The Ottoman Empire's Last Epidemic: Typhus, Plague and the Collapse of 1918

The Ottoman Empire's Last Epidemic: Typhus, Plague and the Collapse of 1918

In the final year of World War I, the Ottoman Empire faced an invisible enemy deadlier than the Allied armies: typhus, relapsing fever, and a devastating influenza pandemic. This episode follows the desperate struggle of Dr. Tevfik Salim and the Hilal-i Ahmer (Ottoman Red Crescent) as they tried to contain outbreaks among starving soldiers and refugees. We explore how the Berlin-Baghdad Railway became a vector for disease, how quarantine stations at Haydarpaşa and Konya were overwhelmed, and how the epidemics fatally weakened the Ottoman war effort. The conversation also touches on the controversial decision to evacuate wounded soldiers from the Caucasus front straight into Istanbul's crowded hospitals, triggering a city-wide outbreak. Finally, we uncover the story of the last Ottoman chief physician, Süleyman Numan Pasha, whose reports on the scale of the catastrophe were suppressed by the Sublime Porte. A little-known chapter in the empire's final collapse, told through the voices of those who tried to save it. #OttomanEmpire #WorldWarI #Typhus #Hilal-iAhmer #RedCrescent #TevfikSalim #SüleymanNumanPasha #Haydarpaşa #Konya #BerlinBaghdadRailway #Influenza1918 #CaucasusFront #Epidemic #Quarantine #Osmanlı #HistoryOfMedicine #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

How the Ottoman Army Starved: The Great War Food Crisis

By 1916, the Ottoman Empire was losing the war not on the battlefield but in its own fields. The Allied naval blockade cut off the Black Sea grain routes, while the British blockade in the Mediterranean and the diversion of railway capacity to the military created a perfect storm. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how chronic food shortages, hoarding by merchants, and a collapsing supply chain led to famine in Greater Syria and Lebanon, where an estimated 200,000 civilians died. They discuss the role of Djemal Pasha's harsh requisitioning policies, the impact of the locust plague in 1915, and how the empire's reliance on a single railroad—the Berlin-Baghdad line—became a fatal bottleneck. The conversation also touches on the little-known story of the Hilal-i Ahmer's soup kitchens and the failed effort to import grain from India via Baghdad. This episode ties the home front and the front line together, showing how starvation shattered civilian morale and accelerated the empire's collapse. #OttomanEmpire #WWI #Famine #GreaterSyria #Lebanon #DjemalPasha #Hilal-iAhmer #Blockade #BerlinBaghdadRailway #LocustPlague #FoodCrisis #HomeFront #MiddleEast #1916 #History #FexingoHistory #WarAndSociety #OttomanCollapse Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Ottoman Empire's Last Naval Disaster: The Battle of Imbros

In January 1918, the Ottoman Navy made its final desperate gamble to break the Allied blockade. The battlecruiser Yavuz Sultan Selim (formerly SMS Goeben) and the light cruiser Midilli (formerly SMS Breslau) sortied from the Dardanelles into the Aegean, aiming to attack British naval forces off the island of Imbros. What followed was a catastrophic encounter with mines that sank the Midilli and severely damaged the Yavuz, ending Ottoman naval power for good. Lucas and Luna explore the strategic context, the daring plan of German Admiral von Rebeur-Paschwitz, the role of the enigmatic Cevat Paşa, and how this defeat sealed the empire's isolation. They also discuss the long shadow of the Goeben's 1914 escape to Constantinople, the impact on Ottoman morale, and how the naval loss accelerated the empire's collapse. #OttomanEmpire #BattleOfImbros #YavuzSultanSelim #SMSGoeben #Midilli #SMSBreslau #CevatPaşa #vonRebeurPaschwitz #Dardanelles #Aegean #NavalHistory #WorldWarI #MiddleEast #FexingoHistory #History #OttomanNavy #Mines #Blockade Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Last Ottoman Parliament: How Ankara Defied the Sultan

In January 1920, the Ottoman Parliament in Istanbul adopted the Misak-ı Milli (National Pact), a bold manifesto that declared the indivisibility of Ottoman lands and rejected Allied plans for partition. This episode traces the dramatic weeks from the parliament's secret meetings to its dissolution by British forces on March 16, 1920. We explore the key figures: Reşat Hikmet, the parliamentary president; Ali Fethi Okyar, a young deputy loyal to Mustafa Kemal; and the last Ottoman Speaker, Ahmet Celalettin. The tension between Sultan Mehmed VI's government in Dolmabahçe and the rising nationalist movement in Ankara comes to a head. The parliament's defiance accelerated the Allied occupation of Istanbul and pushed Mustafa Kemal to establish the Grand National Assembly in Ankara. This is the story of the last gasp of Ottoman constitutionalism and the birth of a new Turkish state. #MisakıMilli #OttomanParliament #ReşatHikmet #AliFethiOkyar #AhmetCelalettin #MehmedVI #MustafaKemal #Ankara #Istanbul #AlliedOccupation #TurkishNationalMovement #1920 #Lausanne #Sèvres #History #FexingoHistory #WorldWarI #OttomanEmpire Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

How the Allied Ultimatum Ended the Ottoman Empire

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the final days of the Ottoman Empire through the lens of the Allied ultimatum that forced Sultan Mehmed VI to abdicate and abolished the sultanate in 1922. They trace the events from the Mudros Armistice in 1918 to the Turkish War of Independence, focusing on the political maneuvering in Istanbul and Ankara. Key figures include Mustafa Kemal Pasha, the last grand vizier Ahmet Tevfik Pasha, and the religious authority of the Şeyhülislam. The episode examines the role of the Sultanate and Caliphate in the empire's collapse, the Allied occupation of Istanbul, and the final abolition of the sultanate by the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Drawing on primary sources and recent scholarship, the hosts unpack how a centuries-old dynasty ended not with a bang, but with a series of political compromises and foreign pressures. #OttomanEmpire #MustafaKemal #SultanMehmedVI #MudrosArmistice #TurkishWarOfIndependence #AbolitionOfSultanate #Caliphate #Ankara #Istanbul #AlliedOccupation #Şeyhülislam #Saltanat #Hilafet #TBMM #AhmetTevfikPasha #LausanneTreaty #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]