Please read the requirement and write the essay
Lect9a f19 Ottomans
Governance in Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
Osman led a Turkish tribe in Anatolia around 1300; small territory near Constantinople
Islamic doctrine of conquering the infidels; but mainly expansion was an economic success; they took over territory, assigned temporary fiefs to military chiefs, taxed the peasants, gathered revenue for next campaign
Ottoman Empire
Osman controlled small territory near Constantinople around 1300; great expansion to 1600
Dynastic succession, but tradition in Turkish tribes to select among the sons a proven mil leader; series of competent leaders up to 1566
“The one whom God has chosen to lead may kill his brothers” (Mehmet the Conqueror)
Ottoman Empire
Cavalry recruited in traditional fashion; tribal chiefs and loyal followers; chiefs rewarded by temporary fiefs
Around 1500 Christian boys collected from Balkans for service to the sultan; most became janissary soldiers; brightest went into administration; some rose to the top (Fukuyama, pp 189-92); status not passed on to children
Ottoman Empire
Highly effective system as long as the empire expanded; cavalry well rewarded; peasants at home not harshly taxed as booty was collected from new territories; janissaries well paid; prosperous regimes tend to survive
Ottoman Empire
Military technology. Turkish cavalry highly skilled as always; they learned to use cannon to bring down Constantinople in 1453; they learned to use galleys and became naval power in the Mediterranean; janissaries learned to use muskets
Turks almost took Vienna in 1529; took Egypt and Syria from Mamluks (who disdained guns)
Ottoman Empire
Control of trade route to Asia over land and by the Red Sea after taking Egypt in 1517
Revenues added to military strength; power and plenty
But by 1600 the route around Africa cut into Red Sea trade
Ottoman Empire
Islamic doctrine was put to practical use: conquer the infidels; but sultans were rather tolerant; Armenian Christians and Jews had their own communities with their own laws and courts; Turks did not force Christian peasants in Balkans to convert
Ottoman Empire
Jews and Armenian Christians could become prosperous merchants, along with Muslims
Spain expelled the Jews in 1492; many went to Low Countries, but many also went to Salonika in Greece, where Spanish became the dominant language in early 1500s
Pattern: dictators welcome ethnic minority merchants, who pose no political threat
Ottoman Empire
Sultans granted trading privileges to Venice in 1400s, when Sultans were very powerful
Contrast with Europe: Muslims not welcome at all; Jews were victims of severe discrimination and pogroms
Ottoman Empire after 1600
Little Ice Age; population pressure; rebellions in many parts of the world
Series of incompetent sultans after 1600
European mil technology kept advancing; not much new territory
Janissaries acquired privileges to protect their children; central control weakened
Ottoman Empire
Empire was not a failure after 1600; it continued to rule and had periods of renewal
But Europe was changing much faster
Lack of curiosity about Europe; no dictionaries of European languages; no travel reports
Puzzle: why did the Islamic Middle East fail to modernize in 19th century? Topic for later