Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 255 Subsequent Impact
Regarding the construction of Baghdad, Nasser al-Din wanted to build it into a city like Paris, complete with a magnificent palace, mosques, bustling markets, and other grand structures. He even envisioned replicating the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, but felt such a spectacle would be too detrimental to the country, so he opted for something else.

"This could attract 30 people to settle here in the future, and it will also connect the south and the east. This is crucial for future development."

The Shah spoke of the benefits of making Baghdad the capital, but noted that it would strain Iran's finances, requiring substantial future investments in national development. Of course, the royal family would also provide assistance.

After the treaty was signed, only a portion of the original Ottoman inhabitants left. The majority of those who remained were Armenians and Kurds, who believed life in Iran was better than under Ottoman rule. However, they too faced forced relocation policies.

Under orders from the Iranian government, some Armenians will migrate to Baghdad, Basra, and eastern Khorasan. Too many ethnic minorities living together can easily lead to unrest, so it's necessary to disperse them as much as possible.

Of course, if you want to start a new life, you can live in East Africa. Don't worry, you'll have a livelihood guaranteed.

The impact of the Baghdad Treaty extended beyond Iran. Within the Ottoman Empire, Reshid Pasha resigned along with his entire cabinet. He died of a heart attack the day after his resignation. He had undergone numerous treatments to cope with the war, which extended his life by ten months, but those ten months caused his reputation to plummet.

For the Sultan, ceding territory and paying reparations was naturally painful, but what could he do? Was he really going to have Nasser al-Din lead his army to lodge a bitter complaint?

It was too late for regrets. He could only blame the Europeans for not helping him. Abdul-Majid indulged in a life of European-style extravagance and pleasure in his palace. The Sultan had refined taste in music, hiring Austrian masters to train his orchestra in the finest modern compositions, which quickly replaced the more primitive military music. He also brought in European actors, ballet dancers, and other performers to perform in the newly built theater next to the palace.

Both the Sultan and his Grand Vizier possessed a fatal weakness—a lack of resolve. A European ambassador expressed similar concerns, believing that "they are bound to decline because of the cowardice, weakness, and indecisiveness of the monarch and his ministers."

The Tanzimat reforms, which began after the Crimean War, have been labeled a failure, but some extreme pro-European factions argue that the reforms were not thorough enough and that a full opening and reform should be implemented.

In other words, the Ottoman Empire should be completely open, opening every region to Europe. Furthermore, it should be thoroughly secularized, forcibly implementing various secular policies; only then can it succeed.

Conservatives and reformers were tearing the Ottoman Empire apart; its next step was a crucial choice. However, another group in opposition attempted to realize its ideals of freedom through nationalism. Since the 1848 revolutions, various European nations had actively embraced this ideology. This group, drawn to this bold new direction, was loosely organized, its main members being young, secularly educated Ottoman Turks. Their goal was to establish a constitutional government for the Ottoman Empire. While advocating Western liberal constitutional ideals, they also sought to incorporate the most essential elements of tradition.

European countries such as Britain, France, Prussia, Austria, and Russia have had to re-formulate their policies in response to the new Middle East situation. With Iran's defeat of the Ottoman Empire, they have assumed the international status that the Ottomans once held. Furthermore, having defeated Russia, they can no longer view Iran through the lens of colonial powers; it has become a small but powerful nation.

However, capitalists from various countries also had many ideas, such as those who held large amounts of Ottoman debt. According to the Treaty of Baghdad, this enormous war reparations would be paid in eight installments. The first installment of 15 million riyals was to be paid within six months of the exchange of ratifications of the Treaty of Baghdad; the second installment of 10 million riyals was to be paid within twelve months of the exchange of ratifications. The remaining amount would be divided into six equal installments, paid annually. The treaty also stipulated that any outstanding payments after the first installment would accrue interest at 5% per annum.

The enormous war reparations were not only unbearable for the people, but even the Ottoman government struggled to raise the funds in such a short time. Government spending was minimal, leaving the government with no savings after each year's expenditures. Therefore, relying on Ottoman fiscal surpluses to repay the war reparations was utterly hopeless. To achieve this goal, massive borrowing was the only option for the Ottomans.

To repay loans and reparations, the Ottoman Empire was forced to issue more and more bonds. The financiers involved collected exorbitant commissions, and the pashas handling the transactions often accepted bribes. All of this left the entire country heavily indebted.

This outcome was unacceptable to the people of the Ottoman Empire, so their traditional tactic of a coup d'état was staged once again. On November 26, Sultan Abdulmejid was deposed by the Ottoman army on the grounds that he was unable to lead the country to prosperity.

In reality, however, he was a mild and benevolent ruler who garnered the sympathy of the Western world. He possessed liberal ideals but lacked the necessary resolve and energy to put his ideals into practice. He was inherently lazy, self-indulgent, and extravagant. He proclaimed himself a reformer, yet he failed to satisfy neither his subjects nor his Christian followers, and was unable to maintain the unity of the empire. He failed to complete most of the progressive measures initiated by his ancestors.

Abdul Mejid was succeeded by his younger brother, Abdul Aziz. Although the two brothers had a decent personal relationship, his brother was closely connected with the forces opposing reform in politics. He was a handsome and energetic sultan, physically strong but not well-educated, with a capricious personality and a very volatile temper.

Regardless, the treaty had to be observed, so a large number of Ottoman officials left the ceded territories. Meanwhile, Iran established consulates in Damascus, Ankara, and Cyprus, proceeding according to the treaty. Iranian merchants, having received the news, quickly bought up the property of the departing Ottomans in the new territories. They drove prices down to a minimum, sometimes only half the market value. However, their country could not support itself and was forced to sell.

(End of this chapter)