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The Law of Fratricide Eradicated the Ottoman Dynasty but the Last Sick Man of Europe is Still Alive

2024; RELX Group (Netherlands); Linguagem: Inglês

10.2139/ssrn.4816210

1556-5068

John Taskinsoy,

Eurasian Exchange Networks

This is the first chapter of a future book, which intends to take readers on a captivating journey through the developments and events, adversaries, and consequences in the Ottoman Empire and their detrimental effects in the Republic of Turkey; as such, backward empire (the law of fratricide), backward military (plagued by coup d'états), backward democracy (complete autocracy under one man rule), backward economy (deindustrialized, underdeveloped, and crisis-prone), and backward urbanization (troubling transformation). This chapter argues that the act of fratricide (one killing own brother(s) to prevent revolts or a possible interregnum) was a major contributor to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire that lasted over six centuries (1299-1922). The Turkoman tribesmen (Turkic peoples) mainly inhabiting western Anatolia were excellent horsemen using bows and spears, and were exceptionally effective when used as shock troops. The tribal leader Osman I recognized these constituent elements of military power and used the irregular force of raiders to create a steppe-nomadic cavalry force in the late 13th century, this led to the establishment of the Ottoman Empire in 1299. However, the origin of the Ottoman dynasty as to what Turkic tribe Osman I was descended from is rather vague. The emergence of the Ottomans as a beylik seems to be a fairytale, shrouded in mystery; in fact, a dream that Osman had one night propagated a mythical beginning of an empire that, due to lack of and no credible sources surviving from the entire 14th century, failed to attract a broad acceptance among chroniclers and historiographers. "Live by the sword, die by the sword" reflects an agonizing ending story of the Ottoman Empire in a nutshell. In the years between 1450 and 1600, the Janissaries gained immense power and increased their influence over the Ottoman government. The Ottoman Classical Army (1453-1606), the most disciplined and feared military unit in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, enabled the empire to extend its territories into three continents, but the very same military force moved away from their unblemished image and became totally undisciplined (lawless) and highly corrupted. Their constant refusals of modernization efforts in the 17th and 18th centuries became a liability, tossing the empire into a slow decline which eventually led to its demise in the early 20th century. The act of fratricide in the Ottoman Empire in terms of the outcome (i.e. demise) was not much different than the following aphorisms (idioms) for doing a self-defeating act; as such, "cutting off the branch you're sitting on" or "shooting yourself in the foot". As these idioms and many alike suggest that the Ottoman Empire, with its practice of fratricidal killings, cut off the branch it was sitting on or shot itself on the foot, and the inevitable upshot was a self-defeat. The law of fratricide eliminated at least 80 şehzades from the Ottoman dynasty who had a birthright to the throne, without them, the Imperial Harem gained power.