1799
Napoleon returns to France.
1805
Mehmed Ali (Muhammad Ali) is appointed governor of Egypt.
1807
Selim III is deposed.
1807–1808
Mustafa IV rules.
1808
Selim III is murdered, and Mustafa IV is deposed.
1808–1839
Reign of Mahmud II.
1821–1832
Greek revolt.
1820–1823
War against Qajar Iran.
1826
Mahmud II destroys the janissaries.
1828–1829
War against Russia.
1830–1831
First Ottoman census.
1830
France invades Algiers.
1830
Serbia is recognized as an autonomous principality.
1831
Mehmed Ali, ruler of Egypt, invades Syria.
1833
Egyptian army arrives in Kütahya in western Anatolia after defeating Ottoman forces.
1833
Treaty of Hünkar Iskelesi with Russia.
1839
Ottoman troops are defeated by Egyptian forces at Nizip.
1839–1861
Abdülmecid (Abdülmejid) rules.
1839
Hatt-i Şerif-i Gülhane (Hatt-i Sherif-i Gülhane), the Noble Rescript of the Rose Garden, signals the beginning of the Tanzimat era.
1846
Istanbul’s slave market is closed.
1853–1856
Crimean War.
1856
Hatt-i Hümayun (the Imperial Rescript of Reform) is issued.
1856
Treaty of Paris.
1861–1876
Abdülaziz rules.
1863
Imperial Ottoman Bank is established.
1869
Opening of Suez Canal.
1876
Murad V rules.
1876–1909
Abdülhamid II rules.
1876
First Ottoman constitution.
1877–1878
War against Russia.
1878
Treaty of San Stefano with Russia.
1878
Congress of Berlin.
1881
France establishes a protectorate over Tunisia.
1882
British forces invade and occupy Egypt.
1891
Hamidiye regiments are created to police eastern Anatolia.
1894
Violent clashes between Hamidiye regiments and local Armenians in Bitlis.
1896
Armenian Dashnak organization attacks Ottoman Bank headquarters in Istanbul.
1897
Ottoman-Greek war.
1897
Crete gains its autonomy.
1908
Young Turk revolution forces Abdülhamid II to restore the constitution.
1908
Austro-Hungarian Empire annexes Bosnia. Greece seizes the island of Crete. Bulgaria unifies with Eastern Rumelia.
1909
Abdülhamid II is deposed.
1909–1918
Mehmed V (Mehmed Reşād) rules.
1911
Italy occupies Tripoli.
1912–1913
First Balkan War: Greece, Serbia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria invade Ottoman territory. Edirne is captured by Bulgarian forces.
1913
Second Balkan War: Ottoman forces recapture Edirne.
1914–1918
World War I. Ottoman Empire is allied with Germany and Austro-Hungarian Empire.
1915
Deportation of Armenians from eastern Anatolia.
1915
Ottoman victory at Gallipoli.
1916
Sykes-Picot Agreement partitions the Ottoman Empire between British and French spheres of influence.
1916
Arab Revolt backed by the British starts in Hijaz.
1918–1922
Mehmed VI (Mehmed Vahideddin) rules.
1918
Moudros Armistice.
1918
Allied forces occupy Istanbul.
1919
Mustafa Kemal arrives in Samsun and commences the Turkish national liberation movement.
1920
Grand National Assembly is convened in Ankara.
1920
Treaty of Sèvres partitions the Ottoman Empire.
1921–1922
Turkish national movement fights and defeats Greek forces in western Anatolia.
1922
Mudanya Armistice.
1922
Grand National Assembly abolishes Ottoman sultanate.
1923
Treaty of Lausanne.
1923
Republic of Turkey is established.
1924
Institution of caliphate is abolished, and the members of the Ottoman royal family are exiled.
BATTLES AND TREATIES
Adrianople, Treaty of (1829)
Peace treaty signed on September 14, 1829, at the conclusion of the Russo-Ottoman War of 1828–1829. The treaty forced the Ottoman Empire to recognize the independence of Greece and the autonomy of Moldavia, Wallachia, and Serbia, as well as Russia’s annexation of Georgia, including the eastern coastal strip of the Black Sea.
The Greek revolution began in March 1821. The revolt was led by Alexandros (Alexander) Ypsilantis, one of the founders of the Philiki Hetairia (Etairia) (Society of Friends/Friendly Society), which had cone into existence in Odessa in 1814. Ypsilantis had studied in Russia and joined the Russian army as an officer. Ypsilantis’s original plan was to organize an anti-Ottoman revolt in the Romanian-populated principalities Moldavia and Wallachia to divert the attention of Ottoman forces from Greece, where he was secretly training his supporters. He also hoped that the uprising in Moldavia and Wallachia would force Russia to intervene on behalf of the rebels. In March 1821 Ypsilantis and his supporters crossed the Pruth (Prut) River into Moldavia, but the revolt they had hoped for did not materialize. Ypsilantis and his small army were defeated by the Ottomans, but on March 25, 1821, sporadic revolts against Ottoman rule broke out in the Peloponnese north of the Gulf of Corinth. Within a year the rebels had gained control of the Peloponnese, and in January 1822 they declared the independence of Greece. The Ottomans attempted three times between 1822 and 1824 to regain control over the Peloponnese, but they failed.
Finally, in April 1824 the Ottoman sultan, Mahmud II, appealed to Mehmed Ali (Muhammad Ali), the Ottoman governor of Egypt, for assistance and support. After capturing Crete, the Egyptian forces under the command of Mehmed Ali’s son, Ibrahim Pasha, landed in the bay of Methoni in the southwestern Peloponnese in February 1825. Soon much of the Peloponnese was under Ottoman control, with Missolonghi falling in April 1826 and Athens over a year later, in June 1827.
The Greeks were only saved by the intervention of Russia, Britain, and France. In the Greek revolution the three European powers recognized an opportunity to intervene in the internal affairs of the Ottoman Empire and advance their own political, diplomatic, and commercial interests in the Balkans. When the three powers expressed their intention to mediate, the Greek nationalists accepted the offer, while the sultan rejected it. In response, the three European states imposed a naval blockade on the Egyptian supply lines. The inevitable confrontation between the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet and the combined naval forces of Russia, Britain, and France took place on October 20, 1827, in the Bay of Navarino in the southwestern Peloponnese. At the Battle of Navarino the European powers destroyed the entire Ottoman-Egyptian fleet.
Signing of the Treaty of Adrianople at the old Palace of Edirne in 1829. The Treaty of Adrianople concluded the Russo-Ottoman War of 1828–1829. (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)
Mahmud II’s refusal to accept defeat allowed Russia to declare war on the sultan and invade Ottoman territory in Apr
il 1828. Russian forces crossed into eastern Anatolia from their bases in the south Caucasus and captured Erzurum in July 1829, while a second Russian army attacked and occupied Edirne (Adrianople) in August. The destruction of the Egyptian naval forces and intense pressure from Russia and Britain forced Mehmed Ali to withdraw his troops from Greece in October. The sultan had no choice but to sue for peace.
The Treaty of Adrianople, signed on September 14, 1829, required the sultan to recognize the independence of Greece and the autonomy of Moldavia, Wallachia, and Serbia, which was enlarged by receiving additional territory. On February 3, 1830, the European powers agreed to the London protocol, which declared Greece an independent monarchy under their protection.
See also: Battles and Treaties: Greek War of Independence; Beys and Pashas: Mehmed Ali (Muhammad Ali); Sultans: Mahmud II
Further Reading
Finkel, Caroline. Osman’s Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Basic Books, 2005.
Hale, William. Turkish Foreign Policy, 1774–2000. London: Frank Cass, 2000.
Jelavich, Barbara. History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. Vol 1. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Jelavich, Charles, and Barbara Jelavich. The Establishment of the Balkan National States, 1804–1920. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1977.
McCarthy, Justin. The Ottoman Turks: An Introductory History to 1923. London and New York: Wesley Longman Limited, 1997.
Shaw, Stanford J. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. 2 vols. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1976.
Woodhouse, C. M. The Greek War of Independence. London: Hutchinson’s University, 1952.
Zürcher, Erik-Jan. Turkey: A Modern History. London: I. B. Tauris, 2004.
Amasya, Treaty of (1555)
A peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Iran, signed at Amasya in present-day northern Turkey on May 29, 1555. This treaty established peace for nearly two decades between the two Islamic empires. After suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Ottoman sultan Selim I (r. 1512–1520) at Chaldiran in 1514, the Safavids avoided open warfare and adopted a scorched earth policy. Each time the Ottomans invaded Iran, the Safavid forces filled water wells, burned the harvest, and forced the evacuation of the local population.
The Ottoman armies invaded Iran in 1534, 1538, and 1547. In 1534 an Ottoman army seized Mesopotamia and parts of Iranian Azerbaijan, including the city of Tabriz. The Ottoman sultan Süleyman I (r. 1520–1566) then crossed the Zagros mountain range of western Iran, entered the territory of present-day Iraq, and captured Baghdad. The Iranians waited until the main Ottoman force had left their territory, then began reoccupying most of the towns and forts the Ottomans had seized during their invasion. In 1538 Süleyman I took Van and Tabriz once again. The Iranian monarch Tahmasp I (r. 1524–1576) adopted the well-drilled scorched earth policy of allowing the Ottomans to enter Safavid territory, but as soon as the main Ottoman force began to return to Anatolia, he ordered his armies to follow the retreating Ottomans and reimpose Iranian rule over the towns and forts the enemy had seized. In 1547 Ilqas Mirza, a brother of the Safavid monarch, revolted and fled to the Ottoman court. Süleyman I used the Safavid rebel prince as a pretext for yet another invasion of Iran. An army was dispatched with Ilqas Mirza, who captured Tabriz. However, when the Ottomans reverted to the old pattern of returning to Anatolia for the winter, Ilqas Mirza concluded that despite his military superiority, Süleyman I could not score a decisive victory against the Safavid armies. Dejected by what he perceived to be Ottoman indecisiveness, the Safavid prince defected and ended his alliance with the sultan. After the defection of Ilqas Mirza, Süleyman returned to his capital. It had become clear to the frustrated and exhausted sultan that his armies could gain territory inside Iran, but they could not destroy the Safavid state and retain the territory they had occupied. Ottoman forces frequently fell victim to Safavid hit-and-run guerrilla tactics. The cold and snowy winters of Azerbaijan and Kurdistan also exhausted and demoralized Ottoman armies. Equally important for the Ottoman sultan was that long wars with Iran diverted his armies and resources from the Balkans, where he was fighting the Habsburgs. Therefore, in summer 1554 a communication from the Iranian authorities that they were suing for peace was received by Süleyman I as welcome news. By then both empires were prepared for cessation of hostilities and a peace agreement.
On August 6, 1554, the Safavids dispatched an Ottoman captive with an offer of peace. Then on September 26, 1554, an envoy of Tahmasp I arrived in Erzurum at Süleyman I’s camp with a formal request for peace negotiations. On May 10, 1555, a high official of the Safavid court, acting as the special ambassador of Tahmasp I, began negotiating the clauses of a peace treaty between the two powers in Amasya, in northern Anatolia, where the Ottoman sultan had encamped. The Treaty of Amasya was signed on May 29. Iran recognized Ottoman sovereignty over eastern Anatolia, Iraq, and parts of Iranian Azerbaijan. The Safavids also promised to cease and desist from the Shia practice of cursing the caliphs or the immediate successors to the prophet, Muhammad, in particular, the first caliph, Abu Bakr (r. 632–634), and the second caliph, Umar (r. 634–644). In return, the Ottoman government pledged to provide free and safe passage for Iranian subjects performing pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, as well as to the Shia holy sites in Najaf and Karbala. The signing of the Treaty of Amasya allowed Süleyman I to shift his focus to the Habsburgs without worrying about waging a two-front war, against the Safavids in the east and the Habsburgs in the west. As for Iran, the treaty brought about a badly needed peace in the western provinces of the Safavid Empire, which had been devastated by over four decades of unremitting war. The Treaty of Amasya would guarantee peace between the Ottoman Empire and Iran until the death of Tahmasp in 1576, which ignited a long period of weakness and instability in Iran. The weakness of the Safavid state then encouraged the Ottomans to invade the Caucasus and claim territory in western and northwestern Iran.
See also: Battles and Treaties: Qasr-i Shirin, Treaty of; Empire and Administration: Abbas I, Shah of Iran; Sultans: Selim I; Süleyman I
Further Reading
Mazzaoui, Michel M. Safavid Iran & Her Neighbors. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2014.
Peçevi, Ibrahim. Peçevi Tarihi 1–2. Ankara: Kultur Bakanligi, 1992.
Savory, Roger. Iran under the Safavids. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Shaw, Stanford J. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. 2 vols. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1976.
Sykes, Sir Percy. History of Persia. 2 vols. London: Macmillan, 1951.
Ankara, Battle of (1402)
Battle between the armies of the Central Asian conqueror, Timur, and the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I (r. 1389–1402), which resulted in the defeat and capture of Bayezid. Beginning in 1380 the Turkic conqueror Timur embarked on expanding his territory from Central Asia into present-day Afghanistan, India, Iran, and the Arab world. As early as 1393 Timur’s armies had entered Anatolia from the south after capturing Baghdad, Tikrit, Mosul, Kirkuk, Mardin, and Diyarbakir. After several quick victories, however, Timur was distracted by events in Iran, Central Asia, and India and left the region. In 1399 Timur shifted his attention back to the west, attacking and occupying the southern regions of the Caucasus. He also sent a letter to Bayezid, reminding him of his recent conquests and warning the Ottoman sultan against further military operations against the Turkoman principalities of Anatolia. The response from Bayezid to the condescending message was a volcanic eruption of abuse and counterthreats. Timur’s army entered eastern Anatolia through Erzurum, capturing Sivas and Kayseri in present-day central Turkey, before arriving in Ankara (present-day capital of Turkey) in July 1402. The decisive battle was fought on July 28. The Ottoman army was routed and Bayezid captured. Timur did not, however, order the execution of Bayezid, treating the defeated sultan with utmost respect and extending his magnanimity to the sultan’s sons, wh
o pleaded for mercy. The humiliation of living as a captive came to an end for Bayezid when he died on March 8, 1403, in Akşehir (Akshehir).
Timur pushed his conquests all the way to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, capturing Smyrna (Izmir) in December 1402. Before returning to Central Asia, where he died in 1405, Timur divided Bayezid’s empire. He revived the Turkoman principalities of Karaman, Germiyan, and Hamid. Mehmed, the prince of Karaman, was particularly favored by Timur, who viewed him as the principal obstacle to the restoration of Ottoman power and thus rewarded him with significant territory and a formidable army. As a further deterrent, Bayezid’s sons were kept alive by Timur, who gave each a small fiefdom, knowing that they would have to fight among themselves before one could emerge as the successor to their father. Thus began a period of 11 years of war among Bayezid’s sons, which came to be known as the Interregnum, or Fetret in Turkish.
See also: Empire and Administration: Timur; Sultans: Bayezid I; Mehmed I
Further Reading
Finkel, Caroline. Osman’s Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Basic Books, 2005.
Imber, Colin. The Ottoman Empire, 1300–1650: The Structure of Power. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.
Inalcik, Halil. The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300–1600. Translated by Norman Itzkowitz and Colin Imber. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1973.
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