Virginia Aksan - The Ottomans 1700-1923: An Empire Besieged

Originally conceived as a military history, this second edition completes the story of the Middle Eastern populations that underwent significant transformation in the nineteenth century, finally imploding in communal violence, paramilitary activity, and genocide after the Berlin Treaty of 1878.

Now called The Ottomans 17001923: An Empire Besieged, the book charts the evolution of a military system in the era of shrinking borders, global consciousness, financial collapse and revolutionary fervor. The focus of the text is on those who fought, defended, and finally challenged the sultan and the system, leaving long-lasting legacies in the contemporary Middle East. Richly illustrated, the text is accompanied by brief portraits of the friends and foes of the Ottoman house.

Written by a foremost scholar of the Ottoman Empire and featuring illustrations that have not been seen in print before, this second edition will be essential reading for both students and scholars of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman society, military and political history, and Ottoman-European relations.

Virginia Aksans particular interests lie in the Ottomans in a comparative imperial context, focusing on borderlands, warrior societies, knowledge transfer, intermediaries, and perceptions of the Ottoman evolution in a revolutionary age. Her publications include An Ottoman Statesman in War and Peace: Ahmed Resmi Efendi, 17001783 (1995); The Early Modern Ottomans, co-edited with Daniel Goffman (2007), and more than 40 edited chapters and journal articles.

This ambitious series offers wide-ranging studies of specific wars, and distinct phases of warfare, from the close of the Middle Ages to the present day. It aims to advance the current integration of military history into the academic mainstream. To that end, the books are not merely traditional campaign narratives, but examine the causes, courses and consequences of major conflicts, in their full international political, social and ideological contexts.

ALSO IN THE SERIES:

Austrias Wars of Emergence Michael Hochedlinger

The French Civil Wars R.J. Knecht

Ottoman Wars: An Empire Besieged, 17001870 Virginia H. Aksan (second edition, The Ottomans 17001923: An Empire Besieged, 2022)

The English Revolution and the War of the Three Kingdoms, 16381652 Ian Gentles

Russias Wars of Emergence, 14601730 Carol B. Stevens

The Seven Years War in Europe, 17561763 Franz A.J. Szabo

War and Empire: The Expansion of Britain, 1790-1830 B. Collins

The War of American Independence: 17751783 R. Middleton

The Global Seven Year War, 17541763: Britain and France in a Great Power Contest D. Baugh (second edition 2021)

The Italian Wars, 14941559: War, State and Society in Early Modern Europe Michael Mallett and Christine Shaw

The Dutch Wars of Independence: Warfare and Commerce in the Netherlands 15701680 Marjolein t Hart

The Italian Wars, 14941559: War, State and Society in Early Modern Europe Christine Shaw and Michael Mallett

The Wars of Napoleon Charles J. Esdaile

Second edition

Virginia Aksan

Second edition published 2022

by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

and by Routledge

605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2022 Virginia Aksan

The right of Virginia Aksan to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

First edition published by Pearson Education Limited 2007

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Aksan, Virginia H., author.

Title: The Ottomans 1700-1923: an empire besieged / Virginia Aksan. Other titles: Ottoman wars, 1700-1870 Description: Second edition. | Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2022. |

First edison published as Ottoman wars, 1700-1870: an empire besieged by Pearson Education Limited 2007. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021013422 | ISBN 9781138923232 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138923249 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003137566 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Turkey--History--1683-1829. | Turkey--History--19th century. | Turkey--History--20th century. Classification: LCC DR542 .A37 2022 | DDC 956/.015--dc23

LC record for this bookavailable at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021013422

ISBN: 978-1-138-92323-2 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-138-92324-9 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-003-13756-6 (ebk)

DOI: 10.4324/9781003137566

Typeset in Bembo

by MPS Limited, Dehradun

Dedicated to the memory of my beloved Oktay Aksan.

Introduction
The Ottomans 17001923: An empire besieged

PART I
The Ottoman World pre-1800

PART II
The revolutionary moment 18001840

PART III
The new Muslim absolutism 18401870

PART IV
The final curtain: Imperial reordering and collapse 1870-1923

In the 15 years since I conveyed my thanks for the first edition of this work, late Ottoman history has undergone a sea-change. The Tanzimat; the Young Turks and Republican Turkey each have discrete historiographies that are complemented and enriched by the rise of subaltern approaches, genocide, international law, Islamic law, missionaries, constitutionalism, migration, gender, environmentalism, revolutionthe list is endless. The scholarly community interested in the Ottomans extends to all parts of the globe, a development facilitated and enriched by the Internet. The centennial of World War I has prompted the inclusion of the Middle Eastern fronts in more inclusive studies while dissatisfaction with invented national narratives of post-Ottoman states has generated significant revisiting.

It has been my task to focus on the transformation of the Ottoman military organization from the late eighteenth century until the beginning of the twentieth. The resulting book is a radically revised version of Ottoman Wars that extends the history from 18701923. COVID time has given me the opportunity to sink into the new literature to finish the story. For that I am thankful for the many conversations on ZOOM with the new generation.

Among them are some of my students whose work I once mentored but who have now taught me. The work of Ryan Gingeras, Will Smiley, Feryal Tansu, Ethan Menchinger, Frank Castiglione, and Veysel imsek have all contributed to the writing of this book. I am equally indebted to Routledge, especially Laura Pilsworth and Isabel Voice whose patience and persistence have made this happen. I have been extremely blessed with the incomparable Clorinde Peters whose editing has often tamed my worst impulses. But my greatest debt is to Dina Khoury and Palmira Brummett, dear friends and scholarly partners in the enterprise of Ottoman history.