Eleanor Finch
The Young Ottomans, also known as the New Ottomans, were a group of 19th-century reformers who sought to liberalize the Ottoman Empire to ensure its survival. They believed in the concept of Osmanlilik, or Ottoman nationality, and advocated for a constitutional monarchy that would limit the sultan's powers. The Young Ottomans, some of whom were members of the royal family, wanted to fuse traditional Muslim government with Western approaches to parliamentary systems. They supported civil secular rule, the separation of religion from government, and human rights for all diverse religious and ethnic peoples of the empire. They also believed that a constitution would negate any motivation for non-Muslim subjects to join nationalist separatist organizations, thus removing any justification for intervention in the empire by Great Powers.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Rule of law | Wanted to replace arbitrary royal rule |
| Civic universalism | Wanted to end separate communal spheres for Jews, Christians, and other non-Islamic religious groupings |
| Separation of powers | Wanted to transfer power from the sultan and the appointed Senate to the popularly-elected lower house |
| Secularism | Supported civil secular rule with a separation of religious participation in government |
| Human rights | Wanted to guarantee human rights for all the diverse religious and ethnic peoples of the empire |
| Nationalism | Wanted to foster Ottoman nationality, or Osmanlilik, with equality for all citizens |
| Liberalism | Wanted to liberalize the Ottoman Empire to ensure its survival |
| Reform | Wanted to reform society and politics along Western lines |
| Parliamentary system | Wanted to fuse Muslim traditional government with a Western approach to a parliamentary system |
| Constitutional monarchy | Wanted to limit the powers of the sultan |
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What You'll Learn
To liberalise the Ottoman Empire
The Young Ottomans, also known as the New Ottomans, were a group of 19th-century reformers who sought to liberalise the Ottoman Empire to ensure its survival. They were made up of Ottoman intellectuals, some of whom were in the royal family, and were led by a former provincial governor, Midhat Pasha. They wanted to fuse traditional Muslim government with Western approaches to parliamentary systems.
The Young Ottomans supported civil secular rule with a separation of religious participation in government. They believed in the concept of Osmanlilik, or Ottoman nationality, which meant the attachment to freedom and fatherland with the equality of all citizens. They also stressed the importance of human rights for all the diverse religious and ethnic peoples of the empire.
The Young Ottomans believed that a constitution would negate any motivation for non-Muslim subjects to join nationalist separatist organisations, and therefore negate any justification by the Great Powers to intervene in the Empire. They wanted to continue the Tanzimat reforms and applied the concept of Osmanlilik to a sweeping program of constitutional change. They attempted to use language acceptable to a Muslim society, translating European works into Ottoman Turkish and engaging in lively debates about French philosophy and political theory in intellectual salons in Istanbul and elsewhere.
The Young Ottomans' program was outlined in Mustafa Fazil Pasha's letter to Sultan Abdul Aziz, which included a statement of loyalty to the empire coupled with demands for reforms. The group also used journalism to disseminate their ideals, with members writing public letters urging reforms. They believed that the secret of Europe's success rested not only with its technical achievements but also with its political organisations.
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To ensure the Empire's survival
The Young Ottomans, also known as the New Ottomans, were 19th-century reformers who sought to ensure the Empire's survival by continuing the Tanzimat reforms. They wanted to liberalize the Ottoman Empire and applied the concept of Osmanlilik, or Ottoman nationality, to a broad program of constitutional change. Osmanlilik represented an attachment to freedom and fatherland, with the equality of all citizens. The Young Ottomans supported a civil secular rule with a separation of religious participation in government, and they stressed the importance of human rights for all the diverse religious and ethnic peoples of the empire.
The Young Ottomans believed that a constitution would negate any motivation for non-Muslim subjects to join nationalist separatist organizations, and therefore negate any justification by the Great Powers to intervene in the Empire. They attempted to fuse Muslim traditional government with essentially Western approaches to parliamentary systems. They translated European works into Ottoman Turkish and, in intellectual salons in Istanbul and elsewhere, they engaged in lively debates about French philosophy and political theory.
The Young Ottomans' program was outlined in Mustafa Fazil Pasha’s letter to Sultan Abdul Aziz, which included a statement of loyalty to the empire coupled with demands for reforms. Other Young Ottomans included Ali Suavi, a teacher from a merchant family who was in charge of the first Young Ottoman publication, and Sadik Rifat Pasha, who had been educated in the Palace School and worked in the Ottoman civil service. While in Austria, Sadik wrote public letters urging reforms. Another Young Ottoman, Ibrahim Sinasi, studied in France and was a friend of Samuel de Sacy, the son of the noted Orientalist Sylvestre de Sacy. He also knew the poet Alphonse de Lamartine.
The Young Ottomans' efforts culminated in the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, led by the Young Turks, an opposition movement that wished to see an end to Sultan Abdul Hamid II's authoritarian regime. The Young Turks put the 1876 constitution back into effect, marking the Second Constitutional Era which lasted from 1908 until after World War I when the Ottoman Empire was dissolved.
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To fuse Muslim traditional government with Western parliamentary systems
The Young Ottomans, also known as the New Ottomans, were a group of 19th-century reformers who sought to fuse Muslim traditional government with Western parliamentary systems. They wanted to liberalize the Ottoman Empire to ensure its survival and applied the concept of Osmanlilik, or Ottoman nationality, to a program of constitutional change. This concept represented an attachment to freedom and fatherland, with the equality of all citizens. The Young Ottomans advocated for a civil secular rule that separated religious participation in government, and they stressed the importance of human rights for all the diverse religious and ethnic peoples of the empire.
The Young Ottomans used journalism and public letters to disseminate their ideals and urge the Ottomans to regenerate their society. They translated European works into Ottoman Turkish and engaged in debates about French philosophy and political theory in intellectual salons in Istanbul and elsewhere. They believed that the secret to Europe's success lay not only in its technical achievements but also in its political organizations.
A leading Young Ottoman supporter, Midhat Pasha, framed a constitution that would transform the sultan into a constitutional monarch. This constitution awaited the signature of Abdul Hamid II when he became sultan in 1876. Although Abdul Hamid was not committed to parliamentary government, he was compelled to implement the constitution as a provision of becoming sultan. The constitution provided for a bicameral legislature, modelled on the European system, with a statement regarding the rights of man.
The first Ottoman parliament opened in 1877, composed of 25 officially nominated senators and 120 deputies elected with official pressure and general indifference. However, Sultan Abdul Hamid II used the excuse of war with Russia to dissolve the parliament in 1878, marking the end of the Young Ottomans. Future reformers were censored and repressed under Abdul Hamid's rule.
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To establish civic universalism in government
The Young Ottomans, also known as the New Ottomans, were a group of 19th-century reformers who sought to liberalize the Ottoman Empire to ensure its survival. They were composed of intellectuals, bureaucrats, officers, and even members of the royal family. The Young Ottomans supported secular civil rule with a separation of religious participation in government, and they believed in human rights for all the diverse religious and ethnic peoples of the empire.
The Young Ottomans wanted to establish civic universalism in government, which ran counter to the separate communal spheres for Jews, Christians, and other non-Islamic religious groupings. They believed that a constitution would negate any motivation for non-Muslim subjects to join nationalist separatist organizations, thus removing any justification for intervention in the Empire by the Great Powers. The Young Ottomans applied the concept of Osmanlilik, or Ottoman nationality, to a sweeping program of constitutional change. Osmanlilik meant the attachment to freedom and fatherland with the equality of all citizens.
The Young Ottomans attempted to fuse traditional Muslim government with Western approaches to parliamentary systems. They translated European works into Ottoman Turkish and engaged in debates about French philosophy and political theory. A leading Young Ottoman, Midhat Pasha, framed a constitution that would make the sultan a constitutional monarch. This constitution was implemented when Abdul Hamid II became sultan in 1876, and it provided for a bicameral legislature along the European model, with a statement regarding the rights of man.
The Young Ottomans' program was outlined in Mustafa Fazil Pasha's letter to Sultan Abdul Aziz, which included a statement of loyalty to the empire coupled with demands for reforms. Other prominent Young Ottomans included Sadik Rifat Pasha, Ibrahim Sinasi, Ziya Pasha, and Namik Kemal. They used journalism and public letters to urge reforms, and their writings are still studied in present-day Turkey.
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To negate justification for intervention in the Empire
The Young Turks, or Young Ottomans, were a group of intellectuals who sought to liberalize and rationalize Ottoman society and politics along Western lines. They believed that a constitution would negate any justification for intervention in the Empire by the Great Powers. The Young Turks wanted to see an end to Sultan Abdul Hamid II's authoritarian regime, believing him to be an illegitimate sultan due to his giving away of Ottoman territories and his lack of confrontational approach to the Great Powers.
The Young Turks' belief in the need for a constitution to prevent intervention in the Empire was not unfounded. In 1876, the Ottoman Empire adopted its first constitution, which was written by members of the Young Ottomans, particularly Midhat Pasha. However, after an unsuccessful war with Russia, Sultan Abdul Hamid II suspended the constitution and prorogued parliament, ruling as an absolutist monarch for the next three decades. This suspension of the constitution and consolidation of power provided the Great Powers with an opportunity to intervene in the Empire.
The Young Turks wanted to prevent this from happening again and believed that a constitution would be key to achieving this. They argued that a constitution would negate any motivation for non-Muslim subjects to join nationalist separatist organizations, thereby removing any justification for intervention by the Great Powers. The Young Turks saw the constitution as a way to establish civic universalism in the Ottoman government, moving away from the separate communal spheres for Jews, Christians, and other non-Islamic religious groupings that had previously existed.
The Young Turks' efforts to restore the constitution and implement reforms in the Empire were met with resistance. While they successfully overthrew Sultan Abdul Hamid II in the 1908 Young Turk Revolution, they faced an attempted countercoup in 1909. Despite this, the Young Turks were able to put the 1876 constitution back into effect, marking the beginning of the Second Constitutional Era. This era, however, was plagued by interventionist and exploitative pressures similar to those that had hampered Abdul Hamid II's rule.
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Frequently asked questions
The Young Ottomans, also known as the New Ottomans, were a group of 19th-century reformers who wanted to liberalize the Ottoman Empire to ensure its survival. They believed in the concept of Osmanlilik, or Ottoman nationality, and wanted to implement a sweeping program of constitutional change.
The Young Ottomans supported civil secular rule with a separation of religious participation in government. They also stressed the importance of human rights for all the diverse religious and ethnic peoples of the empire. They believed that a constitution would negate any motivation for non-Muslim subjects to join nationalist separatist organizations, and therefore negate any justification by the Great Powers to intervene in the Empire.
The Young Ottomans used journalism and public letters to disseminate their ideas and urge the Ottomans to work towards regenerating their society. They also translated European works into Ottoman Turkish and engaged in debates about French philosophy and political theory in intellectual salons in Istanbul and elsewhere.
The Young Ottomans' program was outlined in Mustafa Fazil Pasha's letter to Sultan Abdul Aziz, which included a statement of loyalty to the empire coupled with demands for reforms. The group was led by Midhat Pasha, who framed a constitution that provided for a bicameral legislature along the European model, with a statement regarding the rights of man. This constitution was implemented when Abdul Hamid II became sultan in 1876, marking the beginning of the First Constitutional Era (1876-1878). However, Abdul Hamid suspended the constitution in 1878 after a war with Russia, and the Young Ottomans' efforts were censored and repressed under his rule. It wasn't until the Young Turk Revolution of 1908 that the constitution was restored, marking the Second Constitutional Era.
