Life as an Ottoman Subject During the Reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II: The Resurrection of a Constitution
The power of the Ottoman Sultan knew no bounds, and the consequences of Abdulhamid II’s poor authority were felt by everyone but the Sultan. Anyone who supported the 1876 Ottoman Constitution was not an aid to the Sultan either which can be seen by the fact that he revoked the Constitution’s power early in his reign. All levels of people were affected by the Sultan’s expectations and actions, at the least from the removal of the Constitution. However, the calibre of change was dictated by each individual’s position within Ottoman society. It is the goal of this paper to explore multiple tiers of the Ottoman societal system to see how Abdulhamid II influenced his government and its officials, civilians of different classes and religions, and international affairs. Daily life for all of these parties was affect by sultanic dictation, and …show more content…
The espionage deployed by Abdulhamid II was used to spy on members of his own court. No one under the employment of the Sultan was believed to be above espionage, and anyone could be an informant. Abdulhamid II would even go so far as to hire people who would have to work closely together that Abdulhamid II knew did not get along. The Sultan hoped that this would encourage officials to report suspicious behaviour to him instead of ignoring it out of comradery. Part of the Young Turk’s demands during their revolution was to reveal all interior spies so as to create an environment that all government officials could navigate that was based on trust and loyalty. The complex network of spies that Abdulhamid II encouraged to be informants illustrate his lack of trust in the population, and especially in the people that he chose to elect for government
The power of the Ottoman Sultan knew no bounds, and the consequences of Abdulhamid II’s poor authority were felt by everyone but the Sultan. Anyone who supported the 1876 Ottoman Constitution was not an aid to the Sultan either which can be seen by the fact that he revoked the Constitution’s power early in his reign. All levels of people were affected by the Sultan’s expectations and actions, at the least from the removal of the Constitution. However, the calibre of change was dictated by each individual’s position within Ottoman society. It is the goal of this paper to explore multiple tiers of the Ottoman societal system to see how Abdulhamid II influenced his government and its officials, civilians of different classes and religions, and international affairs. Daily life for all of these parties was affect by sultanic dictation, and …show more content…
The espionage deployed by Abdulhamid II was used to spy on members of his own court. No one under the employment of the Sultan was believed to be above espionage, and anyone could be an informant. Abdulhamid II would even go so far as to hire people who would have to work closely together that Abdulhamid II knew did not get along. The Sultan hoped that this would encourage officials to report suspicious behaviour to him instead of ignoring it out of comradery. Part of the Young Turk’s demands during their revolution was to reveal all interior spies so as to create an environment that all government officials could navigate that was based on trust and loyalty. The complex network of spies that Abdulhamid II encouraged to be informants illustrate his lack of trust in the population, and especially in the people that he chose to elect for government