The Eastern Question, as it was termed by the European Powers in the nineteenth century, was a debate primarily concerned with the issue of ""what to do with the Turk?."" The Ottoman Empire had become known as the ""sick man of Europe"" following its gradual decline since the eighteenth century, and its demise would be highly problematic for the crowned heads of Europe. This unique book focuses on the intellectual and political dynamics of the first Ottoman political opposition in the modern sense, the so-called ""Young Ottomans."" In the process it narrates an alternative version of the...
The Eastern Question, as it was termed by the European Powers in the nineteenth century, was a debate primarily concerned with the issue of ""what ...
The first decade of the twentieth century was the Ottoman Empire's 'imperial twilight'. As the Empire fell away, the beginnings of a young and radical Turkish nationalism took root in Anatolia. The summer of 1908 saw the 'Young Turks' attempt to revitalize Turkey with a 'constitutional revolution' aimed at reducing the power of the Ottoman Sultan, Abdul Hamid II. Drawing on popular support for the defense of the Ottoman Empire's Balkan territories, the Young Turks promised to build a nation from the people up, rather than from the top down. Here, Dogan Cetinkaya analyses the history of the...
The first decade of the twentieth century was the Ottoman Empire's 'imperial twilight'. As the Empire fell away, the beginnings of a young and radical...
Railway expansion was symbolic of modernization in the late 19th century, and Britain, Germany and France built railways at enormous speed and reaped great commercial benefits. In the Middle East, railways were no less important and the Ottoman Empire's Hejaz Railway was the first great industrial project of the 20th century. A route running from Damascus to Mecca, it was longer than the line from Berlin to Baghdad and was designed to function as the artery of the Arab world - linking Constantinople to Arabia. Built by German engineers, and instituted by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the railway was...
Railway expansion was symbolic of modernization in the late 19th century, and Britain, Germany and France built railways at enormous speed and reaped ...
The practice of petitioning the Ottoman Sultan was a well-known institution which existed in one form or another throughout Ottoman history and enabled Ottoman subjects, far from the capital of Istanbul, to convey their grievances directly to the supreme ruler. Here, Yuval Ben-Bassat examines the petitions, including many previously unpublished ones, sent during the last decades of the Empire to the Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II. The petitions enable Ben-Bassat to explore Palestine's history in this formative period from a unique perspective, providing first-hand accounts of the dilemmas,...
The practice of petitioning the Ottoman Sultan was a well-known institution which existed in one form or another throughout Ottoman history and enable...
When the Ottoman Empire collapsed following the First World War, the feudal system which had survived untouched in much of Anatolia began to change. Kemal Ataturk's task of building a nation 'from the people up' meant that the peasantry, by far Turkey's largest ethnographic group, became an important symbol of social cohesion. Here, Sinan Yildirmaz analyses the history of modern Turkey through the material culture of this peasantry - their speeches, social club documents, art and diaries - and reveals a rich social and political life which flowered after the Second World War. Politics and the...
When the Ottoman Empire collapsed following the First World War, the feudal system which had survived untouched in much of Anatolia began to change. K...
