Turkey 1789 CE

What is happening in Turkey in 1789CE

Repeated wars with Austria and Russia have lost the Ottomans the northern shores of the Black Sea, but have allowed them to regain territory in the Balkans. Ominously for the future, the Ottomans have been forced to concede to Russia, a measure of protection over the sultan’s Orthodox Christian subjects.

Internally, the central government of the empire has been weakening, as provincial notables establish a measure of autonomy in their various regions. The central government is forced into playing off one group against another, and so maintains the integrity of the empire. The government has taken some steps to modernize the army and administration, but these have been fiercely opposed by the privileged, but now-decrepit, Janissaries, as well as by the Ulema, the religious establishment, who are deeply suspicious of any western influence.

Next map, Turkey in 1837