A Concise History of the Middle East

158 • 10 EUROPEAN INTERESTS AND IMPERIALISM

the capital of the Habsburg Empire; in 1699 they signed a treaty at Kar-

lowitz, ceding Hungary to the Habsburgs and the Aegean coast to the Vene¬

tians; in 1718 they gave up more of their European lands; in 1774 they lost

the Crimea and allowed Russia to speak on behalf of their Orthodox Chris¬

tian subjects; and in 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte occupied Egypt and invaded

Palestine. Meanwhile, other Muslim dynasties, such as the Timurids (Mu-

ghals) of India, the Safavids and their Persian successors, the Central Asian

Uzbeks, and the Sharifian rulers of Morocco, were also fading before the

mounting might of eighteenth-century Europe. But the Ottomans were

closest to the new powers, had traditionally fought as ghazis for Islam, and

stood to lose the most if the Europeans partitioned their lands.

Some Symptoms and Causes

Some popular histories may tell you that the Ottoman rulers cared nothing
for their empire's fate. Enchanted by the charms of the harem, dulled by
wine or hashish, hamstrung by janissary revolts or quarreling court fac¬
tions, the sultans lost interest in maintaining their regime or defending
their lands. By the same token, the venal viziers tried to keep the sultans out
of their way, in order to profit from the corruption of the system. Bureau¬
crats bought their offices and sold subordinate posts to others, while every¬
one in power gouged the poor peasants and workers on taxes and fees
(which were really assessed bribes). The janissaries, who should have been
the backbone of the Ottoman army, became a hereditary caste of mer¬
chants and artisans who failed to maintain their training regime or to learn
how to use such modern weapons as muskets and bayonets. Worse, they
overturned their soup pots and went on a rampage if anyone dared to call
for reforms. As long as the state fed and paid them, they saw no need to
reform or to let other troops take their place. The ulama became juhala (ig¬
noramuses) steeped in superstition and oblivious to the growth of knowl¬
edge taking place in Europe. Landowners and merchants were robbed by
brigands, against whom they had no protection. Peasants suffered from ra¬
pacious landlords and tax-farmers; many ran away to become brigands
themselves. So turned the sad cycle. The easy answer is to blame incompe¬
tent or impotent sultans. As the Turks used to say: Balik baçdan kokar (the
fish stinks from the head).

The Reforming Sultans and Viziers

There is, as usual in such popular accounts, a germ of truth in all this. The sul¬
tans were getting worse. No one denies the insanity of Sultan Ibrahim