The fall of the Ottoman empire
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Most of the middle east is made up of fragments of the old Ottoman empire, which was an unusually long lived empire. Abu and Malik tend to blame western interference for the current state of the middle east, however the fragementation of the empire had many internal causes and began well before the current national boundaries were established.

This article goes into great detail about it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire

In summary, the principle reason for it's longevity was multiculturalism. The empire allowed various ethnic and religious groups significant autonomy and self rule, and tended to interfere only to resolve conflicts between the regions, for example over trade issues. Christians and Jews were welcomed and their contribution greatly benefitted the empire.

There are two main causes of decline. One is that the middle east ceased to be such an important trade corridor, so the empire lost it's stranglehold on trade between east and west. The other was the inevitable conservatism that arises in such long lived empires:

"On the battlefield, the Ottomans gradually fell behind the Europeans in military technology as the innovation which fed the Empire's forceful expansion became stifled by growing religious and intellectual conservatism."

The empire was an empire in the traditional sense. It expanded and contracted largely through military conquest and took as much as it could get away with. In that respect there was nothing immoral about western influence in it's final collapse. The empire had no qualms about interfering in Europe for it's own ends. In fact, Great Britain played a significant role in delaying its final collapse through it's 'balance of powers' doctrine. That is, it didn't want the empire to fall to either the Russians or the Austrians in case they emerged as a new superpower.

The ottoman empire the disgraceful corrupted islamic empire, the only reason it grew was because of its corruption, an empire that never cared for the people. The ottoman empire and TURKEY are very seperate please do not think Turkey is or has relations with the ottoman empire. TURKEY is a secular state Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (Kemalism), is the only man the greatest leader of all time that saved the turkish people and founded turkey while the religious scumbags where selling Turkey to invaders and trying to flee. Religious islamic scumbs belive Ottoman empire will rise and rule Turkey. I say it will never rise ever again, it never rised. Turkish nationalism and kemalist ideology will remain strong in the heart of all people in Turkey.

Welcome to OzPolitic Comrade.

Turkey wants to change its official name to Turkiye and ditch the English version which came in 1923.
Turkiye is a return to post Ottoman and to cement the Moslem presence in the former Greek nation of Anatolia, before it became Byzantiums and then Constantinople.

You know the Greeks and Turks are gonna go all out for it.
The Greeks want it back.

Comrade wrote on Jul 17^th, 2008 at 1:57am:

The ottoman empire the disgraceful corrupted islamic empire, the only reason it grew was because of its corruption, an empire that never cared for the people. The ottoman empire and TURKEY are very seperate please do not think Turkey is or has relations with the ottoman empire. TURKEY is a secular state Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (Kemalism), is the only man the greatest leader of all time that saved the turkish people and founded turkey while the religious scumbags where selling Turkey to invaders and trying to flee. Religious islamic scumbs belive Ottoman empire will rise and rule Turkey. I say it will never rise ever again, it never rised. Turkish nationalism and kemalist ideology will remain strong in the heart of all people in Turkey.

HAHAHAAAA!!!

Not gonna lie, I am jealous of this as an opening gambit

He said it will never rise again. Well guess what.