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diff --git a/old/50821-0.txt b/old/50821-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c7d7147..0000000 --- a/old/50821-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1033 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Causes of the Successes of the Ottoman -Turks, by James Surtees Phillpotts - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Causes of the Successes of the Ottoman Turks - -Author: James Surtees Phillpotts - -Release Date: January 1, 2016 [EBook #50821] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAUSES OF SUCCESSES OF OTTOMAN TURKS *** - - - - -Produced by Turgut Dincer (This file was produced from -images generously made available by Hathi Trust) - - - - - - - - STANHOPE PRIZE ESSAY--1859. - - - - - THE - - CAUSES OF THE SUCCESSES - - OF THE - - OTTOMAN TURKS. - - - BY - - JAMES SURTEES PHILLPOTTS, - - SCHOLAR OF NEW COLLEGE. - -[Illustration] - - OXFORD: - - T. and G. SHRIMPTON. - - M DCCC LIX. - - - - -THE CAUSES OF THE SUCCESSES OF THE OTTOMAN TURKS. - - -By the fall of the Seljukian dynasty in Asia Minor, a vast number of -Turks, scattered over the fertile tracts of Western Asia, were left -without any organized government. The Emirs of the Seljouks in their -different districts tried to set up separate kingdoms for themselves, -but their power was successfully exercised only in making depredations -upon each other. For some time they were under the sway of the Khans of -Persia, but the decline of the Mogul Empire after the death of Cazan, -freed them from this control[1]. During this time of general anarchy, -a clan of Oghouz Turks, under Ertogruhl, settled in the dominions of -Alaeddin, the chief of Iconium. These Turks were of the same family as -the Huns and Avars, and the other Barbarian hordes, whose invasions -had continually devastated Europe for nearly ten centuries[2]; nor had -the energy and restless activity of their race yet begun to fail. They -were all united by the affinity of race, as well as by their language, -and by the common bond of the Sunnite creed. In return for Ertogruhl’s -services in war Alaeddin gave him a grant of territory in the highlands -of Phrygia. The warlike spirit of Ertogruhl’s son Othman, raised him to -the rank of an independent chieftain, and he soon made himself master -of strong positions on the borders of the Greek Empire. With ill-judged -parsimony, the Emperor Michael had disbanded the militia, who guarded -the passes of Mount Olympus, and had thus left Bithynia open to -attack. Orchan, the son of Othman, took advantage of these favourable -occurrences, enlarged his territory at the expense of the Greeks, and -by uniting several of the scattered Turkish tribes under one head, laid -the foundation of the Ottoman Empire. - -Thus the circumstances of the times were throughout eminently -favourable to the Ottomans. The fall of the Seljouk monarchy, and -the consequent diffusion of the Turkish population, had given free -scope to their enterprising spirit. Through the civil wars of the -Byzantine Emperors and the disputes of the Venetians and Genoese, they -were enabled to gain their first footing in Europe. Had Amurath’s -attempt to extend his kingdom over the Christian nations of Thrace and -Roumelia been made in the 11th century, he would have roused all Europe -in common resistance to his rising power. But in 1388, the Servian -confederacy could obtain no aid from Western Christendom. As long as -Richard II. was king of England, and Charles VI. of France--while -Germany was ruled by the dissolute Winceslaus--Amurath had little to -fear from the powers of the West[3]. Spain was too much occupied by -her wars with the Moslems at home to think of the sufferings of her -Christian brethren in the East. Nor was there any danger that the rival -popes of Avignon and Rome would forget their private animosities to -assist in arresting the fall of a distant and schismatical church. - -At the crowning point of their success, the siege of Constantinople -by Mahomet II., the advantages of time were again on the side of the -Ottomans. The Roman pontiff, furious at their obstinacy in refusing -to join the communion of the Latin church, had conceived an aversion -for the Greeks which could hardly be exceeded by any abhorrence of -the Mnssulman’s creed. It might have been expected that he would -rouse himself to prevent the destruction of the Eastern defences -of Christendom, but he chose rather a selfish and inglorious part, -content to foresee and even to foretell the coming overthrow of the -Greek Empire[4]. Thus did the Patriarch of the West, the natural head -of any confederacy for the succour of Constantinople, look on at its -fall with seeming unconcern. Meanwhile the English and the French were -engaged in a quarrel too deadly to be reconciled. The Germans would -not join with the Hungarians, nor would the Spanish have any concert -with the Genoese. In short no coalition of the powers of Europe was -possible. Even the Greeks themselves were too much divided by religious -dissensions to offer united resistance to their Moslem foe, and their -want of union could only be equalled by their cowardice. The valour -of the last Constantine did indeed shed glory over his own particular -fate, but the issue of the struggle could not be doubtful when the -disciplined troops and the famed artillery of the Turk were opposed to -the feeble and disunited force of the enervated Byzantines. - -These external circumstances are important, as having been auxiliary to -the rise of the Ottomans. But the main causes of their success must be -sought in the wisdom of their rulers and in the institutions which they -established. - -Their government was most singularly constituted, and of a character -totally dissimilar to any of the governments of Christendom. The -institutions too from which they derived their solid and lasting power -were for the most part peculiar to themselves. On these institutions -the stability of the Ottoman greatness mainly rested. With their first -appearance it arose; with their gradual development it had grown; as -they were neglected and fell into disuse, the ancient glory of the -Crescent was dimmed, obscured, and finally extinguished. - -Even in the legendary history of the founder of their nation is -shadowed forth the faint outline of their peculiar, policy. By patient -waiting till he attained his purpose, Othman won his wife from an alien -tribe. His expeditions were sanctioned by the blessing of the Holy -Scheik Edebali. From the fruit of these expeditions, from the Christian -captives who were condemned to slavery, was selected the wife of his -son Orchan. A Christian apostate, ‘Michael of the Pointed Beard’ was -the chief of Othman’s captains. - -It was from the example of their founder, they would have us -believe, that they adopted customs of receiving renegades, of foreign -intermarriage, a warlike zeal sanctioned by religion, a system of -slavery-institutions which in later times were the distinguishing -characteristics of their race[5]. It matters not if these accounts -of Othman’s early history be the invention of later times; this -rather shows (since fiction is more philosophical than truth), that -the Ottomans themselves were convinced that it was mainly on the -preservation of these usages that their greatness rested. It was, -however, reserved for the sons of Othman to set the system on a -permanent basis, and to the legislative genius of Alaeddin in the -succeeding reign, was chiefly due the stability of the Ottoman race. - -In general the Asiatic dynasties culminate to their height of power -with a marvellous rapidity, and then, dependent solely on the merits -of their rulers, with no institutions calculated to ensure any lasting -greatness, fall by a decline no less rapid and less marvellous than -their rise. The career of Ottoman conquest lacked the dazzling grandeur -which invests the exploits of Genghis Khan, or Timour, but it was not -destined to be as ephemeral as they. In its slow and cautious advance, -in the gradual organization of conquered provinces, in the unswerving -patience which waited always for the fittest opportunity, it bore no -faint resemblance to the stately march of Roman sovereignty. - -The close of Othman’s life of seventy years saw him but just made -possessor of a single city of importance. It was not till the reign of -Orchan that the Ottomans ceased to acknowledge the sovereignty of the -Iconian Sultans, and first adopted a coinage of their own. The wise -policy of Orchan’s coadjutor, Alaeddin, gave them a respite from war -for twenty years, in which time he consolidated the small kingdom they -had already won, and perfected a system which was to be the instrument -of future conquest. - -It was during this period of tranquillity that the organization of -the army was effected--an organization which, possessing in itself -the various merits of the most invincible forces that have ever been -collected--the asceticism and brotherhood of the Spartan companies, the -mixture of races in the army of Hannibal, the religious zeal of the -English Puritans, and the devotion of Caesar’s 10th legion--added to -all these, two peculiarities of their creed, the absolute subjection of -every individual to the sacred authority of the Sultan, and the warlike -inspirations of a religion that taught them that ‘in the conflict of -the crossing scymetars Paradise was to be won.’ - -It is a remarkable and significant fact, that this abstinence from war -for the long period of twenty years was never repeated by the Ottomans -during the time of their success. That soldiers long unemployed must -become either citizens or rebels is an axiom which must have special -force in a government like that of the Ottomans. War was the normal -condition of their race. It was to this object that not only their -iconoclastic creed, but the whole tenor of their institutions pointed, -and in this aspect they must chiefly be contemplated. - -The feudal system of the Ottomans was essentially military. It was the -device of an aggressive power and was made to answer a double purpose; -to secure the permanency of its conquests, and to supply soldiers for -war. Ottoman feudalism was wholly different from that which prevailed -in Western Europe. The great distinction lay in the fact, that among -the Ottomans all the feudal vassals held their fiefs directly of -the Sultan, or his officers; whereas in Western Europe, between the -sovereigns and the lower tenants was interposed a powerful class, -which always more or less counterbalanced the supreme power. The one -was the division of a kingdom into petty fiefs, the other the fusion -of conquered territories under the sway of one victorious monarch. It -was through the feudal system of the Ottomans, in combination with -their institution of slavery, that war was made to feed war; that every -conquest supplied the means for future conquest. - -The use of the Ottoman system for the supply of soldiers in time of -war may be estimated from the fact, that an armed horseman was required -for every fief of the value of twelve pounds a year, and another for -every additional twenty pounds. In the time of Solyman these fiefs were -able to furnish 150,000 cavalry[6]. The feudal troops were always kept -in readiness, nor was anything required to summon them to the field -but an order of the Sultan to the two Beglerbegs of the Empire from -whom it was communicated to a regular gradation of officers entrusted -with the task of mustering these Spahi, or Cavaliers, in their separate -divisions[7]. This force served without pay. If they fell in battle, -they were honoured as martyrs: if they distinguished themselves, or if -the expedition was successful, they were rewarded with larger gifts of -property. All their hopes of advancement depended upon the Sultan, and -his success in war. They were ready to do his bidding in any part of -the world, for the greater part of every country which they subdued was -divided among the members of their own body. - -It is to this institution of feudalism that we must look for an -explanation of the fact, that the Turkish conquests, unlike those of -other great conquerors, seldom returned to their original possessors. -Immediately an additional piece of territory was gained, it became an -integral part of the Empire. Thus it was that the Sultans were able to -consolidate and unite their dominions, step by step, with every fresh -acquisition of land. In most cases, the conquest of distant territories -has been any thing rather than lucrative to the victorious nation. But -the Turkish conquests reimbursed the Sultan, and enriched the nation; -some portions of land were regularly assigned to the sovereign, and -others became public property. - -Thus the community of the Timarli, or fief-holders, carried out, on -a large scale, the intention of the Roman system of colonise, both -as guarding the dangerous frontiers and ensuring the preservation of -conquered lands. - -But there is one aspect of the Ottoman feudalism which we have not -yet regarded, and which redounds more than any other to their honor. -Toleration of creed, with one remarkable exception, was given to the -conquered Christians, and even in the days of Othman, equal protection -was dealt out alike to Greek and Turk, Christian and Mahometan. This -tolerant and enlightened system induced numbers of the Christians who -dwelt on the borders of the Ottoman Empire to exchange their hard -position, as Hungarian serfs, for that of Rayas under the Turks. - -We have said that there was one most signal exception to the general -toleration of their rule, and this was the institution of the corps -of Janissaries, the Yengi Cheri, or “New Soldiers” of Alaeddin. The -importance of a well-disciplined standing army struck the far-seeing -mind of Orchan’s coadjutor, and to the organization of the army he -gave his chief attention during the twenty years of peace of which -we have spoken. He first formed, of the native Osmanli, a corps of -paid infantry. But it soon appeared that these Turks were too proud -and turbulent to endure the necessary discipline. In this perplexity -we are told that Alaeddin sought the advice of his relative Black -Khalil Tschendereli. Black Khalil’s counsel dictated a device of the -most subtle and effective kind--that the Ottoman army must be formed -out of the children of the conquered Christians, who should be forced -to become Mahometans. By this means, he argued, you will gain troops -which can be schooled to any discipline. To the Mussulman religion -you will gain many converts, while you will prevent any rebellion of -your Christian subjects by the incorporation of the whole strength of -their race with your own forces. The plan was adopted by Alaeddin and -carried out in the next reign by the First Amurath. Amurath’s warlike -spirit, and the lust of conquest that was predominant in his race, led -him to make repeated expeditions against the Sclavonic tribes of Servia -and Bosnia. Among this hardy race he found no treasures of gold and -silver--no spoil for his conquering army--but he found an inexhaustible -supply of brave soldiers[8]. The children who were taken captive in his -wars were immediately disciplined in the schools of the Janissaries, -and in due time drafted into their ranks. Those who were not available -for this purpose, or for the service of the Sultan, were sold as -slaves, and thus brought in a considerable revenue to the Turkish -Emperor. - -As long as the flower of the Christian youth were converted not merely -into Mahometans, but into devoted supporters of the Ottoman power, -any revolt of the Rayas was impossible. In their strict discipline -and continued occupation the proselytes lost all remembrance of their -kindred and their country. With the highest positions in the Empire -open to their ambition, they might well glory in a station that raised -them over the heads of the native Osmanli. The rigorous pride with -which they kept their own body aloof from any foreign admixture may -offer a parallel to that remarkable system by which the proudest -chivalry of Egypt was formed out of Circassian slaves. - -Thus at the court of the Sultan were gathered an abundance of men, -from various nations, devoted only to the common weal of the race into -which they were adopted. Not only were there the prisoners taken in -war, as well as the tithe, so to speak, of Christian children taken -every five years, but from every pacha of the Empire came presents -of slaves to the Sultan[9]. These slaves were divided into different -classes, according to their abilities. Those who were destined for -Janissaries were trained to every exercise that could increase their -physical strength, and inure them to toil and hardship. Others were -educated for the more immediate service of the Sultan, either as his -state-officers or his body-guard. Thus the Turkish armies, though -they were those of an Asiatic nation, were composed of the hardiest -of Europeans. Nor were these Europeans ever suffered to fall into the -enervating habits of Asiatics. They had no homes in which they could be -pampered with Oriental luxury. Their barracks were like monasteries; -their dress the dark robes of monks; their meals the frugal fare of -mountaineers. They were not allowed to take wives; they might ply no -trades; engage in no commerce; nor were any admitted into their body -who had not gone through the regular course of this discipline. At home -they lived as if they were in the camp; in the camp they preserved the -same order, the same discipline as at home. War was the occupation -of their life. They had given no “hostages to fortune;” they had no -domestic ties that could bind them to a peaceful life. Their hopes of -advancement rested on their valour in battle. They were justly proud of -the achievements of their corps, and were stimulated by every motive of -ambition, self-interest, and the love of glory, above all, emulation -to surpass the successes of their predecessors. They knew that the -watchful eyes of the Sultan were on them in the fight, and that every -deed of heroism would meet with its appropriate reward. If he fell, -what recked a Janissary of death, save as the glorious consummation -of his prowess, as the opening of Paradise to the martyr who had won -it[10]? - -The testimony of contemporary writers to the wonderful efficacy of -this remarkable institution is unanimous. Schwendi, a general of their -opponents, owns that the Janissaries had never turned their backs in -battle. Busbequius, the German ambassador, struck with admiration at -their discipline and endurance, warns his countrymen of the nature of -the foe whom they must be prepared to encounter, if they enter a war -with the Turks. Barbaro, an ambassador of the Venetian government, -comments with wonder on the fact that the power of the Ottomans -mainly rested on a corps of compulsory converts from Christianity. -The Venetian Relationi, quoted by Von Ranke, are full of the remarks -of ambassadors expressing their admiration of the whole system of the -Ottoman arms[11]. - -One of the most conspicuous features of their discipline was the -order, temperance, and cleanliness of an Ottoman camp, as constrasted -with the drunken, dissolute, and filthy habits of the armies of -Christendom[12]. Frequently encamped as they were in the pestilential -districts which proved disastrous to the French and English armies at -the commencement of the late Russian war, we can easily understand how -great an advantage over their opponents these wise regulations secured -them in their campaigns. - -The fiery valour of the Christian knights might surpass the more -patient courage of the Ottoman troops, but their pride of birth, and -spirit of independence would not brook the discipline, nor render -the obedience, for which the Janissaries were remarkable; and to -this may be attributed the fatal results of the battle of Nicopolis. -At Kossova the Asiatic wing of the Turkish army had recoiled from -the repeated onsets of the Bosnian king and his warriors, but the -Janissaries ‘fighting with the zeal of proselytes’ against their -Sclavonic brethren recovered the fortunes of the day for Amurath[13]. -At Varna the panic which had spread through the Turkish troops from -the furious attacks of Ladislaus and Hunyades was only checked by the -firm resistance, the unflinching endurance of the Janissaries[14]. When -the desperate and heroic resistance of the last Greek Emperor, and his -few brave adherents, had driven back the Anatolian soldiery, and the -fate of Constantinople was still hanging in the balance, it was their -surpassing valour that turned the scales of victory, bore down all -resistance, and won Eastern Rome for the capital of the Ottoman Empire. - -At the great crises of their history we have seen how it was the -power of the Janissaries that saved the Ottomans; but in every -battle, in every campaign, the possession of a formidable corps of -well-disciplined infantry at a time when their opponents had no regular -infantry at all, gave them a continual advantage. It has been remarked -that the Ottomans never encountered the forces of the only two European -nations who had at this time any organized foot-soldiers[15]. We all -know how the chivalry of France fell before the English bowmen at -Cressy and Poictiers, and how the troops of Austria fled before the -halberdiers of Switzerland, and we may doubt whether the Janissaries -would have been equally invincible had they met the English or the -Swiss on the battle-fields of Servia. - -The institution of the Janissary force must not be considered as a -system of mere cruelty and intolerance. The records of the age tell us -that it was an usual occurrence for Christian parents voluntarily to -bring their sons to the press-gang of the Janissaries, in order that in -due time they might be enrolled in their ranks, while the high offices -which were thrown open to these proselytes of Mahometanism brought -renegades in numbers to the Sultan’s court, where no distinction of -birth or country interfered to mar their fortunes. This system of -the reception of refugees from all countries gained for the Ottomans -many of the greatest names which adorn their history. Of the ten -grand-viziers of Solyman, eight were renegades from Christianity. It -was indeed noted as an unusual circumstance that one of his viziers was -a native Turk[16]. Piale, who defeated the united Christian fleets in -1560 off the isle of Djerbe, was himself the son of Christian parents. -Cicala Pasha, the great commander under the successors of Solyman, -was an Italian by birth, but as aga of the Janissaries became one of -the fiercest enemies of the Christians. And in the earliest times we -find that Evrenos, who under Bajazet and Amurath I. added the greater -part of Greece to the Ottoman dominions, was originally a Christian -chieftain and a guardian of the passes of Mount Olympus. During the -flourishing period of the Empire nearly all the high civil and military -offices were filled by Christian slaves, who had risen either from the -ranks of the Janissaries, or who had been brought up by the Mufti in -the profession of the law[17]. Thus, to use the words of Gibbon, “a -servile class, an artificial people, were raised by the discipline of -education to obey, to conquer, and to command[18].” - -If it be true according to the account we have given of the -constitution of the Empire, that the highest offices of the state were -conferred by the ruling prince on men raised by his own hand from -slavery--that the feudal tenants were subject to a single superior, and -the army directed by a single will,--it is evident that nothing but -the largest capacity for legislation and military command could have -successfully wielded such enormous authority. - -Of the extraordinary genius of the early Sultans there is abundant -proof[19]. The character of Othman was precisely suited for one -who was to be the founder of a dynasty. He was conspicuous among a -warlike tribe for his boldness and independence, and he possessed that -marvellous influence over the minds of those around him, which is one -of the peculiar characteristics of the greatest men. In Orchan we see -the enduring watchfulness, the indomitable resolution which never fails -to attain its object, while in the person of Alaeddin his coadjutor we -may admire the far-sighted legislator, the brightness of whose original -genius shone forth undimmed by the prejudices of an unenlightened -age. By the organization of a standing army he marked out future -conquests for his race, while by the tolerant spirit of his legislation -he ordained that a due protection should be given to the conquered. -Amurath by a series of successful campaigns gained the city of -Adrianople for his capital. Then with admirable prudence he paused for -a while to consolidate his conquests and mature his resources, and thus -paved the way for his final victory at Kossova. The name of Yilderim -or the Thunderbolt testifies to the energy of the First Bajazet, but -it was a just punishment for his overbearing pride in later years that -the Tartar Conqueror Timour was provoked to crush his power on the -field of Angora, and to doom him to an ignominious captivity. The work -of the destroyer was for the time complete, and it seemed as if the -Ottoman power was irrecoverably ruined. But the mould into which their -national life had been cast was not so easily destroyed. The force of -their institutions still remained, and the people were still attached -to the tolerance of their ancient government, and so, after many years -of civil war, the unity of the Ottoman power was easily restored by -the vigorous hand of Mahomet the First. The bold measures of Amurath -II. caused the signal overthrow of his Hungarian opponents at Varna, -and the annexation of Servia and Bosnia in the succeeding reign are -due in great measure to his toleration and prudence. The abdication -of his father gave Mahomet the Second experience in the command of an -Empire at the early age of eighteen, and a double failure as viceroy -secured him wisdom for his sole reign. Setting aside any consideration -of his character, it is impossible to deny his legislative ability -and military genius, in building up the greatness of his nation. -The domestic dissensions of the Empire, under the feebler hand of -Bajazet II., showed how requisite a warlike and energetic Sultan was -to its preservation under its peculiar constitution. Tabriz, and the -subjection of the Mamelukes, were monuments of the ferocious spirit of -the warrior Selim. By ceaseless carnage he made himself master of the -whole of Egypt, took great part of Syria, and added the Caliphate to -the titles of the Ottoman sovereign. At the moment when his cruelty had -nearly driven his people to rebellion, the rise of Solyman furnished a -pillar of strength to the house of Othman. At the time of his reign the -thrones of Europe, as well as those of Persia and India, were occupied -by some of the most powerful sovereigns of modern times. But in “a -century rich with mighty spirits” there are few names which can compare -with that of Solyman the Magnificent, the great lawgiver and commander -of his nation. Under his sway, the dynasty of the Ottoman Turks reached -its zenith. Though the institutions of his predecessors, and the -military organization they had bequeathed, supplied a foundation, yet -it was in great measure to his own genius, vigour, and capacity, that -the mighty fabric of the Ottoman power owed its stupendous greatness, -and that an Empire founded but three centuries before by a few families -of wandering Turkomans, then numbered among its subjects twenty -different races, and nearly fifty millions of inhabitants, and still -survives with wonderful tenacity, after three centuries of decline, -unbroken by a single vicissitude of success. - -Thus for ten successive reigns, with perhaps a single exception, the -throne of the Ottoman Turks was held by men of extraordinary talents. -Nor was this vigour of the early Sultans merely accidental. The strict -discipline to which they were subjected in early years, the attention -that was paid to their education, and their subsequent training in the -council and the field, must all have tended to this result. - -The real weakness of the Ottoman government, its absolute dependence -on a single man, was marvellously compensated and overcome by a -continued succession of vigorous sovereigns. The superiority of a -well regulated constitution over a despotism generally lies in a -comparative equality of ability through all its different members. As -long as absolute power is held by the strong hand of a great man all is -prosperous. But a continued succession of great men rarely occurs, and -when it falls to an irresolute hand to wield the sceptre of despotism -the real weakness of the system appears. In France, the Revolution was -the ultimate result of the exercise of unlimited power, by Louis the -fourteenth; in England, the great Rebellion was the final issue of the -attempt to subject the English people to a despotism. The reason that -the same result did not occur in the case of the Ottomans is to be -found in the historic facts: first, that the later Sultans were, in -the eyes of Mahometans, the successors of the Prophet, as well as the -descendants of Othman; and, secondly, that the Janissaries, like the -Praetorian guards at Rome, jealously prevented their rulers from being -made subject to any power but their own. - -Besides the wonderful efficacy of their military organization and the -talents of their Sultans, there is one point of their history which is -worthy of remark as having tended indirectly towards their success. -The whole tenor of their legislation was much in advance of that of -the European powers in general. English history has often been said -to be a century before that of France, but the history of the early -Turkish Emperors was much more strikingly advanced beyond that of the -other sovereigns of Europe. At the end of the fifteenth century, when, -although the times were not yet ready for the development of popular -right, the oppressions of European feudalism had become intolerable, -the strong hand of despotic sovereigns supplied the only safe guard -against lawless outrage. The aggrandizement of their power at that time -saved the states which they governed. In this respect, however, the -Ottomans were before their age--for whilst the states of Europe were -for the most part impotent through the overbearing spirit of the feudal -nobility, the Ottoman government was vigorously swayed by an Absolute -Monarch[20]. Thus, when England was distracted by the wars of the -Roses, Mahomet the Conqueror was leading his nation on to victory. In -fact, the aggrandizement of the Ottoman Sultans was anterior to that of -the European sovereigns. - -In other points we may notice the same advancement in their history. -Their whole military system was beyond their age. They possessed -disciplined infantry, when a standing army was unknown, and cavalry -had not yet been supplanted by foot-soldiers in the rest of Europe. -They had a regular commissariat department to supply their armies with -the necessaries of war, and a special corps to do the work of Sappers -and Miners, long before such a division of labour was adopted by -Christendom. On the departments of artillery and engineering Mahomet -II. bestowed his special attention. The Ottomans first made regular -approaches in besieging a fortress, and became masters of the Italians -in the art of fortification[21]. - -It is curious also that a nation popularly considered to have -consisted of unenlightened barbarians should have been far in advance -of us in some of the points which we consider as the distinguishing -features of modern European civilization. Every advantage of Free -Trade was allowed to the foreign merchant who traded to the Turkish -sea-ports[22]. A system of municipal government was established -throughout their dominions. A religious toleration beyond the spirit -of the age was carried out towards the Christian population of their -kingdom. In this particular the difference in the spirit of the -Christian and Turkish governments is well illustrated by a traditionary -account of the answers of Amurath and Hunyades, when questioned by the -Servians on the subject of the maintenance of their religion. While -Hunyades is said to have declared that, if victorious, he would compel -them to join the Latin Communion, Amurath’s famous answer was: “I will -build a church near every mosque, and the people shall worship in -whichever they may prefer[23].” - -But it was not to a purer moral principle that the system owed its -origin. The clear sight of their rulers perceived that some toleration -was necessary for the well-being of their composite empire. But the -ruling genius of their creed was not tolerant then, any more than it -is now. The institution of the Janissaries was in accordance with -the tenets of their religion. But the protection of their Christian -subjects was the conciliatory measure of a wise legislator, not of a -devout Mahometan. Oh the one hand the compulsory conversion of a large -portion of their hardier slave-population furnished them with a rich -harvest of soldiers, while their toleration in other respects procured -for them the contentment of their less warlike subjects. - -The truth of the remark of Machiavelli that a man cannot found a -state without opportunities, was not impugned by the rise of Othman -and his dynasty. The divisions of the Seljukians seemed to invite the -exaltation of some new power. A widely diffused Turkish population was -left without a ruler. The imbecility of the Persian and Eastern Empires -afforded ample scope for purposes of aggression. The distracted state -of Christendom prevented any combination against the intrusion of -Mussulmans in Europe. - -Such were the external circumstances that favoured the rise of the -Ottomans. But the great internal Causes of their successes we have -traced to the genius of their early Sultans, and to their military -organization, under which latter head must be included their peculiar -feudal system and the institution of their Janissary corps. There were -other incidental causes of their greatness, such as the warlike spirit -common to the Tartar race and the Mahometan religion, the absolute -position of the supreme head which gave unity to the empire, and its -early progress in prudent legislation. - -The failure of the two great elements of their power mainly caused -their decline. The empire needed vigorous rulers; the Sultans after -Solyman have been characterized by a native statesman as “either fools -or tyrants.” It required a well-disciplined army; but after Solyman, -the discipline of the Janissaries decayed; their very system was -corrupted; they admitted native Turks into their body; they began to -take wives and to ply trades, becoming turbulent citizens rather than -soldiers; and with their decay fell the military organization of the -state. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - - [Footnote 1: Gibbon, vol. viii. p. 20.] - - [Footnote 2: Ibid. vol. viii. p. 2. n.] - - [Footnote 3: Creasy, History of Ottomans, vol. i, p. 43.] - - [Footnote 4: Gibbon, vol. viii. p. 153.] - - [Footnote 5: See an Article in the Christian Remembrancer - for April, 1855, p. 232.] - - [Footnote 6: Creasy, vol. i. p. 327.] - - [Footnote 7: Ranke’s Spanish and Ottoman Empires, p. 1.] - - [Footnote 8: Gibbon, vol. viii. 28.] - - [Footnote 9: Ranke, p. 6.] - - [Footnote 10: Ranke, passim.] - - [Footnote 11: Ranke, p. 7.] - - [Footnote 12: Creasy, vol. i. p. 324.] - - [Footnote 13: Gibbon, vol. viii. p. 30.] - - [Footnote 14: Creasy, vol. i. p. 112.] - - [Footnote 15: Creasy, vol. i. p. 161.] - - [Footnote 16: Hulme’s Chapters on Turkish History (in - Blackwood, July, 1840,) p. 18.] - - [Footnote 17: Von Hammer’s History of the Ottoman Turks, - vol. i. p. 193.] - - [Footnote 18: Gibbon, vol. viii, p. 93.] - - [Footnote 19: Sec Freeman’s History and Conquests of the - Saracens, p. 145.] - - [Footnote 20: For proofs that the Ottoman government was - really absolute, see Robertson’s Charles V. note 43.] - - [Footnote 21: Robertson’s Charles V. note 45.] - - [Footnote 22: Creasy, i. p. 334.] - - [Footnote 23: Creasy, i. p. 114.] - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Causes of the Successes of the -Ottoman Turks, by James Surtees Phillpotts - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAUSES OF SUCCESSES OF OTTOMAN TURKS *** - -***** This file should be named 50821-0.txt or 50821-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/8/2/50821/ - -Produced by Turgut Dincer (This file was produced from -images generously made available by Hathi Trust) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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