Villalobos 1

Juan Carlos Villalobos

History

Professor Richard Ballard

July 9th, 2015

Effect of the Ottoman Empire over the Middle East

The Ottoman Empire was one of the largest and longest lasting empires

that the world has seen. It started to appear by 1299 and grew rapidly through

the centuries to follow, until its stagnation and subsequent decline from the 17 th

century to the 20th. Still, the Ottoman Empire was around for almost 7 centuries,

and with such history, it is obvious that it influenced every territory it made

contact with. Some of the most influenced territories were the Balkans but

especially the Middle East; most of the modern cultures in these territories have

their pillars dating back to the time of the Turk Empire. The Ottomans influenced

the Middle East in many aspects, including religion, governmental systems,

arts, and communications capacity. The Middle East as is known today is the

product of such a large influence, but for the contemporary times to be

understood, the history has to be analyzed first (Kumar).

Even though the empire appeared around the end of the 13 th century, it is

in 1453 when the course of history changed for the Ottomans with the conquest

of Constantinople. On May 29th, under the leadership of a young Mehmed II,

the Ottomans captured the city of Constantinople, which was the greatest

center for knowledge at the time, as well as the gateway between the East and

the West. After capturing it, it was renamed to Istanbul, and it caused an
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enormous impact on the growth and development of sciences, arts and

communications (Unique Facts about the Middle East: Ottoman Empire).

With the Turks in power of such an important city, they were able to

expand and open communications through Europe, the Middle East and Africa;

and needless to say, the empire influenced everything that came across its way.

In terms of the Middle East, there were several aspects influenced. These

aspects include the Pan Islamic ideals, the domination of religious theocracy on

the state, the organization of Bureaucracy and Forces, the development of art

and crafts, the pluralism and new sea routes to India (Ottoman Empire).

First off, the Ottomans managed to capture many Muslim areas of

Iranian, Arabic and African territories; where they not only managed spread the

Islamic religion but also create an Islamic loyalty that replaces nationalism. This

is one of the greatest defining characteristics of the Middle East mindset even

up to date (Unique Facts about the Middle East: Ottoman Empire).

In terms of Religious Theocracy, the Ottomans introduced the concept of

major religious groups that ruled their communities under patronage of the

Ottoman Empire, known as the concept of Millet. Millets strengthened the

practice of mixing the religious head with the state ruler in a really large scale,

creating a legacy of rule by theocratic leaders that can still be seen around the

Middle East, for instance, Iran holds a theocratic government up to date

(Ottoman Empire). Even though the Turks created this Islamic pride concept,

there were policies in which the rulers promoted tolerance to different religions,

meaning that it was common to see Arab and Islamic communities live together

peacefully (Kumar).
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When it came to arts and crafts, the Turks did not stay behind. They

provided opportunities of fusion between Persian and Islamic crafts with the

influence of Byzantine and European skills. The Ottoman architecture is also

the product of fusions, but this time from Persian, Greek and Islamic territories.

All of these fusions grew and evolved around the Ottoman Empire, as the result

of the exchange of literature through translations across the whole Ottoman

territory (Kumar) (Ottoman Empire).

Even though it was not the Ottomans the ones who directly discovered

new routes of travelling, it was thanks to them that many started looking for

alternate ways of travelling from Europe to Asia and vice versa, because the

Ottomans were in control of every land route leading from the east to the west

or the other way around. It is out of this conflict that famous voyages are made,

like Columbus’ attempt to find a new route to India (Unique Facts about the

Middle East: Ottoman Empire).

With the Middle Eastern culture already set thanks to the Ottomans, there was a

new major event that led to the forming of the Middle East as it is known today.

This event is no other than the World War I, which brought to an end the mighty

Ottoman Empire and set a chain of events that would lead to the modernity the

territory.

At the beginning of the war, the Ottomans had some success, as the

British and Russian invaders were defeated in various territories, including Iraq

and the Balkans. However, the British held control of important colonies in

Egypt and India, meaning that the Ottomans were the territory in the middle of

them; this was a motivation for the British to find ways of attacking and
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weakening the empire, whether it was from the inside or the outside (The

Ottoman Empire: The Last Great Casualty of the First World War). One of

the British strategies was to turn the Ottoman Empire’s Arab subjects against

the government. They addressed a group of the Arabian Peninsula called the

Hajez, entering into an agreement to revolt against the Ottomans in which the

Arabs were promised that their lands would cover the entire Arabian Peninsula,

including Iraq and Syria. In June of 1916, the rebels marched in an armed

campaign and managed to capture numerous cities, weakening the Ottomans

and creating chaos behind them. As the war progressed, the Ottomans grew

weaker and desperate, so much that they were eventually defeated by the allies

in the Balkans, Thrace, Syria, Palestine and Iraq; losing most of their territory

and influence (Woodward, David). Years later, the Turkish War of

independence broke out and the republic of Turkey was founded on October 29,

1923. One of the largest empires in human history had fallen and the territories

that once made part of it were thrown into chaos.

The fall of the Ottomans meant that land, power and resources were up

for grabs. Western countries, driven by an imperialist mentality, addressed

those territories to fulfill their own interests. Just as it is today, natural resources

were the main objective of world powers like the British, however, when they

began their expedition to the Middle East, the paid little or no attention to the

complexity of the ethnic and religious divisions that have defined the Middle

East for centuries. They were only concerned with their own enrichment,

regardless of the consequences. For instance, one of the mistakes committed

by the British was drawing the Iraqi borders with no consideration 1,000 years

of tribal forming that defined hundreds of years of history (Why The Collapse
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Of The Ottoman Empire Explains The Middle East Today, 100 Years Later).

As the west continued to move across the Middle East in a shortsighted manner

based on profit, large territories like Iraq and Syria were thrown into chaos, a

chaos that lasts even until today (Woodward, David).

Whether the Ottoman influence over the Middle East was good or not

remains debatable. Culturally speaking, the Turks spread lots of their culture

across their territory, but it came at the cost of lives as it was all achieved

through war. Some may argue that such culture was imposed, and that each

territory was not able to develop its own ethnicity and culture freely as it should

happen, but then again, this is the way history has worked for centuries. The

truth is that the Ottomans enriched lots of territories in every possible way, but

the outcome was not as good due to external factors. The fall of the empire

resulted devastating for the Middle East, as it was left defenseless and to the

mercy of rebels and enemies of the empire, like the British. After the empire’s

decline, the Middle East was thrown into chaos and it has remained in that way

for the last century, as the world powers continue to exploit the already worn off

lands. It is shame that such culturally rich lands are being destroyed for profit,

especially when this culture was the real legacy of one of the greatest empires

that the world has seen.

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Works Cited

"How the British Divided Up the Arab World." Lost Islamic History. 26 Dec.

2012. Web. 10 July 2015.

Kumar. "Vkumar.ExpertsColumn.Com - Powered By ExpertsColumn.com."

The Influence of the Ottoman Turks on the Middle East. Web. 10 July

2015.

"Ottoman Empire." Ottoman Empire. Web. 10 July 2015.

"The Ottoman Empire: The Last Great Casualty of the First World War." The

Spectator. 29 Apr. 2015. Web. 10 July 2015.

"Unique Facts About the Middle East: Ottoman Empire." Unique Facts About

the Middle East: Ottoman Empire. Web. 10 July 2015.

"Why The Collapse Of The Ottoman Empire Explains The Middle East

Today, 100 Years Later." Elite Daily Why The Collapse Of The

Ottoman Empire Explains The Middle East Today 100 Years Later

Comments. 1 Aug. 2014. Web. 10 July 2015.

Woodward, David. "The Middle East during World War One." BBC News.

BBC. Web. 10 July 2015.