Decline of the Ottoman Empire
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The Decline of the Ottoman Empire covers the military and political events between 1828 to 1908. The name of the period is based on loss/gain comparison. The empire was directly affected by Russian expansion during this time. The political rhetoric was dominated by the economical problems and results of the national uprisings. The Ottoman Empire tried to catch up to the western world by passing political and administrative reformations.
Mahmud II was confronted in 1821 with a major rebellion in Greece. Following the Great Powers' intervention which resulted in the Battle of Navarino in 1827 and a Russo-Turkish War in 1828–1829, Mahmud was forced to grant Greece its independence in 1832.
Late in his reign, Mahmud became involved in disputes with his ambitious vassal Mehemet Ali, Wali (Governor) of Egypt. Mahmud had enlisted Mehemet Ali's help in suppressing the rebellion in Greece, but had not paid the promised price for his services. In 1831, the Wali declared war, and managed to take control of Syria and Arabia by war's end in 1833. In 1839, Mahmud resumed the war, hoping to recover his losses, but at the very time he died, the news was on its way to Constantinople that the empire's army had been signally defeated at Nezib by an Egyptian army led by Mehemet Ali's son, Ibrahim Pasha.
It is argued by some Marxists including Tariq Ali that the decline was in large part to the pre-capitalist relations in the country which made it fail to industrialise on the scale of other countries and hence lose its grip on the outreaches of its empire. |
