The Great Powers and the End of the Ottoman Empire

The disappearance of the Ottoman Empire had been foretold since the end of the eighteenth century. But, since it was not finally abolished by the Turkish Grand National Assembly in the newly established capital in Ankara until 1924, in fact it survived its traditional enemies, the Russian and Habsburg Empires, and its disastrous ally, the German Empire, by six or seven years. Moreover, during the First World War, at Gallipoli and Kut, the Ottoman Empire was able to inflict some impressive defeats on its former ally, after 1914 its most ambitious and dangerous enemy, the British Empire.

The mysterious combination of weakness and strength which characterised the Ottoman Empire in its last decades is the subject of The Great Powers and the End of the Ottoman Empire. It contains seven chapters. The first, by Feroz Ahmad, author of the only account in English of the Young Turks in power, deals with aspects of the internal policy of the Empire. In the other chapters F. R. Bridge, R. J. B. Bosworth, Alan Bodger, Ulrich Trumpener, L. Bruce Fulton and Marian Kent describe, respectively, the relations of the Habsburg Monarchy, Italy, Russia, Germany, France and Great Britain with the Ottoman Empire after 1900. Each chapter gives an excellent account of the subject, based on archival as well as printed sources, and there is an extensive and up-to-date bibliography. The Great Powers and the End of the Ottoman Empire, is therefore, indispensable for anyone interested in the history.



Historians whose special interests include the foreign policy, and especially the Turkish foreign policy seek to answer those key questions of; how far did that fall result from Great Power imperialism? Or was it rather the effect of important structural weaknesses within the Empire? What was the nature of each power's interest in the Ottoman Empire and how did those interests differ among the powers? What was the mechanism by which each Great Power made and implemented its Turkish policy? How important was this extensive area of the Middle East for the foreign policy of individual Great Powers? How relevant was this area to the broader international considerations that occupied the Great Powers in these years?

Contents

Preface to the Second Edition v

Preface vi

Maps viii

Introduction 1

1 The Late Ottoman Empire
Feroz Ahmad 5

2 The Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire, 1900–18
F.R.Bridge 31

3 Italy and the End of the Ottoman Empire
R.J.B. Bosworth 51

4 Russia and the End of the Ottoman Empire
Alan Bodger 73

5 Germany and the End of the Ottoman Empire
Ulrich Trumpener 107

6 France and the End of the Ottoman Empire
L. Bruce Fulton 137

7 Great Britain and the End of the Ottoman Empire, 1900–23
Marian Kent 165

Bibliography 199
Index 213

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