Ottomanism

Ottomanism was a political movement to preserve the Ottoman Empire by fostering a shared Ottoman identity and equal civic status among its diverse peoples.

Tanzimat: A series of Ottoman reforms from 1839 to 1876 that reorganized administration, law, and civic status. The Tanzimat supplied the legal reforms and equality claims that Ottomanism sought to turn into shared allegiance.
Ottoman Constitution of 1876: The first constitution of the Ottoman Empire, establishing a parliament and defining a common imperial citizenship. It translated the shared-citizenship ideal into a constitutional framework.
Midhat Pasha: An Ottoman statesman associated with the constitution of 1876 and the empire’s first parliamentary period. He helped make constitutional government a proposed means of holding the empire together.
Ottomanism and Turkish nationalism: A political movement that promotes a shared Turkish national identity and political community. Its ethnic-national basis increasingly competed with Ottomanism’s multiethnic imperial identity.
Young Turk Revolution: The 1908 uprising that restored the Ottoman constitution and parliament after decades of autocratic rule. The revolution briefly renewed Ottomanist hopes through constitutional restoration.
Young Ottomans: A nineteenth-century group of Ottoman writers and activists who advocated constitutional government and a reformed empire. They developed constitutional arguments for uniting Ottoman subjects without dissolving the empire.
Ottoman citizenship: A legal status created in the Ottoman Empire that identified people as subjects of the state regardless of religion. A common legal status was the practical basis for an identity beyond religious communities.
Namık Kemal: An Ottoman writer and political activist who advocated constitutionalism and a common Ottoman patriotism. His essays and plays gave Ottoman patriotism a powerful literary voice.
Arab nationalism: A movement promoting political and cultural unity among Arabic-speaking peoples. Its growing claims to Arab political identity challenged loyalty to an empire-wide Ottoman community.
Second Constitutional Era: The period of Ottoman parliamentary government beginning with the restoration of the constitution in 1908. Its politics tested whether shared citizenship could unite the empire’s competing groups.

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