DIPLOMACY IN OTTOMAN EMPIRE

Diplomacy in Ottoman Empire

Diplomacy in Ottoman Empire

The different Ottoman defeats were the marker which played a major role in the downfall of the Ottoman Empire as with that the relationship between the Christian Europe and the Islamic world became adverse and the Ottoman Empire had nothing else to do than to accept the defeat and to lose the great pride it used to hold in its political strength. As the Ottoman Empire was very large and the length of the empire was so great that the sultan was unable to keep them united and because of that a political instability rose in that area which led to the breakage of the bond between the emperors a the states under him. “The Ottoman Empire, having reached its greatest extent, was then obliged to adopt a defensive strategy. Unlike expansion, defense needed a permanent and more numerous armies, which soon came to represent an enormous burden on the economy. In addition, superiority of arms henceforth belonged to the West. Having learned the art of war from the Ottomans on the fields of battle, the western generals perfected effective new tactics which resulted in a much higher cost to the Ottomans in both men and material resources.” www.mfa.gov.tr

The choice of irresponsible governors in the states was one of the major causes as it led to decisions, which were extremely cautious for the Ottoman Empire. As they started to use the authority for their own benefits rather than using the authorities for the people under their command this was when the political distress was seen which led decline of the organization and administration of the state. [www.humanities.ualberta.ca/ottoman/module3/tutorial3a.htm]

It is noteworthy that throughout the reform period the Ottoman Empire lacks the basic key to the power, which was the resources or the will, and in some period it is also seen that both were lacking. The income was not as much to give a better living to the governors and so that they had to use other means to fulfill. If the political system was strong enough o uphold the system of an empire this cause would not have been there in the history. “Peasants were too conscious of past reform failures; political leaders were committed to political solutions for reasons of ideology or personal advantage.” the self-advantage of the political leaders was what they concentrated on. This was the attitude of the political leaders, which led to a drastic fall of the great empire. Because of the ill political stability the minority of the state always doubts its protection and they never believed that their demands could be fulfilled by the reforms of the Ottoman Empire. The states under the empire were always ready to retreat against the great Ottoman Empire to become independent and to make their own ideology. This was when the great damage started. As every state wanted to gain power and the unity was so much disturbed. [www.lib.msu.edu/sowards/balkan/lect11.htm]

Not forgetting the era of women in the ottoman ...