Ottoman Empire

Flag of Ottoman Empire

(Ottoman Sublime State)

خلافت مقامى

(Ottoman Caliphate)

(Ottoman Empire)

The **Ottoman Empire** (Turkish: *Osmanlı İmparatorluğu*) officially the **Ottoman Sublime State** (Turkish: *Devlet-i ʿAlīye-i ʿOsmānīye*), sometimes just called the **Ottomans**, it has another official name **Ottoman Caliphate** (Turkish: *Hilâfet makamı)* secondly founded in 1517. The Ottoman Empire is the largest state in the Middle East, sometimes considered European, due to its culture even though it is of Central Asian origin, it has a culture close to European and Arab, creating an exotic culture, mixing Turkish, Arab and other groups minors and European cultures, although it is not a Mixed State. The Ottoman Empire also has the title of Sick State, as its instability is very high, along with a probability of a Coup d'Etat against the government, which, despite being a Constitutional Monarchy, this was technically because the Sultan and Caliph still had powers beyond the theoretical ones.

The Ottoman Empire borders the Kingdom of Greece, Principality of Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia and Kingdom of Montenegro along the Ottoman Balkans, Ottoman Arabia and Eastern Anatolia, the Ottoman Empire borders the Iranian (Persian) Empire, and its Satellite State Emirate of Jabal Shammar. The Ottomans have an alliance with the French, in addition to the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II and the French Emperor Napoleon IV are friends, not exactly, but they have close relations.

## History

### Decline of Ottoman Empire

#### Napoleonics Wars Era and Beginig of Pax Britannica

During the beginning of the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire employed a policy of modernizing the Ottoman army due to recent defeats and revolts, among these revolts, the Janissaries, the Elite Ottoman Army, revolted against the reforms established by the Sultan and Caliph Selim III ( 1789-1807), his efforts to quell the revolt cost him his throne and his life, but they were not in vain, as his successor the Sultan and Caliph Mahmud II dissolved the Janissaries in 1826.

In 1804 the Ottoman Empire found itself having a (two) revolt(s) in Serbia, from 1804 to 1815, although the Ottoman Empire won the (first and second) revolt, it was still obliged to cede autonomy to Serbia, practically giving diplomatic and strategic victory for Serbia. At the same time, the year of the revolt, the United States, Sicily and Sweden joined against the Ottomans and their Berber Corsairs, and the United States won, in 1806 the Ottoman Empire and Russian Empire entered into another new Russo-Turkish/Russian War -Ottoman from 1806 to 1812 which ended in Russian victory, the Ottoman Empire was forced to cede Bessarabia from the Principality of Moldavia to Russia, Greece revolted in 1821, and again the Ottomans lost, thus establishing the First Greek Republic, the French invaded Deylik of Algiers in 1830, this campaign lasted 21 days with French Victory.

#### 1830 - Currently days.

In 1831 the Governor of Ottoman Egypt declared war on the Ottoman Empire because he wanted to be Governor of Greater Syria, in this conflict the Ottoman Empire was supported by the Russians (in 1833) and they still lost, but there were no territorial changes, except between the Eyalets and Vilayets, with Greater Syria being delivered to Eyalet of Egypt. In 1839, the Ottomans occupied Syria under the possessions of Muhammad Ali Pasha, the governor of Egypt (1805-1848) starting the Second Egyptian-Ottoman War, where the Ottoman Empire was supported by Prussia, Austria and the British Empire, while the Egypt was supported by France and Spain, victory was achieved by the Ottomans in 1841, Egypt's Eyalet lost Crete and Greater Syria.

In 1853 the Crimean War began, which resulted in the Ottoman defeat and an overseas debt of £5 million, in 1860 Serbia, Wallachia and Moldavia moved towards de jure independence, in 1876 the Ottomans repressed a Bulgarian revolt, influencing the occurrence of the Russo-Ottoman War of 1877 and in about a year Russia defeated the Ottoman Empire, resulting in the independence creation of the Principality of Bulgaria, in 1878 the Austro-Hungarians occupied the provinces of Bosina-Hezergovina and Novi Pazar. Surprisingly the British Empire supported the Ottoman possessions in the Balkan Peninsula, on the ideas of the British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, in return the British received the administration of the Island of Cyprus.

### Establishing Relationships with the French

Emperor Napoleon III had begun campaigns of rapprochement with the Ottoman Empire, with the problem being that in the reign of Napoleon III relations between the Ottoman Empire and the French Empire could be considered unstable, as the French supported a rebel governor in 1850 and invaded an Ottoman quasi-possession in Africa, the Deylik of Algiers.

In the 1870s, but specifically after 1871, the French Empire was determined to approach the Ottoman Empire, as they had a common enemy, the famous Russian Empire, which began to approach Prussia, finally putting stability in the relations, on the death of Napoleon III, Napoleon IV was far more adept at aligning himself with the Ottomans, Napoleon IV provided gifts and state visits to the Ottoman Empire, in 1878 the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II paid a visit to France in connection to witness the wedding of Napoleon IV to Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom. Hamid II and Napoleon IV became close leaders, being seen as ruling friends, although this is not the case, after all, each one has its own interest, such as the Ottoman Empire in recovering its lost possessions, and the French Empire interested in its own beatings in Africa, including having interests in Ottoman territories.

The 1880s were marked by a more aggressive rapprochement between both empires, with the French helping the Ottomans with training, due to the paranoia of the Sultan, who did not mobilize and many of the Ottomans were trained by the French, although the Sultan noticed that French tactics were already somewhat backward. In 1883 some Ottoman generals went to some German States in order to learn, in which they learned about army organization and etc, the Prussian Baron General Colmar von der Goltz, noticed the presence of important people of the Ottoman Empire, and tried to persuade them that in case of conflict they acted on their own and attacked a French ship, but then they returned to the Ottoman Empire, some with this doubt in mind, until they realized that it was not worth it as the 1890s approached.

### Abdul Hamid II the Damned

The Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II, popularly known as Abdul Hammid, the Accursed, was known for his paranoia and cruelty, Abdul Hammid had an immense paranoia to mobilize his own army, fearing that this would lead to a coup against him, practically preventing that his army would act in some war over the penalty of being just a theater for them to give him a coup, but even so, he saw a need for military mobilization. In 1883 the French Emperor Napoleon IV visited the Ottoman Empire in order to try to maintain good relations between both Empires.

Abdul Hamid II, popularly known as Abdul Hammid, the Accursed, was known for his paranoia and cruelty, Abdul Hammid had an immense paranoia to mobilize his own army, fearing that this would lead to a coup against him, practically preventing that his army would act in a war under penalty of being just a theater for them to give him a coup, but even so he saw the need for military mobilization. In 1883, French Emperor Napoleon IV visited the Ottoman Empire to try to maintain good relations between the two empires, Napoleon IV and Hamid II were organizing a military exercise, but this time the French Emperor was impatient, as the Ottoman Empire did almost nothing , or attended military exercises, then opting to hold one on Ottoman territory.

From 1894 to 1896, Sultan Abdul Hammid II ordered massacres of Armenians (one of several throughout Ottoman history) in the so-called Hamidian Massacres.

## Leadership

The Ottoman Empire is an Absolutist Monarchy, established by Hamid II in 1878, its policy is antiquated and has a very high chance of a Coup d'Etat. Still, the Ottoman Empire finds itself under the constant influence of the Pasha family who hold the position of Grand Vizier, a position similar to Prime Minister, but at the moment, it is not a position admitted as leadership.

**(*Osmanlı padişahları)***