None of this could have been achieved under pre-war conditions. In the Caucasus, similarly, expansion of territory and influence was seen as a means of enhancing Ottoman security against Russia.
Early plans in this direction came to nothing, as in Ottoman forces in the Caucasus were driven onto the defensive, and in pushed back into central Anatolia. With the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk , the Ottoman Empire recovered not only all territory lost to Russia since , but also three Transcaucasian provinces which had been lost in By then, however, it was becoming clear that Russia had lost effective control of the Caucasus region to a quasi-independent Transcaucasian republic, which in turn would shortly dissolve into separate Georgian, Armenian, and Azeri states.
These developments presented the Ottoman Empire with an opportunity and a threat. The opportunity was to push Russia as far away from Ottoman borders as possible, and hold it at bay through a chain of intermediary or buffer states; unsurprisingly, the Ottoman government fully supported the creation of an independent Ukraine. Hence the decision to press on beyond the Brest-Litovsk line, despite the violent objections of Germany, which had its own ambitions in the region, and was anxious not to jeopardise its relations with Russia.
By September Ottoman forces had reached the Caspian at Baku. The aim, it seems, was not general annexation, but the establishment of Ottoman political hegemony in the region, embracing not only the Muslim populations of Azerbaijan and the northern Caucasus, but Georgia and Armenia as well.
Attempts were even made to establish contacts over the Caspian in Russian Turkistan, but these were never more than exploratory.
To the east, the Ottoman government aimed to extend its political influence into Iran and Afghanistan. Even before the war, Iran had posed a threat to Ottoman security, with a weak central government, Russian forces occupying much of the north of the country, and British influence strong in the south. The hope was to draw the Iranian government into alliance, or to stimulate a popular uprising which would produce the same result.
Ottoman ambitions in North Africa were focused on the recovery of the provinces of Egypt , occupied by the British since , and Tripolitania, occupied by the Italians since Both provinces were beyond the effective reach of Ottoman forces.
Early hopes that the appearance of a small Ottoman expeditionary force on the Suez Canal might set off a popular uprising in Egypt were swiftly disappointed. Ottoman troops contributed to stopping the Russian onslaught in Galicia and knocking Romania quickly out of the war. Despite high casualty numbers and almost an equally high number of deserters, the final defeat of the Ottoman Army, unlike its allies, did not bring a total disintegration of its fighting formations as a whole.
Most frontline units, though seriously thinned in ranks, managed to preserve their discipline and cohesion to a certain extent. This especially proved vital during the Turkish War of Independence , when former Ottoman officers and their units took up arms against the invasion of Anatolia.
International Encyclopedia of the First World War, ed. DOI : Version 1. DOI: I], Ankara , pp. Uyar, Mesut and Erickson, Edward J. Erickson, Ordered to Die , pp. Belen, Birinci Cihan Harbinde , pp. Belen, Fahri: This entrenched view has recently been challenged by Michael A.
Reynolds argues that the Ottoman grand strategy showed little concern for the Pan-Turkist cause and the Ottoman decision makers wished not to establish Ottoman dominance in the Caucasus but rather to assist in the creation of independent states in Transcaucasia, which would serve as a buffer zone between Russia and the Ottoman Empire.
See Reynolds, Shattering Empires , pp. When the Germans tried to prevent the Ottoman movements in Georgia, a diplomatic crisis erupted and armed clashes took place between the two allies. Reynolds, Shattering Empires , p. Ives , p. Upon receiving orders from Istanbul to avoid any conflict with the British, the commander of the Ottoman 6th Army, Ali Ihsan Pasha , gave orders to evacuate the city after issuing a formal protest. Cilt I. V Book I], Ankara , pp.
Cilt III. Erickson, Edward J. Koral, Necmi et al. Ottoman Period. X], Ankara , pp. Broadbent, Harvey: Gallipoli. A comparative study , London; New York Routledge. McMeekin, Sean: The Ottoman endgame. Reynolds, Michael A. Rogan, Eugene L. Shaw, Stanford J. Triumph and tragedy , volume 2, Ankara Turkish Historical Society. Metadata Subjects. Author Keywords. GND Subject Headings.
LC Subject Headings. Rameau Subject Headings. Regional Section s. The British ruled millions of Muslims throughout the world; jihad could lead to colonial rebellion. Advanced Search. Privacy Copyright. Skip to main content. Digital Commons Salve Regina. The Ottomans learned and practiced advanced mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, physics, geography and chemistry. Additionally, some of the greatest advances in medicine were made by the Ottomans. They invented several surgical instruments that are still used today, such as forceps, catheters, scalpels, pincers and lancets.
When a new Sultan was crowned, his brothers would be imprisoned. This system ensured that the rightful heir would take the throne. But, not every Sultan followed this harsh ritual. Over time, the practice evolved. In the later years, the brothers would only be put in prison—not killed.
A total of 36 Sultans ruled the Ottoman Empire between and For many of these years, the Ottoman Sultan would live in the elaborate Topkapi palace complex in Istanbul. It contained dozens of gardens, courtyards and residential and administrative buildings.
Part of the Topkapi palace included the harem, a separate quarters reserved for wives, concubines and female slaves. These women were positioned to serve the Sultan, while the men in the harem complex were typically eunuchs. The threat of assassination was always a concern for a Sultan. He relocated every night as a safety measure. Some millets paid taxes, while others were exempt.
In the 14th century, the devshirme system was created. This required conquered Christians to give up 20 percent of their male children to the state. The children were forced to convert to Islam and become slaves. Although they served as slaves, some of the converts became powerful and wealthy.
Many were trained for government service or the Ottoman military. The elite military group, known as the Janissaries, was primarily made up of forced Christian converts.
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