War by Revolution. Germany and Great Britain in the Middle East in the Era of World War I

8 WARBYREVOLUTION

forthesecondtimeinnineyears toTurkey,whereheembracedpub-
liclytheworldofIslamanditspeople.Thekaiser,accordingtoBulow,
whoaccompaniedtheemperortoTurkey,heldan"excessiveenthu-
siasmandexaggeratedzealforeverythingTurkishandMoham-
medan.?"
Thereasonsfor hisfascinationwiththeOrient(awordusedby
nineteenth-centuryEuropeanstodescribethe"Eastern"orMiddle
Easternworld)andIslamwerevarious.Ontheonehand,Wilhelm's
viewsreflectedtheattitudesandprejudicesofmostGermansatthe
time.PartlybecauseGermanyhadarrivedlaterintheMiddleEast
thanhadtheBritishandFrenchandpossessedfar lessfirsthandex-
periencewithit,theOrientforGermansseemedalmostexclusively
anacademic,evenromantic,phenomenon.Also,thekaiser,likemost
GermansandEuropeans,spokeofMuslimsinmonolithictermsand
assubjectsofthesultan-caliph.WilhelmviewedIslamas aunifying
forcethatbeckonedtotruebelieverswiththeappealofasetofide-
als,theattractionofwhichhecomparedtothespellofthevirtuesof
oldPrussia.Thekaiseradmiredthedespoticruleofthesultan,be-
lievingitemanatedfromGod,whomthesultanservedasearthlyre-
gent.^27
Ontheotherhand,practicalreasonsalsofueledthekaiser'sinter-
estintheOrient.ForhimTurkeyservedas avehiclebywhichthe
ReichcouldopposerivalGreatPowersandalsoenhanceitsforeign
trade(whichhadsteadilyimprovedwiththeOttomanssincetheend
ofther880s).WilhelmintendedhisfirstvisittoConstantinoplein
Juner889tocultivatethesultanas an ally,atatimewhenhebelieved
RussiawasGermany'sprincipalenemy."Hehadbeenencouragedto
visitTurkeybyreportsinthefallofr898fromAdolfFreiherrMarschall
vonBieberstein,theambassadorinConstantinople,thatthesultan
wishedtoextendtheAnatolianrailroadtowardAleppoandBaghdad,
possiblyusingGermanfinancingandbuilders.Attheembassya feel-
ingexistedthatGermanyshouldquicklyseekthenewrailroadcon-
cession,mainlybecauseofpotentialcompetitionfromotherGreat
Powers,likeBritainandFrance."
ButtheTurksalsohadaspecialinterestinGermanybuildingthe
newsectionoftherailroad.Apartfromtherailline'seconomicvalue,
thesultan,Abdul-Hamid,intendeditforpoliticalandmilitaryuse,