pa rt I V
th through th Centuries
Modernity, Mass Politics, and Nationalism:
From Empire to Nation-State
The final century of the Ottoman Empire’s existence constitutes the last pe-
riod of major transformation and crisis within the empire resulting from the
combination of internal crises, European imperialism, and Ottoman state re-
forms. In many cases the reforms enacted to save the state facilitated its dismem-
berment and demise by 1922. In the aftermath of the empire’s defeat at the hands
of Russia in 1774 and the occupation of Ottoman Egypt by Napoleon’s forces in
1798, sultans and administrators realized that the empire was no longer the most
powerful Eurasian state and was in need of serious reform if it hoped to survive,
compete, and thrive in the emerging modern world system of economics and
nation-states in which certain European empires constituted its most powerful
states. This era, often referred to by scholars as “Modernity,” is the sum total of
the changes brought about by a territory’s incorporation into the modern world
system through the spread of capitalist market relations and the adoption of new
methods of governance and nationalism aimed at centralizing and expanding at
unprecedented levels the state’s authority over all facets of society.
This era of massive transformation, often referred to as defensive modern-
ization, began in earnest during the reigns of Sultans Selim III and Mahmud II
(in total, from 1789 to 1839). This was a period of profound change not only in the
Ottoman Empire but throughout the world, especially in Europe. The French
Revolution and subsequent Napoleonic Wars greatly affected not only the Eu-
ropean balance of power but also the Ottoman Empire’s place within it. During
the reign of these two sultans the Ottoman Empire experienced a new wave of
imperial restructuring on an unprecedented scale, including attempts to mod-
ernize its famed military forces and create a national monarchy. It was also dur-
ing this period that major nationalist revolts first took place in the empire among
its Serbian- and Greek-speaking populations. Also, a push for greater autonomy
within the empire by Mehmed Ali Pasha in Egypt and his extensive moderniza-
tion efforts set a precedent and example for imperial reforms adopted by Otto-
man Sultans throughout the rest of the nineteenth century. Ottoman attempts at