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The Decline of the Empire
After Suleiman I died, the empire began a slow, centuries-long decline. The
gradual loss of power and prestige was due to many factors. First, there was no
standard procedure for the orderly transition of power. The death of each sultan
sometimes led to a bloodbath between his sons and other male relatives who
would try to gain control. Corruption in the form of bribery was widespread. In
addition, rebellions and civil wars within several provinces helped weaken
theempire. Moreover, most sultans following Suleiman I were not able rulers.
Also at this time, several European nations were growing stronger economically
and militarily. In 1571, Pope Pius V organized a Holy League of Christian
princes. The princes included those of Genoa, Venice, Spain, Austria, and the
Papal States. The purpose of the league was to challengeOttoman power. The
fleet of the Holy League defeated the Ottoman Navy at the Battle of Lepanto, off
the coast of Greece, in 1571. The European alliance sank 80 Ottoman ships and
captured 130 others. More important, the victory did much to dispel the myth
that the Turks were invincible.
The Ottomans reconquered part of Iraq in 1638 and captured Crete from the
Venetians in 1669. But they failed to take Vienna in 1683 during an invasion of
central Europe. After this defeat, theOttoman Army became increasingly
disorganized and major Ottoman territories were lost to the Europeans.
During the 1700's a series of wars with Russia and Austria accelerated the
empire's decline and loss of territory. At the same time, the sultans lost much of
their influence, even in the territories they still controlled. Russia sought to
incorporate Ottoman lands into the Russian Empire. Other European nations
were opposed to this plan. Disagreements over this issue eventually sparked
the Crimean War (1853–56). France and Great Britain allied themselves with
the Ottoman Empire and succeeded in preventing Russian expansion
into Ottoman territory.
However, the empire failed to regain any strength. It became known as the Sick
Man of Europe and the problem called the Eastern Question remained an
important issue in European politics. The question revolved around who would
take control of the Ottoman territories when the empiredisintegrated. By 1878
four states in central Europe had forged their independence from Ottomanrule.
They were Greece, Serbia, Romania, and Montenegro. Several of Europe's
major powers interfered in the empire's internal affairs to ensure that the "Sick
Man" would not recover.
The Founding of Modern Turkey
World War I (1914–18) dealt the final blow to the Ottoman Empire. Allied with
Germany and the other Central Powers, it succeeded in holding on to
Constantinople and the Dardanelles, a strategically important waterway.
However, when the Central Powers lost the war, the Ottomans were forced to
give up the remnants of their empire.
The continued attempt of the victorious Allied Powers to take control of Anatolia
from the Turks led to the Turkish war for independence (1918–22). Under the
leadership of Kemal Atatürk, the Turkish nationalists expelled the foreigners and
established the Republic of Turkey, which was recognized by the Treaty of
Lausanne, in 1923.
Sandak, Cass R. "Ottoman Empire." Reviewed by William Ochsenwald. The New Book of
Knowledge. Grolier Online
http://nbk.grolier.com/ncpage?tn=/encyc/article.html&id=a2022100h&type=0ta (accessed October 3, 2016).