The Rise and Fall of the Ottoman EmpireRyan NeesonHIS109Y1Steven McClellan19 April 2013IntroductionBy the 20th century the Ottoman Empire had become a shadow of its former self. Underdeveloped and undersized compared to the European powers, the centuries of decline had now finally hit them. Called the “sick man of Europe” in the 18th century, he was finally realizing that the great empire that wanted to conquer the world was about to fall. Although defeat in the First World War can be seen as the reason for its collapse, there were internal struggles within the Empire that made its political and cultural identity obsolete in the ever-changing world of the 20th century. Although the European powers were no strangers to colonization, which they had done in the “New World” and Africa, they began to expand into a region they had not been involved in since the days of the Crusades. The Ottoman Empire originally ruled much of the Middle East, including Egypt, Arabia, and parts of Persia. While they were not always popular rulers, they were a calming presence in the region that brought a certain level of stability. The region they controlled was very multicultural, and although the state religion was Islam, there were many other religions such as Roman Catholicism and Greek Orthodox. Many Europeans were given special accommodations within the Ottoman Empire, which angered the true Turks and prepared for the change. The real collapse of Ottoman society occurred well before 1918, when in 1908 the Young Turk movement called for the abdication of the Ottoman sultan and the creation of a new government. In 1914, when World War I broke out, they tried to choose sides as allies, carefully because they were... middle of paper... infects the world today. The modern state of Türkiye now exists in the ancient Ottoman stronghold of Anatolia, still using the same flag and honoring the Empire that came before it. It is clear, however, that the biggest consequence for Europe following the fall of the Ottoman Empire was the rise of influence in the Middle East which had not been introduced in the Industrial Revolution unlike much of Europe. While Europeans hoped that they could enter this new region and begin to change it, the culture of the area proved too difficult to make any permanent change actually possible. The fall of the Ottoman Empire had many long-term consequences for Europe, but the most lasting change was the creation of modern Turkey, which was a long-time ally of the European Union and not the constant threat to the 'Europe that the Ottomans represented. The Empire had existed for so many years.