The Ottoman Empire was one of the longest lasting empires in modern history, spanning
from 1299 to 1922.
But after its meteoric rise throughout Europe, spreading Islam and bridging the Eastern and
Western worlds, the Empire slowly deflated and collapsed.
Ultimately, some of the worst geopolitical situations we’ve seen in the past century
can all be linked to the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
So, what contributed this steady collapse?
Well, at its peak in the 16th and 17th centuries, the empire covered more than 15 million people,
and about 2 million square miles throughout the Mediterranean Sea, as well as Southeast
Europe, Western Asia, the Caucasus, and North Africa.
But the spread of the Empire upset neighboring Western European powers, which saw the Islamic
empire as encroaching on their own conquests.
In particular, the House of Habsburg was one of their most aggressive rivals, and the two
fought a series of wars in the 16th through 18th century.
The most important was the second siege of Vienna in 1683.
The Ottomans attacked the Austrian city for a period of two months, while Poland and the
remaining Western Holy Roman Empire cooperated to fend off the invaders.
Eventually, Austrian and neighboring forces overwhelmed the Ottoman army, finally stopping
their advances through Europe.
The defeat was so great that within years, the Ottomans were also pushed out of Hungary
and Transylvania and forced the empire to stop expanding through Central Europe with
the Treaty of Karlowitz.
This first major concession marked the beginning of the end.
After being forced into peace, throughout the 18th century, the Ottoman military lost
ground, both geographically and morally against their European counterparts.
Seeing their power waning, the Ottomans instituted strict reforms known as Tanzimat, which encouraged
empire-based nationalism, and equality among the vast diversity of Ottoman citizens.
Although the remaining regions became stronger and more unified, the empire as a whole continued
to shrink.
In the early 20th century, the First World War provided an opportunity for the Ottomans
to reclaim their lost territory.
So in 1914 they joined with the European Central Powers against the Allies consisting of Britain,
France, and Russia.
Although the Central Powers had some early victories, including the collapse of the Russian
government in 1917, by the following year the Allies had overwhelmed their opponents,
and won the war.
British troops occupied the Ottoman capital of Constantinople, and the entire empire was
ceded to the Allies, who partitioned it away so it would no longer threaten Western power
in the region.
This geographical carving significantly increased the participation of countries like Britain
and France in colonizing and occupying regions of the middle east, and gave rise to what
we now know as the modern Arab world.
What little was left of the Ottoman Empire was ultimately consolidated as the Republic
of Turkey.
The effort to split a once-unified empire along almost arbitrary borders created significant
conflict between the new states and regions.
One example was the British government’s support of a Jewish homeland to be established
in Britain’s recently acquired territory of Palestine, a move which today has created
a considerable amount of strife.
Another example saw France acquiring the region of Syria and Lebanon, which created a number
of smaller states with arguably incompatible populations, such as Sunni and Shia faiths.
Today, the long term result of Western Powers taking over the former Ottoman Empire have
led to a huge number of unexpected consequences.
Although it was extremely long-lasting, and fell less than a century ago, today its former
glory is more of a memory.
And if you want to know how the empire grew to be so large, and how it maintained its
hold for so long, you can watch the first part of this series: The rise of the Ottoman
Empire.
Check it out here.
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