The Impact of Ottoman Modernization on the Birth of Western-Influenced Aesthetic Arts

Authors : Nurettin Gemici

Pages : 192-206

Doi:10.21021/osmed.1478981

View : 64 | Download : 106

Publication Date : 2024-12-15

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The concept of modernisation is an indicator of the change and transformation of societies as a socio-economic and political process. Modernisation in the Ottoman State developed differently due to the interaction of its own internal dynamics and external factors. In the 19th century, Ottoman modernisation, which developed differently from the modernisation of Western Europe, has been handled from different perspectives by the experts of the subject. Ottoman modernisation was the search for a new path to be followed in order to regain superiority over Europe, which had fallen behind politically and militarily. The idea of modernisation in the Ottoman State is seen as a struggle of the state administration in order to get rid of the unfavourable conditions in which the state found itself, rather than a spontaneous change in the process of social change as in Western Europe. Despite the rapid change and transformation of industry, legal system, military organisation, political structure and economic structure in Europe, the Ottoman State managed to maintain its advanced position in social, economic, political and military fields. What bothered the Ottoman State the most about all these events was its military backwardness. This backwardness was manifested not only in weapon technology but also in the failure of organisation before and after the war. As for social and cultural innovations, the Ottoman modernisation process, which started with the Tanzimat period, gained momentum and developed with the Constitutional Monarchy periods, but it could not succeed because the traditional state structure and religious approach could not be easily abandoned. This modernisation process, which started in the late Ottoman period, continued in a different track and rapidly after the Republic. It can be said that Ottoman modernisation started with the concern of catching up with the West in military and bureaucratic terms and evolved into a process brought about by different social, economic and political dynamics.
Keywords : Osmanlı Devleti, Modernleşme, Batılılaşma, Reformlar, Tanzimat.