After the Break: Making of the Modern World

1.6 Rock Bottom

The Ottoman state is forced to default on its foreign debt, with effects that will bring the Empire to the brink: economic crises, revolts, coups, and invasions will all fundamentally change the direction of the Ottoman Empire, as the Tanzimat goes up in smoke.

1.5 The Great Reordering

The ascension of Abdülmecid in 1839 marks a dramatic change in the direction for the Ottoman Empire, as he and his ministers begin an ambitious to remake the institutions of the state. However, even as the Sultanate embraces modern philosophies of governance it will continue to be beset by internal strife and foreign influence.

1.4 The Eastern Question

Sultan Mahmud II faces the janissaries and attempts to assert centralized rule over his realm, as the Empire is rocked by some of its greatest crises yet: Balkan separatists, Russian invasion, and the ambitious governor of Egypt, Muhammad Ali.

1.3 Empire at the Crossroads

A showdown between the progressive Sultan Selim III and reactionary elements of his court sets the stage for the next decades of Ottoman tension between top-down modernizers and the competing needs and aspirations of a complex and diverse Empire.

1.2 Cracks in the Foundation

The sprawling Empire of Suleiman the Magnificent faces the challenges and realities of a rapidly modernizing world, internal revolts, and the growing strength of the European Great Powers.