A Review of The “Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition” by Norman Itzkowitz
by When Norman Itzkowitz wrote the Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition he intended to provide his readers with a well focused overview of the rise and the subsequent decline of the Ottoman Empire from the fourteenth century through to the early decades of the twentieth century.
The decline of the Ottoman Empire was arguably accelerated by the rising might of European powers that directly or indirectly threatened its interests as well as its territories. Some of these European powers that weakened the Ottoman Empire would have been regarded as insignificant during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries, for example Great Britain, and Russia. The more established powers of the Habsburgs and France also went on to threaten the security and territories of the Ottoman Empire on various occasions. For instance the Habsburgs were interested in gaining territories that they claimed to have a dynastic right to rule over.
Undoubtedly it was Russia that was the largest gainer of spoils from the decline of the
Ottoman Empire as its own military power increased. From the reign of Peter the Great the Russians took territory away from the Ottoman Empire including the Black Sea as well as around the Crimea, and the Caucuses. Great Britain and France took advantage of Ottoman weakness to construct the Suez Canal without formally taking territory off the Sultan. The British were actually weary of Russian expansion so did not want the Ottoman Empire to become too weak. Indeed Great Britain and France were allied to the Ottoman Empire during the Crimean War to prevent Russia gaining further territory in the Crimean region. Ironically Great Britain and France were allied to Russia against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.
Another factor highlighted in the decline of the Ottoman Empire was the spread of nationalism in some of its colonies especially in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe. The Nineteenth century witnessed the majority of Europeans within the Ottoman Empire gaining their independence. Nationalism was spread by the ideals of the French Revolution and the Greeks were the first to gain independence in the 1830s.
By the end of the 1870s Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia had all gained their independence from the Ottoman Empire. These countries argued with each other and also Austro-Hungary over parts of the Ottoman Empire, inadvertently causing the First World War. In the Middle East Egypt had also left the Ottoman Empire yet de facto British control made Egyptian independence more apparent than real. The territories that the Ottoman Empire lost during the course of the Nineteenth century and the first decade of the Twentieth century meant that it was critically weakened. However Ottoman Turk military resilience during the First World War surprised its opponents, and contributed to Russia’s defeat on the Eastern Front.
Bibliography
R. Bideleux and I. Jeffries (1998), A History of Eastern Europe, Crisis and Change, Routledge Books
R Fisk (2006) The Great War For Civilisation, The Conquest of The Middle East, Harper
N Itzkowitz, Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition
R Lewis, (1971) Everyday Life in Ottoman Turkey, Batsford
J.M. Roberts, (1996) A History of Europe, Helicon Publishing Ltd
Liked it
