World History: The Middle East and Imperialism

Egyptian Revolution of 1919

As we have seen in previous World History posts, the nineteenth and early-twentieth century saw European states becoming powerful and proceeding to colonise the rest of the world. The Middle East is often overlooked in this narrative, largely as formal European colonies, outside of North Africa that is, were not formed until after World War One. When they are discussed it is often viewed through the lens of decline, the famous Ottoman Empire, for example, became known as the 'Sick Man of Europe'. However, Middle Eastern states did not simply see exploitation; states tried to negotiate their power and tried to resist foreign exploitation. If we want to understand exactly why the Middle East has become what it is today, it is important to look at this time period. Today's events are either a direct response to the events which we'll discuss today, or the seeds of today's events were planted during this period. As the Middle East and North Africa were an incredibly diverse region split over several different states we'll largely look just at Turkey, Egypt, and Iran, but we will at times discuss other areas of the region - such as the Arabian peninsula.

The Shift - c.1800

The last decade of the eighteenth century and the first of the nineteenth saw a shift in the Middle East. The same year that the French Revolution broke out Selim III became Ottoman sultan, and he wanted the empire to change. Selim saw the height of the Ottoman empire being under Suleiman, and hoped that, through reform, the empire's strength could be resurrected. In a precursor to what will trouble his successors Selim opened embassies in Europe, and invited Europeans to help create a new military called the nizam-i jedid (new order). Previously, the military and bureaucracy had been controlled by the Janissaries who had become so powerful that they could appoint sultans. Selim's reforms proved short lived. Local landowners, who were taxed to fund the nizam-i jedid, and Janissaries were angered by the reforms and deposed Selim in 1806 to be executed the next year. Meanwhile, another great shock impacted another area of the empire - Egypt. Aiming to both cut British access to India and copy his idol of Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded in 1798. Although welcomed by the more reform-minded elite and traders eager to do business with the French, Napoleon's forces quickly upset the locals. When the French forces were stranded after the British destroyed the fleet in Aboukir Bay they became increasingly willing to loot Egyptian cities, they even desecrated important mosques. In 1801 a joint British-Ottoman expedition wiped out the French forces, and in the ensuing power vacuum an Albanian commander called Muhammad Ali was appointed pasha, governor, of Egypt. Muhammad Ali would radically shape Egypt, but the Napoleonic invasion shattered an image of the secure, albeit decentralised, empire. The Ottoman holdings in the Balkans began breaking off - often with European help - with Greece waging a decade long war from 1821.

Meanwhile, a new power rose in Iran. Originally a Turkish tribe in Azerbaijan the Qajars began expanding across Iran - in 1786 the managed to declare Tehran their capital and in 1796 managed to declare the Qajar dynasty. Following the end of the Safavid dynasty in 1736 Iran had lacked a strong dynasty which allowed the Qajars to take control. The first shah, Agha Mohammad, had to give autonomy to many local rulers and institutions. As the Safavids emerged through a Shi'a religious movement this allowed them to have little opposition from the important religious institutions; the Qajars could not claim this and the Iranian mujtahids would offer an alternate source of power to the Qajar shahs. Agha Mohammad would not reign for long - he was assassinated in 1797. Unlike contemporaries in the Ottoman Empire and Egypt, the Qajars would never successfully establish some form of central authority.

Egypt - The First Reforms

Muhammad Ali would establish a dynasty which would rule Egypt, for better or for worse, until the 1950s. Similar to the Ottoman Empire, the Egyptian military and bureaucracy was ran by a class called the Mamluks; like the Janissaries they were the elite of Egyptian society, and became an entrenched class. Unlike Selim III Muhammad Ali would wait until after the dissolving of the Mamluks before creating the nizam-i jedid. After years of slowly chipping away their power, in March 1811 the leading Mamluks were invited for a banquet in Cairo where they were killed enabling Muhammad Ali to dissolve them. With the conservative Mamluks destroyed it allowed Muhammad Ali to reform education, administration, and the military. A European-inspired military and navy were implemented, and attempts to create new military ranks were done through authoritarian means. Expeditions to Sudan were made to enslave 20,000 people in order to create a slave army - brutal treatment and dehumanisation meant that most were killed. As a result, a nizam-i jedid was created in 1822 made out of conscripted peasants, and proved to be the backbone of Muhammad Ali's new army. Expeditions to Sudan were done for gold and slaves, they were sent to Greece in the War of Independence, and even against the Ottomans themselves when they invaded Syria in the 1830s as Muhammad Ali was angered that the sultan had gone back on the promise to award him Crete. Military reforms not the only ones which Muhammad Ali undertook.

Reforms in administration, land, industry, and education were all undertaken. New administrative divisions were created where Muhammad Ali appointed loyalists as governors to rule over Egyptian fellahin (peasants). Furthermore, new government departments were created in War, Navy, Finance, Industry, and Foreign Affairs with specialised schools being established to fill them. It was clear that Muhammad Ali viewed his role in a decentralised Ottoman Empire as being more than just a simple pasha. Similar to Japan and China during this period, students were sent to Europe in order to gain an education, and return to Egypt to serve as bureaucrats. During his rule 311 students were sent to France, Britain, Italy, and Austria in order to fill the new administration. This existed alongside the first Arabic newspaper to be produced in the 1820s, and a printing press to publish educational works in Arabic, Turkish, and Persian. This was to create a literate elite in order to guide Egypt to his idealised 'modern' state. The first tentative steps towards industrialisation also began in order to 'make Egypt part of Europe' - the first factories were made, canals and irrigation were repaired to encourage efficient crop production, and state monopolies were established to ensure the state could gain the profits. By the 1840s a third of the labour force were under state control, and 80% of agricultural produce was in state hands. However, Muhammad Ali's plans were hampered by a lack of resources, like coal, to power the heavy industry which he wanted, and the primarily rural nation meant there were few urban workers needed for industrial work. His invasion of Syria came to a crushing end when Britain helped the central Ottoman state the Egyptians, and the ensuing London Convention forced him to reduce the size of his military in return for having his own dynasty. This would begin European dictation of Egyptian affairs.

The Ottomans and Tanzimat

Fuad Pasha

Attempts to reform the Ottoman Empire did not end with Selim III's murder. A later sultan, Mahmud II, worked to slowly undermine the Janissaries so in 1826 he could wipe them out in the 'Auspicious Incident' of 1826. Under Mahmud a reformer called Mustafa Rashid Pasha became increasingly important, so when Mahmud died in 1839 he could greatly influence the new sultan Abdulaziz. Rashid's protegees Fuad and Ali further allowed the Tanzimat reforms to continue after the death of Rashid. In 1839 the two released the Edict of Gulhane beginning a period known as the 'Tanzimat' - reorganisation. The aim of the Tanzimat was to create a 'modern' Ottoman Empire by reorganising different aspects of society. Despite being a top-down reform movement it paved the way for bottom-up implementation of these ideas in later years. Just like in Egypt, new educational, administrative, and military reforms were implemented to placate both internal separatists and to show foreign powers that the Ottomans were modern. The earliest edicts, including equality before the law regardless of religion, guarantees to property, and a new tax system were possibly done to gain British support against the forces of Muhammad Ali. Later reforms involved simplifying taxation, abolishing the death penalty, developing consultative assemblies, and a wide range of new schools. From 1847 a series of new secular schools were created, and foreign religious schools were also opened to create ties between Europe and the Empire. Mainly, these were Protestant and Catholic mission schools, but there was also the Jewish Alliance Israelite Universelle. Although very conservative the first schools for women were opened in 1863 - like many other women's schools at the time it was created with the idea of creating good Muslim wives and mothers. Some upper-class women were able to study abroad, and religious minorities had access to some mission schools. Christians, for example, had access to the American College for Girls, first opened in 1871, until 1891 when it was opened to non-Christians. One of the major Turkish women's leaders, Halide Edip,  was the first Muslim woman to graduate from there. The traditional religious communities, the ulama, constantly criticised this, and proved to be one of the major undermining factors limiting the Tanzimat.

The aftermath of the 1860 Revolt

The Tanzimat also aimed to create a united Ottoman state. Although the millets, quasi-autonomous communities for minorities, still remained in existence the Tanzimat reduced their autonomy in order to create loyalty solely to the sultan. A key part of this was the rise of nationalism in the Ottoman lands - soon enough Romania and Bulgaria would also break off from the empire. There was also another issue that if Christian communities were attacked it would give foreign powers even more excuses to intervene. During the Tanzimat period the Crimean War broke out as France and Russia clashed over who could intervene in Ottoman affairs. This was particularly frightening for Ottoman officials when looking at Mount Lebanon. The region had long been a site of refuge for religious dissidents, especially Christian Maronites and the Druzes, and the Egyptian invasion would cause clashes. Muhammad Ali's son Ibrahim was placed in charge of Syria - back then a region consisting of modern Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Palestine. The clashes caused resentment which spilled over during the Tanzimat. Maronites became increasingly wealthier thanks to new educational institutes and commercial ties with Europe. The resentment broke out into communal violence in 1860 and to avoid French involvement Fuad Pasha himself went to Mount Lebanon to see that Muslims who killed Maronites were punished. A new political system was made, a mutasarrifiyyah, that was partially guaranteed by European powers. This effectively showed the flaws of the Tanzimat. The reliance on foreign powers meant that the Ottomans became increasingly in their debt. The period came crashing down in 1876. When Abdulaziz tried to reassert his power a political crisis caused his resignation and the introduction of a new constitution, but his successor, Abdul Hamid, was firmly against reform.

Reformers and Radicals

Al-Afghani

Throughout the 1800s new ideas started being spread. In the Arabian peninsula the Wahhabi movement began emerging. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab was educated in Mecca and Medina during the 1700s, and began preaching that Muslims had to return to the teaching of Islam, in the words of Albert Hourani, 'understood by the followers of Ibn Hanbal: strict obedience to the Qu'ran and Hadith...and rejection of all that could be regarded as illegitimate innovations.' Local chieftain Muhammad ibn Sa'ud started supporting the Wahhabi thought, and his presence along key trade routes allowed the spreading of his polito-religious forces, so much so that in 1803 he captured Mecca. As Wahhabi thought declared that the Ottomans were not the protectors of Islam the sultan sent Muhammad Ali to destroy the movement. Although military defeated, Wahhabism became ingrained in the region, and set the stage for the modern Saudi state's religious ideology. Meanwhile, in Iran, emerged Jamal al-Din al-Afghani. Kumari Jayawardena has placed great emphasis on al-Afghani's rhetoric inspiring anti-imperialist and liberatory ideas in the Islamic world during this period. Living across states across Europe and Asia, largely as he kept on being exiled, he called for Pan-Islamic unity and anti-absolutism. In al-Urwah al-Wuthqa he said that Islam had fallen into decadence and stagnation, so they had to abandon superstition and unite with one another. Especially among young Muslims his advocacy against accepting the status quo was well received. An Egyptian student of his, Muhammad Abduh, became a key figure in Egyptian law arguing that modernity and Islam were not mutually exclusive.

There were secular movements to emerge as well. In Turkey a group of scholars, inspired by French writing, formed a group named the Young Ottomans. The key figures in this were Namik Kemal, Ibrahim Sinasi, and Ziya Pasha who all lived in France due to oppression back at home. Sinasi himself even took part in the Paris Revolution of 1848, and in 1862 began a Turkish journal criticising the regime. In particular, they said that all people, regardless of ethnicity and faith, should be welcomed as equal citizens into Ottoman society. The Young Ottomans themselves remained in exile for most of their lives, but their writings would inspire new generations of radicals and reformers. Among them was Fatima Aliye who in 1892 wrote the novel Muhadarat, (Womanhood), stating that traditional culture held women back, and she would help found A Newspaper for Ladies, one of the key early feminist regular publications. In 1889 the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) was formed to resist the Ottoman sultan's repression. They are now better known as the Young Turks. Unlike earlier movements they were firmly secular, nationalist, and pro-West, so much so that some of their rhetoric shows the xenophobia Westerners had towards the Middle East. Ahmad Muhtar stated that 'Either we westernize, or we are destroyed', while Abdullah Cevdet would write 'There is no second civilization; civilization means European civilization and it must be imported with both its roses and thorns.' The Young Turks also proudly called themselves Turkish, something which had previously been used as an insult.

Egypt - Becoming a Colony

Opening the Suez Canal

Despite earlier defeats Egypt tried to rebuild itself, its rulers adopted the title 'khedive' - a distinguished title in Persian. One of the key rulers was Khedive Ismail who had the view that 'Egypt was part of Europe.' He began an expansive and ambitious project designed to bring Egypt closer to Europe, at times quite literally. Capitulations, something which also emerged in the Ottoman Empire and Iran, allowed foreign subjects to not exempt from Egyptian law, instead they answered to the laws of their own country. In order to enter the European market Ismail invested heavily in cotton production during the American Civil War, and it quickly collapsed after the end of the war. A series of new schools aimed to craft an elite along European lines. In 1872 the Dar al-Ulum was formed to retrain religious school graduates along European lines, in 1868 the School of Languages was reopened as a more elitist and European institution, and in 1873 Ismail's wife Jashem Afet Hanum formed the Suyfiyya Girls School which soon had 400 pupils. Most famously is the creation of the Suez Canal. In 1854 Ferdinand de Lesseps was given a concession to construct the canal, and when Ismail became khedive he invested a large fraction of Egypt's wealth into the construction. To much pomp and international celebrations the Suez Canal was opened in 1869, but Ismail had bankrupted the country. With over 60,000 being conscripted to work on the canal this reduced crop output, and taxes for peasants rose by 75% within three years. A negotiation for money with landowners gave him a quick reprieve, but weakened the state's leverage over the landlords. In 1875 he was forced to sell his 44% shares in the canal to Britain, but this didn't stop Egypt from being declared bankrupt in 1876. In 1879 the debts forced him to abdicate in favour of Tawfiq, and soon enough a rebellion broke out. Ahmad Urabi was a fellahin who became important in the army, and was seen as an authentic voice for the Egyptian people. In January 1881 Urabi led a mutiny against a law preventing Egyptians from rising in the army, but it soon evolved into a movement against autocracy and imperial domination. With popular support, 'Egypt for the Egyptians', Urabi was brought into government. Britain and France disliked such a popular nationalist being in power, and used a nationalist riot in June 1882 in Alexandria to invade. Urabi was exiled to Sri Lanka and Britain established the 'veiled protectorate' of Britain.

The Dinshaway Hangings

Lord Cromer was made 'counsel-general' of Egypt, a polite term for the governor as officially the Ottomans still ruled in Egypt. Cromer had a low view of the Islamic states, his diaries from his time in Iran are full of phrases such as 'Oriental despotism.' While some of Cromer's policies can be considered progressive - such as banning the usage of whips - only the wealthy benefited from British rule. Cotton mills were discouraged, as it could compete with British cotton production, but cotton growing was encouraged making fellahin increasingly indebted. Cromer had also been an official in the British Raj, and viewed education as a way that nationalists could be created. As a result he tried to limit the implementation of higher education, and cut funding to build new schools. Only after Cromer left his position was the Egyptian University in Cairo created in 1908. Cromer was further well known for his despotism. While he opposed the construction of schools he was in favour of building prisons, and eagerly used forced labour to enforce his building projects. In 1906 British officers went pigeon shooting, something very dangerous for local peoples who heavily relied on pigeons for their livelihoods. At the village of Dinshaway soldiers clashed with villagers and two soldiers were injured - one died later, largely from heat stroke. Cromer came down hard. The 52 villagers were tried, 34 were convicted, and four were hanged with the remaining 30 being flogged. This caused a national outrage so bad that Cromer was forced to resign. Mustafa Kamil, editor of the paper al-Liwa, formed the Watani Party, made mostly of urban men, to campaign for Egyptian freedom. Following the First World War, when Egyptian lawyer Sa'd Zaghlul formed the wafd, delegation, Egyptians hoped his presence at Versailles could allow the Allied powers to hear their plight. Britain responded by arresting the Wafd's leaders and exiling them to Malta. An uprising, largely led by women, then broke out in 1919 which only stopped when Zaghlul was allowed to attend Versailles.

Iran's Troubles

Rebels in the Constitutional War

The shah through most of the 1800s, Nasir al-Din (1848-1896), like his contemporaries tried to reform the state. However, this was hard for several reasons. Mainly, it was due to the Qajar dynasty having little formal power outside of Tehran. As stated earlier, tribes and religious institutes remained powerful politically and militarily. Through this it was also hard to make them pay taxes so there was a serious lack of funds. When taxes were paid it wasn't to the state. Instead the religious councils collected the zakat taxes, and instead they used it to fund schools. Early on the Cossack Brigade was created in 1879, but it was small at around 3,000 and was dominated by imported Russian officers. An institute of higher learning, the Dar al-Fun, was created in 1851 which was staffed by Europeans, but it remained an extremely elite institute. An observer in the 1870s reported that there were only 70 students. All this was not helped by Nasir al-Din himself - the public widely viewed him as doing nothing and living a life of luxury. Like elsewhere, Iran became a debtor state as foreign states, largely Britain and Russia, began extracting more and more concessions devastating local economies. The bazaaris, merchants, were especially affected as they now were pushed out by European companies. In 1890 Britain was given exclusive right to control Iran's tobacco crop. Al-Afghani, who was an adviser to the shah, resigned and nationalist protests broke out. In 1891 the religious bodies intervened when a Shiraz mujtahid declared that using tobacco went against the Hidden Imam, if anyone was reluctant to join the protests now enthusiastically did so. The shah rescinded the concession within the year, but it did not help him and in 1896 he was assassinated. The Qajars continued to face colonial exploitation; in something which will shape Iran's history William Knox D'Arcy in 1909 was granted oil concessions forming the Anglo-Persiab Oil Company, now called BP. Seeing revolution in 1905 break out in Russia protests broke out demanding economic equality, education, and democracy. From 1906 to 1911 a small scale civil war broke out over whether Iran would have a Madjles, a parliament. Throughout the First World War it would be occupied by the Allied powers to secure their access to the oilfields, and the second Madjles was dissolved. Within a decade the Qajar dynasty was ousted in favour of Reza Khan Pahlavi, a colonel in the Cossack Brigade.

Abdul Hamid and the Young Turks

The end of the Tanzimat was followed by decades of authoritarian rule by Sultan Abdul Hamid, known as 'the Butcher' or 'Red Sultan' for his cracking down on nationalist and reformist/republican movements. The cautious advocacy of secularism, 'Ottomanism' or 'laicism', of the Tanzimat was replaced by an advocacy of Pan-Islam to work for him domestically and internationally. The Ottoman sultan also claimed the title of caliph, so he emphasised this to ensure loyalty to him from his Muslim subjects and as a bargaining chip with foreign powers. There was an implication that, as caliph, he could encourage revolts in their Muslim-majority colonies, so they had to give him concessions. To show that he was a representative of Pan-Islam, but also continuing some Tanzimat policies, the Hijaz railway was constructed connecting Medina to Damascus, and 51 new secondary schools were constructed in the Asian provinces. However, there were subtle limits to this. The schools were taught along European lines and were centralised - this limited the impact religious institutions had on education. Railways were also constructed connecting Istanbul to Vienna creating the renowned 'Oriental Express', and ties were created with Germany. A Berlin-to-Baghdad railroad was formed as a result, and Kaiser Wilhelm II even performed two state visits. However, Abdul Hamid was not known for peaceful rule. Political opponents were often forced to go into exile to avoid repression, and the CUP were largely based elsewhere until the 1900s. Nationalism also resulted in brutality. Despite his advocacy for Pan-Islam, Arabs became distrustful of Ottoman rule when Abdul Hamid replaced influential Arabic families who were pro-Tanzimat with his own supporters - something seen as 'Turkifying' the Arabic areas. Throughout the 1890s Armenian nationalist uprisings resulted in Abdul Hamid massacring Armenian villages, and Greece declared war in 1897 thanks to the repression of an uprising on Crete. He was also almost assassinated in 1905 by Armenian nationalists. His repression led to the growth of nationalism across the empire - when the First World War broke out Arabs soon revolted to create their own state and Armenians also attempted to ally Russian troops.

Troops stationed in Salonika, the Third Army, were sympathetic to the CUP and opposed the sultan, so they staged a revolt in 1908 inspired by Ottomanism. Abdul Hamid won some support back for allowing elections, a demand of the troops, but a counterrevolution broke out to restore the sultan's power. The Third Army formally deposed him, and to keep with Ottomanism, sent a delegation consisting of two Turks, an Armenian, and Jewish officer were sent to inform the sultan of his deposition. However, the CUP was heavily divided between liberals and conservatives which was made worse when Balkan states in 1912 took over the European lands. In 1913, a triumvirate under Enver, Talat, and Jamal Pasha (they were unrelated, until the Ataturk era your job title was your family name), took control. They would move between authoritarianism and reformism which helps explain why it became to embrace a specifically Turkish identity. For example, Arabs saw the replacement of Hamidian era notable Arabic families as further attempts to Turkify the empire. Through this, we can see why in the First World War they began seeing the Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian population as a fifth column beginning a genocide - a topic for a later post.

Aftermath and Conclusion

Women in Egypt, 1919

The events which we have discussed today have set the stage for the Middle East's history up until today. Nationalism would lead to genocide of Armenians and the breaking up of the Ottoman Empire, however, the legacy of European intervention meant that many of the former parts of the empire became colonies. The aspirations of Arab nationalists to create a united Arabic nation was squashed by the Sykes-Picot Agreement dividing the area between British and French colonies - these colonies would later be further divided. The reformist movements would bring to power new movements which would shape today. The new Pahlavi dynasty in Iran would continue to grant foreign powers concessions spurring an anti-imperialist movement - from both Leftists and Islamic forces (sometimes they were the same). From the CUP emerged the reformist Mustafa Kemal, later known as Ataturk, and, according to Serif Mardin, would complete the ideas set forth in the Tanzimat. Since then the divide between Kemalism and its opponents have been a characteristic of Turkish thought. The Middle East as we know it began to take shape during this period, for better or for worse.

The sources I have used are as follows:
-William Cleveland and Martin Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, Sixth Edition, (Boulder, CO: 2016)
-Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples, (London: 1991)
-Kumari Jayawardena, Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World, (London: 1986)
-Betty Anderson, A History of the Modern Middle East: Rulers, Rebels and Rogues, (Stanford, CA: 2016)
-Timothy Mitchell, Colonising Egypt, (Berkeley, CA: 1988)
-Ervand Abrahamian, A History of Modern Iran, (Cambridge: 2008)
-Serif Mardin, 'Ideology and Religion in the Turkish Revolution', International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 2:2, (1971), 197-211
-Nicole Pope and Hugh Pope, Turkey Unveiled: A History of Modern Turkey, (Woodstock, NY: 2004)
-Yaseen Noorani, Culture and Hegemony in the Colonial Middle East, (New York, NY: 2010)
-John Galbraith and Afaf Latfi al-Sayyid-Marsat, 'The British Occupation of Egypt: Another View,' International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 9:4, (1978), 471-488
-A.G. Hopkins, 'The Victorians and Africa: A Reconsideration of the Occupation of Egypt, 1882,' The Journal of African History, 27:2, (1986), 363-391

Thank you for reading, and next time we'll be looking at settler colonialism in Australia and New Zealand. For other World History posts we have a list here, and for future blog updates please see our Facebook or catch me on Twitter @LewisTwiby.