Military Revolution and Ottoman Reforms
The Ottomans’ state change and firearms in the 17th century
From an orientalist perspective, the Eastern State is despot, lawless and static. This state experiences a continuity that exceeds centuries with a despot at its head. In this eastern state, everything is the property of the sultan. People themselves and the state’s structure exist independently of time. It constantly resists demographic, economic, and technological changes. So, the state was remaining unchanged for centuries.
However, recent scientific findings have denied this view. When looking carefully at the historical developments, contemporary thinkers see that the Eastern State, the Ottoman Empire, which Westerners first thought of, was not static.
Ottomans and Administration Reforms
The Ottomans also underwent various changes within the state structure. In particular, the changes triggered by military technologies have had a profound effect on the Ottomans. Besides, which country can be resisted such a military modify? Neither France nor Japan has been indifferent to the development of military techniques. The French Revolution came about as a conclusion of the threat of war linked to improvements in Britain. The Restoration of Japan’s Meiji was the cause of defensive concerns caused by the docking of US steam warships off the coast of Japan.
The reason the fact that changes in military techniques cause such profound changes is fear of life. Because of the evolution of styles, the emergence of superior technology gives the advantage to the party that uses it, and the disadvantage in war brings death. Ultimately, the desire for escape from the end also shakes the so-called most unshakable structures. Hem social and public institutions cannot resist the fear of death. Any change can be discussed by society and implemented when the time is right to avoid extinction. Therefore, the issue is not the change itself but its timing and how administrators implement it. Those who miss the timing or are cowardly reluctantly implement change fail. In the end, Ottoman history offers us similar experiences. In other words, the Ottoman Empire has undergone radical changes in the face of military changes.
Fire Guns in the Ottoman Army
Firstly, Ottoman Empire had an establishment period. Then, the era took on a new phase with Mehmed the Conqueror, and this new phase is called the classical age by historians. At the beginning of the Classical Age, the effect of a new military technique, namely fire guns, is undeniable. Already the conquest of Istanbul had made thanks to fire guns.
In this respect, Ottomans increasingly included firearms in the inventory of the Ottoman army after Mehmed the Conqueror, who pays special attention to firearms masters. About a hundred and fifty years, roughly from the reign of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror to Sultan Suleiman the Law, revealed an Ottoman Empire that used and developed firearms. Therefore, these guns had given Ottoman the upper hand in the field of military technologies. Under the support of these firearms, the Ottoman Empire established a central structure. And the Ottomans had many victories over Europe.
This state structure includes the economy and provincial administration based on the timar system and the janissaries that use firearms in the center. So it reveals a unique character. In this state structure, administrative balance is crucial. There is a balance between the central armies (kapikullari) and the timar soldiers. In this balance, the classical financial system created a prosperous economy.
Military Revolution
Until the late 1500s, firearms were not sophisticated, so they were fundable. Although it requires some reforms, it does not create a crisis, and the power to change the political system had benefited the center. But after The Long Turkish War, things change. Since 1593, the Ottoman Empire began to enter crisis as a cause of the development of firearms and the emergence of new types of armies suitable for this development. The main reason driving the state crisis is the increase in the availability of armies due to the military revolution. The growth of troops had required the Ottoman Treasury to pay more. As a result, it was causing it to struggle with budget deficits.
Another consequence of military change is that it changes the system of war. The new battle was different from the war of the cavalry. No more attacks with horses, but defensive warfare in the trenches will become necessary. This defensive war, on the other hand, means that the wars last for years. As a result of this change, battles were prolonged.
The prolonged wars are related to the new type of defensive strongholds. These require high costs. Also, commanders needed a large number of soldiers because of new war conditions. In this case, it begins to strain state budgets. Rising expenses necessitated new sources of income, and in Western Europe, which pursues mercantile politics, this combination is called a military revolution. In other words, the development of firearms in Europe initiates the process leading to the modern state, the 19th, and 20th-century states.
Nevertheless, a non-mercantilist state, such as the Ottoman Empire, tries to solve increased expenditures with greater taxation within the current production system. But more taxes need stronger local leaders. Because only then can effective taxation be made. But this time, the state will have to decentralize. This cause-and-effect relationship has led to the emergence of managers called so-called ayans. As a result, the central state had weakened. Therefore, high military expenditures required by firearms disrupted the central state established by Fatih and replaced it with something new. So after the military revolution, the state was decentralized.
Why Was The Timar System Broken?
The main change that leads to the localization of the state is the deterioration of the timar system. Therefore, historians have cited various reasons about the system decline, such as the outnumbers of the cavalry in wars and timariots didn’t want to use fire guns. However, as can be seen, prolonged wars are the main reason for the dysfunction of the timar system.
In the classical age, sipahi pays for the war (horse, guns, etc.) with the tax resources in his village. According to this system, the timar soldier must be in the village in winter. However, prolonged wars prevent soldiers from returning to their villages. Soldiers who can’t bear to their villages can’t collect taxes. This soldier, whose ability to earn income also depends on collecting taxes, is left without money. As a result of his financial difficulties, he asks the government for money and creates a vicious circle. The state pays the soldier on the front line to get rid of this vicious circle. This vicious circle makes an increased expenditure.
Meanwhile, the state begins to eliminate the timariots, who collect taxes from the village and can fight only after making a living with this money. As a result of this change, the officials who collect taxes in the village begin to not deal with the war affairs. Those on the front left the tax collector business. They become professional soldiers. The change means the disappearance of the timar system in practice. Legal regulations are also adapted to the practical situation over time by the administrators. So the spread of the iltizam system and its replacement with the malikane system is the legal and functional consequences of change.
Final Say
The Ottomans carried out many significant reforms like European states. In the end, the uninterrupted power of the six-century-old dynasty was also made possible by these reforms.
Besides, these reforms reveal a change and dynamism that has come to this day. As Halil Inalcik said, the period that began with the Tulip Era started the process leading to the Ataturk revolutions. And transportation to the Tulip Era was the result of reforms in the 17th century. And transportation to the Tulip Era was the result of reforms in the 17th century. In this context, we can say that the Ottomans were a dynamic society. Within this dynamism, they built their classical systems and spread them to three continents. Then they faced the deterioration of this structure and went to the changes. As a result of these changes, they increased their contact with the West. Also, they opened the way to the Republic of Turkey, which will take its place in the modern world. As a result, they were the Ottoman bureaucrats who founded the Republic.
References
Bulut, Yücel. Oryantalizm. TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. 2007 https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/oryantalizm
İnalcık, Halil. The Ottoman Empire and Europe: The Ottoman Empire and Its Place in European History. 2019, İstanbul: Kronik Kitap.
Kabacaoğlu, Özgün. Askeri Teknolojideki Gelişmelerin Osmanlı İdari Yapısına Etkileri: 1593–1717. (Effects of Developments in Military Technology on Ottoman Administrative Structure; 1593–1717). Unpublished Master’s Dissertation. 2020, İzmir: İzmir Kâtip Çelebi University. Dissertation link
