The Ottoman Empire was the largest and the last of the Islamic Empires, At its peak it stretched from North Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, The Caucasus and the Balkans all the way to the gates of Vienna. It was by far the largest Empire of its time and it was ahead of its competition in terms of Science, Production, Military and Culture.
Reasons For Decline Of Ottoman Empire:
The Ottoman Society was unique in its fall and nothing similar has ever been seen in history again.The closest resemblance would be the United States, The Ottomans were a multicultural society and they didn't decline because of some clash of civilizations Terms such as these are popular but not necessarily accurate.
After all a major part of the Ottoman army was made up of Christians and Jews, the other half being Muslims.
After all a major part of the Ottoman army was made up of Christians and Jews, the other half being Muslims.
Ottoman Empire History:
It was in every sense a multicultural army with a central authority the ottoman empire didn't go down in flames Fighting and there was no single major catastrophic event that triggered the ultimate decline.
But a great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within Those were the words of the American historian Will Durant Before the Turkish Empire collapsed from the outside it was already for centuries collapsing from the inside.
Most people will tell you that two military defeats,led to the decline of the Ottomans, one was the battle of Le panto in 1571 the other being the battle of Vienna in 1683.
Most people will tell you that two military defeats,led to the decline of the Ottomans, one was the battle of Le panto in 1571 the other being the battle of Vienna in 1683.
In the Le panto Naval engagement the vast majority of the Ottoman fleet was destroyed But within a year the Ottomans replaced their entire fleet with more modern ships and an even bigger fleet, However the Ottomans had lost their most experienced sailors and commanders in the battle and this reduced the effectiveness of the Ottoman Navy.
Fall of the Ottoman Empire
The other Major defeat came in 1683 at The Battle of Vienna This wasn't the first time the Turks had tried to take Vienna in 1529.
The Turkish Sultan Suleiman the magnificent began the siege too late in the season and decided to withdraw, He figured that he would return to Conquer Vienna the next year, But there was never a next time Suleiman got distracted with other affairs, now conquering Vienna was part of the national interest of the Ottoman Empire because Vienna was the limit of Ottoman logistical capability and Conquering the city would have allowed them a fresh new logistical point.
It was sort of like conquering a new Cairo or Istanbul, these kind of major cities Provided a new logistical point and allowed further Expansions, but the Ottomans didn't prioritize their objectives well enough as they were continuously Distracted with other affairs at the time the Ottomans were certain.
They would eventually take the city because they had the strongest army in the world So they weren't in a hurry.
When did the ottoman empire end:
By 1683 the Ottomans figured it was time and they tried to take Vienna again But this time the battle was a defeat and the Ottoman army was routed, the Turks had missed their opportunity. That is how most people see it and these defeats certainly played a role but they weren't the decisive factors that eventually led to the decline of the empire.
The process that turned the mighty Ottoman empire into the sick. man of Europe Was very gradual and so slow that during the time nobody noticed it? it starts with Venetian traders who in the 15th century went back and Forth buying Ottoman raw materials like metal Lumber oil, meat Etc.
This was a very lucrative business and by the 17th [century] It wasn't just Venetians, but also French, English, German, Dutch and other European traders. They traveled into the Ottoman Empire buying raw materials with the gold of the Americas, So the European traders could always outbid the Turkish traders and the Ottoman economy was very complex It was some kind of state controlled mercantilism in which there were guilds who produced certain products But to the products, the amount of the products and even the price of the products was determined by the state.
This was basically done to avoid inflation after several decades the Turkish guilds were losing their productivity because there was less material to produce the products as the European traders were buying up most of the raw materials.
What caused the decline of the ottoman empire quizlet
The Ottoman Empire needed to protect the domestic production of the Empire and since the European traders were buying up all the raw materials which the Turkish guilds needed the answer seemed logical ban Europeans from buying strategic raw Materials and What do people do when their lucrative businesses are banned?
They form a black market where prices are even more expensive but profits even more lucrative a whole class of Black market entrepreneurs emerged and What does lucrative underground business produce for a society? Corruption because the black market entrepreneurs had to bribe officials to look,
The other way overtime this formed another class of entrepreneurs bribe-taking bureaucrats because of the Ottomans inability to Produce Goods this new rich class could only spend their money on European products and this provided a new market for the Europeans.
They form a black market where prices are even more expensive but profits even more lucrative a whole class of Black market entrepreneurs emerged and What does lucrative underground business produce for a society? Corruption because the black market entrepreneurs had to bribe officials to look,
The other way overtime this formed another class of entrepreneurs bribe-taking bureaucrats because of the Ottomans inability to Produce Goods this new rich class could only spend their money on European products and this provided a new market for the Europeans.
The Ottomans bought the European luxury Products and at the time it seemed like the Ottomans were blossoming with wealth But in fact it was the European traders who were making all the money, Because it was the Venetian the Spanish and the Dutch who sold their luxury consumer products to the Ottomans.
The Turks were no longer producing instead they were consuming In the meantime there were so many High-value products that inflation rose, this became a mother burden on the economy the same thing happened to the Spanish Empire Inflation hurts people with a fixed income the only people with a fixed income in the Ottoman empire
With the bureaucrats and court officials this bloated unproductive upper-class supplemented their income by taking even more bribes and thereby corrupted the administrative and legal workings of the state the court officials prevented economic opportunities instead of facilitating it unless they were giving a bribe and this led to the inefficiency of the ottoman.
Were recruited from the Noble families It no longer depended on the skill and potential of a person as a result the Ottoman leadership became more and more Narrow-minded and this added to the decline of science and technology in the course of a few centuries the Turks had changed from an efficient productive people into a society of corrupt bureaucrats and black market entrepreneurs who were draining down the domestic production and the efficiency of the Ottoman Empire this complex web of corruption Established itself over the centuries and by the time the Turks knew what was going on. They became the sick man of Europe.
With the bureaucrats and court officials this bloated unproductive upper-class supplemented their income by taking even more bribes and thereby corrupted the administrative and legal workings of the state the court officials prevented economic opportunities instead of facilitating it unless they were giving a bribe and this led to the inefficiency of the ottoman.
History The Empire Of Ottoman:
Administration In order to counter the corruption in the court the state raised the salaries But since there was no real revenue in the Ottoman economy the state was merely minting money out of thin air This in return escalated inflation even further and puts us back where we started In the end the rulers attempt to stamp out corruption and promote efficiency only aggravated the problem all the while this was happening another process took shape the Janissary gradual change towards Aristocracy now these were Christian children raised with the best education and they became the elite fighting force of the Ottoman empire but the Janissary creed didn't allow them to marry or have children,How did the ottoman empire end
And they weren't allowed to hold official positions either This was actually one of the successes of the early Ottoman empire because it was a concept of recruitment that allowed new blood to enter the administration as opposed to aristocracy and when the Europeans started to switch to plutocracy the Turks switch to aristocracy successful Janissary married and became high-ranking advisors and as in any Aristocracy the future leadership and commandersWere recruited from the Noble families It no longer depended on the skill and potential of a person as a result the Ottoman leadership became more and more Narrow-minded and this added to the decline of science and technology in the course of a few centuries the Turks had changed from an efficient productive people into a society of corrupt bureaucrats and black market entrepreneurs who were draining down the domestic production and the efficiency of the Ottoman Empire this complex web of corruption Established itself over the centuries and by the time the Turks knew what was going on. They became the sick man of Europe.
Thank you for reading.
0 Comments