riots that constantly arose in one place or another in the Ottoman Empire. In 1889 an uprising began in Crete. The rebels demanded the reorganization of the police so that it did not consist of only Muslims and patronize more than one Muslims, a new organization of the courts, etc. The Sultan rejected these demands and decided to use weapons. The uprising was put down.
In 1887 in Geneva , in 1890 in Tiflis the political parties Hunchak and Dashnaktsutyun were organized by the Armenians . In August 1894, the organization of the Dashnaks and under the control of a member of this party, Ambartsum Boyajiyan, began unrest in Sasun. These events are explained by the disenfranchised position of the Armenians, especially by the robberies of the Kurds, who made up part of the troops in Asia Minor. The Turks and Kurds responded with a terrible massacre, reminiscent of the Bulgarian horrors, where rivers bled for months; whole villages were slaughtered [source unspecified 1127 days] ; many Armenians taken prisoner. All these facts were confirmed by European (mainly English) newspaper correspondence, which very often spoke from the standpoint of Christian solidarity and caused an explosion of indignation in England. To the presentation made on this occasion by the British ambassador, the Porte replied with a categorical denial of the validity of the "facts" and a statement that it was a matter of the usual suppression of a riot. Nevertheless, the ambassadors of England, France and Russia in May 1895 presented the Sultan with demands for reforms in the areas inhabited by Armenians, based on the decrees Berlin Treaty; they demanded that the officials governing these lands be at least half Christian and that their appointment depend on a special commission in which Christians would also be represented; [ style!] The Porte replied that she did not see any need for reforms for individual territories, but that she meant general reforms for the whole state.
On August 14, 1896, members of the Dashnaktsutyun party in Istanbul itself attacked the Ottoman Bank, killed the guards and exchanged fire with the arriving army units. On the same day, as a result of negotiations between the Russian ambassador Maksimov and the Sultan, the Dashnaks left the city and headed for Marseille, on the yacht of Edgard Vincent, the general director of the Ottoman Bank. The European ambassadors made a presentation to the Sultan on this occasion. This time the sultan saw fit to reply with a promise of reform, which was not fulfilled; only a new administration of vilayets, sanjaks and nakhiyas was introduced (see. State structure Ottoman Empire), which made very little difference to the merits of the matter.
In 1896, new unrest began in Crete and immediately took on a more dangerous character. The session of the national assembly opened, but it did not enjoy the slightest authority among the population. Nobody counted on the help of Europe. The uprising flared up; rebel detachments in Crete disturbed the Turkish troops, more than once inflicting heavy losses on them. The movement found a lively echo in Greece, from which in February 1897 a military detachment under the command of Colonel Vassos set off for the island of Crete. Then the European squadron, consisting of German, Italian, Russian and English warships, under the command of the Italian admiral Canevaro, assumed a threatening position. On February 21, 1897, she began to bombard the rebels' military camp near the city of Kanei and forced them to disperse. A few days later, however, the rebels and the Greeks managed to take the city of Kadano and capture 3,000 Turks.
At the beginning of March, a riot of Turkish gendarmes took place in Crete, dissatisfied with not receiving salaries for many months. This rebellion could have been very useful for the rebels, but the European landing disarmed them. On March 25, the rebels attacked Kanea, but came under fire from European ships and had to retreat with heavy losses. At the beginning of April 1897, Greece moved its troops into Ottoman territory, hoping to penetrate as far as Macedonia, where minor riots were taking place at the same time. Within one month, the Greeks were utterly defeated, and the Ottoman troops occupied all of Thessaly. The Greeks were forced to ask for peace, which was concluded in September 1897 under pressure from the powers. There were no territorial changes, except for a small strategic correction of the border between Greece and the Ottoman Empire in favor of the latter; but Greece had to pay a war indemnity of 4 million Turkish pounds.
In the autumn of 1897, the uprising on the island of Crete also ended, after the sultan once again promised self-government to the island of Crete. Indeed, at the insistence of the powers, Prince George of Greece was appointed governor-general of the island, the island received self-government and retained only vassal relations with the Ottoman Empire. At the beginning of the XX century. in Crete, there was a noticeable desire for a complete separation of the island from the empire and for joining Greece. At the same time (1901) fermentation continued in Macedonia. In the autumn of 1901, Macedonian revolutionaries captured an American woman and demanded a ransom for her; this causes great inconvenience to the Ottoman government, which is powerless to protect the safety of foreigners on its territory. In the same year, the movement of the Young Turk party, at the head of which was once Midhad Pasha, manifested itself with comparatively greater strength; she began to intensively produce brochures and leaflets in the Ottoman language in Geneva and Paris for distribution in the Ottoman Empire; in Istanbul itself, quite a few persons belonging to the bureaucratic and officer class were arrested and sentenced to various punishments on charges of participating in the Young Turk agitation. Even the son-in-law of the sultan, married to his daughter, went abroad with his two sons, openly joined the Young Turk party and did not want to return to his homeland, despite the insistent invitation of the sultan. In 1901, the Porte made an attempt to destroy European postal institutions, but this attempt was unsuccessful. In 1901, France demanded that the Ottoman Empire meet the claims of some of its capitalists, creditors; the latter refused, then the French fleet occupied Mytilene and the Ottomans hurried to satisfy all demands.
Departure of Mehmed VI, the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire, 1922
- In the 19th century, separatist sentiments intensified on the outskirts of the empire. The Ottoman Empire began to gradually lose its territories, yielding to the technological superiority of the West.
- In 1908, the Young Turks overthrew Abdul-Hamid II, after which the monarchy in the Ottoman Empire began to have a decorative character (see article Young Turk Revolution). The triumvirate of Enver, Talaat and Dzhemal was established (January 1913).
- In 1912, Italy seizes Tripolitania and Cyrenaica (now Libya) from the empire.
- AT First Balkan War 1912-1913 the empire loses the vast majority of its European possessions: Albania, Macedonia, northern Greece. During 1913, she manages to win back a small part of the land from Bulgaria during Inter-Allied (Second Balkan) War.
- Weakening, the Ottoman Empire tried to rely on the help of Germany, but this only dragged it into World War I ending in defeat Quadruple union.
- October 30, 1914 - The Ottoman Empire officially announced its entry into the First World War, having actually entered it the day before by shelling the Black Sea ports of Russia.
- In 1915, the Armenian Genocide, Assyrians, Greeks.
- During 1917-1918, the allies occupy the Middle Eastern possessions of the Ottoman Empire. After the First World War, Syria and Lebanon came under the control of France, Palestine, Jordan and Iraq - Great Britain; in the west of the Arabian Peninsula with the support of the British ( Lawrence of Arabia) formed independent states: Hejaz, Najd, Asir and Yemen. Subsequently, Hijaz and Asir became part of Saudi Arabia.
- October 30, 1918 was concluded Truce of Mudros followed by Treaty of Sèvres(August 10, 1920), which did not enter into force because it was not ratified by all signatories (ratified only by Greece). According to this agreement, the Ottoman Empire was to be dismembered, and one of the largest cities in Asia Minor Izmir (Smyrna) was promised to Greece. The Greek army took it on May 15, 1919, after which the war for independence. Turkish military statesmen led by a pasha Mustafa Kemal refused to recognize the peace treaty and the armed forces remaining under their command expelled the Greeks from the country. By September 18, 1922, Turkey was liberated, which was recorded in Treaty of Lausanne 1923, which recognized the new borders of Turkey.
- On October 29, 1923, the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed, and Mustafa Kemal, who later took the surname Atatürk (father of the Turks), became its first president.
- March 3, 1924 - Grand National Assembly of Turkey Caliphate was abolished.
|
In the XVI-XVII centuries Ottoman state reached its highest point of influence during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. In this period Ottoman Empire was one of the most powerful countries in the world - a multinational, multilingual state, stretching from the southern borders of the Holy Roman Empire - the outskirts of Vienna, the Kingdom of Hungary and the Commonwealth in the north, to Yemen and Eritrea in the south, from Algeria in the west, to the Caspian Sea in the east. Under its dominion was most of Southeast Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. At the beginning of the 17th century, the empire consisted of 32 provinces and numerous vassal states, some of which were later captured by it - while others were granted autonomy [approx. 2]. Capital of the Ottoman Empire was moved to the city of Constantinople, which was previously the capital of the Byzantine Empire, but was renamed Istanbul by the Turks. The empire controlled the territories of the Mediterranean basin. The Ottoman Empire was a link between Europe and the countries of the East for 6 centuries. After the international recognition of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, on October 29, 1923, after the signing of the Lausanne Peace Treaty (July 24, 1923), the creation of the Republic of Turkey, which was the successor to the Ottoman Empire, was proclaimed. On March 3, 1924, the Ottoman Caliphate was finally abolished. The powers and duties of the Caliphate were transferred to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Beginning of the Ottoman EmpireThe name of the Ottoman Empire in Ottoman language is Devlet-i ʿAliyye-yi ʿOsmâniyye (دَوْلَتِ عَلِيّهٔ عُثمَانِیّه), or - Osmanlı Devleti (عثمانلى دو) 3]. In modern Turkish it is called OsmanlI Devleti or Osmanlı İmparatorluğu. In the West, the words Ottoman" and " Turkey' were used interchangeably during the imperial period. This relationship ceased to be used in 1920-1923, when Turkey had a single official name used by Europeans since the Seljuks. Ottoman Empire historySeljuk state |
Battle of Nikopol 1396
After the collapse of the Kony Sultanate of the Seljuks (the ancestors of the Ottomans) in the 1300s, Anatolia was divided into several independent beyliks. By 1300, the weakened Byzantine Empire had lost most of its lands in Anatolia, amounting to 10 beyliks. One of the beyliks was ruled by Osman I (1258-1326), son of Ertogrul, with its capital at Eskisehir, in western Anatolia. Osman I expanded the boundaries of his beylik, starting to slowly move towards the borders of the Byzantine Empire. During this period, the Ottoman government was established, the organization of which changed throughout the existence of the empire. This was vital to the rapid expansion of the empire. The government used a socio-political system in which religious and ethnic minorities were completely independent of the central government. This religious tolerance led to little resistance as the Turks took over new territories. Osman I supported all those who contributed to the achievement of his goal.
After the death of Osman I, the power of the Ottoman Empire began to spread over the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans. In 1324, the son of Osman I, Orhan, captured Bursa and made it the new capital of the Ottoman state. The fall of Bursa meant the loss of Byzantine control over Northwestern Anatolia. In 1352, the Ottomans, having crossed the Dardanelles, set foot on European soil for the first time on their own, capturing the strategically important fortress of Tsimpu. The Christian states missed the key moment in order to unite and drive the Turks out of Europe, and after a few decades, taking advantage of civil strife in Byzantium itself, the fragmentation of the Bulgarian kingdom, the Ottomans, having strengthened and settled down, captured most of Thrace. In 1387, after the siege, the Turks captured the largest, after Constantinople, city of the empire, Thessaloniki. The victory of the Ottomans in the battle of Kosovo in 1389, in fact, put an end to the power of the Serbs in this region and became the basis for further Ottoman expansion in Europe. The Battle of Nikopol in 1396 is rightfully considered the last major crusade of the Middle Ages, which could not stop the endless offensive in Europe by the hordes of the Ottoman Turks. With the expansion of the Ottoman possessions in the Balkans, the most important task of the Turks was the capture of Constantinople. The Ottoman Empire for hundreds of kilometers controlled all the lands of the former Byzantium surrounding the city. The tension for the Byzantines was temporarily relieved by the invasion from the depths of Asia, another Central Asian ruler Timur into Anatolia, and his victory in the Battle of Angora in 1402. He captured Sultan Bayezid I himself. The capture of the Turkish Sultan led to the collapse of the Ottoman army. An interregnum began in Ottoman Turkey, lasting from 1402 to 1413. And again, a favorable moment, which gave a chance to strengthen their forces, was missed and wasted on internecine wars and turmoil between the Christian powers themselves - Byzantium, the Bulgarian kingdom and the decaying Serbian kingdom. The interregnum ended with the accession of Sultan Mehmed I.
Part of the Ottoman possessions in the Balkans was lost after 1402 (Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Kosovo, etc.), but again captured by Murad II in 1430-1450. On November 10, 1444, Murad II, taking advantage of numerical superiority, defeated the combined Hungarian, Polish and Wallachian troops of Vladislav III and Janos Hunyadi in the Battle of Varna. Four years later, in the second Battle of Kosovo in 1448, Murad II defeated the Serbian-Hungarian-Wallachian forces of Janos Hunyadi.
Rise of the Ottoman Empire (1453-1683)
Expansion and apogee (1453-1566)
The son of Murad II, Mehmed II, transformed the Turkish state and army. After a long preparation and a two-month siege, the overwhelming numerical superiority of the Turks and the stubborn resistance of the townspeople, on May 29, 1453, the Sultan captured the capital of Byzantium, the city of Constantinople. Mehmed II destroyed the centuries-old center of Orthodoxy, the Second Rome - what Constantinople was for more than a thousand years, retaining only a kind of church institution to manage all the subjugated and (yet) not converted to Islam Orthodox population of the former empire and Slavic states in the Balkans. Crushed by taxes, oppression and the rigid power of Muslims, despite historically complicated relationship Byzantium and Western Europe, the majority of the Orthodox population of the Ottoman Empire would prefer to go even under the rule of Venice.
The 15th-16th centuries were the so-called period of growth of the Ottoman Empire. The empire successfully developed under the competent political and economic management of the sultans. Some success was achieved in the development of the economy, as the Ottomans controlled the main land and sea trade routes between Europe and Asia [approx. 4].
Sultan Selim I greatly increased the territories of the Ottoman Empire in the east and south by defeating the Safavids at the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514. Selim I also defeated the Mamluks and captured Egypt. Since that time, the empire's navy has been present in the Red Sea. After the capture of Egypt by the Turks, competition began between the Portuguese and Ottoman empires for dominance in the region.
In 1521, Suleiman the Magnificent captured Belgrade and, during the Ottoman-Hungarian wars, annexed southern and central Hungary. After the Battle of Mohács in 1526, he divided the whole of Hungary with the Kingdom of East Hungary and the Kingdom of Hungary[specify]. At the same time, he established the position of representatives of the Sultan in the European territories. In 1529, he laid siege to Vienna, but despite the overwhelming numerical superiority, the resistance of the Viennese was such that he could not take it. In 1532 he laid siege to Vienna once more, but was defeated at the Battle of Köszeg. Transylvania, Wallachia and, partly, Moldavia became vassal principalities of the Ottoman Empire. In the east, the Turks took Baghdad in 1535, gaining control of Mesopotamia and access to the Persian Gulf.
France and the Ottoman Empire, having a common dislike for the Habsburgs, became allies. In 1543, the French-Ottoman troops under the command of Khair ad-Din Barbarossa and Turgut Reis won a victory near Nice, in 1553 they invaded Corsica and captured it a few years later. A month before the siege of Nice, French artillerymen, together with the Turks, took part in the siege of Esztergom and defeated the Hungarians. After the rest of the victories of the Turks, the Habsburg king Ferdinand I in 1547 was forced to recognize the power of the Ottoman Turks already over Hungary.
By the end of the life of Suleiman I, the population of the Ottoman Empire was huge and numbered 15,000,000 people. In addition, the Ottoman fleet controlled a large part of the Mediterranean Sea. By this time, the Ottoman Empire had achieved great success in the political and military organization of the state, and in Western Europe it was often compared with the Roman Empire. For example, the Italian scholar Francesco Sansovino wrote:
If we carefully examined their origins and studied in detail their domestic and foreign relations, we could say that Roman military discipline, following orders and victories are equal to Turkish ... During military campaigns [Turks] are able to eat very little, they are unshakable when face difficult tasks, obey their commanders absolutely and stubbornly fight to victory ... In peacetime, they organize disagreements and riots between subjects in order to restore absolute justice, which at the same time is beneficial to them ...
Similarly, the French politician Jean Bodin, in his La Méthode de l'histoire, published in 1560, wrote:
Only the Ottoman sultan can claim the title of absolute ruler. Only he can legitimately claim the title of successor to the Roman Emperor.
Revolts and revival (1566-1683)
Ottoman Empire, 1299-1683
The strong military and bureaucratic structures of the last century were weakened by anarchy during the rule of weak-willed sultans. The Turks gradually lagged behind the Europeans in military affairs. The innovation, accompanied by a powerful expansion, was the beginning of the suppression of the growing conservatism of believers and intellectuals. But, despite these difficulties, the Ottoman Empire continued to be the main expansionist power until it was defeated in the Battle of Vienna in 1683, which ended the advance of the Turks in Europe.
The opening of new sea routes to Asia allowed the Europeans to escape the monopoly of the Ottoman Empire. With the discovery by the Portuguese in 1488 of the cape Good Hope a series of Ottoman-Portuguese wars began in the Indian Ocean, which continued throughout the 16th century. From an economic point of view, the colossal influx of silver to the Spaniards, who exported it from the New World, caused a sharp depreciation of the currency of the Ottoman Empire and runaway inflation.
Under Ivan the Terrible, the Moscow kingdom captured the Volga region and fortified itself on the coast of the Caspian Sea. In 1571, the Crimean Khan Devlet I Gerai, with the support of the Ottoman Empire, burned down Moscow. But in 1572 the Crimean Tatars were defeated in the Battle of Molodi. The Crimean Khanate continued to raid Russia during the later Mongol raids on Russian lands, and Eastern Europe continued to be under the influence of the Crimean Tatars until the end of the 17th century.
In 1571, the troops of the Holy League defeated the Turks in naval battle at Lepanto. This event was a symbolic blow to the reputation of the invincible Ottoman Empire. The Turks lost a lot of people, the losses of the fleet were much lower. The power of the Ottoman fleet was quickly restored, and in 1573 the Porte persuaded Venice to sign a peace treaty. Thanks to this, the Turks fortified themselves in North Africa.
For comparison, the Habsburgs created the Military Krajina, which defended the Habsburg monarchy from the Turks. The weakening of the personnel policy of the Ottoman Empire in the war with Habsburg Austria caused a shortage of the first in armament in the Thirteen Years' War. This contributed to low discipline in the army and open disobedience to command. In 1585-1610, the Jelali uprising broke out in Anatolia, in which the Sekbans took part [approx. 5] By 1600, the population of the empire had reached 30,000,000, and the shortage of land caused even more pressure on Porto.
In 1635, Murad IV briefly captured Yerevan, in 1639 - Baghdad, restoring the central government there. During the period of the Sultanate of Women, the mothers of sultans ruled the empire on behalf of their sons. The most influential women of the period were Kösem Sultan and her daughter-in-law Turhan Hatice, whose political rivalry ended with the murder of the former in 1651. In the era of Koprulu, the grand viziers were representatives of the Albanian family of Koprulu. They exercised direct control over the Ottoman Empire. With the assistance of the Köprülü viziers, the Turks regained Transylvania, in 1669 they captured Crete and in 1676 - Podolia. The strongholds of the Turks in Podillia were Khotyn and Kamenetz-Podolsky.
In May 1683, a huge Turkish army under the command of Kara Mustafa Pasha laid siege to Vienna. The Turks hesitated with the last assault and were defeated in the Battle of Vienna in September of the same year by the troops of the Habsburgs, Germans and Poles. The defeat in the battle forced the Turks on January 26, 1699 to sign the Peace of Karlovci with the Holy League, which ended the Great Turkish War. The Turks ceded many territories to the League. From 1695, the Ottomans launched a counteroffensive in Hungary, which ended in a crushing defeat at the Battle of Zenta on September 11, 1697.
Stagnation and recovery (1683-1827)
During this period the Russians represented great danger for the Ottoman Empire. In this regard, after the defeat in the Battle of Poltava in 1709, Charles XII became an ally of the Turks. Charles XII persuaded the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed III to declare war on Russia. In 1711, Ottoman troops defeated the Russians on the Prut River. On July 21, 1718, between Austria and Venice on the one hand and the Ottoman Empire on the other hand, the Peace of Pozharetsky was signed, which ended the wars of Turkey for some time. However, the treaty showed that the Ottoman Empire was on the defensive and was no longer in a position to expand into Europe.
Together with Austria, the Russian Empire participated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1735-1739. The war ended with the Treaty of Belgrade in 1739. Under the terms of the peace, Austria ceded Serbia and Wallachia to the Ottoman Empire, and Azov ceded to the Russian Empire. However, despite the Belgrade peace, the Ottoman Empire took advantage of the peace, in connection with the wars of Russia and Austria with Prussia [what?]. 
During this long period of peace in the Ottoman Empire, educational and technological reforms were carried out, higher educational institutions were created (for example, Istanbul Technical University). In 1734, an artillery school was established in Turkey, where instructors from France taught. But the Muslim clergy did not approve of this step of rapprochement with European countries approved by the Ottoman people. Since 1754, the school began to work in secret. In 1726, Ibrahim Muteferrika, having convinced the Ottoman clergy of the productivity of printing, turned to Sultan Ahmed III for permission to print anti-religious literature. From 1729 to 1743, his 17 works in 23 volumes were published in the Ottoman Empire, the circulation of each volume was from 500 to 1000 copies.
Under the guise of pursuing a Polish revolutionary fugitive, the Russian army entered Balta, an Ottoman outpost on the border with Russia, massacred it, and burned it. This event provoked the beginning of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774 by the Ottoman Empire. In 1774, the Kyuchuk-Kainarji peace treaty was concluded between the Ottomans and the Russians, which ended the war. According to the agreement, religious oppression was removed from the Christians of Wallachia and Moldavia.
During the 18th-19th centuries, a series of wars followed between the Ottoman and Russian empires. At the end of the 18th century, Turkey suffered a series of defeats in wars with Russia. And the Turks came to the conclusion that in order to avoid further defeats, the Ottoman army must undergo modernization.
In 1789-1807, Selim III carried out military reform, making the first serious attempts to reorganize the army according to the European model. Thanks to the reform, the reactionary currents of the Janissaries, which by that time were already ineffective, were weakened. However, in 1804 and 1807 they rebelled against the reform. In 1807, Selim was imprisoned by the conspirators, and in 1808 he was killed. In 1826, Mahmud II liquidated the Janissary corps.
The Serbian Revolution of 1804-1815 marked the beginning of an era of romantic nationalism in the Balkans. The Eastern Question was raised by the Balkan countries. In 1830, the Ottoman Empire de jure recognized the suzerainty of Serbia. In 1821 the Greeks revolted against the Porte. The Greek uprising in the Peloponnese was followed by an uprising in Moldavia, which ended in 1829 with its de jure independence. In the middle of the 19th century, Europeans called the Ottoman Empire the "Sick Man of Europe". In 1860-1870, the overlords of the Ottomans - the principalities of Serbia, Wallachia, Moldavia and Montenegro gained complete independence.
During the Tanzimat period (1839-1876), the Porte introduced constitutional reforms that led to the creation of a conscripted army, the reform of the banking system, the replacement of religious law with secular law, and the replacement of factories with guilds. On October 23, 1840, the postal ministry of the Ottoman Empire was opened in Istanbul.
In 1847, Samuel Morse received a patent for a telegraph from Sultan Abdulmecid I. After a successful test of the telegraph, on August 9, 1847, the Turks began construction of the first Istanbul-Edirne-Shumen telegraph line.
In 1876, the Ottoman Empire adopted a constitution. During the era of the first constitution
In turn, the Crimean War of 1853-1856 became a continuation of the long-term rivalry between the major European powers for the lands of the Ottoman Empire. On August 4, 1854, during the Crimean War, the Ottoman Empire took out its first loan. The war caused the mass emigration of Crimean Tatars from Russia - about 200,000 people emigrated. By the end of the Caucasian War, 90% of the Circassians left the Caucasus and settled in the Ottoman Empire.
Many nations of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century were seized by the rise of nationalism. The emergence of national consciousness and ethnic nationalism in the Ottoman Empire was its main problem. The Turks faced nationalism not only in their own country, but also abroad. Number of revolutionary political parties
The Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 ended with a decisive victory for the Russian Empire. As a result, the defense of the Turks in Europe was drastically weakened; Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia gained independence. In 1878, Austria-Hungary annexed the Ottoman provinces of the Bosnian Vilayet and Novopazar Sanjak, but the Turks did not recognize their entry into this state and tried with all their might to return them back.
In turn, after the Berlin Congress of 1878, the British began campaigning for the return of territories in the Balkans to the Turks. In 1878, the British were given control of Cyprus. In 1882, British troops invaded Egypt, ostensibly to put down Arabi Pasha's rebellion, capturing it.
In the years 1894-1896, between 100,000 and 300,000 people were killed as a result of the massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
After the reduction in the size of the Ottoman Empire, many Balkan Muslims moved within its borders. By 1923, Anatolia and Eastern Thrace were part of Turkey.
The Ottoman Empire has long been called the "sick man of Europe". By 1914 it had lost almost all of its territories in Europe and North Africa. By that time, the population of the Ottoman Empire numbered 28,000,000, of which 17,000,000 lived in Anatolia, 3,000,000 in Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, 2,500,000 in Iraq, and the remaining 5,500,000 in the Arabian Peninsula.
After the Young Turk Revolution on July 3, 1908, the era of the second Constitution began in the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan announced the restoration of the constitution of 1876 and again convened the Parliament. The coming to power of the Young Turks meant the beginning of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
Taking advantage of civil unrest, Austria-Hungary, having withdrawn its troops from Novopazarsky Sanjak, which had retreated to the Turks, brought them into Bosnia and Herzegovina, annexing it. During the Italo-Turkish war of 1911-1912, the Ottoman Empire lost Libya, and the Balkan Union declared war on it. The empire lost all its territories in the Balkans during the Balkan Wars, except for Eastern Thrace and Adrianople. 400,000 Balkan Muslims, fearing reprisals from the Greeks, Serbs and Bulgarians, retreated along with the Ottoman army. The Germans proposed the construction of a railway line in Iraq. The railroad was only partially completed. In 1914, the British Empire bought this railway, continuing its construction. The railroad played a special role in the outbreak of the First World War.
In November 1914, the Ottoman Empire entered the First World War on the side of the Central Powers, taking part in the fighting in the Middle East. During the war, the Ottoman Empire won several significant victories (for example, the Dardanelles operation, the Siege of El Kut), but also suffered several serious defeats (for example, on the Caucasian front).
Before the invasion of the Seljuk Turks, on the territory of modern Turkey there were Christian states of the Romans and Armenians, and even after the Turks seized the Greek and Armenian lands, in the 18th century the Greeks and Armenians still made up 2/3 of the local population, in the 19th century - 1 / 2 of the population, at the beginning of the twentieth century, 50-60% were the local indigenous Christian population. Everything changed at the end of the First World War as a result of the genocide of Greeks, Assyrians and Armenians carried out by the Turkish army.
In 1915, Russian troops continued their offensive in Eastern Anatolia, thereby saving the Armenians from destruction by the Turks.
In 1916, the Arab Revolt broke out in the Middle East, which turned the tide of events in favor of the Entente.
On October 30, 1918, the Armistice of Mudros was signed, ending the First World War. It was followed by the occupation of Constantinople and the division of the Ottoman Empire. Under the terms of the Treaty of Sevres, the divided territory of the Ottoman Empire was secured between the powers of the Entente.
The occupations of Constantinople and Izmir led to the beginning of the Turkish national movement. The Turkish War of Independence of 1919-1922 ended with the victory of the Turks under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. On November 1, 1922, the Sultanate was abolished, and on November 17, 1922, the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed VI, left the country. On October 29, 1923, the Turkish Grand National Assembly announced the establishment of the Turkish Republic. On March 3, 1924, the Caliphate was abolished.
The state organization of the Ottoman Empire was very simple. Its main areas were military and civil administration. Sultan was the highest position in the country. The civil system was based on administrative divisions built on the characteristics of the regions. The Turks used a system where the state controlled the clergy (as in the Byzantine Empire). Certain pre-Islamic traditions of the Turks, preserved after the introduction of administrative and judicial systems from Muslim Iran, remained important in the administrative circles of the Ottoman Empire. The main task of the state was the defense and expansion of the empire, as well as ensuring security and balance within the country in order to maintain power.
None of the dynasties of the Muslim world has been in power for so long as the Ottoman dynasty. The Ottoman dynasty was of Turkish origin. Eleven times the Ottoman sultan was overthrown by enemies as an enemy of the people. In the history of the Ottoman Empire, there were only 2 attempts to overthrow the Ottoman dynasty, both of which ended in failure, which testified to the strength of the Ottoman Turks.
The high position of the caliphate, ruled by the Sultan, in Islam allowed the Turks to create an Ottoman caliphate. The Ottoman sultan (or padishah, "king of kings") was the sole ruler of the empire and was the personification of state power, although he did not always exercise absolute control. The new sultan was always one of the sons of the former sultan. The strong education system of the palace school was aimed at eliminating unsuitable possible heirs and creating support for the ruling elite of the successor. Palace schools, where future government officials studied, were not isolated. Muslims studied in the Madrasah (Ottoman. Medrese), scientists and government officials taught here. Waqfs provided material support, which allowed children from poor families to receive higher education, while Christians studied in enderun, where 3,000 Christian boys from 8 to 12 years old were recruited annually from 40 families from the population of Rumelia and / or the Balkans (devshirme).
Despite the fact that the sultan was the supreme monarch, state and executive power was vested in politicians. There was a political struggle between the councilors and ministers in the self-governing body (the divan, which was renamed Porto in the 17th century). Back in the days of the beylik, the divan consisted of elders. Later, instead of the elders, the divan included army officers and local nobility (for example, religious and political figures). Beginning in 1320, the grand vizier performed some of the duties of the sultan. The Grand Vizier was completely independent of the Sultan, he could dispose of the Sultan's hereditary property as he liked, dismiss anyone and control all spheres. Starting from the end of the 16th century, the Sultan ceased to participate in political life state, and the grand vizier became the de facto ruler of the Ottoman Empire.
Throughout the history of the Ottoman Empire, there were many cases when the rulers of the vassal principalities of the Ottoman Empire acted without coordinating actions with the Sultan and even against him. After the Young Turk Revolution, the Ottoman Empire became a constitutional monarchy. The Sultan no longer had executive power. A parliament was created with delegates from all provinces. They formed the Imperial Government (Ottoman Empire).
The rapidly growing empire was led by dedicated, experienced people (Albanians, Phanariots, Armenians, Serbs, Hungarians and others). Christians, Muslims and Jews completely changed the system of government in the Ottoman Empire.
The Ottoman Empire had an eclectic rule, which even affected diplomatic correspondence with other powers. Initially, correspondence was carried out in Greek.
All Ottoman sultans had 35 personal signs - tugrs, with which they signed. Carved on the seal of the Sultan, they contained the name of the Sultan and his father. As well as sayings and prayers. The very first tughra was the tughra of Orhan I. The gaudy tughra, depicted in the traditional style, was the basis of Ottoman calligraphy.
Law
Trial in the Ottoman Empire, 1877
The Ottoman legal system was based on religious law. The Ottoman Empire was built on the principle of local jurisprudence. Legal administration in the Ottoman Empire was complete opposite central government and local governments. The power of the Ottoman Sultan depended heavily on the Ministry of Legal Development, which met the needs of the millet. Ottoman jurisprudence pursued the goal of uniting various circles in cultural and religious terms. There were 3 judicial systems in the Ottoman Empire: the first - for Muslims, the second - for the non-Muslim population (the Jews and Christians who ruled the respective religious communities were at the head of this system) and the third - the so-called system of "merchant courts". This entire system was governed by the qanun, a system of laws based on the pre-Islamic Yasa and Torah. Qanun was also a secular law, issued by the Sultan, which resolved issues not dealt with in Sharia.
These judicial ranks were not entirely exceptions: the early Muslim courts were also used to settle conflicts in exchange or disputes between litigants of other faiths, and Jews and Christians who often turned to them to resolve conflicts. The Ottoman government did not interfere in non-Muslim legal systems, despite the fact that it could interfere with them with the help of governors. The Sharia legal system was created by combining the Koran, Hadith, Ijma, Qiyas and local customs. Both systems (qanun and sharia) were taught in Istanbul's law schools.
The reforms during the Tanzimat period had a significant impact on the legal system in the Ottoman Empire. In 1877, private law (with the exception of family law) was codified in Majalla. Later commercial law, criminal law and civil procedure were codified.
The first military unit of the Ottoman army was created at the end of the 13th century by Osman I from members of the tribe that inhabited the hills of Western Anatolia. The military system became a complex organizational unit during the early years of the Ottoman Empire.
The Ottoman army had a complex system of recruitment and feudal defense. The main branch of the army was the janissaries, sipahis, akinchis and the janissary band. The Ottoman army was once considered one of the most modern armies in the world. She was one of the first armies to use muskets and artillery pieces. The Turks first used the falconet during the siege of Constantinople in 1422. The success of cavalry troops in battle depended on their speed and maneuverability, and not on the thick armor of archers and swordsmen, their Turkmen and Arabian horses (ancestors of thoroughbred racing horses) and applied tactics. The deterioration of the combat capability of the Ottoman army began in the middle of the 17th century and continued after the Great Turkish War. In the 18th century, the Turks won several victories over Venice, but in Europe they ceded some territories to the Russians.
In the 19th century, the modernization of the Ottoman army and the country as a whole took place. In 1826, Sultan Mahmud II liquidated the Janissary corps and created the modern Ottoman army. The army of the Ottoman Empire was the first army to hire foreign instructors and send its officers to study in Western Europe. Accordingly, the Young Turk movement flared up in the Ottoman Empire when these officers, having received an education, returned to their homeland.
The Ottoman fleet also took an active part in Turkish expansion in Europe. It was thanks to the fleet that the Turks captured North Africa. The loss of Greece in 1821 and Algeria in 1830 to the Turks marked the beginning of the weakening of the military power of the Ottoman fleet and control over distant overseas territories. Sultan Abdulaziz tried to restore the power of the Ottoman fleet by creating one of the largest fleets in the world (3rd place after Great Britain and France). In 1886, the first submarine of the Ottoman navy was built at the shipyard in Barrow in the UK.
However, the failing economy could no longer support the fleet. Sultan Abdul-Hamid II, who did not trust the Turkish admirals who sided with the reformer Midhat Pasha, argued that a large fleet that required expensive maintenance would not help win the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. He sent all Turkish ships to the Golden Horn, where they rotted for 30 years. After the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, the Unity and Progress Party made an attempt to recreate a powerful Ottoman fleet. In 1910, the Young Turks began to collect donations for the purchase of new ships.
The history of the Ottoman Air Force began in 1909. The first flying school in the Ottoman Empire
The administrative division of the Ottoman Empire was based on the military administration, which controlled the subjects of the state. Outside this system were vassal and tributary states.
The government of the Ottoman Empire pursued a strategy for the development of Bursa, Adrianople and Constantinople as major trade and industrial centers, which at various times were the capitals of the state. Therefore, Mehmed II and his successor Bayezid II encouraged the migration of Jewish artisans and Jewish merchants to Istanbul and other major ports. However, in Europe Jews were persecuted everywhere by Christians. That is why the Jewish population of Europe immigrated to the Ottoman Empire, where the Turks needed the Jews.
The economic thought of the Ottoman Empire was closely connected with the basic concept of the state and society of the Middle East, which was based on the goal of strengthening power and expanding the territory of the state - all this was carried out because the Ottoman Empire had large annual incomes due to the prosperity of the productive class. The ultimate goal was to increase government revenues without harming the development of the regions, since the damage could cause social unrest, and the immutability of the traditional structure of society.
The structure of the treasury and chancellery was better developed in the Ottoman Empire than in other Islamic states, and until the 17th century the Ottoman Empire remained the leading organization in these structures. This structure was developed by scribe officials (also known as "literary workers") as a special group of somewhat highly qualified theologians, which developed into a professional organization. The effectiveness of this professional financial organization was supported by the great statesmen of the Ottoman Empire.
The structure of the state's economy was determined by its geopolitical structure. The Ottoman Empire, being in the middle between the West and the Arab world, blocked the land routes to the east, which forced the Portuguese and Spaniards to go in search of new routes to the countries of the East. The empire controlled the spice road that Marco Polo once walked. In 1498, the Portuguese, having rounded Africa, established trade relations with India; in 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered Bahamas. At this time, the Ottoman Empire reached its peak - the power of the Sultan extended to 3 continents.
According to modern research the deterioration of relations between the Ottoman Empire and Central Europe was caused by the opening of new sea routes. This was evident in the fact that the Europeans were no longer looking for land routes to the East, but followed sea routes there. In 1849, the Baltaliman Treaty was signed, thanks to which the English and French markets became on a par with the Ottoman ones.
Through the development of commercial centers, the opening of new routes, an increase in the amount of cultivated land and international trade, the state carried out the main economic processes. But in general, the main interests of the state were finance and politics. But the Ottoman officials, who created the social and political structures of the empire, could not fail to see the advantages of the capitalist and commercial economy of the Western European states.
Demography
The first census of the population of the Ottoman Empire took place at the beginning of the 19th century. The official results of the 1831 census and subsequent years were published by the government, however, the census was not for all segments of the population, but only for individual ones. For example, in 1831 there was a census of only the male population.
|
It is not clear why the population of the country in the 18th century was lower than in the 16th century. Nevertheless, the population of the empire began to increase and by 1800 reached 25,000,000 - 32,000,000 people, of which 10,000,000 lived in Europe, 11,000,000 in Asia and 3,000,000 in Africa. The population density of the Ottoman Empire in Europe was twice that of Anatolia, which in turn was 3 times that of Iraq and Syria and 5 times that of Arabia. In 1914, the population of the state totaled 18,500,000 people. By this time, the territory of the country had decreased by about 3 times. This meant that the population almost doubled. |
By the end of the existence of the empire, the average life expectancy in it was 49 years, despite the fact that even in the 19th century this figure was extremely low and amounted to 20-25 years. Such a short life expectancy in the 19th century was due to epidemic diseases and famine, which, in turn, were caused by destabilization and demographic changes. In 1785, about one-sixth of the population of Ottoman Egypt died from the plague. During the entire XVIII century, the population of Aleppo decreased by 20%. In 1687-1731, the population of Egypt went hungry 6 times, the last famine in the Ottoman Empire erupted in the 1770s in Anatolia. It was possible to avoid famine in the following years thanks to the improvement of sanitary conditions, health care and the beginning of the transportation of food to the cities of the state.
The population began to move to port cities, which was caused by the beginning of the development of shipping and railways. In the years 1700-1922, the process of active urban growth was going on in the Ottoman Empire. Thanks to the improvement of the health care system and sanitary conditions, the cities of the Ottoman Empire became more attractive to live in. Especially in the port cities there was an active population growth. For example, in Thessaloniki, the population increased from 55,000 in 1800 to 160,000 in 1912; in Izmir, from 150,000 in 1800 to 300,000 in 1914. In some regions there was a decrease in the population. For example, the population of Belgrade decreased from 25,000 to 8,000, the reason for which was the struggle for power in the city. Thus, the population in different regions was different.
Economic and political migration had a negative impact on the empire. For example, the annexation of the Crimea and the Balkans by the Russians and the Habsburgs led to the flight of all Muslims inhabiting these territories - about 200,000 Crimean Tatars fled to Dobruja. Between 1783 and 1913, between 5,000,000 and 7,000,000 people immigrated to the Ottoman Empire, 3,800,000 of whom were from Russia. Migration greatly influenced the political tension between different parts of the empire, as a result of which there were no longer differences between different sections of the population. The number of artisans, merchants, industrialists and farmers decreased. Starting from the 19th century, mass emigration of all Muslims (the so-called Muhajirs) from the Balkans began to the Ottoman Empire. By the end of the existence of the Ottoman Empire, in 1922, most of the Muslims living in the state were emigrants from the Russian Empire.
Languages
The official language of the Ottoman Empire was the Ottoman language. He was heavily influenced by Persian and Arabic. The most common languages in the Asian part of the country were: Ottoman (which was spoken by the population of Anatolia and the Balkans, with the exception of Albania and Bosnia), Persian (which was spoken by the nobility) and Arabic (which was spoken by the population of Arabia, North Africa, Iraq, Kuwait and the Levant ), Kurdish, Armenian, New Aramaic, Pontic and Cappadocian Greek were also common in the Asian part; in Europe - Albanian, Greek, Serbian, Bulgarian and Aromanian. In the last 2 centuries of the existence of the empire, these languages were no longer used by the population: Persian was the language of literature, Arabic was used for religious rites.
Due to the low level of literacy of the population, for ordinary people to appeal to the government, special people were used who made petitions. National minorities spoke their native languages (Mahalla). In multilingual towns and villages, the population spoke different languages, moreover, not all people who lived in megacities knew the Ottoman language.
Religions
Before the adoption of Islam, the Turks were shamanists. The spread of Islam began after the victory of the Abbasids in the Battle of Talas in 751. In the second half of the 8th century, most of the Oghuz (ancestors of the Seljuks and Turks) converted to Islam. In the 11th century, the Oghuz settled in Anatolia, which contributed to its spread there.
In 1514, Sultan Selim I massacred Shiites living in Anatolia, whom he considered heretics, during which 40,000 people were killed.
The freedom of Christians living in the Ottoman Empire was limited, as the Turks referred them to "second-class citizens." The rights of Christians and Jews were not considered equal to the rights of the Turks: the testimony of Christians against the Turks was not accepted by the court. They could not carry weapons, ride horses, their houses could not be higher than the houses of Muslims, and also had many other legal restrictions. Throughout the existence of the Ottoman Empire, a tax was levied on the non-Muslim population - Devshirme. Periodically, in the Ottoman Empire there was a mobilization of pre-adolescent Christian boys, who, after being drafted, were brought up as Muslims. These boys were trained in the art of statecraft or the formation of a ruling class and the creation elite troops(Janissaries).
Under the millet system, non-Muslims were citizens of the empire but did not have the rights that Muslims had. The Orthodox millet system was created under Justinian I, and was used until the end of the existence of the Byzantine Empire. Christians, as the largest non-Muslim population in the Ottoman Empire, had a number of special privileges in politics and trade, and therefore paid higher taxes than Muslims.
After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Mehmed II did not massacre the Christians of the city, but, on the contrary, even preserved their institutions (for example, the Orthodox Church of Constantinople).
In 1461, Mehmed II founded the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople. During the Byzantine Empire, the Armenians were considered heretics and therefore could not build churches in the city. In 1492, during the Spanish Inquisition, Bayezid II sent a Turkish fleet to Spain to rescue Muslims and Sephardim, who soon settled in the territory of the Ottoman Empire.
The Porte's relations with the Orthodox Church of Constantinople were mostly peaceful, and reprisals were rare. The structure of the church was kept intact, but it was under the strict control of the Turks. After the nationalist-minded new Ottomans came to power in the 19th century, the policy of the Ottoman Empire acquired the features of nationalism and Ottomanism. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church was dissolved and placed under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Church. In 1870, Sultan Abdulaziz founded the Bulgarian Exarchate of the Greek Orthodox Church and restored its autonomy.
Similar millets were formed from different religious communities, including a millet of Jews headed by the chief rabbi and a millet of Armenians headed by a bishop.
The territories that were part of the Ottoman Empire were mainly coastal areas of the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Accordingly, the culture of these territories was based on the traditions of the local population. After capturing new territories in Europe, the Turks adopted some cultural traditions conquered areas (architectural styles, cuisine, music, recreation, form of government). Intercultural marriages played a big role in shaping the culture of the Ottoman elite. Numerous traditions and cultural characteristics, adopted from the conquered peoples, were developed by the Ottoman Turks, which later led to a mixture of the traditions of the peoples living on the territory of the Ottoman Empire and the cultural identity of the Ottoman Turks.
The main directions of Ottoman literature were poetry and prose. However, the predominant genre was poetry. Before the beginning of the 19th century, fantasy stories were not written in the Ottoman Empire. Such genres as the novel, the story were absent even in folklore and poetry.
Ottoman poetry was a ritual and symbolic art form.