The Ottoman Empire at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries

In our study we have made an attempt to consider one of the most difficult and controversial periods of Ottoman history. The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century was the time of the decline of the Ottoman Empire and such figure as Sultan Abdul Hamid II, who is often presented as a tyrant and despot in historiography, is investigated by us on the basis of data from Turkish sources. The period of his reign turned out to be the most difficult period in the existence of the Ottoman Empire. The state was in danger of disintegration and loss of independence. The collapse of Tanzimat reforms forced the sultan to return to traditional oriental values. The course of liberal reforms was abandoned and replaced by conservatism. But it is totally illogical to identify "Abdulhamid conservatism" with despotism. It was a new state ideology, through which the sultan hoped to find a means of restoring the Ottoman Empire's shattered prestige and consolidating his own power in the state. The propaganda campaigns carried out under this doctrine demonstrated the dynamism and flexibility of the Sultan's power, which was able to adapt to the challenges of the era.