Skip to main content

Full text of "The Ottoman Turks"

See other formats 


l,^l';iifi':M»  '/.I' 


■CO 


CD 


CO 


''  c 


THE 


OTTOMAN   TURKS 


SELL 


CBRISTIAN  LITERATURE   SOCIETY  FOR    INDIA 

London        Madras        Colombo         Calcutta        Rangoon 

1915 

Sup  pi'' 

v.    ,-..-1;.-   1  . 


GENERAL   EDITOR 
T5ht  ^«».  (TanoR  Sell.  "3>.T>..  !Jtt.5l.'::\.S. 


THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 


Supplied  by 

MINAR  BOOK  AGENCY 

Exporters  of  Books  &  Periodicals 

i04,  Ghadial)'  Building,  Saddar 

KARACHI-3.   PAKISTAN 


THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 


BY 


The  Rev.  CANON  SELL,  d.d.,  m.r.a.s. 

FELLOW  OF  THE   UNIVERSITY  OF   MADRAS 

AUTHOR    OF    'the    FAITH    OF    ISLAM".    '  THE  RECENSIONS  OF 

THE    QUR'AN  ',    'THE    RELIGIOUS     ORDERS     OF     ISLAM", 

'  THE    HISTORICAL     DEVELOPMENT    OF     THE 

QUR'AN  ',     'the     LIFE    OF     MUHAMMAD", 

'THE    CULT    OF    'aLI',    'MUSLIM 

CONQUESTS    IN    SPAIN  ",    ETC. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  SOCIETY  FOR  INDIA 

MADRAS        ALLAHABAD        CALCUTTA        COLOMBO 

1915 


A 


S.    p.    C.    K.    PRESS,    VEPERY,     MADRAS — 1915 


DR 


c  ,, 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I. — THE    RISE   OF   THE    EMPIRE           ...  ...  1 

II. — THE    DECLINE    OF   THE    EMPIRE  ...  64 

III. — APPENDIX    A — THE   OTTOMAN    SULTANS  ...  127 

IV. — APPENDIX     B— OTTOMAN     SLAVERY    AS  AN 

IMPERIAL   ASSET         ...                 ...  ...  129 

V. — APPENDIX    C — OTTOMAN    LITERATURE  ...  133 

VI. — INDEX                  ...                 ...                 ...  ...  137 


Our  empire  is  the  House  of  Islam;  from  father  to 
son  the  lamp  of  our  empire  is  kept  burning  with  oil 
from  the  hearts  of  the  infidels. 

Sultan  Muhammad,  the  Conqueror 


THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

I.     THE  RISE  OF  THE  EMPIRE 

Amongst  the  numerous  nomad  races  of  Central 
Asia  there  were  two  great  tribes — the  Mongols  and 
the  Turks — who  in  the  thirteenth  century  overran 
a  great  part  of  the  MusHm  empire  and  penetrated 
beyond  it.  Hulagu  Khan  captured  Baghdad,  the 
seat  of  the  renowned  'Abbasid  Khalifate,  and  the 
Mongols  soon  overran  the  Syrian  empire  of  Saladin, 
which  had  come  now  under  the  rule  of  the  Mam- 
luk  Sultans  of  Egypt.  The  Mongols  on  different 
occasions  made  several  ineffectual  attempts  to  invade 
Egypt,  and  were  repulsed  by  the  bravery  of  the 
Mamluks  ; '  but  they  entered  Europe  and  advanced 
as  far  as  Hungary.  They  were  nomads  and,  as  a 
rule,  could  not  settle  down ;  so  after  ravaging  a 
country  they  usually  retired  from  it.  For  a  time, 
however,  they  retained  possessions  in  China,  and, 
as  the  Golden  Horde,  ruled  in  the  Crimea  ;  but 
they  left  no  permanent  mark  on  the  Muslim  empire 
of  the  Khalifate  ;  and  so  we  may  pass  them  by. 

1  See  The  Mamluks  in  Egypt  (C.L.S.).  pp-  10,  17,  21,  34. 


2  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

The  other  branch  of  these  great  nomad  bar- 
barians, the  Turks,  did  otherwise.  They  supplied 
the  Khalifas  of  Baghdad  with  mercenary  troops  who 
soon  became  the  rulers  of  their  nominal  masters. 
As  imported  slaves  they  attained  also  to  royal  power 
in  Egypt.  They  founded  a  dynasty  at  Ghazni  and 
captured  Khurasan  where  they  created  the  empire 
of  the  Seljuk  Turks.  Then  came  the  great  Mongol 
invasion  under  Chengiz  Khan  driving  the  Turks 
further  south  and  west.  Their  clans  under  the 
names  of  the  White  and  Black  Weir  (sheep)  ex- 
ercised much  influence  in  the  thirteenth  century. 

The  Muslim  empire  at  that  time  had  almost 
passed  away  from  its  old  Arab  rulers.  The  Mongols 
had  subdued  Persia  and  advanced  to  the  regions  of 
the  Volga  and  the  Ural  mountains,  whilst  Turks 
ruled  in  Asia  Minor  and  Turkish  Mamluks  held 
Egypt.  Against  these  two  Turkish  powers  the 
Mongols  could  do  nothing.  The  Seljuk  Sultans  of 
Iconium  and  the  Mamluks  of  Egypt  held  their  own 
and  remained  when  all  fear  of  the  Mongols  had 
passed  away.  Amongst  the  tribes  which  followed 
the  Seljuks  was  one  which  was  led  by  its  chief 
Ertoghul.  It  so  happened  that  one  day  Ertoghul 
was  proceeding  with  a  small  band  of  men  in  the 
direction  of  Anatolia,  where  he  unexpectedly  came 
upon  a  battlefield  ^Angora)  in  which  the  Seljuk 
Sultan  was  contending  against  a  strong  and  deter- 
mined foe.     At  once  Ertoghul  and  his  four  hundred 


'uthmAn  3 

men  joined  in  the  conflict  and  helped  to  gain  a 
victory  for  the  Seljuks.  On  another  occasion  also 
they  rendered  valuable  military  assistance.  The 
Sultan  in  return  for  this  welcome  aid  allowed  them 
to  settle  on  land  where  good  pasturage  and  suit- 
able winter  quarters  were  found.  This  was  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Angora  and  not  far  from  the 
boundaries  of  the  Byzantine  province  of  Bithynia. 

In  1258,  the  year  in  which  Baghdad  fell,  'Uth- 
man,  the  son  of  Ertoghul,  was  born.  In  due  course 
he  asserted  his  absolute  independence,  and  founded 
the  dynasty  of  the  'Uthmanulis,  or  as  they  are 
better  known,  the  Ottoman  Turks.  With  them 
our  history  begins.  Thirty-five  Sultans  of  the 
Ottoman  Turks  have  succeeded  Ertoghul  in  the 
male  line  without  a  break. 

Ertoghul  died  in  1288  and  'Uthman  became  head 
of  the  clan  ;  in  the  same  year  Orkhan,  son  of 
'Uthman,  was  born.  The  years  of  the  earlier  man- 
hood of  'Uthman  had  been  peaceable  ones,  during 
which  he  established  a  reputation  for  administrative 
ability  and  for  justness  in  his  rule.  .\t  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fourteenth  century  the  Seljuk  empire 
which  was  split  up  into  ten  states  had  begun 
to  fall  into  decay.  Many  of  its  feudatory  vassals 
aspired  to  independent  rule  over  domains  of  their 
own.  'Uthman  remained  firm  in  his  allegiance  and 
as  a  reward,  in  1295,  the  Seljuk  Sultan  'Ala'u'd-din 
Kaikobad  II  made  him  a    ruler  over   a   territory   he 


4  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

had  that  year  conquered,  and  presented  him  with 
the  horse-tail,  drum  and  banner,  which  were  the 
insignia  of  independent  rule.  His  name  was  now 
inserted  in  the  Friday  prayers.  The  date  1295 
may  be  considered  to  mark  the  beginning  of  the 
Ottoman  empire.  Graduall}-,  however,  the  Otto- 
mans began  to  absorb  the  domains  of  the  Seljuks, 
but  the  process  was  not  completed  till  some  years 
after  'Uthman's  death.  When  the  Seljuk  dynasty 
had  become  extinct,  there  was  no  power  left  suffici- 
ently strong  to  curb  the  ambition  of  the  Ottomans, 
though  the  stronger  among  the  ten  states  which 
arose  out  of  the  Seljuk  empire  successfully  resisted 
them  for  a  time. 

The  Ottomans  now  turned  their  attention  to  the 
easier  work  of  in\ading  the  neighbouring  Christian 
lands,  and  the  conflict  with  the  Greek  emperor 
began  in  earnest.  The  inroads  were  frequent  and 
each  campaign  attracted  \-ohniteers  to  'Uthman's 
service  and  increased  the  number  of  his  captives. 
As  the  Mongols  had  so  frequently  done,  he  did  not 
after  such  forays  return  to  a  pastoral  life,  but 
fortified  the  places  he  had  captured  and  so  showed 
his  intention  of  remaining  in  the  newly  conquered  ter- 
ritory. After  years  of  w  arfare,  the  city  of  Brusa  ^ 
was  captured    in    1326.      'Uthman   was  now   in    his 

'  Brusa  is  situated  thirteen  miles  south  of  the  Sea  of  Marmora. 
It  was  the  capital  of  the  ancient  kingdom  of  P>ithynia.  The 
population  now  is  about  37,000. 


OKKHAN  5 

last  illness,  but  he  lived  long  enough  to  know  that 
his  standard  had  been  [planted  in  the  city  he  had 
so  long  wished  to  capture,  and  which  now  becanne 
the  capital  of  his  growing  kingdom.  He  w^as 
buried  within  its  walls.  He  was  the  real  founder 
of  the  Ottoman  empire  and  each  successive  Sultan 
is  girded  with  the  sword  of  'Uthman,  preserved 
in  Constantinople  for  that  purpose. 

'Uthman  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Orkhan 
(1326-59) .  The  Christian  inhabitants  of  Brusa 
were  spared  their  lives  on  payment  of  a  ransom 
of  thirt\-  thousand  crowns  of  gold.  A  mosque 
and  a  college  were  built,  and  .\rabic  and  Persian 
scholars  of  repute  were  invited  to  the  city  which 
now  became  the  capital  of  the  Ottomans. 

'Uthman  had  two  sons  'Ala'u'd-din  and  Orkhan. 
The  latter,  though  the  younger  son,  became  the  ruler 
on  account  of  his  martial  vigour.  Having  established 
himself  at  Brusa,  he  paid  little  attention  to  the 
smaller  states  which  had  arisen  in  Asia  out  of  the 
late  Seljuk  kingdom,  preferring  to  attract  the  mem- 
bers of  them  by  the  superior  organization  of  his 
own  territories  and  by  victorious  campaigns  against 
the  Greeks,  which  in  due  time  he  undertook.  At 
first,  he  directed  his  time  and  energies  to  the  captur- 
ing of  the  Greek  strongholds  in  Asia.  In  a  few 
years  Nicomedia,  Meacea  and  Pergamos  were  added 
to  his  dominions,  and  after  the  defeat  of  the  emper- 
or  Andronicus  the   Ottoman    kingdom   extended   to 


6  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

the  shores  of  the  Hellespont,  and  the  Byzantines 
retained  in  1338  only  two  towns — Ala  Shair  and 
Rega.  Orkhan  behaved  well  to  the  people  of  the 
conquered  cities.  When  Meacea  was  taken,  the 
people  were  allowed  to  retire  with  all  their  goods  ; 
an  act  of  clemency  which  won  the  admiration  of  the 
Greeks  for  their  conqueror. 

Having  thus  gained  control  of  the  whole  of  the 
north-west  corner  of  Asia  Minor  and  the  command 
of  one  shore  of  the  Bosphorus,  Orkhan  was  content 
to  rest  for  a  while.  He  now  saw  clearly  that  the 
conquest  of  the  Byzantine  empire  would  be  arduous 
and  prolonged,  and  that  the  best  way  to  ensure 
final  success  was  to  consolidate  his  dominions,  im- 
prove his  administration,  and  organize  an  efficient 
army.  In  these  endeavours  twenty  3'ears  of  peace 
passed  by.  'Ala'u'd-din  was  appointed  Vizier,  and 
it  is  to  his  efforts  that  the  success  of  the  administra- 
tion and  the  formation  of  an  army  were  largely  due. 

The  old  plan  had  been  for  the  chiefs  of  the  clans 
to  summon  their  men  to  w  ar,  and  when  the  campaign 
was  over  the  soldiers  returned  home  and  pursued 
their  avocations.  This  plan  was  now  changed 
entirely.  Instead  of  this  somewhat  uncertain  and 
untrained  force  a  standing  army  was  formed  in  which 
besides  the  Ottomans,  man}-  Seljuks  and  members 
of  other  nomad  tribes  w  ere  enrolled.  A  paid  corps 
of  infantry,  called  the  Piyade  was  formed.  Their 
wages  were  small,  but   they  were  given  lands  on  the 


THE  MILITARY  SYSTEM  7 

condition  that  they  were  always  read}'  for  active 
service.  They  were  rude  soldiers  and  not  always 
amenable  to  discipline  ;  so  a  regiment  one  thousand 
strong  was  formed  from  the  boys  of  the  Christian 
families  conquered  in  the  wars  and  made  captives. 
Every  }ear  for  centuries  after  a  thousand  Christian 
youths  were  thus  taken  and  trained  as  soldiers.  A 
special  officer,  the  Tournaji  Basha,  made  periodical 
visits  to  all  the  provinces  for  this  purpose ;  later  on 
youths  from  Albania,  Bosaia  and  Bulgaria  were  pre- 
ferred. When  the  captives  were  not  sufficient  the 
Christian  subjects  had  to  give  up  their  sons  until  the 
required  number  was  made  up.  After  1648  this  levy 
ceased  as  the  children  of  the  men  enrolled  were  suffi- 
cient for  the  purpose.  The  lads  were  brought  up  as 
Muslims,  ^^■ere  carefully  trained  under  the  strictest 
discipline  and  well  rewarded  when  their  courage 
and  conduct  deserved  it.  '  Cut  off  from  all  ties  of 
countr}-,  kith  and  kin,  but  with  high  pay  and  pri- 
vileges, with  opportunities  for  military  advancement 
and  for  the  gratification  of  the  violent  and  the  sen- 
sual passions  of  their  animal  natures,  this  military 
brotherhood  grew  up  to  be  the  strongest  and  fiercest 
instrument  of  imperial  ambition,  which  remorseless 
fanaticism,  prompted  by  the  most  subtle  statecraft, 
ever  devised  upon  earth.' ^ 

^  Creasy,  History  of  tlic  Ottotuan   Turks  (ed.  London,   1854). 
vol.  i,  p.  23. 


8  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

Thus  the  famous  corps  of  the  Janissaries  was  form- 
ed in  the  year  1328.  The  Sultan  sought  religious 
sanction  for  his  action.  The  services  of  a  vener- 
able Shaikh  of  the  Baktashiyya  Order  of  Der- 
wishes  were  called  in,  and  Hajji  Baktash  blessed 
the  boys  by  putting  the  sleeve  of  his  robe  on  the 
head  of  one  of  them  in  such  a  way  that  it  hung 
down  his  back,  and  then  addressing  the  Sultan 
said  :  '  The  militia  which  you  have  just  created  shall 
be  called  Yeni  Cheri  (new  troops)  ;  its  figures  shall 
be  fair  and  shining,  its  arm  redoubtable,  its  sword 
sharp.  It  shall  be  victorious  in  all  battles  and  ever 
return  triumphant."  To  commemorate  the  blessing 
bestowed  by  the  sleeve  of  Hajji  Baktash,  the  Janis- 
saries wore  a  white  felt  cap,  with  a  piece  of  the  same 
material  pendant  on  their  backs. 

In  addition  to  the  Piyade  and  the  Janissaries  an 
irregular  force  of  infantry  was  formed,  whose  sad 
and  peculiar  duty  it  was  to  bear  the  first  brunt  of  an 
attack  ;  and  when  they  were  cut  down  or  severely 
treated,  the  Janissaries  rushed  on  over  their  dead 
bodies  to  attack  the  now  possibly  disorganized 
enemy.  A  select  body  of  horse  soldiers  called 
Sipahis  (Sepoys),  who  held  lands  on  a  feudal 
tenure,  completed  the  army. 

Having  now  formed  this  useful  arm}',  Orkhan  was 
able  to  think  of  further  conquests.     On  the  opposite 

'  Sell,   The  Religions  Orders  of  I^hifii,  p.  5. 


THE  DYZANTINE  EMPIRE  '9 

shore  of  the  Hosphorus  nas  the  beautiful  city  of 
Constantinople.  Naturally  his  thoughts  turned  that 
way.  The  Byzantine  empire  had  now  lost  much  of 
its  grandeur  and  much  of  its  power.  As  a  result  of 
civil  wars  many  provinces  had  been  lost,  and  in 
Constantinople  sedition  was  rife  and  rival  factions 
deprived  the  emperors  of  an)-  real  power.  '  The 
property  of  the  Greeks  was  plundered,  their  landed 
estates  were  contiscated,  and  even  their  families 
were  often  sold  into  slavery.  The  landed  property 
and  the  military  power,  with  the  social  influence  they 
conferred,  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Serbs,  the 
Albanians,  the  Genoese,  and  the  Ottoman  Turks."' 

The  emperor  Cantacuzemus  gave  his  daughter 
Theodora  in  marriage  to  the  Sultan.  In  order  to 
secure  the  aid  of  the  Turks  they  were  permitted  to 
ravage  a  province,  '^  capture  as  many  Christians  as 
thev  could  and  sell  them  as  slaves.  This  thev  were 
permitted  to  do   in   Constantinople   itself,   and   the 


'  Finlay,  History  of  Greece,  vo).  iii,  p.  441,  ciuoted  by  S. 
Lane-I^oole,    Turkey,  p.  32. 

^  Turks  in  small  bodies  had  many  years  previously  entered  into 
Europe.  In  the  ninth  century  some,  driven  from  their  homes, 
obtained  from  the  emperor  Theophilus  an  asylum  in  Macedonia. 
They  retained  their  military  habits  and  some  formed  part  of  the 
imperial  guard.  In  the  eleventh  century  another  party  settled 
between  the  Dneeper  and  the  Danube,  followed  in  the  twelfth 
century  by  another  band.  They  were  gradually  absorbed  into 
the  general  population,  or  kept  in  check  and  so  gave  no  serious 
trouble.     See  Victor  Berard,  La  Titrquic  (Paris,  1911),  pp.  148-9. 


10  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

distressed  Greeks  saw  their  fellow-Christians  of  both 
sexes  and  of  all  classes  exposed  in  a  public  market, 
and  sold  to  the  highest  bidder  to  be  henceforth 
subject  to  temporal  and  spiritual  bondage.  This 
infamous  treaty  was  the  first  act  in  the  drama  of 
the  downfall  of  the  Byzantine  empire.  Gibbon  thus 
graphically  describes  the  marriage  : — 

A  stately  pa\ilion  was  erected,  in  which  the  empress 
Irene  passed  the  night  with  her  daughters.  In  the 
morning  Theodora  ascended  a  throne  which  was  sur- 
rounded with  curtains  of  silk  and  gold ;  the  troops  were 
under  arms ;  but  the  emperor  alone  was  on  horseback. 
At  a  signal  the  curtains  were  suddenly  withdrawn,  to 
disclose  the  bride,  or  the  victim,  encircled  by  kneeling 
eunuchs  and  hymeneal  torches  ;  the  sound  of  flutes  and 
trumpets  proclaimed  the  joyful  event ;  and  her  pretended 
happiness  was  the  theme  of  the  nuptial  song,  which  was 
chanted  by  such  poets  as  the  age  could  produce.  With- 
out the  rites  of  the  Church,  Theodora  was  delivered  to 
her  barbarous  lord  ;  but  it  had  been  stipulated  that  she 
should  preserve  her  religion  in  the  harem  of  Brusa  ;  and 
her  father  celebrates  her  charity  and  devotion  in  this 
ambiguous  situation.' 

Orkhan   defeated    the  enemies  of  Cantacuzemus, 

and   penetrated  the  country  as  far  as  the  Balkans, 

thus  learning  how  defenceless   it  was  and  what  an 

easy   prey  it  would  prove  to  his  young  and  vigorous 

army.     In    1355    Orkhan    sent    his    son    Suleyman 

Pasha  with   a   small  force  to  cross  the  Hellespont. 

Other  troops  followed  and  the  European  shore  was 

secured  by  the  Ottomans.     The  fortress  of  Gallipole 

1  Gibbon,  Roman  l^n)f>irc  (ed.  London.  1855),  vol.  vii,  p.  145. 


MURAD  I  11 

was  taken  and  other  towns  were  captured.  The 
Ottomans  had  now  come  to  stay.  In  1358  Suleyman 
was  killed  by  a  fall  from  his  horse,  the  news  of 
which  so  affected  his  father  Orkhan  that  he  died 
two  months  after.  He  lived  long  enough  to  prove 
the  value  of  his  military  organization  and  to  test  the 
valour  of  his  new  troops.  The  great  merit  of  all 
Orkhan's  administrative  arrangements  was  that  they 
admitted  of  development  and  extension  as  the  empire 
grew.  Long  after,  when  Muhammad  II  improved 
the  civil  administration  he  based  his  reforms  on 
Orkhan's  institutions  and  made  them  the  model  of 
his  legislation. 

Murad  I  (1359-89),  called  Amurath  by  European 
writers,  succeeded  his  father.  He  was  a  bold  and 
active  warrior  and  soon  seized  an  opportunity  of 
invading  Europe.  By  that  time  the  dominions  of 
the  Greek  empire  had  become  very  much  restricted, 
and  manv  provinces,  afterwards  included  in  the 
Ottoman  empire,  were  under  independent  princes. 
This  probably  postponed  the  fall  of  Constantinople 
for  a  time,  as  they  had  to  be  first  subdued. 

Cantacuzemus  was  now  dead  and  John  Palaeologus 
was  emperor.  He  was  utterly  incapable  of  opposing 
Murad.  In  1361  Adrianople  was  taken  and  in  1467 
it  was  made  the  Turkish  capital  instead  of  Brusa. 
Three  years  later  Philippolis  fell  to  the  Ottomans. 
The  leaders  of  the  various  independent  states  were 
now  alarmed.     These  people  were  far  more  N'igorous 


12'  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

than  the  Greeks;  and  Murad  found  in  the  Serbs, 
Bosnians,  Bulgarians,  Albanians  and  Hungarians 
valiant  and  determined  foes.  In  1364  a  contest 
began,  which  in  modern  days  has  been  renewed  with 
entirely  different  results,  for  it  is  the  Ottomans  who 
have  now  lost  their  pristine  vigour.  Then  an  allied 
army  60,000  strong  was  beaten  by  a  much  smaller 
Ottoman  force  under  Lala  Shahin,  Murad's  com- 
mander-in-chief. 

In  1373  the  Turks  conquered  Macedonia  cross- 
ed the  Balkans  and  captured  Nissa.  The  king  of 
Serbia  had  to  supply  a  contingent  of  troops  and  to 
pay  a  tribute  in  order  to  save  his  kingdom.  The 
ruler  of  Bulgaria  obtained  peace  by  giving  his 
daughter,  which  apparently  he  was  more  ready  to 
do  than  to  part  with  money.  Lala  Shahin  was  made 
a  feudal  lord  over  these  provinces. 

About  this  time  Murad  returned  to  his  Asiatic 
dominions  to  celebrate  the  marriage  of  his  son 
Bayazid,  surnamed  Yildirim,  or  Thunderbolt,  from 
the  energy  he  displayed  in  battle  and  the  quickness 
of  his  movements  in  action.  This  wedding  brought 
a  large  accession  of  territory  in  the  form  of  a 
dowry.  The  absence  of  Murad  in  Asia  was  an 
opportunity  not  to  be  lost,  and  the  Christian  princes, 
vexed  at  the  yearly  drain  of  their  boys  for  the  regi- 
ment of  the  Janissaries,  and  feeling  the  irksomeness 
of  the  tribute  required,  formed  an  alliance  against 
the  Ottomans,  and  in  Bosnia  nearly  annihilated  one 


BATTLE  OF  KOSOVO  13 

of  their  armies.     Murad  and  Bayazid  quickly  return- 
ed and  won  the  great  battle  of  Kosovo  in  1382.     The 
Serbs,  the  Hungarians  and  others  numbered  100,000 
men   and    the   conflict   was  long   and  fierce.     At   a 
council  of  war  it  was  proposed  that  the  camels  of 
the  baggage  train  should  be  placed  in  front  to  form 
a  living  rampart  and  to  confuse  the  horses  of   the 
knights  by  the  smell  which  proceeded  from  them. 
Bayazid    opposed  this    plan,   saying :    '  The  honour 
of  our  flag  requires  that  we  should  meet  the  enemy 
face    to   face.'     His   advice  was  accepted   and    the 
camels  were  sent  to  the  rear.     Bayazid   displayed 
great   valour  and  by  his  brilliant   fighting  and  rapid 
movements  maintained   the  reputation  of  his  name 
Yildirim,  or  Thunderbolt.     The  slaughter  was  great. 
It  was,   however,    a  sad  da}'  for  the  Ottomans,   for 
Milosh  Kobilovich,  a  Serb  soldier,  gained  admittance 
into  the  tent  of  Murad  and  stabbed  him  to  death 
with  a  dagger.     Murad  lived  long  enough  to  give 
orders  for  the  final  charge  of  his  troops  and  for  tlie 
execution   of   Lazarus,   the   king   of   Serbia,   now   a 
prisoner.     The  assassin  was  slain  at  once,  but  his 
work  was  done  and  ever  since  he  has  been  regarded 
by  the   Serbs  as  a  hero.     His   treachery  has  been 
overlooked  because  of  the  value  of  its  result.      It   is 
said  that  in  order  to  prevent  the  repetition  of  such 
an  unfortunate  occurrence  '  a  rule  has  ever  since  been 
prescribed    in   Ottoman  etiquette    that  no  stranger 
shall  be  presented  to  the  Sultan  unless  led  by  two 


14  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

courtiers  who  hold  him  by  the  arms,  and  thus  pre- 
vent any  treacherous  act.  This  precaution  is  no 
longer  insisted  on;  but  even  in  the  present  (i.e.  nine- 
teenth) century  ambassadors  were  not  permitted  to 
approach  the  Sultan  too  closely.'^ 

The  result  of  the  defeat  at  Kosovo  was  that  Serbia 
became  a  province  tributary  to  the  Sultan,  although 
it  was  allowed  to  have  its  own  rulers-  who  assumed 
the  title  of  Despot.  This  state  of  things  continued 
for  about  seventy  years,  when  in  1459  Sultan  Mu- 
hammad II  occupied  Serbia  and  made  it  a  Turkish 
pashalik.  This  ignominious  position  it  held  for 
three  hundred  and  forty-five  years.  In  1804  the 
struggle  for  independence  began  and  after  long  years 
of  conflict  it  was  at  length  successful. 

Constantinople  was  still  spared,  but  the  emperor, 
John  Palaeologus,  and  his  sons  had  to  follow  the 
camp  and  court  of  Murad.  This  humiliation  of  his 
rivals  satisfied  Murad  for  the  present.  A  show  of 
friendship  was  maintained  and  the  emperor  gave  one 
daughter  to  Murad  and  two  others  to  his  sons  Baya- 
zid  and  Ya'qub  Chelebi.  Thus  these  and  other 
princesses  played  their  sorro\\ful  part  in  the  diplo- 
matic game. 

Murad's  son,  Sanji  Bey,  now  governor  of  Brusa, 
concerted  a  plot  with  Andronicus,  son  of  Palaeolo- 
gus, to  dethrone  their  respective  fathers.      It  was  a 

^  S.  Lane-Poole,  Turkey,  p.  45. 


ACCESSION    OF    BAYAZID  I  15 

foolish  thing  to  do  and  was  soon  discovered.  Sanji 
was  executed  ;  and  the  emperor  gave  orders  that 
his  son  should  be  made  blind. 

Murad  was  renowned  for  his  courage,  for  the 
extension  of  his  empire,  and  for  the  love  and  the 
fear  which  his  subjects  bore  towards  him. 

In  the  presence  of  the  victorious  troops  at  Kosovo 
Bayazid  I  (1389-1402)  was  proclaimed  Sultan.  His 
tirst  act  was  to  give  the  order  for  the  execution 
of  his  brother  Ya'qub  Chelebi,  who  had  fought 
bravely  in  the  recent  battle.  He  remembered  how 
his  brother,  Sanji  Be\',  had  plotted  against  Murad 
and  he  was  determined  that  there  should  be  no  family 
plot  against  himself.  It  set  a  mournful  precedent, 
for  henceforward  it  became  the  rule  for  Sultans  on 
their  accession  to  murder  their  brothers.  There 
is  a  text  in  the  Qur'an  which  says,  '  Civil  strife  is 
worse  than  bloodshed  '  [Suratu'l-Baqara  (ii)  214].' 
The  action  of  Bayazid  w  as  probably  a  straining  of 
this  text,  but  assuming  that  '  civil  strife  '  was  likely 
to  follow,  it  gave  some  show  of  authority  for  his 
cruel  deed.  For  many  generations  this  sanction 
was  thus  taken  and  the  result  of  putting  out  of  the 
way  any  possible  male  claimant  to  the  throne  has 
been  that  revolutions  arising  from   family  disputes 

*-^    (fitna)  may  also  be  translated  as  sedition  :  Zamakhsharf 
explains  it  as  '  idolatry  '. 


16  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

have  not  been  common.  In  later  times  these  un- 
fortunate brothers  were  confined  to  the  harems  and 
grew  up  ignorant,  if  not  imbecile.  The  best  mo- 
dern historian  of  Turkish  affairs  has  said  : — 

The  progress  of  civilization  has  rendered  impossible 
the  systematic  murder,  but  not  the  incarceration  of 
brothers  ;  and  the  consequence  is  that  the  crown  may 
devolve  upon  an  elderly  man,  who  has  been  kept  a 
close  prisoner  all  his  life  and  who  has  no  more  experi- 
ence of  the  world  than  a  monk.  If,  when  the  throne 
is  \acant,  any  prince  can,  with  the  aid  of  the  army,  seize 
upon  the  supreme  power,  and  put  his  competitors  out 
of  the  way,  his  title  has  generally  been  accepted  ;  but 
there  is  no  trace  in  Ottoman  history  of  any  attempt  to 
dispute  the  claims  of  the  House  of  Osman  or  to  estab- 
lish a  rival  dynasty.  This  is  clearly  a  great  element 
of  strength  compared  with  the  Christian  kingdoms  with 
which  the  Ottoman  empire  contended  during  many 
centuries,  and  it  doubtless  did  much  to  counterbalance 
the  many  weaknesses  which  ha^•e  always  been  inherent 
in  the  Turkish  rule.' 

Bayazid  continued  his  wars  and  King  Stephen 
of  Serbia  was  compelled  to  sue  for  peace.  In  the 
treaty  which  followed  he  accepted  the  position  of 
a  v^assal,  undertook  to  furnish  a  contingent  of  sol- 
diers to  render  in  person  military  service  to  the  Sul- 
tan, a  task  he  honourably  fulfilled,  and  to  give  his 
sister  to  the  Sultan  for  a  wife.  This  lad}'  was  a 
woman  of  strong  character  and  influence.  It  is  said 
of  her  that  '  of  all  his  wives  he  (Bayazid)  held  her 
dearest,  and  for  her  sake  restored  to  her  brother  the 

^  Odysseus,  Turkey  in  liurope,  p.  119. 


FEUDAL  SYSTEM  ORGANIZED  17 

city  and  castle  of  Semendria,  and  Columbarum  in 
Serbia  ;  she  allured  him  to  drink  wine  forbidden 
by  their  law  and  caused  him  to  delight  in  sump- 
tuous banquets,  which  his  predecessors  never 
did/  ' 

Uskub  was  taken  and  Turks  settled  there  as  colon- 
ists and  a  feudal  system  was  organized,  out  of 
w^hich  grew  the  landed  proprietors,  afterwards  known 
by  the  names  of  Derebeys  and  Pashas.  '^  Wallachia 
was  conquered  in  the  year  1392  and  its  ruler  became 
a  tributary.  When  all  this  had  been  accomplished, 
the  Sultan  was  called  to  his  Asiatic  dominions 
where  trouble  had  arisen.  With  his  usual  rapidity 
he  passed  from  place  to  place  and  soon  secured 
possession  of  all  that  had  belonged  to  the  Seljiik 
kingdom.  To  these  conquests  must  be  added  the 
possession  absolutely,  or  as  tributary  states,  of  many 
countries  in  Europe. 

He  now  determined  to  show  to  the  orthodox 
Sunni  Muslims  his  respect  for  the  House  of  'Abbas 
and  to  have  a  formal  religious  sanction  for  the  high 
position  to  which  he  had  attained.  There  were  now 
'Abbasid  Khalifas  at  Cairo,^  men  devoid  of  real  power, 
kept  to  give  a  sort  of  prestige  to  the  rulers  there. 
From  one  of  these,  at  the  Court  of  the  Mamluk 
Sultan     Burquq,    he    was    invested    with    the    title 

'  Knolles,  quoted  by  S.  Lane-Poole,  Turkey,  p.  49. 

2  See  Victor  Berard,  La  Turqute,  p.  152. 

8  See  Sell,  The  Mamhiks  in  Egypt  (C.L.S.),  p.  7. 

2 


18  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

■of  Sultan.^  He  further  showed  his  religious  zeal, 
by  creating  a  number  of  religious  foundations  in 
the  conquered  provinces.  The  Derwish  Orders  also 
received  much  landed  property  for  the  support  of 
their  zawiyahs  (monasteries)."' 

Manuel,  the  son  of  the  emperor  Palaeologus,  was 
serving  in  the  Ottoman  army,  and  on  hearing  of  his 
father's  death,  he  went  away  secretly  to  Constanti- 
nople and  was  proclaimed  emperor.  This  sudden 
departure  was  an  act  of  military  insubordination 
which  Bayazid  could  not  overlook,  so  he  returned 
to  Europe,  captured  Salonica  and  Larrisa  and  laid 
siege  to  Constantinople ;  but  the  formation  of  a 
powerful  alliance  amongst  his  enemies  led  to  the 
raising  of  the  siege,  and  Constantinople  was  safe  for 
the  time. 

Sigismund,  the  king  of  Hungary,  appealed  for  aid 
to  the  Pope,  who  in  1394  proclaimed  a  crusade 
against  the  Turks.  The  bravest  knights  of  France 
and  Germany  under  renowned  and  princely  leaders 
responded  to  the  call.  The  Grand  Master  of  the 
Knights  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  came  with  many 
followers.  An  army  sixty  thousand  strong  marched 
through  Serbia.  King  Stephen,  faithful  to  his  treaty 
with  the  Ottomans  (ante  p.   12),    did  not  join  the 

1  As  a  matter  of  fact  many  years  before  Orkhan  had  assumed 
his  title  ;  but  Bayazid  from  political  motives  sought  for  and 
btained  this  formal  religious  recognition. 

2  See  Victor  B^rard,  La  Turguie,  p.  158. 


BATTLE  OF  NICOPOLIS  19 

Christian    army,    which    in   consequence   plundered 
his  lands.      The   Christians  then  laid  siege  to  Nico- 
polis,  a  strong  frontier  fortress.    With  an  overween- 
ing sense  of  pride,  they  underestimated  the   energy 
of  their  enemy,  and  even  laughed    when    news    was 
brought  that  Bayazid  would  soon  be  upon  them.     It 
was  so.     Then  the  French  knights,  against  the  advice 
of  Sigismund  who  knew  the  Ottoman  tactics,  rushed 
upon   the  foe.     They  easily  dispersed   the   irregular 
troops  whom  it  was  the  custom  to  place  in  the  van. 
The  fury  of   their  onslaught    was  so  great    that  they 
succeeded  in  piercing  a  second  line  and   thought   all 
was   won  ;  but   now   they   found   arranged    in   good 
order  and   waiting  for  them    the    main    body  of    the 
Turkish  army  forty  thousand  strong.     They  turned  to 
flee,  but   it  was  too  late  and   many  lost   their  lives. 
The   charge   was  a  tactical  blunder  and   its  defeat 
spread  dismay  amongst  the  infantry,  man}-  of  whom 
fled  from  the  field  of  battle.     The   Hungarians  and 
Bavarians  made   a   stand  for  a   time,  but   Stephen 
of   Serbia  brought   up   his  forces  and   attacked   the 
Christians.     Victory  fell  to  the  Ottomans. 

The  battle  of  Nicopolis  (1396)  strengthened  the 
power  of  Bayazid,  but  the  victory  was  sullied  by  the 
cruelty  of  the  conqueror,  who  on  going  over  the  field 
of  battle  said  :  '  This  has  been  a  cruel  battle  for  our 
people  ;  the  Christian  have  defended  themselves 
desperately ;  but  I  will  have  this  slaughter  avenged 


20  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

on  those  who  are  prisoners.'  ^  The  next  day  the 
whole  Turkish  army  was  drawn  up  in  the  form  of  a 
crescent,  and  the  captives  were  brought  into  his 
presence.  He  allowed  the  Count  de  Nevers  to  select 
twenty-four  knights  to  be  kept  as  prisoners  until 
their  ransom  arrived.  Then  in  their  presence  and 
in  that  of  the  Sultan  ten  thousand  prisoners,  knights, 
squires  and  soldiers,  were  brought  in  and  the  order 
for  their  immediate  execution  was  given.  The  cruel 
butcher}-  proceeded  until  his  own  officers  begged  the 
Sultan  to  let  it  cease  and  so  a  small  remnant  was 
left  to  pass  into  captivity.  The  Count  de  Nevers 
and  his  companions  were  taken  about  with  the  army 
and  exposed  as  trophies,  and  then  confined  at  Brusa 
until  their  ransom  arrived. 

The  pride  of  Bayazid  now  increased  and  he 
resumed  the  siege  of  Constantinople.  It  lasted  for 
six  years.  He  had  already  secured  the  right  to  erect 
a  mosque  and  a  college,  and  to  appoint  a  Qadi  in 
the  city  ;  now  he  demanded  the  entire  possession  of 
it.  The  situation  was  one  of  great  peril.  It  was 
averted  not  by  any  courage  in  its  besieged,  or  loss  of 
vigour  in  the  besiegers,  but  to  a  totally  unexpected 
cause — the  appearance  of  Timur  (Tamerlane)  the 
Tartar  in  the  Asiatic  dominions  of  Bayazid.  He  had 
built  up  a  great  empire,  was  the  most  renowned  mon- 
arch of  his  day,  and  now  it  was  to  come  to  an  end. 

'  Creasy.  History  of  the  Ottoman  Turks,  vol.  i,  p.  62. 


TIMUR  21 

Timur  was  born  in  Samarcund  in  1333.  From 
the  position  of  a  pett\-  chief  he  became  ruler  of  the 
province  of  Transoxiana.  Having  under  his  control 
vast  hordes  of  men  drawn  from  Central  Asia,  for 
thirt\-  years  or  more  he  ravaged  vast  areas  of  country 
from  Delhi'  to  Damascus.  The  small  kingdoms  into 
which  the  Muhammadans  were  now  divided,  could 
not  resist,  either  singly  or  jointly,  the  fierce  rush 
of  his  huge  armies.  Persia  and  Syria  fell  before 
him  ;  but  no  less  than  four  attempts  against  Egypt 
were  successfully  met  by  the  bravery  of  the  Mamluks. 

1  It  does  not  fall  within  the  purpose  of  this  work  to  describe 
Tfmur's  invasion  of  India,  but  a  brief  note  on  it  will  not  be  out  of 
place.  Civil  wars  and  dissensions  had  weakened  the  kingdom  of 
Delhi  when  Ti'mur  with  a  large  army  invaded  it.  On  December 
17,  1358,  the  decisi\e  battle  was  fought  and  soon  after  Delhi  was 
sacked.  During  the  invasion  many  prisoners  were  slain,  the 
country  was  ravaged,  the  people  were  massacred,  and  the  victorious 
troops  were  laden  with  spoils.  Then  Ti'mur  and  his  men  returned 
through  the  hills  of  Afghanistan  and  the  scourge  was  over.  Years 
after  there  was  confusion  and  disorder  in  the  country  and  the  king 
of  Kabul,  a  descendant  of  Timiir,  was  invited  to  come  and  settle 
the  disputes  by  force  of  arms.  Babar  came  and  conquered  (1526)  ; 
and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  empire  which  his  grandson  Akbar 
made  so  famous. 

More  than  two  centuries  passed  by  and  then  after  the  battle  of 
Buxar  (Baksar)  in  1764  the  emperor  Shah  Alam  signed  a  treaty  by 
■which  he  and  his  successors  became  pensioners  of  the  East  India 
Company.  Thus  ended  the  independent  political  existence  of  the 
House  of  Timiir. 

.\gain  years  passed  by  and  after  the  great  mutiny  the  last  Indian 
sovereign  of  Ti'miir's  race,  as  a  deposed  monarch,  ended  his  days 
in  exile  in  Rangoon. 


22  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

For  a  time  he  left  Bayazid  alone,  but  trouble  came 
about  in  this  way.  Princes  deposed  by  Timur 
sought  refuge  with  Bayazid,  and  some  whom  Bayazid 
had  subdued  went  to  Timur.  Negociations  were 
entered  into  but  Bayazid's  haughty  tone  gave  such 
offence  that  Timiir  made  war  on  him.  The  final 
issue  was  decided  in  the  battle  of  Angora  (1402).* 

Bayazid  appears  to  have  underrated  the  power  of 
his  enemy  and  learnt  his  mistake  when  it  was 
too  late.  Timiir  was  a  skilful  general  \\ho  under- 
stood the  tactical  movements  of  large  masses  of 
troops.  On  this  occasion  his  arrangements  were 
sound,  his  combinations  worked  smoothly,  his 
quick  eye  saw  the  varrying  episodes  of  a  great 
fight,  and  his  presence  was  always  where  it  was 
most  needed.  Bayazid  was  also  a  capable  general, 
but  at  a  critical  moment  many  of  his  troops  failed 
him.  Amongst  them  were  many  inhabitants  of 
the  small  states  which,  after  the  fall  of  the 
Seljuks,  the  Turks  had  absorbed.  These  men  allur- 
ed by  the  promises  of  the  agents  of  Timur  broke 
their  allegiance,  and  saw  in  the  fall  of  Bayazid 
the  hope  of  recovered  liberty  and  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  their  ancestral  countries.  Bayazid  with  his 
forty  thousand  Janissaries,  supported  by  the  Ser- 
bian   troops    under    king    Stephen,    made    a    bold 

'  Angora  was  situated  about  one  Inuidred  and  fifty  miles  east  of 
Brusa. 


DEATH  OF  BAYAZID  25 

stand  ;  but,  when  even  his  son  Suleyman  fled  and 
many  others  had  followed,  further  resistance  was 
hopeless.'  On  the  field  of  Angora  the  Turks, 
who  then  aided  the  Seljuk  chief,  first  won  their 
renown  as  warriors  {ante  p.  2 )  and  now,  after 
about  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  had  passed,  their 
empire,  built  up  with  bravery  and  ability,  was 
completely  ruined,  apparently  beyond  recovery. 

Bayazid  was  taken  prisoner  and  in  a  barred 
litter'  was  carried  in  the  conqueror's  train.  But, 
according  to  Gibbon,  Timiir  seems  to  have  dealt 
kindly  with  Bayazid  and  his  son  Musa  who  was 
also  a  captive.  Bayazid  died  in  March,  1403, 
eight  months  after  the  battle  of  Angora,  and 
Timur  two  years  after  it.  During  this  time,  how- 
ever, Timur  occupied  Brusa  and  other  cities  and 
captured  Smyrna  from  the  Knights  of  St.  John,  who 
were  then  in  possession  of  that  city. 

^  For  a  quaint  description  of  the  battle,  see  Knolles,  i.  152, 
quoted  by  S.  Lane-Poole,  Turkey,  pp.  69-72. 

^  This  apparently  gave  rise  to  the  story  related  by  some 
Muslim  historians  to  the  effect  that  Bayazid  was  carried  about 
in  an  iron  cage.  Evliya  Efendi  says;  '"I  thank  God,"  said 
Timur,  "for  having  delivered  thee  into  my  hand,  but  if  I  had 
fallen  into  thine  what  wouldest  thou  have  done."  Before 
his  father  could  reply,  Yildirim  said:  "By  heaven!  I  would 
have  shut  thee  up  in  an  iron  cage,  until  the  day  of  thy  death." 
Timur  replied:  "What  thou  lovest  in  thy  heart,  I  love  in 
mine."  '  Then,  according  to  Evliya,  Bayazid  was  placed  in  a 
cage  [Travels  of  Evliya  (London,  1846),  p.  29] .  The  story  is  not 
accepted  by  later  historians  as  correct. 


24  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

The  Turkish  rule  in  Asia  Minor  was  at  an  end 
and  the  petty  princes,  dispossessed  by  them,  came 
into  their  own  again.  Seldom  has  the  result  of 
a  single  battle  led  to  so  great  a  downfall.  It 
would  seem  as  if  the  history  of  the  Ottoman 
Turks  might  have  ended  here ;  but  it  has  been 
well  said  : — 

The  most  astonishing  characteristic  of  the  rule  of  the 
Turks  is  its  vitality.  Again  and  again  its  doom  has 
been  pronounced  by  wise  prophets,  and  still  it  survives. 
Province  after  province  has  been  cut  off  the  empire, 
yet  still  the  Sultan  sits  supreme  over  wide  dominions, 
and  is  reverenced  or  feared  by  subjects  of  many  races. 
Considering  how  little  of  the  great  qualities  of  the  ruler 
the  Turk  has  often  possessed,  how  little  trouble  he  has 
taken  to  conciliate  the  subjects  whom  his  sword  has 
subdued,  it  is  amazing  how  firm  has  been  his  authority, 
how  unshaken  his  power.  ^ 

It  was  so  now,  for  within  a  very  few  years 
Muhammad  I,  a  strong  and  daring  ruler,  recover- 
ed the  lost  ground  and  made  the  empire  stronger 
than  ever.  Timur  checked  the  Ottomans  for  a 
time,  but  he  could  not  destroy  those  elements  in 
their  character  which  made  for  success.  Orkhan  and 
his  brother  {ante  p.  7)  had  framed  an  adminis- 
trative and  military  system  with  much  wisdom  ; 
the  princes  of  the  royal  house  were  well  educated, 
with  the  result  that  the  men  placed  in  positions 
of   authority    were  capable  and    much    superior  to 

'   S.  Lane-Poole,  Turkey,  p.  74. 


THE  SONS  OF  BAYAZID  25 

the  officials  of  the  decrepit  Greek  empire.     Stanley 
Lane-Poole  thus  describes  the  situation  : — 

It  was  by  their  mental  as  well  as  physical  power  that 
a  vast  variety  of  races,  both  Muhammadan  and  Chris- 
tian, were  held  together  by  as  firm  a  grasp  as  that  by 
which  imperial  Rome  held  her  provinces  ;  and  the 
standard  of  the  Sultan  was  carried  victoriously  into  the 
heart  of  Europe  and  Asia  and  far  along  the  shores  of 
Africa.  Never  was  so  durable  a  power  reared  up  so 
rapidly  from  such  scanty  means  as  were  possessed  by 
Orkhan  and  his  Vezir,  when  they  conceived  the  bold 
idea  of  exterminating  Christianity  by  educating  Christian 
children.  ' 

Under  these  circumstances  the  empire  speedily 
recovered  from  its  fall.  After  Bayazid's  death,  his 
sons  disputed  among  themselves  about  the  succes- 
sion. Suleyman,  who  had  fled  from  the  field  of 
Angora,  claimed  authority  in  Europe.  He  was  a 
cruel,  dissolute  man  and  was  detested  by  the  army ; 
consequently  he  w^as  soon  killed  (1410).  Musa, 
another  brother,  fought  the  Serbs  and  then  laid  siege 
to  Constantinople.  The  emperor  appealed  for  aid 
to  Muhammad,  another  son  of  Bayazid.  He, 
assisted  by  the  Serbs,  attacked  and  routed  the  besieg- 
ing army  and  Musa  was  slain.  'Isa,  a  third  brother, 
established  himself  at  Brusa,  but  soon  came  to  an 
untimely  end.  When  these  princes  had  passed  away 
Muhammad  became  sole  ruler  (1413),  and  though 
he  only  reigned  for  eight  years,  in  that  short  time  he 

^  Turkey,  p.  767. 


26  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

did  much   to  restore  the  ruined  empire  to  its  former 
greatness. 

He  was  one  of  the  wisest  of  all  the  Ottoman 
Sultans.  He  found  an  empire  almost  ruined  by  the 
defeat  sustained  bv  Bavazid,  and  still  further 
imperilled  by  the  civil  discord  which  arose  amongst 
his  sons.  Muhammad,  a  true  statesman,  saw  that 
consolidation  and  not  extension  was  the  first  result 
to  be  secured.  In  Europe  he  made  friends  with  the 
Greek  emperor  and  entered  into  treaties  with  other 
Christian  princes.  In  Asia  his  difBculties  were 
greater,  but  he  partialh*  overcame  them  and  brought 
the  petty  states,  which  had  arisen  after  the  inroad 
of  Timur,  into  subjection.  Two  acts  of  cruelty 
are  attributed  to  him — the  blinding  of  his  brother 
Kasim  and  the  murder  of  the  son  of  Suleyman, 
both  possible  pretenders  to  the  throne.  He  had 
experienced  the  evil  of  family  quarrels  and  this 
explains  his  action,  though  it  does  not  justify  it. 
Apart  from  this,  he  was  a  mild  ruler  and  sought 
to  bind  the  various  classes  of  his  subjects  together 
in  amity  and  peace.  He  was  a  man  of  cultivated 
tastes  and  courteous  manners.  He  earned  the  name 
of  Muhammad  the  gentleman  (Chelebi).  It  was 
well  for  the  Ottoman  empire  that  such  a  man  had 
supreme  rule  in  it  at  such  a  critical  time.  He 
died  in  1421  and  was  buried  at  Brusa,  which,  how- 
ever, was  no  longer  the  capital,  for  Adrianople  had 
taken  its  place. 


MURAD  II  27 

Murad  II  (1421-51)  succeeded  his  father.  He 
found  the  empire  so  far  recovered  from  its  fall  that 
he  was  soon  able  to  recommence  a  career  of  conquest. 
It  was  necessary  to  assert  more  strongly  than 
Muhammad  had  done  the  authority  of  the  govern- 
ment in  Asia,  and^  so  orders  were  passed  for  the 
despatch  of  an  expedition  to  accomplish  this.  The 
death  of  Muhammadlhad  been  kept  secret  from  the 
troops,  and  they  refused  to  go  without  first  seeing 
him.  So  the  dead  monarch's  bod}-  was  propped  up 
in  a  darkened  room,  and  a  servant  from  behind  raised 
its  hands  and  moved  jits  head  as  the  troops  passed 
by,  satisfied  with  having  paid  their  homage  to  their 
master. 

Murad  declined  to  pa\'  the  subsidy  given  by 
Muhammad  to  the  emperor  Manuel,  who  had  released 
from  custody  Mustafa  a  pretender  to  the  Ottoman 
throne.  Mustafa  was  said  to  be  a  son  of  Bayazid. 
This  led  to  a  war  of  rebellion  which  lasted  for  a  year. 
Mustafa  was  taken  prisoner  and  hanged  at  Adrianople 
in  1422.  Murad  was  no\\-  angry  with  Manuel  for 
having  released  Mustafa  and  laid  siege  to  Constanti- 
nople. Bayazid  had  done  the  same,  but  was  obliged 
to  raise  the  siege  and  hurry  to  the  defence  of  his 
Asiatic  dominions.  The  same  thing  happened  again. 
Murad  had  to  go  rapidly  to  Asia  to  quell  an  insurrec- 
tion. On  his  return  he  left  the  city  alone  on  the 
payment  of  a  heavy  tribute  and  the  surrender  of 
manv   towns    on    the    Black   Sea   coast.     In    H28,. 


2S  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

Salonica,  garrisoned  by  fifteen  hundred  Venetians, 
was  captured  ;  its  churches  were  turned  into  mosques 
and  most  of  its  people  were  slain  or  sold  as  slaves. 

But  a  formidable  combination  of  Christian  states 
was  now  made,  and  Murad  was  soon  called  upon  to 
show  his  martial  vigour.  In  1427  Stephen  Lazare- 
vich,  the  king  of  Serbia  died.  He  had  faithfully 
kept  his  compact  with  the  Ottomans  and,  as  we  have 
seen,  rendered  valuable  aid  on  important  occasions. 
His  successor,  George  Brankovich,  was  a  much  better 
patriot  and  determined  to  break  away  from  the 
Ottoman  alliance.*  He  was  joined  by  the  rulers  of 
Bosnia,  Hungary,  Poland,  Wallachia  and  Albania,  a 
formidable  confederacy. 

The  chief  hero  of  the  war  that  ensued  was  John 
Hunyady,  known  as  the  White  Knight  of  Wallachia. 
According  to  Gibbon  '^  he  was  a  man  of  humble 
origin,  his  father  being  a  Wallachian,  his  mother  a 
Greek ;  but  a  more  romantic  story  is  told  by  a 
modern  historian.  '  When  king  Sigismund  of 
Hungary  was  fleeing  from  one  of  his  unsuccessful 
■engagements  with  the  Ottoman  armies,  he  met   and 

^  King  Stephen  left  no  heirs  and  appointed  George  Brankovich 
as  his  successor  ;  but  Sultan  Murad  claimed  the  throne,  on-  the 
ground  that  his  grandmother,  Mileva,  a  daughter  of  king  Stephen 
and  the  wife  of  Bayazi'd  I  was  a  Serbian  princess.  The  Serbs, 
declining  to  acknowledge  the  legitimacy  of  a  claim  based  on  such 
a  relationship,  rejected  the  demand  of  Murad,  whereupon  he 
invaded  their  country,  and  the  result  was  war. 

■^  Gibbon,  Roman  Empire,  vol.  vii,  p.  277. 


ABDICATION  OF  MURAD  II  29 

woed  the  beautiful  Elizabeth  iMorsinej'at  the  village 
of  Hunyade,  and  John  Hun}ady  was  believed  to  be 
the  fruit  of  this  consolatory  affection.' '  Whatever 
his  origin  was,  Hunyady  became  the  most  valiant 
warrior  of  his  time,  so  dreaded  by  the  Turks  that 
they  used  his  name  to  frighten  their  children.  He 
made  successful  attacks  on  the  Ottomans  and  crossed 
the  Balkans,  in  the  depth  of  winter,  a  type  of 
military  march  but  rarely  attempted.  ^  The  advance 
was  opposed  and  a  severe  struggle  thus  described 
took  place  : — 

The  Turks  had  skilfully  barricaded  the  passes,  and 
poured  water  down  the  approaches,  which  froze  into  an 
icy  wall  during  the  night.  The  passage  seemed  impracti- 
cable. Yet  nothing  daunted,  and  braving  the  weapons  of 
the  Turks  with  the  same  inflexibility  as  the  rigours  of  the 
cold,  the  Hvmgarians  forced  the  pass  of  Isladi,  and  kept 
Christmas  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  famous  range.' 

The  Ottomans  were  defeated  a  second  time  and 
Murad  sued  for  peace.  A  ten  years'  truce  was  agreed 
upon  and  the  Sultan  wearied  with  the  cares  of  office, 
abdicated  in  favour  of  his  son  Muhammad  II. 

The  appeals  of  the  Greek  emperor  for  aid  found 
little  response,  but  Burgundy  sent  a  small  force 
which,  uniting  with  the  fleets  of  Venice  and  Bur- 
gundy, became  masters  of   the    Hellespont.     They 

1  S.  Lane-Poole,  Turkey,  p.  87. 

2  It  was  done  by  the  Russian  General,  Gurko,  in  January,  1878, 
whose  army  ascended  the  slopes  by  cutting  steps  in  the  ice,  and 
descended  by  sliding  down. 

3  S.  Lane-Poole,  Turkey,  p.  89. 


30  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

were  not  aware  of  the  conclusion  of  the  recent 
treaty  of  peace,  called  the  treaty  of  Szegedin 
(July  12,  1444),  by  which  Serbia  regained  indepen- 
dence, and  Wallachia  was  annexed  to  Hungary. 
The  Pope's  legate,  Cardinal  Julian,  used  this  fact 
to  induce  Ladislaus,  king  of  Hungary,  to  break  his 
oath.     He  said  : — 

Is  it  thus,  that  you  will  desert  their  expectations  and 
your  own  fortune  ?  It  is  to  them,  to  your  God,  and 
your  fellow- Christians,  that  you  have  pledged  your 
faith ;  and  that  prior  obligation  annihilates  a  rash  and 
sacrilegious  oath  to  the  enemies  of  Christ.  His  vicar 
on  earth  is  the  Roman  pontiff,  without  whose  sanction 
you  can  neither  promise  nor  perform.  In  his  name  I 
absolve  your  perjury  and  sanctify  your  arms  ;  follow 
my  footsteps  in  the  paths  of  glory  and  salvation  ;  and  if 
still  ye  have  scruples,  devolve  on  my  head  the  punish- 
ment and  the  sin.  ' 

The  scruples  of  Hunyady  were  overcome  by  the 
•oifer  to  make  him  king  of  Bulgaria.  Though  sup- 
ported by  high  ecclesiastical  authority  and  ap- 
proved by  popular  consent,  it  was  a  most  dis- 
graceful proceeding  and  justified  reprisals  of  the 
severest  kind.  An  army  20,000  strong  soon  invaded 
the  Ottoman  dominions  and  many  places  were  taken 
including  Varna.  Murad  in  response  to  earnest 
appeals  from  his  people  returned  to  public  life  and 
with  an  armv  of  40,000  veterans  took  the  field. 
The  legate  and   Hunyady  suggested   a   retreat,   but 

^  Gibbon,  Roman  Empire,  pp.  272~3. 


BATTLE  OF  VARNA  31 

Ladislaus  I,  the  Hungarian  king,  determined  to  try 
the  fortune  of  war.  A  desperate  conflict  ensued, 
resulting  in  the  defeat  of  the  Christians  at  Varna 
on  November  10,  1444,  and  the  death  of  Ladislaus 
and  of  the  Legate,  Cardinal  Julian,  who  had 
brought  about  the  disgraceful  breach  of  the  treaty 
of  Szegedin  made  only  a  few  months  before. 
Hunyady  escaped.  Owing  to  this  great  victory, 
the  Ottomans  had  for  some  centuries  little  to  fear 
from  the  attacks  of  the  European  nations. 

In  order  to  understand  the  action  of  manv  of 
the  Christian  princes  we  must  bear  in  mind  the 
domineering  spirit  of  the  Latin  Church  which  aimed 
at  the  subjugation  of  the  Eastern  one.  The  Chris- 
tians of  Bosnia  and  Serbia  would  have  been  brought 
under  the  rule  of  the  Latins,  had  Hunyady  won  a 
victory  at  Varna  ;  but  to  prevent  any  such  possi- 
bility, the  rulers  of  these  two  states  agreed  to 
terms  of  friendship  with  the  Turks.  ,Murad  retired 
into  private  life  after  this  ;  but  the  Janissaries  revolt- 
ed and  his  presence  was  again  sought  for.  Once 
more  he  assumed  the  imperial  authority  and  the 
Janissaries  obeyed  the  well-known  voice  of  their 
lord.  This  time  he  remained  in  office  until  his 
death  in  1451,  and  so  passed  away  one  of  the 
noblest  of  the  Turkish  Sultans. 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Muhammad  II 
(1451-81)  who,  on  account  of  his  successful  siege  of 
Constantinople,   has    been    named    the    Conqueror. 


32  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

Unlike   Murad,    who    was    of    a  noble    disposition, 
whose  word  could   be    trusted,   whose  honour  was 
unsullied,    Muhammad    was    faithless     and    cruel. 
Like   many  of  the   Mamluk  Sultans   of   Egypt   he 
combined  great  ferocity  with  a  love  of  learning  ;  he 
founded   colleges   and  was   liberal   towards   what   a 
Muslim   would  call  good  works.     Poets   who   sang 
his  praises  were  given  pensions  and  annual  presents 
were  sent  to   the   famous    Persian   poet   J  ami.      He 
was  a  great  warrior  though  he  did   little   to   extend 
his  dominions,    beyond   the    capture   of    Constanti- 
nople,   with    the    exception    of    Greece    which    he 
annexed   in    1460,^    nor  did   he    conquer   the    great 
captains,  Hunyady  and  Skanderbeg,  of  whom  more 
will  be  said  hereafter.     He  failed  to  capture  Rhodes, 
which   was    gallantly   defended    by   the    Knights  of 
St.  John.     His  great  feat,  however,  was  the  capture 
of  Constantinople  in   1453.     Bayazid  had  built   one 
fort  on  the  Asiatic  -side  of  the  Bosphorus  ;  Muham- 
mad erected  one  on  the  other  side,   called    Rumelia 
Hisar,  about  five  miles   above   Constantinople,   and 
thus  prepared  for  the  important  siege.     Six  thousand 
men  were  employed  in  the  work  and  in  forty  days 

^  Greece  was  divided  into  six  military  divisions,  in  each  of  which 
Turkish  settlers  were  located  who  held  their  lands  on  a  military 
tenure.  The  number  of  mounted  men  they  supplied  to  the  army 
was  seven  thousand.  Heavy  imposts  were  laid  upon  the  inhabi- 
tants, including  the  jizya,  or  poll-tax.  The  tribute  of  Christian 
children  to  recruit  the  ranks  of  the  Janissaries  was  peculiarly 
irksome.     This  continued  until  1676  when  the  tribute  ceased. 


SIEGE  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE  33 

the  fort  was  rendered  impregnable.  The  situa- 
tion was  now  extremely  grave.  The  rulers  of  the 
various  Christian  Powers  held  aloof,  and  the  rich 
inhabitants  of  Constantinople  hid  their  treasures 
instead  of  placing  them  at  the  emperor's  disposal, 
a  foolish  deed  thus  happily  described  by  Dr.  John- 
son in  his  traged}-  of  Irene  : — 

The  groaning  Greeks  dig  up  the  golden  crowns, 
The  accumulated  wealth  of  hoarding  ages  ; 
That  wealth  which,  granted  to  their  weeping  prince. 
Had  ranged  enbattled  nations  at  their  gates. 

No  modern  historian  has  surpassed  the  brilliant 
description  given  by  Gibbon  of  the  famous  siege. 
The  following  is  his  account^  of  the  struggle  : — 

Of  the  triangle  which  composes  the  figure  of  Con- 
stantinople, the  two  sides  along  the  sea  were  made 
inaccessible  to  an  enemy  ;  the  Propontis  by  nature,  and 
the  harbour  by  art.  Between  the  two  waters  the  basis 
of  the  triangle,  the  land  side,  was  protected  by  a  double 
wall  and  a  deep  ditch  of  the  depth  of  one  hundred  feet. 
Along  this  line  of  fortifications,  for  a  distance  of  six 
miles,  the  Ottomans  directed  their  principal  attack.  In 
the  iirst  days  of  the  siege,  the  Greek  soldiers  descended 
into  the  ditch  or  sallied  into  the  field  ;  but  they  soon 
discovered  that,  in  the  proportion  of  their  numbers,  one 
Christian  was  of  more  value  than  twenty  Turks  ;  and 
after  these  bold  preludes,  they  were  prudently  content  to 
maintain  their  rampart  with  their  missile  weapons.     Nor 

^  Roman  Empire,  vol.  vii,  ch.  Ixviii.  In  making  this  long 
quotation  I  follow  a  precedent  set  by  S.  Lane-Poole  the  author 
of  Turkey,  in  which  Gibbon's  description  is  given  at  length 
(ch.  vii,  pp.  111-135). 

3 


34  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

should  this  prudence  be  accused  of  pusillanimity.  The 
nation  was  indeed  pusillanimous  and  base  ;  but  the  last 
Constantine  deserves  the  name  of  a  hero  ;  his  noble  band 
of  volunteers  was  inspired  with  Roman  virtue  ;  and  the 
foreign  auxiliaries  supported  the  honour  of  the  western 
chivalry. 

Then  the  Turks,  pushing  their  approaches  to  the  edge 
of  the  ditch,  attempted  to  fill  the  enormous  chasm,  and 
to  build  a  road  to  the  assault.  Innumerable  fascines, 
and  hogsheads,  and  trunks  of  trees,  were  heaped  on  each 
other;  and  such  was  the  impetuosity  of  the  throng,  that 
the  foremost  and  the  weakest  were  pushed  headlong 
down  the  precipice  and  instantly  buried  under  the 
accumulated  mass.  To  fill  the  ditch  was  the  toil  of  the 
besiegers  ;  to  clear  away  the  rubbish  was  the  safety  of 
the  besieged  ;  and,  after  a  long  and  bloody  conflict  the 
web  that  had  been  woven  in  the  day  was  still  unravelled 
in  the  night. 

A  wooden  turret  of  the  largest  size  was  advanced  on 
rollers ;  this  portable  magazine  of  ammunition  and 
fascines  was  protected  by  a  threefold  covering  of  bulls' 
hides ;  incessant  volleys  were  securely  discharged  from 
the  loop-holes  ;  in  the  front,  three  doors  were  contrived 
for  the  alternate  sally  and  retreat  of  the  soldiers  and  work- 
men. They  ascended  by  a  staircase  to  the  upper 
platform,  and  as  high  as  the  level  of  that  platform  a 
scaling-ladder  could  be  raised  by  pulleys  to  form  a  bridge, 
and  grapple  with  the  adverse  rampart. 

At  the  dawn  of  day,  the  impatient  Sultan  perceived 
with  astonishment  and  grief  that  his  wooden  turret  had 
been  reduced  to  ashes ;  the  ditch  was  cleared  and 
restored ;  and  the  tower  of  St.  Romanus  was  again 
strong  and  entire.  He  deplored  the  failure  of  his 
design. 

At  last  five  vessels,  four  of  which  were  from 
Genoa  appeared  bearing  provisions  of  grain,  wine, 


SIEGE  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE  35 

oil  and  vegetables.  The  Turkish  fleet  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Bosphorus  opposed  their  entrance, 
and  Muhammad  seated  on  horseback  cheered  his 
mariners  by  his  voice.  Gibbon  thus  records  the 
naval  battle  : — 

The  five  Christian  ships  continued  to  advance  with 
joyful  shouts,  and  a  full  press  both  of  sails  and  oars, 
against  a  hostile  fleet  of  three  hundred  vessels  ;  and  the 
rampart,  the  camp,  the  coasts  of  Europe  and  Asia,  were 
lined  with  innumerable  spectators,  who  anxiously  awaited 
the  event  of  this  momentous  succour.  In  the  Christian 
squadron,  five  stout  and  lofty  ships  were  guided  by 
skilful  pilots,  and  manned  with  the  veterans  of  Italy  and 
Greece,  long  practised  in  the  arts  and  perils  of  the  sea. 
Their  weight  was  directed  to  sink  or  scatter  the  weak 
obstacles  that  impeded  their  passage ;  their  artillery 
swept  the  waters  ;  their  liquid  fire  was  poured  on  the 
heads  of  the  adversaries,  who,  with  the  design  of 
boarding,  presumed  to  approach  them  ;  and  the  winds 
and  waves  are  always  on  the  side  of  the  ablest  navigator. 
They  won  the  naval  victory  and  anchored  securely  in  the 
inner  harbour  of  the  city.  At  last  on  May  29  came  the 
final  attack. 

At  day  break,  without  the  customary  signal  of  the 
morning  gun,  the  Turks  assaulted  the  city  by  sea  and 
land  ;  and  the  similitude  of  a  twined  or  twisted  thread 
has  been  applied  to  the  closeness  and  continuity  of 
their  line  of  attack.  The  foremost  ranks  consisted  of 
the  refuse  of  the  host,  a  voluntary  crowd,  Vv-ho  fought 
without  order  or  command ;  of  the  feebleness  of  age 
or  childhood,  of  peasants  and  vagrants,  and  of  all  who 
had  joined  the  camp  in  the  blind  hope  of  plunder  and 
martyrdom.  The  common  impulse  drove  them  onwards 
to  the  wall ;  the  most  audacious  to  climb  were  instantly 
precipitated ;  and  not  a  dart,  not  a  bullet,  of  the 
Christians  was  idly  wasted  on  the  accumulated  throng. 


36  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

But  their  strength  and  ammunition  were  exhausted  in 
this  laborious  defence  ;  the  ditch  was  filled  with  the 
bodies  of  the  slain  ;  they  supported  the  footsteps  of  their 
companions ;  and  of  this  devoted  vanguard,  the  death 
was  more  serviceable  than  the  life. 

In  that  fatal  moment,  the  Janissaries  arose,  fresh, 
vigorous,  and  invincible.  The  Sultan  himself  on  horse- 
back, with  an  iron  mace  in  his  hand  was  the  spectator 
and  judge  of  their  valour;  he  was  surrounded  by  ten 
thousand  of  his  domestic  troops  whom  he  reser\ed  for 
the  decisive  occasion  ;  and  the  tide  of  battle  was  directed 
and  impelled  by  his  voice  and  eye. 

The  first  who  deserved  the  Sultan's  reward  was 
Hasan,  the  Janissary  of  gigantic  stature  and  strength. 
With  his  scimitar  in  one  hand,  and  his  buckler  in  the 
other,  he  ascended  the  outward  fortification  ;  of  the 
thirty  Janissaries  who  were  emulous  of  his  valour, 
eighteen  perished  in  the  bold  adventure.  Hasan  and  his 
twelve  companions  had  reached  the  summit  ;  the  giant 
was  precipitated  from  the  rampart ;  he  rose  on  one  knee, 
and  was  again  oppressed  by  a  shower  of  darts  and  stones. 
But  his  success  had  proved  that  the  achievement  was 
possible  ;  the  walls  and  towers  were  instantly  covered 
with  a  swarm  of  Turks  ;  and  the  Greeks,  now  driven 
from  the  \antage  ground,  were  overwhelmed  by  in- 
creasing multitudes.  Amidst  these  multitudes,  the 
emperor,  who  accomplished  all  the  duties  of  a  general 
and  a  soldier  was  long  seen,  and  finally  lost. 

The  prudent  despair  of  Constantine  cast  away  the 
purple ;  amidst  the  tumult  he  fell  by  an  unknown  hand, 
and  his  body  was  buried  under  a  mountain  of  the 
slain.  ^  After  his  death,  resistance  and  order  were  no 
more ;  the  Greeks  fled  towards  the  city  ;  and  many  were 

^His  head  was  cut  off  and  publicly  exhibited.  It  was  subse- 
quently embalmed  and  sent  round  to  the  chief  cities  of  Asia,  See 
Creasy,  History  of  the  Ottoman  Turks,  p.  136. 


SIEGE  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE  37 

pressed  and  stifled  in  the  narrow  pass  of  tlie  gate  of 
St.  Romanus. 

It  was  thus,  after  a  siege  of  forty -three  days,  that 
Constantinople,  which  had  defied  the  power  of  Chosroes, 
the  Chagan,  and  the  CaHphs,  was  irretrievably  subdued 
by  the  arms  of  Mohamet  the  Second.  Her  empire  only 
had  been  subverted  by  the  Latins ;  her  religion  was 
trampled  in  the  dust  by  the  Muslim  conquerors. 

From  every  part  of  the  capital  they  flowed  into  the 
church  of  St.  Sophia.  In  the  space  of  an  hour,  the 
sanctuary,  the  choir,  the  nave,  the  upper  and  lower 
galleries  were  filled  with  the  multitudes  of  fathers  and 
husbands,  of  women  and  children,  of  priests,  monks  and 
religious  virgins.  The  doors  were  broken  with  axes  ;  and 
as  the  Turks  encountered  no  resistance,  their  bloodless 
hands  were  employed  in  selecting  and  securing  the 
multitude  of  their  prisoners.  In  the  space  of  an  hour, 
the  male  captives  were  bound  with  cords,  the  females 
with  their  veils  and  girdles.  The  senators  were  linked 
with  their  slaves  ;  the  prelates  with  the  porters  of  the 
church  ;  and  young  men  of  a  plebeian  class  with  noble 
maids,  whose  faces  had  been  invisible  save  to  the  Sun  and 
their  nearest  kindred.  The  loudest  in  their  wailings  were 
the  nuns,  who  were  torn  from  the  altar  with  naked 
bosoms  outstretched  hands,  and  dishevelled  hair. 

Thus  after  a  siege  of  fifty-three  days  fell  the 
glorious  capital  of  the  eastern  empire.  The  Khalifas 
of  Damascus  *  and  of  Baghdad,  and  three  previous 
Turkish  Sultans  had  failed  to  capture  it.  Muham- 
mad succeeded  in  doing  that  which  it  had  long  been 
the  aim  of  many  Muslim  rulers  to  accom})lish.  The 
emperor,    Constantine    Palaeologus,    the     last     and 

^  See  Sell,  Tlie  Unuiyyad  ami  the  'Abbdsiil  Khalifates 
(C.L.S  ),  p.  33. 


38  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

noblest  of  the  Caesars,  died  a  brave  and  honourable 
death,  in  striking  contrast  to  the  weak  and  cowardly 
Musta'sim  bi'llah, '  the  last  'Abbasid  Khalifa,  at  the 
sack  of  Baghdad  in  1258  ;  in  its  day  as  memorable 
an  event  as  the  fall  of  the  capital  of  the  ancient 
Byzantine  empire  two  centuries  after. 

What  was  the  effect  of  the  capture  of  Con- 
stantinople upon  the  Sultanate  ?  It  transformed  a 
chieftain  and  military  leader  into  an  emperor.  The 
Turks  looked  upon  Constantinople  as  the  capital  of 
the  world  and  felt  their  own  importance  increased  by 
their  occupation  of  it.  The  Greek  emperors  had 
assumed  to  themselves,  as  by  divine  right,  the  leader- 
ship of  Christendom.  The  Turks  sought  to  emulate 
their  example  and,  in  course  of  time,  the  Sultans 
became  de  facto,  though  not  de  jure,  the  Khalifas  of 
the  Islamic  world.  The  simplicity  of  the  camp  life 
was  changed  for  the  pomp  and  luxur}-  of  an  oriental 
court.  This  was  one  among  many  causes  which 
finally  led  to  the  decline  of  the  Ottoman  empire. 

Muhammad  increased  his  European  dominions  by 
the  conquest  of  a  great  part  of  Serbia,  with  the 
exception  of  Belgrade.  Flushed  with  the  conquest 
of  Constantinople,  he  looked  upon  the  capture  of 
Belgrade  as  an  easy  task.  He  \\as  mistaken.  The 
garrison  made  a  gallant  resistance  under  John 
Capistran    and    Hunyady.     On  July  21,   1456,   the 

'  The  Umayyad  and  the  Ahhdsid  Khhalifates,  pp.  106,  108 


SKANDERBEG  39 

great  assault  was  made,  the  Janissaries  carried  the 
trenches  and  advanced  within  the  walls,  only  to  be 
repelled  by  the  courage  of  the  besieged.  Then 
Capistran,  filled  with  a  fiery  zeal,  led  his  men  right 
into  the  Turkish  camp,  and  they  carried  all  before 
them.  In  all  this  he  was  ably  seconded  by  Hunyady, 
before  whose  troops  the  Turkish  army  fled,  defeated 
and  depressed.  Hunyady  survived  this  crowning 
triumph  of  his  career  less  than  a  month  ;  and  shortly 
after  John  Capistran  also  passed  away.  In  after 
years  he  was  canonized  by  the  Pope  for  his  valiant 
deeds,  which  well  deserved  the  veneration  of  Chris- 
tendom, and  which  are  remembered  in  Belgrade, 
that  city  of  man}-  sieges,  to  this  day. 

Bosnia  was  also  attacked  and  the  king  and  his 
sons  gave  themselves  up  on  condition  that  their 
lives  should  be  spared.  Muhammad  with  the  consent 
of  his  chief  legal  adviser  broke  his  promise  and  the 
king  was  assassinated.  His  progress  further  north 
was  arrested  by  the  bravery  of  Hunyady.  In  Albania 
he  was  long  and  successfully  opposed  by  Skanderbeg 
(Iskender  Beg — Prince  Alexander)  the  national  hero 
of  the  Albanians. 

I  give  a  short  account  of  this  remarkable  man. 
His  father  was  the  hereditary  prince  of  a  district  in 
Albania,  who  had  to  pay  tribute  to  the  Sultan  and  in 
1423  to  deliver  up  to  Sultan  Murad  II  his  four  sons 
as  pledges  of  his  fidelit}-.  They  were  made  Muslims. 
The  one  with  whom  we  are  now  concerned  was  well 


40  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

educated,  trained  for  the  army  and  promoted  to  high 
rank.  He  was  a  great  favourite  with  Sultan  Murad. 
When  his  father  died,  his  brothers  were  poisoned 
and  the  principahty  was  annexed  by  the  Turks. 
Skanderbeg,  however,  dissembled  his  resentment  at 
this  cruelty  and  injustice  and  patiently  abided  the 
time  when  he  could  become  an  independent  ruler  in 
his  own  land.  In  1443  he  found  his  opportunity. 
He  deserted  his  post,  and  by  an  act  of  treachery, 
involving  murder,  he  gained  possession  of  Croca  the 
chief  city  in  Albania,  and  proclaimed  himself  a 
Christian.  Murad  sent  three  expeditions  against  him 
and  they  all  failed.  Muhammad  succeeded  no  better 
and  in  1461  concluded  a  treaty  by  which  Skanderbeg 
was  recognized  as  the  independent  ruler  of  Albania. 
For  five  and  twenty  years  he  kept  his  country  free 
and  so  prevented  the  Turkish  advance  into  Italy. 
After  his  death  in  1467  his  son  and  successor  sold 
Albania  to  the  Venetians,  who  in  1478  resold  it  to 
the  Turks.  It  then  became  a  Turkish  province, 
unruly  from  the  first  daj's  until  no\\'  when  the 
doubtful  gift  of  autonomy  has  been  granted  to  it. 

The  Venetian  republic  was  next  attacked  but 
saved  by  a  treaty  made  in  1479,  which  was  much 
to  its  disadvantage.  Greece,  some  of  the  islands  in 
the  Aegean,  and  Sinope  and  Trebizond  in  the  Black 
Sea  became  part  of  the  Turkish  empire. 

The  Turks  had  now  begun  to  form  a  nav\-  and 
a  powerful  expedition  was  sent  to  capture  Rhodes 


THE  OTTOMAN  NAVY  41 

in  1480,  but  owing  to  the  bravery  of  the  Knights 
of  St.  John  it  entirely  failed.  One  result,  however, 
of  this  war  was  that  the  Turks  gained  command  of 
the  sea.  During  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries  no  Christian  flag  was  allowed  to  navigate 
the  Euxine.  '  All  knowledge  of  its  shores  was  lost, 
its  cities  lay  beyond  the  sphere  of  trade  and  the 
countries  once  frequented  by  Genoese  and  Venetian 
merchants  became  as  much  a  region  of  mystery  as 
they  had  been  before  Jason  made  his  voyage  in 
search  of  the  Golden  Fleece.' '  The  Turks  also 
had  a  great  fleet  in  the  Mediterranean  and  were 
thus  enabled  to  land  a  force  in  the  year  1480  on 
■Italian  soil  and  stormed  Otranto,  a  fort  near  Brin- 
disi,  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  which  were  cruelly 
put  to  death.  The  Sultan  intended  to  follow  up  this 
initial  success,  for  in  the  words  of  Gibbon  '  his 
lofty  genius  aspired  to  the  conquest  of  Italy  and  the 
same  reign  might  have  been  decorated  with  the 
trophies  of  the  new  and  the  ancient  Rome.'  ■^ 

Sultan  Muhammad  was  more  than  a  warrior,  he 
was  a  distinguished  administrator ;  ^  and  a  brief 
account  of  the  political  system  which,  based  on  that 

'  Finlay,  Histoiy  of  Greece  (London,  1856),  p.  125. 

'^  Gibbon,  Roman  Evipire,  vol.  vii,  p.  340. 

^  '  Muhammad  II  was  one  of  those  great  men  whose  personal 
conduct,  from  their  superiority  of  talent  and  firmness  of  purpose, 
modifies  the  course  of  public  events,  when  it  is  granted  to  them,  as 
it  was  to  him,  to  exercise  their  influence  during  a  long  period  of 
time.'     Finlay,  History  of  Greece  (London,  1856),  p.  19. 


42  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

of  previous  rulers,  was  perfected  by  him  will  be  of 
interest.  The  Institutes  of  Muhammad  in  their 
figurative  language  describe  the  empire  under  the 
metaphor  of  a  tent.  The  '  lofty  door  of  the  royal 
tent  '  denotes  the  chief  seat  of  government.  In 
Italian  this  is  La  Porta  Suhlima  from  which  we 
have  the  '  Sublime  Porte  '  b}-  which  to  this  day  the 
Turkish  Government  is  known.  The  state  is  re- 
presented as  being  supported  by  four  pillars  :  the 
viziers,  the  judges,  the  treasurers,  the  secretaries. 
The  viziers  were  four  in  number,  the  chief  of  whom 
was  the  Grand  Vizier.  The  council  of  state  was 
known  as  the  Divan,  with  its  many  officials.  The 
provincial  administration  was  in  the  hands  of  Beys 
and  Derebeys  who  held  land  on  a  feudal  tenure. 
At  first  the  term  Pasha  was  a  title  of  honour,  but 
gradually  it  became  limited  in  its  use  and  practically 
synonymous  with  the  rank  of  a  military  leader,  or 
the  office  of  a  civilian  governor.  The  land  of  a 
conquered  country  was  divided  into  three  parts. 
The  first  was  set  aside  for  the  support  of  mosques 
and  other  pious  foundations.  Such  property  was 
waqf,  that  is,  reserved  for  religious  purposes,  and 
could  not  be  alienated.  A  second  part  became  the 
private  property  of  the  individuals  into  whose 
possession  it  came.  If  the  owner  was  a  Muslim  he 
paid  tithes  ;  if  a  Christian  a  tax  on  the  land,  called 
kharaj  and  in  addition  the  jizya,  or  poll-tax.  The 
third    portion    was    subdivided     into     man)-    parts. 


THE  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  43 

Some  went  to  the  Sultan  and  his  family  ;  some  to 
various  officials  and  some  to  the  holders  of  military 
fiefs.  A  fief  often  contained  from  three  to  five 
hundred  acres.  The  owner  had  to  supply  when 
required  a  number  of  horsemen  for  the  arm}'.  A 
Sandjak  Bey  had  to  bring  into  the  field  more  than 
twenty  fully-armed  horsemen,  the  Ziams  any  number 
between  four  and  nineteen,  the  Timariots  came 
alone  or  with  two  or  three  followers.^  These  fiefs 
were  held  as  hereditar\-  property. 

The  feudal  system  in  Europe  grew  up  under 
comparatively  weak  rulers  ;  in  Turke}'  it  came  into 
existence  under  strong  and  vigorous  ones.  The 
result  was  that  in  the  former  case  it  resulted  in  the 
growth  of  a  powerful  aristocrac}- ;  in  the  latter  it 
did  not.  The  reasons  for  this  striking  difference 
seem  to  have  been  :  (1)  the  Sultans  during  the  period 
of  the  rise  of  the  empire  were  vigorous,  energetic 
and  able  men ;  (2)  the  religious  system  of  Islam 
exalts  the  position  of  the  ruler  but  maintains  a 
feeling  of  equality  between  his  subjects ;  (3)  the 
absence  of  any  deep-seated  desire  for  popular 
assemblies. 

The  feudal  s}stem  was  used  for  national  defence, 
but,  whether  for  good  or  ill,  seems  to  ha\'e  had 
little  influence  on  the  administration  of  the  country. 

'  For  an  exhaustive  description  of  the  military  contingents  due 
from  each  fief,  see  The  Travels  of  Evliya  (London,  1846),  pp. 
101-3. 


44  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

Later  on,  when  the  era  of  feeble  Sultans  set  in, 
these  feudal  lords — the  Derebeys — became  heredi- 
tary chiefs  and  a  powerful  aristocracy  owning  little 
allegiance  to  the  central  government  and  had 
finally  to  be  suppressed  by  Sultan  Muhammad  in  the 
nineteenth  century. 

Muhammad  II  looked  upon  the  'Ulama'^  as  an  im- 
portant body  of  men  learned  in  dogmatics  and  law, 
from  whom  religious  teachers  and  legists  were 
drawn.  They  were  organized  into  a  distinct  body, 
and  arrangements  were  made  for  their  education 
and  training.  They  were  treated  with  honour  by 
the  government  and  so,  as  professors  and  judges, 
commanded  the  respect  of  the  people.  Schools, 
from  the  simple  maktabs,  or  elementarj'  schools,  and 
colleges  were  founded.  The  whole  system  of  edu- 
cation was  good  and  suitable  for  its  purpose.  The 
regulations  for  the  non- Christian  subjects  were  those 
common  to  all  Muslim  countries.  They  were 
Dhimmis,  that  is,  they  were  allowed  to  live  on 
payment  of  a  poll-tax.  Under  fanatical  rulers  their 
lot  was  a  hard  one,  but  generally  speaking  they 
were  fairly  well-treated,  except  in  the  matter  of  the 
tribute  of  their  children  for  the  corps  of  Janissaries. 

When  the  Ottoman  empire  was  powerful  conver- 
sions to  Islam  were  frequent,  and  such  renegades 
were  often    promoted  to   high   offices.      During   the 

•  Plural  form  of  'Alim,  a  learned  man. 


PRINCE  JEM  45 

reigns  of  Suleyman  land  Salim  II  out  of  ten  Grand 
Viziers  eight  were  renegades.^ 

In  addition  to  all  these  important  matters  of 
administration  Muhammad  gave  personal  attention 
to  the  rules  for  ceremonial  etiquette,  police  regula- 
tions, and  the  criminal  law.  The  regulations  for 
these  were  codified  under  his  supervision.  This 
code  is  known  as  the  Mideka' it' I- Ahhdr — The  Con- 
fluence of  Seas — a  name  which  expresses  the  com- 
prehensiveness of  its  enactments.  It  was  for  a  long 
time,  and  may  be  still,  an  important  legal  code  in 
the  Ottoman  empire. 

I  conclude  this  notice  of  the  administration  of 
Muhammad  II  b}'  a  quotation  from  his  Institutes 
which  shows  that  amidst  much  that  was  admirable 
there  was  that  which  is  inhuman  and  detestable.  It 
is  thus  recorded  : — 

The  majority  of  my  jurists  have  pronounced  that 
those  of  my  illustrious  descendants  who  ascend  the 
throne  may  put  their  brothers  to  death,  in  order  to 
secure  the  repose  of  the  world.  It  will  be  their  duty 
to  act  accordingly.^ 

Prince  Jem  (Jcmshid),  the  older  and  abler  of 
Muhammad's  two  sons,  a  man  who  possessed  his 
father's  vigour  and  was  courteous  and  cultured,  did 

^  For  an  account  of  the  skilful  way  in  which  Muhammad  dealt 
with  the  Greek  clergy,  see  Finlay,  History  of  Greece  (London, 
1856),  pp.  161-4. 

'  Von  Hammer,  Geschichte  Osmanischen  Retches  (Buda-Pesth 
1835),  book  xvii. 


46  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

not  hear  of  his  father's  death  until  Baj'azid  had 
reached  Constantinople  and  secured  the  allegiance  of 
the  Janissaries,  and  soBayazid  II  ascended  the  throne. 
He  had  to  reward  the  Janissaries,  and  this  led  to 
the  establishment  of  the  custom  of  the  accession- 
bakshish,  granted  to  them  when  a  new  Sultan  came 
to  the  throne.  His  long  reign  (1481-1512)  was  not 
n  glorious  one,  for  the  Sultan  was  a  very  lethargic 
and  incompetent  ruler.  Prince  Jem  contested  the 
succession  for  a  year,  but  was  beaten  and  found 
refuge  with  the  knights  of  Rhodes,  to  whom  Bayazid, 
after  some  vain  attempts  to  come  to  terms  with  Jem, 
paid  a  large  sum  of  money  to  keep  Jem  a  prisoner. 
The  knights  then  sent  him  to  one  of  their  settle- 
ments at  Nice.  The  various  European  rulers  were 
anxious  to  gain  possession  of  the  prince.  Charles 
VIII  of  France  took  Jem  away  from  the  knights 
and  consigned  him  to  the  custody  of  Pope  Innocent 
VIII,  who  then  agreed  to  keep  him  safe,  and 
received  for  so  doing  the  sum  of  40,000  ducats  a 
year  from  Bayazid.  During  the  long  years  of  Jem's 
captivity  many  kings  and  princes  held  out  hopes 
of  his  restoration  to  the  Sultanate  and  indeed  it 
was  this  which  Bayazid  feared.  The  next  Pope, 
Alexander  Borgia,  demanded  a  lump  sum  down  for 
his  work  as  jailer.  Then  the  king  of  France  again 
intervened  and  took  possession  of  the  unhappy  Jem  ; 
but  it  is  said  that  Borgia  in  revenge  caused  Jem  to 
be   poisoned.     Some,  however,  say  he   died  of  grief 


SALIM  I  47 

in  1494.  Whichever  storv  is  true  the  whole  transac- 
tion  was  shameful.  For  the  sake  of  money  the  head 
of  the  Church  and  the  Grand  Master  of  a  great 
Order  betrayed  a  man  worthy  of  all  the  support 
they  could  give  him.  It  was  a  disgraceful  act  in  the 
intercourse  of  Christendom  with  Turkey.  In  capti- 
vity Prince  Jem  occupied  his  time  in  composing 
poetry,  of  which  the  following  is  a  specimen  : — 

Bird  of  my  soul,  be  patient  of  thy  cage, 
This  body,  lo !  how  fast  it  wastes  with  age, 
The  tinkling  bells  already  do  I  hear 
Proclaim  the  caravan's  departure  near  ; 
Soon  shall  it  reach  the  land  of  nothingness 
And  thee,  from  fleshly  bonds  delivered,  bless. 

In  the  north  there  were  frequent  wars  with 
var}-ing  success  to  either  side.  A  war  with  Shah 
Isma'il  of  Persia  gave  some  trouble.  The  Mamluks 
of  Egypt  also  waged  war  upon  the  Turks  in  Asia. 
Bayazid's  later  years  were  troubled  by  the  dissensions 
among  his  sons.  Salim  the  younger  and  most 
vigorous  of  them,  supported  b}'  the  Janissaries, 
attacked  his  father's  troops  at  Adrianople,  and  caused 
him  to  abdicate  in  his  favour.  Bajazid  died  soon 
after  to  the  great  relief  of  the  rulers  and  people  of 
the  neighbouring  states. 

Salim  I  (1512-20)  had  two  brothers  alive,  and 
several  nephews.  He  determined  to  put  them  all 
away.  He  watched  from  a  window  the  murder  of 
five    nephe\\s.     Being    thus    secure    from   domestic 


48  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

strife  he  turned  his  attention  to  his  eastern  domin- 
ions. He  first  attacked  the  Safavid  monarch  Shah 
Isma'il,  the  head  of  the  Shi'ah  MusHms.  The  contest 
was  long  but  in  the  battle  of  Chaldiran  (1514)  the 
Turks  won  a  great  victory,  captured  Tabriz,  and  sent 
a  thousand  of  its  skilled  workmen  to  Constanti- 
nople. Salim  had  made  a  vow  that,  if  he  won  a 
victory  over  Shi'ah  Persians,  he  would  build  three 
grand  mosques — one  at  Jerusalem,  another  in  Buda 
and  a  third  at  Rome ;  but  his  death  prevented  the 
fulfilment — -or  attempt  at  fulfilment — of  his  vow. 
After  the  Persian  campaign  he  resolved  to  wrest 
Egypt  from  the  Mamluks.  In  this  he  was  success- 
ful, and  thus  nearly  doubled  the  extent  of  the 
Ottoman  dominions.  Egypt  became  a  province  of 
Turkey,  and  the  rule  of  the  Mamluk  Sultans  came 
to  an  end.  The  Mamluks  as  a  separate  body, 
however,  remained  under  their  Shaikhu'l-Beled,  or 
Mayor,  a  powerful  community  and  often  gave 
trouble  to  the  Turkish  governor. 

The  Mamluks  had  revived  the  'Abbasid  Khalifate 
in  Cairo,'  and  Salim  brought  away  with  him  to 
Constantinople,  the  Khalifa,  Mutawakkil,  who  made 
over  to  him  his  spiritual  authority,  such  as  it  was, 
and  Salim  became  the  Khalifa  of  Islam.  Mutawak- 
kil had  no  authority  whatever  to  do  this,  for  none 
but   a    member    of   the   Arab  tribe    of  the   Quraish 

'  See  The  Mamluks  in  Egypt  (C.L.S.)  pp.  6-9. 


BARBAROSSA  49 

should  hold  this  office.  He  also  gave  up  the  symbols 
of  the  office,  the  sacred  banner  and  cloak  of  the 
Prophet,  which  are  still  preserved  in  the  Seraglio  at 
Constantinople.  However,  whatever  he  was  de  jure, 
Salim  became  de  facto  the  Khalifa  over  all  the 
orthodox  section  of  Muslims  who  elect  to  own  his 
authority.  The  office  is  now  shorn  of  any  real 
power,  but  it  adds  somewhat  to  the  prestige  of  the 
Sultans  of  Turkey,  some  of  whom,  such  as  'Abdu'l- 
Hamid  I,  have  in  vain  tried  to  use  it  to  foster  a 
pan-Islamic  movement. 

When  Muhammad  II  captured  the  island  of 
Lesbos  in  1462  he  left  there  a  soldier  named  Ya'qub, 
whose  two  sons,  Uruj  Barbarossa  and  Khairu'd-din,^ 
became  successful  mariners  and  famous  Corsairs. 
Soon  after  the  conquest  of  Egypt,  Salim  received 
messengers  from  Khairu'd-din,  asking  for  his  favour 
and  protection,  offering  in  return  to  make  over 
the  province  of  Algiers  which  he  had  won.  The 
Sultan  was  delighted,  accepted  the  proposal,  and  so 
added  a  new  and  valuable  province  to  his  African 
dominions  (1519).  The  bold  Corsair  was  made 
Beglerbeg  (governor)   of  Algiers  and  invested  with 


'  '  It  is  possible  that  Barbarossa  is  but  a  European  corruption  of 
Baba  Uruj  or  Father  Uruj,  as  his  men  called  him.  At  all  events 
Uruj  is  the  real  Barbarossa,  though  modern  writers  generally  give 
the  name  to  his  younger  brother,  Khairu'd-din,  who  was  only 
called  Barbarossa  on  account  of  his  kinship  to  the  original.' 
S.  Lane-Poole,  The  Barbarry  Corsairs,  p.  38,  foot-note. 
4 


50  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

the  insignia  of  office — the  horse,  the  sword,  and  the 
horse-tail  banners. 

Sahm,  a  bold  and  vigorous  warrior,  was  cruel  in 
his  disposition  and  practice.  In  the  year  1514  he 
ordered  the  massacre  of  forty  thousand  Shi'ahs  and 
then  prepared  to  murder  the  Christians.  He  asked 
the  Shaikhu'l-Islam  whether  the  conversion  of  the 
nations  to  Islam  was  better  than  their  conquest. 
The  answer  was  in  the  affirmative.  To  the  horror 
of  his  advisers  the  Sultan  then  ordered  that  all 
Christians  should  be  slain  and  that  their  churches 
should  be  turned  into  mosques.  The  Shaikhu'l-Islam, 
who  had  not  expected  that  his  reply  would  be  thus 
interpreted,  with  great  difficulty  saved  the  lives  of 
the  Christians  ;  but  could  not  preserve  their  churches, 
though  he  gained  permission  for  them,  on  the  loss 
of  their  beautiful  sanctuaries,  to  worship  in  mean 
and  inferior  buildings. 

The  next   Sultan  was  Suleyman   the  Magnificent 

(1520-66).     He  rightly  deserves  this  name  for  his 

long  reign  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  in  Turkish 

history.      It  was  a  century  of  great  rulers — Charles  V, 

Francis  I,  Elizabeth,  and  Akbar — and  amongst  them 

all   Suleyman   held  no  second   place.     It   has   been 

well  said  : — 

The  most  remarkable  feat  that  the  Turks  achieved 
during  the  glorious  century  was  that  they  survived  it. 
With  such  forces  as  were  arrayed  against  them,  with 
Europe  roused  from  its  long  sleep,  and  ready  to  seize 
arms  and  avenge  its  long  disgrace  upon  the   infidels,  it 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  RHODES  51 

was  to  be  expected  that  the  fall  of  the  Ottoman  power 
must  ensure.  Instead,  we  shall  see  that  this  power  was 
not  only  able  to  meet  the  whole  array  of  rejuvenated 
Europe  on  equal  terms,  but  emerged  from  the  conflict 
stronger  and  more  triumphant  than  ever.^ 

Muhammad  II  had  failed  to  capture  Belgrade  or 
to  get  possession  of  the  island  of  Rhodes.  Suleyman 
succeeded  in  securing  both.  Belgrade  was  then 
fortified  more  strongly  and  the  possession  of  it 
brought  Venice  as  a  humble  suppliant,  willing  as  the 
price  of  safety  to  become  the  Sultan's  vassal.  Now 
that  Egypt  was  a  part  of  the  empire,  it  became 
highly  necessary  to  secure  Rhodes  in  order  to  get 
command  of  the  sea,  and  so  in  1522  a  powerful 
expedition  of  over  a  hundred  thousand  troops  was 
despatched.  The  Turkish  troops  were  skilled  in 
attacking  fortified  positions  and  possessed  artillery 
far  superior  to  that  of  their  opponents ;  so  the  siege 
was  prosecuted  with  great  vigour.  The  garrison 
consisted  of  5,000  men,  of  whom  500  were  knights. 
The  seamen  of  the  port  and  the  citizens  rendered 
valuable  assistance,  but  the  Grand  Master  and  his 
knights  looked  in  vain  for  succour  from  Europe,  and 
so  after  a  brave  defence  of  several  months  they 
capitulated  on  honourable  terms,  being  allowed  to 
depart  with  weapons  and  property.  They  retired  to 
Malta,  which  shortl}-  after  they  successfully  defend- 
ed against  Suleyman.     The  Sultan  had  a  personal 

1  S.  Lane-Poole,  Turkey,  p.  166. 


52  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

interview  with  the  Grand  Master,  Vilhers  de  L'Isle 
Adam,  a  French  knight  of  renown,  and  expressed 
to  him  his  regret  at  having  to  make  him  leave  his 
ancient  home  at  Rhodes.  The  valour  of  the  knights 
had  won  the  admiration  of  the  Ottomans  and  the 
armorial  bearings  on  their  houses  were  not  defaced 
and  some  of  them  may  be  seen  even  to  this  day. 
The  inhabitants  of  Rhodes  also  received  good  terms, 
for  Suleyman  could  be  a  generous  victor.  They 
were  to  have  unrestricted  liberty  as  regards  religion, 
and  were  exempted  from  the  payment  of  tribute  for 
five  years. 

A  short  period  of  peace  followed  in  which  the 
Sultan  attended  to  the  internal  affairs  of  the  empire. 
An  attempt  to  curtail  the  large  donations  to  the 
Janissaries  led  to  trouble  with  that  masterful  and 
turbulent  body.  The  best  way  to  keep  them  quiet 
was  to  find  them  warlike  occupation  and  the  chance 
of  securing  booty.  This  plan  was  supported  by  the 
able  Vizier  Ibrahim.  This  wise  and  prudent  official, 
in  whom  the  Sultan  placed  implicit  trust,  had  been 
captured  as  a  lad  by  Corsairs,  sold  as  a  slave  and 
passed  into  the  service  of  Prince  Suleyman  when 
he  was  a  provincial  governor.  Ibrahim  became  an 
accomplished  scholar  and  an  amusing  entertainer, 
and  so  rapidh'  rose  in  his  master's  favour  until  he 
reached  the  high  office  of  Vizier.  When  Suleyman 
became  Sultan,  Ibrahim  strongly  urged  the  war 
against  Hungar}-  which  took  place  in  1526. 


BATTLE  OF  MOHACS  53 

The    Turkish    army,    100,000   strong    with  three 
hundred  guns,   marched  out  from  Belgrade,  crossed 
the    Danube,   tooi<  several  cities   and  finally  on  the 
field    of  Mohacs     (August    28,   1526),  defeated  the 
Hungarian     army     under     king      Louis      IL     The 
Hungarian   force  was  much  smaller  than  that  of  the 
Turks,    but   they   rushed   boldly   to  the   attack    and 
easily  overcame  the  first  line  of  the  opposing  army. 
They  had  forgotten  the  Ottoman  tactics  of  placing 
inferior  troops  in  the  van   {ante  p.  8)  and  thought 
that   victory  was    near,    but    behind    the    retreating 
troops   were   three   hundred   guns    and   the    famous 
corps  of  the   Janissaries.     The   result    was  a  most 
disastrous     defeat     for    the     Hungarians.     Twenty 
thousand    men    perished.     The    king,    bishops   and 
archbishops,  and  a  great  number  of  lords  and  many 
nobles    gave    up    their    lives    on    the    fatal    field   of 
Mohacs.    Buda  and  Pesth  were  occupied;  the  country 
round    was    ravaged  ;    and    one    hundred    thousand 
captives  were  taken  away  to  be  sold  as  slaves.     The 
great  library  in  the  palace  of  Hunyady's  famous  son 
Matthias,  ^  one  of  the  ablest  kings  of  Hungary,  was 
taken   to  Constantinople.  ^     The  defeat  at   Mohacs 
ruined  Hungary  and  petty  strife  amongst  the  nobles 
ensued,  the  result  of  which  was  that  for  a  hundred 

^  For  an   account  of  this  great  ruler,   see  Vambery,   Hungary, 
ch.  X. 

.    'Vambery  says  the  library  was  burnt    {Hungary,  p.  289)  ;  but  on 
p.  295  he  says  part  of  it  was  taken  to  Constantinople. 


54  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

and  forty  years.  Hungary  became  a  province  of  the 
Turkish  empire. 

Then  began  a  dispute  with  the  emperor  Charles 
V.  *  The  Turks  appointed  Zapolya  who  had  been 
the  Voyvode  of  Transylvania  as  the  nominal  king  of 
Hungary  ;  but  the  Archduke  Ferdinand,  brother  of 
the  emperor  Charles,  claimed  the  throne.  Francis 
I  of  France,  not  wishing  to  see  the  emperor's  power 
increased,  urged  the  Turks  to  withstand  Ferdinand's 
claim.  Zapolya  appealed  to  Suleyman,  who  re- 
solved to  interfere  in  this  civil  war.  He  declined 
all  overtures  made  by  Ferdinand  and  again  took  the 
field  with  an  enormous  army  ;  he  recaptured  Buda 
which  for  a  hundred  and  fortv  vears  onwards  was 
controlled  by  the  Turks.  He  also  restored  Zapolya 
to  his  throne. 

The  Sultan  now  determined  on  a  bold  stroke  and 
advanced  to  besiege  Vienna.  His  irregular  cavalry 
devastated  the  country  through  which  they  passed^ 
plundering  and  destroying  all  they  could  lay  hands 
on,  and  carrying  off  men,  women  and  children  into 
captivity.  Meanwhile,  Austria  made  great  efforts 
to  meet  the  danger,  and  Vienna  was  provisioned 
and  made  ready  for  a  siege.     Houses  were  destroyed 


'  King  Louis  died  without  leaving  a  son  and  heir.  By  an 
ancient  law  of  Hungary  only  a  native  prince  could  reign,  and  on 
this  law  Zapolya  based  his  claim.  Ferdinand  was  brother-in-law 
to  Louis  and  on  that  relationship  and  also  on  a  treaty  claimed 
the  throne. 


FIRST  SIEGE  OF  VIENNA  55 

near  the  wall,  which  was  strengthened  in  its  weakest 
parts  and  entrenchments  were  made  on  the  banks  of 
the  Danube.  Non-combatants  were  sent  away  and 
many  fell  victims  to  Suleyman's  ruthless  soldiers 
whom  they  encountered  in  their  light. 

The  garrison  of  Vienna  consisted  of  less  than 
twenty-five  thousand  men  ;  but  they  were  brave  and 
determined.  They  successfully  repelled  all  assaults 
and  maintained  excellent  spirits.  ^  Suleyman  had 
once  made  a  vow  that  he  would  breakfast  in  Vienna, 
and  now  as  the  attack  went  on  and  was  successfully 
met,  the  Viennese  sent  to  tell  him  that  his  breakfast 
was  getting  cold.  The  last  assault  led  by  the 
Janissaries  failed  and  the  siege  which  had  lasted 
three  weeks  was  raised  (October  14,  1529).  It  was 
'  a  famous  day  in  German  history  :  it  is  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  peace  of  Westphalia  and  of  Vienna, 
the  battles  of  Hochkirchen,  Jenu  and  Leipsic  and 
of  the  capture  of  Ulm.  '*  Four  years  after,  peace 
was  made  (1533)  and  Hungary  was  divided  between 
Zapolya  and  Ferdinand.  The  peace  did  not  last 
long  and  another  war  was  made,  which  ended  in 
Ferdinand's  consenting  to  pay  a  large  annual  tribute. 
A  five  years  truce  was  then  made,  after  which  hostil- 
ities recommenced  and  continued  during  the  rest  of 
the  Sultan's  life. 

'  For  a  good  account  of  the  defence  of   Vienna,  see  Creasy, 
History  of  the  Ottoman  Turks,  pp.  269-74. 
'S.  Lane-Poole.  Turkey,  p.  191. 


56  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

Meanwhile  the  Shi'ah  subjects  of  the  empire 
in  Asia  had  been  giving  very  much  trouble  ;  but 
Suleyman  very  soon  put  the  revolt  down,  captured 
Baghdad  in  1534,  and  then  annexed  the  whole 
country  of  Armenia.  Successful  by  land,  the  Sultan 
also  asserted  his  power  at  sea  under  his  famous 
admiral  Khairu'ddin.  This  brought  him  into  con- 
flict with  Venice. 

In  Suleyman's  reign  the  naval  power  of  the 
Ottomans  increased  rapidly,  Uruj  Barbarossa  was 
dead,  but  his  brother  Khairu'd-din,  also  called 
Barbarossa,  was  a  man  of  great  courage  and 
determination.  He  had  been  appointed  Governor- 
General  of  Algiers  by  Salim  I  in  1519,  and  soon  the 
ports  of  Barbary  passed  into  his  possession  and  his 
Corsairs  were  masters  of  the  sea.  Their  prizes 
were  rich  and  numerous,  and  he  rescued  many 
thousands  of  Moors  then  in  servitude  in  Spain. 
Suleyman  appreciated  the  valuable  aid  which  the 
number  and  boldness  of  the  Corsairs  gave  him.  He 
was  anxious  to  see  and  consult  Barbarossa  and  in 
1533  the  great  Corsair  sailed  from  Algiers  to 
Constantinople,  where  he  was  received  with  much 
honour.  He  spent  the  winter  there,  improved  the 
build  of  vessels  of  war,  and  in  the  spring  had  a 
formidable  fleet  of  ships  ready  for  sea.  He  led 
them  into  the  Straits  of  Messina,  bombarded 
Reggio,  captured  many  vessels  and  did  damage  to 
the    coast    towns.     He    captured    Tunis,    but    was 


ANDREA  DORIA  57 

driven  a\\ay  by  an  expedition   sent  by  Charles  V, 
He    then    proceeded    to     Minorca,    gained     much 
treasure  and  many  prisoners,  all  of  whom  he  took 
to  Algiers,  and  in  due  course  returned  to  Constanti- 
nople.     He    was     now    made    Captain     Pasha,  or 
admiral  of  the  fleet.     Meanwhile,  the  great  Genoese 
admiral,    Andrea    Doria,   was  scouring  the   seas   in 
search  of  Barbarossa.     At  last  they  met,  for  a  war 
with  Venice  had  broken  out.     The  Venetian  fleet  was 
in  the  Adriatic  and  Barbarossa  in  1538  went  to  meet 
it,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  ships.     Many  of  the 
most   famous    Corsairs   of   the   day   were  with  him. 
The   Venetian  fleet  was   much  larger,  but  he  was 
able    to  anchor   in   a   spacious  gulf.      He  wisely,  in 
view  of  his    inferiority    in   the   number  of  vessels, 
determined     to     wait     there     till     attacked.     The 
Venetian    fleet    appeared    and    both    watched   each 
other   for   some   time — Doria   unwilling  to    attack  ; 
Barbarossa  too  good   a   strategist   to  come  into  the 
open.     Then  Doria  sailed  away.     The  Turks  could 
not  be   restrained   and  set  sail  after  him.     A  battle 
ensued   without   any  decisive   result   as  regards  the 
destruction    of   either   fleet,   for   Doria   again  sailed 
away.      Still    it    was   a   great    moral  victory  for  the 
Turks.     The   most   renowned  admiral   of  the   day, 
with   two   hundred  ships  of  war  belonging  to  three 
great   Christian    states    had   sailed    away    before    a 
smaller   Ottoman    fleet.     Suleyman    was    delighted 
when  he  heard  the  news,  and  henceforth  for  many 


58  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

a  long  year  to  come  the  fleet  of  the  Turkish  Sultan 
ruled  supreme  in  the  Mediterranean.  About  the 
same  time  another  fleet  sailed  into  the  Indian 
Ocean  and  on  the  return  voyage  captured  Aden. 

Insurrections  in  Hungary  recurred  for  some  years 
and  in  1547  Sultan  Suleyman,  the  emperor  Charles 
and  king  Ferdinand  signed  at  Adrianople  a  truce 
for  five  years,  Ferdinand  consenting  to  pay  a  tribute 
of  20,000  ducats  and  to  recognize  all  the  Turkish 
conquests  in  Hungary.  This  gave  Suleyman  some 
leisure,  and  he  was  able  to  resume  his  contest  with 
Persia.  He  gained  Armenia  and  Georgia  and 
captured  Erzerum.  The  conflict  lingered  on  for 
some  years,  until  in  1555  a  treaty  was  made,  the 
first  one  ever  signed  by  both  Shah  and  Sultan. 

In  1565  Suleyman  made  an  unsuccessful  attack 
on  Malta,  now  held  by  the  Knights  of  St.  John, 
lately  expelled  from  Rhodes.  They  fortified  the 
excellent  harbours  and  strengthened  the  defences. 
A  fleet  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-one  vessels  and  an 
army  of  30,000  men  comprised  the  expedition.  For 
four  months  the  attack  was  maintained  with  vigour 
and  was  met  by  a  stubborn  resistance.  At  last  in  the 
beginning  of  September  a  fleet,  sent  by  the  Viceroy 
of  Sicily,  appeared  and  the  Turks  departed.  The 
failure  of  this  attempt  was  a  cause  of  much  grief  to 
Suleyman. '  ; 

'  For  a  full   account  of  the  siege,   see  Creasy,   History  of  the 
Ottoman  Turk's,     vol.  i,  pp.  304-9. 


SIEGE  OF  SZIGETVAR  59 

Meanwhile  irregular  fighting  went  on  in  Hungary 
for  some  years.  Then  in  1566  Suleyman  deter- 
mined to  make  a  supreme  effort  to  restore  order 
and  compel  obedience  to  his  will.  For  the  sixth 
time  he  invaded  Hungary,  this  time  with  a  force  of 
200,000  men  and  three  hundred  guns.  He  first 
attacked  the  fortress  of  Szigetvar.  Nicholas  Zrinyi, 
the  commandant,  was  a  brave  man  and,  after 
collecting  in  the  fort  about  two  thousand  five 
hundred  men  and  a  good  stock  of  provisions,  he 
awaited  the  attack.  The  siege  was  prolonged 
and  Zrinyi  would  listen  to  no  promises  of  reward 
for  himself,  and  was  deterred  by  no  severe  threats 
of  punishment  for  his  obstinacy.  The  Sultan,  wearied 
with  the  delay  and,  perhaps,  annoyed  at  being  held 
at  bay  by  such  a  puny  force,  gave  orders  for  a  grand 
assault.     It  is  thus  described  : — 

The  aged  ruler,  who  now  but  rarely  showed  himself 
to  his  soldiers,  mounted  his  favourite  charger  and 
appeared  amongst  the  Janissaries  in  order  to  rouse  and 
encourage  them.  His  troops  rushed  enthusiastically 
into  the  fight,  for  which  the  artillery  and  the  engineers 
conducting  the  siege  had  made  every  preparation  many 
days  before.  But  Zrinyi  was  ready  and  wide-awake, 
and  drove  the  assailants  back  with  great  slaughter.  ' 

Another    attack,     made    a    few    weeks    later  on, 

succeeded,    vet    even    then     Zrinvi    and    his    men 

did    not   capitulate.      He   gathered    the    little    band 

together   in    the    inner    fort    to    which    they    had 

^  Vambery.  Hungary,  p.  315. 


60  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

retired,  praised  them  for  their  courage  and,  saying 
that  the  road  to  death  was  the  road  to  honour,  urged 
them  to  show  that  the  conclusion  of  their  heroic 
career  was  worthy  of  their  past.  The  bridge  was 
lowered  and  Zrinyi  and  his  faithful  six  hundred 
followers  sallied  forth,  and  after  a  tierce  struggle  all 
but  a  few  soldiers  perished.  The  Turks  rushed  into 
the  fort,  but  a  mine  was  exploded  which  led  to 
a  loss  of  some  thousands  of  men.  The  rest  returned 
home,  after  losing  30,000  men  in  the  capture  of  the 
city.  Zrinyi's  fame  spread  far  and  wide  and  won 
for  him  the  admiration  of  all  Europe. 

A  few  days  before  the  siege  was  over  Suleyman 
died  in  camp  (September  6,  1566)  after  a  reign  of 
forty-six  years.  A  beautiful  elegy  by  a  Turkish  poet 
speaks  of  his  burial  thus  : — 

He,  to  the  lustre  of  whose  sword  the  Hunnish  paynim 

bowed  ; 
He,    whose    dread    sabre's   flash    hatli     wrought    the 

wildered  Frank's  despair 
Like   tender   rose-leaf,   gently   laid   he  in  the  dust  his 

face  ; 
And   earth,   the    guardian,    placed   hini  like  a  jewel  in 

his  case. 

He  was  the  greatest  of  all  the  Turkish  rulers. 
Wise  in  administration,  just  in  his  dealings,  courte- 
ous and  cultivated,  he  rightly  earned  the  name  of 
Suleyman  the  Magnificent.  Yet  like  so  many 
eastern  rulers,  with  all  that  was  commendable  and 
praiseworthy,    there    was    a     vein     of    inhumanity 


THE  CAPITULATIONS  61 

and  cruelty  in  his  character.  He  was  personally 
devoted  to  his  able  vizier  Ibrahim,  and  yet  one  day 
in  1536  from  some  cause  or  other  he  became  jealous 
of  him  and  put  him  to  death.  He  married  a  Russian 
lady,  named  Khurrem  (Joyous)  but  known  by 
Europeans  as  Roxelana.  This  lady  had  a  son  Salim 
whose  chance  of  becoming  Sultan  was  barred  by  his 
half-brother  Mustafa.  At  Khurrem's  instigation 
Suleyman  had  Mustafa  slain.  Another  son  Bayazid 
and  his  young  children  met  with  a  similar  fate. 
These  were  blots  on  a  great  career,  marked  on  the 
whole  by  more  than  the  usual  wisdom  and  justice 
shown  by  oriental  despots. 

In  his  reign  the  first  ambassador  from  France 
came  to  his  court  (1534),  and  a  year  after  the  first 
capitulations  with  France  were  made.  '     Suleyman 

'These  were  afterwards  made  with  other  European  states.  By 
virtue  of  the  capitulations  foreij^ners  do  not  come  sunder  the 
jurisdiction  of  Turkish  courts  of  law.  Their  cases  can  only 
be  tried  in  consular  courts.  Cases  between  foreigners  and  Turks 
are  tried  in  Turkish  courts,  but  a  consular  dragoman  is  then 
present  to  watch  the  procedure.  In  modern  times,  the  Turks  have 
tried  to  do  away  with  the  capitulations  but  the  European  states 
would  not  give  way.  In  1914,  just  before  the  declaration  of  war 
between  England  and  Turkey,  the  Turkish  Government,  without 
giving  any  notice,  suddenly  abolished  them,  and  that  is  how  the 
matter  stands  at  present.  After  the  war  is  over  the  whole  question 
will  be  reopened  and  the  action  of  the  Turkish  Government  will 
be  condoned  or  repudiated.  In  the  present  chaotic  state  of  the 
Turkish  administration  it  is  not  probable  that  the  European  states 
will  relinquish  so  necessary  a  safeguard  for  the  legal  protection  of 
their  subjects. 


62  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

left  the  empire,  wealthy,  prosperous  and  extended. 
The  annual  revenue  was  12,000,000  ducats,  which 
was  double  that  of  the  great  empire  over  which 
Charles  V  ruled.  Exports  were  large,  trade  was 
^ood  and  the  population  was  increasing.  Later  on 
the  extortion  of  the  Pashas  ruined  commerce  and 
decreased  the  population,  and  the  prosperous  days  of 
Suleyman  were  known  no  more.  In  the  eastern 
parts  of  it  were  the  famous  cities  of  Baghdad, 
Damascus,  Jerusalem,  Cairo  with  man}-  others  ;  in 
Europe,  Constantinople,  x\drianople,  Athens,  Bel- 
grade and  Buda.  Supreme  at  sea,  the  Turkish 
fleets  were  masters  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  Red 
and  the  Black  Seas.  The  kings  of  Europe  could 
not  withstand  its  power  by  land  or  sea.  Nearly 
three  hundred  years  had  passed  away  since 
Ertoghul  and  his  little  band  of  Ottomans  first  came 
into  notice  and  now  a  great  and  mighty  empire  had 
grown  from  so  small  a  beginning.  The  Ottoman 
empire  had  now  reached  the  height  of  its  fame,  and 
the  zenith  of  its  glory.  Henceforth,  there  is  decline 
and  decay  ;  but  until  now  it  had  produced  a  most 
remarkable  series  of  rulers,  to  whose  energy  and 
powers  of  administration,  and  to  whose  strong  wills, 
which  made  subjects  obey  and  enemies  fear,  the 
great  prosperity  of  the  Ottoman  empire  is  mainly 
due. 

No   other    dynasty    can    boast    such  a  succession  of 
brilliant  sovereigns  as  those  who  conducted  the  Ottomans 


FAMOUS  SULTANS  63 

to  the  height  of  renown  in  the  fourteenth,  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  centuries.  Orkhan,  the  taker  of  Nicaea 
and  founder  of  the  Janissaries  ;  Murad  I,  the  conqueror 
at  Kosovo ;  Bayazid  I,  the  victor  of  Nicopohs ; 
Muhammad  I,  tlie  restorer  of  the  shattered  empire  ; 
Murad  II,  the  antagonist  of  Hunyady  and  of  Skander- 
beg ;  Muhammad  II,  the  conqueror  of  Constantinople; 
Salim  I,  who  annexed  Kurdistan,  Syria,  and  Egypt; 
and  Suleyman  the  Magnificent,  the  victor  on  the  field  of 
Mohacs  and  the  besieger  of  Vienna.  Ne\er  did  eight 
such  sovereigns  succeed  one  another  (save  for  the  feeble 
Bayazid  II)  in  unbroken  succession  in  any  other 
country  ;  never  was  an  empire  founded  and  extended 
during  two  such  splendid  centuries  by  such  a  series  of 
great  rulers.  In  the  hour  of  dismay,  as  well  as  in  the 
moment  of  triumph,  the  Turkish  Sultan  was  master  of 
the  situation.  ^ 

Still  what  has  been  so  well  said  of  Turkish  rule  in 
India,  is  also  true  of  the  rule  of  the  Ottoman  Turks 
in  Europe,  even  in  its  most  brilliant  period.  It 
*  does  not  mean  the  growth  of  constitutions,  the 
development  of  civic  rights,  the  vindication  of 
individual  liberty,  or  the  evolution  of  self-govern- 
ment. '  ^ 


1  S.  Lane-Poole,  Turkey,  p.  78. 

"^  S.   Lane-Poole,  Mcdiccval  India,  p.  60. 


II.     THE  DECLINE  OF  THE  EMPIRE 

SULEYMAN  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Salim  II 
(1566-74).  We  now  enter  upon  a  period  of  decline, 
arrested  now  and  then  by  a  brief  period  of  recovery. 
The  Sultans  of  the  past  had  been  brave  warriors 
and  skilful  administrators,  who  kept  their  vast 
dominions  in  order  and  extended  them.  Their 
successors  with  a  few  exceptions  were  weak,  de- 
generate men,  who  preferred  the  jo}'S  of  the  harem 
to  the  stern  realities  of  the  battle  field.'  They  lost 
the  esteem  of  the  army  which  did  what  the  body- 
guards in  Baghdad  had  done — set  up  and  deposed 
Sultans  at  its  will.  With  effeminate  Sultans,  in- 
competent officers  and  corrupt  administrators,  it  is 
no  wonder  that  the  decline  was  real  and  persistent. 
It  is  only  another  example  of  what  always  takes 
place  in  Muslim  states.  It  was  so  in  the  latter 
days    of    the    'Abbasid    Khalifate    in    Baghdad,    in 

*  They  are  thus  described  by  a  Mushm  writer  :  '  Instead  of 
identifying  themselves  with  the  Hfe  of  their  people  and  priding 
themselves  on  being  the  light  that  guided  them,  the  Sultans  now 
retired  into  the  harems  and  gave  themselves  up  to  a  life  of  ease 
and  indulgence  utterly  foreign  to  the  habits  and  principles  of  their 
great  predecessors.'  'Ali  Haidar  Midhat  Bey,  The  Life  of 
Midhat  Pasha  (London.  1903),  p.  14. 


BATTLE  OF  LEPANTO  65 

Spain  at  the  close  of  the  Umayjad  Khalifate,  in 
Cairo  when  the  earl)-  and  strong  Mamluk  rulers 
like  Beybars  gave  place  to  weak  and  inefficient  men, 
and  in  India  in  the  last  days  of  the  decrepit  Delhi 
rulers. 

Salim  II  was  surnamed  the  Sot  ;  but  so  well  had 
the  empire  been  organized  by  his  great  father  that 
it  could  not  suddenly  fall  to  pieces.  He  had  the 
good  fortune  to  possess  in  Muhammad  Sokolli  an 
efficient  Vizier.  Arabia  was  subdued,  Cyprus  was 
captured  and  Tunisea  became  a  Turkish  province. 
The  Pope,  Venice  and  Spain  now  united,  and  an 
allied  fleet  under  Don  John  of  Austria,  who  had 
already  won  fame  in  the  wars  against  the  Moors  in 
Spain,  met  and  defeated  the  Turkish  fleet  at  Lepan- 
to  in  1571.  The  latter  was  the  stronger  force,  but 
after  a  severe  conflict  ninety-four  Turkish  vessels 
were  sunk  and  over  a  hundred  were  captured.  This 
great  victor}^  did  away  with  the  idea  that  the 
Turkish  fleet  was  invincible  ;  but  its  material  effect 
was  small.  Venice  withdrew  from  the  alliance 
and  made  a  separate  peace,  and  a  ne\\"  Turkish 
fleet  was  soon  got  ready  for  sea.  It  was  under  the 
command  of  Ochiali,  the  last  of  the  great  Corsairs. 
He  recaptured  Tunis  which  Don  John  had  taken  in 
1573,  but  nothing  permanent  followed  from  this 
transient  revival  of  naval  power. 

Murad  III  the  next  Sultan  (1574-95)  was  a  very 
inefficient  ruler.     His  first  public  act  was   to  order 
5 


66  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

the  assassination  of  his  five  brothers.  Though  he 
kept  SokolH  in  office  he  was  jealous  of  him  and 
often  thwarted  his  plans.  Other  able  men  were  set 
aside  for  those  who  purchased  their  appointments, 
or  were  promoted  through  harem  influence.  The 
corps  of  Janissaries  now  grew  in  strength  to  48,000 
men,  as  the  regulations  regarding  admission  were 
much  relaxed.  Under  the  rule  of  a  weak  Sultan, 
the  growing  power  of  this  turbulent  body  of  men 
was  a  standing  menace. 

Next  to  the  dowager  Sultana,  or  as  that  lady  is 
usually  called  in  Turkish  the  Sultana  Valida,  the 
lady  who  had  most  influence  over  Murad  was  a 
foreigner.  Murad  took  as  one  of  his  wives  a  Vene- 
tian captive  lady,  Safiyya,  who  exercised  over  her 
husband  and  then  over  his  son  and  successor  great 
influence,  which  she  used  always  for  the  promotion 
of  her  favourites.  She  contrived,  however,  to  keep 
the  Sultan  on  good  terms  with  Venice.  It  was 
during  this  reign  that  the  first  British  embassy  was 
sent  to  Constantinople  (1589)  with  the  view  of 
obtaining  an  alliance  with  the  Turks  against  Philip 
II  of  Spain. 

The  next  Sultan  was  Muhammad  III  (1595-1603). 
As  soon  as  Murad  was  dead,  Safiyya,  now  Sultana 
Valida,  recalled  her  son  Muhammad  from  his  pro- 
vincial governorship  and  had  him  proclaimed  Sultan. 
He  was  a  weak-minded  man,  though  sometimes 
energetic  and  more  often  violent.     His  father  had  a 


SCIPIO  CICALA  67 

family  of  one  hundred  and  three  children,  of  whom 
twent\'  sons  and  twenty-seven  daughters  survived 
him.  One  of  the  tirst  acts  of  Muhammad  was  to 
slay  his  nineteen  brothers  and  seven  enceinte  female 
slaves  then  in  the  harem.  The  political  and  military 
affairs  of  the  empire  were  in  almost  hopeless 
confusion  and  the  Sultan  remained  inactive.  At  last, 
though  against  the  wishes  of  his  mother  Safiyya,  he 
was  induced  to  lead  the  army  in  person,  as  his 
predecessors  had  so  often  done.  The  Shaikhu'l- 
Islam  warned  him  of  the  danger  of  non-compliance 
with  this  request.  For  a  time  the  tide  of  war  went 
against  the  Turks  and  the  Sultan  betrayed  consider- 
able weakness,  but  in  the  last  conflict  victory  was 
secured  by  the  skilful  tactics  of  a  renegade  named 
Scipio  Cicala.  The  rest  of  the  reign  was  quite 
inglorious,  and  the  Sultan's  last  days  were  sullied 
bv  the  murder  of  his  son  Mahmud,  a  prince  of  great 
promise,  who  had  excited  his  father's  jealousy.  The 
mother  of  Mahmud  and  all  his  companions  shared 
his  sad  fate.  The  Sultan  died  on  December  22,  1603, 
unregretted  and  unlamented. 

The  courageous  conduct  of  Scipio  Cicala  at  the 
battle  of  Cerestes  saved  the  empire  from  disaster. 
This  young  man  was  the  son  of  an  Italian  Count 
who  owned  a  fleet  of  privateers.  In  one  of  his 
forays  he  captured  a  number  of  Turkish  ladies  and 
married  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  them,  who  was 
baptized    under    the    name    of   Lucretia.     Her   son 


68  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

Cicala,  in  after  years,  was  taken  prisoner  by  the 
Turks.  He  embraced  Islam,  rapidly  rose  to  high 
office  and  married  the  daughter  of  Sultan  Suleyman. 
When  he  commanded  the  fleet  he  visited  Sicily  and 
had  an  interview  with  his  mother.  The  beautiful 
woman,  once  a  captive  taken  from  her  Turkish  home 
and  forcibly  converted  into  a  Christian  matron,  stood 
by  her  handsome  son,  who  began  his  career  as  a 
Christian  warrior,  but  was  now  a  mighty  champion 
of  the  Crescent  and  the  determined  foe  of  the  Cross. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  know  what  they  felt  and 
said.  They  never  met  again.  Cicala  was  one  of 
many  renegades  who  have  attained  to  high  office, 
and  in  critical  times  have  rendered  valuable  service 
to  the  Ottoman  state. 

Sultan  Ahmad  I  (1603-17)  was  a  lad  of  fourteen 
years  of  age,  when  he  succeeded  his  father.  His 
reign  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  the  decline  of  the 
haughty  tone  of  superiority  the  Sultans  had  used 
with  other  potentates.  Austria  ceased  to  pay  a 
tribute  and  its  emperor  ^^■as  respectfully  named  in 
Turkish  documents  by  his  proper  official  title, 
while  in  a  treaty  he  was  regarded  as  an  equal 
monarch. 

The  next  Sultan,  Mustafa  I,  reigned  onl}-  a  few 
months  when  he  was  deposed  in  favour  of  his  brother 
Uthman  II  (1618-22).  The  Janissaries,  who  now 
elected  their  own  Pasha  and  so  were  free  from  direct 
imperial   control,  deposed    Uthman  and   put  him  to 


MURAD  IV  69 

death.     Mustafa  resumed  authority  but  soon  resigned 
in  favour  of  his  nephew. 

Murad  IV  (1623-40)  was  only  twelve  years  old 
when  he  ascended  the  throne,  but  he  soon  showed 
signs  of  a  strong  character,  fitted  to  deal  with  the 
disorganized  state  of  the  empire.  In  this  he  was 
aided  b}-  his  mother,  a  woman  of  great  abilit)'  and 
energy.  In  Asia  and  in  Africa  there  were  wars  and 
revolts.  In  Constantinople  '  there  was  an  empty 
treasury,  a  dismantled  arsenal,  a  debased  coinage, 
exhausted  magazines,  a  starving  population  and  a 
licentious  soldiery.'  ^  Seldom  has  a  young  ruler 
been  called  upon  to  face  such  adverse  conditions. 
As  he  grew  up  to  man's  estate,  he  met  his  difficulties 
with  resolution,  and  when  he  attained  to  power 
ruthlessly  punished  his  rebellious  subjects. 

Every  morning  the  Bosphorus  threw  up  on  its  shores 
the  corpses  of  those  who  had  been  executed  during  the 
preceding  night  ;  and  in  them  the  anxious  spectators 
recognized  Janissaries  and  Sipahis,  whom  they  had  lately 
seen  parading  the  streets  in  all  the  haughtiness  of  military 
license.  ^ 

The  Sultan  now  twenty  years  old  took  an  active 
part  and  showed  the  utmost  bravery  in  asserting 
his  authority.  Unfortunately  the  severe  measures 
he  had  to  adopt  had  a  bad  influence  on  his  nature, 
and  he  became  a  blood-thirsty  tyrant.     On  the  least 

1  Creasy,  History  of  the  Ottoman  Turks,  vol.  i,  p.  395. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  402. 


70  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

suspicion  officials  were  put  to  death,  and  so  great  was 
their  fear  that  a  summons  to  the  Sultan's  presence 
was  viewed  with  the  greatest  alarm,  and  before  they 
entered  into  his  chamber,  men  made  the  ablutions 
which  usually  preceded  death.  At  first  he  only 
executed  traitors,  then  suspected  officials,  and  finally 
any  person  who  excited  his  displeasure.  In  his  later 
years  he  became  intemperate  and  still  more  ferocious. 
A  favourite  saying  of  his  was :  '  Vengeance  never  grows 
decrepit,  though  she  may  grow  grey.'  He  tolerated 
no  crime  but  his  own,  and  so  for  the  time  saved 
his  country.  He  won  a  victory  over  the  Persians 
and  captured  Baghdad  on  November  15,  1638,  which 
has  remained  Turkish  to  this  day.  The  defence  was 
strong  and  this  so  exasperated  the  Sultan  that  when 
the  city  was  won,  he  only  spared  three  hundred  men 
out  of  a  garrison  of  thirt\-  thousand.  The  rest 
perished.  He  restored  the  navy,  put  down  an 
insurrection  in  Albania  and  brought  an  amount  of 
order  into  the  administration  which  had  long  been 
absent  from  it. 

Apart  from  his  capricious  cruelty  Murad  IV  was 
a  great  Sultan  and  rendered  good  service  to  his 
empire  but  his  cruelties  were  long  remembered. 
One  of  his  last  acts  was  for  no  apparent  reason 
to  order  the  death  of  his  brother  Ibrahim.  The 
Sultana  Valida  concealed  the  victim  and  made 
the  Sultan  believe  that  his  order  has  been  carried 
out.      It   is   recorded    that   Murad    then  '  grinned    a 


THE  STRONG  VIZIERS.  71 

ghastly  smile '  and  tried  to  rise  from  his  bed  to  see 
the  corpse  of  his  brother.  In  this  savage  state  of 
mind  he  passed  away  on  February  9,  1640. 

The  traveller  Evli\'a  Efendi  tells  us  that  Murad 
took  much  interest  in  the  great  mosque  of  Santa 
Sophia  and  worshipped  there  on  Fridays.  He 
erected  a  wooden  enclosure  near  the  southern  door 
in  which  he  placed  cages  of  nightingales  and  so,  in 
the  quaint  language  of  Evliya,  '  their  sweet  notes, 
mingled  with  the  sound  of  the  Mu'adhdhin's  voices^ 
filled  the  mosque  with  a  harmony  approaching  that 
of  Paradise.'  * 

The  next  twelve  Sultans  until  we  come  to 
Mahmud  II  (1808)  were  rulers  of  no  weight  or 
power.  They  were  now  brought  up  in  the  harems, 
and  Turkey  owed  whatever  vitality  she  possessed  in 
those  years  to  the  vigour  and  ability  of  the  Viziers. 
The  Khalifa  of  Islam  was  a  negligable  quantity 
altogether.  Of  these  Sultans,  four  were  deposed, 
one  was  assassinated  and  one  resigned.  Instead  of 
describing  the  events  in  the  reign  of  each  of  these 
incompetent  rulers  I  shall  take  a  rapid  survey  of  the 
principal  political  events  until  the  accession  of 
Mahmud  II  in  1808. 

During  part  of  this  period,  if  Sultans  were  weak, 
many  of  the  Viziers  were  strong  men.  Muhammad 
Kuprili,  an   Albanian,   who  received    that  office    in 

1  Travels  of  Evliya  (London,  1846).  p.  48. 


72  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

1656  reorganized  the  fleet,  recovered  many  islands 
which  Venice  had  seized,  and  did  much  to  arrest 
temporarily  the  decline  of  the  empire.  He  was  a 
strong  and  resolute  man  ;  armed  with  absolute 
power,  he  could  brook  no  opposition.  He  is  said 
to  have  executed  thirty-six  thousand  persons  during 
his  live  years  term  of  office.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Koprili-zada  Ahmad,  an  equally  strong  and  able  man, 
who  maintained  control  over  the  provinces  and, 
though  defeated  in  a  war  against  Austria,  was 
able  to  conclude  an  advantageous  treaty  of  peace 
(1664).  He  also  subdued  the  island  of  Crete.  These 
advantages  were  somewhat  lessened  by  the  brilliant 
victory  won  by  John  Sobieski,  King  of  Poland,  over 
the  Turks  at  Lemberg  in  1675.  This  town,  recently 
captured  by  the  Russians,  was  the  most  northerly 
point  of  the  Turkish  advance  in  Europe. 

The  Cossacks  of  the  Ukraine  now  began  to  assert 
their  independence  and  applied  to  Russia  for  aid, 
the  result  of  which  w^as  that  Russia  now  received  a 
cession  of  territory  by  a  treaty  made  in  1681,  the 
first  of  many  to  follow,  all  tending  to  weaken  the 
Turkish  empire. 

The  Reformation  had  taken  deep  root  in  Hungary, 
but  was  opposed  by  the  Austrian  government,  which 
led  on  by  the  Jesuits  initiated  cruel  persecutions 
against  the  Protestants.  The  Magyars,  who  had 
embraced  the  reformed  faith,  resented  this  and 
revolted.     The     Austrians     who     were     Romanists 


SECOND  SIEGE  OF  VIENNA  73 

punished  them  with  great  severity.  It  so  happened 
that  at  this  time  the  grand  Vizier,  Kara  Mustafa, 
was  a  very  ambitious  man  who  could  brook  no 
opposition,'  and  who  saw  in  the  civil  war  a  grand 
opportunity  for  gaining  Hungary  and  curbing  the 
power  of  the  House  of  Hapsburg.  Whilst  the 
Turkish  empire  sorely  needed  repose  and  reform,  it 
was  a  foolish  thing  to  enter  upon  a  great  war ;  but 
nothing  could  turn  the  Vizier  from  the  desire  to 
immortalize  his  name  with  a  great  victory,  and  so 
Sultan  Muhammad  IV  and  the  Vizier  in  the  spring 
of  1683  set  forth  with  an  army  of  400,000  men.  It 
was  the  most  determined  attempt  the  Turks  had 
ever  made  to  crush  the  Christian  nations.  The 
army  marched  towards  Vienna  and  commenced 
(July  14,  1683),  the  siege  which  has  become  so 
memorable  for  its  brilliant  relief.  The  fortifications 
of  the  city  were  in  a  bad  state  of  repair  and  the 
prospects  of  a  sound  defence  were  so  poor  that  the 
Emperor  and  his  Court  fled  to  Bavaria,  and  had  the 
grand  Vizier  hastened  on,  instead  of  wasting  time 
by  devastating  the  country  through  which  he  passed, 
he  might  have  easily  captured  the  city.  The  dela}" 
was  made  good  lise  of  by  the  people  of  Vienna,  for 
the  whole  population  worked  hard  at  the  defences 
and,  as  a  precautionary  measure,  destroyed  all 
houses  in  the  suburbs. 

1  He  reduced  the  corps  of  Janissaries  to  17,000  men,  but  it  soon 
rose  again  to  50,000. 


74  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

Though  the  emperor  showed  himself  to  be  a 
coward  and  ran  away,  there  was  a  brave  man  left. 
Count  Stahremberg  was  a  true  hero  and  took  charge 
of  the  defence.  For  two  months  the  siege  was, 
pressed  with  vigour,  but  each  assault  was  bravely 
repulsed  and  mines  were  met  by  counter  mines  s 
still  the  little  band  of  20,000  combatants  could  not 
hold  out  much  longer.  Their  distressed  condition 
has  been  thus  described  : — 

The  assaults  so  far  had  indeed  been  fruitless,  for  the 
Turkish  scimitar  was  no  match  for  the  German  halberd, 
sythe  and  battle-axe  ;  but  the  mines  were  creeping  toward 
the  walls  and  sickness  was  raging  in  the  city.  To  sick- 
ness followed  famine.  Cats  were  so  valuable  that  a 
chase  after  the  animal  over  the  roofs  became  a  recog-. 
nized  form  of  sport.  The  relieving  army  was  known  to 
be  on  the  move,  but  would  it  come  in  time,  or  would  it 
succeed  in  driving  away  the  still  immense,  though 
diminishing,  hosts  of  the  Turks  ?  ' 

John  Sobieski,  king  of  Poland,  had  bound  himself' 
by  a  treaty  to  assist  the  emperor  Leopold  of 
Austria  and  both  confirmed  it  bv  an  oath,  sworn  be- 
fore the  Pope's  Legate.  They,  however,  remem- 
bered that  the  Pope  claimed  a  dispensing  power 
(ante  p.  30)  and  so  they  added  a  clause  to  the 
treaty  which  stated  that  '  it  was  not  subject  to 
retraction  by  Papal  dispensation  '.  Sobieski's  army 
85,000  strong  came  up  fresh  and  vigorous,  and  on 
September    12    completely    defeated     the    Turkish 

1  S.  Lane- Poole.  Turkey,  p.  231. 


SECOND  SIEGE  OF  \'IENNA  75 

forces.     The   king's  stirring   address    to   the  PoHsh 

soldiers  was : — 

Warriors  and  friends !  Yonder  in  the  plains  are  our 
enemies.  We  have  to  hght  them  on  a  foreign  soil,  hut 
we  fight  for  our  own  country,  and  under  the  walls  of 
Vienna  we  are  defending  those  of  Warsaw  and  Cracow. 
We  have  to  sa\-e  to-day,  not  a  single  city,  but  the  whole 
of  Christendom,  of  which  the  city  of  \'ienna  is  the 
bulwark.  The  war  is  a  holy  one.  There  is  a  bless- 
ing on  our  arms,  and  a  crown  of  glory  for  him  who  falls. 
You  fight  not  for  your  earthly  sovereign,  but  for  the 
King  of  Kings  ...  I  have  but  one  command  to  gi\e. 
Follow  me  !  The  time  is  come  for  the  young  to  win 
their  spurs.  ' 

The  Grand  Vizier  prepared  for  the  fight  by 
slaughtering  thirty  thousand  captives.  This  haughty 
cruel  man  was  no  general.  He  could  slay  helpless 
prisoners  but  was  unable  to  lead  men  to  victory. 
The  defeat  was  complete.  Three  hundred  guns  and 
a  vast  qunatit}"  of  war  material  were  captured,  the 
Janissaries  were  destroyed,  and  the  army  was  utterly 
routed.  Kara  Mustafa  incurred  the  displeasure  of 
his  employer,  and  it  is  not  perhaps  to  be  regretted 
that  he  paid  with  his  life  for  his  foolish  ambition 
and  barbaric  cruelty. 

Vienna  was,  therefore,  saved  by  the  patient  endur- 
ance and  heroism  of  its  defenders,  b}-  the  skilful 
strategy  of  John  Sobieski  and  the  martial  bravery 
of  the  relieving  force.  This  was  the  last  great  effort 
made  by  the  Turks  to  gain  more  ground  in  Europe 
and  it  failed.     They  never  recovered  from  the  blow, 

1  S.  Lane-Poole.  Turkey,  p.  247. 


76  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

and  it  now  became  possible  for  Hungary,  so  long 
the  scence  of  continual  wars,  to  regain  her  liberty. 
A  few  years  after,  the  troops  mutinied,  dethroned 
Muhammad  IV  and  placed  his  brother  Suleyman  II 
(1687-91)  on  the  throne. 

From  this  time  onward  the  gradual  decline  of  the 
empire  is  shown  by  the  various  treaties  made  with 
foreign  nations.  The  treaty  of  Carlowitz  in  1699 
took  away  from  Turkey  a  good  part  of  her  Hun- 
garian possessions ;  and  Trans^-lvania  went  to 
Austria.  There  were  other  adjustments  of  territory 
with  Poland  and  Russia.  Nineteen  years  later  the 
remaining  provinces  in  Hungary  were  given  up  and 
Turkish  rule  there  ceased  as  entirely  as  that  of  the 
Moors  in  Spain  had  done  in  the  fifteenth  century. 
In  the  latter  case  the  Moors  left  behind  memorials 
of  civilization,  industry  and  art  which  added  some 
glory  to  their  rule ;  in  Hungary  the  memorials  of 
Turkish  occupation  were  ruin  and  devastation. 
The\-  left  nothing  to  add  any  relief  'to  the  sad 
picture  of  the  misery  they  had  caused. 

The  treaty  of  Carlowitz  is  an  important  event  for 
it  marks  the  end  of  Turkey's  power  as  a  military 
nation  for  offensive  purposes  in  Europe.  She  was 
no  longer  a  standing  menace  to  her  neighbours  in 
the  north.  It  was  also  the  first  occasion  on  which 
the  representatives  of  other  Powers  had  taken  any 
part  in  peace  negotiations.  Von  Hammer  says  of 
this  treaty  : — 


THE  GROWING  POWER  OF  RUSSIA     77 

It  marks  the  period  when  men  ceased  to  dread  the 
Ottoman  empire  as  an  aggressive  power  ;  it  was  then 
that  the  Porte  and  Russia  took  part,  for  the  first  time, 
in  a  general  European  congress ;  and  by  admitting  the 
representatives  of  England  and  Holland,  neither  of 
which  states  was  a  party  to  the  war,  both  the  Sultan 
and  the  Czar  admitted  the  principle  of  the  intervention 
of  the  European  Powers,  one  with  another,  for  the  sake 
of  the  general  good.  ^ 

An  attempt  to  use  the  interval  of  peace  for  the 
promotion  of  internal  reforms  raised  up  much 
opposition  and  the  Sultan,  Mustafa  II,  was  deposed. 

The  Russians  were  now  a  growing  power  and 
their  wars,  alliances  and  treaties  with  Turke}'  now 
became  constant.  Charles  XII  of  Sweden,  after  his 
defeat  at  Pultowa  (1709),  took  refuge  in  Turkey,  and 
the  Sultan  Ahmad  III  had  the  courage  to  refuse  to 
give  him  up  to  Peter  the  Great.  This  led  to  a  war 
with  Russia.  According  to  the  custom,  no\\  dis-. 
continued,  on  the  declaration  of  war  the  Turks  im- 
prisoned the  Russian  ambassador  in  the  Castle  of 
the  Seven  Towers. 

The  Turks  gained  the  initial  advantage  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  Pruth,  and  Peter  found  himself  in 
a  precarious  position  ;  but  the  empress  Catherine 
bribed  the  Grand  Vizier  and  saved  the  position. 
The  treaty  of  the  Pruth  in  1711  and  that  of 
Constantinople  in  1720  gave  Russia  some  advantage 
and  accession  of  territory.     Soon  after  this  seven 

1  Geschichte  Osmanischen  Reiches,  vol.  iii,  p.  913. 


78  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

provinces  taken  from  Persia  by  Murad  IV  were  re- 
covered by  Nadir  Kiili  Khan  who  in  1736  compelled 
the  successor  of  Ahmad  III,  the  Sultan  Mahmud  I, 
to  recognize  him  as  the  Shah  of  Persia. 

The  reign  of  Ahmad  III,  compared  with  that  of 
many  of  his  successors  was  not  inglorious.  He 
improved  the  finances,  and  though  he  lost  some  terri- 
tory he  also  gained  some.  He  was  a  liberal  patron 
of  literature  and  art.  During  his  reign  the  first 
printing  press  was  set  up  in  Constantinople. 

In  1736  another  war  broke  out  and  Russia  in- 
vaded the  Crimea.  Austria  joined  in  and  invaded 
Bosnia,  Serbia  and  Wallachia,  all  Turkish  provinces. 
The  war  was  concluded  by  the  treaty  of  Belgrade  in 
1739,  by  which  that  city  was  given  up  by  Austria 
and  generally  the  Turks  had  the  best  of  the  bargain  ; 
and  it  seemed  as  if  evil  days  might  be  long 
deferred. 

Later  on  trouble  arose  on  account  of  the 
aggressive  policy  of  Russia  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  Caspian  and  the  Black  Seas  and  her  interference 
in  the  affairs  of  Poland,  which  led  to  its  partition  in 
1772.  The  patriotic  Poles  appealed  to  the  Sultan 
for  aid.  This  caused  much  anxiety  in  Constanti- 
nople. In  1768  war  was  declared  and  the  Russian 
representative  at  the  Porte  was  imprisoned.  The 
war  went  on  for  some  years  and  was  unfavourable 
to  the  Turks.  Under  the  weak  'Abdu'l-Hamid  I 
(1773-89)   matters    grew    worse.      He     had     been 


TREATY  OF  KAYNARJI  79 

confined  by  his  brother  Sultan  Mustafa  III  in  the 
harem  for  forty-three  years,  and  now  passed  from 
the  monotony  of  a  royal  prison  to  the  care  and 
anxieties  of  the  throne.  Naturally  he  proved  to  be 
an  incapable  ruler.  The  financial  position  of  the 
empire  was  bad  and  the  troops  did  not  receive  the 
large  donations  usually  given  to  them  on  the  accession 
of  a  new  sovereign  ;  consequently  they  became  de- 
moralized. Under  these  circumstances  the  Turks 
were  compelled  to  accept  the  terms  laid  down  in  the 
treaty  of  Kaynarji  in  1774.  No  previous  Sultan 
had  ever  been  asked  to  accept  such  onerous  terms, 
and  this  treaty  shows  how  great  a  step  had  been 
taken  towards  the  dissolution  of  the  Ottoman 
empire.  By  it  the  Crimea  was  declared  independent 
under  its  own  Khan.  Moldavia  and  Wallachia  were 
restored  to  Turkey,  but,  as  they  were  now  formally 
under  the  protection  of  Russia,  they  were  practically 
semi-independent  states.  Greek  traders  were  per- 
mitted to  sail  under  the  protection  of  the  Russian 
flag,  which  was  an  important  step  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  spirit  of  independence  now  arising  in 
that  long  subjugated  land.  '  Turkey  also  had  to 
pay  a  large  war  indemnity  and  by  article  vii  of  the 
treaty  the  Sublime  Porte  undertook  '  to  protect  the 

'  For  other  commercial  results  which  followed  from  this  trea- 
ty, see  Odysseus,  Turkey  in  Europe,  pp.  312-3  ;  and  for  its 
general  terms,  see  Creasy,  History  of  the  Ottoman  Turks, 
vol.  ii,  pp.  257-62. 


80  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

Christian  religion  and  its  churches  '  and  conceded  to 
the  Minister  of  Russia  the  specific  right  to  '  make 
representations  in  favour  of  the  new  church',  which 
under  article  xiv  of  the  same  treaty,  the  Russian 
government  was  empowered  to  build.  '  This  article 
is  of  great  historical  importance,  as  forming  the 
basis  of  the  later  claim  of  Russia  to  possess  by 
treaty  the  right  to  protect  the  orthodox  subjects  of 
the  Porte.'  ^ 

A  grandson  of  the  empress  Catherine  was  named 
Constantine,  and  on  a  gate  in  Moscow  the  words 
'  The  way  to  Constantinople  '  were  written.  These 
things  indicated  the  policy  of  Russia  which  soon 
began  to  take  a  practical  turn.  In  1779  a  Russian 
nominee  was  accepted  as  Khan  of  the  Crimea  and 
in  1783  Russia  annexed  that  province  and  has 
retained  it  ever  since.  In  1786  Catherine  made  a 
triumphal  progress  in  the  Crimea. 

All  this  roused  the  Turks  to  action,  and  in  1788 
war  was  again  declared  and  was  conducted  with 
ver\^  much  savagery  on  both  sides.  The  Russian 
successes  so  affeted  Sultan  'Abdu'l-Hamid  I  that 
he  died. 

His  successor,  Salim  III  (1789-1807),  wished  to 
carr)'  on  the  war  more  strenuously  but,  as  his  gener- 
als were  incompetent  and  his  troops  in  bad 
humour,  disaster  after  disaster  followed.     Further 

^  Encyclopcedia  Britannica  (ed.  xi),  vol.  xxvi,  p.  454. 


KARAGEORGIC  81 

opposition  was  useless  and  the  treaty  of  Jassy  was 
signed  in  1792,  by  which  the  river  Dniester  was 
made  the  frontier  in  Europe  and  Bels^rade  was 
restored  to  the  Turks. 

This  peace  did  not,  however,  restore  order  in  the 
Turkish  empire,  and  so  great  was  the  disorganiza- 
tion that  the  Serbs  saw  in  it  an  opportunity  for  re- 
gaining some  of  their  lost  liberty.  The  Dahias,  or 
four  chieftains  of  the  Janissaries,  had  rebelled 
against  the  Sultan  and  established  themselves  in 
Serbia,  where  they  did  as  they  pleased  and  oppressed 
the  people.  ^  The  Serbs  in  1804  elected  George 
Petrovitch,  better  known  as  Karageorge  (Black 
George),''  commander-in-chief.  He  had  passed  an 
adventurous  youth  as  a  soldier,  and  as  a  leader  of 
brigands.  He  was  a  man  of  simple  habits  of  life, 
bold  and  brave,  just  suited  to  the  work  in  hand.  ^ 
The  Dahias  were  defeated  and  beheaded.  The 
Sultan  now  hoped  that  Serbia  would  remain  loyal 
to  him,  but  the  Turks  were  soon  driven  out  of  the 
country  and  in  1807  the  Sultan  offered  to  grant 
Serbia  self-government  with  Karageorge  as  ruler ; 
but  Serbia  declined  all  terms  and  allied   itself  with 


'  For  a  good  account  of  these  men,  see  Miller,  The  Balkan 
States,  pp.  30S-9. 

'^  He  received  the  nicknames  of  Tsrni  Dyordye  from  the  Serbs, 
and  of  Karageorge  from  the  Turks,  on  account  of  his  dark  com- 
plexion and  his  gloomy,  taciturn  temper  and  disposition. 

^See  Miller,  The  Balkan  States,  pp.  311-2. 

6 


82  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

Russia  in  war  upon  Turkey.  Russia  hastily  made 
the  treaty  of  Bucharest  (1812),  but  entirely  failed  to 
secure  proper  terms  for  Serbia,  her  faithful  ally. 
The  Turks  were  now  set  free,  and,  on  the  refusal  of 
the  Serbs  to  lay  down  their  arms  as  a  preliminary 
of  peace,  they  invaded  Serbia.  Karageorge  and 
most  of  the  leading  men  found  safety  in  flight  to 
Hungar5\  Two  years  after  the  Serbs  under  Milosh 
Obronovitch  rose  in  rebellion  and  so  far  succeeded 
that  in  1817  Serbia  regained  its  autonomy  under 
the  suzerainty  of  the  Sultan,  and  Milosh  was 
declared  hereditary  prince  of  the  country.  In  1817 
Karageorge  suddenly  returned  to  Serbia.  Whether 
he  hoped  to  again  place  himself  at  the  head  of 
affairs,  or  was  sent  by  the  Greeks  to  stir  up  Serbia 
to  a  war  with  Turkey  is  not  known.  Anyhow  the 
Turkish  Pasha  at  Belgrade  demanded  that  he 
should  be  delivered  up.  He  was  murdered  in  his 
sleep  and  his  head  was  sent  to  Belgrade  for  trans- 
mission to  Constantinople.  He  was  ruthless  in 
many  ways,  but  few  men  could  have  led  undisplined 
and  badly-armed  peasants  to  victory  as  he  did. 
He  is  one  of  the  national  heroes  of  the  Serbs,  a  fact 
which  they  recognized  in  1842  by  appointing  his 
son,  Alexander,  as  Prince  of  Serbia  and  in  1903 
his  grandson,  Peter  Karageorgevich,  to  the  same 
dignity.  The  autonomy  granted  in  1817  was  con- 
firmed by  the  treaty  of  Adrianople  in  1839.  It 
was  not,  however,  until  1867   that  all  the  Turkish 


REFORMS  OF  SALIM   111  83 

garrisons  were  withdrawn.  By  the  treaty  of 
Berlin  (1878)  Serbia  became  an  independent  king- 
dom, after  long  centuries  of  servitude.  Since  then 
the  Serbs  have  made  great  progress  and  have  won 
renown  as  bold  and  successful  warriors. 

After  this  digression  we  must  now  return  to  affairs 
in  Turkey.  Salim  III  soon  saw  that  administrative 
reforms  were  most  urgently  called  for,  and  that  an 
improved  army  system  was  absolutely  needed. 
Everywhere  disorder  prevailed.  The  local  gover- 
nors oppressed  the  people  and  did  as  they  pleased. 
They  opposed  all  attempts  at  reform.  The  Sultan 
formed  a  new  body  of  troops,  called  the  Nizam-i- 
Jedid,  properly  drilled  and  trained.  Military  schools 
under  European  instructors  were  established  and 
the  navy  was  improved.  The  Janissaries  objected 
to  the  whole  scheme  and  supported  the  officials 
in  their  opposition  to  reforms,  both  civil  and 
military.  They  demanded  the  abolition  of  the  new 
troops  and  their  combined  influence  was  strong 
enough  to  enable  them  to  dethrone  the  Sultan  and 
to  proclaim  his  nephew  as  the  new  ruler  under  the 
title  of  Mustafa  IV  (1807-8). 

Meanwhile  there  were  troubles  in  Serbia  due  to 
the  lawless  conduct  of  the  Janissaries.  As  we  have 
seen  the  Serbs  under  Karageorge,  rose  in  rebellion 
defeated  the  Janissaries  and  captured  Belgrade. 
Mustafa  IV  was  not  strong  enough  to  carr}-  out  his 
father's  plans.     The  reforms  which  had  been  made 


84  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

were  abolished,  and  all  who  had  been  concerned  in 
them  had  to  flee  from  the  fury  of  the  Janissaries. 
The  Pasha  of  Rustchuk  responded  to  the  call  of 
the  men  who  had  been  in  sympathy  with  Salim's 
plans  and  marched  on  Constantinople  in  order  to 
restore  Salim  ;  but  before  he  could  reach  that  city 
Salim  had  been  killed  and  Mustafa  put  to  death. 

Mahmud  II  (1808-39)  was  in  many  ways  a 
strong  though  despotic  ruler.  He  came  to  the  throne 
at  a  period  of  great  unrest,  and,  though  his  methods 
are  open  to  much  criticism,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
he  tried  to  introduce  some  reforms  into  the  adminis- 
tration. The  decadence  of  the  Ottoman  empire 
had  now  reached  an  acute  stage.  The  central  power 
was  weak,  the  provinces  were  in  revolt,  the  Janissaries 
could  not  be  controlled,  and  some  of  the  great  Pashas 
were  practically  independent  rulers.  Until  now  the 
subject  races,  though  restive  and  ready  at  times  to 
help  the  enemies  of  the  empire,  had  never  risen  to 
achieve  their  own  independence.  They  had  been 
crushed  by  centuries  of  despotism,  and  weakened  by 
the  tribute  of  their  children  for  the  corps  of  the 
Janissaries.  This  had  now  ceased  and,  as  the  flower 
of  provincial  youth  grew  up  into  manhood,  and 
retained  their  religion  and  their  national  aspirations, 
the  weakness  and  submissiveness  of  the  people  in 
the  country  districts  passed  away,  and  a  new  spirit 
came  upon  the  subject  races  so  long  cowed  and 
oppressed.     Some  of  the  peoples  in  the  remote  and 


REFORMS  OP^  MAHMUJ)  II  85 

mountainous  regions  had  never  really  been  conquered. 
The  brave  Montenegrins  were  an  example  of  what 
a  small  but  bold  communit}-  could  do.  All  this 
showed  the  Sultan  that  he  must  grasp  the  reins  of 
government  more  tirmly.  This  he  proceeded  to 
attempt. 

The  Sultan,  feeling  that  his  control  over  the  great 
Pashas  was  insufficient,  now  determined  upon  a 
policy  of  centralization.  In  order  to  do  this,  it  was 
necessary  to  reduce  the  power  of  the  local  governors 
who,  in  many  cases,  were  practically  independent  of 
the  central  government  of  Constantinople.  The 
Derebeys  held  their  lands  on  a  feudal  tenure  and 
defied  the  Sultan's  authoritv.  The\-  were  often 
guilty  of  extortion  from  the  people  over  A\hom  they 
ruled,  but  still  they  were  men  who  came  from  the 
local  families,  and  they  accepted  the  position  of 
protectors  of  the  people  from  outside  rapacity.  It 
is  doubtful  whether  the  rule  of  officials  sent  from 
Constantinople,  who  often  paid  large  sums  for  their 
appointments,  was  any  real  improvement  in  adminis- 
tration, or  any  greater  benefit  to  the  people.  If  the 
Derebeys  exacted  money,  they  spent  it  in  the  locality, 
and  the  province  as  a  whole  became  no  poorer. 
The  peasant,  when  in  want,  found  a  chief  willing  to 
assist  him  and  so  Bey  and  peasant  got  along  fairly 
well.  Mahmud  changed  all  this,  resumed  the  fiefs 
his  predecessors  had  granted  and  so  destroyed  the 
landed  gentry.     Possibly  it  was  desirable  to  exercise 


86  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

more  central  control,  but  the  change  needed  to  be 
brought  about  gradually  and  cautiously. 

One  of  the  greatest  of  these  governors  was  'Ali 
Pasha  of  Janina,  who  was  practically  independent 
in  Albania  and  paid  little  attention  to  orders  from 
Constantinople,  and  yet  he  kept  his  district  in  order 
and  the  Greeks  quiet.  He  was  slain  in  1820.  The 
people  liked  their  local  rulers  and  did  not  approve 
of  the  corrupt  officials  sent  from  Constantinople.  If 
they  were  to  be  fleeced,  they  preferred  that  men 
whom  they  knew  should  do  it — men  who  would 
take  care  that  no  one  else  should  injure  them. 

Mahmud  also  realized  that  he  must  introduce 
reforms  into  the  military  administration  and  become 
independent  of  the  Janissaries,  now  nominally  a 
force  of  135,000  men.  In  1825  he  formed  a  body 
of  regular  troops  called  the  Eshkenjis,  and  procured 
from  the  Shaikhu'l-Islam  a  fatva  to  the  effect  that 
it  was  quite  lawful,  and  indeed  a  duty,  for  Muslims 
to  accept  militar}^  service.  The  Janissaries,  jealous 
of  their  position  and  power,  rose  in  revolt  ;  but 
Mahmud  was  prepared  for  it.  For  years  he  had 
been  maturing  his  plans  and  in  1826  he  struck  the 
blow.  The  rebellious  troops  met  in  the  At-Maidan, 
overturned  the  caldrons  of  the  various  regiments? 
a  signal  of  rebellion,  attacked  the  house  of  their 
Aga,  who  had  agreed  to  the  formation  of  the  new 
troops,  and  set  about  pillaging  the  cit}-.  The 
'Ulama'  had  stated  that  it  was  lawful  to  oppose  and 


END  OF  THE  JANISSARIES  87 

slay  violent  men,  so  the  law  was  on  the  side  of  the 
Sultan.  War  was  declared  and  the  sacred  standard 
of  the  Prophet  was  unfurled  ;  but  a  more  effective 
step  was  the  presence  of  the  large  body  of  troops, 
supported  by  artillery,  which  marched  to  the  At- 
Maidan.  The  Janissaries  were  asked  to  la}-  down 
their  arms.  This  they  refused  to  do.  The  order 
to  fire  was  then  given  to  the  artillery  gunners,  the 
barracks  of  the  Janissaries  were  set  on  fire  and 
large  numbers  were  slain.  Of  the  few  who  survived 
the  conflict  some  were  afterwards  executed,  and 
others  were  sent  to  the  galleys.  Thus  perished  this 
famous  corps  which  had  won  in  earlier  days  so 
man\'  victories  for  the  Ottoman  arms  ;  but  had  now 
degenerated  into  an  idle  turbulent  mob.  When  the 
Janissaries  had  been  thus  disposed  of,  the  new  army 
on  the  European  model  was  formed,  in  the  training 
and  disciplining  of  which  the  Sultan  himself  took  a 
practical  part.  Still  the  loss  of  an  old  army  before 
a  new  one  came  into  efficient  being  was  a  danger, 
for  trouble  was  at  hand. 

The  Greek  agitation  for  freedom  now  assumed 
larger  proportions.  It  was  no  new  idea.  As  far 
back  as  1780  the  Societ\"  of  Friends  (Eraipict  tmv 
(piXtKOiv)  had  been  formed  and  pursued  its  prosehtiz- 
ing  course.  Other  literary  and  patriotic  societies 
came  into  existence.  There  was  a  great  revival  of 
literary  activitN-  and  Greek  schools  were  founded  in 
large    numbers.     The    Hetairia    now   became  a    real 


88  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

source  of  danger  and  the  suppression  of  'Ali  Pasha 
made  its  work  easier.  The  Greek  insurrection  had 
broken  out  in  1821  but  was  put  down  with  much 
severit}-.'  The  Patriarch,  Gregorius,  was  executed. 
This  was  a  wanton  and  foolish  act  of  revenge.  It 
was  deeply  resented  in  Russia,  whose  ambassador 
was  recalled.  The  Greek  question  caused  much 
trouble  to  the  leading  European  Powers  and  gave 
rise  to  many  diplomatic  conversations.  Then  in 
1825  England  recognized  Greece  as  a  belligerent 
state  ;  whereupon  Russia,  fearing  she  might  lose 
her  position  as  a  champion  of  the  Greeks,  suggested 
a  joint  intervention  of  the  Powers.  This  came  to 
nothing.  The  Sultan  then  determined  to  make  a 
supreme  effort  to  subdue  the  rebellion.  He  sent  to 
Egypt  and  called  in  the  aid  of  Muhammad  'Ali, 
Governor  of  Egypt,  who,  as  the  reward  for  his 
services,  was  to  receive  the  island  of  Crete  and  the 
control  over  Damascus  and  Syria.  The  result  was 
the  complete  conquest  of  Greece,  the  occupation  of 
Athens,  and  the  deportation  to  Cairo  of  two  thousand 
Greek  captives  as  slaves.  This  roused  considerable 
feeling  against  the  Turks,  but  before  anything 
effective  was  done,  Russia  had  her  o\\  n  grievances 
to  settle.  The  Porte  resented  all  this  outburst  of 
feeling  and  interference,  but  was  too  weak    to   resist 


1  For    a  full   account  of   this    insurrection,    see    The    Hiicyclo- 
pcedia  Britannica  (ed.  xi),  vol.  xii,  pp.  493-5. 


BATTLE  OF  NAVARINO  89 

the  demands  made  upon  her.  The  new  arm\-  was 
not  ready  and  so  the  Sultan  was  obHged  to  agree 
to  the  treaty  of  Akkerman  (1826)  in  which,  amongst 
other  things,  the  autonomy  of  Serbia  was  recognized. 
In  the  poHtical  world  further  steps  were  then 
taken  with  regard  to  Greece,  and  the  Russian 
susceptibilities  were  mollified  b\-  a  request  from 
Great  Britain  to  join  in  mutual  representations  to 
the  Porte.  Austria  and  Prussia  objected  to  any 
pressure  being  brought  to  bear  upon  the  Sultan  and 
so  the  treaty  of  London  (1827)  was  signed  only  by 
Russia,  Great  Britain  and  France.  The  object  of 
the  treat)'  was  to  secure  the  autonomy  of  Greece 
under  the  suzerainty  of  the  Sultan.  Pending  the 
settlement  of  the  question  Greece  accepted  an 
armistice,  but  Ibrahim  Pasha,  the  Egyptian  com- 
mander, declined  to  do  so  without  orders  from  the 
Sultan.  However,  he  agreed  to  detain  his  ships  in 
the  harbour  at  Navarino.  Ibrahim  having  heard 
that  some  Greeks  had  attacked  Turkish  ships  set 
sail,  but  was  met  by  the  allied  fleets  and  compelled 
to  return.  An  accidental  encounter  led  to  a  general 
naval  battle  and  to  the  entire  destruction  of  the 
Turkish  and  Egyptian  fleets  at  Navarino  on  October 
20,  1 827.  The  Egyptian  army  w  as  expelled  from 
the  Morea.  The  Sultan  was  naturally  deeph" 
incensed  and  a  war  with  Russia  ensued  (1828-9). 
It  was  concluded  by  the  treaty  of  Adrianople  (1829 
by    which    Greece    was     made    a     tributary     state, 


90  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

governed  by  a  prince  selected  by  the  Powers,  and 
the  Danubian  principahties  became  practically 
independent  states.  On  February  3,  1830,  a  protocol 
was  signed  by  the  terms  of  which  the  suzerainty  of 
the  Sultan  was  abolished  and  Greece  became  an 
independent  kingdom.  Victor  Berard^  in  an  eloquent 
passage  describes  how  Greece,  having  survived 
through  long  ages  in  spite  of  many  foes  now  came 
to  her  own  again.  In  the  past  Persians  had  invaded 
and  Rome  had  possessed  her.  Hordes  of  barbarians 
ravaged  and  the  Latins  conquered  her.  Norman 
soldiers,  Turkish  janissaries,  Arab  corsairs,  Venetian 
condottieri  succeeded  each  other,  to  her  loss,  and 
then  passed  away.  Turks,  Bulgarians,  Austrians 
had  tried  but  could  not  destroy  the  indomitable 
Grecian  spirit  which  had  survived  all  these  centuries 
of  disaster  and  oppression. 

Mahmiid  felt  the  loss  of  Greece  intensely,  but  now 
another  calamity  was  about  to  happen.  Muhammad 
'Ali,  Governor  of  Egypt,  the  most  powerful  of  all  the 
Sultan's  vassals  determined  to  claim  his  independ- 
ence.'^ He  asserted  that  before  a  stable  government 
could  be  established  in  Egypt,  it  must  be  free  from 
the  control  of  Pashas  sent  from  Constantinople. 
This   was  sound   policy  and  though    there  is  much 

1  See  La  Turqnie,   p.  350. 

■^  For  a  good  account  of  the  early  history  of  this  remarkable  man 
and  of  his  character,  see  Cameron,  Egypt  in  tlie  Nineteenth 
Century,  chapters  iv,  and  xix. 


MUHAMIMAD  'ALI  91 

that  is  blameworthy  in  the  character  and  actions  of 
Muhammad  'Ah,  he  deserves  credit  for  his  accurate 
perception  of  the  needs  of  the  situation  and  his  skill 
in  meeting  them.  On  November  1,  183  I.Muhammad 
'Ali  invaded  Syria.  He  had  been  promised  the 
Pashaliks  of  Syria  and  Damascus  for  help  rendered 
in  Greece.  He  now  said  that  he  wished  to  take 
possession  of  them.  For  a  time  the  danger  was 
averted,  but  in  1839  the  Sultan  could  restrain  him- 
self no  longer,  and  against  the  advice  of  his  ministers 
and  of  the  Powers  determined  to  punish  his  rebellious 
vassal.  His  army  suffered  a  great  defeat  by  an 
Egyptian  army  under  Ibrahim,  a  son  of  Muhammad 
'Ali.  The  news  reached  the  Sultan  just  before  his 
death.  In  the  treaty  of  1841  Muhammad  'Ali  was 
confirmed  in  his  possessions  under  the  suzerainty  of 
the  Sultan,  and  Egypt  commenced  a  new  career 
which  resulted  in  her  eventually  becoming  indepen- 
dent of  Turkish  control. 

Mahmud  reigned  for  thirty  years,  during  which 
time  he  was  involved  in  man\  wars  and  had  to  give 
up  valuable  possessions.  Greece,  Egypt,  Algiers  were 
lost  to  the  empire.  The  principalities  on  the  Danube 
were  no  longer  under  the  Sultan's  control.  Russia 
gained  many  advantages,  and  the  interference  of 
the  Powers  in  the  affairs  of  Turkey  took  a  new  shape 
and  assumed  a  more  persistent  character. 

Mahmud  doubtless  made  mistakes,  but  he  should 
be  given  credit  for    a  worthy  atteni[)t   to  reform   the 


92  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

administration.       The    following    comment    on    his 
work  is  sound  and  judicious  : — 

Now  Sultan  Mahmud  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree 
the  destructive  qualities  of  a  Turk    and    a   Musalman. 
Without  being  bound  in  his  private  conduct  by  the  rules 
of  the   Qur'an,  he   was   in   temper   and  policy    a  despot 
and  a  Caliph.  .  .  .     He  is  by  no  means  deficient  in  the 
natural   qualities   of  judgement  and    resolution.  .  .  but 
what  is  to  be  expected  of  a  sovereign,  who  from  the 
time  of  his  accession,  has  made  it   the  principle  of  his 
government    to  preserve   order  and    power  by   ruining 
abruptly,  or  cutting  off  invidiously  not  the  turbulent  alone 
and    the  aspiring  officers  of  the  Janissaries,  but  every 
distinguished    candidate    for    the    honours  of  the  state. 
His  reign  of  more  than    thirty  years  was    marked    by 
•disastrous    wars    and     compulsory    cessions.        Greece, 
Egypt   and   Algiers   escaped   from   his    grasp.     On   the 
other  hand,  when  he  had  crushed  the  mutinous  Janissaries, 
he  introduced  a  system  of  reforms — to  form  a    regular 
army  in  the  place  of  a  fanatical  factious  militia.  ...      It 
is  easy  to  look  back  now  with  a  pitying  smile  over  the 
failures,  the  broken  vows,  the  paper  constitutions,  of  half 
a  century  of  Ottoman  history,  and  to  wonder  why  people 
expected  so  much  of  ?*Iahmud's  reforms,  why  men  hoped 
for   the  regeneration    of    '  the  unspeakable   Turk ' — -aye 
and  continued  to  hope  for  many  years  after  the  reforming 
Sultan  had  been  laid  in  his  grave  ;  but  at  the  time  there 
was  something  touching   in   the   strong,  ignorant  man's 
struggle  against  the  corruptions  of  his  empire — his  blind 
feeling  after  the  best  means  to  raise  his  country  to  the 
level  of  a  European  state.     We  do  not  imagine  him  an 
ideal  reformer,   a   man  of  broad  views,  and  the  wisdom 
that  comes  from   ripe   study  :  his  mind  was  built  in  a 
narrow  and   unbending  mould,  and  he  did  not  dream  of 
such  a  regeneration   of  Turkey  as  Canning  afterwards 
attempted.     But    he    saw  the  first    obvious   necessities 
f    government,    and    he    made  unhesitatingly  in  their 


'ABDU'L-MEJID  93 

direction.  He  knew  that  a  strong  ruler  uplield  l)y  a 
loyal  and  disciplined  army  alone  could  rescue  the 
empire  and  stem  the  tide  of  corruption  and  foreign 
aggrandizement. 

It  was  a  braxe  eflort,  and  the  more  astonishing  since 
it  was  made  in  solitude  and  isolation.  No  one  prompted 
Mahmud,  no  one  can  be  pointed  out  as  having  pro- 
minently and  voluntarily  assisted  him  ;  what  help  he  had 
he  commanded  and  he  rewarded.  It  was  his  misfortune 
as  well  as  his  glory  to  be  before  his  age,  to  attempt 
reform,  however  crude  and  elementary,  at  a  time  when 
no  one  understood  the  necessity  or  believed  in  the  policy.' 

'Abdu'l-Mejid  (1839-61),  son  of  the  late   Sultan, 

succeeded  him.     Fourteen  years  of  peace  followed 

which  allowed  time  for  the  further  prosecution  of 

the   reforms  which    Mahmud   had  set  on  foot  ;  but 

the   new   Sultan,   an   amiable   man,   was  not  strong 

enough   to   deal   with   the   difficult  position  and  the 

many  complicated  questions  which  confronted  him. 

Stratford  Canning  thus  sums  up  his  character : — 

The  graciousness  of  his  manner,  and  the  intelligent, 
though  gentle  and  even  melancholy,  expression  of  his 
countenance,  warrant  a  hope,  perhaps  a  sanguine  one, 
that  with  riper  years  and  more  experienced  judgement 
he  may  prove  a  real  blessing  and  a  source  of  strength  to 
his  country.  ' 

This     sanguine    hope    was    not     fulfilled.     Still 

progress  in  reform  was  made,  but  it  was  due  to  the 

untiring   energy  and   tactful   determination    of   the 

British    Ambassador   at    the     Porte,    Sir    Stratford 

is.    Lane-Poole,    Life   of  the   Rt.  Hon.    Stratford   Canning 
(London,  1888).  vol.  i,  pp.  399-400,  503  :  vol.  ii,  pp.  72-3. 
2  Ibid.,  vol.  ii.  p.  81. 


94  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

Canning,  who  from  1842  occupied  a  position  of 
supreme  importance.  He  saw  that,  if  Turkey  was 
to  be  saved,  it  must  be  from  within  and  he  eagerly 
supported  the  men  who,  hke  that  enhghtened 
statesman  Rashid  Pasha,  knowing  something  of 
western  civiHzation,  saw  that  the  old  position  of 
isolation  and  contempt  for  things  new  must  pass 
away.  Though  opposed  by  the  more  conservative 
party  in  the  state,  he  was  yet  recognized  as  a  true 
friend.  His  personal  character  was  high,  his  insight 
keen,  his  judgement  accurate.  He  rightly  earned 
the  title  of  the  Great  Elchi  (Ambassador).  The 
following  statement  gives  us  the  key  to  his 
success : — 

Truthful  and  straightforward  in  all  his  ways,  he  never 
condescended  to  the  tricks  of  diplomacy,  and  the  Turks 
soon  began  to  pereeive  that  what  Canning  spoke  was 
the  truth.  Gifted,  moreover,  with  a  sedate  gravity 
which  gave  dignity  and  importance  to  the  smallest 
negotiations — and  which  was  the  more  valuable  because 
men  knew  that  beneath  the  calm  and  polished  surface  lay 
an  impetuous,  passionate  spirit,  impatient  of  restraint — 
the  manner  of  the  great  Elchi  was  full  of  charm  and 
persuasion.  .  .  .  The  Turkish  Ministers  and  the  Sultan 
himself  bowed  themselves  down  before  his  righteous 
indignation.  By  force  of  character,  by  a  certain  admir- 
able violence,  necessary  in  dealing  with  dilatory  and 
prevaricating  people,  by  a  kingly  grace  and  courtesy 
which  stamped  him  as  a  gentleman  of  the  true  sort,  but 
above  all  by  a  manly  unswerving  honesty  and  straight- 
forwardness, Stratford  Canning  acquired  that  extraordi- 
nary influence  which  no  Christian  has  exercised  before 


THE  TAN ZI MAT  95 

or  since  over  the  princes  and  statesmen  of  the  Ottoman 
empire.^ 

Before  Canning's  rettirn  to  Constantinople,  Rashid 
Pasha,  however,  had  persuaded  the  young  Sultan, 
soon  after  his  accession,  to  promulgate  the  Tanzimat, 
or  Hatt-i-Sharif  of  Gulhane.  Its  provisions  were 
good — the  restraint  of  the  use  of  arbitrary  power  by 
state  officials  ;  security  for  life  and  property  ;  the 
equality  of  subjects  of  all  races  and  creeds  before 
the  law.  The  latter  clause  was  quite  unexpected. 
The  non-Muslim  subjects  of  Turkey  had  ever  been 
kept  in  a  condition  of  servitude,  protected  as  tax 
payers  to  keep  up  and  support  a  dominant  ruling 
class.  Sultan  Ibrahim  in  1644  had  desired  to 
ameliorate  their  condition,  but  was  opposed  by  the 
Shaikhu'l-Islam.  Mustafa  Kuprili,  the  able  Vizier 
(1689-91)  of  Suleyman  II  did  something  to  improve 
their  position  ;  but  the  constant  wars  with  Russia, 
Serbia  and  other  nations  stimulated  afresh  the 
feeling  of  resentment  towards  the  Rayas,  as  the 
Christian  subjects  of  the  Porte  are  called. 

The  Tanzimat  was  premature.  It  was  not 
favourably  received  by  the  ruling  class.  Rashid 
Pasha  had  to  resign  his  office  of  Vizier  and  a 
strong  reaction  set  in.  Then  came  Stratford  Canning, 
and  year  in  and  year  out  he  laboured  unceasingly 
for  justice  to  the  Rayas,  and  against  all  injus- 
tice and  corruption  in  the  administration  in  all 
1  S.  Lane-Poole,  Turkey,  pp.  351-2. 


96  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

departments  of  the  state.  After  a  few  \'ears  he  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  the  re-appointment  of  Rashid 
Pasha,  and  then  he  made  some  progress.  His 
cardinal  polic\"  \\"as  that  there  should  be  equal 
citizenship  for  all.  This  was  then  a  novel  doctrine 
in  Turkey,  and  men  were  surprised  when  in  1844 
he  secured  from  the  Sultan  a  promise  that  torture 
should  be  abolished,  obnoxious  taxes  repealed,  and 
last  and  greatest  of  all  an  order  that  apostates  from 
Islam  to  Christianity  should  not  be  put  to  death,^ 
and  other  concessions. 

^  The  teaching  of  the  Qur'an  on  the  subject  of  apostasy  is  not 
very  clear.  There  are  two  verses  which  may  be  quoted  as  having, 
perhaps,  an  indirect  bearing  on  the  subject.  '  For  this  cause 
have  we  ordained  to  the  children  of  Israel  that  he  who  slayeth 
any  one,  unless  it  be  a  person  guilty  of  slaughter  or  of  spreading 
disorder  in  the  land,  shall  be  as  though  he  had  slain  all  mankind  ' 
[Suratu'l-Ma'ida  (v)  35].  Apostasy  may  be  brought  under 
'  spreading  disorder ' .  Baidawi  explains  these  words  as  '  poly- 
theism and  idolatry  '  (0^.7=^*^^^^/^').  Another  verse  is: 
'  As  to  those  who  return  to  their  errors  after  the  guidance  hath 
been  made  plain  to  them.  Satan  shall  beguile  them  .  .  .  the 
angels  in  causing  them  to  die,  shall  smite  them  on  the  face  and 
back  '  [Suratu  Muhammad  (xlvii)  27,  29] .  The  immediate 
reference  is  to  those  who  were  reluctant  to  follow  the  standard 
of  the  Prophet  in  his  early  wars  ;  but  Muslim  jurists  often  make 
such  limited  judgements  of  universal  application.  Still,  even  then 
the  punishment  decreed  seems  to  be  in  a  future  life.  However, 
all  this  matters  little,  as  Muslim  law  depends  on  the  Sunna  as 
well  as  on  the  Qur'an,  and  the  Traditions  are  clear  on  the  subject. 
The  law  as  it  now  stands  is  that  apostates  are  outlaws,  and  a 
person  who  kills  an  outlaw  would  not  be  liable  to  punishment 
under  the  law  of  Islam.  See  Mr.  Justice  'Abdu'r-Rahim, 
Miihaminadan  Jurisprudence  (Madras,  1911),  p.  253. 


THE  REFORM  COMMISSION  97 

It  was  one  thing  to  get  an  order  passed  or  a 
promise  made  and  quite  another  to  see  the  one 
obeyed  or  the  other  kept  ;  but  the  watchful  eye  of 
the  Ambassador  was  ever  observant  and  no  official 
was  safe  whose  misdeeds  were  brought  to  his  notice. 
The  various  proposals  for  the  internal  improvement 
of  the  administration  made  by  Canning  were 
considered  bv  a  Commission  which  sat  at  the  Porte 
in  1848,  The  trouble  involved  in  all  this  is  best 
told  by  Canning's  biographer  : — 

In  December,  1848,  a  Commission  sat  at  the  Porte 
to  take  into  consideration  the  various  proposals  which 
Canning  had  brought  forward  for  the  improvement  of 
the  internal  administration.  In  August,  1850,  Canning 
reported  that  '  nothing  had  occurred  to  enliven  the 
prospect '.  His  advice  had  been  uniform  and  consistent, 
but  all  the  fruits  were  '  delays  and  evasions,  unnecessary- 
compromises,  and  weak  compliances  ' ;  corrupt  practices 
in  office,  a  low  revenue,  high  prices,  a  pernicious  system 
of  recruiting  the  army  and  a  worse  one  of  farming  the 
taxes ;  discontent  in  the  frontier  provinces,  and  a 
fanatical  spirit  towards  the  Christians,  who  were  mas- 
sacred in  several  of  the  more  remote  districts  ;  want  of 
inland  communications,  and  a  weak  state  of  the  military 
defences — in  short  an  alarming  decrepitude  in  every 
department  of  the  empire.^ 

Whilst  all  this  was  going  on   two  serious  political 

troubles  arose.     A  struggle  for  liberty  in    Hungary 

had  been  put  down  with  much  severity  by  Austria ' 

^  S.  Lane-Poole,   Life   of  the   Rt.  Hon.   Stratford  Canning, 
vol.  ii,  pp.  207,  210. 
'  See  Vanbery,  Hungary,  ch.  xv. 

7 


98  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

and  Kossuth  and  other  patriots  found  refuge  in 
Turkey  in  1849.  The  emperors  of  Austria  and 
Russia  demanded  their  extradition.  The  Turks 
refused  to  give  them  up  and  were  supported  by  Sir 
Stratford  Canning.  It  seemed  as  if  war  was  immi- 
nent but  the  appearance  of  the  French  and  Enghsh 
fleets  at  the  Hellespont  had  the  desired  effect  and 
nothing  further  happened. 

The  other  affair,  apparently  insignificant  in  itself, 
led  to  more  serious  consequences.  By  an  arrange- 
ment made  between  Sultan  Mahmiid  I  and  Louis 
XV  of  France,  French  pilgrims  and  those  from 
other  Christian  nations  had  been  placed  under  the 
protection  of  the  king  of  France.  After  that  time 
Russia  had  been  persistent  in  her  demands  for  the 
pilgrims  and  clergy  of  the  Orthodox  Church.  The 
Latins  and  the  orthodox  monks  had  unseemly  quar- 
rels at  Jerusalem  which  they  might  have  been  left 
to  settle  by  themselves  ;  but  the  emperor  Napoleon 
III,  who  disliked  Russia,  ^  made  it  an  opportunity 
for  seeking  a  quarrel  with  the  Czar,  and  possibly 
for  gaining  the  favour  of  the  priests  in  France.  He 
made  demands  which  were  offensive  to  Russia, 
and  Turkey  found  it  almost  impossible  to  satisfy 
both    parties.     A    compromise  was  suggested,    but 

'  The  emperor  Nicholas  opposed  the  first  Napoleon's  assump- 
tion of  the  title  of  emperor,  and  proposed  a  clause  in  the  treaty 
of  Paris  (1814)  which  would  exclude  the  dynasty  of  Napoleon 
from  the  throne  of  France.     See  Skrine,  Russia,  p.  149. 


TREATY  OF  PARIS  99 

Russia  claimed  a  protectorate  over  all  Turkish 
subjects  who  belonged  to  the  Orthodox  Church. 
This  could  not  be  granted  and  so  Russia  declared 
war  in  1853.  England  and  France  in  1854  joined 
Turkey  and  the  Crimean  war  began. 

It  was  ended  by  the  treaty  of  Paris  in  1856.  By 
the  terms  of  that  treaty  Russia  abandoned  her 
claim  to  exercise  a  protectorate  over  the  Christians 
in  Turkey  and  to  an  exclusive  right  of  interference 
in  the  Danubian  principalities.  The  contracting 
Powers  agreed  to  guarantee  the  integrity  and  inde- 
pendence of  the  Ottoman  empire.  The  Sultan  also 
reafifirmed  in  the  Hatt-i-Humayun  the  principles  of 
reform  laid  down  in  the  Tanzimat  of  1839.  This  new 
decree — the  Hatt-i-Humayiin — -promising  reforms 
in  the  administration  and  better  treatment  of  the 
Christian  subjects  was  embodied  in  the  treaty  of 
Paris  (1856).  The  Turks,  however,  are  past  masters 
in  the  art  of  procrastination  and  this  portion  of  the 
treaty  has  been  described  as  '  brave  words  and 
nothing  more  '. 

In  this  imperial  proclamation  the  Sultan  announc- 
ed his  desire  of  renewing  and  enlarging  the  numerous 
improvements  which  had  been  introduced  into  his 
institutions,  with  a  view  to  making  them  worthy  of 
the  place  which  his  empire  held  among  civilized 
nations ;  he  was  anxious,  he  said,  to  ensure  the 
happiness  of  his  people,  who  in  his  sight  were  all 
equal,  and  equally  dear  to  him,  and  \\  ith  this  object 


100  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

he  first  confirmed  the  former  guarantees  of  the 
Hatt-i-Sharif  of  Gulhane  to  all  his  subjects,  without 
distinction  of  class  or  religion,  for  their  security  in 
person,  property  and  honour  ;  and  at  the  same  time 
renewed  all  the  privileges  and  spiritual  immunities 
granted  ab  antiquo  and  subsequently  to  Christian 
and  other  non-Musulman  communities  established 
in  Turkey.  The  proclamation  went  on  to  enumerate 
various  ecclesiastical  privileges,  guaranteed  the  free 
exercise  of  its  religious  rites  and  the  control  of  its 
sacred  and  educational  buildings  to  each  and  every 
sect ;  and  made  the  following  announcement  in  bold 
terms  : — 

Every  distinction  or  designation,  tending  to  make  any 
class  whatever  of  the  subjects  of  my  empire  inferior  to 
another  class  on  account  of  their  religion,  language  or 
race,  shall  be  for  ever  effaced.^ 

But  the  treaty  of  Paris,  while  recognizing  the 
importance  of  the  measure,  specially  enacted  that  the 
recognition  of  the  Hatt  did  not  entitle  any  of  the  Powers, 
collectively  or  severally,  to  interfere  in  the  internal  affairs 
of  the  Ottoman  empire.  The  qualification  abrogated 
whatever  effect  the  recognition  might  have  had.^ 

Stratford  Canning  left  Constantinople  in  1858 
and  no  one  else  possessed  the  same  influence,  or  the 
power  of  making  Turkish  ministers  realize  that  the 
safety  of  their  country  depended  on  internal  reforms 

1  S.  Lane-Poole,  Life  of  the  Rt.  Hon.  Stratford  Cannings 
vol.  ii,  pp.  440-1. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  ii,  p.  442. 


REVOLTS  IN  THE  BALKANS  101 

and  liberal  measures  for  all  classes  of  their  subjects, 
so  still  more  evil  days  were  to  befall  the  empire. 

In  June  1861  'Abdu'l-Mejid  was  succeeded  by  his 
brother  'Abdu'l-'Aziz.  Turkey  was  now  admitted 
into  the  ranks  of  the  great  Powers,  and  the  new 
Sultan,  an  ignorant  and  extravagant  man,  used  the 
position  to  incur  a  heavy  national  debt  which  brought 
the  country  to  the  verge  of  bankruptcy. 

There  were  troubles  in  Serbia  owing  to  the  con- 
tinued presence  of  Turkish  garrisons  in  that  country  ; 
but  in  1867  they  were  withdrawn  and  thus  one 
great  step  was  gained  towards  full  independence.  A 
serious  revolt  also  broke  out  in  Bosnia  and  Herze- 
govina in  1875  ;  followed  by  one  in  Bulgaria  in  1876. 
These  were  put  down  with  such  severity  and 
barbarity  that  the  sympathies  of  persons  otherwise 
friendly  were  alienated.  The  Sultan's  extravagance 
had  depleted  the  treasury,  and  the  strain  on  it  owing 
to  the  military  measures  now  taken  caused  the 
financial  situation  to  collapse  aud  Turkey  became 
bankrupt. 

Then  a  conspiracy  was  formed  headed  by  Midhat 
Pasha  to  bring  about  a  change.  The  Shaikhu'l-Islam 
issued  a  fatva  authorizing  the  deposition  of  'Abdu'l- 
*Aziz.^  This  was  done  in  1876  and  soon  after  the 
Sultan  was  found  dead,  it  is  said,  killed  by  his  own 


^  For  a  full  description  of  the  way  in  which    this  was  done,  see 
The  Life  of  Midhat  Pasha,  pp.  83-C. 


102  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

hand.  His  successor  Murad  V,  a  son  of  'Abdu'l-. 
Mejid,  reigned  three  months,  when  he  was  deposed- 
as  an  imbecile.  Then  on  August  31,  1876,  'Abdu'l- 
Hamid  II,  a  brother  of  Murad,  ascended  the  throne 
and  reigned  until  1909. 

The  new  Sultan  like  his  predecessor  was  unwilling 
to  carry  out  any  practical  measure  of  reform,  and  as 
years  went  on  he  exhibited  a  tyrannical  spirit  and  took 
no  pains  to  suppress  the  most  barbarous  treatment 
of  his  Christian  subjects.  At  the  commencement  of 
his  reign,  however,  he  had  to  make  a  show  of 
liberality,  for  soon  after  his  accession  a  Conference 
of  the  Powers  met  at  Constantinople,  but  its  very 
moderate  proposals  were  rejected  by  the  Sultan,  who 
on  December  23,  1876,  promulgated  a  constitution 
which  had  been  prepared  by  the  reforming  party.  ^ 
The  Sultan  never  had  any  intention  of  allowing 
it   to   become  operative.     The  formal  proclamation 

1  The  leader  of  this  party  was  Midhat  Pasha,  then  Grand  Vizier. 
The  new  Sultan  had  made  promises  which  raised  the  hopes  of  the 
reformers  and  now  gave  his  somewhat  qualified  approval  to  the 
new  constitution  {see  The  Life  of  Midhat  Pasha,  pp.  128-30).  If 
he  had  then  followed  the  advice  of  his  wiser  councillors,  the 
revolution  which  a  few  years  ago  led  to  his  deposition  might  never 
have  occurred.  Midhat  Pasha  was  banished  soon  after  and  finally 
tried  on  the  charge  of  being  accessory  to  the  murder  of  'Abdu'l-'Azi'z 
though  it  was  generally  believed  that  the  Sultan  committed  suicide 
(op.  cit.  pp.  90-1).  Still  Midhat  was  known  to  be  an  opponent 
of  'Abdu'l-Hamfd's  autocratic  rule  and  this  charge  was  found  suffi- 
cient to  lead  to  his  imprisonment  and  probably,  to  his  subsequent 
assassination  (op.  cit.  cli.  xiii). 


TREATY  OF  SAN  STEFAKO  103 

of  it    was  a    successful  attempt    to  checkmate  the 
Conference  and  nothing  more. 

Russia  then  declared  war  (April,  1877)  which  was 
concluded  by  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano,  March  3, 
1878.  The  terms  of  the  treaty  were  considered  to  be 
too  harsh  and  Russia  consented  to  a  revision  of  it 
and  so  it  was  abrogated  by  the  treaty  of  Berlin, 
June,  1878.  Even  this  revised  treaty  was  a  great 
blow  to  Turkey.  Serbia,  Montenegro  and  Rumania 
were  formally  declared  independent.  Austria  occu- 
pied Bosnia  and  Herzgovina  and,  after  some  delays 
and  a  great  deal  of  correspondence,  Bulgaria  was 
divided  into  two  parts,  one  autonomous  ;  ^  the  other. 
Eastern  Rumelia,^  in  1885  was  added  to  Bulgaria. 
In  1885,  in  response  to  a  popular  movement,  the 
two  provinces  were  united,  and  in  1909  the  whole 
was  recognized  as  an  independent  state,  on  the  pay- 
ment of  an  indemnity  for  railways  and  in  lieu  of  the 
tribute  previously  paid  to  the  Porte.  Greece  gained 
as  accession  of  territory,  England  was  in  some 
ambiguous  way  pledged  to  see  that   reforms    were 

1  Writinjij  in  1900  Odysseus  says  :  '  In  agriculture,  manufactures, 
commerce,  education,  literature  and  military  matters  they 
(the  Bulgarians)  have  made  enormous  strides.  It  is  only  necessary 
to  go  westward  from  Turkey  and  cross  the  frontier  to  see  what 
twenty  years  of  autonomy  have  done."  Turkey  in  Europe. 
p.  351. 

8  This  province  remained  subject  to  the  authority  of  the  Sultan, 
though  it  was  placed  under-a  Christian  governor  and  an  autono- 
mous administration. 


104  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

carried  out,  and  with  this  in  view  took  possession  of 
the  island  of  Cyprus,  paying  to  the  Sultan  an  annual 
tribute.* 

It  is  true  that  when  peace  was  restored  there  was 
again  some  talk  of  reforms  and  a  parliament  was 
summoned ;  but  it  was  soon  dissolved  and  the 
constitution  was  suspended.  No  further  attempts 
at  reform  were  made,  and  whatever  were  the 
obligations  England  took  upon  herself  after  the 
treaty  of  Berlin,  she  never  seems  to  have  fulfilled 
them.  In  Armenia  the  barbarity  of  the  Kurdish 
soldiers,  known  as  the  Hamidian  cavalry,  was  so 
severe  that  the  people  rose  in  revolt,  which  was  put 
down  with  great  severity  and  the  most  horrible 
massacres,  resulting  in  the  death  of  200,000  people. 

Affairs  in  Crete  also  were  so  mismanaged  that 
Greece  began  to  take  action  which  led  to  a  war  with 
Turkey  in  1897.  Europe  intervened  and  Turkey 
gained  some  accession  of  territory  and  a  \\  ar  indem- 
nity ;  but  Crete,  though  nominally  Turkish,  was 
placed  under  Prince  George  of  Greece,  as  High 
Commissioner,  approved  by  the  Powers.  It  has 
since  been  ceded  to  Greece. 

The  treaty  of  Berlin  had  left  the  Macedonian 
question    in   an    unsettled  condition.     The    Muslim 

1  Owing  to  the  recent  declaration  of  war  with  Turkey,  by  an 
Order  in  Council,  dated  November  3,  1914,  Cyprus  has  been 
annexed  to  the  British  empire  and  the  large  annual  payment  as 
tribute  to  the  Porte  will  cease. 


'ABDU'L-HAMID  II  105 

and  Christian  inhabitants  suffered  from  the  incom- 
petence and  rapacity  of  the  Turkish  officials.  They 
saw  that  the  neighbouring  states  were  now  free  and 
insurrections  broke  out.  The  Powers  made  various 
attempts  to  solve  the  difficult  problems  involved,  but 
nothing  satisfactory  resulted.  Thus  the  reign  of 
'Abdu'l-Hamid  proved  a  most  disastrous  one  for 
Turkey.  He  strove  hard  to  bring  about  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  Pan-Islamic  idea — the  union  of  all 
Muslims  under  his  leadership  as  Khalifa  ;  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  capitulations  {ante  p.  61)  and  a  revocation 
of  all  privileges  previously  granted  to  non- Muslim 
subjects  of  the  Porte.  He  steadily  set  his  face  against 
all  reform  movements,  and  surrounded  by  a  palace 
clique  of  favourites,  centralized  all  authority  in 
himself  and  seriously  interfered  with  the  administra- 
tion of  his  ministers.  In  order  to  bring  the  Kurds 
under  his  personal  control,  he  raised  fifty-four 
squadrons  of  Kurdish  nomads  and  called  them  the 
Hamidian  cavalry.  He  used  them  to  carry  out  his 
pitiless  policy  with  the  Armenians.  In  all  this  he 
was  supported  by  his  Vizier,  Said  Pasha,  who, 
however,  having  offended  his  master  was  finally 
dismissed. 

The  next  \^izier,  Kiamil  Pasha,  was  a  wise  ruler, 
and  for  some  years  the  state  of  affairs  improved  ;  but, 
in  due  course,  the  dislike  of  the  Sultan  to  anything 
like  ministerial  independence  placed  such  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  the  administration  of  the  empire  that 


106  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

Kiamil  resigned.  Other  more  subservient  ministers 
were  found  and  the  personal  autocratic  rule  of  the 
Sultan  brought  more  disasters  in  its  train.  B}- 
means  of  his  spies,  he  obtained  information  about 
his  officials,  and  no  honest  independent  man  had 
any  prospect  of  permanence  in  his  office.  Massacres, 
in  Constantinople  and  in  Armenia,  revolutions  in 
Yemen  and  in  Crete,  troubles  with  the  Druses  and 
in  the  Balkans  arising  from  unwise  control — all  these 
were  among  the  incidents  fast  bringing  Turkey  to 
ruin.  As  for  a  government  under  such  conditions,, 
if  it  had  been  composed  of  the  most  capable  states- 
men who  could  have  been  found  in  Europe,  its 
action  would  have  been  paralysed  under  such  a 
regime.  Everv  minister  had  under,  or  more  cor- 
rectly over,  him  a  subordinate  directly  nominated  by 
the  palace.  It  was  the  business  of  the  latter 
functionar}-  to  carry  out  the  views  prevailing  at 
Yildiz  Kiosk,  with  or  without  the  approval  of  his 
superior,  so  that  frequent!}',  after  orders  had  been 
sent  out  by  a  minister,  instructions  of  a  diametrically 
opposite  kind  were  issued  by  his  lieutenant.  Among 
the  offices  within  the  palace  the  most  important 
was  the  detective  and  espionage  office.  An  enorm- 
ous number  of  spies  were  employed.  This  system, 
inaugurated  by  'Abdu'l-Hamid,  was  one  of  the  main 
causes  of  the  unhappy  state  of  the  country  under 
his  rule.  From  the  encouragement  given  to  secret 
reports,  whether  false  or  true,  no  one  \N'as  safe. 


THE  YOUNG  TURKS  107 

The  emperor  of  Germany  paid  two  visits  to  Con- 
stantinople, the  second  one  being  in  1898,  and  the 
result  was  the  extension  of  German  influence  in 
that  city,  and  also  the  securing  of  valuable  railway 
concessions.  A  proposal  that  Turkey  should  join 
the  Triple  Alliance  was  not  formally  accepted,  but 
the  idea  was  latent  and  has  now  been  brought  into 
effect,  curiously  enough  not  by  the  followers  of 
'Abdu'l-Hamid,  but  by  his  enemies — the  Young 
Turkey  party.  Then,  as  now,  the  wiser  Turkish 
statesmen  held  aloof.  Few  Sultans  in  the  past  have 
had  the  opportunities  for  good  which  lay  before 
'Abdu'l-Hamid  at  the  time  of  his  accession,  and  few 
amongst  them  could  have  so  utterly  failed.  It  was 
absolutely  impossible  that  things  could  go  on  much 
longer  in  this  hopeless  way.  A  change  was  needed 
if  the  empire  was  to  be  saved. 

Then  came  the  revolution  of  1908,  brought  about 
by  the  Young  Turkey  party.  The  revolt  began  on 
July  22,  1908,  and  on  the  following  day  in  Salonica 
the  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress  proclaimed  a 
new  constitution.  Two  days  after  this  the  Sultan 
much  against  his  will  agreed  to  restore  the  con- 
stitution proposed  by  Midhat  Pasha  in  1876,  and 
ordered  the  election  of  a  Chamber  of  Deputies. 
Austria  now  became  alarmed  lest  a  reformed  Turkey 
might  require  her  to  evacuate  Bosnia  and  Herzego- 
vina which  she  had  occupied  after  the  Berlin 
Congress  in  1878.     The  matter  was  finally  arranged 


108  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

l)y  Austria  annexing  these  two  states  and  by  the 
payment  to  Turkey  of  ;^2,200,000  as  compensation 
ior  the  Turkish  crown  lands  taken  over  in  these 
two  countries.  How  long  the  Bosnians  will  remain 
under  alien  Austrian  rule,  when  they  see  the 
marvellous  progress,  which  the  other  Slav  states, 
now  free,  are  making,  is  very  doubtful.  The  result 
of  the  present  (1914)  great  European  war  will 
probably  lead  to  the  transfer  of  these  provinces  to 
Serbia  and  Montenegro. 

A  counter  revolution,  connived  at  by  the  Sultan, 
was  organized,  but  the  army  under  Enver  Bey 
marched  to  Constantinople,  deposed  'Abdu'l-Hamid, 
in  1909,  and  appointed  in  his  place  his  brother 
under  the  title  of  ISIuhammad  V.  Little  is  known 
of  the  new  Sultan  to  whom  no  power  is  given. 
'Abdu'l-Hamid  is  now  coniined  as  a  state  prisoner 
and  has  time  to  reflect  on  his  many  crimes  and 
•cruelties. 

The  advent  of  the  Young  Turkey  party  was  hailed 
with  much  satisfaction  by  all  the  friends  of  Turkey. 
They  saw  in  the  proposed  liberal  institutions  and 
promised  reforms  a  prospect  for  the  revival  of  the 
Ottoman  empire.  A  prominent  European  statesmen 
spoke  of  the  movement  as  having  but  one  end — the 
welfare  of  all  Turkish  subjects,  and  the  orderly 
-establishment  of  constitutional  rule.  The  most 
recent  events,  however,  show  that  such  sanguine 
hopes  were  premature,  for  it  is  this  very  party,  rash, 


THE  YOUNG  TURKS  109 

misguided  and  foolish,  which  has  brought  Turkey 
nearer  to  utter  ruin  than  even  the  worst  of  her 
Sultans  has  ever  done. 

The    difficulties    before    the    Young    Turks    were 
very   great.     They    had    to    contend    against    the 
conservative  religious  spirit,  which  is  not  favourable 
to   progressive   ideas.     Islam   does    not   easily  lend 
itself  to  essential  modifications.     These  men,  edu- 
cated in  Berlin  and  Paris,  were  looked  upon  as  lax 
Muslims.     \\^hether  that  was  so  or  not,  the  suspicion 
was  current  and  operative.     Nationality  and  liberty 
(watan  and   hurriyat)    were   the  watchwords  of  the 
new    party ;   but   the  old   Turk   thinks   less   of  the 
nation  than  of  the  religion  and  less  of  freedom  than 
of  submission.     His  glory  is  that  he  esteems  Islam 
above   all   else   and   that   as  a  Muslim  he  is  greater 
than  as  a  Turk.     In  addition  to  this  there    was  the 
political  position.     In  Arabia,  Syria  and  Macedonia 
there  was  much  popular  discontent  requiring  strong 
but  sympathetic  treatment,  for  their  grievances  were 
very  real.     Every  branch   of  the  administration  re- 
quired re-organization  and  large  sums  of  money  be- 
fore any  one  of  them  could  be  made  even  moderate- 
ly  efficient.     The   law  had   been   codified,  but  was 
administered    by   men   paid   so    badly   that   bribery 
was  almost  a  necessity  to  them.     Everywhere  roads,, 
bridges    and    public    works    were    needed    and    the 
treasury  was  empty.     The  relations  of  Turkey  with 
the  great  Powers  called  for  much  political  sagacity 


110  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

and  this  quality,  as  regards  foreign  affairs,  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  prominent  amongst  the  leaders  in 
the  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress — that  ex- 
traordinary power  behind  the  throne,  which  com- 
pelled the  government  of  the  day  to  carry  out  the 
wishes  of  the  Young  Turks.  In  the  place  of  the 
personal  despotism  of  'Abdu'l-Hamid  we  find  the 
corporate  despotism  of  a  Committee,  the  constitution 
of  w^hich  is  known  only  to  a  few.  One  of  the  chief 
military  leaders,  Enver  Bey,  was  educated  in  Berlin 
and  is  said  to  have  married  a  German  lady. 
Whether  led  by  him  or  not,  the  fact  remains  that 
the  Young  Turks  looked  more  to  Germany  than  to 
the  old  friends  of  Turkey,  England  and  France. 
They  were  annoyed  because  the  Powers  of  the 
Triple  Entente  exercised  some  protection  over  Crete, 
and  this  was  one  among  several  causes  which  turned 
them  towards  the  Triple  Alliance.  The  history  of 
the  past  should  have  shown  them  the  unwisdom  of 
taking  sides  in  European  politics,  but  the  Turk  has 
always  found  it  hard  to  learn  a  lesson  and  has 
suffered  in  consequence.  One  result  of  this  change 
•of  attitude  was  that  France,  hitherto  the  banker  of 
Turkey,  declined  to  lend  more  money. 

Turkey  is  composed  of  many  races,  speaking  many 
languages  and  professing  various  forms  of  religion. 
To  rule  equitably  such  a  variet}-  of  races  requires 
statesmanship  of  a  high  order,  and  an  administration 
which  will  safeguard  the  rights  of  each  community 


THE  YOUNG  TURKS  111 

and  allow  each  to  develop  on  its  own  lines.  The 
Young  Turks  made  a  mistake  in  attempting  to  make 
Turkish  the  official  language  to  be  used  in  all 
departments,  including  that  of  public  instruction 
throughout  the  empire.  This  at  once  raised  up 
opposition  in  Syria  where  Arabic  is  the  mother  tongue 
and  is  looked  upon  by  the  Muslims  there  as  a  sacred 
language.  The  efforts  made  to  substitute  the  Arabic 
character  in  which  Turkish  is  written  for  the  nation- 
al ones  in  writing  the  various  languages  of  the 
Turkish  Balkan  provinces  was  a  mistake.  It  roused 
the  national  spirit  in  people  longing  to  be  free.  It 
thus  became  perfectly  clear  that  the  new  goverment 
meant  to  Ottomanise  the  whole  country.  Thus  it  is 
said : — 

They  wish  Albanians,  Armenians,  Jews,  Greeks, 
Arabs,  Syrians,  Kurds,  and  all  the  nationalities  of 
Macedonia,  to  sink  their  respective  national  individualities 
into  one  single  nationality — which  shall  have  for  its 
principal  element  the  Young  Turk  himself— for  choice 
speaking  the  Turkish  language,  and  using  the  Arabic 
alphabet,  the  only  form  of  writing  in  which  the  Turkish 
language  is  ever  expressed.  In  this  way  alone  do  they 
perceive  the  possibility  of  making  Turkey  strong  and 
powerful.  And  as  they  are  at  the  present  moment  in 
control  of  the  army  through  which  the  revolution  was 
effected,  they  propose  to  use  force  to  accomplish  this 
purpose.  Turkey  once  united,  and  her  army  reorgaized, 
then  let  those  Balkan  states  which  have  been  broken 
piecemeal  from  the  Ottoman  empire  have  a  care.  Let 
everybody  have  a  care,  for  the  Turk  will  then  be  as  good 
as  anybody  else  in  Europe  or  Asia.^ 

'   Dr.  Fraser,  Persia  and  Turkey  in  Revolt,  p.  433. 


112  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

If  the  Turk  had  been  popular  that  might  have 
been  done  ;  but  he  is  hated  by  the  Mushm  Arabs 
and  mistrusted  by  the  Christian  rayas.  The  Young 
Turks  were  in  this  matter  ideahsts,  with  a  vision 
of  one  great  united  Ottoman  community,  in  which 
Ottoman  language,  law,  custom  and  policy  should 
exist  supreme.  This  showed  serious  lack  of  states- 
manship and  want  of  administrative  experience. 
It  brought  its  punishment,  for  this  attempt  to  crush 
out  national  feelings  and  aspirations  in  the  Balkans 
was  the  main  cause  of  the  recent  Balkan  war,  so 
disastrous  to  Turkey. 

Great  attention  was  paid  to  the  army,  which  was 
largely  trained  by  German  officers  ;  but  the  lack  of 
a  supply  of  intelligent  junior  officers  and  incompe- 
tence in  other  departments  connected  with  the 
army  led  to  its  defeat  in  the  first  great  war  it  under- 
took. Still,  after  all,  the  Young  Turks  kept  the 
state  going,  which  considering  how  corrupt  it  had 
been  under  'Abdu'l-Hamid  was  not  an  easy  thing 
to  do. 

In  November,  1911,  Italy  annexed  Tripoli.  Turkey 
refused  to  recognize  this  action  and  war  was  declared 
between  the  two  countries.  By  the  treaty  of  Lau- 
sanne, October,  1912,  Turkey  granted  autonomy 
to  Tripoli  without  officially  recognising  Italy's 
sovereignty.  This  curious  method  of  saving  the 
face  of  the  Khalifa  is  shown  in  the  following  terms 
of  the  treaty  : — 


THE  BALKAN  WAR  113 

(i)  Italy  maintains  absolutely  the  law  which  declared 
her  full  and  entire  sovereignty  over  Lybia,  and,  in 
consequence,  denies  any  form  of  sovereignty  there  on  the 
part  of  Turkey,  whether  open  or  disguised,  nominal, 
effective,  or  partial.  Nor  does  she  consent  to  such 
sovereignty  under  the  form  of  a  territorial  concession 
made  to  Turkey. 

(ii)  Turkey,  on  her  side,  neither  impugns  nor  recognizes 
the  sovereignty  of  Italy.  She  ignores  it  ;  and  in  that 
manner  avoids  offending  against  the  letter  of  the  Coran 
law  which  forbids  the  cession  of  lands  of  the  Caliph  to 
the  infidel.  Italy  consents  to  forego  the  formal  recogni- 
tion by  Turkey,  and  will  be  content  with  procuring  a 
recognition  of  her  new  rights  from  the  Powers. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  Sultan  simply  ignores  the 
cession  of  territory.  Italy  accepts  the  position  and 
does  not  demand  any  formal  recognition  of  the 
occupation  of  Tripoli.  All  parties  understand  that 
Tripoli  now  belongs  to  Italy  ;  but  the  face  of  the 
Khalifa  had  to  be  saved  and  this  is  the  curious  way 
of  doing  it. 

In  August,  1912,  a  massacre  at  Kotchana  led  to  a 
strong  protest  from  Bulgaria.  The  Balkan  states — 
Bulgaria  and  Serbia — formed  an  alliance  with  Greece 
and  required  Turkey  to  carry  out  the  long-promised 
and  long-desired  reforms  in  Macedonia.  Turkey 
refused  to  do  so  and  war  broke  out  on  October 
8,  1912.  By  the  treaty  of  London,  May  30,  1913, 
many  Turkish  provinces  passed  to  the  allies,  and  the 
Ottoman  possessions  in  Europe  now  consist  only 
of  Constantinople  and  the  vilayet  of  Adrianople. 
8 


114  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

All  her  African  possessions  had  been  previoul}-  lost. 
The  empire  in  Asia  is  still  extensive  and  under  good 
government  might  be  made  highly  prosperous ;  but 
the  records  of  the  history  of  the  Ottoman  Turks  for 
many  past  centuries  affords  little  hope  of  such  a 
result. 

When  the  whole  civilized  world  was  struck  v.ith 
great  horror  at  the  barbarities  of  'Abdu'l-Hamid,  the 
Kaiser,  for  purely  political  purposes,  condoned  his 
brutalities,  was  his  guest  for  four  days,  went  out  of 
his  way  to  flatter  him  and  thereby  gained  certain 
concessions,  notably  those  in  connexion  with  the 
Baghdad  railway  ;  ^  and  now  strange  to  say  Germany 
retains  her  influence  with  the  Turkish  enemies  of 
'Abdu'l-Hamid.  The  result  is  that  Turkey  finds  it 
difficult  to  get  loans  from  France,  except  upon  the 
most  stringent  conditions.  France  is  therefore  looked 
upon  with  disfavour  ;  but  France  has  no  desire  to 
find  funds  for  Germans  in  Turkey  to  spend.  England 
is  the  ally  of  France  and  so  all  her  past  good  deeds 
are  forgotten,  British  enterprises  are  treated  with 
hostility,  and  no  effort  is  made  to  retain  even  her 
regard.  Germany  has  now  more  than  recovered  the 
position  she  held  in  'Abdu'l-Hamid's  time,  and  has 
drawn,  at  least,  the  Young  Turkey  Part}'  towards 
the  Triple  Alliance.  Austria  practically  stole  the 
provinces  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  but  even  that 

1  For  an  excellent   account  of  this  concession,   see,   Valentine 
Chirol.  The  Middle  Eastern  Question,  chapters  xviii,  xix,  xx. 


GERMAN   INFLUENXE  115 

offence  is  now  condoned  by  the  Young  Turks,  as 
she  is  the  ally  of  Germany. 

In  the  histor\-  of  the  Muslim  world  chauvinism 
has  played  a  great  part.  The  chauvinism  of  the 
Arabs  ruined  the  Umayyad  Khalifate  ;  it  worked 
evil  in  Muslim  Spain  ;  '  and  now  it  is  apparent  in 
the  Turkish  army  under  the  control  of  the  Committee 
of  Union  and  Progress.  The  influence  of  Germany 
has  stimulated  this  spirit  of  chauvinism,  of  which 
she  possesses  so  large  a  share  ;  it  has  encouraged 
amongst  the  Young  Turks  an  arrogant  militarism 
which  seeks  to  control  the  political  destinies  of  the 
country.  Thus  gradually  the  gulf  has  widened 
between  Turkey  and  her  real  friends — nations  which 
in  the  Crimean  war  spent  millions  of  money  and  gave 
up  the  lives  of  thousands  of  their  heroic  sons  for  the 
safety  of  Turkey  ;  all  this  and  many  other  kindly 
deeds  are  forgotten  and  Turkey,  controlled  by  the 
Germanized  militar}-  party,  ranges  itself  on  the  side 
of  the  common  enemies  of  her  benefactors. 

Thus,  at  last,  unless  the  more  sober-minded  leaders, 
the  real  statesmen  in  Turkey,  and  the  Sultan  himself 
can  control  Enver  Bey  and  his  associates,  now 
completely  hypnotized  by  German  wiles,  the  decay 
of  Turkey,  which  has  been  going  on  as  we  have 
seen  for  centuries,  will  proceed  at  an  accelerated 
pace. 

1  See  Sell,  Muslim  Conquests  in  Spain  (CL-S.).  p.  6. 


116  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

On  June  28,  1914,  the  Archduke  Franz  Ferdi- 
nand, the  heir  to  the  throne  of  Austria-Hungary, 
and  his  wife  were  assassinated  at  Sarajev^o  in 
Bosnia.  The  Government  of  Austria- Hungary  pre- 
sented a  note  to  Serbia  on  July  23,  alleging  that 
these  murders  were  caused,  or  at  least  encouraged, 
by  Serbian  officers  and  officials.  This  note  made 
demands  on  Serbia  which  no  self-respecting  indepen- 
dent kingdom  could  concede,  and  required  a  reply 
within  forty-eight  hours.  Serbia  replied  conceding 
most  of  the  Austrian  demands,  but  objecting  to  some 
of  the  most  extreme  among  them  ;  whereupon  on 
July  28  Austria- Hungary  declared  war  on  Serbia. 
Russia  then  mobilized  a  part  of  its  army,  and  im- 
mediately Germany  also  mobilized  and  invaded 
French  territory  and  declared  war  on  Russia.  On 
August  4,  Germany  violated  the  neutrality  of  Bel- 
gium which  she  had  signed  a  treaty  to  protect,  and 
Great  Britain,  after  twelve  hours'  notice,  declared 
war  on  Germany. 

Soon  after  the  war  began,  two  German  warships, 
the  Goeben  and  Breslaii,  in  order  to  avoid  capture 
entered  the  Straits  of  the  Dardenelles.  According 
to  international  law,  the  Ottoman  Government 
should  have  ordered  them  to  go  out  of  neutral 
waters  within  a  reasonable  time  and,  if  they  failed 
to  do  so,  should  have  dismantled  and  interned  them 
until  the  close  of  the  war  ;  after  which  they  would 
have    been    returned    to    Germanv.     The    Turkish 


POWER  OF  ENVER  BEY  117 

Government  did  nothing  of  the  kind,  but,  on  the 
pretence  that  it  had  purchased  the  ships  from 
Germany,  retained  the  German  officers  and  crew  in 
its  own  naval  service.  It  further  imported  a  large 
number  of  mechanics  and  quantities  of  warlike 
stores  from  Germany.  The  British  naval  instructors 
in  the  service  of  the  Porte  were  superseded,  and  the 
whole  naval  administration  passed  into  the  hands  of 
German  officers,  under  the  supreme  control  of  Enver 
Bey,  the  Minister  for  War  who,  a  Pole  by  extraction 
and  a  German  by  sympath},'  was  the  leader  of  the 
Turkish  pro-German  party.  The  British  Govern- 
ment protested  against  this  breach  of  neutrality,  and 
the  Grand  Vizier  again  and  again  said  that  the 
Germans  would  be  dismissed.  There  seems  to  be 
some  reason  to  suppose  that  he  was  really  anxious 
to  avoid  a  rupture  with  Great  Britain,  but  it  is 
equally  clear  that  the  masterful  spirit  of  Enver  Bey 
dominated  the  government  and  that  neither  the 
Grand  Vizier,  nor  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  nor 
even  the  Sultan  himself,  could  withstand  the 
imperious  demands  of  the  Minister  for  War  and  the 
Germans  in  Constantinople,  who  had  practically 
become  the  dominant  rulers  of  the  city. 

The  war  party  proceeded  to  mobilize  troops,  to 
prepare  for  the  invasion  of  Egypt,  to  bribe  the 
Bedawin  to    warlike    action,    and    to   demand    the 

»  Dillon,  A  Scrap  of  Paper,  p.  68. 


118  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

departure  of  British  ships  from  Mohammerah,  a 
Persian  port  over  which  the  Turks  had  no  authority. 
All  the  time  the  Grand  Vizier  protested  that  he 
desired  peace  and  made  many  excuses  about  the 
delay  in  dismissing  the  officers  and  crews  of  the 
German  ships.  Then  followed  the  detention  of 
British  merchant  ships  in  Turkish  waters,  attempts 
to  stir  up  disaffection  in  Persia,  India,  Egypt,  and 
amongst  the  Samisis  in  Africa,  violent  attacks  in 
Turkish  newspapers,  now  subsidized  by  German 
gold,  against  England  declaring  that  she  was  the 
enemy  of  Islam  ;  the  abolition  of  the  capitulations 
and  the  closing  of  foreign  post  offices,  and  number- 
less other  acts  of  a  highty  provocative  character. 

The  British  Government  was  most  patient  and 
waited  week  after  week  for  the  dismissal  of  the 
Germans.  It  even,  whilst  protesting  that  the 
abolition  of  the  capitulations,  which  were  based  on 
many  ancient  treaties,  and  could  only  be  set  aside 
by  mutual  consent,  expressed  its  willingness,  if  the 
German  officers  and  crews  of  the  Goeben  and 
Breslaii  were  dismissed,  to  consider,  with  the  allied 
Powers,  the  question  of  the  capitulations,  and  with 
them  to  come  to  some  arrangement  and  to  with- 
draw their  extra  territorial  jurisdiction,  as  soon  as 
a  scheme  of  judicial  administration  which  would 
satisfy  modern  conditions  was  set  up. 

The  subsidized  Turkish  papers  gave  the  most 
misleading    information,    supplied     from     German 


WAR  WITH  ENGLAND  119 

sources,  about  the  progress  of  the  war.  People 
were  led  to  believe  that  victory  was  certain  to  the 
Germans ;  which  statements,  combined  with  in- 
flammatory articles  against  England,  helped  to  draw 
the  more  thoughtless  Turks  to  the  side  of  Enver 
Bey  and  the  war  party.  It  was  even  said  that  the 
Kaiser  had  become  a  Muslim  and  was  fighting  for 
Islam  against  Russia. 

It  soon  became  clear  that,  notwithstanding  the 
Grand  ^'izier's  assurances  to  the  contrary,  the 
Goeben  and  Breslati,  flying  the  Turkish  flag,  but 
manned  by  German  crews  and  under  the  command 
of  German  officers,  would  enter  the  Black  Sea.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  this  did  take  place.  Then,  on 
October  29,  1914,  Turkish  torpedo-boats  raided 
Odessa,  sank  a  Russian  gunboat  and  damaged 
French  and  Russian  ships.  The  response  to  this 
unwarranted  act  of  hostility  was  the  withdrawal  of 
the  Russian  Ambassador  from  Constantinople  and 
the  despatch  of  Sir  Edward  Grey,  British  Foreign 
Minister,  to  the  British  Ambassador  at  Con- 
stantinople, of  the  following  instructions  : — 

Sir  Edward  Grey  to  Sir  L.  Mallet 

Foreign  Office 
October  30,  1914 

In  view  of  hostile  acts  that  have  been  committed, 
the  Russian  Government  have  instructed  the  Russian 
Ambassador  to  leave  Constantinople  with  all  his  staff. 


120  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

Should  His  Excellenc}'  leave,  you  should  yourself 
send  in  a  note  to  the  Sublime  Porte  to  say  that  His 
Majesty's  Government  have  learnt  with  the  utmost 
surprise  of  the  wanton  attacks  made  upon  open  and 
undefended  towns  of  a  friendly  country  without  any 
warning  and  without  the  slightest  provocation,  and  that 
these  acts  constitute  an  unprecedented  violation  of  the 
most  ordinary  rules  of  international  law,  usage,  and 
comity.  Russia  has  shown  the  utmost  patience  and 
forbearance  in  face  of  repeated  violations  of  the  rules  of 
neutrality  by  Turkey,  and  in  face  of  most  provocative 
acts,  amounting  in  reality  to  acts  of  hostility,  and  in 
this  attitude  of  restraint  her  allies.  Great  Britain  and 
France,  have  co-operated.  It  is  evident  that  there  is  no 
chance  of  a  return  to  a  proper  observance  of  neutrality 
so  long  as  the  German  naval  and  military  missions 
remain  at  Constantinople,  and  such  a  situation  cannot 
be  prolonged. 

Unless,  therefore,  the  Turkish  Government  will  divest 
themselves  of  all  responsibility  for  these  unprovoked 
acts  of  hostility  by  dismissing  the  German  military 
and  naval  missions,  and  fulfilling  their  often  repeated 
promises  about  the  German  crews  of  the  Goeben  and 
Brcslaii,  and  will  give  you  a  satisfactory  reply  to  this 
effect  within  twelve  hours  from  the  date  of  the  delivery 
of  the  note,  you  should  ask  for  your  passports  and  leave 
Constantinople  with  the  staff  of  the  embassy. 

On  November  4,  Tewfik  Pasha,  the  Turkish 
Ambassador  in  London,  applied  for  his  passports 
and  a  state  of  war  commenced. 

A  perusal  of  the  White  Book  '  from  which  the 
above  facts  are  taken  shows  how  patient  the  British 

1  Miscellaneous   No.     13      (1914)      Correspondence   Respecting 
Events  leading  to  the  Rupture  of  Relations  with  Turkey. 


IJRITISH   F0RHP:ARANCE  121 

Government  was  under  all  the  equivocations,  delays 
and  hostile  actions.  Until  the  very  last  the  Am- 
bassador hoped  that  the  Grand  Vi;:ier  would  be  able 
to  control  the  fiery  and  ambitious  Minister  for  War. 
Enver  Be}-,  supported  b}'  his  German  friends,  be^ 
came  the  real  ruler  of  Turkey.  The  Sultan  and  his 
Vizier,  assuming  that  their  expressions  of  a  desire 
for  peace  were  genuine,  have  proved  themselves  to 
be  quite  powerless.  The  history  of  the  past  shows 
that  the  Ottoman  Empire  prospered  only  when 
Sultan  and  Viziers  were  strong  men  ;  when  they  are 
weak  and  helpless  disorder  and  anarchy  must  follow. 
Turkey  had  received  the  most  complete  assurance 
of  British  friendship.  Sir  Edward  Grey  in  his  letter 
of  August  18,  1914,  states  the  case  to  the  British 
Ambassador  at  the  Porte  thus  : — 

I  told  the  Turkish  Ambassador,  who  had  expressed 
uneasiness  as  to  our  intentions  towards  Turkey,  that 
Turkey  would  have  nothing  to  fear  from  us,  and  that 
her  integrity  would  be  preserved  in  any  conditions  of 
peace  which  affected  the  Near  East  provided  that  she 
preserved  a  real  neutrality  during  the  war,  made  the 
Breslau  and  Goeben  entirely  Turkish  by  sending  away 
the  German  crews  of  these  vessels,  and  gave  all  orduiary 
facilities  to  British  merchant  vessels. 

The  time  will  come,  if  it  has  not  alread\-  done  so,, 
when  the  more  intelligent  Turkish  people  will  regret 
the  culpable  weakness  of  their  government,  for  the 
loss  to  Turkey  will  be  very  great.  The  attempt  of 
the  war  party  to  stir  up  a  Jihad,  or  Holy  War,  has 


122  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

utterly  failed.  Under  no  possible  interpretation  of 
Muhammadan  law  could  a  Jihad  in  the  present 
circumstances  be  proclaimed,  nor  could  it  possibly 
be  made  an  obligatory  duty  (fardu'l-'ain)  on  any 
Muslim  to  obey  such  a  call  to  arms.  In  fact,  the 
conduct  of  the  Turkish  Government  has  been 
condemned  by  all  responsible  rulers  throughout  the 
Islamic  world,  and  the  Muslim  soldiers  of  Russia, 
France  and  England  are  fighting  loyally  and  valiant- 
ly in  defence  of  their  respective  empires.  They,  at 
least,  have  no  desire  to  come  under  the  despotic 
rule  of  the  German  military  party,  or  to  aid  Turkey 
in  her  folly  in  so  doing.  It  is  a  sad  sight  to  good 
Muslims  to  see  their  Khalifa  thus  helpless  in  the 
hands  of  unwise  and  unpatriotic  advisers. 

One  of  the  first  results  of  the  present  war  was  that 
Egypt,  which  from  the  time  of  Salim,  has  been  ruled  by 
Turkey  or  has  been  under  her  suzerainty,  became  free 
from  all  Turkish  control  real  or  imaginary.  We  have 
seen  how  Muhammad  'Ali  became  Viceroy  of  Egypt 
{ante  p.  90),  though  compelled  to  pay  a  large  an- 
nual tribute  as  a  sign  of  the  Sultan's  suzerainty.  In 
January,  1863,  Isma'il  Pasha  became  Viceroy.  He 
was  an  ambitious  man  and  sought  to  weaken  the 
ties  which  still  bound  Egypt  to  Turkey.  The 
Sultan  'Abdu'l-'Aziz  paid  a  visit  to  Cairo  and  as  the 
result  of  the  conferences  then  held,  and  aided  by  large 
bribes  to  the  Grand  Vizier,  the  Porte  allowed  the  title 
of  Khedive  to  be  substituted  for  that  of  Vicero}'.     The 


FALL  OF  THE  KHEDIVE  123 

term  Khedive  means  '  great  prince',  '  man  of  author- 
ity ',  and  though  as  a  title  it  is  less  dignified  than  that 
of  Sultan,  it  is  more  honourable  than  that  of  Viceroy. 
At  the  same  time  the  Porte  allowed  the  hereditary 
succession  from  father  to  son  in  the  Khedival 
dynasty,  but  in  return  for  the  concession  raised  the 
annual  tribute  from  ;^400,000  to  ;^750,000.  From 
time  to  time  there  has  been  friction  between  the  two 
countries  and  Turkey,  as  suzerain,  has  tried  to  claim 
power  and  influence  which  could  not  be  accorded  or 
allowed  to  her. 

In  a  fit  of  madness  the  Khedive  'Abbas  Hilme, 
now  in  Constantinople,  has  thrown  in  his  lot  with 
Enver  Bey  and  the  Germans,  and  has  therefore 
forfeited  all  right  to  his  rule  in  Egypt,  of  which 
country  he  thus  declares  himself  the  enemy.  The 
British  Government  at  once  declared  Egypt  a  British 
Protectorate  and  has  appointed  Prince  Husain,  an 
uncle  of  the  late  Khedive,  as  Sultan  of  Egypt  under 
the  suzerainty  and  the  powerful  protection  of  Great 
Britain.  His  Majesty  King  George  V  has  sent  him 
the  following  gracious  and  encouraging  message  : — 

On  the  occasion  of  Your  Highness  entering  on  your 
high  office,  1  desire  to  convey  an  expression  of  my  most 
sincere  friendship  and  an  assurance  of  my  unfailing  sup- 
port in  safeguarding  the  integrity  of  Egypt  and  securing 
her  future  well-being  and  prosperity.  Your  Highness  has 
been  called  upon  to  undertake  the  responsibilities  of  your 
high  office  at  a  grave  crisis  in  the  national  life  of  Egypt. 


124  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

I  feel  convinced  that  you  will  be  able,  with  the  co-opera- 
tion of  your  Ministers  and  the  protectorate  of  Great 
Britain,  successfully  to  overcome  all  influences,  which  are 
seeking  to  destroy  the  independence  of  Egypt  and  the 
wealth,  liberty  and  happiness  of  its  people. 

This  important  change  in  the  relation  of  Egypt 
to  Turkey  has  been  well  received  by  all  classes  of 
the  Egyptian  people.  All  connexion  with  Turkey 
now  ceases,  the  Porte  will  have  no  further  claim  to 
the  large  annual  tribute,  and  the  Ottoman  Sultans 
will  lose  whatever  dignity  the  office  of  suzerain  of 
Egypt  afforded  them.  Egypt  will  no\\-  be  free  to 
carry  out  many  reforms,  to  the  execution  of  which 
there  have  been  many  hindrances,  and  under  its 
new  Sultan  will  enter  upon  a  period  of  real  progress. 
The  Germans  have  thus,  though  quite  unwittingly^ 
rendered  a  very  real  service  to  that  wonderful  land. 

I  have  now  traced  the  rise  of  a  great  empire  from 
very  small  beginnings,  and  its  gradual  decline  from 
a  high  position  to  its  present  almost  hopeless  condi- 
tion. For  a  long  while  the  Ottoman  empire  was 
a  terror  to  south-eastern  Europe ;  in  more  recent 
times  it  has  been  the  despair  of  European  states- 
men. When  its  Sultans  led  victorious  armies  and 
ravaged  man}-  lands,  the  empire  maintained  its 
military  domination  ;  when  these  Sultans  ceased 
to  be  leaders  in  warfare  and  spent  their  boyhood 
and  early  manhood  in  the  secluded  life  of  the 
harem  they  lost  their  virilit\-  and  the  empire  became 


THE  FAILURE  OF  TURKEY  125 

weak.  As  a  conquering  people  the  Ottomans 
showed  some  measure  of  imperial  strength  ;  when 
the  tide  of  conquest  turned  and  the  state  required 
men  of  broader  sympathies  and  more  liberal 
vision — statesmen  in  the  best  sense  of  the  term — 
their  incapacity  was  revealed.  Called  upon  to  rule 
over  nations  of  many  races  and  creeds  they  sadly 
failed  ;  granted  an  entrance  into  the  circle  of  civi- 
lized and  progressive  states,  when  administrative 
ability  and  a  readiness  to  adapt  themselves  to  a 
changing  order  of  things  was  demanded,  they  have 
failed  in  a  still  greater  degree. 

Turkey  has  survived  longer  than  the  vigorous 
Khalifates  of  Damascus  and  of  Baghdad,  longer 
even  than  the  brilliant  Khalifate  in  Spain  ;  Init  it 
has  not  been  able  to  keep  its  position  amongst  the 
progressive  nations  of  the  West.  They  have  long 
since  passed  away  ;  and  the  causes  which  led  to  the 
decadence  and  disappearance  of  these  once  mighty 
Khalifates  are  Working  slowly,  but  with  equal  cer- 
tainty towards  the  complete  dissolution  of  the  Otto- 
man empire.  Muslim  states  seem  to  be  able  to  reach 
a  certain  standard  of  greatness  ;  but  there  is  some- 
thing in  their  law  and  polity  which  places  an  effect- 
ive barrier  to  a  continued  rise  in  the  scale  of 
national  progress  in  its  highest  forms,  and  to  a 
lasting  prosperity.  The  reason  for  this  is  not  far 
to  seek.  It  lies  in  their  contemptuous  disregard  of 
all  non-Muslim  peoples,  and  in   the  rigid  character 


126  THE  OTTOMAN  TURKS 

of  their  sacred  law.  As  expounded  by  its  official 
interpreters  that  law  is  the  most  perfect  the  world 
has  ever  seen,  and  is  therefore  final.  It  thus  be- 
comes a  great  barrier  to  the  highest  development 
of  a  nation,  which  from  its  position  in  Europe  is 
bound  to  hold  intercourse  and  to  have  diplomatic, 
commercial  and  social  relations  with  other  nations, 
whose  laws  are  more  flexible  and  whose  constitu- 
tions are  progressive. 

In  these  circumstances,  a  nation,  dominated  by 
laws  and  polity  of  this  character,  reaches  a  state 
which  is  like  the  association  of  sterility  with  vita- 
lity— the  contact  of  the  dead  with  the  living.  If 
Turkey  is  to  have  a  future  it  must  be  in  Asia  and 
not  in  Europe,  where  it  has  for  many  years  and  in 
a  multitude  of  ways  proved  a  disastrous  failure. 


APPENDIX  A 


THE  OTTOMAN  SULTANS 


DATE    OF 

NAME 

ACCESSION 

Uthman  I 

...              ...              ... 

...       1299 

Orkhan 

•  •  >              ...              ... 

...      1326 

Murad  I 

• . •              ...              ... 

...     1359 

Bayazid  I 

...              • . .              ... 

...      1389 

Interregnum 

.*•              •«•              ... 

Muhammad  I 

...              ...              ••• 

...     1402 

Murad  II 

...              ... 

...      1421 

Muhammad  II, 

the  Conqueror 

...     1451 

Bayazid  II 

•  •  •                            •  .  •                            ... 

..      1481 

Salim  I 

•  •  ■                            •  •  •                            •  •  • 

..      1512 

Suleyman  I,  the 

Magnificent 

..      1520 

Salim  II 

•  •  •              ...              ... 

..      1566 

Murad  III 

» .  •              . .  •              ■  •  •              • 

..      1574 

Muhammad  III 

• .  •              •  ■  •              • .  •              , 

..     1595 

Ahmad  I 

•••              •••              •.•              . 

..      1603 

Mustafa  I 

..      1617 

'Uthman  II 

...              . .  •              ... 

..      1618 

Murad  IV 

■■•              •..              •••              • 

..      1623 

Ibrahim 

•  •  •              •  *  •              • .  •              . 

..     1640 

Muhammad  IV 

•••              •■•              •••              1 

..      1648 

128 


APPENDIX   A 


NAME 

Suleyman  II 
Ahmad  II 
Mustafa  II 
Ahmad  III 
Mahmud  I 
'Uthman  III 
Mustafa  III 
'Abdu'l-Hamid  I 
Salim  III 
Mustafa  IV 
Mahmud  II 
'Abdu'l-Mejid      .. 
'Abdu'l-'Aziz 
Murad  V 
'Abdu'l-Hamid  II 
Muhammad  V 


DATE    OF 
ACCESSION 

1687 
1691 
1695 
1703 
1730 
1754 
1757 
1773 
1789 
1807 
1808 
1839 
1861 
1876 
1876 
1909 


APPENDIX  B 

OTTOMAN  SLA\'EKY  AS  AN 
IMPERIAL  ASSET 

The  practice  of   the  'Abbasid    Khalifas,   the   Egyptian 
Mamluk    Sultans,    and    the    Muslim    rulers    in    Spain 
followed   the    tendency    of    all    oriental    Governments, 
which  rest  on   force,  to  rely   on   sla\es  brought   from   a 
distance  or  otherwise  obtained.     The   Ottoman   Sultans 
developed  this  practice  still   further  by  le\ying  a  tribute 
of  children  from  their  Christian  subjects,  and  thus  they 
raised  the  whole   system   of  slavery   into  an   institution 
closely  bound  up  with  the  military  and  civil  administra- 
tion of  the  empire,  the  prosperity  of  which   was  largely 
indebted  to  it.     Sultan  Muhammad   II,  the   Conqueror 
made  this  quite  clear  in  these  strikmg  words  :  '  Our  em- 
pire is  the  House  of  Islam,  from  father  to  son  the  lamp 
of  our  empire  is  kept  bright  with  oil  from  the  hearts  of 
the  infidels. '  ' 

Some  slaves  were  captives  made  in  war  ;  some  were 
purchased  or  received  as  gifts  ;  but  the  majority  when 
mere  lads  were  forcibly  taken  from  Christian  homes. 
This  inhuman  custom  set  aside  the  finer  instincts  of 
human    nature,   took    no    heed    of   parental    affection, 

1  Quoted  in  Lyber,  Ottoman  Empire  in  the  time  of  Suleymdn 
(Harvard,  1912),  p.  64. 

9 


130  APPENDIX    B 

disregarded  the  breaking  up  of  family  life,  and  ignored 
the  rights  of  parents  to  bring  up  their  children  in  their 
own  law  and  religion.  The  lads  thus  taken  were 
brought  up  as  Muslims,  and  kept  in  the  status  of  slaves 
and  were  under  the  absolute  control  of  the  Sultan. 

This  tribute  of  young  boys  was  raised  chiefly  in  the 
Balkans  and  in  this  manner.  The  country  was  divided 
into  districts,  and  a  capable  official  was  appointed  to 
travel  about  in  each  district  with  instructions  to  send  to 
Constantinople  a  fixed  number  of  the  most  vigorous  and 
promising  of  the  youths  he  could  find.  He  required 
the  priest  of  a  village  to  furnish  him  with  a  list  of 
baptized  lads,  between  the  ages  of  twelve  and  twenty, 
from  whom  he  selected  the  sturdiest  and  handsomest 
ones  until  the  required  number  was  made  up. 

On  arrival  at  Constantinople  they  were  carefully 
trained  for  the  military  or  the  civil  service.  They  were 
taught  to  look  up  to  the  Sultan  as  their  lord,  who  could 
promote  them  to  great  honour  and  grant  them  posts  of 
distinction,  should  they  show^  by  their  devotion  to  him 
that  they  were  worthy  of  such  treatment.  An  Italian 
writer,^  who  in  the  reign  of  Suleyman  II  visited  Con- 
stantinople, tells  us  that  they  were  entertained  in  a 
large  and  spacious  building  under  the  charge  of  eunuchs, 
and  richly  clothed.  In  due  course  they  were  appointed 
by  the  Sultan  spahi-oghlans  (cavalry  subalterns)  or 
even  to  higher  ranks  in  the  army,  or  became  Janissaries 
or  Kapurjis  (wardens  of  the  gate). 

'  Probably  Benedetto  Ramberli  whose  work  was  published  in 
Venice  in  1545.  See  Lyber,  Ottoman  Empire  in  the  time  of 
Suleyman,  Appendix  I. 


APPENDIX    B  131 

This  careful  system  of  education  and  the  glittering' 
prospects  held  out  to  them  soon  made  the  lads  forget 
the  homes  of  their  childhood  and  inspired  them  with 
personal  devotion  to  the  Sultan,  who  often  found  in 
them  his  best  servants  and  most  valiant  soldiers.  By 
their  conversion  to  Islam  they  became  naturalized 
subjects  of  a  new  nation,  and  members  of  a  fresh  social 
and  religious  system.  Separated  entirely  from  the  faith 
and  traditions  of  their  forefathers  they  became  inspired 
with  a  new  spirit  and  entered  cheerfully  upon  a  fresh 
life.  This  large  annual  addition  to  the  ranks  of  Islam 
increased  the  wealth  and  power  of  the  state.  Thus 
'  the  oil  from  the  hearts  of  the  infidel  '  kept  the  lamp 
of  empire  burning  and  the  empire  became  possessed  of 
an  asset  of  great  value. 

If  we  set  aside  all  moral  considerations,  there  is 
no  doubt  that  for  many  centuries  the  system  by  its 
provision  of  warriors  and  efficient  administrators  was  a 
real  source  of  strength.  It  is  true  that  the  time  came 
when  the  military  section  became  turbulent  and  had 
to  be  suppressed,  but  for  many  centuries  the  Ottoman 
empire  owed  much  of  its  prestige  and  power  to  men 
of  Christian  birth  thus  alienated  from  their  kith  and  kin. 
The  pure  Turk  is  not,  as  a  rule,  a  good  administrator 
and  some  of  the  ablest  servants  of  the  State  were 
renegades,  or  of  non-Ottoman  origin.  Enver  Bey  is  not 
a  wise  statesman,  but  he  is  a  vigorous,  masterful  man 
and  he  is  of  Polish  extraction. 

Suleyman  1 1  was  one  of  the  greatest  men  the  Turks 
have  produced.  He  knew  his  people,  and  how  dim  the 
lamp  of  empire  would  become,  unless   fed  with  oil  from 


132  APPENDIX    B 

the  heart  of  the  infidel  or,  to  drop  the  metaphor,  how 
necessary  it  was,  by  some  means  or  other,  to  strengthen 
the  administration  of  the  state  by  importing  into 
its  body  poHtic  men  of  a  more  virile  character  and  of 
a  more  reliable  disposition  than  the  ordinary  Turk. 
To  gain  and  retain  this  valuable  asset,  the  system  of 
slavery  which  I  have  described  became  an  important 
institution  of  the  Ottoman  empire. 


APPENDIX  C 

OTTOMAN  LITERATURE 

The  Turks,  at  the  outset  of  their  career,  were  men 
of  the  sword  rather  than  of  the  pen,  and  though  they 
despised  the  Persians  as  a  people  less  martial  than 
themselves,  they  accepted  entire  their  literary  system 
and  so  based  Ottoman  literature  upon  a  Persian  model. 
A  number  of  learned  Sufis  had  their  home  at  Qonya, 
(Iconium)  the  capital  of  the  Seljuks.  The  famous 
mystical  poet,  Jalalu'd-din  Rumi,  came  there  as  a  lad 
and  soon  became  the  most  famous  of  them  all.  He  is 
known  throughout  the  East  by  his  great  work,  the 
MatJinavi,  on  the  form  and  style  of  which  Ottoman 
poetry  has  been  based.  The  style  was  simple,  but  in 
due  time  gave  place  to  one  in  which  *  curiosities  of 
imagery  gradually  replaced  the  old  straightforward 
speech  '.  Stanley  Lane-Poole  says  :  '  If  we  except  the 
long  narrative  poems,  the  range  of  subjects  sung  by  the 
muses  of  Persia  and  Turkey  is  very  limited.  Love, 
with  its  woes  and  joys,  naturally  and  by  right  assumes 
the  first  place  ;  then  we  have  the  charms  of  the  spring- 
tide, the  sweet  song  of  the  nightingale,  the  beauty  of 
the  flowers,  and  other  delightful  things  of  Nature, 
generally  with  the  undertone  of  religious  mysticism 
throughout.     And  that  is  well  nigh  all.'  ' 

\  Turkey,  p.  302. 


134  APPENDIX    C 

The  Ottoman  poets  of  the  early  period  showed  no 
originaHty  but  simply  copied  and  followed  all  they 
could  find  of  excellence  in  the  poetry  of  the  Persians  : 
*  The  prose  in  its  higher  flights  is  generally  bombastic, 
often  involved,  and  like  the  poetry,  bristles  with  equi- 
voques and  other  verbal  tricks,  which  though  frequently 
ingenious,  are  more  or  less  trivial  and  always  give  a 
forced  and  unnatural  appearance  to  the  style.'  ^  In  the 
reign  of  Sultan  Suleyman  (1520-66)  two  poets,  Fuzuli 
and  Baki,  arose  and  introduced  a  new  era.  Fuziili 
was  a  writer  of  eminence.  He  still  conforms  to  the 
Persian  style,  but  is  more  original  than  any  of  his  prede- 
cessors. Fifty  years  later  Nafi  of  Erzerum  elaborated 
a  style  for  himself,  but  being  a  satirist  and  having  the 
imprudence  to  exercise  his  wit  on  men  of  influence  he 
was  executed  by  the  order  of  Sultan  Murad  IV.  In 
each  succeeding  age  authors  in  prose  and  poetry  arose, 
some  of  whom  were  eminent,  but  the  literature  as  a 
whole  still  remained  under  the  domination  of  the 
Persian  influence. 

A  change,  however,  has  now  come  over  it.  It  began 
in  1859  with  a  translation  of  some  French  poetry  into 
Turkish,  thus  showing  that  good  literature  was  to  be 
found  outside  the  world  of  Islam.  In  1879  'Abdu'l- 
Haqq  Ahmad  Beg  published  some  poems  in  a  simple 
style  and  according  to  Western  forms.  Others  followed 
and  a  revolt  from  the  long-established  influence  of 
Persian  poetry  commenced.  '  Some  thirty  years  ago  a 
wonderful  change  began  to  come  over  Turkish  literature, 
and  this   change  has    ever   since    been    growing  yearly 

1  S.  Lane-Poole,  Turkey,  p.  303. 


APPENDIX   C  135 

more  and  more  marked,  altering  the  whole  tone  and 
spirit,  as  well  as  the  external  form  of  Ottoman  literary 
work.  .  .  ,  The  change  is  a  result  of  the  study  of  the 
French  language  and  literature  which  has  become  gen- 
eral only  within  the  last  twenty  years.  Marvellous, 
indeed,  have  been  its  effects.  In  poetry  likewise 
Western  forms  have  well-nigh  superseded  the  mono- 
rhythmic  ghazals  and  qasidas  of  the  olden  time.  Of 
course  all  these  changes  have  not  been  effected  with- 
out opposition  ;  many  Turks  of  the  old  school,  admirers 
of  the  Persian  style  and  haters  of  all  things  Western, 
opposed  them  bitterly,  and  some  oppose  them  still  ;  but 
the  battle  has  virtually  been  fought,  the  victory  won, 
and  for  good  or  ill  Europe  has  conquered  Asia,  Paris 
has  replaced  Shiraz.'  ^ 

The  new  learning,  full  of  western  thought  and  ideas, 
has  been  an  important  factor  in  the  formation  of  the 
Young  Turkey  Party.  One  of  the  best  informed  Euro- 
pean students  of  Turkish  literature,  the  late  E.  J.  W. 
Gibb,  saw  clearly  how  its  improvement  would  affect  the 
whole  position  of  affairs.  He  says  :  '  This  period  of 
twenty  years  (1859-79)  is  thus  the  turning-point  in  the 
evolution  of  the  new  civilization  of  Turkey  ;  all  that  had 
gone  before  since  the  days  of  the  martyred  Salim  has 
been  leading  up  to  the  revolution  now  accomplished ;  what 
follows  is  its  development.'  '^  The  repressive  measures 
of  the  late  Turkish  Government  sent  into  exile  men 
w^hose  mental  horizon  had  thus  widened,  but  the  lea\en 
was  at  work,  the  intellectual  condition  of  the  best  men 

1  S.  Lane-Poole,  Turkey,  pp.  322-3. 

-  History  of  Ottoman  Poetry  (1907),  vol.  v,  pp.  18-20. 


136  APPENDIX    C 

was  being  profoundly  clianged,  a  high  sense  of  duty  was 
being  created  and  a  true  patriotism  was  being  formed. 
The  exiles  from  amongst  the  literary  men  had  to  be 
joined  during  the  last  twenty  years  by  men  from  the 
various  professions,  and  some  nobles,  exiled  by  the 
jealousy  and  the  fear  of  the  palace  clique,  before  any 
practical  steps  were  taken  to  set  aside  the  despotism  of 
*Abdu'l-Hamid  ;  but  it  must  never  be  forgotten  that  the 
movement  towards  reform,  which  it  was  hoped  the 
Young  Turkey  Party  would  bring  about,  owes  not  a  little 
of  its  force  to  those  learned  authors,  who  in  modern  days 
have  reconstructed  the  literature,  widened  its  boundaries, 
and  brought  it  into  living  contact  with  the  West.  Thus 
it  seemed  as  if  the  '  new  learning  '  would  become  a 
powerful  force  in  the  social  emancipation,  in  the  religious 
freedom,  and  in  the  political  elevation  of  the  Turkey  of 
to-day.  All  these  hopes  and  aspirations,  however,  have 
not  been  realized,  for  the  Young  Turks  by  their  arrogant 
militarism  have  not  only  retarded  the  reform  move- 
ment, but  seem  likely  to  bring  about  the  ruin  of  the 
empire. 


INDEX 

'Abdu'l-'Aziz,  101,  122 

'Abdu'l-Hamid  I,  78,  80 

'Abdu'I-Hamid   II,    102,   105,   106,    107,    108,    115, 

136 
'Abdu'l-Mejid,  93 
Adrianople,  11  ;  treaty  of,  18 
Ahmad  I,  68 
Ahmad  111,78 
'Ala'u'd-din,  5,  6 
Andrea  Doria,  57 
Angora,  battle  of,  2,  23 
Apostasy,  96 

Barbarossa,  49,  56,  57 
Bayazid  I,  12,  13,  20,  22,  23,  25 
Bosnia,  28,  39,  114 
Brankovich,  George,  28 

Cantacuzemus  (Emperor),  9,  10 
Carlowitz,  treaty  of,  76 
Catherine  (Empress),  77,  80 
Chalderan,  battle  of,  48 
Chengiz  Khan,  2 
Constantinople,  9 ;  battle  of,  33-7 
Corsairs,  49,  52,  57 
Crete,  104,  110 
Crimean  war,  99 


138  INDEX 

Egypt,  122,  123,  124 

Enver  Bey,  108,  110,  115,  117,  121 

Ertoghul,  3 

Feudal  system,  43,  85 

Germany,  110,  115,  117,  118 
Golden  Horde,  1 
Greece,  87,  88,  89,  90,  91 

Hatt-i-Humayun,  99 
Hatt-i-Sharif,  95,  100 
Hulagu  Khan,  1 
Hungary,  28,  29,  30,  32,  39 

Janissaries,  7,  8,  12,  85,  86,  92,  130 
Jem,  Prince,  45-7 

Kaiser,  114,  119 
Karageorge,  81,  82,  83 
Kaynarji,  treaty  of,  79 
Khedive,  122,  123 
Kossovo,  battle  of,  15 

Lausanne,  treaty  of,  112 
Lepanto,  battle  of,  65 
Literature  (Ottoman),  Appendix  C 
London,  treaty  of,  89,  111 

Mahmud  I,  78 

Mahmud  II,  71,  84,  85,  86,  90,  91,  92 

Mamluks,  2,  48 

Midhat  Pasha,  107 


INDEX  139 

Milosh  Kobilo\-ich,  13 

Milosh  Obronovitch,  81 

Mohacs,  battle  of,  53 

Mongols,  1,  Z 

Muhammad  I,  24,  26 

Muhammad  II,  29,  31,  12,  37,  l^,  41,  42,  44,  45, 

49,  51,  129 
Muhammad  III,  66,  67 
Muhammad  I\',  73,  76 
Muhammad  \ ,  91 
Muhammad  'All,  88,  90,  91 
Murad  I,  11,  12,  13,  15 
Murad  II,  27,  29,  39 
Murad  III,  65,  66 
Murad  IV,  69,  71,  78 
Mustafa  I,  68 
Mustafa  II,  77 
Mustafa  III,  79 
Mustafa  IV,  83 

Navarino,  battle  of,  89 
Nicopolis,  battle  ^^  19 

Orkhan,  1,  5,  6,  10,  IT— ^ 

Paris,  treaty  of,  99 

Rhodes,  41,  51,  51,  b^ 

Salim  I,  47,  48,  50 

Salim  II,  64,  65 

Salim  III,  80,  83 

San  Stefano,  treaty  of,  103 


i'^O  INDEX 

Scipio  Cicala,  67,  68 
Seljuks,  1,  3,  4 

Serbia,   12,  14,  15,  28,  30,  31,  81,  82,  83,   103,  113, 

116 
Skanderbeg,  32,  39,  40 
Sobieski,  King  of  Poland,  72,  74,  75 
Stephen,  King  of  Serbia,  18,  19,  28 
Stratford  Canning,  93,  94,  95,  97,  98,  100 
Suleyman  I,  25 
Suleyman  II,  50,  54,  56,  5S,  59,  60,  61,  62,  130 

Tanzimat,  95,  99 
Timur,  20,  22,  23 
Tripoli,  112,  113 

'Uthman,  3,  4,  5 

Varna,  battle  of,  31 

Vienna,    first   siege   of,    55;  second    siege    of,    73, 
74,  75 

Young  Turkey  Party,  107,  108,  114,  136 
Young  Turks,  109,  110,  111,  112,  115,  136 


Works  by  the  same  Author 

The  Faith  of  Islam  (S.P.C.K.,  London  and 
Madras.     5.9.     Rs.  4.) 

'  A  scholarly  exposition  and  epitome  of  the  various 
tenets  embraced  by  Islam.  Nothing  but  praise  can  be 
said  of  the  whole  undertaking.'     RASJ,  October,   1897. 

'  The  importance  of  a  book  of  this  kind  is  very 
great.'     Stanley  Lane-Poole  in  the  Academy. 

'  This  volume  gives  us  more  information  about  the 
doctrines  and  polity  of  Islam  than  any  book  of  moderate 
size  with  which  we  are  acquainted.'     Spectator. 

The   Historical  Development  of  the 

Our'an      (S.P.C.K.,    London  and    Madras.     3s. 
Rs.  2.) 

'  In  Mr.  Sell's  hands  the  Qur'an  becomes  a  new 
book  and  sheds  a  flood  of  light  on  the  character  of  its 
author,  and  the  movement  he  initiated  and  guided.' 
Marcus  Dods  in  the  Critical  Review. 

Islam:  its  rise  and  progress  (Simpkin 
Marshall  &  Co.,  London  ;  S.P.C.K.,  Madras. 
9d.     As.  9.) 

The   Religious  Orders  of  Islam    (Simpkin 

Marshall    &    Co.,     London  ;     S.P.C.K.,     Madras. 
Is.     As.  12.) 


142  WORKS   BY   THE   SAME   AUTHOR 

Also  the  following  volumes  of  the  Islam  Series 
published  by  the  Christian  Literature  Society. 

The  Cult  of  'AH. 

The  Druses. 

Sufiism. 

Ghazwas  and  Sariyas. 

The  Battles  of  Badr  and  of  Uhud. 

Bahaism. 

Al-Our'an. 

The  Recensions  of  the  Qur'an. 

The  Hanifs. 

Outlines  of  Islam. 

Islam  in  China. 

The  Four  Rightly-Guided  Khalifas. 

The  Umayyad  and   'Abbasid   Khalifates. 

Muslim  Conquests  in  North  Africa. 

The  Mamluks  in  Egypt. 

Muslim  Conquests  in  Spain. 

The  Ottoman  Turks. 

La  Conquete  dn  Monde  Musulman  (Paris,  1912) 
speaks  of  the  Islam  Series  as  '  Manuels  destines  a 
vulgariser  la  counaissance  de  la  religion,  de  I'histoire 
et  de  la  vie  Musulmanes,'  and  as  a  '  veritable  petite 
encyclopedic  mi -didactic,  mi-polemique.' 


These  books  of  '  The  Islam  Series '  and  those 
mentioned  on  the  first  page  can  \be  obtained  at  any 
of  the  following  C.L.S.  Depots: — 

C.L.S.  Post  Box  501,  Madras. 

46  Dharamtalla  Street,  Calcutta. 

18  Clive  Street,  Allahabad. 

Dam  Street,  Colombo. 

35  John   Street,   Bedford  Row, 
London,  W.C. 


5080