The Middle East historically has been a region fundamentally built around the concept of religion. The Ottoman Empire dominated this region for 600 years of which they would utilize Islam as a way to justify the leadership of the sultan to create the most power of all Islamic states. The Ottomans exhibited the most power as an empire prior to the concept of nationalism. The Sultan Sulayman the Great became synonymous with the height of Ottoman power by fully establishing an imperial empire in the Middle East during 1520 to 1566. (Perry,111). Despite other sultans attempting to follow in his footsteps the death of Sulayman marked the beginning of the decline of the Ottomans as an empire. As leadership in the Middle East grew worse and worse …show more content…
By the 1850’s the Ottomans became known as “the sick man that is dying” to the European super powers like Russia and Great Britain. (Perry,143). As time progressed the Ottoman Empire began to crumble from the inside as some groups demanded European style constitutions, hence introducing nationalism. The loss of territories close to Europe also aided in the European powers beginning to slowly begin to surround the Ottomans forcing them to quickly choose an ally in Germany. The Ottomans entrance into the war would be the final chapter in the once great empire, thrusting the Middle East into an era inspired by European Nationalism.
During the end of the 19th century nationalism began to spread throughout the Ottoman Empire like wild fire of which allowed its inhabitants to begin to create a desire for independent Middle Eastern countries. The European nations observed how nationalism particularly infiltrated into countries like Egypt, Syria, and Iran of which would later become areas under western influence. Despite maintaining a vague form of independence in 1907 a
…show more content…
Despite the western powers influence on the Arab nation’s inhabitants several political leaders rose to power of which would be known for their radical ideas. The governments following WW1 varied from western style democracies, dictatorships, and even traditional monarchies, similar to the sultan during the age of the Ottomans. In July 1958 the Abd al-Ilah a brigadier, overthrew King Faysal the Second in a bloody coup of which led to the death of many involved in the conflict, after the British installed the Hashimite monarchy, which lasted only 37 years (Cleveland, 318). Despite actively taking a role in the creation of the major of Arab governments of the Middle East often times the leaders set in place by Great Britain did not last long. The lack of establishing successful European style governments in the Middle East was due to the sheer fact that the people rarely able to fully submit to western ideologies. In particular Iraq later denied the containment policy and decided to begin accepting the aid of the Soviet Union by receiving weapons and economic help (Cleveland, 318). This further complicated the relations between the Middle East and America following WW2, while bringing the Soviet Union closer to the Arab world. Nevertheless the Middle East still was an area of economic interest because of their abundance of natural
The Ottoman Empire was a large empire that lasted for several hundred years. They were primarily Sunni Muslims and they were led by the Sultan. Over time, they had a long decline, mostly because they hadn’t progressed with the times. France and Britain were getting very involved with their affairs in Egypt. By the late 1800’s most of the Ottoman Empire was gone. During World War One (WWI), in 1916, the Arabs helped Great Britain to defeat the Ottoman Empire. In 1918 the Ottomans surrendered and their empire was dissolved. When mandates were established it caused nationalist ro revolt. General Mustafa
In the 16th century, the Mesopotamia had served as an intermediate for trade between Europe, Africa, and Asia. It was also an important supplier on food goods on foreign trade, especially silk and cotton. Other than the Ottoman Empire who had control over it, they also had there competitive rivals, the Persian Safavids who also had control over it. The Persians Muslim faith clashed with the Ottoman’s devotion to Sunnism. Both groups had fought economically for the control over the western trade routes to the East. The Ottomans had captured Europe’s largest city, Constantinople, in May 1453. After it was captured, the Ottoman’s had renamed it Istanbul, as it became the city capital of The Ottoman Empire.
The Ottoman Empire was one of the longest running empires in history, spanning 624 years. The women of the Ottoman empire were often limited to the household of their husband’s and held back by Ottoman lawmakers and authorities. The point of view of outsiders was varied, but there were both positive and negative views.
While taking the class of Early Modern European History there was two states that really stuck out and peaked my interest the most. They were the Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe. If you compare and contrast both the Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe during the 16th Century through the 18th Century, you will see that there are a number of similarities as well as differences when you look at the expansion of the states. You will also see many of these contrasts as well when you look in terms of each states military and commerce. Although the Ottoman Empire existed before the 16th century and continued to exist past the 18th century and in great decline until the early 20th century, when looking at the state as a whole the time period of 1500’s through the 1700’s is a period of growth and strength. It is perhaps even known as a golden era for the state, when taking in to comparison the Early Modern Europeans where the same time period marks a change in how society thought and how people were treated.
In their times The Mughal and Ottoman empires were some of the greatest and most successful empires of all time. Both empires were lead by strong rulers, Suleiman in the Ottoman Empire and Akbar in the Mughal. However, the Mughal empire failed due to the weak successors that could not unite the huge empire after Akbar’s demise leading the empire to fall apart.
1. The three main factors that resulted in the Ottoman expansion of the 14th century were rooted in geopolitics, military technology a nd strategy, and political strategy. The Ottoman capital and center of economics (post-1453) was located at Istanbul, which was not only the geographical “gateway” to Europe, but also connected Asia and Europe, which made Istanbul an extremely important area for commerce and merchants travelling from one continent to the other. Even after the Ottoman takeover of the Byzantines, they were able to expand even more partly due to the capitol and funds gained through commerce in Istanbul. The Ottomans also created an army that was aided by new technologies such as firearms as well as horses, which helped them expand exponentially through the Middle East. The balance within their military, with the Calvary coupled with armed Janissaries, furthered their military might. Lastly, the political strategy of Osman and his heirs helped to further Ottoman goals including expansion.
The 16th century was a time when Islamic leaders of the world fought and conquered the lands of other cultures to spread their beliefs while using their military strength to gain political control. Europe, Spain, Northern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Persia, and parts of Asia were all affected. This religion rose to a great power as three major theocratic governments. Supreme rulers included the Mughal Empire, the Safavid Dynasty, and the Ottoman Empire. Each sovereignty, though they shared a common faith of Islam and strong military powers, was not in agreement with how they sustained their states. From 1500 CE to 1600 CE all three overlap, though are most importantly, separated geographically and obtained levels of power that also differentiated.
The Ottoman Empire were Muslims and included Hungary, Syria, Egypt, Bulgaria, and Albania, and they marched on land. The Ottoman Empire is said to have first appeared somewhere around the 1300’s, and can be related to the decline of the Byzantine Empire. They began conquering Christian lands and by the late 1600’s all Christians were afraid of the “terrible Turk”. It is no wonder that many other people were afraid of the Ottoman Empire since they seem to be really rather powerful and they conquered a lot of land. It was in the 1330’s when the Morroccan Abu Abdallah Ibn Battuta passed through Constantinople and became impressed with the Ottomans who seemed to be gaining power rather quickly, he noticed that they had close to 100 forts and
“One Arab nation from Gulf to the Ocean,” gives meaning to the term “Pan-Arabism” in the Middle East. A notion where Arab nations transcend their state boundaries to form political mergers with other states and achieve an ‘Arab unity.’ The existence of Arab states had been tumultuous throughout the decline of the Muslim order, the end of the Ottoman Empire, the Palestinian defeat, Six Day War and Arab-Israeli war in 1973. This essay will critically examine Foud Ajami’s case for a raison d’état in the Middle East and his claim that there were six broad trends leading to the alteration of the balance of power away from Pan-Arabism and towards the state. It will be argued that Pan-Arabism was a romantic ideology that Arab states found convenient to support, all in advancement of their nationalistic state agendas. It was never a realistic endeavor that was physically undertaken by the Arab states and was thus never alive in a tangible sense. However, Pan-Arabism as an ideology had a place in the Middle East and was thus alive in an ideological sense.
The Middle East has historically rebuked Western influence during their process of establishing independence. When Britain and France left the Middle East after World War II, the region saw an unprecedented opportunity to establish independent and self-sufficient states free from the Western influence they had felt for hundreds of years. In an attempt to promote nationalistic independence, the states of the region immediately formed the League of Arab States in 1945. The League recognized and promoted the autonomy of its members and collaborated in regional opposition against the West until 1948 when Israel declared independence. Israel represented then and now an intrusive Western presence in the Arab world. The ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict typifies this cultural antagonism. The Cold War refocused attention to the Middle East as a site of economic and strategic importance for both sides, yet the two hegemons of the Cold War now needed to recognize the sovereignty of the Middle Eastern states. With their statehood and power cemented, the Middle Easte...
The Tanzimat: Reform in the Ottoman Empire. During its prime, the Ottoman Empire was one of the largest and most powerful empires in the entire world. Unfortunately for the Ottomans, various problems arose, and eventually the empire started to decline. This resulted in a period of reform, known as the Tanzimat.
The failure of defensive development in Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, and Persia had a large and long-lasting effect on the Muslim world. The original goal of the reforms was to end European intervention, revive the weakening empires, and to be on equal standing with Europe. Yet, all three empires over-utilized the wealth and knowledge of Europe, leading to their ultimate demise. The empires wished to impose reforms in the military, economics, education, and law which the region had not experienced previously. This resulted in backlash, violence, and division within the empires eventually leading to bankruptcy, ironically, to those which they wished to separate themselves.
Ottoman social issues can greatly credit the fall of their empire and one of the largest reasons why the nation struggled to succeed post 15th century. The Ottomans base ideology and the conflicts that arose from the many different contrasting autonomous groups aided in the fall of the empire. The founding principle behind much of the Ottomans’ action throughout history and the reason they were able to muster up such a large empire was due to their strong religious backbone; Islam. It dictated the creeds and laws of the land and as much as it aided the muslim Turks to revive the Islamic Empire, it slowly became a disadvantage as the Ottomans grew. This was especially true in their vast land size, where different religious groups found home
The Ottoman Empire reached the peak of its power in the 1500s. While other empires were experiencing their downfalls, the Ottoman Empire’s power seemed to be increasing. In fact, this empire can be ranked as the strongest power due to its tactical internal organization of power, minorities, and religion, due to its physical expansion which provided more resources, more advancements, and more people to support the empire, and due to its large military strength that provided security, reduced rebellion, and challenged the other powers.
Through my research, I found that the Ottoman Empire was in control for around 600 years, occupying large portions of Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. It saw its height of dominance and stability in the 16th Century. However, during the Renaissance era, Europe began to grow more economically stable and was able to create a larger military than the Ottoman Empire, weakening its regional domination. As a