REFORM AND CHANGE IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (1700-1922)

Course Content: This course examines the transformation of the Ottoman political order with a particular focus on the reforms from 1700 to 1922. It investigates the major political and economic reforms in a period when European pressure increasingly mounted over the empire. The purpose of this course is two-fold: First is to show that the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire was not inevitable; the Ottoman Empire proved quite adaptable in transforming its political system in line with global changes between the 18th and 20th centuries. Second, the political change in the Ottoman Empire did not merely stem from the “West.” While the Ottomans increasingly interacted with countries and empires in Western Europe and elsewhere, they did not simply “copy” and “paste” the Western political systems into their reform movement. Instead, they developed their own peculiar response to internal and external challenges that necessitated the introduction of reforms. Major topics to be considered in this course include Nizâm-ı Cedid reforms, the rise of nationalism in the Balkans, the centralization attempts of the Tanzimat period, the rise of the constitutional movement, the revival of Islamism in the era of Abdulhamid II, and the emergence of Young Turks and the rise of Committee of Union and Progress. At the end of this course, students will develop an understanding of the Ottoman political change in relation to global developments and identify the distinct characteristics of the Ottoman reforms.