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IB PAPER 3
MIDDLE EAST REGIONAL OPTION
IN WHAT PLACE ? :

OTTOMAN EMPIRE:

ONCE UPON WHAT TIME? 1839-1876

THE STORY : It could be called :
The rise of the French knowers or Europeanization and
modernization. The Turkish term is: Tanzimat (= re-organisation)
There are 4 main themes that make up this story :
1.

Military reform

Begun by Muhammad Ali and Mahmud II (the process of absorbing

European influences) in order to reform and rule their respective
territories. And the military is fundamental to any attempt to rule a
territory. Therefore any esay on the Tanzimat might mention the
military reforms of these two rulers.
2.

Rise of the French Knowers

After a while more and more of the people who were trained in the
various aspects of the European state-like apparatus were Egyptian
and Ottomans.
3.

Impact on traditional society

The big theme is what impact this had on the traditional Islamic
structures in Ottoman society and state apparatus. To undrst and this,
you need to know what that traditional structure was. Hence our quiz
on Power in an Islamic Society.
4.

Impact of foreign investment

Reform also involved increasing foreign investment.

This eventually led the Empire into debt.
Debt brought the British occupation of Egypt, and the loss of
Egyptian economic sovereignty (British were running their economy).

PART1
CIVIL, EDUCATIONAL AND LEGAL REFORMS
1839-1869 :
Most of what follows was the work of three characters.
THE CHARACTERS:
The three names to remember are :
Rashid Pasha, Ali Pasha , Fuad Pasha
COMMENT
The driving force behind the transformation of the administrative
structure of the Ottoman Empire in these years was three men :
Rashid Pasha (1800-1858, ended up Minister of Foreign affairs under
Mahmud II and Grand Vizier).
Rashid Pasha promoted Ali Pasha (1815-1871), the son of an Istanbul
shopkeeper who became Grand Vizier in 1852.
He also promoted Ali Pashas associate Fuad Pasha (1815-1869),
who from 1852 served as Foreign Minister..
All three were Europeanised, worked in the new embassays abroad,
and could speak French and English.
These were the French Knowers. It was they, much more than the
Sultan, who were the inspiration behind the reforms that took place
between 1839 and 1876 though they did shape the institutions
established by Mahmud II (who died in 1839).
You should now know what a Grand Vizier is and how one becomes
one.

AIMS OF TANZIMAT REFORMS

1st AIM
CREATE A NEW BREED OF HUMAN BEING CALLED
CITIZEN
(A SOCIETY BASED ON
SECULAR STATE CITIZENSHIP)
OBSERVATION
Laws can make human beings.
THE FACTORY :
All of the following is based on three facts
1839 : First royal decree called Hatt-i Sharif of Glhane was issued.
1856 : A second decree issued, called Hatt-i Hmayan was issued.
1869 : The Nationality Law is passed
COMMENT
In order to make everyone live together without killing each other, a
ruler needs to get them to see each other as part of the same group.
This is difficult if you rule a place populated with people who speak
different languages, read different literatures, have different histories
and cultures and have their own strong ideas of the religious groups of
which they feel they form a part and which form a part of them.
One way of attempting to do this which was fashionable in the
nineteenth century was through a thing called nationalism, as well as
through the revolutionary French idea of the citizen.
In other words, you tried to make people feel an equal part of one
nation like they feel part of one football team they support. In other

words you start to make them see themselves as citizens (a bit of a

French thing : citoyens) of a nation.
This nationalism in part explains why, in the course of the nineteenth
century, countries like Belgium, Greece, Italy and Germany became
nations.
But the Ottomans had a particularly big problem here. They wanted to
create a being called an Ottoman citizen. But it was not easy because
they ruled so many different language groupings and religious
groupings.
So, if they were going to try to transform the Ottoman Empire into a
modern nation state populated by citizens, they needed to find of form
of nationalism which all those different people could feel a part of,
which they could celeberate and enjoy more than say Egyptianism or
Syrianism. In the end, these three guys came up with the idea of
something they called Ottomanism.
To give you a sense of the difficulty of the t ask facing them, it was
the equivalent today of asking people today to be supporters of a
football team called Europe more than a football team called France,
England, Germany, Italy and so on.
So lets see how they tried to do that :

THE FACTORY (1) :

1839 : First royal decree called Hatt-i Sharif of Glhane was issued.
Its aim :
To end the dominance of the millet system.
Each millet (religious group) had officials responsible for tax
collection, education, justice as well as religious affairs, and no noneMuslims were allowed to join the Ottoman military or the Ottoman
ruling elite.
The 1839 decree aimed at changing this .
What exactly did it plan to do ?
It promised to
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

abolish tax farming ;

standardize military conscription ;
eliminate corruption ;
extend these reforms to all Ottoman subjects, regardless of
religion.

This meant that only the Ottoman state would collect taxes from
everyone. All could join the army. There would be less corruption
when it came to collecting taxes, spending the peoples money or
promoting people in the army or the government. It also meant that
there would be greater equality (a bit of a French idea form the French
Revolution). No religious group would be seen as better than another,
and no social group either. In other words, a society based on talent
and merit.
THE FACTORY (2) :

1856 : 17 years later, a second decree issued, called Hatt-i Hmayan

was issued.
FACTUAL CONTENT
To the clauses of the 1839 decree, this one added more stuff about the
equality of all subjects. In other words, Muslim and non-Muslim
would have equal obligations in terms of military service as well as
equal opportunities in terms of education in state schools and jobs
created by the state.
THE FACTORY (3) :
1869 : The Nationality Law.
FACTUAL CONTENT
This stated that all individuals living in Ottoman territory had a
common citizenship, irrespective of their religion.
ANALYSIS
This was a sharp break. Indeed, this secular concept of society, in the
long term, undermined the basis of the entire Ottoman system.
THE FACTORY (recap)
All of the above is based on three facts
1839 : First royal decree called Hatt-i Sharif of Glhane was issued.
1856 : 17 years later, a second decree issued, called Hatt-i Hmayan
was issued.
1869 : The Nationality Law.

COMMENT : OTTOMANISM
1.

Why did the Ottoman rulers come up with this idea ?

This was done to reassure the Christian subjects in the Ottoman

Empire. It was needed because across Europe, nationalism was rising.
So the Ottoman needed to have people who believed in some sort of
overarching Ottoman nationalism, otherwise their Empire was in
danger of fragmenting.
2. What was the aim of the Ottoman rulers in passing decrees like
Hatt-i Sharif of Glhane and Hatt-i Hmayan?
The aim of these 2 decrees attempted to break the religious and
cultural power of the millets and create the notion of everyone being
an Ottoman citizen something that was even higher than their sense
of being a muslim or Greek orthodox etc.
This Ottomanism, in theory, was supposed to replace the religious
ordering of society, which was dominatd by Muslims.
ANALYSIS
Its effectiveness/impact was limited by those Muslim who had
feelings of superiority, as well as by some Christians preference for
the new nationalist affiliations.
2nd AIM
EDUCATION
THE FACTORY :
This section is based on 2 facts :
1859 : Civilian Service School set up.
1868 : Imperial Ottoman Lycee (in Galatasaray) set up.

Mahmud IIs educational concerns had all been military related. In

other words, he built academies simply to train officers for his armies,
and to train physicians to heal the soldiers who got hurt , often
because of the stupid decision of the officiers (even if they had been
trained in his opfficers academy). His rather narrow sense of
education can be seen in the title he gave to his college. He called it, er
a War College.
The rulers of the Tanzimat period had a broader vision of education.
They were into civilian education. They wanted to educate people
and make them understand what a citizen was and how exactly they
could be one in the Ottoman Empire.
THE FACTORY (1 and 2) :
1859 : CIVILIAN SERVICE SCHOOL set up
1868 : IMPERIAL OTTOMAN LYCEE (Galatasaray) set up.
COMMENT :
The impact of these 3 schools was huge.
They produced a political and adminsitrative elite who ran the state in
Turkey and many Arab countries until well into the 20th century.

3rd Aim
LEGAL CODES
Using the French model, the Tanzimat introduced new legal, penal and
commercial codes. A dangerous thing becuase traditional Islamic
society was based on the elga codes of the shariah.
THE FACTORY :

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this section is based on 2 facts :

Nizame : Set up a system of secular courts called nizame.
1876 : Mejelle completed. This was a new civil code.
COMMENT :
It combined old and new. It was based on the shariah but it was run
by the newly created Ministry of Justice.
These were far-reaching changes. Some of the elite warned that
abandoning the old Islamic insititutions would lead to problems for
the unmah of Muhamad.

4th Aim
DEMOCRACY
The Young Ottomans tried to reconcile old and new. They were
against bureaucratic absolutism of Ali and Fuad Pashas.
They felt democracy was there in the Islamic tradition of consultation
between the absolutist ruler and his ministers.
They elaborated the notion of Ottoman patriotism.
THE FACTORY
Namik Kenal wrote a play called Vatan (Fatherland)
This put territorial patriotism before loyalty to religious community.
This was his European-inspired solution for the problem of Ottoman
territorial disintegration.

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THE FACTORY
1871 Ali Pasha died. Sultan Abdul Aziz reasserted his royal
authority.
1876 the Sultan was deposed, the new consitution proclaimed and
the new sultan Abdul Hamid II promised to uphold it.
COMMENT :
It provided for an elected chamber of deputies and an appointed
senate.
But it placed minimal restrictions on sultans powers. (he retained the
right to make war and peace, appoint ministers, approve legislation,
disband the assembly)
But it was evidence of European influence.
THE FACTORY :
1878 Sultan Abdul Hamid II dissolved the assembly and
suspended the consitution. Thus he begn 30 years of autocratic
rule.
5th Aim
MILITARY : FINANCIAL
Modern army and navy was expensive.
Income did not rise. Forced to take European loans.
THE FACTORY :
1854 : 1st loan of 3.3 million Ottoman lire.

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1854-74 20 more loans of over 200 million.

More money directed to paying interest.
1874 it was 60 percent of expenditure was paying interest.
1876 : Empire was bankrupt.
1881 Decree of Muharram (established Ottoman Public Debt
Administration).
Only by 1954 had Turkey paid all the debt.

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6th aim:
TANZIMAT FOREIGN POLICY
The out and out failure of Tanzimat foreign policy explains why
they continued to spend so much on the military.
FACTS re its failure :
MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THE BASIC INS AND OUTS OF
WHAT WAS KNOWN IN BRITIAN AS THE EASTERN
QUESTION, PARTICULARLY THE CRIMEAN WAR.
Russian influence always via Greek Orthodox citizens ; emphasized
its Slavic aspect re the Balkans independence movements ;
Austria more cautious than Russia, but profited around the time of the
Crimean War (1854-56)
1853 Russian ultimatum : wanted to be guaranteed the right to
intervene on behalf of Orthodox Christians. Sultan rejected it.
Russia sends troops to Moldavia and Wallachia.
Britain and France rally to Ottomans.
They fought in Crimea, whilst Austria occupied the principalities.
THE FACTORY :
1856 : The Treaty of Paris.
Too late for the principalities which were becoming the independent
state of Romania.
Treaty demilitarized the Black Sea.
Russians withdrew from Danube.

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1875-1878 : Great Eastern Crisis rise of Pan-Slavism.

Bosnia revolts. Supressed by Ottomans
1877 Russia declars war on Ottoman Empire.
1878 Russia captures Adrianople.
Britain prepared for war with Russia.
1878 Bismarck called the Berlin Conference.
Each Great Power got bits of the Ottoman Empire.
Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria declared independent.
Austria controlled Bosnia ; Britain controlled Cyprus ; Russia in
eastern Anatolia. All this durin the second year of Sultan Abdul
Hamids reign.

GENERAL STUFF
Pattern of Ottoman rule in Arab lands has been called the politics of
the notables.
Tanzimat codes of adminstrative conduct took precedent over these
personal relations and so threatened the notables.
1858 Land Code : all must register and receive a written title
deed. It was supposed to limit the power of the notables (increase
tax-collecting efficieny by central state) , but they subverted it.
In Syria this created huge estates owned by notables.

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On the whole the Arab urban elite, althoguh opposed to Tanzimat,

managed to preserve their privileges (sent their children to Tanzimat
schools)
Introduced new systems, but did not destroy old ones. Both
worked side by side.
But it reduced the role of the ulama.
HISTORIOGRAPHY :
Cleveland thinks that this dualism had a divisive effect on society
as a whole.
Even larger gap between educated officials and population.
In the rural heartlands, taxes increased, public work gangs, family
plots abandoned, low wages of rural labourers.

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PART II
TYPICAL IB QUESTIONS
IB Questions on the Tanzimat are always the same.
Guess what they are about ?
Ill give you a clue : Er, the main theme of the story weve just
read.
Yes, they talk about the reforms, the attemtpt to modernize. But at
the same time, the attempt to keep some traditional Islamic things.
In other words you need to show awareness of both change and
continuity.
(Do this with a Spot the Difference thing : Change the tie, etc
gradually end up looking like a PUNK ROCKER)
The big theme is the shariah (the traditional legal code) and the
state.
The relationship between the new European-type state apparatus
and the traditional Islamic society holy state apparatus.
The time period usually runs from 1839 to 1876.
QUESTION :
Assess the impact of the Tanzimat reforms on Ottoman society
between 1839 and 1876.

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WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ?

Know the major reforms and understand that the aim was to
strengthen the Ottoman Empire.
TO ASSESS :
To be able to assess (judge, weigh up the sucess and failures)
something you need to know its aims :
The aims must be identified: They wanted
a stronger Empire;
less power for the Sultan;
more effective government;
an elected assembly.
Answers must also consider the extent to which the granting of the
constitution helped achieve these aims.
Do not just give a narrative account of the reign of
Abdul Hamid II. He did this then he did that.
Break the story down into analystical categories :
The focus of the reforms was
(a) military,
(b) educational,
(c) legal and provincial administration, particularly education,
religion, law and the economy.
You could mention the variable impact of the educational reforms, e.g.
removed from control of the Ulama in 1847 but real educational
developments mainly in towns and cities with little impact on rural
areas.

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Legal reform was gradual and consisted of a series of compromises,

with the adoption of new penal codes and commercial codes based on
European procedures and the Mejelle which represented a
compromise between Sharia and secular law.
A popular argument is that the Tanzimat reforms began the process of
modernizing and secularizing the Empire but that real impact was
limited to towns and cities and not completed until after 1922. In other
words, after the collapse of the Empire. But in that case you could
argue the Tanzimat represents the early stages of a long term process.
Or, in the short term it seemed like a failure, but in the long term it
was a success.
YoumightconsiderthereformsinthecontextoftheEmpires
Internationalposition,theHattiSherifofGulhaneandHattiHumayan
werebothissuedatcriticalperiods.
Howeverthemainfocusshouldbeonthedomesticimpactoflegal,
military,administrativeandgovernmentalreforms,intermsofchange
andcontinuity.
Try to identify the limited achievements of the New Ottomans with
reference to the post 1876 period.
You may make the point that this was inevitable as the New Ottomans
were not a popular movement.
OTHER SIMILAR QUESTIONS
As you can see, the other questions are very similar
1.
TheTanzimatReformsmadelittlerealimpactontheOttoman
Empire.Towhatextentdoyouagreewiththisstatement?

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2.

Evaluate the success of the Tanzimat reforms in modernizing and

strengthening the Ottoman Empire.
3.
To what extent were the aims of the New Ottomans realised in the
constitution of 1876?
OTHER BROADER QUESTIONS
Other questions will try to bring the interests of the Great Powers into
it. As do the questions on Muhammad Ali.
Here you will usually talk about the Greek Nationlists Revolt, Syria,
the Crimean War and perhaps even the Congress of Berlin.

1.
The reign of Abdul Hamid II is best understood if
seen as combining a desire for reform with
despotic methods. How far do you agree with
this view?
Reform: 1876 Constitution granted (briefly),
expansion of elementary education,
establishment of higher level colleges for Civil Service
(Malkiye) and Military (Harbiye),
Ottoman University in Istanbul.
Some improvement in the administration of justice.
Improved communications (railway, telegraph).
Despotism: suspension of Constitution when parliament

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proved difficult, personal control of government

bureaucracy, powerful internal intelligence system
reporting directly to the Sultan.
Ruthless suppression of potential opposition and of
nationalist groups e.g. (Bulgarian Atrocities, Armenian
Massacres 1896).
[8 to 10 marks]
If you just include some facutal detail but do not say
whether you agree or disagree with the statement
(which is what you have been asked to do) and so
consider the issues of reform/despotism you will get no
more than 10 marks.
[11 to 13 marks] some focus on the question but may
be unbalanced with rather more emphasis on methods
than aims.
[14 to 16 marks] well supported and balanced
answers, which deal with both aspects of the question.
May not reach a clear conclusion in relation to the
statement.
[17+ marks] may challenge statement, arguing that
Abdul Hamid not a reformer, or that his despotism
was a western perception and his methods were not
untypical.
To what extent was the weakness of the Ottoman Empire caused
by the interference of the major powers during the period 1800 to
1878?
The activities of the major powers should be outlined, with comment
on how this may or may

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not have contributed to Ottoman weakness. Better candidates will

possibly look at longer
term interventions (Kuchuk-Kainardji) and comment on Ottoman
strengths pre-1800.
They may also see Ottoman strength as variable and contingent on the
wider international
scene, e.g. British intervention usually to prevent Russian expansion.
[7 marks] and below for simple narrative of major events, e.g. Greece
1827, Unkiar Skelessi,
Crimean War, Congress of Berlin.
[8 to 10 marks] for more knowledge with some linkage to the major
powers.
[11 to 13 marks] for detailed knowledge of events and the role of
major powers in those
events.
[14 to 16 marks] for details of events, with some analysis of reasons
for interventions. May
not make fully developed comment on how this contributed to
weakness.
[17+ marks] for a clear, fully substantiated judgment of extent. Really
able candidates will
see that Ottoman weakness was variable depending on the interests of
the major powers and
therefore the Empire was inherently weak.
Account for the deposition of Abdul Hamid II in 1909.
Forced to grant a constitution in 1876 to enlist British support against
Russia, Abdul Hamid
suspended it in 1878 and ruled autocratically. However he was a
moderniser and introduced
extensive educational reforms leading to a new educated Turkish elite.
Military training also
improved and there were some improvements in communications. All
of these were limited
and the repressive nature of his regime, territorial losses and anxiety

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over Macedonia led to

the emergence of the Young Turk movement which desired a return to
the 1876 constitution.
After the Revolution occurred in 1908, Abdul Hamid II was forced to
allow a parliament, but
his attempts to renege on reform led to his deposition in 1909.
[0 to 7 marks] for general narrative accounts of the reign of Abdul
Hamid II.
[8 to 10 marks] for more detailed knowledge but still largely
narrative.
[11 to 13 marks] for detailed knowledge though analysis is likely to be
limited to assertions
about despotic nature of regime.
[14 to 16 marks] for analysis which considers the impact of some of
his modernising policies
and consequences of their limited extent.
[17+ marks] for fully developed analysis which examines frustrations
resulting from modernisation, but not Westernisation, in political
terms.