34. Sultan of the Ottoman Empire II. Who is Abdulhamid? Who Is Not? (3)

Banning the Sheet (1892):

With the 93 War, the closure of the Parliament, and the Duyun-u Umumiye, everything that could be managed in the Ottoman Empire, in a sense, was the sultan's, II. It was monopolized by Abdulhamid, and the sole decision maker was the sultanate to a large extent. Starting to rule the country according to his own understanding and authority, II. Abdulhamid found it necessary to regulate some things in the country according to himself and to introduce some prohibitions in this context. One of them is the prohibition of wearing chador.

On April 2, 1892, Muslim women wearing black chadors tied at the waist were almost uncovered, racy and similar to mourning Christians, and they created a problem in terms of security. Women were forbidden to wear chadors by Abdulhamid. However, this ban was only applied to women who wanted to enter the palace.

Kuwait's Independence (1899):

Although the Emirate of Kuwait was dependent on the Ottoman Empire, it was in a position that could be considered independent in administration. In Kuwait, where there was no obligation to pay taxes to the Ottoman Empire, there was a kadi appointed by the Ottoman State and he would perform the state affairs together with the local authority, the Emir of Kuwait.

II. During the reign of Abdulhamid, the Emir of Kuwait, Mubarak al-Sabah, signed a secret agreement with the British on January 23, 1899. According to this agreement, Kuwait would not accept any political representative of any country without the permission of the British government, and would not leave or lease any part of its territory from England to any other state. In return, he would receive various aids and weapons.

This meant the end of the Ottoman Kadi's powers in Kuwait, becoming "persona non grata" in the modern sense. The Ottomans, who could not accept this agreement that the Emir made with the British, sought solutions. Ultimately, he supported his opponent against the Emir of Kuwait, who agreed with the British. Under the influence of the Germans, II. Abdulhamid ordered İbnürreşid to attack Kuwait. II. The German Emperor who directed Abdulhamid to this work, probably because he made an agreement with the British, then II. He applied to Abdulhamid and asked him to withdraw his troops from Kuwait. After this event, British influence prevailed in Kuwait, where the Ottoman Empire was no longer in power.

II. Abdulhamid's Meeting with Theodor Herzl:

Zionist leader Theodor Herzl, who aimed to settle the Jews in Palestine, on May 17, 1901. He met with Abdulhamid. At this meeting, Herzl was awarded an Order of Mecidiye. II. After his meeting with Abdulhamid, Herzl gave an interview to the Daily Mail about the issue, emphasizing his satisfaction with the meeting and saying that the Jews were killed in World War II. He stated that he had no better friend and lover than Abdulhamid.

II. Abdulhamid accepted the arrival of the Jews in the Ottoman lands, provided that they were not en masse in a certain place, but he did not take a step towards settlement in Palestine. Herzl's real desire was to have the Jews settled directly in Palestine. In return, the Ottomans would pay a significant part of their debts. II. Abdulhamid offered the Jews to settle in Mesopotamia in a scattered manner, but this offer was not accepted by Herzl. Because Herzl wanted Palestine, Haifa and its surroundings as an additional settlement. The documents on the subject in the Ottoman Archives, contrary to the claims of some circles, II. It shows that Abdülhamid did not expel Herzl from his presence and that the Sultan offered Mesopotamia for the settlement of the Jews.

The Incident of the Killing of the Russian Consul:

Russian Consul Rostkovski, who was walking around the monastery on 8 August 1903 without his formal attire, noticed that the Ottoman soldier in front of the police station did not greet him, and with a whip in his hand, he approached the soldier on watch and asked why he did not greet him. As Turkish sources indicate, the Russian Consul hit the Ottoman soldier with his whip. The guard, who could not understand the language of the consul and was scolded, shot the Ottoman soldier with his rifle and killed the Russian Consul Rostkovski there.

This event occurred in II. When Abdulhamid was worried, drastic measures were taken and Ottoman soldier Halim was put on trial. II. Abdülhamid ordered Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha, who was following the court, to immediately execute the execution of two Ottoman soldiers for the murder of the Russian Consul. In addition to Halim, the Ottoman soldier who killed the Russian Consul, Abbas, the other guard who was with him, was also executed together with the soldier who killed the Russian Consul after the trial, which was completed in 4 days, because he could not prevent the murder.

A soldier who said that the Russian Consul was killed after swearing at the Ottoman soldier Halim was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and a cleaning worker named Tevfik was sentenced to 5 years in prison. In addition, the company commander of Halim, the guard soldier, and two Ottoman lieutenants who spoke badly about the murdered Russian Consul were dismissed from the profession. Hasan Tahsin Bey, who works as the district manager in the region, states that the murder was committed as a result of the Russian Consul slapping the guard on duty. According to an officer's statement, the Russian Consul beat the guard with a whip in his hand and the soldier fired on it. After the murder of the Monastery Russian Consul Aleksandır Rostkovski, Russia sent an ultimatum to the Ottoman Empire by sending a navy to the offshore of Igneada.

Abdülhamid's Famous Detection Organization:

II. After Abdülhamid closed the Parliament and took the administration into his own hands, he established a comprehensive police and intelligence organization for the first time in Ottoman history. The name of this organization, which he founded in 1880, was determined as Yıldız Intelligence Agency. The main purpose of this organization, in which many spies served, was to gather information about Abdulhamid's political rivals and to prevent coup or rebellion attempts against Abdulhamid. The spies not only collected information on their own, but also formed an extensive intelligence network by tying large numbers of people on a salary. These people, called Journalists, followed the activities that could be against Abdülhamid's administration, and ensured that they were reported to Abdulhamid before they grew up in time. Thus, any movement was pre-empted. It has been claimed by some experts that the life of the Ottoman Empire was extended by 30-40 years with such measures taken during the reign of Abdülhamid.

It has been claimed that the Düvel-i Muazzama wanted the opening of this parliament not for democracy and human rights, but to interfere with the internal administration more easily with the help of their own deputies. There was a parliament that suppressed the executive. Minority deputies were trying to make decisions for the independent states of which they were members, with a European State behind each group. For example, there were deputies who stated that Crete, Thessaly and Ioannina should be left to Greece.

It must be the effect of these, II. Abdulhamid suspended the Assembly on 13 February 1878. II. Ali Suavi, one of the Young Ottomans, who took action to make Murat V the Sultan and Mithat Pasha the grand vizier instead of Abdülhamid, attempted an unsuccessful coup d'etat that went down in history as the Çırağan Raid. This fruitless coup that resulted in the death of 23 revolutionaries, II. It resulted in Abdülhamid's taking over the administration more tightly by establishing a secret organization called sleuthing.

When Abdulhamid came to the throne, the Ottoman Empire was under a heavy debt burden. As I mentioned in my previous article, Düyun-ı Umumiye (General Debts) Administration was established for the management of debts that have become unpaid due to the pressure of the creditors. Creditors, including the Galata bankers and the Ottoman Bank, thus seized a significant portion of the state revenues through this establishment. The Ottoman economy and finances were largely under the control of foreigners. In the face of these adverse conditions, Abdulhamid tried to gain the support of the Muslim people. He also took advantage of the caliphate for this purpose and supported the Islamist ideology.

Announcement of the Second Constitutional Monarchy:

Since the beginning of the 19th century, Ottoman statesmen gradually understood the increasing superiority of the European states and considered it necessary to turn to the policy of Westernization. According to the new mental state that emerged, the main reason for the Ottoman state to fall behind against the West was the West's technical superiority. As a solution to the problem, it was envisaged that the Ottoman state should be reformed in the Western sense and the Western management style and understanding should be applied in the country. As an extension of this understanding, the Committee of Union and Progress was founded on May 21, 1889 under the name of İttihad-ı Osmanî Cemiyeti, which violated human rights such as justice, equality and freedom, prevented all Ottomans from progressing and brought the country under foreign domination. It was established as a secret organization to warn all citizens against the rule of Abdulhamid. Political activism aimed at saving the state was at the forefront of the idea of ​​the Committee of Union and Progress. The main concern of the Young Turks, who saw that the empire was inexorably disintegrating, that various nationalist secession movements were gaining success with each passing day, and that the Sublime Porte, under the tutelage of the Düyûn-u Umumiye, was increasingly tied up, was to ensure the autonomy of the Ottoman Empire and preserve its geographical integrity.

In the mid-1900s, the movement led by Enver (Pasha) Bey, Sultan Abdulhamid and Niyazi Bey began to oppose Abdulhamid's customary rule, gradually increasing the number of supporters and getting stronger. In 1908, some pro-Union and Progress officers revolted in the cities of Manastır and Thessaloniki. Upon these pressures, Abdülhamid had to re-enact the constitution on July 24, 1908 and II. Constitution was declared. The new assembly, which was formed by the elections, was opened on 17 December 1908. However, as a result of increasing unrest and pressure from the opposition of the Union and Progress, a rebellion broke out in Istanbul on April 13, 1909. This rebellion is known as the 31 March Incident in Ottoman history.

Case of March 31:

On the night of the March 31 Rebellion, the night connecting April 12 to April 13, the soldiers of the Avcı Battalion in Taksim Barracks revolted against their officers and gathered in front of the Delegation, in pursuit of the clergy who led them, and demanded that the country be governed according to sharia. The government of Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha chose the path of reconciliation with the rebels and the members of the government resigned one by one. The rebellion was also effective on the Delegation of Deputies.

The members of the Committee of Union and Progress that day did not go to the parliament because they did not have a life security. While some of them moved away from Istanbul, some of them hid in the city. Meanwhile, the rebels were killing the Unionist officers and deputies where they found them. With the ineffectiveness of the government and the parliament, II. Abdulhamid once again dominated the situation. The opposition that started the revolt, on the other hand, was deprived of any program and could not obtain the leadership.

The Committee of Union and Progress mobilized the 3rd Army in Thessaloniki, which was the main power center. Thus, the Action Army was formed to suppress the rebellion. The rebels surrendered after an unsuccessful resistance effort to the Movement Army, which started to enter Istanbul on the night of April 23 to April 24. The Delegation of the Deputies and the Ayan also met the night before in Yeşilköy and confirmed the legitimacy of the Action Army's initiative.

Exile of II. Abdulhamid to Alatini Mansion:

After the suppression of the rebellion, martial law was declared and the leaders of the rebels were tried in the council of war and sentenced to death. The opposition movement suffered significant losses. But the most important development was the meeting of the Deputies of Parliament and the Ayan, which gathered together under the name of the National Assembly, on April 27, II. It was his decision to dethrone Abdülhamid and to be replaced by Mehmed V. Also II. Abdulhamid's stay in Istanbul was also found to be objectionable and he was taken to Thessaloniki. Divan-i Harp, II. Although he wanted to put Abdulhamid on trial, the newly established government of Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha did not accept this. He was kept under house arrest in Alatini Mansion in Thessaloniki for three years. II. Abdülhamid was brought to Beylerbeyi Palace in Istanbul in 1912.

After the Movement Army suppressed the revolt, the leadership of the Union and Progress mainly took over the administration of the state. Over time, the leaders of the Union, Enver Pasha, Talat Pasha and Cemal Pasha began to have a say in the administration of the state. In this period, the Ottoman Empire, Tripoli, I. and II. He entered the Balkan Wars and the First World Wars. Immediately after World War I, VI. Mehmet closed the parliament on December 21, 1918, under pressure from the Allies.

Death of II. Abdulhamid:

He continued his compulsory residence in Istanbul since 1912. Abdülhamid died in Istanbul on February 10, 1918, at the age of 75, due to heart failure. His tomb was built in Divanyolu for his grandfather, Sultan II. It is located in the Mahmud Tomb.

In my last article, I will talk about his personality, education and cultural level, his book collection, his approach to the army and navy, his projects, what he did and what he could not do.