Topkapi Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire

“How does the extermination of the rebels in the Balkans faring?” Sultan Abdul Mehmed, sitting with an indifferent expression, at the most powerful throne of the Ottoman Empire, asked the men present regarding the Balkan rebels inside the border, whether they were exterminated or not.

“Your Majesty, the rebels were already retreating and hiding in the mountains, there is no need to worry about those pests, they would be dealt with our army in the region,” Says one of the ministers. “Even the insurgents in Arabia and Persian are on the run your majesty, you should not be worried about it.”

All of the ministers are sweating and very nervous, they need to keep the Sultan happy even if he is uninformed of what is really happening outside the Capital. In the surface, the insurgency and rebellions inside the Ottoman Empire are being kept on check, and in some it seems ending and destroyed, but the methods used by the army to pacify the regions are very brutal which is further straining the public order.

Genocide, massacres, rape and pillaging are occurring throughout the Ottoman Empire. Just a week ago, ten of thousands of Armenians and Arabs, even children and women, are killed for being suspected supporters of the rebellions. The army has just become like a brigand with their pillaging and rape even to the innocents, but the civil officials can’t control the military for the power is already in their hands.

Since the Russio-Prussian of 1832, the power of the military of the Ottoman Empire is continuing to grow. The large territorial gains from 1832 until 1897, adding Arabia, Egypt, Crimea, Persia and other territories, make the military the most powerful faction in the empire. Adding the military success of crushing any insurgents and rebellions occurring, the Sultans trusted the military more than any other factions, paving the way of this large power inequality between the military and the civilian government.

The military can destroy anyone who tried to fight against the polices and decisions they want to implement, from government fund deprivation to assassinations, they can make any factions silent and fearful to the military.

And right now, the bureaucrats and civilian officials can only be silent to the atrocities of the military conducting to civilian population. Right now, the military officials are the only one who are speaking and reporting to the Sultan, everyone of them are scared to oppose their policies and programs and the only one who can stop them, the Sultan, are also fond and trust the military.

The two previous Sultans also are fond of the military, both are military-minded and such the country’s economic and social development and progress are lagging behind the military. The military currently tried to increase their military budget from 65% of the entire state’s year fund to 75%, the remaining are what is left to be divided among the other departments and institutions of the empire.

The civil officials can only sigh helplessly to such problems and can’t make any changes and progress. They know that the empire needed a huge change in order for it to survive but the only thing they can do is watch and pray that the Sultan can realize this himself.

** ** **

“How was the meeting father?” Adem asked his father expectantly, a ministry official of Railways and Transportation, if there are any good results from the imperial meeting.

“It is still the same, it even become worse than the previous year,” his father responded. “The Sultan approved the military’s plan for military increase of budget and also preparing for another conflict, this time against the Austrians for a few years after, I didn’t know the details but it seems a plan to totally destroy the Austrians. Such pointless conflicts would not develop the empire but instead destroyed it faster. Instead of expansion, we should just pursue in developing the country but the Sultan can’t see it.”

His father’s sadness can be seen in his expression, since they moved from Tehran, Persia to Constantinople, the political atmosphere they experienced differs. In their homeland, it may be chaotic due to rebellions but it is far from the seat of power, having a more mundane and simple life, free from the watchful eyes of the military and secret police. But after moving to the capital, it may seem peaceful but behind the scenes, plots and conspiracies are a regular occurrence. Their family has been threatened a lot of time by the military and they always feel they were always discreetly followed by the secret police or the military even in broad daylight.

Adem’s heart is filled with rage remembering his family’s hardships, he really wants to make a change in the empire, but peaceful and civil means were already out of the options for him. Even if they would protest or complaint, they would be not be heard by the Sultan and even they might be imprisoned or killed if deemed a threat by the military especially the Imperial Janissaries who hold the most power in the empire.

From elite warriors and bodyguards of the Sultan, they become the most powerful military body with numbering about a million personnel, they’re also best-equipped and trained throughout the Ottoman empire and they would only heed the order of the Sultan. They become the sword of the Sultan to all its battles and counter-insurgency, they were feared both in the battlefield and at home, spread across every corner of the empire.

Even if the Janissaries are spread throughout the empire’s battlefronts, there are still a substantial amount of them station in the capital and important regions, especially in the capital with more than a hundred thousand soldiers, larger than the garrison forces in the city. For such reason, the military can maintain their hold in power even in the capital where the center of civilian government in present.

His father also shared with his son on how the military and even the Sultan become conceited and confident that they could defeat the Austrians even if there are a lot of rebellions in the empire. It seems that the high-ranked military generals and the Sultan have no idea what is really happening and the situation of the empire. He shared everything to his son without any doubts, fully trusting his son even to the most sensitive information in the meeting. He fully trusted his son as this was not the first time he shared information to Adem and sometimes his son would give him insights and ideas in order to solve problems in his job.

After talking with his father for other confidential information and issues, he entered his room and contemplate. He was afraid to break his father’s trust with him, his father knowingly shared information because he knows that his father trusted him and he also wants to release his pent-up frustrations and feelings to someone he trusted.

But the situation throughout the empire can’t be seem harmonious anymore, the people are afraid but also a lot of them are furious. The inequality between the different social classes in the empire is wide already and continue to widen which further increase the people’s anger to its peak. Fruitless war, rape, pillaging and genocides are common inside the border.

After contemplating and debating inside his mind, Adem finally decided to break his father’s trust and meet with the Russians – Ottoman Empire’s number one enemy. Adem thinks that it would be better if the powder keg for an armed revolution and change came from an external force so it would be easy to control the masses if there is one external enemy after the revolution would be successful. Also without external influence, the military can easily squash any movement and it would be better if the military would be distracted by a foreign conflict and a war with Austria would give him an opportunity and there is enough time to prepare.