Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 223 The Sultan's Wrath
Abdul-Majd gripped the newspaper tightly, as if he wanted to tear it to shreds. Reshid Pasha, Mitahim Muhammad Rashidi Pasha, and Omar Pasha watched the Sultan from the sidelines; the Sultan looked ready to explode at any moment.

"Damn it, damn it! How dare he say I'm no match for the Persians! Such a person should be killed on the spot."

The Sultan was in a helpless rage; all he could do now was tear the newspaper to shreds. As for anything more, only Allah could do.

"Let our army attack immediately and make sure to crush the Persians."

The three Pashas remained silent, knowing that these were just words spoken in anger, and that the Ottomans could not yet wage war.

Military representative Omar Pasha spoke first: "Sultan, given our current situation, it is not wise to go to war with Persia at this time. Our army is not ready, and our finances are not ideal. We must wait until we are ready."

But such a reason was not enough to appease the Sultan; he had had enough.

"Don't talk to me about these things. If we can suppress Ali's rebellion, then we can certainly defeat Persia as well."

Sultan, haven't you seen it clearly yet? Ali failed because Britain and France didn't want Egypt to escape their control, which is why they intervened. How could the Ottomans possibly fare well?

“Shah, we should focus on domestic legislation next. Even if there are obstacles, we must push forward, for the sake of a more civilized world.”

Reshid Pasha continued to emphasize the need to focus on enacting legislation to protect Christians, as this was a crucial means for them to curry favor with Britain and France. He paid close attention to civil rights reforms within Iran, noting that aside from establishing an expert council with designated seats for religious minorities, there was nothing else. This was their weakness; if the Ottoman Empire could grant Christians equal status, it would change European perceptions of the Ottoman Empire, making it a civilized nation, and naturally, it would exert pressure on a semi-civilized country like Iran.

Megid calmed down a bit and looked at Reshid Pasha. Although he had been pushing forward with the reforms his father had left behind, he wasn't sure if they were the right thing to do. Apart from the military, the situation in the Ottoman Empire hadn't improved.

"How's the loan agreement we're discussing with Britain and France coming along?"

Whether it was military or administrative reforms, the Ottoman Empire needed money to function. Their existing revenues were insufficient, so they needed to borrow from Europe.

Rehid Pasha signed a loan agreement with France for 6000 million francs, which allowed the Ottomans to continue transferring their 35 elite troops to the eastern border, equipped with weapons from Britain and France. "Everything is ready; the first tranche of 600 million francs has arrived."

"Great, with this money, our next steps will go very smoothly."

Magid couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if he conquered Persia; perhaps he could surpass his ancestors. England and France would no longer look down on him, and Russia would no longer bully him at will.

He had every right to think this way; his confidence stemmed from the so-called hundreds of thousands of elite troops. Recruitment was by conscription, and the army's training, weaponry, equipment, and organization were all Westernized. In this way, the Ottoman Empire acquired a new army of at least 30 men, whose soldiers possessed both the courage and discipline of ancient Ottoman soldiers, and whose officers' quality would gradually improve with the development of military academies. Despite the new decrees, Christians were still effectively excluded from conscription. And the army's formidable fighting power had already been demonstrated at Silistra, so there was no doubt about it.

"By the way, in Sudan, there have been recent disturbances in the provinces of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Basra. Most of them are Shia families who have migrated there, and the governor wants to have the army expel them."

Reshid Pasha also deliberately reduced the number of provinces, suggesting Jerusalem and Cyprus should be added, as there was some unrest in the Mecca region. However, they were not Shiites, but rather dissatisfied with the Istanbul government.

For most Crescent Moon Christians, the liberation of non-believers was deeply unsettling, as it challenged their most fundamental traditional belief—that the Crescent Moon religion was superior to all other religions. Indeed, they deserved inclusion and protection, and a degree of freedom in their internal affairs.

However, they should be treated differently as a distinct ethnic group. They adhered to a different religion and therefore could not be considered equal to the Crescent Moon Christians. Even in the secular society envisioned by the Tanzimat reforms, these people should not be morally or socially equated with the Crescent Moon Christians. This opposition permeated the empire, creating widespread reactionary sentiment. Lacking a decisive sultan, the Ottoman Empire could not easily suppress this trend.

Meanwhile, the economic crisis exacerbated domestic unrest. Large numbers of people left the old medieval towns and villages, moving into new, ever-expanding cities, leading to urban population growth. At the same time, traditional handicrafts in the old towns declined, and the livelihoods of artisans and farmers dwindled. Within a generation, the size of major cities tripled, even tripled. The influx of people from Europe and the Levant into the cities often took away business from Ottoman merchants, thus widening the divide between Christians.

The Ottomans typically did not act as traders, merchants, or financiers, but rather as administrators, soldiers, and farmers. Successive sultans lacked an understanding of the value of a full treasury and a good-quality currency, resulting in an inefficient and corrupt government and rampant official corruption. Whenever faced with a fiscal deficit, their solution was to devalue the currency. This led to persistent inflation, lowering living standards and encouraging salaried officials to seek alternative sources of income, further contributing to moral decay.

However, the reformers' admirable efforts yielded more verbal concessions than actual improvements. The Sultan became increasingly fascinated with life in the harem. While his neighbor Naser al-Din had only one child, this Sultan was already a father of eight before he was even 20.

He grew weary of the old Grand Zaraquilio Palace. Ignoring warnings of a fiscal deficit and the imminent risk of government bankruptcy, he resolved to build a new palace across the Channel. All these actions rendered Tanzimat's plan a mere formality from the outset. His reforms, imbued with an eager Westernization ethos, brought nothing but chaos, and his only achievement was the introduction of other foreign powers. Now it seems another one will be added.

(End of this chapter)