The Decline and Fall of The Ottoman Empire

A rule in history is that empires fall. From the Persians, Romans, and even the mighty Mongol empires, they were all subject to the same fate. When empires crumble, there is no single cause for it either. The Ottoman Empire was no exception to this rule.

1.) Economic Decline

When the Ottoman Turks defeated the Byzantine Empire in 1453, access to Asia was now cut off. As a result, Europeans tried to find new ways eastward which lead to the events covered in class from the discovery of the Americas and eastward trading routes via Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Over time, The Ottoman Empire is cut off from all the new products and trade routes that Europe had acquired and it became quite the detriment. As a land based empire, it gained taxes from newly gained lands. After extending its borders to central as far west as Central Europe and as far east as Iran, it could no longer expand. Coupling the loss of new trade and no longer acquiring new lands, The Ottoman Empire began crumbling very gradually. In the mid-1800s right before the Crimean War, Tsar Nicholas I was interviewed about The Ottoman Empire and he referred to it as, "The sick man of Europe." After hundreds of years, The Ottoman Empire was merely a shell of its former self and with the glory days of Suleiman the Magnificent far in the rear-view mirror, the fall was only a matter of time.

2.) Nationalism (internally and externally) 

Nationalism as a driving political force really takes off int he 19th and 20th centuries. The concept of people sharing a common language and ancestry within long established borders began to take hold of European citizens and ultimately paved the way for the formation of modern Germany and Italy. For The Ottoman Empire, Nationalism marked the beginning of the end. From territories it ruled just outside of its borders, Greece and the Balkan States began a number of revolts that would ultimate lead to their departure from The Ottoman Empire and become their own independent nations.

Within the empire itself, Nationalism began to take hold of Turkish citizens who felt that moniker of "empire" was archaic and needed to be done away with. Led by the Young Turks, Nationalism became a very popular ideal within the empire and became a new source of inspiration for the future. From being a popular political movement, they eventually become the ruling party of the Ottoman Empire leading into World War I. There will be more on the Young Turks and the cost of Nationalism, but that'll be explored more at greater depth in the Armenian Genocide section.

3.) They picked the losing side in World War I

As easy as that. The Ottoman Empire had done surprisingly well against the British Navy in the Mediterranean during the early days of the war. Despite being quite behind in industrialization, their knowledge of the Mediterranean and history as a naval power truly came to good use against the British. However, because of their longstanding rivalry and alignment against Russia, the Ottomans sided with Germany. Regardless of how well they did, concessions for losing the war involved abandoning the form of government that lead them into war and becoming one more favorable to the other western nations (democratic). This is often cited as the primary cause of The Ottoman Empire dissolving, but there are a number of factors that contribute quite heavily other than simply losing the war.

4.) Weak leadership caused by banning fratricide (?)

This reasoning is a bit controversial but still arguably a reason for the decline. In The Ottoman Empire, the selection process for the Sultan was done by fratricide; literally killing your brothers. Sultans were always male and they also had a harem of women that would father many of their children. This concept came to a head when Mehmet III, a decedent of Suleiman the Magnificent murdered nineteen of his brothers to gain the Sultanate. After such an incredible spree of murders for the Sultanate, fratricide was banned. This is arguably a cause for the reason behind such weak leadership leading to their fall because the selection process truly weeded out who was unfit to rule.

Sources:

“BBC Documentary Ottoman Empire,” Youtube Video, 1:30:51. Posted by BBCDocumentaryHD, Publushed on December 13, 2014, link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt-WDBHJVWo

Robert Johnson, “The Decline of the Ottoman Empire, c. 1798-1913: Robert Johnson Puts the Decline of a Once-Great Empire in tan International Context.” History Review 52 (2005): 3+. World History in Context. Web. November 2, 2015.

Virginia Aksan, “The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire.” The Historian 57.2 (1994( 372+. World History in Context. Web. November 2 2015.