Ottoman Empire Essays (Examples)

Ottoman Empire

In 1683, when the Ottoman forces were besieging Vienna, the empire reached its high-water mark and then began its slow, steady decline after suffering a major defeat in this battle. Only very gradually did Europeans come to perceive it as the Sick Man of Europe, however, since it was still formidable enough to play an important role in the defeat of ussia in the Crimean War of 1854-56. This was its last major victory, however, since by 1878 it had lost most of the Balkans, or umelia as it was known to the Ottomans, and with it much of its tax revenue and the recruitment ground for the Janissaries. It lost Crete in 1896 and Macedonia and Thrace after the Balkan Wars in 1912-13, and ceased to be a European power. Compared to the Western powers that were becoming urban and industrialized in the 19th Century, the Ottoman…

Ottoman Empire was a sick old man that just collapsed

The Ottoman Empire was perhaps amongst the short-lived glories that history has seen yet. Many scholars believed that the power of the Caliphate ruling over the Empire had started declining from early 1680s; yet, there are also many others who feel that the historical accounts of the Empire show that it was a dynamic and ever-advancing Empire that had an intricate design for political and administrative leadership, which over a period of time brought it decline earlier than necessary (Faroqhi, 2004). In this paper, we will focus on the statement that "the Ottoman Empire was a sick old man that just collapsed" by highlighting some of the strong points as well as weaknesses of the Empire so as to provide support to the statement or negate it.

Perhaps, one of the strengths of the Ottoman Empire was their approach to…

Ottoman Empire is among the most fascinating periods in the history of civilization, and it remains the subject of scholarly study because of the impact it had on the world, and continues to have today.

The empire began around as a medieval state in the late 13th Century around what is now known as Turkey; the region had largely been unaffected, either socially, militarily or economically by the social progress in the rest of Europe. Hence, this empire was largely frozen in time, according to www.infoplease.com.

The Ottoman Empire began modestly enough, with many small Turkish states bonding together in Asia Minor following the disintegration of the Seljuk Turks' empire.

And it is important to note that Turkey's domination over Africa's northern areas was not entirely well defined, and the Ottoman Empire did not really have permanent, clear-cut borders; rather, the empire was more of a military administration over a…

Sharif Hussein Ibn Saud and the Fall of the Ottoman Empire
Introduction
The Ottoman Empire was served by a strong military and centralized political structure, but with territory that stretched into both the East and the West, the Ottoman Empire was also greatly served by its geography and the diversity of this realm. At the heart of its rule was the power of Mecca and the religious significance Mecca held for the Muslims. The relationship among the Ottomans, the Arabs, the Egyptian Ibrahim Pasha and his Sons, the Sharif of Mecca and Ibn Saud in Central Arabia all contributed to the strength of the Ottoman Empire. This paper will examine these relationships, the geographical and diverse characteristics of the Empire and the role that Mecca played in holding it all together. Ultimately it will show that the Ottomans lost the Empire as a result of turmoil among radical factions in…

Ottoman

As Emrah Safa Gurkan points out in "The Centre and the Frontier," the Ottoman Empire made strategic political decisions in part due to a shifting balance of power in Europe. Head to head with the Habsburg Empire, the Ottomans saw great opportunity and power in the incorporation of the North African corsairs for geographic, geopolitical, economic, and social reasons.

Although European exploits abroad were far more ambitious and large scale, the Ottoman response was by no means puny. The Ottoman model of expansion and empire was simply different from the Iberian, English, or French models. Geographically speaking, the Ottoman participation in the Age of Exploration included escapades to and around India, with remarkably important exploits that helped the Empire forge its own trade routes with India. This was of course motivated by competition with the Portuguese explorers, who can be conceived of as reacting to the Ottoman expansion rather…

Mughal and Ottoman Empires

The Mughal dynasty ruled the area that is now considered India and Persia between the years 1526 and 1857. The Ottoman Empire was able to sustain power from July 1299 to the end of the First orld ar in 1923. Both empires used a form of monarchy which was called absolutism; that is the governmental belief that the monarch has supreme and absolute power. Absolutism was a form of monarchial power where the ruler's authority was unchecked. No group: not the clergy, not courtiers, not legislatures, or members of the social elite had the power to prohibit the monarch from doing whatever he or she pleased. It was a system of government controlled by one individual with absolute power over the entirety of his or her realm. Those that dared challenge the monarch met swift ends which would deter others from attempting to thwart the ruler.…

The last Mamluk governor ruled in the 19th
century as Europe was increasingly asked for advice, military weapons, and
for help to promote trade. The British were the most influential in this
regard which indicates an economic viability to Iraq that the Ottomans were
either unable or uninterested in pursuing. The Ottomans, as a European
Empire, were unable to maintain influence over its own province. After
floods and plagues in 1831, the Ottoman's sent a new governor to Iraq that
meant "A new era" for Iraq (Iraq History Page). hile this was an attempt
to regain influence on the area, many tribal competitions and allegiances
remained, including the Kurdish problem in the region. The Mamluks had
grown increasingly autonomous and the Ottoman's reasserted their authority,
but this authority was not inherently stable. IN 1690, Midhat Pasha was
appointed governor of Iraq and he attempted to modernize according to a
estern…

The Ottoman court, administrative, and military language were all Turkish; however, high culture in the Empire was cosmopolitan and popular culture in Anatolia and Thrace could only be called "Turkish." According to McCarthy, three primary factors ultimately decided the fate of the Muslims of Ottoman Europe, the Crimea, the Caucasus, and Anatolia: 1) the military and economic weakness of the Ottoman Empire, 2) nationalism among Ottoman Christian peoples, and 3) Russian imperial expansion.

Much like the United States outspending the Soviet Union to win the Cold War, the Ottoman Empire was not able to maintain any degree of parity with the European powers and by 1800, Ottoman Empire government was internally weak, and found that it was not able to support its antiquated Ottoman military system, much less a modern army and navy that would be capable of defending the empire against its increasing powerful adversaries. McCarthy reports that the…

Islamic omen -- Ottoman Empire

Islamic women who lived in the Ottoman Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries are the focus of this inquiry. hat was their social life like in terms fun, vice, pleasure, and other activities that involved sensuality or illegal interactions? hat do various authors report regarding the activities women engaged in during this era the Ottoman Empire? This paper reviews and critiques the literature relating to the subject of women and their activities in this period of Islamic history.

Mary Ann Fay -- "omen and AQF" (background)

In her essay, Mary Ann Fay discusses Mamluk politics and society in 18th century Ottoman Egypt, pointing to the fact that women of Mamluk households enjoyed "considerable economic autonomy" because they were owners and managers of property (Fay, 1997, 31). That gave them a certain degree of social power but as Fay explains, Mamluk women also derived power…

The Crusades

The Crusades would shape Islamic attitudes toward the est for centuries, so much so that it was noted that George Bush should never have used the term with reference to the ar on Terror because of the bad feelings involved. In the eleventh century, much of the Moslem world was under siege from the Seljuk Turks. The Moslems were in control of the Holy Lands, the seat of Christianity, and in the eleventh century European Christians undertook the Crusades to recapture the Holy lands, notably the city of Jerusalem. The Crusaders saw their opportunity because of the dissension within the Moslem world itself. There were divisions within the Christian world as well, notably the splitting off of the Byzantine Empire as the Holy Roman Empire disintegrated. The Greeks were in power in the East, and the remnants of the Latin factions were in power in the west. The…

The Turkic tribes transformed themselves from a disparate, fragmented state into a hegemonic and organized empire. Lasting for centuries and making a profound impact on global politics, the Ottoman Empire built its status and power on bureaucratic authoritarianism, and also on fusing the power of religion and politics. The bastion of Sunni Islam, the Ottoman Empire colonized regions far beyond what are now the borders of the modern nation-state of Turkey. Moreover, the Ottoman Empire encompassed a wide range of linguistically and ethnically diverse people, capitalizing on access to global trade routes to bolster power and influence in and beyond Eurasia. The use of military might, of economic influence, and also of religious and cultural tools for social control and hegemony all characterized the Ottoman Empire in its heyday.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, shifting balances of power, modernization, and the dismantling of authoritarian regimes trended worldwide and…

They needed to find a way to maintain peace and stability among the dozens of different peoples, of different races, religions, tribes, languages, and customs. The Ottomans accomplished this primarily by allowing each group of people a certain amount of respect. There was a "live and let live" policy directed toward the varying peoples of the empire. "This live and let live policy was in striking contrast to the fanatical bigotry of Christian states at the time." (Goldschmidt, p. 126) What seemed to matter more to the Ottomans was a people's ability to contribute to the peace and prosperity of the empire as a whole, rather than some religious or ethnic restrictions.

The Ottoman Empire began in the 1300's and lasted more than 600 years, until the end of the First World War. This was an empire where a small number of Turkish elites ruled over millions of people of…

It was this strategy that led to the slow eradication and encompassing of the Byzantine Empire, and finally the siege and capture of Constantinople (Pitman 19987).

The quiet nature of the Ottoman Empire's power was also a major part of its success and longevity. While the ruling class was of course limited to a tiny percentage of the total population of the Empire, there were no ethnic requirements for becoming a member of this ruling class -- faith in Islam, loyalty to the sultan, and compliance with certain standard of behavior were all that was necessary to become eligible for this class upgrade (Pitman 1987). In part because the Ottoman's defined themselves primarily as Muslim rather than part of a specific ethnic group, the same ethnic and cultural ambiguity was tolerated and even encouraged throughout the Empire, meaning new subjects of the realm could carry out their lives largely a…

165)

But it was the British who would have the greatest impact on the decline of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Gaining control of Egypt during the Napoleonic Wars, Britain administered Egypt as an independent province of the Ottoman Empire. However, it was World War One that gave Great Britain the opportunity to directly expand into the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans allied themselves with the Central Powers, enemies of France, ussia, and, most importantly, Great Britain. By first fomenting a revolution among the Arabs, the British were able to destabilize the Turks in the Middle East, which then led to the conquest of Palestine and Syria. While the British had promised their Arab Allies independence, the Sykes-Picot agreement actually split the Middle East into four "mandates," and "recognized long-standing French claims to Syria." (Cleveland, 2009, p 164) Three of the four "mandates" were controlled by the British, one by the French,…

Introduction

For centuries during the Middle Ages, Europe had been at war with Moslems of the Middle East. There had been Crusades (beginning in the 11th century), wars for Holy Lands, and wars of great consequence (such as the Battle of Lepanto in 1571). Charles V had struggled to combat both the invading Moslems and the Protestant rebellion in his own kingdom in the first half of the 16th century, showing just how dramatic that conflict between the West and the Middle East was for many. Yet the tension that had existed dissipated to a great extent when the Ottoman Empire began to decline. Russia grew in power in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the West was rapidly modernizing. The Ottoman Empire itself was changing, and the new dynamic of life in the modern world played a significant role in the way that some Europeans saw and created images…

Creating East and West

Nancy isaha's book Creating East and West: Renaissance Humanists and the Ottoman Turks is at once groundbreaking and unfortunately limited. The book is groundbreaking because it pushes back the development of European views regarding the Ottoman Empire, and non-Western peoples more generally, to the age of the Renaissance, rather than the age of colonialism and imperialism. y highlighting how the Renaissance saw a shift from a medieval era concept of a religious opposition between East and West to a post-medieval dichotomy of civilization vs. barbarism, the book draws a direct line between the Renaissance humanists and the later Europeans who would adopt ideas like the "White Man's urden" to legitimize their colonial activities. However, at the same time the book feels woefully limited, because although it does an effective job of recentering the development of the East-West, barbarism-civilization dichotomy in the Renaissance, it fails to effectively…

Japanese, Chinese and Russian empires from 1500-1800. We will look briefly at the kind of structures/bureaucratic arrangements that used to keep order and control and to manage their populations . We also will compare and contrast these empires and see that the major thing that paved the way for the eclipse of China and Japan by 1800 was an inward focus while Russia's westward glance gave it the ability to forge a viable Eurasian empire.

Ming and Qing China

In Ming China, the structure of government was built around a series of professional bureaucrats schooled in their designated skills areas and Neo-Confucianism with its ideas of individual morality and responsibility (this also influenced the Japanese and Chosun Korea). The bureaucrats were the glue that held the Ming Chinese empire together. This made the period until 1644 when the dynasty was overthrown a golden age where arts, culture and the economy…

Although the most powerful nomadic influence over Eurasian politics, economics, and religion -- it was not the first.

The earlier Turkish nomadic factions coming from Central Asia also had heavy influences on both Asia and the rest of the world. During the Post-Classical Era, the Turks began to regain a new strength that once again threatened the European empires to the est. As the Turks grew more and more powerful, this power began to seriously impact both Asian and European politics during the time. The Middle East was greatly shaped, both politically and religiously, by theinfluence of the Turks, "Turkic groups later known as the Seljuks migrated into the Middle East, where they played an important role in Islamic civilization," (Invictus 1). This group of Turks strengthened the role of Islam as both a religion and a political policy within the region. As the area became increasingly dominated by Islamic…

One of the most brilliant contributions of the Byzantium is its contribution to modern music and the development of what the world has come to appreciate as the foundations of classical music. The Byzantine "medieval" (Lang, 1997), in fact, the Byzantium influence is considered to be critical to the development of the Greek music and the relative genius behind Greek music (Lang, 1997)

The quoted sovereign melody (Lang, 1997) is the oft punctuated contribution to the sovereign nature of today's music throughout the world. The Byzantium facilitated the sovereign method of music ostensibly from what would be the earlier influences to the Byzantine Empire. Lang continues to point to such influence as having its origins in the Orient (Lang, 1997).

Sports were a major part of the Byzantine Empire and are representative of the development of competition within the Roman Empire and subsequently to the importance of sporting events within…

Islam in the 14th-16th Centuries

With the rapid rise of the Ottoman Empire in the fourteenth and fifteenth century, European attitudes toward Islam would change vastly. We can see this illustrated in the differing attitudes toward Islam which are expressed by William of Adam, in his strange early-fourteenth century strategy pamphlet emphasizing the total European defeat of the Saracens, and Martin Luther, in his sixteenth century publications offering policy recommendations toward the Islamic power to the southeast. William of Adam wrote at the time when the Ottoman Empire was barely yet a phenomenon -- with his tract How To Defeat The Saracens dating to approximately 1317, this was a point in time when the Ottomans had barely yet made inroads against the Byzantine Empire that was still standing. By the time of Luther's central pamphlet on Muslim policy, the 1529 publication On the War Against the Turk, the Ottoman Empire…

While much of the Empire's expansion can be attributed to military success invasion was often unnecessary. Political tactics for expansion were sometimes more effective; Sultan Orhan received the Gallipoli peninsula through his marriage to the daughter of a pretender to the Byzantine thrown, while half the land belonging to the Turcoman ruler of Germiyan in Anatolia was acquired through Prince Bayezit's marriage. Through swift political tactics the Ottoman Empire would often come to possess an over-lordship of their former allies, in effect absorbing them into the Empire (Quataert, 2000). Newly acquired subjects rarely detested the new occupation. The economic power of the Empire improved their conditions immensely in relation to previous Christian feudalism and control was peacefully maintained through symbiotic fiscal relationships (Kamrava, 2005).

The Decline of the Ottoman Empire

As the center of gravity of the Western world moved from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic seaboard, a series of…

Two of the significant internal threats that Charles V failed to appreciate came from his Spanish subjects and from the spread of Protestantism. As was discussed, Charles V failed to understand, or perhaps did not care, how his Spanish subjects would react to his decisions to replace their countrymen in top posts, raise taxes and force them to bear much of the human loss of his military endeavors. The end result, of course, was an uprising among the Spanish people that caused much bloodshed. Eventually, the Spanish did accept Charles V, but his early mistakes caused hardship.

The obvious mistake of Charles V's rule, however, was his failure to quash the growth of Protestantism during its infancy. There is some speculation as to why this occurred. Some historians believe that Charles V was intent on reconciling the Protestants with the Catholic church and bringing them back together under the same…

Islam

The Ottoman Empire itself was a colonial entity, creating the illusion of cultural unification under the rubric of Islam. Yet beneath the surface uniformity, there were vast differences in ethnicity, worldview, and beliefs. The weakening of the Ottoman Empire toward the end of the modern era created opportunities for European colonial powers to divide and conquer, ruling mainly from afar but also imposing the modern nation-state construct as the new normative vision for geo-political entities. Many Islamic nation-states did, and continue to, see their membership in a broader nation of Islam as trumping nationalism.

However, the method by which colonial European powers managed former Ottoman colonies has determined much of the 21st century's political landscape. There were also vast differences in methods and policies toward Islamic colonies, as France, Britain, and Italy had different political agendas. This can be seen throughout Africa and the Middle East, even today. Esposito…

ise of the Secular Turkish epublic

It was in 1923 that the epublic of Turkey appeared on the face of the globe. The Turks consider the preceding years i.e. 1919-1922 as the years of their struggle for independence. The Turkish state that was formed as a consequence of this struggle was a completely new republic despite the fact that various partition schemes were proposed by the triumphant Allies during and after The Great War I (Alaranta 115). This paper will discuss the rise of the Secular Turkish epublic. It will elaborate the state of the empire when Sultan Abdul Hamid II came into power. It will also tackle the actions taken under his leadership to restrain European authority and involvement which eventually led to Sultan's demise. However, the rise of the secular Turkish epublic is mainly due to the countless efforts of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Therefore, this paper would extensively…

To wit, there has been a "large-scale migration to the big cities, Pohlit explains, and that has "inclined the balance of power in cultural matters in favor of the poor and uneducated." Hence, the intellectual upper class now operates from a "narrow retreat, now itself a pariah," Pohlit continues. And that intellectual upper class of course has all the estern classical music it can possibly listen to, but it remains unable to uphold its esternized "Turkishness" with any degree of impact at all (Pohlit).

Art Music Composers

ilhelm Peterson-Berger (1867-1942) holds the highly respected position as the most popular art music composer in Sweden's history, according to Frederick Key Smith (Smith, 2002). Peterson-Berger thought of himself as more of a "symphonist and composer of agnerian operas than as a composer of miniatures," Smith explains. Peterson-Berger was raised in a home with a lot of culture; his father was fluent in…

This makes it possible for the general public to comprehend that a community that seems to be strong can easily be divided by people's personal beliefs and by their backgrounds. It is very likely for individuals to express interest in detaching themselves from a group that they are associated with as a consequence of feeling that they do not actually belong to the respective community (Verdery, 232).

Jewish groups in Palestine considered that they were exposed to a series of threats as a result of the fact that they lived in mixed neighborhoods. They believe that they would be stronger if they had the opportunity to unite in a community that would no longer accept to be persecuted. Even with this, many Jews were hesitant about getting involved in a group that would act against Ottoman principles and feared that they would suffer if they adopted a nationalist attitude. The…

Speaking of the United States, for example, since 9/11, there has been an increased in intolerance regarding Muslims. This prejudice toward Muslims has also sparked increased intolerance for Christian people, as Christianity is the dominant religion in America and is the religion most often associated with American culture. 1492 is also the fabled year with the Spanish armada arrived on the shores of what we know now as the United States of America. Therefore this film is a strong choice as it is an intersection of the history of the country and the history of my family.

How we remember our world, national, and personal history is often closely related to the geography and nature of the spaces wherein we lived and migrated to. These are the connections that I see among the texts by Nabokov, Bishop, and "The Passion of Joshua the Jew." These issues from history continue to…

Hazal Emre

Looking at art and historical artifacts can tell us immense amounts of information regarding the society and culture from which these objects came from. Art can be revealing and informative in the same manner that books can tell readers about history and cultural conventions, many times providing specific details about its origin. These details can then provide viewers with an informed and comprehensive view of cultures and societies. Art is a reflection of not only the artist which creates the piece, but also a reflection of the atmosphere in which the artist lived. These reflections through art can point to specific themes and subjects that were important during the times that these artists lived. Power and Status are themes that can be considered universal in virtually all cultures regardless of their respective geographical location or historical era.

The intention of this essay is to provide the historical background…

Great ar

orld ar One ultimately killed 35 million people -- this alone might have merited its being called "The Great ar," although to a large degree it was the astonishing way in which the deaths happened. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme alone, Britain suffered almost sixty thousand casualties. The ten-month stalemate of the Battle of Verdun resulted in seven hundred thousand (700,000) dead, with no discernible tactical advance made by either side (Tuchman 174). The immediate causes of orld ar One were complicated but fairly straightforward. Many of the long-standing political institutions of Europe were badly outmoded, in particular two of the oldest: the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Each of these institutions were the inheritors of previous large-scale imperial institutions (the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire accordingly) which dated back nearly a thousand years -- and each was failing badly.…

The British created a well-educated, English-speaking Indian elite middle class d. new jobs were created for millions of Indian hand-spinner and hand-weavers

The Indian National Congress can best be described in which of the following ways:

Answer:

a. An Indian Civil Service that administered British rule.

b. A group of upper-caste professionals seeking independence from Britain.

c. white settlers who administered British rule.

d. anglicized Indians who were the social equals of white rulers.

Under the Culture System, Indonesian peasants had to Answer:

a. learn to speak and read Dutch b. plant one-fifth of their land in export crops to be turned over to the Dutch colonial government c. convert to the Dutch Reformed Church d. join large state-run farms.

Modern Vietnamese nationalism traced much of its inspiration to Answer:

a. Japanese modernization.

b. China's "Hundred Days" Reform program.

c. The U.S. Declaration of Independence.

d. British Fabian socialism.

The…

" But Pamuk's techniques force the reader to come to the conclusion that an artistic identity must fuse both past and present, have some flexibility and personal style, yet innovate with the demands of modernity terms of the way tradition is presented. This is the implied counsel of Pamuk's story. Learn from the past, as he urges readers to do by writing a historical narrative. However, do not slavishly follow or copy the past, or lock the self away from outside influences, including those influences of other religions and cultures. Pamuk suggests that a unilateral idea of estern selfishness is not sustaining, and he provides instruction for esterners how to view the concept of the self to understand Islam, but ultimately a modern artist cannot live blind like Osman, blind to the presence of other points-of-view, however beautiful Osman's art may have been. Utter self-annihilation in art and in life…

When Serbia refused, Austro-Hungary declared war on Serbia, forcing the mobilization of ussia to prevent the destruction of Serbia.

German forces mobilized in support of Austro-Hungary by prior agreement, and declared war on ussia in response to her mobilization of forces.

To avoid a war on two fronts, Germany attacked France because of the fear that France would attack Germany once Germany and ussia went to war against each other.

Britain entered the war against Germany because Germany invaded Belgium to bypass the most fortified approaches into France. By 1917, German attacks on neutral shipping bound for England provoked the U.S. To enter the war as well. Some of the first action of the wider war was the occupation of German colonies in Asia and Africa. By the end of the war, England was poised to rule much of the Middle East until after World War II, which control was…

The fact that the Ottoman Empire had experienced significant losses until that time meant that other European powers needed to intervene and attempt to gain control over areas that the Ottomans lost. The Allies eventually won the conflict but it was difficult to determine the exact effects that their victory would have on their relationship with the Ottoman Empire, as its leaders seemed determined to maintain most of their attitudes with regard to non-Muslims within their borders, thus meaning that one of the primary reasons for which the French, the English, and the Sardinians entered the war was believed to be unimportant by the Ottomans.

6. Crisis in the Ottoman Empire

People across Greece saw the Crimean War as an opportunity to concentrate their powers into removing Ottoman control from within their borders. Individuals in the Epirus region started to publicly express revolutionary attitudes in an attempt to influence others…

constructing responses titles I listing. In response make show reference entry. (01) Discuss

One of the most powerful movements that transformed European society during the early modern era was the dissemination of information and the propagation of reading material due to Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press around 1450 A.D. The movement that would prove to have the most impact upon society as a whole, however, was the imperialist movement that many credit to have originated with Columbus' journeys to the Americas, the first of which was in 1492. The imperialist movement would allow the appetite for power and conquering to expand beyond Europe and eventually encapsulate the entire globe. This movement is directly responsible for today's globalization, and the previous (and perhaps current) colonization and tyranny of many non-European nations. Another major movement during this time period was the beginning of the Protestant eformation, which began around 1517…

Memories and History

Aya Sofia's Rich History

One should look no further in one's search for the most long-standing symbol of religion, culture, and history than the Aya Sofia. The building, found within the heart of a massively cultural city, has stood for over a thousand years, withstanding civil and foreign wars, outbreaks of plague, and even earthquakes. Located only miles from the North Anatolian Fault -- one that can be likened to the San Andreas Fault line in California -- the Aya Sofia has managed to evade the threat of major earthquakes (Aydingun, Sengul and Mark Rose). ith a modernized Istanbul, it is a wonder how a building such as Aya Sofia can still stand, even amongst its modern neighbors -- ones filled with high-rises, dinghy apartments, and parking lots.

The Aya Sofia's longevity is certainly a major factor in its importance. It has become a world heritage site…

The goods from Asia were shipped to Venice and Genoa from where they were carried over the Alps to France and Germany, or through the strait of Gibraltar to Britain and the Scandinavian countries. The Black Sea port of Caffa, controlled by the Genoese during the 14th century, was an important terminal point on the silk route. Apart from the fur and slaves that it normally imported, Caffa is also reputed to have introduced the dreaded "Black Death" epidemic to Europe through fleas on rats that traveled on Genoese ships to Constantinople. (Ibid)

Genoese Trade with the Ottomans

Until the rise of the Ottoman Empire in the 14th century, the Genoese had prospered in trading through their relations with the Byzantines, the Christian principalities of the East, and even their sworn enemies -- the Arabs, while fighting for domination of trade with Venice. Thereafter, most of their trading activities depended…

S. The lives of the slaves were sharply divided from the whites on the plantation. The slaves lived away from the main house in the slave quarters, and only the house slaves were allowed in the main house. The slaves not only worked in the fields, they had to grow their own gardens for food, and they usually only got Sunday off. During planting and harvest, they worked long hours, from sunrise to sunset, and they faced harsh retribution if they attempted to complain. They were the most harshly treated of any of these groups of slaves, and they suffered the most, too.

During the four centuries of the Atlantic slave trade, an estimated eleven million Africans were transported to North and South America" (Notes), and as noted, millions of them died along the way, so it is really not known how many left Africa never to return. Slaves in…

Middle East/Gulf region has a complex history and has experienced a series of important events both during and in the years following Muhammad's influence in the territory. hile Muhammad's ruling played an important role in shaping thinking in the region, his legacy was actually more important, taking into account that it practically influenced people in taking on certain attitudes and in expressing great interest in wanting to promote Islamic thought.

The Arab Caliphate greatly expanded the Islamic Empire and turned it into one of the greatest in all of history. It lasted from 632 until 1513 and it involved a series of leaderships: the Rashidun period, the Umayyad period, and the Abbassid period. These three dynasties kept Arabs together and provided them with a sense of unity and cultural identity. Introducing Arab as an official language further contributed to making individuals in the Middle East feel as if they were…

Political and eligious Boundaries

Byzantium historically was the eastern side of the oman Empire that was the result of the religious, political and cultural schism that occurred between East and West in the 2nd Century AD. The city of Byzantium, or Constantinople, was located in a major strategic trading area between the Adriatic, Black and Mediterranean Seas. As the Western oman Empire declined, the "New ome," or Constantinople, became a blend of cultures and viable for about a millennium. Most scholars agree that it was the only long-term stable state in Europe that protected most of Western Europe from the emerging Islamic Empire. It was the most advanced economy in the Mediterranean area until the enaissance, with trading networks that extended through most of Eurasia and North Africa, as well as the beginning of the Silk oad. Without this economic power, it is unlikely that there would have been funding…

Industrialization in Europe increased the development of machines, production of goods and new energy resources of other societies. However, it had many positive and negative effects to the society. The building of new empires enabled Europe to gain access to their armies, exports, finances and strategic locations. The paper will analyze how Industrialization in Europe led to imperialist conquest of other societies and what made the European Armies so effective against native resistance.

There are various reasons why industrialization in Europe led to imperialist conquest of other societies. The first reason was the availability of larger consumer markets. Industrialization in Europe allowed other countries in spreading their influence to weaker countries. Because of the spread, the industrialized countries managed to create markets for the manufactured products along with producing some specific products to be sold in these markets. The second reason was the availability of raw materials that was used…

With localized colonial governments, world leaders demonstrated that empires could be founded on mastery of regional trade routes. At the beginning of the 20th century nations like Japan were at the forefront of the new model of imperialism.

Q3.Explain WWI? World War 1.

World War One was a natural outcome of the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the subsequent imbalance of power those downfalls entailed. Moreover, the First World War was a direct consequence of the ages of imperialism, colonialism, and industrialization. The war paved the way for emerging states to create a free market economy based on capitalism or on the other hand, a closed-market system based on state-controlled resources.

Q4.The Paris Exhibition had two famous sculptures: one of Paris in an evening gown and the other of Rodin's the Thinker. Elaborate upon the meaning of both and its lesson for us in the…

political framework of EU and OCT

European Union (EU) and Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) are in association with each other via a system which is based on the provisions of part IV of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU), consisting of detailed rules and measures which are laid down in the document issued on 27th November 2001 title Oversees Association Decision. The expiry date of this association decision is 31st December 2013. Stress has been laid down by the European Council in its conclusions issued on 22nd December 2009 that the relationship between OCT and EU should continuously be updated in order to reflect latest developments not only in EU and OCT but thorough out the world. The commission has also been encouraged to make revisions to the Overseas Association Decision and present it in front of the council prior to July 2012 (Hill et al.,…

Iran and Iraq

Analysis of the Impact of Imperialism on Iran and Iraq

The modern nation of Iraq was formed in 1932 when the Kingdom of Iraq gained independence from the United Kingdom. It had been placed under the authority of Great Britain as the British Mandate of Mesopotamia by the League of Nations in 1920. Prior to that, it was part of the Ottoman Empire. This delineates the history of imperialism in Iraq as beginning with the arrival of the Ottomans the 15th century, through independence from the Great Britain. These two stage of imperial rule had several different impacts on modern-day Iraq.

The first is the borders of the current state of Iraq were the direct result of British rule. The Ottomans had administered Iraq differently, with three main provinces. Under Ottoman rule, Baghdad, Mosul and Basra were all provinces within the Ottoman Empire. Iraq was not Iraq…

It was reflected in the Republic's closure of religious convents in 1925. (Fleet, Faroqhi, & Kasaba, p. 164). The Republic also replaced the Islamic canon law with a secular civil code in 1926. (Fleet, Faroqhi, & Kasaba, p. 164-165). Thus, Yaban's portrayal of the gullible peasant populace and their attachment to Islam, illustrates the social obstacles that the Nationalist government was reacting to with its secularizing reforms.

Conclusion

Karaomerlio-lu's views might be represented by Celal's resignation with the village and warned future bureaucrats of the impossibility of Nationalist enlightenment there. Ironically, Yaban's publicisation of their condition invoked political sympathy for them, leading to intensified efforts to nationalize, civilize, and develop peasant villages. This sentiment was represented by Kadro, a leftist publication managed by the Kemalist regime's opposition party, which advocated peasant interests in the Republic. (Turkes, 2001, p. 92-93). In response, the Republican People's Party, which ousted the Kemalist regime,…

As their power grows, the Serbs begin to express their deep hatred for the empire, through various practices, including rebellious actions. The middle of the Mehmed Pasa Sokolovi? Bridge becomes an interest point, with the Ottomans going through great efforts to guard it and to prevent Serb extremists from crossing it.

As the world changes and Serbia and Montenegro become independent states, individuals in Visegrad (those of Serbian nationality especially) become less willing to accept people coming from different backgrounds. Serbian nationalistic beliefs had grown to be widespread during the nineteenth century and the non-Serbian population in the Balkans had started to suffer as a result.

The Bridge in the Drina does not have a certain individual as its protagonist, with the single element present in the novel from its beginning and until its end being the bridge. The book comprises a chain of short stories incorporated into a larger…

The Egyptian King Faud (1922-36) repeatedly disbanded popularly elected afd governments, despite huge majorities, due to their distinctly nationalist platform. The fickleness of the British position is exemplified by their later coercion of King Farouk (1936-52) to appoint an enfeebled afd government due to their need for a neutral Egypt during the Second orld ar. This intense irony does not detract from the fact that the monarchs in Egypt and Iraq were very powerful political actors but were 'so closely associated with the structures of colonialization that they did not outlast them' (Owen 1992, 19). The British imperialists exploited the constitutional power of the King to dismiss any elected government of nationalists 'that threatened to tear up or amend the arrangements…defining Britain's rights' (Owen 1992, 19). Hence, once again, diminishing the authority of the regime they installed and creating a lack of respect for lawfully elected governments.

Pan-Arabism Causes Conflict…

The map of the Middle East was completely redrawn as a result of WW1, reflected especially in the case of Turkey, Iraq and Palestine. The Ottoman Turks had ruled the realm prior to WW1 and had an alliance with Germany. The English, always wary of a strong state on the continent making inroads in the Middle East, sought to undermine both German and Ottoman power, and thus allied with the House of Saud, which it supported against the Ottoman Empire. When war broke out, the destruction of the Ottoman Empire was a main objective for England and it achieved that goal. At the same time, the English were indebted to the Zionist Jews who sought a restoration of Israel (Palestine) as a state of their own. Thus, the Balfour Declaration, issued during WW1, promised Israel to the Jews—and as the English now controlled the territory in the wake of the…

Muslim battles with European countries in the 13th to 18th centuries. Specifically, it will discuss the conflict between Islam and the West, including the Battle of Lepanto against Spain, the Siege of Vienna against Austria and Poland, and the Battle of Constantinople in 1483. These three battles were significant in world history for a number of reasons, and had their outcomes been different, the face of the world could have been very different today.

Battles Between Muslims and European Countries

The Muslim nation has always been made up of warriors, unafraid to do battle with those outside their faith. Writer John L. Esposito says their culture combines "a warrior culture with an Islamic tradition that believed in Islam's universal mission and sacred struggle (jihad), to establish themselves as worldwide propagators and defenders of Islam" (Espisito 61). Because of this long tradition, Muslims have fought in numerous battles throughout their extensive…

However, despite this sweeping generalization offered by the government, U.S. foreign policy has always been clear and direct about its stance against terrorism. Even President Clinton, far prior to the tragedy of 9/11 addressed the United Nations General Assembly about the importance of the prevention of international terrorism and identified it as a major priority in the world arena (Chomsky, 84).

What must be stressed at this point is that terrorism is about the frustrations of a voiceless country -- one that feels that it will not be heard through conventional political or military means. Since the root of the problem is political, the solution is more of a political issue than a security issue because the solution is not in counterstrikes, or fighting fire with fire, but in finding a way to restore the country's voice so that the frustration is relieved instead of stoked (Scheuer, 88). So far…

Ataturk's Influence On The New Turkish epublic And Village Institutes

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, or "Father Turk," is credited with being the father of the modern nation of Turkey. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Turkey did not exist as we know it today. Its territory was part of the Ottoman Empire, a conglomeration of different ethnicities and religions of various tribal affiliations. Under Ataturk's vision and leadership, a new nation emerged. He was spurred on by the growing nationalist movements sweeping across Europe. Ataturk was fundamentally a modernist, which can be seen in his efforts during World War I, his personal philosophy and lifestyle, and also the secular reforms which he implemented during his reign, including those in education.

Even before World War I, the Ottoman Empire was known as the Sick Man of Europe. It was corrupt and weak. While studying at the war college of the Empire…

NEC PLURIUS IMPAR (not unequal to many things)

History is written for historians to understand. If Schleiman's Troy had 16 layers to it before finding virgin ground, so is history a layered version written by the State Historian for the Ruler. To be recorded as Official History. ut, like the 20,000 people that may live in a crowd, history, such wise, has 20,000 versions. For each life is sacred. And each existence original.

The historical context of the ten given sources span from Africa to the Americas to China. In the 15th Century, this was right at the end of Umayyid rule, circa 1492 with the fall of Granada in Spain and the Mongol invasion in 1362 in Persia. In between in Europe, was the beginning of the Renaissance (1560). It was the end of the Dark Middle ages of the Occident and the beginning of the Dark Ages of…

The Maritime Revolution occurred at the turn of the 1500s and began in full swing around 1550. It was started by many nation states within Europe at roughly the same time. Spain and England were the two early contributors to the Maritime Revolution, and many other European states soon followed. The Tudors of England and Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand of Spain were the main drivers behind this revolution. For the first time, Spain had complete control over its government following the union of Ferdinand and Isabella, in the wake of peace they turned their sites to new conquests the expansion of Spanish control. As a result, the Maritime Revolution occurred as Europe hastened to explore the world to discover unknown territories and new outlets for commerce. Spain was the first to sponsor such expeditions with the most famous being Christopher Columbus and his discovery of the Americas. Columbus's predecessors…

Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq were all "constructed" as "imperial conveniences for France and ritain" (Gause, 444). And so, when the ritish and French were authoritative landlords, places like Kuwait (a ritish "protectorate" until 1961) were safe from outside interference. ut once ritain was long gone from Kuwait, Hussein had his chance to move in and he did, until the U.S. And its allies pushed him out in 1991.

Conclusion: After WWI, the winners divided up the Ottoman Empire, and that was the origin of the country of Iraq. The history of the Middle East -- beginning in the 19th Century and continuing today -- is shaped by outside forces, by colonialism, war, greed, and cultural conflicts. An alert reader can see why the invasion of Iraq by the U.S. In 2003 was star-crossed in the first place, and why ritain and the U.S. are hated so fiercely by the…

It was with the Treatise on God, Man, and his ell-Being, that Spinoza challenged the rabbinate by advocating complete freedom of thought. According to Jewish tradition, dissent was traditionally confined to people in the clergy. However, Spinoza proposed "a priesthood of all believers" (Edelstein, Part 2).

Perhaps the greatest threat posed by Spinoza was that his discussions with the Jews of Constantinople had become religious services. Although the tradition began innocently enough, when the discussions ran into the time for evening prayers, they soon began to threaten the rabbinate. Spinoza was neither a rabbi, but rabbis were not necessary for religious services. ithin a short period of time, Spinoza's beliefs became integrated into the religious services; there was some modification of traditional prayers to reflect a deist interpretation of God. By 1665, Spinoza had hundreds of followers and the established rabbinate was extremely wary of him. Therefore, they determined to…

Fall of the Soviet Union: Internal Causes Were to lame, Not External

In December of 1991, as the world watched in sheer perplexity and wonder, the mighty Soviet Union disintegrated into fifteen separate smaller countries. Its collapse was hailed by the west as a convincing victory for freedom, a triumph of democracy over totalitarianism, and evidence of the final proof of superiority of capitalism over socialism. The United States rejoiced as its sworn enemy was brought to its knees, thereby ending the unprecedented Cold War which had hovered over these two superpowers like a thunderhead since the end of World War II. In fact, the end of the Soviet Union transformed the entire world political situation, leading to a complete reformulation of political, economic and military alliances all over the globe, not to mention spurred a whole new set of political-economic theories.

What were the causes of this monumental historical…

The desperation of its populace has meant that Albania continues to lag more successful former communist nations like Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia in modernization and quality of life, although recently the Albanian government has taken measures to curb violent crime, and instituted fiscal reform packages to reduce corruption, curtail the 'gray' or quasi-illegal activities supporting the economy, and to attract foreign investments. Still, much of Albania's most talented individuals often move abroad, although they often send money home. It is estimated that the Albanian "economy is bolstered by annual remittances from abroad of $600-$800 million, mostly from Albanians residing in Greece and Italy," which also helps offset the towering trade deficit ("Albania," 2008, CIA Fact Book).

The one bright spot has been Albania's relatively smooth transition to democracy, as it is has not been afflicted by the xenophobic uprisings that characterized the dissolution of neighboring Yugoslavia. Economic corruption has been…

They however fail to see the strategic linkage in the U.S. foreign policy. Israel is the most trusted ally of United States in the region. It has the same strategic interest as the United States and has a firm foundation of democratic support.

The Arab governments on the other hand are unpopular, non-democratic and are in power due to the western interest in maintaining the status quo. Overthrow of the Shah of Iran, a most trusted ally of United States shows that the governments maintained in power by western support without the popular support could not be relied upon for maintaining U.S. strategic interests in the region.

Saddam Hussein of Iraq is another example of a government following pro-U.S. policy and then working against its strategic interests in the region. Dictator Saddam Hussein was a virtual proxy in the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) and protector of the pro-American dynastic regimes. His…

WWI

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife represented a culmination of several concurrent forces, all of which led to the outbreak of World War. The concurrent forces that led to World War One can be loosely grouped under the following categories: nationalism, imperialism, and militarism. Within each of these categories are ample sub-categories that can testify to the extent of forces that shaped the pre-war conditions throughout not just Europe but the entire world. World War One was a total war for many reasons: it involved serious civilian casualties on a horrific scale for all parties. The Great War also brought to light the impact of globalization on the global economy and political enterprise. Nationalism, imperialism, and militarism all played a part in shaping participation in World War One; the effects of which continue to reverberate.

As Marshall (2001) points out, "Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy were all…

Turkey and Islam

Tensions have existed between Islamic powerbrokers and the state of Turkey since the state was founded. While Islam was the state religion of modern Turkey's precursor, the Ottoman Empire, it was not long after the Republic of Turkey was founded that Islam was removed as the state religion in favor of the secular approach of the country's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. But there have always been tensions between Islam and the state since that point. Turkey's demographics -- split between a handful of large, secular cities and a more rural, religious majority population, and Turkey's vision as a balance of power between east and west, are among the chief causes of this tension. This paper will examine this tension further, as it continues to manifest to this day.
Brief Historical Overview

During Ottoman times, religious law co-existed with civil law. Ataturk, after founding the Republic of Turkey,…

D., various rulers expanded the religion in what was known as the Golden Age of Islam. Muslims made huge advances in military might, the sciences, and the arts. However, the different factions of Islam haunted the religion, even in the Golden Age of its existence. Gregorian then goes to explore the territorial dispute which led to the centuries of fighting with Christian nations in what was known in the West as the Crusades. However, it was not the Christian Westerners who did the most damage to the Muslim strongholds but barbaric Mongols who eventually ended the Golden Age of Islam. The rise of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century revived the greatness of the Muslim tradition. The modern era, with the culmination of the Industrial Revolution, later diminished the grandeur and power of the various Muslim empires in the Middle East and Asia. With this decline many empires which,…