The Ottoman Empire’s Impact On Global Civilization “Now shalt thou feel the force of Turkish arms which lately made all Europe quake for fear. ” This was true throughout the midfifteenth century to the end of the seventeenth century, when the Ottoman empire became a real threat to global civilization. The Ottoman empire left a significant impact on global civilization, differentiating their view of the world from the rest of the world. As a result, the Ottoman empire reformed beliefs like Muslim and Islam, controlled and threatened the world by expanding and growing at a terrifying rate.
Authors Geoffrey Woodward, Ira Lepidus, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Hassan al-Bana discuss how the Ottoman empire threatened and left an everlasting effect on the world. Their articles are The Ottomans in Europe, A History of Islamic Societies, A Speech Delivered by Ghazi Mustafa Kemal, President of the Turkish Republic, 1927, and The Tyranny of Materialism Over the Lands of Islam. Geoffrey Woodward’s article on The Ottomans in Europe identified ways in which Europeans were affected by the Turkish Empire during the sixteenth century.
Since 1354 the Ottoman Turks had been advancing westwards, overrunning Constantinople (and renaming it Istanbul) in 1453. Throughout their dynasty, they had amassed huge advantages in their favor. Their army was the largest in Europe and their navy ruled the shipping lanes of the eastern Mediterranean. The capital Istanbul was five times the size of Paris and their resources seemed limitless. With this in mind, they had the capacity to sweep aside opposition in the name of Islam which gave the Turkish Empire an awesome presence.
By 1520, the Ottoman empire was the undisputed leader of the Muslim world and the Islamic faith bound its people together. It’s army was also second to none. However, Philip II of Spain responded to the Muslim threat in 1560 when his troops occupied the island of Djerba preparatory to prepare an attack on Tripoli. The expedition ended in disaster when 27 galleys were lost and 10,000 men were taken prisoner to Istanbul. Still the Ottomans were able maintain a great deal of power during the fifteenth century through the seventeenth century.
Eventually, whatever goes up must come down. The Long War (1593-1606) started off badly for the Ottoman empire with continuous pestering revolts Cossacks pillaged their supply lines, Persia invaded Anatolia in 1599, and Hungarian troops had superior firepower and inflicted upon the Turks their first military setback for over a century. In addition to that, a Christian fleet, commanded by a Spaniard, Don John, met the Ottomans at Lepanto in the Gulf of Corinth. The ensuing battle (October 1571) saw two of the largest navies ever assembled and resulted in victory for the Christians.
It was the worst defeat for the Ottomans since 1402 and dispelled their “myth of invincibility. ” Furthermore, after the death of Suleiman, a line of ineffectual rulers began whose authority was seriously undermined by a series of palace revolts. At the same time, they began to fall behind in naval and military technology and tactics. We can understand the rise and the fall of the Ottoman dynasty, but Ira Lepidus looked more deeply into how the Ottoman empire was structured. “The Ottoman regime dominated, controlled and shaped the society it governed,” according to Ira Lepidus.
The central concept of the Ottoman society was askeri and re’aya, the rulers and ruled. Ottoman society was an elaborate mosaic of territorial associations, religious fraternities, and corporate economic groups. Ottoman patronage led to the organization of madrasas, religious schools that focused on academics as well. Madrasas taught law, geography, mathematics and so much more, furthering the average education of the population of the Ottoman empire. Additionally, sufis had a large role in Ottoman rural society. They led holy wars, protected travellers, mediated isputes, and helped create social order in rural societies.
To clarify, the Ottoman empire was built on the foundation of religion, leading to the increasing usage of education and moral values. Although the Ottomans had built an incredible society based on religion, their hearts were eventually shaken with fear after their defeat from the “Entente Powers. ” In 1919, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, President of the Turkish republic, delivered a speech concerning two points, the position of the Ottoman empire and how they can get out of their losing position.
The group of Powers which included the Ottoman government had been defeated in the Great War and the “Ottoman Army had been crushed on every front. ” He also elaborates on how important it is to “avoid irritating the Great Powers, England, France, and Italy. ” He claims that “the idea to fight even one of them is nearly impossible to everybody” and that “no hostility was to be shown towards the Entente Powers. ” Therefore, three propositions were put forth: to receive protection from England; to accept the US as a mandatory power; or to break up the government into individual states.
On the contrary, Mustafa claimed that “to accept the protectorate of a foreign Power would signify that we acknowledge that we lack all human qualities” and if they failed to do so, it would result in slavery. As a result, they decided “to bring the whole nation and the army into a state of rebellion,” allowing them to survive as a nation to this day. Although the Ottoman empire feared the rest of the world, the Ottoman empire viewed the world in their own way.
According to Hassan al-Ban, “the Europeans worked assiduously to enable the tide of this materialistic life, with its corrupting traits and its murderous germs, to overwhelm all the Islamic lands toward which their hands were outstretched. ” Hassan claims as well that those same countries are committing crimes and sins in another country that they do not tolerate and rebuke those who do in their own countries. Nonetheless, he also claims that the “Sinners” can deceive Islam and Muslim followers by telling them that their belief is defective and that you have to believe in “superstitions” as well.
Overall, they see the Europeans as “hypocritical sinners” who have come to the Ottomans in order to “deceive and mislead” the followers. During the fifteenth century through the seventeenth century, the Ottoman empire left a substantial impact on global civilization. Even though the Ottoman empire became a “threat” to the world and would have taken control of the world if they had slowly lost their technological and strategic advantages. In addition, the empire illustrated the significant influence of religion as a foundation of government and society. The effects of the empire continue to shape the challenges of the Middle East today.
