The Ottoman Empire In 1301, Uthman, an Uzbek of the Ottoman clan, overthrew the Seljuk aristocracy and proclaimed himself the Sultan of Asia Minor, leading to the creation of the Ottoman empire. The empire will last until the 20 th century. –It expanded westward quite quickly through a series of wars fought by the Janissaries – infantry corps. Islamic ideology – expansion partly to spread the word of Islam. –Istanbul (Constantinople) became the capital of the Ottoman Empire when it was conquered in 1453 by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II. –The end of the Christian Byzantine empire was extremely significant for Christian Europe: Islam has the upper hand.

No growth without expansion The fundamental problem of the Empire was that its economic growth depended too heavily on conquest: the need to find new lands and to control trade routes. –Resources were exploited to the point of exhaustion without any investment in future domestic development. –Dependency on the military for conquest. –Like any empire, it begins to slowly decline due to a combination of domestic problems (the weakening of the central power and administration) and external pressure (the rise of European powers).

The end of the caliphate The Ottoman Empire dominated the Middle East for over 400 years. It was however under pressure from European powers since the 1700s: –Loss of territory in different wars; North Africa is lost quite early (1800s) to the French. The rest of the Empire’s lands are slowly eroded. –Inability to carry out domestic reforms. –Internal rivalries.

World War I and its impact on the region The defeat of the Caliphate in WWI at the hands of France and Britain becomes the final nail in the coffin of the Ottoman Empire: –Middle East is broken up in different states. The new Arab states fall under the control of victorious powers. Not full colonies. The invention of the mandate. The broken promises of Western powers. –Why no independence?

Legacies of the end of the Caliphate Many inhabitants in the region did not accept the arbitrary post-War divisions. –The issue of borders. The ‘state’ is quite early perceived by many as being illegitimate because imposed from outside powers. Ruling elites with no connection to the masses. –Ruling elites chosen by foreign powers. The longing for ‘unity’ becomes a trait of Middle Eastern Politics. –Arab nationalism first and Islamism today. French North Africa is quite different in this respect. –Algeria is the ultimate colonial experience.

The ‘colonial’ state The colonial powers create the essential features of what a modern state is perceived to need: –Central administration with an ‘authoritarian’ character that will make different traditions conform to one set of rules.. –Uniformity of a legal system with no immediate relevance to local customs and traditions. –Internationally recognised boundaries with no real understanding of local linkages. –Military structure as the only support for the state.

The legacy of the ‘colonial’ state The central administration performs ‘colonial tasks’. No legitimacy. The legal system is westernised and does not take into account local practices. No legitimacy. The borders are contested because of arbitrary territorial divisions. No legitimacy. The military apparatus is used for internal repression. No legitimacy.

The legacy of the colonial state II The local allies are wealthy landowners, which rule the countryside as if it were the Middle Ages. –The potential for revolution is set. The strategy of divide et impera. –Internal religious and ethnic divisions are exploited to maintain stability. Christians in a position of privilege. Notions of democracy and rights enter the political discourse, but do not apply to natives. –The negative perception of democracy and human rights. A threat to identity.