The Young Ottomans were an opposition group formed by Ottoman intellectuals who opposed the Tanzimat government between 1865 and 1876. Namık Kemal, Ziya Pasha and Ali Suavi are the best-known names of this circle. The movement, which began as a secret society, carried its demands for a constitution and a parliament to the public through newspapers. In the sources the same group is also called the “New Ottomans”.
Quick Summary
- According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the Young Ottomans were an opposition group active between 1865 and 1876.
- According to Ebüzziya Tevfik, the first core met in Istanbul in 1865 as a secret society.
- Namık Kemal, Ziya Pasha and Ali Suavi were the movement’s best-known writers.
- Mustafa Fazıl Pasha of Egypt financed the activities in Europe.
- Their demands found an echo in the process that led to the Kanun-ı Esasi, the constitution proclaimed on 23 December 1876.
Contents
- How did the movement emerge?
- The secret society: “Meslek”
- The movement’s leading figures
- The European years and the press
- World of ideas
- Dissolution and the Kanun-ı Esasi
- Frequently asked questions
How Did the Young Ottomans Emerge?
The Tanzimat period (1839–1876) was marked by efforts to restructure the state. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, internal unrest and foreign interference, especially after the Reform Edict of 1856, made it inevitable that the reforms would be carried out under a firm administration. At the head of this firm administration were Ali Pasha and Fuad Pasha. The opposition of the new generation of intellectuals was therefore directed more at the government than at the sultan.
According to the encyclopedia, the founders are thought to have come together less over a political programme than in reaction to the tight control of the press. The closure of newspapers increased discontent with Ali Pasha. After Fuad Pasha’s death in 1869, the reins of government were entirely in Ali Pasha’s hands. That is why the Young Ottomans directed their criticism above all at him. We discussed the intellectual climate of the period in our article on Ottoman intellectual movements.
The Secret Society: “Meslek” and Its Founders
The founding of the secret society is disputed. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the main source on the subject is the History of the New Ottomans by Ebüzziya Mehmed Tevfik. Ebüzziya dates the founding to 1865 and gives two different accounts. According to one, the first meeting was held in the Belgrade Forest, during a country outing that Namık Kemal also attended. According to the other, the meeting took place at Mehmed Bey’s house.
According to the encyclopedia, Kaya Bilgegil resolved this confusion. According to him, the secret society founded in the Belgrade Forest was called “meslek”, in the sense of the French “mission”. The Society of New Ottomans proper was founded in Europe in 1867. Sağır Ahmed Beyzade Mehmed Bey, Menapirzade Nuri Bey and Kayazade Reşad Bey are named as the founders of the Meslek group. Mehmed Bey was the nephew of the grand vizier Mahmud Nedim Pasha.
The secret society’s most dramatic moment came in the summer of 1867. According to the encyclopedia, it emerged that at a meeting in the Veli Efendi meadow in June 1867 a decision had been taken to raid the Sublime Porte and kill Ali Pasha. The plan became known when one of the members, Subhipaşazade Ayetullah Bey, revealed the decision. According to the encyclopedia, the plan did not rest on any serious preparation. Mehmed, Nuri and Reşad Beys nevertheless fled abroad and were sentenced to death in absentia.
Who Made Up the Young Ottomans?
According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, there was no common unity of thought among the names mentioned together. The encyclopedia also considers it debatable whether the group was a coherent body and a formal organization. Even so, some names stand out in the memory of the movement.
Namık Kemal was born in Tekirdağ on 21 December 1840. According to the encyclopedia, in Istanbul he met Şinasi, who was then publishing the newspaper Tasvir-i Efkar. Namık Kemal became the most influential writer in spreading the concepts of liberty and homeland. According to the encyclopedia, after the great success of his play “Vatan yahut Silistre” (Homeland, or Silistra), he was exiled to Famagusta, and his exile lasted thirty-eight months. We told the story of his life in our article Namık Kemal: the powerful voice of liberty.
According to the encyclopedia, the exile in Famagusta was the most productive period of Namık Kemal’s literary life. There he wrote all his plays except his first and last, as well as his first novel, İntibah (Awakening). He later served as mutasarrıf, or district governor, on Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. Namık Kemal died of pneumonia on 2 December 1888.
Ziya Bey, later known by his title Ziya Pasha, was the movement’s other great writer. According to the encyclopedia, he published the newspaper Hürriyet together with Namık Kemal and continued it alone after Kemal left. Ali Suavi, for his part, was born in Istanbul in November 1839 and became known for his sermons at the Şehzade Mosque. According to the encyclopedia, the newspaper Muhbir, which he published in London, became the voice of the opposition. Ali Suavi, however, was one of the radical figures who left the group earliest.
In Paris, Ali Suavi published the newspaper Ulum, which had mainly scholarly and intellectual content. According to the encyclopedia, on 20 May 1878 he raided the Çırağan Palace with a group of about 250 people. His aim was most probably to restore Murad V to the throne. During the raid he was killed by Hasan Ağa, the guard of the Beşiktaş police station.
There were other names in the circle as well. According to the encyclopedia, Çapanzade Agah Efendi was among those who attended the meetings in Europe. Some, such as Kanipaşazade Ahmed Rifat Bey, an official at the Paris embassy, joined for personal reasons. These people left the group once their expectations came to nothing.
The European Years and the Press
Mustafa Fazıl Pasha of Egypt made the movement’s European period possible. According to the encyclopedia, the pasha, who had been deprived of his right of succession in Egypt in 1866, took the opponents who came to France under his protection and supported them financially. In March 1867 the pasha published an open letter addressed to Sultan Abdülaziz. The opponents distributed thousands of copies of the Turkish translation of this letter in Istanbul.
The government, for its part, wanted to remove the opponents from Istanbul. According to the encyclopedia, Namık Kemal was appointed deputy governor of Erzurum on 25 March 1867, and Ziya Bey mutasarrıf of Cyprus on 8 May. Instead of taking up these posts, both accepted Mustafa Fazıl Pasha’s invitation. Namık Kemal, Ziya Bey and Ali Suavi arrived in Paris on 30 May 1867.
According to the encyclopedia, a thirteen-article statute was adopted at a meeting held in Baden-Baden on 30 August 1867. The society founded there was called “Young Turkey” (Jeune Turquie). The encyclopedia notes that this name should be translated as “New” or “Young Ottomans” so that it is not confused with the Young Turks. The pasha had set aside an allowance of 300,000 francs a year for the society. The newspaper Muhbir also began publication in London on 31 August 1867.
The movement’s most influential publication was the newspaper Hürriyet. According to the encyclopedia, the first issue of the weekly Hürriyet appeared in London on 29 June 1868. Namık Kemal left the paper after the 63rd issue in September 1869. Ziya Bey continued the publication, and the last issue, number 100, appeared in Geneva on 23 June 1870.
What Did the Young Ottomans Want?
According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the symbolic significance of the movement lies in its demands for liberty and a constitution (nizamat-ı esasiyye). The Young Ottomans also wanted a parliament, called “şura-yı ümmet”, to be opened. They saw these demands as necessary for the salvation of the empire. The word “şura” that they chose for the assembly also shows an effort to express their demands in Islamic terms.
The encyclopedia also assesses these demands with a critical eye. According to it, the gradual reform approach of the Tanzimat leaders was a more realistic policy under the general conditions. When the opponents spoke of Europe, on the other hand, they mostly meant France, where they lived. For the movement’s demands, see also our article on the roots of the idea of liberty.
Dissolution and the Kanun-ı Esasi
According to the encyclopedia, Mustafa Fazıl Pasha’s reconciliation with the sultan put the group’s leading figures in financial difficulty. Namık Kemal returned to Istanbul on 24 November 1870 with Ali Pasha’s permission. Ziya Bey returned in 1871, benefiting from the general amnesty declared after Ali Pasha’s death. According to the encyclopedia, the movement’s activity abroad came to an end with Ali Suavi’s return in November 1876.
The movement’s leading figures gathered around Midhat Pasha, who first became grand vizier on 31 July 1872. Sultan Abdülaziz was deposed, and Murad V was placed on the throne on 30 May 1876. According to the encyclopedia, the Kanun-ı Esasi was proclaimed on 23 December 1876, the day the Tersane Conference convened.
According to the encyclopedia, during their years in Europe the New Ottomans managed neither to become a political party nor to reach a consensus among themselves. Even so, their demands were repeated word for word by the next generation. The restoration of the constitution in 1908 made these first opponents unforgettable. We compared the two movements in our article on the key differences with the Young Turks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who made up the Young Ottomans?
The best-known names are Namık Kemal, Ziya Pasha and Ali Suavi. Mehmed Bey, Nuri Bey, Reşad Bey, Ayetullah Bey and Agah Efendi were also part of the circle.
Are the Young Ottomans and the New Ottomans the same?
Yes, the two names refer to the same group. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam covers this group under the entry “Yeni Osmanlılar Cemiyeti” (Society of New Ottomans).
Where was the newspaper Hürriyet published?
Its first issue appeared in London on 29 June 1868. Its last issue was published in Geneva on 23 June 1870.
Who was Mustafa Fazıl Pasha?
He was the brother of Ismail Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, and lost his right of succession in Egypt in 1866. He took the opponents in Europe under his protection and supported them financially.
Conclusion
The Young Ottomans were one of the first organized intellectual oppositions to the firm administration of the Tanzimat. Its core was the secret society called “meslek” in Istanbul; the society proper was founded in Europe with the support of Mustafa Fazıl Pasha. Namık Kemal, Ziya Pasha and Ali Suavi spread the idea of liberty and a constitution through newspapers. The Young Ottomans remained a loose group, but their demands lived on in the constitutional processes of 1876 and 1908.
Sources
- TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, entry “Yeni Osmanlılar Cemiyeti” (Society of New Ottomans)
- TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, entry “Nâmık Kemal”
- TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, entry “Ali Suâvi”
- TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, entry “Midhat Paşa” (Midhat Pasha)
- Şerif Mardin, The Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought, Princeton 1962.
