Fall of The Ottoman Empire - The Decline Theory

The Decline Theory

Berkes was one of the first writers in the 1960s to summarise the works on Ottoman socio-economic history. He suggested one of the reasons for Ottoman economic decline was the inability of the ruling class to make a clear choice between war and the more conventional types of capital formation. Berkes' work however focused on the confrontation of the Ottomans and the Europeans, and though important, had little detail on the commercial activities of the state.

Itzkowitz and İnalcik state Ottoman writers attributed the Empire’s troubles to the dissolution of the circle of equity, erosion of the sultan’s authority, disruption of the timar system and the demise of the devshirme, "describing symptoms rather than causes". They argue causes comprised geographical and logistical limitations, population growth after the 16th century, inflation due to influx of Peruvian silver and the end of profitable conquests. Itzkowitz states, "the state could find no remedy" to these problems, and İnalcik, "As a result of these upheavals, the Ottoman Empire of the seventeenth century was no longer the vital empire it had been in the sixteenth" – however neither show the issues remained a long-term problem.

Several factors contributed to the Empire's decline:

• The European powers wanted to expand
• Corrupt religious opposition to critical thinking; the corrupt ulema wanted to "protect" their position as heads of state. They discouraged creativity to keep the populace from information that might be disseminated through books other than the Koran. Muslims had been aware of the printing press since the 15th century, but it was not until 1727 –- 272 years after Gutenberg -- that the Şeyhülislam released a fetva decreeing its compatibility with Islam.
• Economic problems:
  • Competition from trade from the Americas
  • Competition from cheap products from India and the Far East
  • Development of other trade routes
  • Rising unemployment within the Empire
• Government problems:
  • Ottoman Empire became less centralised, and central control weakened
  • Sultans being less severe in maintaining rigorous standards of integrity in the administration of the Empire
• Political problems:
  • Sultans becoming less sensitive to public opinion
  • The low quality Sultans of the 17th and 18th centuries
  • The ending of the execution of Sultans' sons and brothers, imprisoning them instead
  • This apparently humane process led to men becoming Sultan after spending years in prison — not the best training for absolute power