Bureaucrats, rtl-contributors, Administrators
1,619
edits
Ottoman Sultanate: Difference between revisions
20th Century Ottomen lore
(Added Russo-Ottoman War and Anglo-Ottoman war (1884-1885)) |
(20th Century Ottomen lore) |
||
Line 54:
=== Ottoman Reform Period ===
====
The humiliating defeats in 1885 served as a wake-up call for the empire. The wars and hardships associated with the aftermath pushed the Ottoman state into reform. In 1888, mounting pressure from the public led to the establishment of the Ottoman Grand Congress. Thus started the Ottoman reform period, putting the people at the forefront of running the country along with the Ottoman sultan.
==== Clash of Ideologies: Hatayism and Orkhonism ====
The period between 1890-1901 saw two large political movements vying for power in the Grand Congress. The Hatayists (named after the province of Hatay) advocated for the secularization of the state and social equality. The Orkhonists, on the other hand, promoted the Turkification of the state. Both groups were nationalist by definition but had different means for achieving national ambitions.
In 1910, the new sultan, Bejazid IV, rose to power after the death of his power. Bejazid, while claiming to have a centrist stance like his predecessor, was heavily sympathetic to the Orkhonists. Soon enough, a political alliance between the Orkhonists and Bejazid IV formed, making them more popular among the public. The Orkhonists were able to capture the majority in the Grand Congress. The Orkhonist party, led by Hamza Kojundschu, enacted multiple laws to realize their ambitions. Among them is the ''Turkish Settlement and Nationality Law'', which aimed to create an Ottoman national identity by using Islam as a unifying force, and by resettling Turkish-speaking families to far-flung regions where they only make a minority, and vice-versa. The use of the common Turkish language was also promoted, instead of Ottoman Turkish, which had a lot of Arabic and Persian influences. Through these steps, Kojundschu hoped to meld all the groups in the empire into one people: the Ottoman nationality. Throughout the early 19th century, areas around Jazira, Macedonia, and coastal Levantine cities would shift towards a more Turkish identity.
===== Christian Immigration Wave =====
Despite heavy national enthusiasm for the new reforms, one group became alienated: the Ottoman Christians. Historically, Ottoman Christians were considered ''dhimmi'' (meaning "protected") under Ottoman law in exchange for loyalty to the state and payment of the jizya tax. However, the new policies of the Orkhonist government severely limited their opportunities inside the empire. The Russian Empire, which was seen as the traditional protector of the Christians in the Ottoman empire, issued diplomatic protests and denounced the new government. However, this did very little to stop the new policies from being enacted. These caused waves of emigration of Orthodox Greeks, Armenians, and Christian Arabs into Russia, and more often into the Americas.
==== Ottoman
Since the death of Kojundschu in 1914, the Ottoman empire began to slide to a dictatorial form of government gradually. To maintain their popularity, the Orkhonist party began to consolidate military power and looked outward. Anti-Russian and Anti-British revanchist propaganda was scattered throughout the empire. They renewed a territorial claim in Crimea (which was taken by Russia during the 1884-1885 Russo-Ottoman War), after the sultan's familial relations with the old Crimean Giray dynasty. They also promoted the idea of a Greater Ottoman state, one that controlled Egypt and therefore controlled the Mediterranean. Throughout the 1920s, the state would enter a rapid pace of industrialization and militarization. They found an ally in Austria and France, who also had their own resentments against the British and Russians. In 1929, the three states formed the Tripartite Coalition, which strengthened their relationship and cooperation.{{Nations of the World}}
| |||