The Ottomans, an Islamic Turkic dynasty that has ruled for 230 years, attempt to capture Vienna, Austria. Though they significantly outnumber the Austrian forces, rough weather brings severe illnesses, inhibiting a significant portion of their army. The opposing army defeats their weakened ranks. This failure prompts Ottoman expansions to turn toward Asia and the Mediterranean.
In 1570, Sultan Selim II and his troops invade Venetian Cyprus after its people refuse to cede the island. The following year, the Ottomans lose a naval engagement against allied Christian forces of the Holy League near the Greek port city of Lepanto (now known as Nafpaktos). This battle marks a Christian naval force’s first major victory over Ottoman fleets, and begins the decline of the Ottoman Empire.
Backed by Hungarian troops, the Ottomans lay siege to Vienna, picking a fight with the Habsburg Holy Roman Empire. Though their offensive initially shows promise, they cannot match the numbers of Polish and German forces that support their Christian enemy. They face defeat once again, beginning the decay of Ottoman domination in Eastern Europe.
The Greeks, who had been living under Ottoman arrangements that granted them religious freedoms, seek autonomy from the Ottoman Empire. They rebel to form their own independent kingdom, declaring independence in 1822. The two forces clash for 12 years, battling in southern Greece, or the Balkans. The Greeks ultimately emerge victorious and free.
The Ottoman Empire’s Janissaries — elite infantry units that form the army’s core — face violent suppression, mainly because of their resistance to modern military reforms. Sultan Mahmud II declares war on them, wiping out most of their ranks. The Janissary system is abolished.
Following modern European influence, the Ottomans start the Tanzimat Reforms. They bring about fundamental change for the Empire, including modernizing the military and granting equal rights among all citizens.
During a set of private diplomatic conversations, Russian Emperor Nicholas I refers to the Ottoman Empire as the “sick man of Europe,” as France and Great Britain work to slow its visible decline in order to maintain the European power balance. The risk of rising expansionist powers (mainly his own Russia) taking advantage of the decline grows.
Nicholas I believes the Ottoman Turks should not hold the Christian holy lands, specifically Jerusalem. Sultan Abdülmecid I denies Russian demands to protect Orthodox subjects in his empire. Nicholas I declares war, initiating conflict with the Ottoman army and its British and French support. Russian troops lack modern equipment, however, and taste defeat.
The first Ottoman Parliament begins with the 1876 Constitution. It provides constitutional monarchy in places where the political power mainly lies with the Sultan, limiting his previously absolute power.
Peasants of Eastern Europe had been rebelling against their Ottoman landlords for centuries. Serbia and Montenegro defeat the Turks across several campaigns. This conflagration spreads to Bulgaria and Romania, where these citizens likewise revolt against Ottoman rule. Slavic countries unite and wage war in 1877, marching on the Turkish capital of Istanbul after vigorous resistance. The Turks suffer defeat and sign the Treaty of San Stefano, granting Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Romania their independence.
Sultan Abdul Hamid II grants himself absolute power by suspending the Turkish Constitution. This sparks secret meetings between young military officers who favor reform to oppose the sultan. They discuss their concern of imperial decline.
The German–Ottoman alliance includes many ambitions, the main one being the protection of Ottoman oil. It starts one of history’s most challenging infrastructure projects. The Berlin–Baghdad Railway connects Berlin, Germany, to Baghdad, Iraq. Construction runs into the early 20th century, but the start of World War I cancels the project outright.
Turkish citizens form the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP). This revolutionary group adopts a xenophobic form of Turkish nationalism, and becomes the center of the Young Turks movement. This opposition movement aims to overthrow Abdul Hamid II and reinstate the constitution.
A military coup overthrows and exiles Abdülmecid II. The Grand National Assembly introduces a constitutional caliphate. Mehmed VI becomes sultan-caliph.
Italy, led by Italian Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti, attempts to gain territory by conquering Turkish provinces in North Africa and on the Aegean Sea. Its superior naval forces defeat the Ottomans, winning it the provinces of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan (which form modern-day Libya).
During these two conflicts, the Balkan League, comprising Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Montenegro, battles the Ottoman Empire. The first war begins as the Balkan League moves to push the Ottomans out of Europe. The second war begins as the victors dispute how to divide their new land. Between the two campaigns, the Balkans successfully deprive their Ottoman enemies of almost all their European territory.
The CUP orchestrates a coup to seize power. Working in secret, the Young Turks attempt to overthrow Sultan-Caliph Mehmed VI in order to completely abolish monarchy in the empire. However, the CUP loses power, and Mehmed VI remains sultan.
Fearing that Russia will take Istanbul, the Ottomans join World War I, allying the Empire with the Central Powers. They sign a secret treaty with Germany, promising their alliance. Ottoman War Minister Enver Pasha and German Admiral Wilhelm Souchon initiate the Black Sea raid, in which a fleet of Ottoman and German warships attack Russian ports on the Black Sea. This sortie prompts Great Britain and France to officially declare war on the Ottoman Empire.
Around 1.5 million Armenians live in the Ottoman Empire at this time, until the CUP starts an ethnic cleansing. Though Armenians attempt armed uprisings, the Ottomans crush their efforts, killing around one million in individual slaughters and large-scale massacres. The military marches countless innocents to execution sites, while yet more die of starvation, exposure and systematic ill-treatment. Those who escape death face time in refugee camps or get deported.
One year into World War I, the British and French armies, with troops from Australia and New Zealand, conduct a joint operation to control the Dardanelles Strait at modern-day northwestern Türkiye. They aim to capture Istanbul and remove the Ottoman Empire from the war. The campaign sees mass casualties on both sides. Led successfully by Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Turks eventually defeat the Allied Powers using superior strategy.
As Germany and Austria-Hungary’s war efforts deteriorate, the Ottoman military suffers exhaustion and cannot continue fighting. The Ottoman Empire and Great Britain, the latter representing the Allied Powers, sign the Armistice of Mudros. This agreement formally ends the Empire’s involvement in World War I.
Following the end of World War I on November 11, 1918, Allied forces from Italy, France, Great Britain and Greece occupy the Ottoman Empire. Atatürk emerges and leads nationalist movements against the occupiers. After four years, Atatürk’s army claims victory, prompting the Allied forces to retreat. The Turks win their independence.
During the War of Independence, Allied forces invade Istanbul. The Sultan dissolves the Ottoman parliament shortly after, opening the door for a new parliament in Anatolia (commonly called Asia Minor). After the elections, the new parliament opens. The Grand National Assembly still stands today as the legislative branch of the republican parliamentary democracy.
The Allied Powers and representatives of the Ottoman Türkiye sign the Treaty of Sevres during the Paris Peace Conference. It abolishes the Ottoman Empire and renounces Turkish rights over many former Ottoman lands. The Turkish nationalist regime rejects the treaty.
The Grand National Assembly abolishes the Ottoman Sultanate, dissolving the Ottoman Empire. The last sultan is Mehmed VI, and he is expelled from Istanbul mere months after gaining the title. He has no real political power and only maintains his role as a ceremonial position.
Sultan Mehmed VI departs Istanbul aboard a British battleship. In his absence, the Grand National Assembly deposes him of his caliphate title and offers it to Abdülmecid II. He accepts the role and ascends the throne on November 24. He serves a short reign as the last prince of the Ottoman Empire.
The Turks tear up the Treaty of Sevres. They negotiate and sign a new treaty with Allied forces in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Treaty of Lausanne recognizes Turkish sovereignty with its current borders by the Allied Powers, and official Turkish claims to the remains of the former Ottoman Empire.
The Ottoman Empire gives way to a republic. Atatürk becomes its first prime minister and exiles all members of the former Ottoman Dynasty. The next year, the Grand National Assembly strips the royal family of its Turkish citizenship and removes its positions of power, but does not abolish the caliphate. Its dynastic legacy finished, the Republic of Turkey, called the Republic of Türkiye today, arises as the new Turkish nation.
Credits
Researched and written by Kayra Altan
Produced by Khemraj Singh & Netleon Technologies Team
Revised by Lee Thompson-Kolar
Reviewed by Nathaniel Handy & Ishtiaq Ahmed
Images courtesy of Creative Commons