Mideast
...chaos and disorder, which eventually lead to the empire's unfortunate decline. The main factors that contributed to the decline of the Ottoman Empire were the growth of imperial powers, such as Britain, France, and Russia, the rise of nationalism and the destabilization of the Ottoman Empire's government. The imperial powers had grown stronger over the centuries. They had built stronger institutions, introduced modern arms, infrastructure and administration while the Ottoman Empire was frozen in time. The Ottomans failed to industrialize as the European countries did. As a result, this caused them to be behind in productivity and efficiency, harming their economy further. Because of slow development and lack of organization the Ottoman Empire faced challenges in defending itself against foreign invasion and occupation.
Another important reason why the imperial powers took such an extreme interest in the Ottoman Empire was because it served as the gateway to Asia. European merchants were scurrying across the globe looking for raw materials, markets and profits. If France and Britain traveled through the Ottoman Empire it was make it easier to reach Asia for trade. It would also prevent Russia from invading and taking over the weak empire. Rising nationalism in the Ottoman Empire grew intense. The Ottomans were once the greatest and most powerful civilizations which lead them to conquer many territories that consisted of different ethnic backgrounds. Because of an overwhelming amount of diversity in the region, each ethnic group wanted their own state instead of submitting to the Ottoman rule.
One of the primary causes blamed for the fall of the Ottoman Empire was the deterioration and downfall of the government. Originally the government was run by the Sultan and slowly as the years passed by the control of the government weakened. While many...
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