The Islamic World in Decline: From the Treaty of Karlowitz to the Disintegration of the Ottoman Empire PDF
Preview The Islamic World in Decline: From the Treaty of Karlowitz to the Disintegration of the Ottoman Empire
THE ISLAMIC WORLD IN DECLINE THE ISLAMIC WORLD IN DECLINE From the Treaty of Karlowitz to the Disintegration of the Ottoman Empire Martin Sicker Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sicker, Martin. The Islamic world in decline : from the Treaty of Karlowitz to the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire / Martin Sicker. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–275–96891–X (alk. paper) 1. Turkey—History—1683–1829. 2. Turkey—History—1829–1878. 3. Turkey—History—1878–1909. I. Title. DR473.S53 2001 956.1′015—dc21 00–032386 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2001 by Martin Sicker All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 00–032386 ISBN: 0–275–96891–X First published in 2001 Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.praeger.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Martin, Jennifer, Peter, and Hannah Contents Introduction vii 1. The Ottoman-Safavid Conflict 1 2. Turbulence on Persia’s Frontiers 15 3. Balance of Power in Southeastern Europe 21 4. Beginnings of the Russo-Ottoman Conflict 33 5. Decline and Fall of the Safavid State 43 6. The Era of Nadir Shah 55 7. Russian Imperialism under Catherine the Great 69 8. Developments in the Ottoman and Persian Spheres 83 9. Napoleon Enters the Middle East 89 10. The Era of Muhammad Ali 103 11. Anglo-Russian Rivalry in the Persian Sphere 117 12. The War of 1828 and Its Aftermath 125 13. The Crimean War 139 14. Britain and Russia in Persia and Central Asia 153 15. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877 161 16. Confrontations in the Persian Gulf and Egypt 171 vi Contents 17. Resurgence of Anglo-Russian Rivalry 181 18. The Close of the Ottoman Era 189 19. The Last Ottoman War 203 20. The Dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire 219 Bibliography 233 Index 241 Introduction ThepoliticalascendancyofIslamthatbeganwithitsfoundinginthesev- enthcenturywaspredicatedinnosmallpartonitssynthesisofgeopolitics andreligion,ortheopolitics,whicheffectivelytransformedIslamicimperi- alismintoareligiousobligation.Theconflationofgeopoliticsandreligion inIslamisreflectedinthetraditionalconceptofjihad(struggle),areligious obligationimposedbytheirfaithonallMuslimsuntilthefinalvictoryofIs- lam. The jihad may be understood theopolitically as a crescentade, in the same sense as the later Christian crusade of the medieval period, which sought to achieve ostensibly religious goals by militant means. As a practical matter, the concept of being in a state of perpetual war withthenon-Muslimworldoftenborelittlerelationtothepoliticalrealities ofthegreaterMiddleEastthatasoftenasnotsawMuslimsandnon-Mus- limsalignedagainstandatwarwithotherMuslims.Nonetheless,thecon- ceptunderlayMuslimgeopoliticalthinkingthroughoutthelongperiodof its political ascendancy and inspired the dramatic expansion of Muslim rule.Itprovidedanextraordinaryreligiousandideologicalcontextforthe nakedimperialismthatsucceededincreatinganIslamicuniversereaching, atitszenith,fromSpainandNorthAfricatoSoutheastAsia,andfromthe Indian Ocean littoral to the steppes of Russia and the gates of Vienna. ThelongeraofMuslimpoliticalascendancythatbeganinasmallregion ofwesternArabiareacheditspinnaclesomeninehundredyearslaterwith thesiegeofViennabySuleimantheMagnificentin1529.Sittingoutsidethe Hapsburgcapital,withhisarmybesetbyseeminglyinsurmountablelogis- ticalproblems,SuleimanwasbroughttoconcludethattheOttomanEm- pire could expand no farther into Europe, that Muslim expansionism in Eurasiahadreached,indeed,hadprobablyextended,beyonditsdestined viii Introduction territorial limits. Undefeated, he withdrew from Vienna determined to concentrate his energies on preserving the gains already achieved. Unfortunately, from an Ottoman perspective, maintaining the status quo in a volatile geopolitical environment exceeded the abilities of Suleiman’ssuccessors,andtheempirecameundercontinuingassaultboth fromwithinaswellasfromwithoutoverthenextfourcenturiesuntilital- mostliterallycameapartattheseams.ThedeclineofOttomanpoweralso meant,ineffect,thedeclineofpoliticalIslam,whichhadbeensointimately boundtoitforcenturies.Islamicimperialism,theembodimentofthejihad, had run its course. TheproblemsfacedbytheOttomanEmpirewerereplicatedwithregard tothePersianEmpire,whichsimilarlyunderwentaperiodofpoliticalde- clineandterritorialretrenchment.Competitorsfordominanceforcentu- ries,boththeOttomansandPersianswereultimatelyforcedtoresolvetheir differencesinthefaceoftheimperialistpressurestheyweresubjectedto fromEuropeandAsia.Bothempireswereaffectedbythesamegeopolitical reality, namely, that empires that cease to expand are almost invariably compelledtocontract.Forbothsultanandshah,maintainingthestatusquo becameanunrealisticgoal.Theywereconfrontedbytheimperialistambi- tionsofthecontinuallyreconfiguringstatesofCentralandEasternEurope thatchallengedtheOttomansandbythenewRussiantsaristimperialism thatconfrontedbothOttomansandPersiansalongtheirnorthernfrontiers from the Balkans to Central Asia. ButperhapsthegreatestchallengetotheworldofpoliticalIslamcame from Western Europe, especially France and Great Britain, states some- whatremotefromthefrontiersoftheOttomanandPersianEmpires,but stateswithexpansionistgoalsthatwentbeyondtheacquisitionofcontigu- ous territories. From the moment that Napoleon Bonaparte entered the MiddleEastbyinvadingEgypt,theregionanditsconstituentcomponents weretransformedintoinstrumentsofinternationalgeopoliticsandgrand strategy.Napoleon’sinitiativewaspartofagrandioseschemethathecon- coctedforusingtheregionasabaseforanassaultonBritishinterestsinIn- dia.Thefactthathefailedtoachievehisaimsdidnotreversethenewrole thatwasassignedtotheMiddleEast.TheOttomanandPersianEmpiresas- sumedaglobalimportanceinthenineteenthcenturynotbecauseofany- thinginthemofintrinsiceconomicvaluebutbecauseoftheirgeopolitical andgeostrategicsignificance.Theybecame,ineffect,abufferzoneseparat- ing Europe from the wealth of the East, much as ancient Palestine had servedasabufferzonebetweenAfrica(Egypt)andAsia(Mesopotamia),at a time when European imperialism was on the march in Asia. ItthuscameaboutthattherivalriesoftheGreatPowers,mostespecially thoseofGreatBritain,France,andRussia,wereplayedoutintheMiddle East.NapoleonwantedEgyptbecauseitwasakeytoAsia;hewantedto buildacanalthatwouldconnecttheMediterraneanwiththeRedSeaand
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