Following major upheavals across the Middle East during the 18 th Century, the long-stand Ottoman Empire began to realize a major decline. In the heart of its rule, weak rulers had emerged thereby creating loopholes for the emergence of power struggles within the ruling class. With officials, guards, and experts struggling to realize meaningful changes, it became clear that theft and corruption had become the order of the day. Various entities such as the landholders and administrators, engaged in rackets that swindled the revenue from the central treasury. This turmoil was further worsened by the fact that goods from the West had infiltrated the Middle Eastern economy resulting in the collapse of local industry. Taking advantage of the weaknesses in the Ottoman Empire, the European insurgents began an onslaught aimed and eliminating the empire's grip on the region. This was initiated through the elimination of the Ottomans from Hungary following the efforts of the Austrian Hapsburgs.
A strengthened Russia also expanded its reins over Crimea and the Caucasus, while the Christian subjects of the Balkans begun to challenge their rulers. Additionally, Greece would go to win its independence in 1830, as well as Serbia in 1867. Amidst these intensifying revolt, the Ottoman Empire reacted through the leadership of Sultan Mahmud II through the imposition of reforms. These reforms would be emboldened further by Mahmud’s successor through the reorganization of the Ottoman rule famously referred to as the Tanzimat and which forms the basis of this particular discussion (Sariyannis and Tuşalp, 2018). Driven by the goal of modernizing and westernizing the Ottoman Empire to compete with the West, the regime engaged in the widespread imposition of western ideals, education, and values. The implementation of the Tanzimat had varied implications for the Ottoman Empire resulting in concrete yet limited impacts across the region.
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Political and Legal Changes
In this particular area, the primary goal was the initiation of a major overhaul on the empire’s educational system which had largely been left in the hands of the Islamic clerics. In this case, therefore, the first order of business involved minimizing the influence of the clerics on matters education. This meant establishing schools, colleges, and universities that depicted a western appeal (Inalcik, 2019). The essence of this move was to accord the Ottomans the requisite skills necessary to run various sectors amidst the rapid changes across the globe. In other words, the Ottomans were modernizing their economy, technology and social structures as a means of facing the new system that had emerged across the region. These changes were coupled with political transformations that focused on the welfare and status of the non-Muslim community within the empire.
One of the revolutionary moves was the fact that they were granted equal status and rights to those of Muslims; these changes were enshrined within the law. The fundamental goal behind this move was gaining allegiance from the diverse religious and ethnic groups within the empire. Additionally, the reforms went a long way in limiting the power of the Sultan in a bid to end dictatorial rule by allowing the rule of law to govern the subjects of the empire (Sariyannis and Tuşalp, 2018). The political reforms, were, therefore, characterized by the goal of limiting the influence and power of Islamic religious leaders to allow for greater parity and inclusivity. To great extent, this meant centralizing the rule of the law and power within the hands of the Ottoman officials and its government in a bid to ensure effective and efficient implementation of the Tanzimat Reforms. Despite the goodwill behind these moves, the Islamic religious leaders and Muslim population found them to be repulsive and were considered as a deviation from the teachings of the Holy texts.
Economic Changes
At the heart of the Empire’s economy lay Muslim thoughts, ideologies, and theories. However, faced with the economic ideals of the West, the Empire’s economy turned out to be highly limited. For starters, the Ottoman economy relied and favored the intervention of the state. Additionally, they considered protectionism as an essential aspect of ensuring the Ottoman economy thrived (Davison, 2015). The most limiting concept of the economy was the fact that the profit motive was largely disdained since it went against the religious teachings and instructions of the Koran. However, in the wake of the impact and influence of the Western economy, the Ottoman government realized that liberalization was the only way out of the economic conundrum that permeated across its empire. In an economy characterized by capital and financial stagnation, the Ottoman Empire realized that without widespread economic reforms it was bound to fail.
In light of this view, they instigated policies such as the abolition of guilds that fostered protectionism; the promotion of free trade as well as the instigation of laws and regulations that accorded rights to private property for all subjects of the empire. These reforms were further strengthened by the introduction of a new tax system. Additionally, new banks were formed with a greater affiliation to the western economic principles such as the introduction of interest payments which were contrary to the teachings and instructions of the Koran (Davison, 2015). The establishment of courts that oversaw economic regulation would further enrage the Islamic religious leaders who considered such moves as being secular. This meant that while Islamic courts continued to wild power over the Empire through Sharia Law, their influence was limited when it came to the arbitration of economic matters. The epitome of the secular policies being the adoption of the Napoleonic Trade Laws that were adopted back in 1850. In implementing these, changes, the Ottoman government heavily relied on Western ideals and theories. According to various scholars and historians in this area, the shift was largely driven by the desire of the Ottoman Regime to gain its power and control as had been exemplified by the meteoric rise of the Western governments.
Impact of the Tanzimat Reforms
The instigation of political, economic and social reforms across the empire, had varied impacts for the region. According to Inalcik, (2019), the changes initiated had far-reaching implications on the empire. However they were limited in their goal of transforming and revitalizing the power of the Ottoman government. Beginning with the education system, Inalcik, (2019) points out that it was completely secularized even as the influence of the religious leaders was curbed. As a result, therefore, a new secular elite emerged following the introduction of westernized education systems. From an economic perspective, tremendous changes were realized with the most notable being the elimination of religious regulation and control of the economy. These changes were linked to a significant increase in prosperity among the citizens following increased trade between the subjects of the Empire and Europe.
The Turks led in this economic resurgence and as a result of the frequency of trade with Europe, they gained new technologies and skills that went a long way in modernizing their economy. Despite these changes, most subjects did not benefit from these reforms owing to their shallowness. This meant that most of the impacts arising from the reforms were limited to the few who had resources and connections to benefit from trade, thereby leaving the majority with little to no rewards and benefits. For instance, despite the liberalization of the markets and the introduction of new banking systems, a majority of the population remained poor and unchanged. This is largely due to the fact that the Sultan continued to enjoy tremendous power and unlimited power of the empire. In essence, therefore, many of the rights and freedoms of the citizens had technically improved, but the Sultan remained the absolute authority across the region.
To a greater extent, these reforms failed in that they did change and reorganize the regime, but did not have a lasting impact on the Empire considering that it went to collapse as a result of the weaknesses inherent in the implementation process (Sariyannis and Tuşalp, 2018). In attempting to copy and instill, western social, institutional and economic ideals across the Ottoman Empire, the government failed to consider the necessary steps necessary for effective and efficient adoption. This failure is largely attributed to the fact that in adopting western concepts, values, and ideals, the Ottoman government failed to consider the aspect of culture and religious diversity between the West and the Islamic region. As a result, therefore, there emerged subliminal conflicts with the values and traditions espoused in the divergent Western and Islamic cultures.
Conclusion
Faced with the insurgence of a strong and dominant Western power, the Ottoman Empire became aware of its imminent demise. Having relied on century-old economic, political and social ideals and values, they were faced with modernized ideas of the Western culture prompting the need for a major transformation and overhaul. This was actualized through the introduction of the Tanzimat Reforms that focused on various areas of the Empire’s structure and form of governance. The technological and economic underdevelopment of the Empire failed to take flight amidst the changes indicating their weaknesses and shortcomings in addressing the pertinent issues within the Empire. The fact that the Ottoman Empire went on to fail means that the Tanzimat Reforms failed in their mandate.
References
Davison, R. H. (2015). Reform in the Ottoman Empire, 1856-1876 (Vol. 2325). Princeton University Press.
Inalcik, H. (2019). Application of the Tanzimat and its Social Effects (Vol. 1). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.
Sariyannis, M., & Tuşalp, A. E. E. (2018). A history of Ottoman political thought up to the early nineteenth century . Leiden: Brill.
