Ottoman-Sean-Essay

Essay: The Fall
 * By Sean Hayes**

**The** Ottoman Empire spanned three continents, lasted over six centuries and was one of the most powerful empires ever. However, longevity does not mean that an empire is entirely a successful one. The Ottomans were the empire representing Islam and the spread of Islam was its utmost goal. The Empire was a theocracy, and every decision was informed by religion. The leader, the Sultan also held the position as Caliph, the leader of Muslims. The Empire was plagued by impractical and incapable Sultans, which lead to a large number of bad decisions and the ultimate fall of the Empire. We can learn many things from the Ottomans, good and bad, if we take notice and learn lessons from their history. The Ottomans had racist, chauvinist and discriminatory intentions throughout their rule, not unlike the empires that surrounded them. //__Through this essay I will prove and exemplify that a lesson we can learn from the fall of the Ottoman Empire is that theocracies are suppressive and impractical.__//


 * The** Ottomans decided that within its empire it would not force minorities (Jews, Orthodox Christians, Armenians, Slavs, Romanians and others) to convert to Islam to avoid conflict. This concept was not well enforced and still imposed a society of classes. Minorities were often put into communities called millets. These millets were granted limited rights such as the right of worship. Millets were created on the basis of dhimmi, a part of Islamic law letting minorities have certain rights under certain conditions (paying extra taxes for example). The breaking of the dhimmi law voids your status as a protected person and you are liable to become a slave. In comparison this is in some ways similar to reserves and First Nations peoples in North America. A colonial force takes your land and lets you live in a specified area where your people struggle to prosper. The Empire may have seemed like it was relatively peaceful internally, but in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Greeks fought and won their independence, a Turkish/Islamic nationalist movement was rising, and a smaller Armenian autonomy movement was also growing. The Armenians had been treated as second class citizens for hundreds of years and asked for some sort of autonomy. In reprisal throughout these years almost 2,000,000 Armenians were killed through means of systematic torture, rape, and starvation. Armenians were rounded up forced to walk for days and their possessions confiscated and sold. The world watched with horror but failed to intervene, even though these atrocities against humanity occurred over a span of 30 years. As we can see the conflict created by this theocracy through religious and ethnic domination caused the near-destructions of a people and its culture.


 * The** trafficking of people was a widespread industry during most of Ottoman times. Some even consider that the Empire was a “slave society” (source). One fifth of the capital, Constantinople was slaves, the majority being from Slavic countries or from Africa. The military was comprised of slaves as well as affluent households and the manufacturing industry. In Zanzibar, up to 90% of its population was enslaved. It could be pointed out that slavery was the reason that the Empire lasted, and that may be true. However, it is still a lesson to learnt from that the Ottomans refused to reform to their changing surroundings and retained slavery into the beginning of the 20th century. Sultan’s often had hundreds of slave-wives in his palace to satisfy his needs. This stubbornness to grant people the basic right of freedom caused the Empire to be behind the changing world and contributed to their downfall. Islam permitted slavery in some forms, so this “privilege” was exploited by the Sultans and soon the Empire was enslaving millions “in the name of God”.


 * The** Ottoman Empire was in theory ruled by two people, the Sultan and the Grand Vizier (comparable to a prime minister) however, there were many other factors that corrupted this way of governance. The Janissaries (an elite military corp.) usually had the power to depose of a Sultan by force and replace him with a successor of their choice. For example, in 1730 Ahmed III was deposed by the Janissaries and replaced with his nephew, Mahmud I because of his involvement in the arts instead of military duties. Another example of corruption is the fact that the pashas (governors) usually bought their way into power with large amount of money that would be regained while in office. Throughout the years, Sultans began retracting themselves from society and became disengaged with the public. This alienation was another factor in the fall of the empire.

The End Back to Research Summary Back to Golden Age to Fall Back to Intro Back to Home
 * The** legacy of the Ottomans can be seen in architecture, art, poetry and literature but it can also be seen as an empire that was lagging behind the world half its life, still clinging to laws that limited its own citizen’s lives. From the suppression of minorities to widespread slavery into the 20th century to rulers that retracted themselves from reality; The Ottoman Empire may have been a master in staying alive so long but in no way was it a leader of human rights. There are things we should take note of such as the Armenian Genocide and hope that history does not get the chance to repeat such an atrocity. Countries under theocratic rule, presently still retain similarities with Ottoman policies. Serious reforms should be accepted by these countries: for the safety of its citizens. Everyone should be able to live in a free and world.