Second Constitutional Era

The period of restored constitutional government in the Ottoman Empire from the Young Turk Revolution of 1908 to the empire’s dissolution after World War I.

Young Turk Revolution: The 1908 revolt that compelled Sultan Abdulhamid II to restore the Ottoman constitution and parliament. It reopened the constitutional order that defines the era.
Young Turks: A diverse opposition movement seeking political reform and constitutional government in the late Ottoman Empire. Their activism supplied the broader political movement behind the 1908 restoration.
Balkan Wars: Two wars in 1912–1913 in which the Ottoman Empire lost nearly all its European territory. The losses transformed the empire and strengthened CUP rule.
First Constitutional Era: The Ottoman Empire’s brief experiment with constitutional government from 1876 to 1878. Its abrupt suspension contrasts with the longer, war-torn restoration beginning in 1908.
Committee of Union and Progress: An Ottoman political organization that led the 1908 revolution and dominated imperial politics before World War I. Its leadership increasingly determined how constitutional government operated.
Macedonian Question: The diplomatic and political struggle over Macedonia, where Ottoman authority faced nationalist movements and foreign intervention. Instability in Macedonia intensified pressure on the sultan’s government.
Armenian genocide: The systematic deportation and mass killing of Armenians by the Ottoman government during World War I. Wartime CUP policies produced catastrophic consequences for Ottoman Armenians.
Abdulhamid II: Ottoman sultan from 1876 to 1909, who suspended parliament in 1878 and restored it under pressure in 1908. His autocratic rule preceded and opposed the constitutional politics of the era.
Ottoman Parliament: The legislature established under the Ottoman constitution, with elected representatives from across the empire. Its sessions made restored representation a visible feature of the period.
Third Army (Ottoman Empire): An Ottoman field army based in Macedonia that became a center of constitutionalist military opposition. Its officers and troops helped turn reform demands into revolution.

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