Constantinople was temporarily saved by another advance of the Mongol Tartars upon the Turkish dominions in Asia, where, in 1402, the Ottomans suffered a severe defeat. From this check they recovered, and during the first part of the fifteenth century were at war with the Hungarians and neighbouring races, whom they eventually overthrew. In 1451 Mohammed II. ascended the Ottoman throne, and in 1453 led an immense army against Constantinople. The city was taken by storm, the last of the Roman Emperors of the east died fighting, and Mohammed II. rode in triumph to the cathedral of St. Sophia, where he established the Moslem worship.
For over a hundred years after this the Turkish Empire continued to extend. Egypt was annexed in 1517, and in the middle of this century Tripoli and Algeria were added, as well as considerable districts in Europe and Asia. The Turks were now at the zenith of their power.
A Comparison of the Two Divisions.
Recapitulating, we may compare the two divisions of the Roman Empire since their overthrow, from the prophetic, religious and political standpoints. From the prophetic point of view our interest in the west has thus far centred in the fact that the ten kingdoms were not formed by the fifth century invasions; our interest in the east centres chiefly in the land of Palestine, wrenched, as we have seen, from the eastern Emperor by the Saracens, and then occupied by the Turks, who still possess it. From the religious standpoint, the Germanic tribes in the west accepted Roman Catholicism, hence its progress in that part of Europe; in the east the Turks had accepted Mohammedanism when invading the Empire of the Khaliphs, hence the establishment of Islamism throughout the Turkish dominions. Politically, the western invasion in the fifth century, and the consequent amalgamation of the Teutonic tribes with the peoples formerly under Roman control, led eventually to the formation of the various mediaeval monarchies of Western Europe which are to-day either kingdoms or republics. Affairs in the eastern half of the Roman world have moved more slowly in this respect, owing to the prolonged existence of the Ottoman Empire. The slow decay of the Turkish power from the middle of the sixteenth century onward has already resulted in the formation of some Eastern States, and the process still continues.
The Decline of the Turkish Empire.
The decline of the power of the Turks set in during the latter half of the sixteenth century, when their dominions passed under incapable rulers. In the reign of Selim II. (1566-1574) occurred the first conflict between the Turks and Russians, the former being driven back from Astrakkan. In 1593, during a war between Turkey and Austria, the provinces of Transylvania, Moldavia, and Wallachia rose in revolt. As the result of intermittent wars in the latter half of the seventeenth century Austria acquired almost the whole of Hungary. In 1770 Russia occupied Moldavia and Wallachia, which though nominally for a time under Turkey were practically Russian protectorates. During the next few years Russia regained the Crimea and all the neighbouring district north of the Black Sea. At the commencement of the nineteenth century the Ottoman Empire was in a perilous condition. Napoleon had plans for its partition. Provincial governors were everywhere acting independently of the Sultan. In 1804 Serbia revolted, and after a few years of persistent struggle obtained its autonomy. Greece revolted in 1820, and, though subdued for a time, gained its independence in 1829 through the intervention of England, France, and Russia, and chiefly as the result of the naval battle of Navarino, in which the Turco-Egyptian fleet was annihilated. In the same year Algeria was annexed by the French. European rivalries prevented for a time any rapid diminution of the Empire.
The Crimean War of 1854-5 had important consequences for the Balkan peoples. It gave them, under the slackening grasp of the Porte, twenty years of comparatively quiet national development. In 1860 Wallachia and Moldavia formed themselves into the single state of Roumania. In 1866 the Pasha of Egypt assumed the title of Khedive (i.e., king), thereby securing a measure of independence for the country. In 1875 the misrule of the Sultan led to the insurrection of Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Bulgaria. Serbia and Montenegro then took up arms. In 1877 a war with Russia saw Turkey without an ally. A complete Russian victory in 1878 issued in the treaties first of San Stefano and then of Berlin, by which Turkey yielded to Russia the state of Bessarabia and districts south of the Caucasus, the independence of Serbia, Montenegro, and Roumania were recognised by the Porte, Bulgaria was constituted an autonomous state, Bosnia and Herzegovina were ceded to Austria, Thessaly to Greece, and Cyprus to Britain. In 1885, as the result of a revolution, Eastern Roumelia became united to Bulgaria. Shortly after that date German influence began to gain ascendancy at the court of the Sultan, and, among other affairs, largely dominated the granting of railway concessions in Western Asia. The effects of that influence have been evidenced in the present war. In 1912 Italy annexed Tripoli after a brief war. In 1913 a short but sanguinary war with the Balkan States deprived Turkey of all her European dominions save for a small piece of territory in the vicinity of Constantinople. Egypt, which has been chiefly under British control for a considerable period, has in 1915 been practically annexed by Britain as a protectorate, the Khedive being deposed and a nominee of the British Government being placed in authority. Britain has likewise annexed a district north of the Persian Gulf.
The Coming Overthrow.
The continual decrease of the Turkish Empire, and more especially during the past hundred years, affords ground, apart from other considerations, for the expectation of its overthrow and the eventual cession of Palestine to the Jews, perhaps by a general agreement among the European Powers, events which seem not far distant. National jealousies would not permit the permanent annexation of Palestine by any one of these Powers, in whatever way the remaining Asiatic Turkish dominions may be divided. A proposal has already been put forward for its annexation to Egypt. Such an arrangement would in any case be merely temporary. To the Jews the land belongs, and by Divine decree the Jews are to possess it again.
