Abdul hamid ii biography of abraham

Unable to control the uprising, the Ottoman governor of the province, Nadim Pasha, organized local militias to protect Muslim villages. Massacres and counter massacres followed. The Europeans, always quick to point fingers when Christians were killed, while closing their eyes to massacres of Muslims, played up the Christian casualties.

The Czar threatened military action unless sweeping reforms were implemented in the province under Russian supervision. To preempt the European powers, the Ottoman Porte the vizierate pushed for the promulgation of a constitution that would remove any pretext for foreign intervention. Working round the clock, the Commission produced a constitution, which embodied far-reaching reforms and touched on every aspect of Ottoman administration.

There was to be no discrimination in government jobs and the civil service was to be a meritocracy. A two-tier Parliament was established after the pattern of the liberal European monarchies with a lower house, majlis e mebusan, consisting of elected delegates and a smaller upper house, majlis e ayanwhose members were appointed by the Sultan.

Freedom of expression within the Parliament and immunity from prosecution of the deputies for their views was guaranteed. The Sultan appointed the grand vizier and the council of ministers. The grand vizier, as the chief executive officer of the empire, presided over the meetings of the ministers and coordinated their activities. In times of emergency, such as those involving the security of the state, he could issue emergency orders.

The Parliament had the authority to approve annual budgets, provide oversight for the expenditures of the various ministries and enforce fiscal discipline. It was empowered to ratify legislation initiated by the Council of Ministers. If ratified, the legislation was then submitted to the Sultan, through the grand vizier, for his final approval.

The Council of State, which had come into existence during the earlier phases of the tanzeemat, was retained to provide assistance to the parliament and the Council of Ministers in the drafting, preparation and documentation of legislation. The deputies of the lower house were elected and had a term of four abdul hamid ii biographies of abraham, whereas those of the upper house were appointed by the Sultan for life.

Except in matters of personal law, wherein the Shariah and millet courts were retained, the jurisdiction of secular courts was expanded to cover all aspects of life. Representative councils were retained at the provincial, district and county levels to provide inputs on education, agriculture, trade and commerce. A Supreme Court was set up with the authority to try wayward judges, members of the parliament and ministers.

Islam remained the state religion but freedom of worship was guaranteed to all millets. All citizens were henceforth to be considered Ottomans, irrespective of their ethnic or religious affiliation. Each millet was free to elect its own representative council and organize its internal affairs. Thus a major move was made towards parliamentary democracy that provided a voice to the people, guaranteed individual rights and took significant steps towards mollifying European concerns about the rights of Christians in the empire.

To implement the reforms, Sultan Abdul Hamid appointed Midhat Pasha, who had served as chairman of the Council of State and the principal architect of the reforms, as the grand vizier. The European powers were not interested in reforming the Ottoman Empire. The disaffection of the Christians was merely a pretext for intervention into Ottoman affairs.

Russia, in particular, was not satisfied with anything less than an outlet to the Mediterranean. At the Istanbul Conference, the European powers backed Russian demands to divide up Bulgaria and Bosnia-Herzegovina and administer them under European oversight. Sultan Abdul Hamid knew the military vulnerability of the empire and sought to avoid war.

In addition to promulgating the constitution in Decemberhe forwarded his own plan to appoint an inquiry commission, with international participation, to look into charges of atrocities in Bulgaria and punish those responsible. Midhat Pasha, who was serving as the principal Ottoman negotiator with the powers, did not present these plans at the conference, but instead submitted the European demands to the Ottoman parliament.

The newly elected representatives were furious at this affront to Ottoman sovereignty and rejected the demands. The Istanbul Conference broke up in disarray. Even as negotiations were underway at the Istanbul Conference December January and the Ottoman parliament met March to implement the reforms, the Russians made active preparations for war.

The Czar bought the neutrality of the Austria-Hungary Empire by promising them the principality of Bosnia-Herzegovina and hegemony over Serbia. The Austrian military contingent stationed in Rumania since was withdrawn, clearing the way for a Russian advance upon Istanbul through Rumania and Bulgaria The British too, signaled their neutrality in the event of a Russian-Turkish war by declaring that they would not interfere as long as the status of the Straits or Istanbul was unaltered.

Germany, whose principal preoccupation was avoidance of war between Austria and Russia, went along with Austrian neutrality. The Russians began the war in May with an attack on the Ottoman eastern provinces. The following month, in Junethey opened a second front in the west across the Danube River. The Russian invasion was in clear violation of the Treaty of Paris, signed in at the conclusion of the Crimean War, by which the European powers had collectively guaranteed the integrity of the Ottoman Empire.

But this was the age of colonialism. Each treaty that the Europeans signed with the Ottomans was but a ruse to subvert and occupy additional Ottoman territory. The Russian objective in the east was a rapid drive on the city of Erzurum, from where they could cut a swath through southern Anatolia and Syria to the Mediterranean, isolating the Turkish heartland.

In the west, the goal was a rapid drive on Istanbul through Rumania and Bulgaria to force the Turks to capitulate before the European powers changed their mind about their professed neutrality. The Ottomans, even though they had spent large sums on armaments since the Crimean War, were hampered by a lack of trained officers. The Czar, through skillful propaganda as the self-proclaimed protector of the Eastern Orthodox Church, took full advantage of the disaffection of the large Christian population in the Balkans.

In the eastern sector too, he incited the hitherto peaceful Armenians to harass the Ottoman armies. Aided by local Christians, the initial advance of the Russian armies was swift. Ardahan fell in May ; the Ottomans lost a sizable number of men and material. On the western front, the garrison town of Sistova fell in June. Large-scale massacres of Muslim peasants followed each of the Russian conquests.

The Russians distributed guns and ammunition captured from the retreating Ottomans to the local Christians who turned on their Muslim neighbors. Village after village witnessed horror scenes of mass killings. The haggard survivors of the slaughter streamed towards Istanbul. Overrefugees entered Istanbul and Anatolia in the first three months of the Russian campaigns.

Over the next two yearsthis number doubled, imposing a tremendous burden on Ottoman resources. This was the first of the large-scale massacres of Balkan Muslims, which continued on and off for more than a hundred years, culminating in the Serbian massacres of Bosnians in These early reverses shocked the Ottomans. The Porte appealed to the European powers under terms of the Paris Treaty to pressure the Russians to withdraw.

The replies from Austria and Germany were vague. The British cabinet issued equally vague statements and did nothing to deter the Czar. Meanwhile, the Russian aggression had to be met. This pattern of appeal to the global Muslim community was to be repeated, time and again, during the reign of Abdul Hamid. The response from the Turks, Arabs and Albanians was overwhelming.

Men came out in droves to join the armed forces. Women offered their jewelry to finance the war effort. The Sultan selected the best available generals for the defensive campaigns. Ahmed Muhtar Pasha was appointed the commander of the eastern forces. Muhtar reorganized his troops, dispersed over the eastern districts, and stopped the Russian advance at Kars.

On the western front, Sulaiman Pasha was appointed the commander, while the defense of the Bulgarian passes was delegated to Osman Pasha. Sulaiman brought reinforcements by sea to Alexandropolis, swiftly moved north through western Bulgaria and drove the Russians back across the Shipka Pass. The Russians regrouped and with a large horde of overmen, backed by the main Romanian regiments, made a thrust at the strategic town of Plevna.

Meanwhile, Osman Pasha had reinforced the town, built a fortress, dug trenches and had brought in heavy guns to defend the surrounding terrain. From this bastion, he held off repeated assaults by the combined Russian-Romanian forces, earning for himself and his men the admiration of Europeans and the gratitude of his fellow countrymen.

The Sultan, in recognition of this heroic defense, conferred the title of ghazi on Osman Pasha. The front lines were stable throughout the summer of But with the passage of time, the weight of the vast Russian Empire and of their Christian sympathizers within the Ottoman Empire, began to be felt. By Octoberthe Ottoman lines began to crack.

On the eastern front, Kars fell in November, although Mohtar Pasha was able to withdraw the bulk of his forces to Erzurum. Azerbaijan, Armenia and eastern Anatolia were in Russian hands. On the western front, the heroic defense of Plevna continued. The Russians surrounded the garrison and cut off the supplies of food, hoping to starve the defenders into submission.

Despite the lack of food and the harsh winter, the Ottomans held on, hoping for fresh reinforcements from Istanbul. But the Russian juggernaut tightened. In December, Osman Pasha ordered his troops to fight their way out. In hand to hand combat, over 30, Ottoman troops died. Over time, his paranoia and habitual centralization became emblematic of his long rule, prompting frustration among those yearning for a more open and accountable government.

He invested in extensive infrastructure projects, such as expanding railway lines across Anatolia and Rumelia, eventually paving the way for the Baghdad and Hejaz Railways. He championed the founding of professional schools in areas such as law, the arts, engineering, and veterinary science. Primary and secondary schools were established throughout Ottoman domains, while military academies grew in abdul hamid ii biography of abraham.

However, the new wave of young graduates from these schools would become his most vocal critics. Facing both European encroachment and internal discontent, Abdul Hamid embraced a Pan-Islamic approach, hoping to unify Muslim populations within and beyond Ottoman borders. As the caliph, he attempted to rally global Muslim sentiment against Western imperialism.

Although this approach appealed to many Muslims abroad, European powers perceived his policy as a threat. Notably, Germany emerged as an imperial partner, motivated by its own strategic interests. Kaiser Wilhelm II courted the sultan through high-profile visits, securing railway concessions and economic privileges. Yet, financial exigencies forced him to accept conditions set by the Ottoman Public Debt Administration, which managed revenues for foreign bondholders.

Intellectuals who had benefited from the educational expansions led organized efforts for constitutional restoration. Ethnic minorities, including Armenians, also mobilized for political representation and the cessation of repressive policies. Notoriously, the Hamidiye Regiments, comprised largely of Kurdish cavalry, perpetuated atrocities against Armenian communities, prompting international condemnation.

Confronted by an army advancing from Salonica, Abdul Hamid was compelled to reinstate the suspended constitution and reconvene parliament. This event inaugurated the Second Constitutional Era, reversing decades of autocratic rule. An portrait of Abdul Hamid II. During his captivity, he led a quieter existence, focusing on personal interests such as carpentry and reading.

The Ottoman subjects rarely saw the benefits of the attempted reforms carried out under the Sultan's reign. Within a few years of his death, the Ottoman Empire was in ruins, the republican modern nation state of Turkey was established and the caliphate abolished. Loss of the Balkan provinces, and of Cyprus infinancial indebtedness to the European powers, while his choice of Germany as a friend proved fatal when the Axis Powers lost World War I.

In many Arab parts of the Empire, nationalist or pan-Arabist movements were underway that saw local self-governance and regional or national identity as more important than membership of a "caliphate" headed by a distant, non-Arab autocrat.

Abdul hamid ii biography of abraham

He was unable to stem this development, although he tried hard to retain the loyalty of Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca by keeping him and his family for many in Istanbul but, forming the Arab Legion, they rebelled and aided the British in World War I. Fearful of assassination, he did not travel often though still more than many previous rulers and photographs provided visual evidence of what was taking place in his realm.

The American collection is housed in the Library of Congress and has been digitized. Europe with "France, England, Austria" written on her skirt punishes the spoilt kid Greece for asking too much and not feeling happy with what he got Crete. New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards.

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A network of primary, secondary, and military schools extended throughout the Empire. German firms played a major role in developing the Empire's railway and telegraph systems. Ironically, the same education institutions that the Sultan sponsored proved to be his downfall. Large sections of the pro-constitutionalist Ottoman intelligentsia sharply criticized and opposed him for his repressive policies, which coalesced into the Young Turks movement.

Armenians especially suffered from massacres and pogroms at the hands of the Hamidiye regiments. Abdul Hamid II attempted to reassert his absolutism a year later, resulting in his deposition by pro-constitutionalist forces in the 31 March incidentthough the role he played in these events is disputed. The two were brought up in the same household, where they spent their childhood together.

In the summer ofnine years before he ascended the throne, he accompanied his uncle Sultan Abdul Aziz on a visit to Paris 30 June — 10 JulyLondon 12—23 JulyVienna 28—30 Julyand capitals or cities of a number of other European countries. Abdul Hamid ascended the throne after his brother Murad was deposed on 31 August Most people expected Abdul Hamid II to support liberal movements, but he acceded to the throne at a critical time.

Economic and political turmoil, local wars in the Balkans, and the Russo-Turkish War threatened the Empire's very existence. Abdul Hamid worked with the Young Ottomans to realize some form of constitutional arrangement. The Young Ottomans believed that the modern parliamentary system was a restatement of the practice of consultation, or shurathat had existed in early Islam.

In Decemberdue to the insurrection in Bosnia and Herzegovinathe ongoing war with Serbia and Montenegroand the feeling aroused throughout Europe by the cruelty used in stamping out the Bulgarian rebellionAbdul Hamid promulgated a constitution and a parliament. The first ever election in the Ottoman Empire was held in Crucially, the abdul hamid ii biography of abraham gave Abdul Hamid the right to exile anyone he deemed a threat to the state.

In any event, like many other would-be reforms of the Ottoman Empire, it proved nearly impossible. Russia continued to mobilize for war, and early in the Ottoman Empire went to war with the Russian Empire. Abdul Hamid's biggest fear, near dissolution, was realized with the Russian declaration of war on 24 April In that conflict, the Ottoman Empire fought without help from European allies.

Russian chancellor Prince Gorchakov had by that time effectively purchased Austrian neutrality with the Reichstadt Agreement. The British Empire, though still fearing the Russian threat to the British presence in Indiadid not involve itself in the conflict because of public opinion against the Ottomans, following reports of Ottoman abdul hamid ii biography of abraham in putting down the Bulgarian uprising.

Russia's victory was quick; the conflict ended in February The Treaty of San Stefanosigned at the end of the war, imposed harsh terms: the Ottoman Empire gave independence to RomaniaSerbia, and Montenegro; it granted autonomy to Bulgaria; instituted reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and ceded parts of Dobrudzha to Romania and parts of Armenia to Russia, which was also paid an enormous indemnity.

After the war, Abdul Hamid suspended the constitution in February and dismissed the parliament, after its only meeting, in March As Russia could dominate the newly independent states, the Treaty of San Stefano greatly increased its influence in Southeastern Europe. At the Great Powers' insistence especially the United Kingdom'sthe treaty was revised at the Congress of Berlin so as to reduce the great advantages Russia gained.

In exchange for these favors, Cyprus was ceded to Britain in There were troubles in Egypt, where a discredited khedive had to be deposed. Abdul Hamid mishandled relations with Urabi Pashaand as a result, Britain gained de facto control over Egypt and Sudan by sending its troops in to establish control over the two provinces. Cyprus, Egypt, and Sudan ostensibly remained Ottoman provinces untilwhen Britain officially annexed them in response to the Ottoman participation in World War I on the side of the Central Powers.

Abdul Hamid's distrust of the reformist admirals of the Ottoman Navy whom he suspected of plotting against him and trying to restore the constitution and his subsequent decision to lock the Ottoman fleet the world's third-largest fleet during the reign of his predecessor Abdul Aziz inside the Golden Horn indirectly caused the loss of Ottoman overseas territories and islands in North Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Aegean Sea during and after his reign.

Financial difficulties forced him to consent to foreign control over the Ottoman national debt. In a decree issued in Decembera large portion of the empire's revenues were handed over to the Public Debt Administration for the benefit of mostly foreign bondholders see Kararname of The union of Bulgaria with Eastern Rumelia was another blow to the Empire.

The creation of an independent and powerful Bulgaria was viewed as a serious threat to the Empire. For many years Abdul Hamid had to deal with Bulgaria in a way that did not antagonize the Russians or the Germans. There were also key problems regarding the Albanian question resulting from the Albanian League of Prizren and with the Greek and Montenegrin frontiers, where the European powers were determined that the Berlin Congress 's decisions be carried out.

Crete was granted "extended privileges", but these did not satisfy the population, which sought unification with Greece. In early a Greek expedition sailed to Crete to overthrow Ottoman rule on the island. Most people expected Abdul Hamid II to have liberal ideas, and some conservatives were inclined to regard him with suspicion as a dangerous reformer.

In a process known as İstibdadAbdul Hamid reduced his ministers to acting as secretaries and concentrated much of the Empire's administration into his own hands. Default in the public funds, an empty treasury, the insurrection in Bosnia and Herzegovinathe war with Serbia and Montenegrothe result of Russo-Turkish warand the feeling aroused throughout Europe by Abdul Hamid's government in stamping out the Bulgarian rebellion all contributed to his apprehension regarding enacting significant changes.

As the goal of the educational reforms in the Hamidian era were to counter foreign influence, these secondary schools used European teaching techniques while instilling in students a strong sense of Ottoman identity and Islamic morality. Abdul Hamid also reorganized the Ministry of Justice and developed rail and telegraph systems. Railways connected Constantinople and Vienna byand shortly afterward the Orient Express connected Paris to Constantinople.

During his rule, railways within the Ottoman Empire expanded to connect Ottoman-controlled Europe and Anatolia with Constantinople as well. The increased ability to travel and communicate within the Ottoman Empire served to strengthen Constantinople's influence over the rest of the Empire. Abdul Hamid introduced legislation against the slave trade via the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of and the Kanunname of Abdul Hamid took stringent measures regarding his security.

The memory of the deposition of Abdul Aziz was on his mind and convinced him that a constitutional government was not a good idea. Because of this, information was tightly controlled and the press rigidly censored. A secret police Umur-u Hafiye and a network of informants was present throughout the empire, and many leading figures of the Second Constitutional Era and Ottoman successor states were arrested or exiled.

School curricula were closely inspected to prevent dissidence. Ironically, the schools that Abdul Hamid founded and tried to control became "breeding grounds of discontent" as students and teachers alike chafed at the censors' clumsy restrictions. Starting aroundArmenians began demanding implementation of the reforms promised to them at the Berlin Conference.

Abdul Hamid put these revolts down with harsh methods. News of the massacres was widely reported in Europe and the United States and drew strong responses from foreign governments and humanitarian organizations. On 21 Julythe Armenian Revolutionary Federation attempted to assassinate him with a car bomb during a public appearance, but he was delayed for a minute, and the bomb went off too early, killing 26, wounding 58 four of whom died during their treatment in hospitaland destroying 17 cars.

This continued aggression, along with the handling of the Armenian desire for reform, led western European powers to take a more hands-on approach with the Turks. Abdul Hamid did not believe that the Tanzimat movement could succeed in helping the disparate peoples of the empire achieve a common identity, such as Ottomanism. He adopted a new ideological principle, Pan-Islamism ; since, beginning inOttoman sultans were also nominally Caliphs, he wanted to promote that fact and emphasized the Ottoman Caliphate.

Given the great diversity of ethnicities in the Ottoman Empire, he believed that Islam was the only way to unite his people. Pan-Islamism encouraged Muslims living under European powers to unite under one polity. At the very end of his reign, Abdul Hamid finally provided funds to start construction of the strategically important Constantinople-Baghdad Railway and the Constantinople-Medina Railwaywhich would ease the trip to Mecca for the Hajj ; after he was deposed, the CUP accelerated and completed construction of both railways.

Missionaries were sent to distant countries preaching Islam and the Caliph 's supremacy. He is famously quoted as telling Herzl's Emissary, "as long as I am alive, I will not have our body divided; only our corpse they can divide. Pan-Islamism was a considerable success. After the Greco-Ottoman warmany Muslims celebrated the Ottoman victory as their victory.

Uprisings, lockouts, and objections to European colonization in newspapers were reported in Muslim regions after the war. In Mesopotamia and Yemendisturbance was endemic; nearer home, a semblance of loyalty was maintained in the army and among the Muslim population only by a system of deflation and espionage [ citation needed ]. InU.

The Sultan obliged the Americans and wrote the letter, which was sent to Mecca, whence two Sulu chiefs brought it to Sulu. It was successful, since the "Sulu Mohammedans Despite Abdul Hamid's "pan-Islamic" ideology, he had readily acceded to Straus's request for help in telling the Sulu Muslims to not resist America, since he felt no need to cause hostilities between the West and Muslims.

Finley wrote:. After due consideration of these facts, the Sultan, as Caliph caused a message to be sent to the Mohammedans of the Philippine Islands forbidding them to enter into any hostilities against the Americans, inasmuch as no interference with their religion would be allowed under American rule. As the Moros have never asked more than that, it is not surprising, that they refused all overtures made, by Aguinaldo's agents, at the time of the Filipino insurrection.

President McKinley sent a personal letter of thanks to Mr. Straus for the excellent work he had done, and said, its accomplishment had saved the United States at least twenty thousand troops in the field. President McKinley did not mention the Ottoman role in the pacification of the Sulu Moros in his address to the first session of the Fifty-sixth Congress in Decembersince the agreement with the Sultan of Sulu was not submitted to the Senate until 18 December.

Abdul Hamid and his close advisors believed the Empire should be treated as an equal player by these great powers. In the Sultan's view, the Ottoman Empire was a European empire that was distinguished by having more Muslims than Christians. Over time, the hostile diplomatic attitudes of France the occupation of Tunisia in and Great Britain the establishment of de facto control in Egypt caused Abdul Hamid to gravitate towards Germany.

German officers such as Baron von der Goltz and Bodo-Borries von Ditfurth were employed to oversee the organization of the Ottoman Army. German government officials were brought in to reorganize the Ottoman government's finances. The German emperor was also rumored to have counseled Abdul Hamid in his controversial decision to appoint his third son as his successor.

Ina significant German wish, the construction of a Berlin-Baghdad railwaywas granted. It was only on the second attempt, in the Gasalee Expeditionthat the Alliance forces managed to get through to battle the Chinese Muslim troops at the Battle of Peking. Wilhelm was so alarmed by the Chinese Muslim troops that he requested that Abdul Hamid find a way to stop the Muslim troops from fighting.

Abdul Hamid agreed to Wilhelm's demands and sent Hasan Enver Pasha no relation to the Young Turk leader to China inbut the rebellion was over by that time.