Demise of the Ottoman Caliphate: Encyclopedia II - Demise of the Ottoman Caliphate - Abdul-Hamid II and Signs of Instability

Demise of the Ottoman Caliphate - Abdul-Hamid II and Signs of Instability

Sultan Abdul-Hamid II, who ruled 1876-1909, felt that the Empire’s desperate situation could only be remedied through strong and determined leadership. He distrusted his ministers and other officials that had served his predecessors and gradually reduced their role in his regime, concentrating absolute power over the Empire’s governance in his own hands. For thirty years, Abdul-Hamid ruled the Empire from a state of fortified seclusion in his palace at Yildiz. Taking a hard-line against Western involvement in Ottoman affairs, he emphasized the Empire’s Islamic character, reasserted his status as the Caliph, and called for Muslim unity behind the Caliphate. By building numerous schools, reducing the national debt, and embarking on projects aimed at revitalizing the Empire’s decaying infrastructure, Abdul-Hamid strengthened the Empire’s position somewhat and succeeded briefly in reasserting Islamic power. But his autocratic style of governance created a backlash that led to the end of his reign, setting into motion a chain of events that would finally destroy the Ottoman Empire and with it, the Caliphate.

Western-inclined Turkish military officers opposed to Hamid’s rule had steadily organized in the form of secret societies within and outside Turkey. By 1906, the movement enjoyed the support of a significant portion of the army, and its leaders formed the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), informally known as the Young Turk Party. The Young Turks sought to remodel administration of the Empire along Western lines. Their ideology was nationalist in character, and was a precursor of the movement that would seize control of Turkey following World War I. Though privately disdainful of Islam and the religious establishment, CUP leaders presented their ideas to the public as a revival of true Islamic principles. Under the leadership of Enver Pasha, a Turkish military officer, the CUP launched a military coup against the Sultan in 1908, proclaiming a new regime on July 6. Though they left Abdul-Hamid on his throne, the Young Turks compelled him to restore the parliament and constitution he had suspended thirty years earlier, thereby creating a constitutional monarchy and stripping the Caliphate of its authority. A counter-coup launched by soldiers loyal to the Sultan threatened the new government but ultimately failed, and Abdul-Hamid was deposed on April 13, 1909. He was replaced by his brother Rashid Effendi, who was proclaimed Sultan Mehmed V on April 27.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Abdul-Hamid II and Signs of Instability", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki