Anyone with a bit of historical knowledge knows that the lifespan of an empire is generally around 200 years. The Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty did not add up to 600 years, and the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty added up to four hundred years.
The Byzantine Empire, though claimed to have survived for more than 1,000 years, changed dynasties almost every 100 years. The Japanese emperor family is nominally a lineage of ten thousand generations, and not only have there been southern and northern dynasties in the middle, but the emperor has not had real power for a long time.
Only this empire, a single family, ruled the empire for more than 600 years.
When this empire was founded, China was in the Yuan Dynasty, and its development model was almost exactly the same as that of the Qing Dynasty. What did such a steppe tribe, once a very small population, rely on to rule a super empire spanning both continents of Europe and Asia?
A vast empire known to the Western powers as the "Sick Man of West Asia"
Looking at the territory of the Ottoman Empire, and then at the few people who built the Empire, they couldn't believe their eyes, how did they do it?
The ancestors of the Ottoman Empire were a branch of the Turks who were defeated during the Han Dynasty in China.
In order to survive, they were forced to move west and live a nomadic life of water and grass.
Later, the nation built a vast empire with its fearsome Janissaries, and the territory it ruled over was the most chaotic and chaotic place in the world.
Even today, the Middle East, Europe's powder keg, Istanbul and other places are still full of contradictions, and all forces are eyeing the region.
Although the Qing Dynasty began with a population of hundreds of thousands, the areas ruled by the Qing Dynasty not only had the Artifact of Governance invented by the Han People - Confucianism.
Moreover, the main areas ruled by Han Chinese who use the same script and language. The subjects of the Ottoman Empire not only straddled Eurasia, but also christians made up the majority.
Moreover, Egypt, the Middle East, Europe, every place uses different languages and scripts, and there are ethnic groups of any race.
Coincidentally, however, the policies of the Ottoman Empire and the Qing Dynasty were similar.
· Almost the same method of rule as the Qing Dynasty
So far, many Ming Dynasty fans can't understand how the Manchus, a backward tribe of less than 500,000 people, ate the elephant of the Ming Dynasty, which has almost 100 million people.
In fact, it was not the Manchus or Li Zicheng who really brought down the Ming Dynasty, but the nobles of the Ming Dynasty themselves.
To sum it up in today's sentence: just don't do not die!
How did the rulers of the Ottoman Empire, as a handful of Islamic foreigners, control huge territories with complex and ethnic origins?
In fact, the policies they implemented were similar to those of the Manchus, and they all divided the entire territory according to local conditions.
First of all, how the Qing Dynasty governed more than 1,000 square kilometers of land, in simple terms, it can be summarized as follows:
1. The Han people do not control the army, and the Manchus do not manage their finances;
2. The Qing Dynasty System, Worship Kong and Respect Confucianism;
3. Take Han China as the economic foundation and the Tibetan nationality as the spiritual guidance;
4. Manchu, Han, Mongolian, Hui, Uighur and other multi-ethnic groups divided and ruled;
5. Use the northwest and the outer northeast as military buffers to prevent the invasion of wolves from the north;
Study the culture of the Han Chinese and make full use of the wisdom of the Han and Han to govern the empire;
The Ottoman Empire, which was dominated by Islam, had a similar approach to its rule
Egypt endorses the breadbasket, the Middle East endorses faith, and establishes a strategic buffer zone;
(b) Govern the country in the doctrine of Islam without enforcing the promotion of Islamic culture and respecting the freedom of belief of all peoples;
3. Stick to the "crossroads of the world" Constantinople, firmly grasp the main traffic routes connecting the East and the West, and shape the base camp policy;
Build a strong Janissary army and fight whoever disobeys;
5. Let the peripheral areas have a high degree of autonomy, and do not seek tribute, but only spiritual submission;
Sixth, take expansion as a defense, and constantly expand externally;
It is necessary to explain here what article II means by "governing the country by Islamic doctrine", rather than saying that the country is governed by Islam.
That is to say, the royals and founders of the Ottoman Empire, although They were Islamic, never required all of their subjects to be Muslim.
Instead, the banner of religion was used to enhance the cohesion of the empire as much as possible.
Islam does not allow alcohol or loan sharking, but the sultan turned a blind eye to these things, and even many precious wines were smuggled into the palace. Proper lending, on the other hand, stimulated the empire's economy.
The rulers of the Ottoman Empire were shrewd, and as long as it was beneficial to the rule, everything could be compromised, and everything could be pretended to be invisible.
As long as it was not good for the empire, like the Janissaries that had laid the foundation for the empire, equivalent to the Eight Banners of the Manchus, they were also wiped out by the Sultan with cannons.
Although the Ottoman Empire, like the Qing Dynasty in its later years, also tried to realize the dream of becoming rich and powerful through the "foreign affairs movement" and "political reform".
But the tree that lived for 600 years was too old to end up losing 70 percent of its territory after World War I. How did the Ottoman Empire disintegrate? It also bears similarities with the Qing Dynasty.
The disintegration of a vast empire
The demise of any empire is not to be regretted, for it is the result of their own doing.
Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing, that is not the case.
The Ottoman Empire, like the Qing Dynasty, suffered the following problems:
I. The Janissaries' centuries-old arrogance and tail cannot be lost;
Second, conservative thinking, sticking to the tradition;
3. The extravagance and chaos of the superstructure;
Fourth, the empire was too large and was regarded as a fat pig by the Western powers;
Fifth, the empire is aging and rigid, and it has lost the majestic wind of the year;
Sixth, the last emperor's efforts to be strong, the more tossed and turned, the worse;
Eventually, the Ottoman Empire, after World War I, almost in sync with the Qing Dynasty, was dismembered under siege in the West.
But there were no scum left in the Qing Dynasty, and the Ottoman Empire spent almost all the resources and strength of the Empire to grasp the straw of Istanbul's life and survived the later ups and downs.
Today, more than 100 years after the qing dynasty was wiped out, a certain country claiming to be the first heir of the Ottoman Empire is trying to restore the country today, trying to restore the former territory and glory of the Ottoman Empire.
Readers, do you think it's still possible?