by Mehrdad Kia
The Ottoman constitution did not prevent another military confrontation with Russia. Continuous palace intrigues convinced Abdülhamid II to dismiss Midhat Paşa, who was sent into exile in February 1877, an event that was soon followed by a Russian declaration of war in April. The Ottoman forces delayed the Russian southward incursion for several months at Plevna (Pleven) in Bulgaria, but by December, the tsarist army was encamped a mere 12 kilometers outside Istanbul. On 3 March 1878, the Treaty of San Stefano was signed between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Among other things, it called for the establishment of an autonomous Bulgarian state, stretching from the Black Sea to the Aegean, which Russia would occupy for two years. Serbia, Romania, and Montenegro were also to be recognized as independent states, while Russia received Batumi in southern Caucasus, as well as the districts of Kars and Ardahan in eastern Anatolia. Additionally, the Ottoman government was obliged to introduce fundamental reforms in Thessaly and Armenia. Other European powers could not tolerate the rapid growth of Russian influence in the Balkans and the Caucasus. They agreed to meet in Berlin at a new peace conference designed to partition the European provinces of the Ottoman Empire in such a way as to prevent the emergence of Russia as the dominant power in the region.
DISINTEGRATION OF THE EMPIRE IN THE BALKANS
The Congress of Berlin, which began in June 1878, was a turning point in the history of the Ottoman Empire and southeast Europe. When the congress ended a month later, the Ottoman Empire was no longer a political and military power in the Balkans. The Ottomans lost eight percent of their territory and four and a half million of their population. The majority of those who left the empire were Christians, while tens of thousands of Muslim refugees from the Balkans and the Caucasus fled into the interior of the empire. The large Bulgarian state that had been created three months earlier at the Treaty of San Stefano was divided into three separate entities. The region north of the Balkan Mountains and the area around Sofia were combined into a new autonomous Bulgarian principality that would recognize the suzerainty of the sultan, but for all practical purposes act as a Russian satellite. The region lying between the Rhodope and Balkan mountains, which corresponded with Eastern Rumelia, was established as a semiautonomous region under its own Christian governor, who was to be appointed by the sultan and supervised by European powers. The third area of Thrace and Macedonia remained under Ottoman rule.
The Berlin Congress did not provide Greece with any new territory. Instead, the powers asked that Greece and the Ottoman Empire enter into negotiations on establishing the future of their boundaries, including the status of Thessaly and Epirus. Austria was granted the right to occupy and administer Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as the sancak of Novi Pazar, a strip of land that separated Serbia from Montenegro. Further, while the Congress recognized Serbia, Romania, and Montenegro as independent states, the Romanian state was forced to hand southern Bessarabia to Russia and, in return, receive Dobrudja and the Danube Delta. Russia also received the districts of Batumi, Kars, and Ardahan, thereby establishing military control over the eastern shores of the Black Sea and a strategically important land bridge to Anatolia.
The British received the island of Cyprus, which contained a Greek majority and a Turkish minority population. By handing Albanian-populated areas and towns to Montenegro and Greece, the European powers ignited a new nationalist movement among a proud people who had faithfully served the Ottoman state on many occasions in the past. Thus, Albania, with its emerging national movement, would replicate the model set by the Serbs, the Romanians, and the Bulgarians and demand independence.
Although Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, and Bulgaria gained their independence or autonomy in 1878, the Congress of Berlin left the newly independent states dissatisfied and hungry for more territory. The Romanians were angry because they were forced to cede the rich and productive Bessarabia in return for gaining the poor and less productive Dobrudja. The Bulgarians were outraged because they lost the greater Bulgarian state, which had been created by the Treaty of San Stefano. Serbia gained limited territory, but it did not satisfy the voracious appetite of Serbian nationalists who dreamed of a greater Serbia with access to the sea. Montenegro received a port on the Adriatic, but, as in the case of Serbia, it did not acquire the towns and the districts it had demanded. Of all the participants in the Congress, Russia was perhaps the most frustrated. In return for its massive human and financial investment in the war against the Ottoman Empire, it had received only southern Bessarabia in the Balkans, while the Austrians, who had opportunistically sat on the sidelines, had been awarded Bosnia-Herzegovina.
These frustrated dreams turned the Balkan Peninsula into a ticking bomb. By carving the Ottoman Empire into small and hungry independent states, the European powers laid the foundation for intense rivalries. Thirty-six years after the conclusion of the Berlin Congress, the Balkan tinderbox exploded on 28 June 1914, when Serbian nationalists assassinated the Austrian crown prince, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo, sparking the First World War.
ABDÜLHAMID II
With the removal of Midhat Paşa in 1877, the center of power began to shift back from the office of the grand vizier to the sultan. Despite the defeat at the hands of the Russians and the territorial losses imposed by the Congress of Berlin, the new sultan, Abdülhamid II (1876–1909), remained committed to the reforms introduced during the Tanzimat period. Indeed, it was during his reign that a new and Western-educated officer corps emerged. Ironically, the same officers would play an important role in deposing the sultan in April 1909. In addition to emphasizing military training, the sultan expanded elementary and secondary education (including the opening of a new school for girls in 1884), introduced a modern medical school, and established the University of Istanbul. To create a modern communication system for the empire, he developed telegraph services and the Ottoman railway system, connecting Istanbul to the heartland of the Arab world as far south as the holy city of Medina in Hejaz. The Hejaz railroad, which was completed in July 1908, allowed the sultan to dispatch his troops to the Arab provinces in case of a rebellion.
As with the reforms introduced by the men of Tanzimat, the principal objective of Abdülhamid II’s modernization schemes was to establish a strong and centralized government capable of maintaining the territorial integrity of the empire. In practical terms, this meant suppressing uprisings among the sultan’s subjects and defending the state against the expansionist policies of European powers. Despite the sultan’s best efforts, however, the empire continued to lose territory.
Building on their occupation of Algeria in 1830, the French imposed their rule on Tunisia in May 1881. A year later, the British invaded and occupied Egypt. In addition to these losses, the Ottoman Empire also continued to lose territory in the Balkans. After the Congress of Berlin, the only area left under Ottoman rule was a relatively narrow corridor south of the Balkan Mountains that stretched from the Black Sea in the east to the Adriatic in the west, incorporating Thrace, Thessaly, Macedonia, and Albania. Greece, Serbia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria coveted the remaining territory of the dying Ottoman Empire. In accordance with the promises made at the Congress of Berlin, the Ottomans handed much of Thessaly and a district in Epirus to Greece in July 1881. Despite these gains, Greece continued to push for additional territorial concessions including the island of Crete, where several uprisings, encouraged by Athens, forced the sultan in 1898 to agree to the creation of an autonomous Cretan state under Ottoman suzerainty. The island finally became part of Greece in December 1913.
Aside from the military disasters and territorial losses that the empire suffered, the reign of Abdülhamid II proved to be a period of significant social, economic, and cultural transformation. The autocratic sultan continued with the reforms that had been introduced by the men of Tanzimat. There was, however, a fundamental difference. The statesmen of the Tanzimat had begun their governmental careers as translators and diplomats attached to Ottoman embassies in Europe, and thus wished to emulat
e European customs and institutions. Abdülhamid II, in contrast, may have been a modernizer, but one who believed strongly in preserving the Islamic identity of the Ottoman state. With the loss of its European provinces, the number of Christian subjects of the sultan decreased and Muslims began to emerge as the empire’s majority population. The Muslim population was not only loyal to the sultan but also felt a deep anger toward the sultan’s Christian subjects for allying themselves with the imperial powers of Europe in order to gain their independence. Abdülhamid II understood the new mood among his Muslim subjects and countered European imperial designs by appealing to Pan-Islamism, or the unity of all Muslims, under his leadership as the caliph, or the religious and spiritual leader of the Islamic world.
A view of Istanbul between 1880 and 1890.
YOUNG TURKS SEIZE POWER
Despite Abdülhamid II’s best efforts to preserve the territorial integrity of the empire and to modernize the Ottoman society, the government failed to neutralize the opposition of the young, educated, and secular minded elements in the society. As early as 1889, small groups of patriotic students, civil servants, and army officers had organized secret societies. Princes of the royal family, government officials, teachers, artists, and army officers educated and trained in modern schools and military academies, had concluded that the restoration of the 1876 constitution and the establishment of a new government based on a parliament were the only means through which the Ottoman Empire could be saved from further disintegration. As the police began to crack down on the opposition, some chose exile over imprisonment and settled in European capitals, where they published newspapers that denounced the autocratic policies of the sultan. Others recruited young cadets and organized secret cells among army units stationed in the Balkans and the Middle East. This diverse group of antigovernment Ottoman intellectuals and activists, who were known in Europe as Jeunes Turcs, or the Young Turks, organized themselves as the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP).
Revolution came, unexpectedly, from Macedonia in July 1908, when army officers loyal to CUP revolted and demanded the restoration of the 1876 constitution. After a faint effort to suppress the rebellion, Abdülhamid II concluded that resistance was futile. On 23 July, he restored constitutional rule and ordered parliamentary elections throughout the empire. As the news of the revolution spread, massive celebrations erupted, particularly in Istanbul, where Turks, Jews, Armenians, and Arabs joined hands and embraced in the streets of the capital. Among the deputies to the new parliament, which opened on 17 December, there were 142 Turks, 60 Arabs, 25 Albanians, 23 Greeks, 12 Armenians, 5 Jews, 4 Bulgarians, 3 Serbs, and 1 Romanian.
The Young Turks had convinced themselves that the restoration of the parliamentary system of government would secure the support of European powers for the preservation of the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire. They were mistaken. Shortly after the victory of the revolution, the Austro-Hungarian Empire formally annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina, while Greece seized the island of Crete, and Bulgaria unified with Eastern Rumelia, which had remained an autonomous province under the nominal rule of the Ottoman sultan.
Meanwhile, an attempted counter coup by supporters of Abdülhamid II in April 1909 provided an excuse for the two chambers of parliament to depose the sultan and replace him with his younger brother, who ascended the throne as Mehmed V (1909–1918). The center of power had shifted once again, this time from the palace to the army, the bureaucracy, and the parliament. The central government, however, continued to be plagued by internal factionalism and growing opposition from both conservative and liberal groups and parties. The weakness of the government was demonstrated by its failure to respond effectively to the unrest in Albania, the uprising of Imam Yahya in Yemen, and the Italian invasion of Tripoli and Benghazi in Libya. The Italian attack on the Dardanelles and the occupation of the Dodecanese Islands in May 1912 forced the Ottoman government to accept the loss of Libya and sue for peace.
The Italian victory emboldened the neighboring Balkan states, which had been waiting for an opportunity to invade and occupy the remaining Ottoman provinces in Europe. After a series of negotiations, Serbia and Bulgaria formed an alliance in March 1912. Shortly after, in May, Bulgaria signed a similar agreement with Greece. Finally, in October, Serbia and Montenegro formed an alliance. Shortly after, the Balkan states declared war on the Ottoman Empire. The Bulgarians soon defeated the Ottomans at the battles of Kirklareli/Kirkkilise (22–24 October) and Lüleburgaz (22 October–2 November), followed by a Serbian victory at the battle of Kumanovo (23–24 October). Meanwhile, the Greeks captured Salonika on 8 November.
Without a coordinated plan and in the absence of a unified command, the Ottomans were forced either to retreat or to take defensive positions. The major urban centers of the empire in Europe were surrounded by the invading Balkan armies. In December, the Ottoman government sued for peace. As the discussions dragged on in London, Bulgaria demanded the city of Edirne. This was too much for a group of young officers in Istanbul, who staged a military coup on 23 January 1913, killing the minister of war and forcing the government to resign. When the news of the coup in Istanbul reached London, the Balkan states resumed their military campaigns. Despite a promise to take the offensive, the new government in Istanbul failed to repulse the Bulgarian forces, who captured Edirne on 28 March, and the Serbs, who seized Shkodër on 22 April. On 30 May, the Ottoman government was forced to sign the Treaty of London, which resulted in the loss of much of its territory in Europe, including the city of Edirne.
Fortunately for the Ottomans, intense rivalries and jealousies among the Balkan states erupted shortly after the signing of the Treaty of London. Romania, which had not participated in the war, demanded territory from Bulgaria. The Greeks and Serbs also expressed dissatisfaction with the division of territory in Macedonia. As the negotiations for the creation of an anti-Bulgarian alliance began, Bulgaria attacked Serbia, igniting a new Balkan war between the victors of the first. The Ottomans used the opportunity to recapture Edirne and forced Bulgaria to sign the Treaty of Istanbul in September 1913.
DEFEAT IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR AND THE FALL OF THE EMPIRE
The military coup of January 1913 brought the Ottoman government under the control of the CUP. As the CUP began to consolidate its power over the organs of the state, a triumvirate of army officers comprised of Cemal Paşa, Enver Paşa, and Talat Paşa began to rule the empire with the support of an inner circle that represented the various factions within the CUP. With the clouds of war gathering over Europe, the beleaguered Ottoman government appraised its various options, none of which looked very promising given the predatory nature of the European powers. The decision to enter the war on the side of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire brought the Ottoman state into open military confrontation with France, Russia, and Great Britain. In the Constantinople Agreement of 1915, these three Entente powers agreed to the complete partition of the Ottoman Empire after the end of the war.
The Allied expectation that the empire they had dubbed the “sick man of Europe” would be destroyed with one single military blow proved to be wishful thinking. The British attempt to force the Ottoman Empire out of the war called for a massive landing of Allied troops at the foothills of Gallipoli on the European shores of the Dardanelles. After establishing a beachhead in April 1915, the troops planned to climb the hills and destroy the Ottoman forces that defended the heights. To the dismay of the British, the Ottomans, supported by German officers, fought back heroically, inflicting an impressive defeat on the enemy, who retreated with heavy casualties in January 1916. Another advancing British force in southern Iraq also met unexpected resistance and suffered heavy losses. With their military efforts coming to a sudden halt, the British resorted to the strategy of fomenting an internal rebellion among the sultan’s Arab subjects. They cast their lot with Sharif Husayn of Mecca and his sons, who were promised an independent and united Arab kingdom if they organized a revolt against the Ottoman Empire.
Unknown to Sharif Husayn, the British were also negotiating about the fate of the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire with their principal ally in Europe, the French. In negotiations between Mark Sykes, who represented the British government, and his French counterpart, Georges Picot, the two European powers carved the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire into British and French zones of influence. According to the Sykes-Picot Agreement (16 May 1916), the British promised Greater Syria, which included the present-day country of Lebanon, and the Ottoman province of Mosul in present-day northern Iraq, to France. In return, the British gained control over the provinces of Baghdad and Basra, with an adjacent territory that stretched to the Mediterranean towns of Acre and Jaffa, including the imprecisely defined Holy Land, or Palestine.
In November 1917, the British government made a third critical promise that would have a long lasting impact on the Middle East. In a letter addressed to Lord Rothschild, one of the leaders of the Zionist movement in Europe, Arthur James Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary, expressed the support of his government for the Zionist movement’s aim to establish a Jewish National Home in Palestine. This declaration would prove to be one of the most significant stepping-stones toward the establishment of the state of Israel. The map of the Middle East would be redrawn as the British government attempted to fulfill the conflicting promises it had made to the Arabs, the French, and the Zionist movement in the aftermath of the First World War.