Ottoman Empire in the 16th-17th centuries. The concubine who changed the history of the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

(XVII – XVIIIbb)

The predecessors of the Ottomans were the Seljuk Turk Empire.

Population 8 million people.

1683 – Vienna disaster.

The Ottoman Empire arose as a result of conquests and was based on military force. It was not a state with an army, but an army with a state. There was no religious unity. Sunni Islam is the state religion. Shiites were persecuted, Christians and Jews were not loved. There was neither cultural nor economic unity. Even by the 20th century, a national market had not developed.

The head of state is the sultan (khan, hakan, hunkar, padishah, etc.) The Sultan awarded the title of caliph after capturing the Arabian Peninsula, Mecca and Medina.

The ideal of the Ottoman Empire was war with the countries of the golden apple (Europe).

The country was divided into Eyalets:

Rumeli (European);

Anadolu (Asian).

Beylerbey is the head of the eyalet. He had his own courtyard, divan, his own army, and was considered the local sultan. He could distribute small timars.

The eyalets were divided into sanjaks, headed by the sanjakbey.

Ayan is a local elected deputy from the feudal lords who defended their interests.

Public administration

All the Emperor's subjects are Ottomans;

Everyone is equal before the Sultan;

The Turks are humiliated and are usually not allowed into power;

The Serbo-Croatian language is used at court.

The sofa consisted of:

4 controls:

Grand Vizier (the highest military and administrative authority, second in command after the Sultan, everyone hates him, wears white clothes, disappears day and night at the front);

Kadiasker – supreme judge in military and religious matters, “Court is the privilege of the clergy”;

Bash-defterdar - chief treasurer;

Nishanji is the Sultan's secret secretary.

Foreign Secretary;

Sheikh-ul-Islam.

“All officials are slaves of the Sultan.” The concept of nobility was absent; a simple person could become a grand vizier. Each official has his own ?elnae?– form of address. The clergy enjoyed special autonomy and could stand in opposition to the Sultan.

The Ottoman Empire is the most tolerant state in Europe.

3 denominations:

Greek Orthodox;

Armenian-Gregorian;

Jewish.

There was freedom of worship, freedom to perform rituals, and church institutions did not pay taxes.

The Sultan's court was divided into external (serving the Sultan) and internal (house of happiness). The courtyards were led by 2 super-influential eunuchs: the outer one - Kapu-Agasy, the inner one - Kyzlar-Agasy (chief of the girls).

The political system was of a sharply terroristic nature. Without a powerful army this would have been impossible.

Kapikulu is a professional army.

Eyalet Askeri is a provincial feudal militia.

Once every 3/5 years, a devshirme was held - recruitment into the Janissary corps. They recruited peasant boys aged 6 years and slaves. The Janissary corps was divided into ortas (companies) of 40 people, later up to 700 people.

1649 - the last devshirme, after which the Janissary corps began to reproduce itself thanks to the permission of marriages.

Janissaries did not have to wear beards; the death penalty was only strangulation. If they weren’t fighting, they went to construction work. Each orta has its own symbol, which is tattooed. By the 17th century they had lost their fighting qualities and began to engage in trade. By 1726 there were 45 thousand people.

Ulufa - the salary of the Janissaries, was paid 4 times a year. Esame is a payment book. The Janissaries went into debt. If the Janissaries owed too much, then they simply overthrew the emperor. The sultans were unable to fight this.

?Pishkesh?- a gift from the emperor to the Janissaries upon ascending the throne.

Agrarian system

Timar - service land grant (less than 20 thousand avche). Timars were divided into hassa-chiftlik (“special field”) and hisse (“share”). The feudal lord who possesses hisse is obliged to field warriors, and hassa chiftlik was granted for bravery, and soldiers were not required from this land.

Zeamet – land grant greater than timar (20 – 100 thousand avche)

Hass is the largest land grant. (Income over 100 thousand in gold)

Barat is a letter of merit.

Due to high corruption, one timar accounted for 10 berat to ten different persons, so the Turks left the land, the peasants fled to Serbia, Croatia, and India. Income standards were not actually met. By the 19th century, Türkiye found itself in a stagnant state.

Yurt (yurtluk) – land holdings of the leaders of nomadic tribes. Usually they were on the border and did not settle.

Waqf is church land ownership. Arises as a result of donation. The person who donated the land retains the right to manage the waqf, plus receives a portion of the income. Waqf cannot be sold, but can be exchanged for something of equal value.

Mulk is a private landholding. Mulk lands accounted for 3% of all lands. You can do whatever you want with them, even though they were not absolute private property: the emperor could take away the land, because... he gave it to him himself.

1. Civilians - servicemen;

   Spiritual.

Life was worst in the mulk and waqf lands.

The position of the peasant:

Multezim is a tax farmer. Iltizam is a farming system.

The peasants have no real money, only subsistence farming. Multezim buys the right to farm out the tax (mukataa), deposits money into the treasury, takes food from the peasant, and sells the goods on the market. The difference is net income.

The peasants are obliged to support the feudal lords for the fact that they provide them with chift (land from 6 to 16 hectares). For the first receipt of chiefta, the peasant must pay tapu. If a peasant did not cultivate his plot for one year, he lost it. Later deadline brought to three years. The peasant is attached to the earth. The period for finding fugitive peasants is from 15 to 20 years. The period of investigation in Istanbul is 1 year and 1 day. If a person has built a house in one night, no matter what land, then the house cannot be demolished.

Reaya - tax-paying population.

Beraaya - non-taxable population.

Forms of annuity:

Labor (corvée labor);

Natural;

Monetary.

Ashar is a tenth of the harvest, which is collected from Muslims (Actually they paid 1/3-1/2).

Kharaj was paid by non-Muslims.

Agnam is a tax on livestock (1 head per 50 to the feudal lord, 1 akche per 3 heads to the state).

Marriage tax - 10-20 akce for the especially poor, 30-40 akce for middle-income peasants, 50 akche for wealthy peasants.

Resmi-chift - land tax.

Jizya – all able-bodied non-Muslims pay for not serving in the army (except women, children and slaves).

Ispanja is paid by all non-Muslim men and women.

Since the Empire was constantly at war, peasants were recruited to work. Avariz - participation in hostilities. Bedel is a cash payment instead of a disclaimer.

Corvee 7 days a year:

Build/repair a feudal lord's house;

Transportation of goods;

Give daughters to the feudal lord's house.

Çiftlikchi are landowners.

Specifics of Turkish slavery:

Slaves were used for domestic work;

Slaves did not have land; they were simply servants.

Ortakchi (sharecropper, small rural entrepreneur) invests funds in the land together with the feudal lord, and the harvest is divided in half.

Nomads are the most Turkish Turks:

Complete freedom of movement;

Their pastures are forbidden to be plowed;

They were only under the authority of their leaders;

They had the right to bear arms;

In the event of war, one man out of five must be sent to the army, and must appear on horseback, in large numbers and armed.

Used in military construction work, because They weren't very good at fighting.

By the end of the 17th century, the military-feudal, vassal-fief, and timar systems had collapsed.

City life

In the 17th century, the situation of cities improved, because The Empire is expanding, military conflicts have moved to the periphery, the Ottoman Empire is waging war on foreign territories. The sultans themselves need crafts, because... need a weapon. At first, the sultans established moderate taxes, built caravanserais, tried to stop strife, tried to build roads, but all efforts were frustrated by the corruption of local authorities. Market tax: 1 acche per 40 proceeds (for cloth, leather, honey...). Counterfeiting has disappeared from the country. There are two main markets in Istanbul: Bezistan ("land of fabrics"), Etmaidan (meat square). Two city centers - a bazaar and a mosque, where the court was held.

Craftsmen were structured into guild organizations - esnafs. The country has neither national nor regional markets. There is no division of labor; each master performs his own cycle. Little use of hired labor is used. The tools are manual and primitive. Little by little, merchant buyers appeared, but the Esnafs fought with them. At the head of the workshop is esnaf-bashi. In especially important workshops, the esnafbashi was appointed by the state, basically there was democracy. Esnaf-bashi has great power over the masters, because... only he could purchase raw materials. Esnafs set prices, production norms and standards, and market days. It was forbidden to entice buyers. Esnaf Hayeti - workshop council. Esnaf-bashi had its own enforcement committee - yigit-bashi. Mandatory monopoly on production and sales. The main trouble is power. In case of war, the state confiscated goods at fixed prices, which it set itself. Avani – illegal extortions from local authorities.

Reasons for the decline of the Ottoman Empire

In the 18th century The Eastern Question is the question of the fate of the territories that previously made up the Ottoman Empire. The Isman Empire was ready to collapse already in the 19th century, but it was supported by countries;

Conflict between France and Spain. 1535 - first contacts between France and the Ottoman Empire, because France was surrounded by the Habsburgs and had no one to cooperate with;

The question of influence in the Baltic Sea (Russia vs Sweden). Sweden is an “ally” of Turkey (the common enemy is Russia).

Reasons for the collapse of the country:

Collapse of the military system;

There is no legal protection of private property, therefore, capital is exported abroad (to France);

The capitulation regime is a system of unequal trade agreements with Western countries. In 1535, Francis I achieves the first capitulation - unilateral benefits;

The Portuguese open a sea route around Africa;

Christopher Columbus discovered America, after which a flow of gold and silver rushed to Western Europe. All this was followed by a price revolution, and the exchange rate fell;

The formation of centralized states in Europe, the end of the turmoil in Russia => 2 powerful enemies of the Ottoman Empire.

Any Hollywood script pales in comparison with the life path of Roksolana, who became the influential woman in history great empire. Her powers, contrary to Turkish laws and Islamic canons, could only be compared with the capabilities of the Sultan himself. Roksolana became not just a wife, she was a co-ruler; They didn’t listen to her opinion; it was the only one that was correct and legal.
Anastasia Gavrilovna Lisovskaya (born c. 1506 - d. c. 1562) was the daughter of the priest Gavrila Lisovsky from Rohatyn, a small town in Western Ukraine, located southwest of Ternopil. In the 16th century, this territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and was constantly subject to devastating raids by the Crimean Tatars. During one of them, in the summer of 1522, the young daughter of a clergyman was caught by a detachment of robbers. Legend has it that the misfortune happened just before Anastasia's wedding.
First, the captive ended up in Crimea - this is the usual route for all slaves. The Tatars did not drive valuable “live goods” on foot across the steppe, but carried them on horseback under vigilant guard, without even tying their hands, so as not to spoil the delicate girl’s skin with ropes. Most sources say that the Crimeans, struck by the beauty of Polonyanka, decided to send the girl to Istanbul, hoping to sell her profitably at one of the largest slave markets in the Muslim East.

“Giovane, ma non bella” (“young, but ugly”), Venetian nobles said about her in 1526, but “graceful and short in stature.” None of her contemporaries, contrary to legend, called Roksolana a beauty.
The captive was sent to the capital of the sultans on a large felucca, and the owner himself took her to sell her - history has not preserved his name. On the very first day, when the Horde took the captive to the market, she accidentally caught the eye of the all-powerful vizier of the young Sultan Suleiman I, the noble Rustem, who happened to be there - Pasha. Again, the legend says that the Turk was struck by the dazzling beauty of the girl, and he decided to buy her to give a gift to the Sultan.
As can be seen from the portraits and confirmations of contemporaries, beauty clearly has nothing to do with it - I can call this coincidence of circumstances with only one word - Fate.
During this era, the sultan was Suleiman I the Magnificent (Luxurious), who ruled from 1520 to 1566, considered the greatest sultan of the Ottoman dynasty. During the years of his rule, the empire reached the apogee of its development, including all of Serbia with Belgrade, most of Hungary, the island of Rhodes, significant territories in North Africa to the borders of Morocco and the Middle East. Europe gave the Sultan the nickname Magnificent, while in the Muslim world he is more often called Kanuni, which translated from Turkish means Lawgiver. “Such greatness and nobility,” the report of the 16th-century Venetian ambassador Marini Sanuto wrote about Suleiman, “was also adorned by the fact that he, unlike his father and many other sultans, had no inclination towards pederasty.” An honest ruler and an uncompromising fighter against bribery, he encouraged the development of arts and philosophy, and was also considered a skilled poet and blacksmith - few European monarchs could compete with Suleiman I.
According to the laws of faith, the padishah could have four legal wives. The children of the first of them became heirs to the throne. Or rather, one firstborn inherited the throne, and the rest often faced a sad fate: all possible contenders for supreme power were subject to destruction.
In addition to wives, the Commander of the Faithful had any number of concubines that his soul desired and his flesh required. At different times, under different sultans, from several hundred to a thousand or more women lived in the harem, each of whom was certainly an amazing beauty. In addition to women, the harem consisted of a whole staff of castrati eunuchs and maids of different ages, chiropractors, midwives, masseuses, doctors and the like. But no one except the padishah himself could encroach on the beauties belonging to him. All this complex and hectic economy was supervised by the “chief of the girls” - the eunuch of Kyzlyaragassy.
However, amazing beauty alone was not enough: the girls destined for the padishah’s harem were required to be taught music, dancing, Muslim poetry and, of course, the art of love. Naturally, the course of love sciences was theoretical, and the practice was taught by experienced old women and women experienced in all the intricacies of sex.
Now let’s return to Roksolana, so Rustem Pasha decided to buy the Slavic beauty. But her Krymchak owner refused to sell Anastasia and presented her as a gift to the all-powerful courtier, rightly expecting to receive for this not only an expensive return gift, as is customary in the East, but also considerable benefits.
Rustem Pasha ordered it to be fully prepared as a gift to the Sultan, in turn hoping to achieve even greater favor with him. The padishah was young; he ascended the throne only in 1520 and greatly appreciated female beauty, and not just as a contemplator.
In the harem, Anastasia receives the name Khurrem (laughing). And for the Sultan, she always remained only Khurrem. Roksolana, the name under which she went down in history, is just the name of the Sarmatian tribes in the 2nd-4th centuries AD, who roamed the steppes between the Dnieper and Don, translated from Latin as “Russian”. Roksolana will often be called, both during her life and after her death, nothing more than “Rusynka” - a native of Rus' or Roxolanii, as Ukraine was previously called.

The mystery of the birth of love between the Sultan and a fifteen-year-old unknown captive will remain unsolved. After all, there was a strict hierarchy in the harem, and anyone who violated it would face severe punishment. Often - death. The female recruits - adzhemi, step by step, first became jariye, then shagird, gedikli and usta. No one except the mouth had the right to be in the Sultan's chambers. Only mother ruling sultan, Valide Sultan, had absolute power within the harem, and decided who and when to share a bed with the Sultan from her mouth. How Roksolana managed to occupy the Sultan’s monastery almost immediately will forever remain a mystery.
There is a legend about how Hurrem came to the attention of the Sultan. When new slaves (more beautiful and expensive than she) were introduced to the Sultan, a small figure suddenly flew into the circle of dancing odalisques and, pushing away the “soloist,” laughed. And then she sang her song. The harem lived according to cruel laws. And the eunuchs were waiting for only one sign - what to prepare for the girl - clothes for the Sultan’s bedroom or a cord used to strangle the slaves. The Sultan was intrigued and surprised. And that same evening, Khurrem received the Sultan’s scarf - a sign that in the evening he was waiting for her in his bedroom. Having interested the Sultan with her silence, she asked for only one thing - the right to visit the Sultan’s library. The Sultan was shocked, but allowed it. When he returned from a military campaign some time later, Khurrem already spoke several languages. She dedicated poems to her Sultan and even wrote books. This was unprecedented at that time, and instead of respect it aroused fear. Her learning, plus the fact that the Sultan spent all his nights with her, created Khurrem's lasting fame as a witch. They said about Roksolana that she bewitched the Sultan with the help of evil spirits. And in fact he was bewitched.
“Let us finally unite with soul, thoughts, imagination, will, heart, everything that I threw mine into you and took with me yours, oh my only love!”, the Sultan wrote in a letter to Roksolana. “My lord, your absence has kindled a fire in me that does not go out. Have pity on this suffering soul and hurry up your letter so that I can find at least a little consolation in it,” answered Khurrem.
Roksolana greedily absorbed everything that she was taught in the palace, took everything that life gave her. Historians testify that after some time she actually mastered the Turkish, Arabic and Persian languages, learned to dance perfectly, recite her contemporaries, and also play according to the rules of the foreign, cruel country in which she lived. Following the rules of her new homeland, Roksolana converted to Islam.
Her main trump card was that Rustem Pasha, thanks to whom she got into the palace of the padishah, received her as a gift, and did not buy her. In turn, he did not sell it to the kyzlyaragassa, who replenished the harem, but gave it to Suleiman. This means that Roxalana remained a free woman and could lay claim to the role of the padishah’s wife. According to the laws of the Ottoman Empire, a slave could never, under any circumstances, become the wife of the Commander of the Faithful.
A few years later, Suleiman enters into an official marriage with her according to Muslim rites, elevates her to the rank of bash-kadyna - the main (and in fact, the only) wife and addresses her “Haseki,” which means “dear to the heart.”
Roksolana’s incredible position at the Sultan’s court amazed both Asia and Europe. Her education made scientists bow down, she received foreign ambassadors, responded to messages from foreign sovereigns, influential nobles and artists. She not only came to terms with new faith, but also gained fame as a zealous orthodox Muslim, which earned her considerable respect at court.
One day, the Florentines placed a ceremonial portrait of Hurrem, for which she posed for a Venetian artist, in an art gallery. It was the only female portrait among the images of hook-nosed, bearded sultans in huge turbans. “There was never another woman in the Ottoman palace who had such power” - Venetian ambassador Navajero, 1533.
Lisovskaya gives birth to the Sultan four sons (Mohammed, Bayazet, Selim, Jehangir) and a daughter, Khamerie. But Mustafa, the eldest son of the padishah’s first wife, Circassian Gulbekhar, was still officially considered the heir to the throne. She and her children became mortal enemies of the power-hungry and treacherous Roxalana.

Lisovskaya understood perfectly well: until her son became the heir to the throne or sat on the throne of the padishahs, her own position was constantly under threat. At any moment, Suleiman could be carried away by a new beautiful concubine and make her his legal wife, and order one of the old wives to be executed: in the harem, an unwanted wife or concubine was put alive in a leather bag, an angry cat was thrown into it and poisonous snake, they tied the bag and lowered it with a tied stone along a special stone chute into the waters of the Bosphorus. The guilty considered it lucky if they were simply quickly strangled with a silk cord.
Therefore, Roxalana prepared for a very long time and began to act actively and cruelly only after almost fifteen years!
Her daughter turned twelve years old, and she decided to marry her to... Rustem Pasha, who was already over fifty. But he was in great favor at court, close to the throne of the padishah and, most importantly, was something of a mentor and “ godfather"The heir to the throne, Mustafa, is the son of the Circassian woman Gulbehar, Suleiman’s first wife.
Roxalana's daughter grew up with a similar face and chiseled figure to her beautiful mother, and Rustem Pasha with great pleasure became related to the Sultan - this is a very high honor for a courtier. Women were not forbidden to see each other, and the sultana deftly found out from her daughter about everything that was going on in the house of Rustem Pasha, literally collecting the information she needed bit by bit. Finally, Lisovskaya decided it was time to strike the fatal blow!
During a meeting with her husband, Roxalana secretly informed the Commander of the Faithful about the “terrible conspiracy.” Merciful Allah granted her time to learn about the secret plans of the conspirators and allowed her to warn her adored husband about the danger that threatened him: Rustem Pasha and the sons of Gulbehar planned to take the life of the padishah and take possession of the throne, placing Mustafa on it!
The intriguer knew well where and how to strike - the mythical “conspiracy” was quite plausible: in the East, during the time of the sultans, bloody palace coups were the most common thing. In addition, Roxalana cited as an irrefutable argument the true words of Rustem Pasha, Mustafa and other “conspirators” that the daughter of Anastasia and the Sultan heard. Therefore, the seeds of evil fell on fertile soil!
Rustem Pasha was immediately taken into custody, and an investigation began: Pasha was terribly tortured. Perhaps he incriminated himself and others under torture. But even if he was silent, this only confirmed the padishah in the actual existence of a “conspiracy.” After torture, Rustem Pasha was beheaded.
Only Mustafa and his brothers were spared - they were an obstacle to the throne of Roxalana’s first-born, red-haired Selim, and for this reason they simply had to die! Constantly instigated by his wife, Suleiman agreed and gave the order to kill his children! The Prophet forbade the shedding of the blood of the padishahs and their heirs, so Mustafa and his brothers were strangled with a green silk twisted cord. Gulbehar went crazy with grief and soon died.
The cruelty and injustice of her son struck Valide Khamse, the mother of Padishah Suleiman, who came from the family of the Crimean khans Giray. At the meeting, she told her son everything she thought about the “conspiracy,” the execution, and her son’s beloved wife Roxalana. It is not surprising that after this Valide Khamse, the Sultan’s mother, lived for less than a month: the East knows a lot about poisons!
The Sultana went even further: she ordered to find in the harem and throughout the country other sons of Suleiman, whom wives and concubines gave birth to, and to take the lives of all of them! As it turned out, the Sultan had about forty sons - all of them, some secretly, some openly, were killed by order of Lisovskaya.
Thus, over forty years of marriage, Roksolana managed the almost impossible. She was proclaimed the first wife, and her son Selim became the heir. But the sacrifices did not stop there. Roksolana's two youngest sons were strangled. Some sources accuse her of involvement in these murders - allegedly this was done in order to strengthen the position of her beloved son Selim. However, reliable data about this tragedy has never been found.
She was no longer able to see her son ascend the throne, becoming Sultan Selim II. He reigned after the death of his father for only eight years - from 1566 to 1574 - and, although the Koran forbids drinking wine, he was a terrible alcoholic! His heart once simply could not stand the constant excessive libations, and in the memory of the people he remained as Sultan Selim the drunkard!
No one will ever know what the true feelings of the famous Roksolana were. What is it like for a young girl to find herself in slavery, in a foreign country, with a foreign faith imposed on her. Not only not to break, but also to grow into the mistress of the empire, gaining glory throughout Asia and Europe. Trying to erase shame and humiliation from her memory, Roksolana ordered the slave market to be hidden and a mosque, madrasah and almshouse to be erected in its place. That mosque and hospital in the almshouse building still bear the name of Haseki, as well as the surrounding area of ​​the city.
Her name, shrouded in myths and legends, sung by her contemporaries and covered in black glory, remains forever in history. Nastasia Lisovskaya, whose fate could be similar to hundreds of thousands of the same Nastya, Khristin, Oles, Mari. But life decreed otherwise. No one knows how much grief, tears and misfortunes Nastasya endured on the way to Roksolana. However, for the Muslim world she will remain Hurrem - LAUGHING.
Roksolana died either in 1558 or 1561. Suleiman I - in 1566. He managed to complete the construction of the majestic Suleymaniye Mosque - one of the largest architectural monuments of the Ottoman Empire - near which Roksolana’s ashes rest in an octagonal stone tomb, next to the also octagonal tomb of the Sultan. This tomb has stood for more than four hundred years. Inside, under the high dome, Suleiman ordered to carve alabaster rosettes and decorate each of them with a priceless emerald, Roksolana’s favorite gem.
When Suleiman died, his tomb was also decorated with emeralds, forgetting that his favorite stone was ruby.

1. Social system of the Ottoman Empire in the 17th-18th centuries.

2. Stages of reforms in the empire. Tanzimat

3. “Eastern Question” in the politics of European powers

4. Young Turk Revolution

The Turkish people are one of the youngest in human history. It emerged as something independent and separate from other tribes around the 13th century. The common ancestors of the Turks and Turkmen were burdens. These are tribes living east of the Caspian Sea. In the 11th century some of the burdens went on a campaign to the west; those who remained are the current Turkmens. At the end of the 11th century. this part settled on the peninsula of Asia Minor. It reminded them of their homeland, only it had a more favorable climate: many pastures for their nomadic lifestyle. The first Turkish statehood arose there. To do this, they had to push out the Greeks and Armenians, partly the Arabs. This statehood turned out to be very shaky in the 13th century. it was defeated by the Mongols during their invasion. This former statehood is called the statehood of the Seljuk Turks. Seljuks is the name of their ruling dynasty, which was ended by the Mongols.
Until the 14th century The Turks did not have statehood. The Ottoman dynasty, which ruled until the 20th century, begins to rise. The state they created became known as the Ottoman Turks.

Features of Turkish statehood. It is "the only truly military power of the Middle Ages." The entire system of life was permeated with militarism. “Our state was created with a saber; it can only be supported with a saber.”

The Turks created the only military contingent in the world, which no one else had thought of until that time - the Janissaries. They took boys about 7 years old from 7 conquered peoples, converted them to Islam, and made them into the Sultan’s guard: ferocious and cruel warriors who were forbidden to marry and were engaged only in military affairs. But they could mock not only the conquered peoples, but also the Turks, who did not respect the Sultan. There were cases when even their own fathers were killed.

The Turks were Muslims and remained so all the time. The rise of the Ottoman dynasty was associated with special zeal in matters of faith. The Turks attracted ghazis - fighters for the faith.
The rise of the power of the Ottoman dynasty was associated not only with religious trends. These ghazis hoped to profit from the campaigns that the Ottomans carried out against Christians. In 1389 The Ottomans defeated the Serbs on Kosovo. This is a day of national mourning for the Serbs. 9 years earlier, Rus' defeated the horde on the Kulikovo Field.
1453 when the Turks took Constantinople. The Turks blocked all routes to the east. They created a huge empire. The Ottoman Empire inspired fear and horror throughout Europe. In the 16th century they were already not far from Vienna, i.e. possessions extended to Central Europe.

Social system of the Ottoman Empire. The social order was based not only on the fear of the Turkish saber. They had the same classes as other states. This -

People of the sword, i.e. military;

People of the pen are officials;

Farmers;

The people of the bazaar are traders and artisans;

Non-Muslims stood apart - they were called “the herd”.

All Muslim countries had these classes. But the Turks had a particularly strong military class. The Janissaries constituted only part of this class and not the largest. The main part were sipahis (horsemen). They had their own lands, they had several horses and servants. In fact, it was a small detachment, with 10-15 people walking with one sipahi. It was the sipahis who received not only part of the spoils for participating in campaigns, but also the right to collect taxes from land grants. In Europe, medieval fief was given as the entire territory, with a castle, roads. But among the Turks, flax was not their property, they only collected taxes from them. After the Sipah and the Janissaries, everyone else stood much lower. This was the case in the 16th and, partly, in the 17th centuries.

The situation began to change, and for the worse.

In the 18th century The Ottoman Empire was going through a crisis, and in the 19th century. the question arises about its further existence - the “Eastern Question”, who will get the Ottoman inheritance. In European language, not Ottomans, but Ottomans.

Where did the crisis come from? With all the power of the Ottoman state, initially there were defects and vices that corroded it.

Sultan. The Turks called him padishah. Each of them tried to secure unlimited power for themselves, using even the most extreme measures. The style of government was harsh and rude.

The second social vice, even more terrible, is corruption. It did not spread instantly among them. She was in many societies. It was practically legalized. They introduced accounting and took taxes from it. This system even corroded the Janissary corps. They were no longer interested in military service or long campaigns. They wanted to extort gifts from the sultans and from everyone else. Among them there were many people who had nothing to do with military service at all, who simply simply bought themselves a Janissary diploma. When the Sultan did not suit the Janissaries, anything could happen to him. Sultan Selin 3 at the beginning of the 19th century. was first overthrown, then killed by the Janissaries.

The third vice is interreligious and interethnic strife. Muslim Turks oppressed Christians and other non-Muslims. (The situation of the Jews was normal, because they had trading houses that the Turks needed). Their Christian subjects were Slavs (Bulgarians, Serbs, Armenians) and Greeks. For these oppressions, Christians fiercely hated the Turks. There were constant uprisings and unrest. Many Greeks lived in Italy and Russia. The Turks were hated and Muslims who were not Turks often fought with them. The Turks always won in court. Arabs and Kurds, who were Muslims, often fought with the Turks. This discord and mutual hatred constantly weakened the empire. In the 19th century some began to free themselves from the Turkish yoke and no longer obeyed the Sultan (Greek uprising of 1821, the Greeks became independent). Egypt separated. The Ottoman Empire was declining; it seemed that nothing could save it.

2. In the 18th century. It became clear to the ruling elite of Turkey that changes were needed, as the state was weakening, corruption was growing and the Turks even began to suffer military defeats from their neighbors.

Sultan Selim 3 at the end of the 18th century. started these reforms. They were not very broad and were aimed at strengthening the army. New military manufactories were built. The fleet was strengthened. Those who did not perform military service were deprived of the right to receive timars (land plots from which taxes were collected), but the reforms caused a lot of discontent in the Turkish army, especially among the Janissaries. They overthrew the Sultan, then killed him. The Sultan was also a caliph, i.e. had the title of the Muslim community.

The Sultan's successors understood that the Janissaries had to be put in their place, otherwise nothing could be done.

Sultan Mahmud 2 very thoroughly prepared for the fight against the Janissaries, in 1826. he managed to deal with them. By this time, the Sultan had pulled up specially trained units in the capital and secretly positioned them in the surrounding area. And then his entourage provoked a revolt of the Janissaries. The angry Janissaries rushed to the center of Istanbul to the Sultan's palace, but there were pre-camouflaged cannons there, which they moved against the rebels and began to shoot them. The revolt resembles in appearance the Decembrist uprising. Those who did not have time to be shot were immediately killed, hanged, dealt with mercilessly, the Janissary corps was almost completely destroyed. Thus began the reforms of Sultan Mahmud II.

Only 13 years later, in 1839. reforms were continued. They lasted until the early 70s. These reforms were called Tanzimat (“transformations”). These reforms still have no clear assessment. Previously, it was believed that they were unsuccessful and not wealthy. Recently, these reforms have been rated higher, especially among orientalists.

The Sultan declared that he guaranteed the property of all subjects of the empire, not only Turks, not only Muslims. It was a declaration. This was not always done. But this was already a responsible statement, it was a step towards recognizing the rights of the oppressed peoples of the Ottoman Empire. A fair conscription for military service was established, limited to 5 years. Those who performed their service poorly were removed from their posts. Secular education developed. Technical disciplines were studied, and even a university appeared. Some restrictions on trade and business activities were lifted: guild regulation of artisans was abolished. Invitation foreign specialists: military advisers, engineers and doctors. The results of this policy are assessed differently. The crisis has been eased. The situation did not improve for Muslims, but not for all, but only for the most prosperous - the Greek commercial bourgeoisie. But the reforms could not radically change the entire situation. Reforms are a building that is erected on a completely shaky foundation.

3. By the beginning of the 19th century. The military and political power of the Ottoman Empire was greatly weakened. In its development, it lagged noticeably behind its European neighbors, and this affected. Russian Emperor Nicholas 1 compared the Ottoman Empire to a sick person. If the empire collapsed, the question arose who would receive the Ottoman inheritance. This was the essence of the Eastern question. The Great Powers were not interested in the rapid collapse of the empire because it could create difficulties with the liberated peoples, who could rebel. Therefore, they delayed the process of collapse of the Ottoman Empire; a weak empire was quite convenient than 10 independent states. There were differences between Russia and all other states in the approach to " Eastern Question" As one of the Austrian emperors noted: “I would like to see better Janissary turbans in Constantinople than Cossack hats.” In other words, the Western powers were afraid of Russia's excessive strengthening in this matter. They wanted to use the Ottoman Empire as a counterweight to Russian power. All this was clearly demonstrated during the Crimean War. It began as a war between the Russian and Ottoman empires. Then Great Britain and France got involved. These countries used the support to their advantage. They increasingly penetrated into the Turkish economy and participated in the internal affairs of the Ottomans. France has been using it since the 18th century. surrender mode. These were unilateral concessions that the sultans granted to Western participants in the Turkish market. Western empires created in 1881 Office of the Ottoman public debt. This department was created under the pretext of the insolvency of the Sultan's government, because it was bad at repaying debts. The department began to operate on Turkish territory itself, using internal Turkish taxes.

4. In 1876 Abdul-Hamid 2 became the sultan of the empire. His reign lasted more than 30 years.

At the beginning of his reign, he granted his subjects the first constitution in history. He took this step to impress his allies that Turkey was also one of the legal European states. But the real policy of the Sultan came into increasingly conflict with the declarations of the constitution. The subjects themselves called this policy “zulum” (“oppression”). It was a regime of surveillance, denunciation and intimidation. The Sultan even established a kind of informers who sent their reports to the Sultan. These reports were called "journals". Turkish society experienced increasing Turkification and Islamization. At this time, the Turks moved from the outskirts of the empire to its center, to the peninsula of Asia Minor, because Türkiye was losing its positions on the outskirts. For the second half of the 19th century. up to 5 million people moved. Greeks, Armenians, and partly Slavs, on the contrary, left the central regions of the empire; there were about a million of them. They went to Russia, Europe and North America.

A new phenomenon is pan-Turkism. This idea of ​​uniting all Turkic peoples under the rule of the Turkish Sultan. In 1910 they began to publish their own magazine. The ideologist of the movement was Ziya Gok Alg. They advocated the unity of those peoples who lived in the territory Russian Empire: Tatars, Bashkirs, Kazakhs, etc. This movement could not be approved by the Islamic tradition, because she valued ethnic solidarity above religious solidarity.

Under the reign of Sultan Hamid, currents opposing him appeared - the Young Turks. They were a liberal and pro-Western organization. They talk about order and progress. Under conditions of political oppression, the Young Turks were forced to exist illegally. Therefore, the Young Turks used Masonic lodges for their activities. Through their brothers in the west they received financial assistance. They were associated with Italian lodges. By joining these lodges, from the point of view of Islam, they committed a terrible sin. The Young Turks were also helped by the fact that Abdul Hamid created many enemies for himself, even outside Turkey itself. The European powers feared the strengthening of Turkey, that the Sultan would become completely independent. Hamid at the beginning of the 20th century. became closer to Germany. Hamid also quarreled with the Jews.

By the end of the 19th century. - Zionist movement for the return of Jews to Palestine and the creation of a Jewish state there. Their leader Theodor Herzl twice appealed to the Sultan to allow the return of Jews to Palestine. The Sultan actually introduced “red passports” for Jews, which made it difficult for them to move around the country.

All the sultans of the Ottoman Empire and the years of their reign are divided into several stages in history: from the period of creation to the formation of the republic. These time periods have almost exact boundaries in Ottoman history.

Formation of the Ottoman Empire

It is believed that the founders of the Ottoman state arrived in Asia Minor (Anatolia) from Central Asia (Turkmenistan) in the 20s of the 13th century. Sultan of the Seljuk Turks Keykubad II provided them with areas near the cities of Ankara and Segut for their residence.

The Seljuk Sultanate perished in 1243 under the attacks of the Mongols. Since 1281, Osman came to power in the possession allocated to the Turkmen (beylik), who pursued a policy of expanding his beylik: he captured small towns, proclaimed ghazawat - a holy war with the infidels (Byzantines and others). Osman partially subjugates the territory of Western Anatolia, in 1326 he takes the city of Bursa and makes it the capital of the empire.

In 1324, Osman I Gazi dies. He was buried in Bursa. The inscription on the grave became a prayer said by the Ottoman sultans upon ascending the throne.

Successors of the Ottoman dynasty:

Expansion of the empire's borders

In the middle of the 15th century. The period of the most active expansion of the Ottoman Empire began. At this time, the empire was headed by:

• Mehmed II the Conqueror - reigned 1444 - 1446. and in 1451 - 1481. At the end of May 1453, he captured and plundered Constantinople. He moved the capital to the plundered city. St. Sophia Cathedral was converted into the main temple of Islam. At the request of the Sultan, the residences of the Orthodox Greek and Armenian patriarchs, as well as the chief Jewish rabbi, were located in Istanbul. Under Mehmed II, the autonomy of Serbia was terminated, Bosnia was subordinated, and Crimea was annexed. The death of the Sultan prevented the capture of Rome. The Sultan did not value human life at all, but he wrote poetry and created the first poetic duvan.

  

• Bayezid II the Holy (Dervish) - reigned from 1481 to 1512. Almost never fought. Stopped the tradition of the Sultan's personal leadership of troops. He patronized culture and wrote poetry. He died, transferring power to his son.
• Selim I the Terrible (Merciless) - reigned from 1512 to 1520. He began his reign by destroying his closest competitors. Brutally suppressed the Shiite uprising. Captured Kurdistan, western Armenia, Syria, Palestine, Arabia and Egypt. A poet whose poems were subsequently published by the German Emperor Wilhelm II.

  

• Suleiman I Kanuni (Lawgiver) - reigned from 1520 to 1566. Expanded the borders to Budapest, the upper Nile and the Strait of Gibraltar, the Tigris and Euphrates, Baghdad and Georgia. Conducted many government reforms. The last 20 years have passed under the influence of the concubine and then the wife of Roksolana. He is the most prolific among the sultans in poetic creativity. He died during a campaign in Hungary.

  

• Selim II the Drunkard - reigned from 1566 to 1574. There was an addiction to alcohol. A talented poet. During this reign, the first conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Principality of Moscow and the first major defeat at sea occurred. The only expansion of the empire was the capture of Fr. Cyprus. He died from hitting his head on stone slabs in a bathhouse.

  

• Murad III - on the throne from 1574 to 1595. A “lover” of numerous concubines and a corrupt official who was practically not involved in managing the empire. During his reign, Tiflis was captured, and imperial troops reached Dagestan and Azerbaijan.

  

• Mehmed III - reigned from 1595 to 1603. Record holder for the destruction of competitors for the throne - on his orders, 19 brothers, their pregnant women and son were killed.

  

• Ahmed I - reigned from 1603 to 1617. The reign is characterized by a leapfrog of senior officials, who were often replaced at the request of the harem. The Empire lost Transcaucasia and Baghdad.

  

• Mustafa I - reigned from 1617 to 1618. and from 1622 to 1623. He was considered a saint for his dementia and sleepwalking. I spent 14 years in prison.
• Osman II - reigned from 1618 to 1622. Enthroned at the age of 14 by the Janissaries. He was pathologically cruel. After the defeat near Khotin from the Zaporozhye Cossacks, he was killed by the Janissaries for attempting to escape with the treasury.

  

• Murad IV - reigned from 1622 to 1640. At the cost of great blood, he brought order to the corps of the Janissaries, destroyed the dictatorship of the viziers, and cleared the courts and government apparatus of corrupt officials. Returned Erivan and Baghdad to the empire. Before his death, he ordered the death of his brother Ibrahim, the last of the Ottomanids. Died of wine and fever.

  

• Ibrahim ruled from 1640 to 1648. Weak and weak-willed, cruel and wasteful, greedy for female caresses. Deposed and strangled by the Janissaries with the support of the clergy.

  

• Mehmed IV the Hunter - reigned from 1648 to 1687. Proclaimed Sultan at age 6. The true administration of the state was carried out by the grand viziers, especially in the early years. During the first period of reign, the empire strengthened its military power, conquered about. Crete. The second period was not so successful - the Battle of St. Gotthard was lost, Vienna was not taken, the Janissaries revolt and the overthrow of the Sultan.

  

• Suleiman II - reigned from 1687 to 1691. Enthroned by the Janissaries.
• Ahmed II - reigned from 1691 to 1695. Enthroned by the Janissaries.
• Mustafa II - reigned from 1695 to 1703. Enthroned by the Janissaries. The first partition of the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699 and the Treaty of Constantinople with Russia in 1700.

  

• Ahmed III - reigned from 1703 to 1730. He sheltered Hetman Mazepa and Charles XII after the Battle of Poltava. During his reign, the war with Venice and Austria was lost, part of the possessions in Eastern Europe, as well as Algeria and Tunisia.

  

The content of the article

OTTOMAN (OTTOMAN) EMPIRE. This empire was created by Turkic tribes in Anatolia and existed since the end of the century Byzantine Empire in the 14th century until the formation of the Turkish Republic in 1922. Its name came from the name of Sultan Osman I, founder of the Ottoman dynasty. The influence of the Ottoman Empire in the region began to gradually be lost from the 17th century, and it finally collapsed after its defeat in the First World War.

Rise of the Ottomans.

The modern Turkish Republic traces its origins to one of the Ghazi beyliks. The creator of the future mighty power, Osman (1259–1324/1326), inherited from his father Ertogrul a small border fief (uj) of the Seljuk state on the southeastern border of Byzantium, near Eskisehir. Osman became the founder of a new dynasty, and the state received his name and went down in history as the Ottoman Empire.

In the last years of Ottoman power, a legend appeared that Ertogrul and his tribe arrived in time from Central Asia just in time to save the Seljuks in their battle with the Mongols, and were rewarded with their western lands. However modern research do not confirm this legend. Ertogrul, his inheritance was given by the Seljuks, to whom he swore allegiance and paid tribute, as well as Mongol khans. This continued under Osman and his son until 1335. It is likely that neither Osman nor his father were ghazis until Osman came under the influence of one of the dervish orders. In the 1280s, Osman managed to capture Bilecik, İnönü and Eskişehir.

At the very beginning of the 14th century. Osman, together with his ghazis, annexed to his inheritance the lands that extended all the way to the coasts of the Black and Marmara Seas, as well as most of the territory west of the Sakarya River, up to Kutahya in the south. After Osman's death, his son Orhan occupied the fortified Byzantine city of Brusa. Bursa, as the Ottomans called it, became the capital of the Ottoman state and remained so for more than 100 years until it was taken by them. In almost one decade, Byzantium lost almost all of Asia Minor, and such historical cities as Nicaea and Nicomedia received the names Iznik and Izmit. The Ottomans subjugated the beylik of Karesi in Bergamo (formerly Pergamon), and Ghazi Orhan became the ruler of the entire northwestern part of Anatolia: from the Aegean Sea and the Dardanelles to the Black Sea and the Bosphorus.

Conquests in Europe.

The formation of the Ottoman Empire.

Between the capture of Bursa and the victory at Kosovo Polje organizational structures and the management of the Ottoman Empire were quite effective, and already at that time many features of the future huge state were emerging. Orhan and Murad did not care whether the new arrivals were Muslims, Christians or Jews, or whether they were Arabs, Greeks, Serbs, Albanians, Italians, Iranians or Tatars. The state system of government was built on a combination of Arab, Seljuk and Byzantine customs and traditions. In the occupied lands, the Ottomans tried to preserve, as far as possible, local customs so as not to destroy existing social relations.

In all newly annexed regions, military leaders immediately allocated income from land allotments as a reward to valiant and worthy soldiers. The owners of these kind of fiefs, called timars, were obliged to manage their lands and from time to time participate in campaigns and raids into distant territories. The cavalry was formed from feudal lords called sipahis, who had timars. Like the Ghazis, the Sipahis acted as Ottoman pioneers in newly conquered territories. Murad I distributed many such inheritances in Europe to Turkic families from Anatolia who did not have property, resettling them in the Balkans and turning them into a feudal military aristocracy.

Another notable event of that time was the creation in the army of the Janissary Corps, soldiers who were included in the ranks of those close to the Sultan military units. These soldiers (Turkish yeniceri, lit. new army), called Janissaries by foreigners, later began to be recruited from captured boys from Christian families, in particular in the Balkans. This practice, known as the devshirme system, may have been introduced under Murad I, but did not become fully established until the 15th century. under Murad II; it continued continuously until the 16th century, with interruptions until the 17th century. Having the status of slaves of the sultans, the Janissaries were a disciplined regular army consisting of well-trained and armed infantrymen, superior in combat effectiveness to all similar troops in Europe until the advent of the French army of Louis XIV.

Conquests and fall of Bayezid I.

Mehmed II and the capture of Constantinople.

The young Sultan received an excellent education at the palace school and as governor of Manisa under his father. He was undoubtedly more educated than all the other monarchs of Europe at that time. After the murder of his underage brother, Mehmed II reorganized his court in preparation for the capture of Constantinople. Huge bronze cannons were cast and troops were assembled to storm the city. In 1452, the Ottomans built a huge fort with three majestic castles within the fortress in a narrow part of the Bosphorus Strait, approximately 10 km north of the Golden Horn of Constantinople. Thus, the Sultan was able to control shipping from the Black Sea and cut off Constantinople from supplies from the Italian trading posts located to the north. This fort, called Rumeli Hisarı, together with another fortress Anadolu Hisarı, built by the great-grandfather of Mehmed II, guaranteed reliable communication between Asia and Europe. The most spectacular step of the Sultan was the ingenious crossing of part of his fleet from the Bosphorus to the Golden Horn through the hills, bypassing the chain stretched at the entrance to the bay. Thus, cannons from the Sultan's ships could fire at the city from the inner harbor. On May 29, 1453, a breach was made in the wall, and Ottoman soldiers rushed into Constantinople. On the third day, Mehmed II was already praying in Hagia Sophia and decided to make Istanbul (as the Ottomans called Constantinople) the capital of the empire.

Owning such a well-located city, Mehmed II controlled the situation in the empire. In 1456 his attempt to take Belgrade ended unsuccessfully. Nevertheless, Serbia and Bosnia soon became provinces of the empire, and before his death the Sultan managed to annex Herzegovina and Albania to his state. Mehmed II captured all of Greece, including the Peloponnese Peninsula, with the exception of a few Venetian ports, and the largest islands in the Aegean Sea. In Asia Minor, he finally managed to overcome the resistance of the rulers of Karaman, take possession of Cilicia, annex Trebizond (Trabzon) on the Black Sea coast to the empire and establish suzerainty over the Crimea. The Sultan recognized the authority of the Greek Orthodox Church and worked closely with the newly elected patriarch. Previously, over the course of two centuries, the population of Constantinople had been constantly declining; Mehmed II resettled many people from various parts of the country to the new capital and restored its traditionally strong crafts and trade.

The rise of the empire under Suleiman I.

The power of the Ottoman Empire reached its apogee in the mid-16th century. The period of the reign of Suleiman I the Magnificent (1520–1566) is considered the Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire. Suleiman I (the previous Suleiman, son of Bayezid I, never ruled over its entire territory) surrounded himself with many capable dignitaries. Most of them were recruited through the devşirme system or captured during army campaigns and pirate raids, and by 1566, when Suleiman I died, these “new Turks” or “new Ottomans” already firmly held power over the entire empire. They formed the backbone of the administrative authorities, while the highest Muslim institutions were headed by indigenous Turks. Theologians and jurists were recruited from among them, whose duties included interpreting laws and performing judicial functions.

Suleiman I, being the only son of the monarch, never faced any claim to the throne. He was an educated man who loved music, poetry, nature, and philosophical discussions. Yet the military forced him to adhere to a militant policy. In 1521, the Ottoman army crossed the Danube and captured Belgrade. This victory, which Mehmed II could not achieve at one time, opened the way for the Ottomans to the plains of Hungary and the upper Danube basin. In 1526 Suleiman took Budapest and occupied all of Hungary. In 1529 the Sultan began the siege of Vienna, but was unable to capture the city before the onset of winter. Nevertheless, the vast territory from Istanbul to Vienna and from the Black Sea to the Adriatic Sea formed the European part of the Ottoman Empire, and Suleiman during his reign carried out seven military campaigns on the western borders of the power.

Suleiman also fought in the east. The borders of his empire with Persia were not defined, and vassal rulers in the border areas changed their masters depending on whose side was powerful and with whom it was more profitable to enter into an alliance. In 1534, Suleiman took Tabriz, and then Baghdad, incorporating Iraq into the Ottoman Empire; in 1548 he regained Tabriz. The Sultan spent the entire year 1549 in pursuit of the Persian Shah Tahmasp I, trying to fight him. While Suleiman was in Europe in 1553, Persian troops invaded Asia Minor and captured Erzurum. Having expelled the Persians and devoted most of 1554 to the conquest of the lands east of the Euphrates, Suleiman, according to an official peace treaty concluded with the Shah, received at his disposal the port of Persian Gulf. Squadrons of the naval forces of the Ottoman Empire operated in the waters of the Arabian Peninsula, in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez.

From the very beginning of his reign, Suleiman paid great attention to strengthening the naval power of the state in order to maintain Ottoman superiority in the Mediterranean. In 1522 his second campaign was directed against Fr. Rhodes, located 19 km from the southwestern coast of Asia Minor. After the capture of the island and the eviction of the Johannites who owned it to Malta, the Aegean Sea and the entire coast of Asia Minor became Ottoman possessions. Soon, the French king Francis I turned to the Sultan for military assistance in the Mediterranean and with a request to move against Hungary in order to stop the advance of the troops of Emperor Charles V, who were advancing on Francis in Italy. The most famous of Suleiman's naval commanders is Hayraddin Barbarossa, the supreme ruler of Algeria and North Africa, devastated the coasts of Spain and Italy. Nevertheless, Suleiman's admirals were unable to capture Malta in 1565.

Suleiman died in 1566 in Szigetvár during a campaign in Hungary. The body of the last of the great Ottoman sultans was transferred to Istanbul and buried in a mausoleum in the courtyard of the mosque.

Suleiman had several sons, but his favorite son died at the age of 21, two others were executed on charges of conspiracy, and his only remaining son, Selim II, turned out to be a drunkard. The conspiracy that destroyed Suleiman's family can be partly attributed to the jealousy of his wife Roxelana, a former slave girl of either Russian or Polish origin. Another mistake of Suleiman was the elevation in 1523 of his beloved slave Ibrahim, appointed chief minister (grand vizier), although among the applicants there were many other competent courtiers. And although Ibrahim was a capable minister, his appointment violated the long-established system of palace relations and aroused the envy of other dignitaries.

Mid 16th century was the heyday of literature and architecture. More than a dozen mosques were erected in Istanbul under the leadership and designs of the architect Sinan; the masterpiece was the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, dedicated to Selim II.

Under the new Sultan Selim II, the Ottomans began to lose their position at sea. In 1571, the united Christian fleet met the Turkish in the battle of Lepanto and defeated it. During the winter of 1571–1572, the shipyards in Gelibolu and Istanbul worked tirelessly, and by the spring of 1572, thanks to the construction of new warships, the European naval victory was nullified. In 1573 they managed to defeat the Venetians, and the island of Cyprus was annexed to the empire. Despite this, the defeat at Lepanto foreshadowed the coming decline of Ottoman power in the Mediterranean.

Decline of the Empire.

After Selim II, most of the sultans of the Ottoman Empire were weak rulers. Murad III, son of Selim, reigned from 1574 to 1595. His tenure was accompanied by unrest caused by palace slaves led by the Grand Vizier Mehmed Sokolki and two harem factions: one led by the Sultan's mother Nur Banu, a Jewish convert to Islam, and the other by his beloved Safiye's wife. The latter was the daughter of the Venetian governor of Corfu, who was captured by pirates and presented to Suleiman, who immediately gave her to his grandson Murad. However, the empire still had enough strength to advance east to the Caspian Sea, as well as to maintain its position in the Caucasus and Europe.

After the death of Murad III, 20 of his sons remained. Of these, Mehmed III ascended the throne, strangling 19 of his brothers. His son Ahmed I, who succeeded him in 1603, tried to reform the system of power and get rid of corruption. He moved away from the cruel tradition and did not kill his brother Mustafa. And although this, of course, was a manifestation of humanism, from that time all the brothers of the sultans and their closest relatives from the Ottoman dynasty began to be kept in captivity in a special part of the palace, where they spent their lives until the death of the reigning monarch. Then the eldest of them was proclaimed his successor. Thus, after Ahmed I, few who reigned in the 17th and 18th centuries. Sultanov had a sufficient level of intellectual development or political experience to rule such a huge empire. As a result, the unity of the state and the central power itself began to quickly weaken.

Mustafa I, brother of Ahmed I, was mentally ill and reigned for only one year. Osman II, the son of Ahmed I, was proclaimed the new sultan in 1618. Being an enlightened monarch, Osman II tried to transform government agencies, but was killed by his opponents in 1622. For some time, the throne again went to Mustafa I, but already in 1623 Osman’s brother Murad IV ascended the throne, leading the country until 1640. His reign was dynamic and reminiscent of the reign of Selim I. Having reached adulthood in 1623, Murad spent the next eight years in a tireless attempt to restore and reform the Ottoman Empire. In an effort to improve the health of government structures, he executed 10 thousand officials. Murad personally stood at the head of his armies during the eastern campaigns, prohibited the consumption of coffee, tobacco and alcoholic beverages, but he himself showed a weakness for alcohol, which led the young ruler to death at the age of only 28 years.

Murad's successor, his mentally ill brother Ibrahim, managed to significantly destroy the state he inherited before he was deposed in 1648. The conspirators placed Ibrahim's six-year-old son Mehmed IV on the throne and actually led the country until 1656, when the Sultan's mother achieved the appointment of grand vizier with unlimited powers talented Mehmed Köprülü. He held this position until 1661, when his son Fazil Ahmed Köprülü became vizier.

The Ottoman Empire still managed to overcome the period of chaos, extortion and crisis of state power. Europe was divided by religious wars and Thirty Years' War, and Poland and Russia were worried troubled period. This gave both Köprül the opportunity, after a purge of the administration, during which 30 thousand officials were executed, to capture the island of Crete in 1669, and Podolia and other regions of Ukraine in 1676. After the death of Ahmed Köprülü, his place was taken by a mediocre and corrupt palace favorite. In 1683, the Ottomans besieged Vienna, but were defeated by the Poles and their allies led by Jan Sobieski.

Leaving the Balkans.

The defeat at Vienna marked the beginning of the Turkish retreat in the Balkans. Budapest fell first, and after the loss of Mohács, all of Hungary fell under the rule of Vienna. In 1688 the Ottomans had to leave Belgrade, in 1689 Vidin in Bulgaria and Nis in Serbia. After this, Suleiman II (r. 1687–1691) appointed Mustafa Köprülü, Ahmed's brother, as grand vizier. The Ottomans managed to recapture Niš and Belgrade, but were utterly defeated by Prince Eugene of Savoy in 1697 near Senta, in the far north of Serbia.

Mustafa II (r. 1695–1703) attempted to regain lost ground by appointing Hüseyin Köprülü as grand vizier. In 1699, the Treaty of Karlowitz was signed, according to which the Peloponnese and Dalmatia peninsulas went to Venice, Austria received Hungary and Transylvania, Poland received Podolia, and Russia retained Azov. The Treaty of Karlowitz was the first in a series of concessions that the Ottomans were forced to make when leaving Europe.

During the 18th century. The Ottoman Empire lost much of its power in the Mediterranean. In the 17th century The main opponents of the Ottoman Empire were Austria and Venice, and in the 18th century. – Austria and Russia.

In 1718, Austria, according to the Pozarevac (Passarovitsky) Treaty, received a number of more territories. However, the Ottoman Empire, despite defeats in the wars it fought in the 1730s, regained the city according to the treaty signed in 1739 in Belgrade, mainly due to the weakness of the Habsburgs and the intrigues of French diplomats.

Surrender.

As a result of the behind-the-scenes maneuvers of French diplomacy in Belgrade, an agreement was concluded between France and the Ottoman Empire in 1740. Called the "Capitulations", this document was for a long time the basis for the special privileges received by all states within the empire. The formal beginning of the agreements was laid back in 1251, when the Mamluk sultans in Cairo recognized Louis IX the Saint, King of France. Mehmed II, Bayezid II and Selim I confirmed this agreement and used it as a model in their relations with Venice and other Italian city-states, Hungary, Austria and most other European countries. One of the most important was the 1536 treaty between Suleiman I and the French king Francis I. In accordance with the 1740 treaty, the French received the right to freely move and trade in the territory of the Ottoman Empire under the full protection of the Sultan, their goods were not subject to taxes, with the exception of import-export duties, French envoys and consuls acquired judicial power over their compatriots, who could not be arrested in the absence of a consular representative. The French were given the right to erect and freely use their churches; the same privileges were reserved within the Ottoman Empire for other Catholics. In addition, the French could take under their protection the Portuguese, Sicilians and citizens of other states who did not have ambassadors at the court of the Sultan.

Further decline and attempts at reform.

The end of the Seven Years' War in 1763 marked the beginning of new attacks against the Ottoman Empire. Despite the fact that the French king Louis XV sent Baron de Tott to Istanbul to modernize the Sultan's army, the Ottomans were defeated by Russia in the Danube provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia and were forced to sign the Küçük-Kaynardzhi Peace Treaty in 1774. Crimea gained independence, and Azov went to Russia, which recognized the border with the Ottoman Empire along the Bug River. The Sultan promised to provide protection for the Christians living in his empire, and allowed the presence of a Russian ambassador in the capital, who received the right to represent the interests of his Christian subjects. From 1774 until the First World War, Russian tsars referred to the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty to justify their role in the affairs of the Ottoman Empire. In 1779, Russia received rights to Crimea, and in 1792, the Russian border, in accordance with the Treaty of Iasi, was moved to the Dniester.

Time dictated change. Ahmed III (r. 1703–1730) invited architects to build him palaces and mosques in the style of Versailles, and opened a printing press in Istanbul. The Sultan's immediate relatives were no longer kept in strict confinement; some of them began to study the scientific and political heritage of Western Europe. However, Ahmed III was killed by conservatives, and his place was taken by Mahmud I, under whom the Caucasus was lost to Persia, and the retreat in the Balkans continued. One of the outstanding sultans was Abdul Hamid I. During his reign (1774–1789), reforms were carried out, French teachers and technical specialists were invited to Istanbul. France hoped to save the Ottoman Empire and prevent Russia from accessing the Black Sea straits and the Mediterranean Sea.

Selim III

(reigned 1789–1807). Selim III, who became Sultan in 1789, formed a 12-member cabinet of ministers similar to European governments, replenished the treasury and created a new military corps. He created new educational institutions designed to educate civil servants in the spirit of the ideas of the Enlightenment. Printed publications were allowed again, and the works of Western authors began to be translated into Turkish.

In the early years of the French Revolution, the Ottoman Empire was left to face its problems by the European powers. Napoleon viewed Selim as an ally, believing that after the defeat of the Mamluks the Sultan would be able to strengthen his power in Egypt. Nevertheless, Selim III declared war on France and sent his fleet and army to defend the province. Only the British fleet, located off Alexandria and off the coast of the Levant, saved the Turks from defeat. This move of the Ottoman Empire involved it in the military and diplomatic affairs of Europe.

Meanwhile, in Egypt, after the departure of the French, Muhammad Ali, a native of the Macedonian city of Kavala, who served in the Turkish army, came to power. In 1805 he became governor of the province, which opened a new chapter in Egyptian history.

After the conclusion of the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, relations with France were restored, and Selim III managed to maintain peace until 1806, when Russia invaded its Danube provinces. England provided assistance to its ally Russia by sending its fleet through the Dardanelles, but Selim managed to speed up the restoration of defensive structures, and the British were forced to sail to the Aegean Sea. French victories in Central Europe strengthened the position of the Ottoman Empire, but a rebellion against Selim III began in the capital. In 1807, during the absence of the commander-in-chief of the imperial army, Bayraktar, in the capital, the Sultan was deposed, and he took the throne cousin Mustafa IV. After the return of Bayraktar in 1808, Mustafa IV was executed, but first the rebels strangled Selim III, who was imprisoned. The only male representative from the ruling dynasty remained Mahmud II.

Mahmud II

(reigned 1808–1839). Under him, in 1809, the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain concluded the famous Treaty of the Dardanelles, which opened the Turkish market for British goods on the condition that Great Britain recognized the closed status of the Black Sea Straits for military vessels in times of peace for the Turks. Previously, the Ottoman Empire agreed to join the continental blockade created by Napoleon, so the agreement was perceived as a violation of previous obligations. Russia began military operations on the Danube and captured a number of cities in Bulgaria and Wallachia. According to the Treaty of Bucharest of 1812, significant territories were ceded to Russia, and it refused to support the rebels in Serbia. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the Ottoman Empire was recognized as a European power.

National revolutions in the Ottoman Empire.

During the French Revolution, the country faced two new problems. One of them had been brewing for a long time: as the center weakened, separated provinces slipped away from the power of the sultans. In Epirus, the rebellion was raised by Ali Pasha of Janin, who ruled the province as sovereign and maintained diplomatic relations with Napoleon and other European monarchs. Similar protests also occurred in Vidin, Sidon (modern Saida, Lebanon), Baghdad and other provinces, which undermined the power of the Sultan and reduced tax revenues to the imperial treasury. The most powerful of the local rulers (pashas) eventually became Muhammad Ali in Egypt.

Another intractable problem for the country was the growth of the national liberation movement, especially among the Christian population of the Balkans. At the peak of the French Revolution, Selim III in 1804 faced an uprising raised by the Serbs led by Karadjordje (George Petrovich). The Congress of Vienna (1814–1815) recognized Serbia as a semi-autonomous province within the Ottoman Empire, led by Miloš Obrenović, Karageorgje's rival.

Almost immediately after the defeat of the French Revolution and the fall of Napoleon, Mahmud II faced the Greek national liberation revolution. Mahmud II had a chance to win, especially after he managed to convince the nominal vassal in Egypt, Muhammad Ali, to send his army and navy to support Istanbul. However, the Pasha's armed forces were defeated after the intervention of Great Britain, France and Russia. As a result of the breakthrough of Russian troops in the Caucasus and their attack on Istanbul, Mahmud II had to sign the Treaty of Adrianople in 1829, which recognized the independence of the Kingdom of Greece. A few years later, the army of Muhammad Ali, under the command of his son Ibrahim Pasha, captured Syria and found itself dangerously close to the Bosphorus in Asia Minor. Only the Russian naval landing, which landed on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus as a warning to Muhammad Ali, saved Mahmud II. After this, Mahmud never managed to get rid of Russian influence until he signed the humiliating Unkiyar-Iskelesi Treaty in 1833, which gave the Russian Tsar the right to “protect” the Sultan, as well as close and open the Black Sea straits at his discretion for the passage of foreigners. military courts.

Ottoman Empire after the Congress of Vienna.

The period following the Congress of Vienna was probably the most destructive for the Ottoman Empire. Greece separated; Egypt under Muhammad Ali, who, moreover, having captured Syria and South Arabia, became virtually independent; Serbia, Wallachia and Moldova became semi-autonomous territories. During Napoleonic wars Europe has significantly strengthened its military and industrial power. The weakening of the Ottoman power is attributed to a certain extent to the massacre of the Janissaries carried out by Mahmud II in 1826.

By concluding the Unkiyar-Isklelesi Treaty, Mahmud II hoped to gain time to transform the empire. The reforms he carried out were so noticeable that travelers visiting Turkey in the late 1830s noted that more changes had occurred in the country in the last 20 years than in the previous two centuries. Instead of the Janissaries, Mahmud created a new army, trained and equipped according to the European model. Prussian officers were hired to train officers in the new art of war. Fezs and frock coats became the official clothing of civil officials. Mahmud tried to introduce into all areas of management latest methods, developed in young European countries. It was possible to reorganize the financial system, streamline the activities of the judiciary, and improve the road network. Additional educational institutions were created, in particular military and medical colleges. Newspapers began to be published in Istanbul and Izmir.

In the last year of his life, Mahmud again entered into war with his Egyptian vassal. Mahmud's army was defeated in Northern Syria, and his fleet in Alexandria went over to the side of Muhammad Ali.

Abdul-Mejid

(reigned 1839–1861). The eldest son and successor of Mahmud II, Abdul-Mejid, was only 16 years old. Without an army and navy, he found himself helpless against the superior forces of Muhammad Ali. He was saved by diplomatic and military assistance from Russia, Great Britain, Austria and Prussia. France initially supported Egypt, but concerted action by the European powers broke the deadlock: the pasha received the hereditary right to rule Egypt under the nominal suzerainty of the Ottoman sultans. This provision was legitimized by the Treaty of London in 1840 and confirmed by Abdulmecid in 1841. In the same year, the London Convention of European Powers was concluded, according to which warships were not to pass through the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus in times of peace for the Ottoman Empire, and the signatory powers took undertake an obligation to assist the Sultan in maintaining sovereignty over the Black Sea straits.

Tanzimat.

During the struggle with his strong vassal, Abdulmecid in 1839 promulgated the hatt-i sherif (“sacred decree”), announcing the beginning of reforms in the empire, which was addressed to the highest state dignitaries and invited ambassadors by the chief minister, Reshid Pasha. The document abolished the death penalty without trial, guaranteed justice for all citizens regardless of their race or religion, established a judicial council to adopt a new criminal code, abolished the tax farming system, changed the methods of recruiting the army, and limited the length of military service.

It became obvious that the empire was no longer able to defend itself in the event of a military attack from any of the great European powers. Reshid Pasha, who had previously served as ambassador to Paris and London, understood that it was necessary to take certain steps that would show the European states that the Ottoman Empire was capable of self-reform and manageable, i.e. deserves to be preserved as an independent state. Khatt-i Sherif seemed to be the answer to the doubts of the Europeans. However, in 1841 Reshid was removed from office. Over the next few years, his reforms were suspended, and only after his return to power in 1845 they began to be implemented again with the support of the British ambassador Stratford Canning. This period in the history of the Ottoman Empire, known as the Tanzimat ("ordering"), involved the reorganization of the system of government and the transformation of society in accordance with ancient Muslim and Ottoman principles of tolerance. At the same time, education developed, the network of schools expanded, and sons from famous families began to study in Europe. Many Ottomans began to lead a Western lifestyle. The number of newspapers, books and magazines published increased, and the younger generation professed new European ideals.

At the same time, foreign trade grew rapidly, but the influx of European industrial products had a negative impact on the finances and economy of the Ottoman Empire. Imports of British factory fabrics destroyed cottage textile production and siphoned gold and silver from the state. Another blow to the economy was the signing of the Balto-Liman Trade Convention in 1838, according to which import duties on goods imported into the empire were frozen at 5%. This meant that foreign merchants could operate in the empire on equal terms with local merchants. As a result, most of the country's trade ended up in the hands of foreigners, who, in accordance with the Capitulations, were freed from control by officials.

Crimean War.

The London Convention of 1841 abolished the special privileges which Russian Emperor Nicholas I received a secret annex to the Unkiyar-Iskelesi Treaty of 1833. Referring to the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty of 1774, Nicholas I launched an offensive in the Balkans and demanded special status and rights for Russian monks in holy places in Jerusalem and Palestine. After Sultan Abdulmecid refused to satisfy these demands, the Crimean War began. Great Britain, France and Sardinia came to the aid of the Ottoman Empire. Istanbul became the forward base for preparations for hostilities in the Crimea, and the influx of European sailors, army officers and civilian officials left an indelible mark on Ottoman society. The Treaty of Paris of 1856, which ended this war, declared the Black Sea a neutral zone. European powers again recognized Turkish sovereignty over the Black Sea Straits, and the Ottoman Empire was accepted into the “union of European states.” Romania gained independence.

Bankruptcy of the Ottoman Empire.

After the Crimean War, the sultans began to borrow money from Western bankers. Even in 1854, having practically no external debt, the Ottoman government very quickly became bankrupt, and already in 1875 Sultan Abdul Aziz owed European bondholders almost one billion dollars in foreign currency.

In 1875, the Grand Vizier declared that the country was no longer able to pay interest on its debts. Noisy protests and pressure from European powers forced the Ottoman authorities to increase taxes in the provinces. Unrest began in Bosnia, Herzegovina, Macedonia and Bulgaria. The government sent troops to “pacify” the rebels, during which unprecedented cruelty was shown that amazed the Europeans. In response, Russia sent volunteers to help the Balkan Slavs. At this time, a secret revolutionary society of “New Ottomans” emerged in the country, advocating constitutional reforms in their homeland.

In 1876 Abdul Aziz, who had succeeded his brother Abdul Mecid in 1861, was deposed for incompetence by Midhat Pasha and Avni Pasha, leaders of the liberal organization of constitutionalists. They placed on the throne Murad V, the eldest son of Abdul-Mecid, who turned out to be mentally ill and was deposed just a few months later, and Abdul-Hamid II, another son of Abdul-Mecid, was placed on the throne.

Abdul Hamid II

(ruled 1876–1909). Abdul Hamid II visited Europe, and many had high hopes for a liberal constitutional regime with him. However, at the time of his accession to the throne, Turkish influence in the Balkans was in danger despite the fact that Ottoman troops had managed to defeat Bosnian and Serbian rebels. This development of events forced Russia to threaten open intervention, which Austria-Hungary and Great Britain sharply opposed. In December 1876, a conference of ambassadors was convened in Istanbul, at which Abdul Hamid II announced the introduction of a constitution for the Ottoman Empire, which provided for the creation of an elected parliament, a government responsible to it and other attributes of European constitutional monarchies. However, the brutal suppression of the uprising in Bulgaria still led in 1877 to war with Russia. In this regard, Abdul Hamid II suspended the Constitution for the duration of the war. This situation continued until the Young Turk Revolution of 1908.

Meanwhile, at the front, the military situation was developing in favor of Russia, whose troops were already camped under the walls of Istanbul. Great Britain managed to prevent the capture of the city by sending a fleet to the Sea of ​​Marmara and presenting an ultimatum to St. Petersburg demanding an end to hostilities. Initially, Russia imposed on the Sultan the extremely unfavorable Treaty of San Stefano, according to which most of the European possessions of the Ottoman Empire became part of a new autonomous entity - Bulgaria. Austria-Hungary and Great Britain opposed the terms of the treaty. All this prompted the German Chancellor Bismarck to convene the Berlin Congress in 1878, at which the size of Bulgaria was reduced, but the full independence of Serbia, Montenegro and Romania was recognized. Cyprus went to Great Britain, and Bosnia and Herzegovina to Austria-Hungary. Russia received the fortresses of Ardahan, Kars and Batumi (Batumi) in the Caucasus; to regulate navigation on the Danube, a commission was created from representatives of the Danube states, and the Black Sea and the Black Sea Straits again received the status provided for by the Treaty of Paris of 1856. The Sultan promised to govern all his subjects equally fairly, and the European powers believed that the Berlin Congress had forever resolved the difficult Eastern problem.

During the 32-year reign of Abdul Hamid II, the Constitution never actually came into force. One of the most important unresolved issues was the bankruptcy of the state. In 1881, under foreign control, the Office of the Ottoman Public Debt was created, which was given responsibility for payments on European bonds. Within a few years, confidence in financial stability Ottoman Empire, which contributed to the participation of foreign capital in the construction of such large projects as the Anatolian Railway, connecting Istanbul with Baghdad.

Young Turk revolution.

During these years, national uprisings occurred in Crete and Macedonia. In Crete, bloody clashes took place in 1896 and 1897, leading to the Empire's war with Greece in 1897. After 30 days of fighting, European powers intervened to save Athens from being captured by the Ottoman army. Public opinion in Macedonia leaned towards either independence or union with Bulgaria.

It became obvious that the future of the state was connected with the Young Turks. The ideas of national uplift were propagated by some journalists, the most talented of whom was Namik Kemal. Abdul-Hamid tried to suppress this movement with arrests, exile and executions. At the same time, Turkish secret societies flourished in military headquarters around the country and in places as far away as Paris, Geneva and Cairo. The most effective organization turned out to be the secret committee “Unity and Progress,” which was created by the “Young Turks.”

In 1908, the troops stationed in Macedonia rebelled and demanded the implementation of the Constitution of 1876. Abdul-Hamid was forced to agree to this, not being able to use force. Elections to parliament followed and the formation of a government consisting of ministers responsible to this legislative body. In April 1909, a counter-revolutionary rebellion broke out in Istanbul, which, however, was quickly suppressed by armed units arriving from Macedonia. Abdul Hamid was deposed and sent into exile, where he died in 1918. His brother Mehmed V was proclaimed Sultan.

Balkan wars.

The Young Turk government soon faced internal strife and new territorial losses in Europe. In 1908, as a result of the revolution that took place in the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria declared its independence, and Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Young Turks were powerless to prevent these events, and in 1911 they found themselves drawn into a conflict with Italy, which invaded the territory of modern Libya. The war ended in 1912 with the provinces of Tripoli and Cyrenaica becoming an Italian colony. In early 1912, Crete united with Greece, and later that year, Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria began the First Balkan War against the Ottoman Empire.

Within a few weeks, the Ottomans lost all their possessions in Europe, with the exception of Istanbul, Edirne and Ioannina in Greece and Scutari (modern Shkodra) in Albania. The great European powers, watching with concern as the balance of power in the Balkans was being destroyed, demanded a cessation of hostilities and a conference. The Young Turks refused to surrender the cities, and in February 1913 the fighting resumed. In a few weeks, the Ottoman Empire completely lost its European possessions, with the exception of the Istanbul zone and the straits. The Young Turks were forced to agree to a truce and formally give up the already lost lands. However, the winners immediately began an internecine war. The Ottomans clashed with Bulgaria in order to recapture Edirne and the European areas adjacent to Istanbul. The Second Balkan War ended in August 1913 with the signing of the Treaty of Bucharest, but a year later the First Balkan War broke out World War.

The First World War and the end of the Ottoman Empire.

Developments after 1908 weakened the Young Turk government and isolated it politically. It tried to correct this situation by offering alliances to stronger European powers. On August 2, 1914, shortly after the outbreak of war in Europe, the Ottoman Empire entered into a secret alliance with Germany. On the Turkish side, the pro-German Enver Pasha, a leading member of the Young Turk triumvirate and the Minister of War, took part in the negotiations. A few days later, two German cruisers, Goeben and Breslau, took refuge in the straits. The Ottoman Empire acquired these warships, sailed them into the Black Sea in October and shelled Russian ports, thus declaring war on the Entente.

In the winter of 1914–1915, the Ottoman army suffered huge losses when Russian troops entered Armenia. Fearing that local residents would take their side there, the government authorized the massacre of the Armenian population in eastern Anatolia, which many researchers later called the Armenian genocide. Thousands of Armenians were deported to Syria. In 1916, the Ottoman rule in Arabia came to an end: the uprising was launched by the sheriff of Mecca, Hussein ibn Ali, supported by the Entente. As a result of these events, the Ottoman government finally collapsed, although Turkish troops With German support, they achieved a number of important victories: in 1915 they managed to repel an Entente attack on the Dardanelles, and in 1916 they captured a British corps in Iraq and stopped the Russian advance in the east. During the war, the regime of capitulations was abolished and customs tariffs were increased to protect domestic trade. The Turks took over the business of the evicted national minorities, which helped create the core of a new Turkish commercial and industrial class. In 1918, when the Germans were recalled to defend the Hindenburg Line, the Ottoman Empire began to suffer defeats. On October 30, 1918, Turkish and British representatives concluded a truce, according to which the Entente received the right to “occupy any strategic points” of the empire and control the Black Sea straits.

Collapse of the empire.

The fate of most of the Ottoman provinces was determined in secret treaties of the Entente during the war. The Sultanate agreed to the separation of areas with a predominantly non-Turkish population. Istanbul was occupied by forces that had their own areas of responsibility. Russia was promised the Black Sea straits, including Istanbul, but the October Revolution led to the annulment of these agreements. In 1918, Mehmed V died, and his brother Mehmed VI ascended the throne, who, although he retained the government in Istanbul, actually became dependent on the Allied occupation forces. Problems grew in the interior of the country, far from the locations of the Entente troops and the power institutions subordinate to the Sultan. Detachments of the Ottoman army, wandering around the vast outskirts of the empire, refused to lay down their arms. British, French and Italian military contingents occupied various parts of Turkey. With the support of the Entente fleet, in May 1919, Greek armed forces landed in Izmir and began advancing deep into Asia Minor to take the protection of the Greeks in Western Anatolia. Finally, in August 1920, the Treaty of Sèvres was signed. No area of ​​the Ottoman Empire remained free from foreign surveillance. An international commission was created to control the Black Sea Straits and Istanbul. After unrest occurred in early 1920 as a result of rising national sentiments, British troops entered Istanbul.

Mustafa Kemal and the Treaty of Lausanne.

In the spring of 1920, Mustafa Kemal, the most successful Ottoman military leader of the war, convened the Great National Assembly in Ankara. He arrived from Istanbul to Anatolia on May 19, 1919 (the date from which the Turkish national liberation struggle began), where he united around himself patriotic forces striving to preserve Turkish statehood and the independence of the Turkish nation. From 1920 to 1922, Kemal and his supporters defeated enemy armies in the east, south and west and made peace with Russia, France and Italy. At the end of August 1922, the Greek army retreated in disarray to Izmir and the coastal areas. Then Kemal's troops headed to the Black Sea straits, where British troops were located. After the British Parliament refused to support the proposal to begin hostilities, British Prime Minister Lloyd George resigned, and war was averted by the signing of a truce in the Turkish city of Mudanya. The British government invited the Sultan and Kemal to send representatives to the peace conference, which opened in Lausanne (Switzerland) on November 21, 1922. However, the Grand National Assembly in Ankara abolished the Sultanate, and Mehmed VI, the last Ottoman monarch, left Istanbul on a British warship on November 17.

On July 24, 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne was signed, which recognized the full independence of Turkey. The Office of the Ottoman State Debt and Capitulation were abolished, and foreign control over the country was abolished. At the same time, Türkiye agreed to demilitarize the Black Sea straits. The province of Mosul with its oil fields was transferred to Iraq. It was planned to carry out a population exchange with Greece, from which the Greeks living in Istanbul and the West Thracian Turks were excluded. On October 6, 1923, British troops left Istanbul, and on October 29, 1923, Turkey was proclaimed a republic, and Mustafa Kemal was elected its first president.