Ottoman Empire · 1839-1908

The Ottoman Empire: reform and retreat

Called "the sick man of Europe" by its rivals, the Ottoman Empire tries to save itself with sweeping reforms, a constitution and railways, while it loses land in the Balkans. Students follow the Tanzimat, the crisis of 1878 and the Young Turk revolution of 1908.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, AD 1880
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Called "the sick man of Europe" by its rivals, the Ottoman Empire tries to save itself with sweeping reforms, a constitution and railways, while it loses land in the Balkans. Students follow the Tanzimat, the crisis of 1878 and the Young Turk revolution of 1908.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain what the Tanzimat reforms (1839-1876) tried to achieve.
  • Describe how the empire lost land in the Balkans after 1878.
  • Explain what the Young Turk revolution of 1908 wanted.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1880

An old map

Open the map in 1880 and turn on Historical Maps: a map of the Ottoman Empire from 1880 appears. On which three continents does the empire still hold land?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1880

Shrinking in Europe

Zoom in on the Balkans. Drag the slider from 1815 to 1880 and then to 1914. Which new states appear as the Ottoman Empire shrinks?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1880

The Ottoman Ascent

Click Stories at the top left and play The Ottoman Ascent, which ends in 1683. Then jump to 1880. How much of the empire's land in Europe is left?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. The Tanzimat promised equality to Muslims, Christians and Jews alike. Why might some subjects welcome that and others resist it?
  2. Why did rival powers call the Ottoman Empire "the sick man of Europe", yet often work to keep it alive?
  3. The first Ottoman parliament met in 1877 and was closed in 1878. Why might a sultan fear a parliament?
  4. In 1894-1896 Armenians were killed in massacres in the empire; historians estimate between about 100,000 and 300,000 deaths. How did such violence change how the world saw the Ottoman state?
  5. Railways, telegraphs and schools were paid for partly with foreign loans. When does borrowing to modernise become dangerous?
4

Game round

10 min

Play Suleiman the Magnificent in Rule History. Under him the empire was at its height. Discuss: which of his strengths had the empire lost by 1878, and could reforms bring them back?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.