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MENA
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MENAS/HIST 277B
Week 3: Reform and Rebellion in
the 18-19th Centuries
Readings: Anderson, Chapter 2
Dr. Maha Nassar
Associate Professor,
Director of Undergraduate Studies
The Middle East in a Global Context
“Silk Road” trade routes 13-16th centuries
Traded silk, porcelain, gems, minerals, foods & spices,
cultures & technologies
Global Economic Transformations
beginning in 16th century
Portuguese (blue) and Spanish (white) oceanic trade routes in the 16th century.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:16th_century_Portuguese_Spanish_trade_ro
utes.png
Transatlantic Trade Routes
17-18th centuries
• Results :
– High inflation due
to gold and silver
trade
– Unmatched
European wealth
and power
– Shifts in balance of
power
https://callisto.ggsrv.com/imgsrv/FastFetch/UBE
R2/eueh_0000_0001_0_img0034
European-Ottoman Relations
(16-17th centuries)
• Rivalries among:
– Ottomans
– Habsburgs
– Muscovy/Russia
– Poland-Lithuania
– Venice
– Portugal
– Spain
• Yet trade relations
continued
– Capitulation
treaties
Green area east of line: ceded to Habsburgs in Treaty
of Karlowitz, 1699
Capitulation treaty between
Venice and the Ottoman
Empire, signed 1540.
16th century copy of the 1569
Capitulations between Charles
IX and Selim II.
Transformations in the 18th Century
• Ottomans start losing land & authority
over non-Muslim subjects to rivals
• “Eastern Question”:
– How will weakening of Ottoman Empire
affect balance of power among European
powers?
Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca
(1774):
• Russia gained access to
Black Sea
• Russian right to protect
E. Orthodox Ottoman
subjects
Internal Ottoman challenges in the
18th century
• Economic difficulties
– Capitulation treaties extended
– Tax revenue decreased
• Merchants and governors “going rogue”
– Accumulated power and wealth through direct
trade deals with Europeans
– Side-stepped Ottoman gov’t
• But few outright rebellions
– Result: Ottoman order still intact
Local ruler Zahir al-‘Umar “went rogue”
Saudi-Wahhabi Rebellion
(18th century)
• Alliance between:
– Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab
and Muhammad ibn Sa`ud
• Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab stressed
absolute oneness of God (tawhid)
– Rejected Ottoman legitimacy
• Together they rebelled against
the Ottomans
– Captured Hijaz (1802)
Above: Depiction of
Ibn Saud
French Invasions
• 1798-1799: Napoleon’s
invasion of Egypt & Palestine
– Massacre at Jaffa
• 1830-1847: French conquest
of Algeria
Baron Antoine-Jean Gros, The Battle
of the Pyramids, 21 July 1798
– Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza’iri
– Massacres; genocide
• Colonial violence in MENA
– Quest for resources
– Scale of killing
– Racist discourse
Photo of Emir Abdelkadir, 1865
Ottoman Sultans’
Burning Questions…
1. How did this happen?
2. How can we make it stop?
• One possible answer:
– Copy key elements of Europe’s success
– BUT how do we integrate them into our own
system?
• Result: shift in the paradigm of knowledge
Reforms Come with Baggage
Rifle Factory
Capital
Labor Force
Popular
Draft
Engineers
Military
Advisors
Foreign
Education
Language
Training
Modernized Tax
System
Borrowing
and debt!
Meanwhile in Egypt…
Mehmet Ali: (1805-1848)
• Governor of Egypt who
successfully “went rogue”
– Industrialized crops (cotton)
– Centralized administration
– Built strong army through conscripts
– Expanded territory via son Ibrahim
• European powers got nervous
– Treaty of London (1841)
Mehmet Ali Citadel & Mosque
Cairo, Egypt
Another Challenge to the Ottomans:
Nationalism
• Belief that people of a “nation” should
rule over themselves
– Citizens vs. subjects
– Who belongs in the “nation”?
• Greek Independence (1832)
– 1st successful nationalist rebellion
against Ottomans
• Nationalism challenged all empires
• How should the Ottomans deal with
rise of nationalism?
http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Ottoman.jpg (back)
Military Challenge: Crimean War
• Russian, British, French & Austrian rivalries
over Christians in the Holy Land
• Crimean War (1853-1856)
– Ottomans (with British help) prevail
– Treaty of Paris: respect Ottoman territory
Military Challenge:
Balkan Crises, 1875-1878
• Ottomans crush
rebellions in Bosnia &
Bulgaria
• Russia invades; major
losses on all sides
• Treaty of Berlin:
Ottoman land loss
The Tanzimat
(1839-1876)
• Ottoman administrative
“reorganization”
• Goal: to transform subjects into citizens
– Promised all Ottoman subjects “perfect
security of life, liberty and property”
– New civil code and land code
• Ottoman Constitution of 1876
– Established a constitutional monarchy
Sultan Abdulhamid II
(r. 1876-1909)
• After Treaty of Berlin
– Abolished Constitution
Government middle school
for girls, Istanbul, 1890s
• Majority population now Muslim
– Stressed role as Ottoman “Caliph”
– Built Hijaz railway
– Renovated Mecca
• Reform and Authoritarianism
– Expanded government schools
– Harshly repressed dissidents &
separatists
Depiction of 1896 massacre
of Armenians
The Growing Burden of Debt
(Mid- to late-19th century)
• Ottoman & Egyptian economic
challenges
– Few natural resources
– Competition from Europe
– Inflation
• Borrowed from European
creditors
• To pay from wars & infrastructure
• High interest rates & fees
• Result: Economic takeover by
creditors by 1880s
Qajar Dynasty of Iran
(1796-1925)
• Safavid Empire fell in 1722
– Upheaval, then Qajar conquest
• Faced challenges like Ottomans & Egypt…
– Lost Caucasus region to Russia
– Growing debt
– European rivalries (“Great Game”)
– Large concessions
• …But less effective in dealing with them
– Little bureaucratic or educational reform
– Strong tribal armies
– Even stronger Shi`i clergy (mujtahids)
Week 2:
Overview of the Islamic World
Ottomans and Safavids
Readings:
Anderson, pp. xv-xx; 1-58
Dr. Maha Nassar
Associate Professor,
Director of Undergraduate Studies
West Asia and the Mediterranean
World in the 7th Century
https://www.worldhistory.org/image/11471/byzantine–persian-empires-inthe-7th-century/
Beginnings of Islam
Prophet Muhammad
• Born in Mecca in 570 CE
• “Read” (610 CE) – the Qur’an
• Preached message of one God
• “People of the Book”
• He and early followers mocked
• Emigrated to Medina (hijra)
• Gained followers, Islam spread
throughout Arabian Peninsula
• Returned to Mecca, prayed
towards Ka`ba
Spread of Muslim rule
• “There is no compulsion in religion” (Qur’an)
• Muslim rule spread quickly
• Arabic and Islam spread slowly
• Most of the population remained non-Muslim for
centuries
https://www.wor
ldhistory.org/upl
oads/images/14
212.png?v=170
0523243
Spread of Arabic
• Writing down the Qur’an
• Minting coins
• Using Arabic as the language
of administration
• Architecture and inscriptions
Top: Umayyad
coin in Arabic
Middle: 8th
century Qur’an
manuscript
Bottom: Dome of
the Rock,
Jerusalem
Gradual Spread of Islam
• Trade routes, intermarriage, social prestige
• Official investments in Muslim religious
institutions
Invasions
From the West:
• First Three Crusades (1095-1192)
– Crusader conquest of Jerusalem in 1099
– Saladin and Muslim reconquest of Jerusalem in 1187
– Contrast between the two conquests
From the East:
• Mongol invasions
– conquest of Baghdad in 1258
– Stopped by Mamluks (based
in Egypt)
– Mongol-Mamluk peace in 1322
Sunni and Shi`i Islam in History
• Gradual development of
identities
– Disagreement over leadership
turned theological
• Umayyad rulers viewed Ali’s son
Husayn as a threat
– ‘Ashura (680 CE)
• Imami Shi`i political quietism
– Await return of 12th Hidden
Imam (Mahdi)
Invasions
From the West: Crusades
– Crusader conquest of
Jerusalem in 1099
– Saladin & Muslim reconquest
of Jerusalem in 1187
From the East: Mongols
– Conquest of Baghdad in 1258
– Eastward move stopped by
Mamluks (based in Egypt)
– Mongol-Mamluk peace in 1322
Frontiers and Identities
– Muslim majority from
North Africa to Iran
by 1300
– Political rule limited
to collecting taxes
– Muslim teachings
spread gradually
through trade, Sufi
mystics, conquests
– Religious identity
often fluid
The Gunpower Empires
•
https://ballandalus.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/gunpowder-empires.gif
Establishment of Ottoman Rule
• 10th century: mi9th century: Central
Asian Turkish soldiers in ‘Abbasid
army
• gration to Anatolia
• 12-13th centuries: “ghazi
principalities”
• 1326: Osman founded capital Bursa
• 14th century on: Successors spread
into Anatolia and Europe
– Decentralized rule through
contract system
1453:
Conquest of Constantinople
https://chronicle.fanack.com/turkey/history-past-to-present/the-ottoman-era/
Famous Ottoman Sultans
Sultan Mehmet II
“The Conqueror”
r. 1451-1481
Sultan Suleiman I
“The Magnificent”
r. 1520-1566
Ottoman Elite in 15-18th Centuries
• Topkapi Palace
– Royal residence
• Military slave elite
– Devshirme system &
Janissaries
• Succession policies
– Centrality of the harem
“A Magnificent Century”
Ottoman Social & Religious Life
• Ottomans promoted Sunni Islam
– ‘Ulama’ – religious leaders
– Shi`i communities tolerated
– Sufi brotherhoods
• Mevlevi (“Whirling Dervishes”)
• Millet system
– Non-Muslim religious leaders served as
delegates to Sultan
– Largest groups: Orthodox Christian,
Armenian Christian, Jewish
Modern-day Istanbul
Safavid Empire
(1502-1722)
• Shah Isma`il I (1502-24)
– Led Qizilbash nomads in conquering
Iran & Iraq
– Battle of Chaldiran – 1514
– Began forcible conversion to Shi`ism
• Established bureaucracy
– Gave urban Iranians for administrative
roles
– Sidelined Qizilbash tribal leaders
Shah Abbas (1587-1629)
• Height of Safavid power
• Strengthened military
– Founded ghulam forces
– How to pay them? Crown-held lands
– Expanded Safavid territory
• Capital in Isfahan
– Grand architecture
– Lavish court life
– Economic hub
Safavid Empire
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Map_Safavid_persia.png
Ottoman-Safavid Rivalries
(16-17th centuries)
• Political struggle defined as a
religious one
• Ottomans rulers claimed:
– Defenders of (Sunni) Muslims
– Legacy of the Caliphate
• Safavid rulers claimed:
– Lineage through Husayn & Sasanids
– Support for Shi`i religious scholars
• Iraq: frontier zone
Ottomans and Safavids:
Similarities & Differences
• Origins
• Narratives of legitimacy
• Role of:
– Tribes
– Clerics
– Military
• Economic standing
• Alliances and rivalries
Above: Ottoman flag, 1600s
Below: Safavid flag, 1600s
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