Rise of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire
The rise of the Western notion of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire[1] eventually caused the breakdown of the Ottoman millet system. The concept of nationhood, which was different from the preceding religious community concept of the millet system, was a key factor in the decline of the Ottoman Empire.
With the decline of the Eastern Roman Empire, the pre-eminent role of Greek culture, literature and language became more apparent. From the 13th century onwards, with the territorial reduction of the Empire to strictly Greek-speaking areas, the old multiethnic tradition, already weakened, gave way to a self-consciously national Greek consciousness, and a greater interest in Hellenic culture evolved. Byzantines began to refer to themselves not just as Romans (Rhomaioi) but as Greeks (Hellenes). With the political extinction of the Empire, it was the Greek Orthodox Church, and the Greek-speaking communities in the areas of Greek colonization and emigration, that continued to cultivate this identity, through schooling as well as the ideology of a Byzantine imperial heritage rooted both in the classical Greek past and in the Roman Empire.[22]
The position of educated and privileged Greeks within the Ottoman Empire improved in the 17th and 18th centuries. As the empire became more settled, and began to feel its increasing backwardness in relation to the European powers, it increasingly recruited Greeks who had the kind of academic, administrative, technical and financial skills which the larger Ottoman population lacked. Greeks made up the majority of the Empire's translators, financiers, doctors and scholars. From the late 1600s, Greeks began to fill some of the highest offices of the Ottoman state. The Phanariotes, a class of wealthy Greeks who lived in the Phanar district of Constantinople, became increasingly powerful. Their travels to other parts of Western Europe, as merchants or diplomats, brought them into contact with advanced ideas of the Enlightenment notably liberalism, radicalism and nationalism, and it was among the Phanariotes that the modern Greek nationalist movement matured. However, the dominant form of Greek nationalism (that later developed into the Megali Idea) was a messianic ideology of imperial Byzantine restoration, that specifically looked down upon Frankish culture, and enjoyed the patronage of the Orthodox Church.[23]
Ideas of nationalism began to develop in Europe long before they reached the Ottoman Empire. Some of the first effects nationalism had on the Ottomans had much to do with the Greek War of Independence. The war began as an uprising against the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. At the time, Mehmet Ali, a former Albanian mercenary, was ruling Egypt quite successfully. One of his biggest projects was creating a modern army of conscripted peasants. The Sultan commanded him to lead his army to Greece and put a stop to these uprisings. At the time, nationalism had become an established concept in Europe and certain Greek intellectuals began to embrace the idea of a purely Greek state. Most of Europe greatly supported this notion, partly because ideas of Ancient Greece's mythology were being greatly romanticized in the Western world. Though the Greece at the time of the revolution looked very little like the European view, most supported it blindly based on this notion.
Mehmet Ali had his own motives for agreeing to invade Greece. The Sultan promised Ali that he would make him Governor of Crete, which would increase Ali's status. Ali's army had considerable success in putting down the Christian revolts at first, however before too long the European Powers intervened. They endorsed Greek nationalism and pushed both Ali's army and the rest of the Ottoman forces out of Greece.
The instance of Greek Nationalism was a major factor in introducing the concept to the Ottomans. Because of their failure in Greece, the Ottomans were forced to acknowledge the changes taking place in the West, in favor of Nationalism. The result would be the beginning of a defensive developmentalism period of Ottoman history in which they attempted to modernize to avoid the Empire falling to foreign powers. The idea of nationalism that develops out of this is called Ottomanism, and would result in many political, legal, and social changes in the Empire.
Role of women[edit]
The Ottoman reforms were enforced to fight the rise of nationalism from within the state and European expansion. The Ottoman state increasingly restricted women including women with a higher status.[63] Women were not allowed to move around and wear what they desired.[63] Therefore, the goals of the reforms stated in the Noble Edict of the Rose Chamber of 1839 and the Imperial Script Hatt-I Hümayun of 1856 were actually only focused on the equality of male subjects of the Sultan in the Ottoman Empire.[63]
However, in the late centuries of the Ottoman Empire, women became more included in debates on the future of the Ottoman Empire.[63] Gender relations started to be re-examined when women started to have a new role in society.[63] The focus on nationalism in the Ottoman Empire changed the whole structure of the Ottoman society. One of the priorities of the Ottoman Empire was the development of the military to prevent the rise of nationalism and to prevent conquest of land belonging to the Ottoman Empire by Russia and Europe. Mobilization by men and women would strengthen the empire politically and economically.[63] Women were responsible for raising the new Ottoman generations.[63] Mothers were creating and maintaining cultural identity and this would support the modernization efforts.[63] Therefore, there was a demand for the improvement of women's education. The new role that women opened the way for women to assert their rights.[63] However, due to the many different ethno-religious communities within the Ottoman Empire there were many differences between communities of women.[63] The women tried to come in contact with each other to spread their ideas from one ethno-religious group to another through formal and informal ways of communication.[63] Educational institutions were spaces were information about the developments in other ethno-religious communities would be shared.[63]
In 1917, the Ottoman Law of Family Rights was part of the Ottoman reform.[64] Some women viewed this reform as a critical moment in time to improve women's rights.[64] However, this was difficult for feminists in the Ottoman Empire, because they did not want to question the role of Islam and did not want to change their own traditions in a period of nationalism.[64] The women strived for a legal reform in their favor, but the Ottoman Law of Family Rights would not change much in expanding women's rights. According to Sijjil records, women were active in Sharia courts as an attempt to change their roles and increase women's rights.[65] The Sharia courts gave women the opportunity to increase their agency.[65]