Erdogan is indubitably a man of unprecedented political acumen. He is employing all resources to turn secular Turkey into an Islamized dispensation. Among his many endeavours, he has made religious education mandatory in schools. He seeks to revive the historic and architectural heritage of the Ottoman Empire. He aims to reconstruct some military barracks in Istanbul as an example of Ottoman military might. He has also renamed the largest bridge on the Bosphorus in Istanbul as “Selim I”. He is always seen as being keen to use Ottoman Empire-inspired symbols in daily life.
Erdogan appeared at the reception of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in January 2015 with a contingent dressed in Ottoman attire and carrying flags of countries founded by the Ottomans. This component has now been added to formal parades in Turkey on a permanent basis. Erdogan has also authorized the teaching of the Ottoman language in schools and has slammed those who oppose the move.
In January 2015, the AKP members of parliament put forward a bill calling for the adoption of the Ottoman Empire “tughra” as the official emblem of the Turkish nation. The Constitutional Affairs Committee of the Turkish National Assembly agreed to this proposal. Erdogan is also developing a new army called “The new Janisaries.
Erdogan is known to encourage Turkish TV serials and films that show events dating back to the Ottoman era and elevate its administrative practices. In November 2016, he visited the locations of “Diriliş: Ertugrul,” a series about the historical founders of the Ottoman state; this was a great source of encouragement to the creators of the serial.
Erdogan thinks that the Ottoman legacy gives the Turkish nation a historic right to regional supremacy and to lead the Muslim world. He sees deployment of Turkish military forces in Syria and Iraq and support of religious organizations in the Arab states as part of the “imperial policy” that reinforce his vision of Turkey’s role in the Middle East.
In the event of all other Muslim countries being caught in a web of international politics dominated by the West, it is good to see that Muslim Turkey is re-asserting itself as an emerging regional power. It has engaged in direct military interventions in Syria and Iraq and maintains a number of military bases in Qatar, Northern Cyprus, Syria and Azerbaijan, It also plans to build more military bases in the region in the near future.
It goes to Erdogan’s credit that he is aggressively pursuing his mission to reenact the glories of the Ottoman Empire as from the 1300s to the early part of the 20th century, an Islamic caliphate held its sway in three continents. The importance of Pakistan as the only Muslim country with nuclear capability will enhance Turkey’s mission to regain the lead and to lay down the foundations of a campaign for winning back the lost prestige and glory of the Muslims. Pakistan has the full support of Turkey and is a key nation in the Islamic world as it has a very strong army and is currently led by a man like Imran, who is a very honest man and strongly believes in the supremacy of the Muslims. He is also one Muslim leader who has opened the world’s eyes to the growing spectre of Islamophobia. This is the time when Tayyip Erdogan must also tailor his foreign policy to meet the emerging new geopolitical realities.
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne, (1923), was the final treaty concluding World War I. It was signed by representatives of Turkey (successor to the Ottoman Empire) on the one side and by Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Greece, Romania, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) on the other. The treaty was signed at Lausanne, Switzerland, on July 24, 1923, after a seven-month conference.
The treaty recognized the boundaries of the modern state of Turkey which made no claim to its former Arab provinces and recognized British possession of Cyprus and Italian possession of the Dodecanese. The Allies dropped their demands of autonomy for Turkish Kurdistan and Turkish cession of territory to Armenia, abandoned claims to spheres of influence in Turkey, and imposed no controls over Turkey’s finances or armed forces. The Turkish straits between the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea were declared open to all shipping.
The Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire was a state and caliphate that controlled much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa between the 14th and early 20th centuries. It was founded at the end of the 13th century in northwestern Anatolia in the town of Söğüt (modern-day Bilecik Province) by the Oghuz Turkish tribal leader Osman I. Although initially the dynasty was of Turkic origin, it was Persianised in terms of language, culture, literature and habits. After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and the conquest of the Balkans came about. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, at the height of its power under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire was a multinational, multilingual empire controlling most of Southeastern Europe, Central Europe, Western Asia, including parts of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Northern Africa, and the Horn of Africa. At the beginning of the 17th century, the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire.
With Constantinople (modern Istanbul) as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean Basin, the Ottoman Empire was at the centre of interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds for six centuries. Over the course of the 19th century, the Ottoman state became vastly more powerful and organised, despite suffering further territorial losses, especially in the Balkans, where a number of new states emerged.
In the early 20th century, the empire allied with Germany, hoping to escape from the diplomatic isolation which had contributed to its recent territorial losses, and thus joined World War I on the side of the Central Powers. While the Empire was able to largely hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent, especially with the Arab Revolt in its Arabian holdings.
The Empire's defeat and the occupation of part of its territory by the Allied Powers in the aftermath of World War I resulted in its partitioning and the loss of its Middle Eastern territories, which were divided between the United Kingdom and France. The successful Turkish War of Independence led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk against the occupying Allies led to the emergence of the Republic of Turkey in the Anatolian heartland and the abolition of the Ottoman monarchy.
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