The Ottoman Empire
On the decline and collapse of the Ottoman empire.
In the end, the Ottoman Empire fell because of a combination of reasons. The most dominating factor being that it’s neighboring powers had become much stronger than theirs. First, the Ottoman’s lacked advanced military techniques and equipment. Second, the Ottoman economy suffered when the new trade routes bypassed their territory, and finally, the Ottoman’s failed to industrialize. During it’s decline The Ottoman Empire earned the title “The Sick Man of Europe”, and it is clear why. The Ottoman Empire did try to correct all the weaknesses it possessed, but it proved to be too late. Despite the decline and collapse of the Ottoman Empire prior to 1566 (the fist period of Ottoman history) it was a strong empire with cultural growth and impressive economic expansion, but with all great empires there is an end.
Works Cited
Davison, Roderic H.. Essays in Ottoman and Turkish History, 1774-1923. London: Saqi Books, 2001.
Faroqhi, Suraiya. Approaching Ottoman History: An Introduction to the Sources. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
“Global Issues: The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire.” Global Issues: social, political, economic and environmental issues that affect us all. http://www.globalissues.org (accessed November 10, 2007).
Grant, Jonathan. “Rethinking the Ottoman “Decline” Military Technology Diffusion in the Ottoman Empire, Fifteenth to Eighteenth Centuries.” Journal of World History 1 (1999): 179-199, www.jstor.org
Itzkowitz, Norman. Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition (Phoenix Book). Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 1980.
Lewis, Bernard. “Some Reflections on the Decline of the Ottoman Empire.” Studia Islamica 9 (1958): 111-127, www.jstor.org.
Palmer, Alan. The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire. New York: M. Evans And Company, Inc., 1993.
Sicker, Martin. The Islamic World in Decline: From the Treaty of Karlowitz to the Disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2000.
1 Chicago Style writing format states that encyclopedia references and lecture references do not need to be cited at the end of a paper ,therefore, I will cite them in an endnote:
“Ottoman Empire.” Columbia Encyclopedia. 2007. Highbeam Encyclopedia. 09 Nov. 2007 .
Searcy, Kim. “The Ottoman Empire.” HIST 104 – Global History. Loyola University Chicago, Chicago. Fall 2007.
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Post CommentHead Hunter
On October 11, 2008 at 5:29 pm
The decline of the Ottoman Empire can be directly linked to the shift in relative economic power. The route around Africa that granted Europeans access to goods from the Indian subcontinent, Indonesian islands, and other Asian markets. For centuries, the Empires and Dynasties that controlled the trade routes in the region that the Ottoman occupied benefited economically from the transfer of goods between the people of the west and east. European powers, especially the British, established trade routes that did not require goods passing through Ottoman land, and thus decreased the wealth that the Ottoman received through trade.
A large part of the Ottoman decline can also be attributed to the influx of gold from South America. This led to the inflation of prices in the regions. By 1870, the Ottoman Dynasty was bankrupt due to lost revenue from trade as well as higher costs to do business.
So in short, Ottoman decline should not be only seen as how much territory it holds but as how much commercial influence it has over the region. This is the determining factor for how they tax their people, assemble and maintain the core of their army, conduct war, negotiate politically with other powers, and even who has the most influence politically within the Ottoman Dynasty.