THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE: Its Rise, Decline and Collapse, Study notes of Technology

Download THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE: Its Rise, Decline and Collapse and more Study notes Technology in PDF only on Docsity! The Ottoman Empire 93 THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE: Its Rise, Decline and Collapse Ahmad Fuad Fanani Mahasiswa Pascasarjana Flinders University, Adelaide-Australia; Dosen Universitas Muhammadiyah Prof. Dr. HAMKA, Jakarta Abstrak Turki Ustmani (the Ottoman Empire) menduduki posisi yang sangat istimewa dalam peta sejarah dan politik Islam karena ia diakui banyak ilmuwan dan peneliti sebagai kekhalifahan paling besar yang banyak mempengaruhi berbagai negara dan telah membentuk peradaban agung. Selain terkenal dengan kekuatan militernya, Kekhalifahan Turki Ustmani juga sebuah imperium yang dibangun berdasarkan multi etnis dan multi agama. Dengan konsep millet (komunitas keagamaan), masing-masing pemeluk agama dapat hidup berdampingan dengan damai dan penuh persaudaraan. Sayangnya, Kekhalifahan Turki Ustmani yang berdiri sejak tahun 1453 itu mulai mengalami kemunduran semenjak abad ke 18 M. Kekalahan pasukan Turki Utsmani di berbagai peperangan, intervensi Eropa, serta keterpurukan ekonomi menjadi salah satu penyebabnya. Kondisi ini diperparah oleh faktor internal yang menunjang kemundurannya. Tidak heran, jika pada akhir abad ke 19 M, the Ottoman Empire dijuluki banyak pengamat sebagai the ‘Sick Man of Europe’. Pada awal abad ke 20 M, kekhalifahan Turki Utsmani semakin terpuruk dan mengalami puncak kejatuhannya seiring dengan lahirnya konsep negara bangsa (nation state) dan pengaruh modernisasi. Artikel ini akan menganalisis dinamika dan faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi perkembangan dan kemunduran Kekhalifahan Turki Ustmani semenjak era kelahiran, kemunduran, serta kejatuhannya. INTRODUCTION Although the central Islamic lands had been devastated by the Mongol invasions in 1258, the presence of Islamic empires after the event showed that the Islamic people could make a new imperial in the world. The new imperial synthesis which was represented by the Mughal Empire of Delhi in the east, the Safavid Empire in Iran in the middle, and the Ottoman Empire in the West was an expansive Islamic state and gave cultural, political, and social contributions to the region. The emergence of these three empires clearly Volume 14 Nomor 1 Januari - Juni 2011 94 reveals that Islam had not reached the end of its expansion after the decline of Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad, Iraq. Interestingly, Marshall Hodgson, the expert of Islamic civilization and the world civilization, illustrates that a visitor from Mars who arrived on the earth during the sixteenth century probably would conclude that the world was on the limit of becoming Muslim. This is because the extent of Islam and the impact of the power and prosperity of three central Islamic empires have colored many countries around the world (Cleveland and Bunton, 2009). The facts showed that Islam has many identities as religion, culture, civilization, and also political power which were represented in the emergence of Islamic empire. In addition, in the subject of the empire around the world, the Ottoman Empire was recognized by many scholars as the great empire which has once influenced countries and made a great civilization. The one reason for this is that the Ottoman Empire has ruled their society and survived for 600 years. The empire which was created by the warrior of Muslim Turks in 1453 after overthrow of the frontier of Byzantium, expanded its state and built a regular army and a bureaucracy (Dood, 1983). In the fifteenth and sixteenth century, the Ottoman Empire’s army was very famous with its strong and quality to expand other states. As the great state, the Ottoman Empire also was a multi- ethnic empire which consists of 75 different ethnic groups living within its rules. In fact, it was also multi- religious empire with big populations of Muslims, Jews, and Christian who live in the area. Even though the Ottoman Empire was founded by Muslim Turks and the administration of the empire was semi-theocracy, this empire coexisted with the secular decrees of the sultan in administrative field. The Ottoman system of administration which recognized the multi-religious composition of the population also introduced the concept of millet (religious communities). Each religious community was given autonomy in the regard of their internal affairs. It can be noted that the system of administration was relatively successful in keeping peace within the Ottoman borders until the arrival of nation-state in the 19 th century (Dood, 1983). However, the golden age of the Ottoman Empire seems to be decline in the eighteenth century. The main problem which triggered to its decline was the lose confidence of many Ottomans about their system after they suffered military downfall at the hand of European powers. This condition pushed them to realize that in many ways they had become backward. Unfortunately, the economic condition of the Ottoman Empire also declined as a result of The Ottoman Empire 97 It has been asserted that the Ottoman Empire originated as one of over a dozen small Anotalian principalities that became exist in the wake of the Mongol invasions during the thirteenth century. Actually, the tradition of gaza, warfare against non-Muslims for the purpose of extending the domains of Islam, was a driving force among the Muslims frontier warriors (gazis) who has played significant role in shaping the Ottoman Empire. The spirit of the gazi to fight against a rival Muslims also influenced the tribesmen and their chieftains to do similar thing. Then, the success of the gazi forces for gaining the victory in the war against Christian Byzantium, was followed by the rulers of Turkhis principalities efforts to imitate the court life of settled Islamic empires. They adopted the style of Islamic urban civilization by practicing patronage, by appointing shari’ah (Islamic law) judges, and by establishing institutions of Islamic learning. The synthesis between the freewheeling the spirit of the gazi and the efforts of the group leaders to adopt the practice of Islamic tradition was the important factor that formed the Ottoman Empire (Cleveland and Bunton, 2009). From these factors, we can argue that from the very beginning of the Ottoman Empire, the synthesis of the military power and Islamic tradition has been considered as the main factor which shaped their aims to create the new Empire. Meanwhile, the successor of the first sultan of the Ottoman Empire was his son, Orhon. He continued to use his army for widening the Ottoman lands by invading other countries. For example, in 1326 he and his army besieged the Byzantine city of Brusa. Brusa then became the first effective capital city of the Ottoman Empire. In fact, the Ottoman Turks crossed into Europe in 1345 at the invitation of the Emperor John V Paleologus who wanted their military aid against a usurper. After this event, surprisingly the Ottoman Empire made many slaves of the Bulgars and Serbs to consolidating their army. As a result, the Ottoman Empire consolidated their Balkan gains by a decisive victory over the southern Slavs in June 1389 at Kosovo. Due to the rapid growth of Islamic power in south-eastern Europe which was represented by the Ottoman Empire, in early 1366 Pope Urban V had led to proclaim a crusade. Consequently, the presence of the Ottoman Empire were collectively misnamed in central and western Europe—were soon feared as ‘wild beasts’ and ‘inhuman barbarians’ which reminded European people in the age of the Vikings (Parmer, 1992). Furthermore, the growing military power of the Ottoman Empire has encouraged them to expand their land. Besides that, the condition also Volume 14 Nomor 1 Januari - Juni 2011 98 encouraged them to make the transition from a frontier society to an established state, namely the Ottomans. Interestingly, the success of the Ottoman expansion of the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries was no lees remarkable than the old Islamic Caliphates 700 years earlier. The main reason for this is that the Ottomans not only add new Europeans territories to domains of Islam, but they also extended their rule to the Arab lands where Islam had originated (Cleveland and Bunton, 2009). Actually, this victorious phenomenon was not surprising, because the Ottoman Empire in origin was a military institution dedicated to fulfilling the sacred obligation of extending the “Abode of Islam” by conquering the non Muslims lands. One of the Ottomans strategies to success their goals was by selecting Christian born slaves, converted to Islam, and then became an imperial bodyguard. In fact, they also completed the works in modifying the military power, geared for continuous frontier war, and strengthened the imperial administration (Parmer, 1992). In this regard, there are three successful military campaigns of the Ottoman Empire which can serve to illustrate the transformation of the Ottoman state into a world power. The first of them was the conquest of Constantinople, the big achievement that increased the confidence of Muslim commanders in the centuries. The conquest happened on May 29, 1453, following a long siege, when the forces of Sultan Mehmet II (well known as the Conqueror) entered the Byzantine capital. Then, he brought an end to Constantinople’s role as the symbolic center of Eastern Christendom. After the conquest, the city name was changed as Istanbul and became the seat of the Ottoman government (Cleveland and Bunton, 2009). Certainly, Albert Hourani (1981) states that the capture in 1453 of Constantinople, made the Ottoman Empire as one of the greatest in the western part of the Muslim world. Because of its strategic position, the state had a large trade with the Italian cities, became a naval power in the Mediterranean, had a close contact with Western Europe, and considered as a factor in the European balance of power. Indeed, the creation of successful navy also enabled to the Ottomans to conquer and occupy the principal Mediterranean islands from Rhodes (1522), Cyprus (1570), Crete (1664), Algiers (1529), and Tunis (1574). Besides that, the improvements of the Ottoman army also made it as the most formidable military of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Cleveland and Bunton, 2009). The second successful of the Ottoman Empire in terms of military campaigns was the Ottoman conquest of the Arab lands in 1516-1517. This success leads to the condition where established the sultans as the supreme rulers within the The Ottoman Empire 99 universal Islamic community. They were directly recognized as the guardian of the holy cities of Mecca and Media, also others holy cities like Jerussalem, Najaf, Karbala, and Kazimayn. Therefore, the Ottoman was assumed the important duty of ensuring the security of annual pilgrimage which has important in Islamic concept (Cleveland and Bunton, 2009). The expansion to Arab countries made the Ottomans as the greatest rulers in the Muslim world west of Iran. This condition also brought the Ottoman government into contact with the most ancient Muslim urban civilization such as the great schools in Cairo, Damascus and Aleppo, also with the mainstream of Islamic theology and law. Its contact could make a balance between government and the forces of society (Hourani, 1981). The third example of successful Ottoman expansion concerns the European campaigns of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificient (1520-1566). This Sultan was famous as the most powerful of the Ottoman rulers. Besides its important military victories at the sea and on the east front, he was also primarily a gazi- inspired sultan who concentrated on pushing the Ottoman frontier ever-deeper into Europe. For example, in 1520 Suleyman led the capture of the important fortress city of Belgrade, continued in 1520s to Budapest and most Hungary. Then, in 1529 Suleyman shocked all Christendom by marching an Ottoman army across the Danube and Vienna, the Hapsburg imperial capital and the gateway to central Europe. Even though Suleyman finally was unable to conquer Vienna because of many reasons, the area of the Ottoman during his ruler was so extensive. At Suleyman’s death in 1566, the Ottoman Empire consist of the major European, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Persian Gulf power. Inevitably, it was not only the leading Islamic state of the sixteenth century, but also a world empire of vast influence and territorial extent (Cleveland and Bunton, 2009). It was not surprising that in the Sultan Suleyman’s time the Ottoman Empire had been recognized by European humanist authors because of its superior military power. They also admired the absolute rule of the sultans as an ideal if compared with fractious nobilities of other empires (Faroqhi, 2007). THE DECLINE OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE It has been argued that the qualities of kingship of the Ottoman Empire after Suleyman’s death deteriorated rapidly. Although some of the sultans after Sultan Suleyman such as Selim, Mehmed III, and Murad IV have capabilities Volume 14 Nomor 1 Januari - Juni 2011 102 to control his army or government, and the central government losing control over the provinces. In same cases, many of society in the Ottoman Empire also protested the framework which imposed by the government. Some times, groups of people in society try to becoming leaders of discontent or revolt. Indeed, in this period we can see the Sultan’s power weakened, different groups struggled in the Palace and government, and shift power of the Grand Vezir and the higher bureaucracy. Likewise, in the provinces there was a growing decentralization such as in North African regencies of Tripoli, Tunis, Algeries which became virtually independent. This condition also occurred in some local government like Cairo and Baghdad, also in local families like the Jalalis of Mosul, in the mountains such as in Lebanon. Unfortunately, the Janissary army which was employed by the Ottoman Empire to conquer other lands or other countries became a popular political organization and sometimes a danger to order (Hourani, 1981). Indeed, the domestic problem of the Ottoman Empire which was showed in the rule of incompetent sultans, the presence of struggle over the succession, and the rise of political conflicts within the palace, gave huge contributions to the effectiveness of the central government (Cleveland and Bunton, 2009). In relation to the internal problems of the Ottoman Empire, it should be mentioned that the breakdown of the apparatus of government affected not only to the supreme instruments of sovereignty, but also to the whole of the bureaucratic and religious institutions under the Empire. This condition leads to the catastrophic fall of in efficiency and integrity in methods of training, promotion, and recruitment of the bureaucracy. As a consequence, according to Bernard Lewis, this deterioration is clearly seen in the Ottoman Empire which reflect vividly and clearly the change from the scrupulous, careful, and strikingly efficient in the 16 th century to neglect of the 17 th and the collapse of the 18 th centuries. In fact, there are also similar fall in professional and moral standards in the religious and judicial hierarchy. However, the most noticeable of the decline of the Ottoman Empire was the decline of the Ottoman armed forces. During the 16 th and 17 th centuries, although the Ottoman Empire could defend most of their territory, they suffered a long series of humiliating defeats from the Europe and other empires. And in the 16 th century, the Ottoman Empire reached the limits of its expansion and has to pose many barriers which often could not pass. The new centralized monarchy in the Safavids in Iran, also created the difficulties to the Ottoman Empire for continuing its expansion into Central Asia and India (Lewis, 1958). The Ottoman Empire 103 Furthermore, the decline of the Ottoman armed forces has strong correlation with the loss of dominance that manifested on the battlefield. The simultaneous war between the Ottoman and Austria and Russia in 1690s, resulted in the defeat of the Ottoman. And the Treaty of Karlowitz that signed with Austria in 1699, obliged the Ottoman to cede most of Hungary to Hapsburgs. This moment also marked the Ottoman’s first major surrender of European territory. Ironically, the defeats of the Ottoman Turkey persisted for a long time. The Ottoman-Russian War in 1768, also resulted the loss of the Ottoman’s territories. This is because the Russia forces the Ottoman out of Romania and the Crimea on the Black Sea. And the Treaty of Kuchuk Kaynarja (1774) was one of the most humiliating agreements which ever signed by the Ottomans (Cleveland and Bunton, 2009). From these facts, it can be argued that the military defeats that led to the surrender of the Ottoman territory revealed that the decline of the armed forces is the real problem that has to solve immediately. Thus, the empire transformations have to consider military improvements too. Meanwhile, the sultans of the Ottoman Empire actually thought about the decline of the empire and tried to prevent it. Yet, this happened when Selim III has become Sultan in 1789-1807, he proposed military reform as alternative solution to the decline of the empire. The naval reform of Selim III demonstrated that the empire’s domestic production was still capable of raising the challenge. During his era, the Ottoman produced extensively much kind of ships and naval construction for revitalizing the golden era of the Ottoman. Salim III also initiated a modernization program for artillery production (Grant, 1999). Interestingly, the policies of Sultan Salim III constituted an intensification of the efforts at military reform which carried out by his predecessors. Salim III goal was to strengthen and to preserve the Ottoman State as well as the Suleyman the Magnificent era. Indeed, Salim also placate the Janissaries which became a threat of state in the previous era by raising their salaries and rebuilt their barracks. In order to strength the Ottoman economic and human resources capabilities, Sultan Salim III also established permanent Ottoman embassies in the European capitals. This policy had the effect of opening new channels for the transmission of knowledge about the West into educated Ottoman circle. Besides that, the policy also gave opportunities for the Ottoman to rely and create commercial agreements or peace treaties. However, the efforts of Sultan Salim III had a strong opposition from the elements of the Ottoman Volume 14 Nomor 1 Januari - Juni 2011 104 society who gain many benefits from the decline of central authority. The Janissaries also had viewed that Salim’s programs threatened their independence. Similarly, the ulama’ and other members of ruling elite who objected to the European models, also oppose Salim’s new programs. And finally, the rebellious Janissaries led forces to overtrow and deposed Salim III and selected Mustafa IV as a successor (Cleveland and Bunton, 2009). This condition clearly showed that the reform of the Ottoman Empire, actually do not gain support from the within because most of the elite groups felt threatened with the thing that can interfere their privileges. THE COLLAPSE OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE It is clear that the decline of the Ottoman system, as with the demise of all empires, created dangerous instabilities and fostered new ambitions amongst the region’s power. This is because the Sultan as the highest leader in the Ottoman Empire, do not have a significant role to control and reform the system of the empire. As we explained above, the attempts of Sultan Selim III to modernize the Ottoman army was failed as result of the opposition from the internal system and societies. Some people argue that the major factor which pushes rapidly the decline of the Ottoman Empire was the intervention from Great Power (European states). The proof for this is that the European powers accelerated the process of fragmentation of the empire. And finally, after the First World War, they presided over the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire. However, Robert Johnson proved that the decline of the Ottoman Empire actually as result of very complex factors. By putting the decline of Ottoman Empire into an international context, he identified five key areas which stand out as explanations for the decline and fall of the Ottoman Empire. These five factors were: (1) the moribund nature of the Ottoman government and its relative decline economically, (2) the spread of nationalism in the Balkans; (3) the attempts to revive Turkey by the ‘New Ottomans’ and ‘Young Turk’, (4) the German attempts to generate a sphere of influence in the Middle East, (5) the impact of the Balkan wars (Johnson, 2005). Based on the five key areas above, it should be noted that the conservatism of the privileged ruling elite in Constantinople (the capital city of the Ottoman Empire), corrupt military leaders and the decline of their economy, resulted into the broken state. Particularly if we compare it with the rising of the industrial power in the West, it conditions placed the Ottoman in the backward The Ottoman Empire 107 was deposed in favor of military junta-triumvirate under Enver, Talaat and Jemal (Johnson, 2005). In this respect, it can be argued that the empire fought on several fronts in the late 19 th century to stop its disintegration but continued to lose much of its land in the Balkans and the Middle East. This was a result of nationalist movements which deny the ethos of old Ottoman Empire. Furthermore, the final collapse of the Ottoman Empire came at the end of the World War I. According to Binnaz Toprak, defeat in the war was accompanied by the occupation of the Western powers to the Ottoman Empire territory. Then, after a nationalist struggle that ended the occupation, and also a brief civil war between nationalist and the Ottoman dynasty, the Turkish Repubic was proclaimed by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (Toprak, tt). Additionally, the victory of Allies in World War I marked the end of the Ottoman Empire and the birth of a Turkish nation. The events of 1919 and 1920 vividly demonstrated the strength of the nationalist tide sweeping through Anatoila. Although the Sultan’s government was supported by the Allies, the condition proved unable to withstand the nationalists under the leadership of Mustapha Kemal. Then, in 1920 he was elected President of the Embassy, and by the end of 1922, he had defeated the Greek and expelled the Allies (Szyliowics, 1966). CONCLUSION This article has discussed the rise, decline, and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. It has been argued that during the rise era, the military army of the Ottoman very famous with their power and strategies to defeat other countries. Besides that, the Ottoman Empire rise was signed by the occupation of Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Mediterranean areas. Consequently, the Ottoman Empire has considered as the great empire at the century. However, due to the intervention of Europe and the internal problems of the Ottoman, the government suffered many causes which led to the decline after the death of Suleyman the Magnificent. During this decline era, the Ottoma faced many defeats which decreased its dominant position. Although one of the sultan tried to reform the military and governance system in the end of 18 th century, this initiation did not had enough support from the military army and religious leaders. Furthermore, in order to respond the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the Turks also commenced the Tanzimat movement in the end of 19 th century. Volume 14 Nomor 1 Januari - Juni 2011 108 This movement has an aim to reform and modernize the Ottoman people by adapting and using the Western values, methods, and technology. Some of the ruling elite felt that this re form resulted in the much greater of the European states intervention to the Ottoman. As a result, they made a counter-revolution to fight against the Young Turk and the nationalist movement. Unfortunately, the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the World War I triggered the rapid collapse of the empire and the birth of modern Turkey. 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