Later Roman Empire

Abdul-Hamid had tried to revive the political influence of the Caliphate in the hope of retaining the non-Turkish Muslim ele ments of the empire. This Pan-Islamic ideal of Abdul-Hamid was favoured by Kaiser Wilhelm II. who, during his visit to Jerusalem, spoke of himself as the friend of the "Caliph of three hundred mil lion Muslims." Abdul-Hamid constructed the Hejaz railway to further the same ideal.

The Constitutional Regime.

Now that the Government of the Young Turks was firmly established the Committee of Union and Progress became a political party and efforts were made to stop the interference of the army in internal politics. In spite of the great losses of territory the empire over which the Young Turkish Party was to rule extended from the Adriatic to the Indian ocean, and from the Caucasus to Tunis. Thirty-three years of mismanagement under the despotic reign of Abdul-Hamid had reduced Turkey to such a state that in any case a new government had a difficult task; and although the Young Turks were full of patriotic zeal and well-versed in Western culture, they had had no experience in governing. The army was put under intensive Ger man instruction, the navy was put under instructors led by Ad miral Sir Douglas Gambles. A French expert, Charles Laurent, was engaged for the financial department, though it was Djavid Bey, the minister of finance, who first succeeded in establishing a finance department on European lines. A great change took place in public works through the concessions given to European com panies, which brought foreign capital into the country. In every branch a serious and fruitful activity began.

The evacuation of Crete in 1909 by the four controlling Powers led to an acute difference between Turkey and Greece. In 1910 the Cretans elected deputies to the Greek parliament in Athens, but Venizelos, the Greek premier, refused to admit them, an act which prevented war.

The Italian and

Balkan Wars.—Italy, having been assured of the neutrality of the Powers, gave the Porte an ultimatum of 24 hours on Sept. 28, 1911, and occupied Tripoli, Cyrenaica and the Dodecanese islands, and then bombarded Prevaza, without any provocation. Without a strong navy Turkey was unable to defend Tripoli, but Enver and Fethi Beys organized a defence by the natives, who were thoroughly roused, and the invaders were con fined to the coast till the Balkan War forced Turkey to make peace at Ouchy on Oct. 15, 1912. Tripoli and Cyrenaica were left to Italy, but the sultan was permitted to send a representative, called "naib-u-sultan." The fate of the Dodecanese islands was not de cided till the Lausanne conference. A little time before the Treaty of Ouchy, a faction in the army, opposed to the Union and Prog ress Party, had brought about a change of Government, and the cabinet formed was composed mostly of the members of the old regime, including Kiamil Pasha, the well known Hamidian grand vizier. Russia offered to help Turkey in case of an attack on the

Dardanelles on the condition that the Russian fleet was allowed to pass the Straits. The Porte refused.

To stamp out the comitajis Turkey had embarked on an attempt to disarm the people in the Balkans. Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria in reply reconciled their conflicting in terests in the Balkans, and formed an alliance against Turkey (March–Oct. 1912). Turkey was unaware of this alliance for a long time, but on Oct. 8, 1912, Montenegro declared war on Turkey; and on Oct. 14, Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria first issued ultimatums demanding reforms and the demobilization of the Turkish army in the Balkans, and then declared war. The political dissensions which affected the command and the organization of the army proved disastrous to Turkey, and the Turkish army was defeated, though it made a fine and prolonged defence of Scutari (in Albania), Yanina and Adrianople. Adrianople was still in the hands of the Turks when the advance of the Bulgarian army was stopped at the last defences of Constantinople, the Chatalja lines. The Turkish cruiser "Hamidie," under the command of Rauf Bey, escaped through the lines of the Greek fleet at the Straits, and wandered in the Adriatic, Aegean and Mediterranean, bombarding enemy ports, hampering their transports and raising the Turkish morale. At the beginning of the war the Powers had declared that whatever the military results of the war might be the territorial status quo would be maintained in the Balkans. Turkey hoped that this declaration would apply as much in the event of Turkish defeat as of Turkish victory. Kiamil Pasha, known for his pro English views, was made grand vizier. He accepted the post con fident of English support during the negotiations, and relying on the assurances which Sir Gerald Lowther (the British ambassador) had given to his son. The Powers called a conference in London after the Turkish defeat. But since Kiamil Pasha's acceptance of office did not alter the situation, and as the status quo was clearly going to be changed in favour of the Balkan States, contrary to the declaration of the Powers, and since Kiamil Pasha's Govern ment was about to cede Adrianople even before that city had fallen, the Young Turks determined to seize power again. They raided the Sublime Porte and forced Kiamil Pasha to resign. A Young Turkish cabinet was formed under Mahmoud Shevket Pasha. Although at first the new cabinet refused the terms of peace of the London conference, the intervention of Russia and Austria and the fall of Adrianople enforced their acceptance. This brought the Turkish frontiers in Europe to the line Midia–Enos.