England and the Near East

The Crimea

Harold Temperley

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9780429640544
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

Originally published in 1964, this volume focuses on the history of England's relations with the Near East from the death of Canning until the day when Disraeli brought back 'peace with honour' from Berlin. The period begins with the British fleet's destruction of Turkish sea-power at Naarino and ends with its protection of the Turkish capital against Russia. The aim is not a study of diplomatic or naval history, but a general narrative in which these speical features are found side by side with a study of Oriental institutions and of Balkan nationalities.

EPILOGUE

DURING his later years Lord Aberdeen was often haunted by melancholy thoughts. Some of his actions seemed strange even to those who knew him best. Among these was his persistent refusal to rebuild an ugly and dilapidated parish church on one of his estates. To all requests he returned a steady refusal, saying always, ‘I leave that for George’ (his son). Everyone thought his conduct very unusual and no one guessed the true reason for it.⁵⁷¹ After his death a text was found, written and rewritten by him on scraps of paper, which supplied the key to the mystery.

‘And David said unto Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my power to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God. But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly and hast made great war: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.’ ^*

Was there ever a more strange or a more touching confession?

SHORT LIST OF TURKISH AND OTHER FOREIGN WORDS AND OF ENGLISH EQUIVALENTS, WITH A NOTE ON TURKISH NAMES

THE spelling of Turkish words, like that of Turkish names, has been corrupted by popular and usually by mistaken usages. But in a history, in which diplomats invariably refer to Reschid and Abdul Medjid, etc., it would be absurd to give them their correct titles. The proper designations will easily be found in the Encyclopaedia of Islam. Exactly the same principle can be applied to Turkish words and expressions. The popular or diplomatic usage is quoted here. For instance, ulemas is quite inaccurate as a plural, but was generally used by almost all diplomats and publicists. I have therefore given the normal or popular usage first, and sometimes added the correct usage in brackets. My friend Mr. R. Levy of Christ’s College, Cambridge, has kindly advised me as to this list.

Ayans (correctly ayan). Turkish notables of provinces and municipalities.

Berat. Charter or patent. Beratli (Beratti, plur.), holder of a Berat, i.e. privileged person.

Bey or Beg. Honorary title.

Beylerbeg. Governor of a province.

Cadi. Judge.

Derebey. Holder by feudal tenure.

Despotes. Title given to a Greek bishop.

Divan. Council or Court held by high officials.

Eyalet (vide Province).

Fetva. Decision by a jurisconsult on a point of law. Official confirmation by the Sheikh-ul-Islam of the acts or decrees of the Sultan.

Firman. Sultan’s edict.

Gulhané. Rose Chamber. Applied to the decree of reform issued in 1839. The name is derived from the Kiosk in the Seraglio where quantities of sweets were manufactured.

Guslar. Slav minstrel, who recites traditional folksongs. The Gusla is his stringed instrument.

Haiduk or Haidud. Robber, but often used in the sense of Christian patriot or rebel against Islam.

Haratch (corruption of Arabic Kharaj). Poll-tax on rayas exempting them from military service.

Hat[t] (writing). Hatti-Shériff (correctly Shirif) (illustrious writing). Hatti-Humayun (august writing). An ordinance of the Sultan or document written with his own hand.

Iltizam. Farming of revenue.

Imams. Preachers in the mosque.

Jehad (Djihad). Holy war.

Kaimakams. Deputy-governors.

Kaza (vide Province).

Kislar-Agasi. Chief black eunuch.

Liva (vide Province).

Logothete. Arch-Chancellor of Greek patriarch of Constantinople.

Mejliss. Council or Assembly.

Millet. Nation or community recognised by the Sultan. (Up to 1853 there were five: Armenians, United Armenians, Greeks, Jews, and Latins.)

Mollah. A cadi or other person officially recognised as being learned in the law, and having power to interpret it.

Mufti. A Judge having power to grant a fetva. The Grand Mufti, i.e. the Judge or the Sheikh-ul-Islam.

Nishan. Official seal or decoration.

Nizam. Regular troops.

Padishah. Sultan or Emperor.

Province. Government fixed in 1834. The Eyalet or general government subdivided into Livas or Sanjaks or provinces, and these again into Kazas or districts.

Rayas (Rajahs or Raïahs, plural of Rayet, also Raïhssi). Name for non-Mussulman subjects of the Sultan.

Rediffs (correctly Redifs). Reserve troops.

Richvet (correctly rishvet). Bribery.

Sanjak (vide Province).

Sheikh-ul-Islam. Chief or elder of Islam, interprets the law and issues the fetva sanctioning the Sultan’s acts.

Spahi or Sipahi. Feudal cavalryman.

Sultana Valide. Queen-Mother.

Tidjaret (correctly Tijaret). Commerce.

——Mehkemessi. Commercial Court.

——Odasi. Chamber of Commerce.

Timar. Feudal fief.

Ulemas (correctly ulema). The learned. The body of Moslem jurists.

Wakuf (Vacuf or Wakf). Property set apart as endowment for Mosques or charitable institutions.

LIST OF PREVIOUS ARTICLES AND WORKS BY THE AUTHOR DEALING WITH SPECIAL PHASES OF THIS PERIOD

(The following list may be useful in indicating certain phases less fully treated in the text or notes.)

‘Princess Lieven and the Protocol of April 4, 1826.’ E.H.R., January 1924.

‘The Unpublished Diary of Princess Lieven’ [1925]. (‘The Eastern Policy,’1825–56.)

‘Foreign Policy of Canning.’ (Chapters XIV, XV deal with the Eastern Question, 1820–7.)

‘British Policy towards Parliamentary Rule and Constitutionalism in Turkey’ (1830–1914). Cambridge Historical Journal, October 1933.

‘Stratford de Redcliffe and the Origins of the Crimean War.’ E.H.R., Part I, October 1933; Part II, April 1934.

‘The Alleged Violations of the Straits Convention by Stratford de Redcliffe between June and September 1853.’ E.H.R., October 1934.

‘The Last Phase of Stratford de Redcliffe’ (1855–58). E.H.R., April 1932.

‘The Treaty of Paris and its Execution’ (1856). Journal of Modern History, Part I, September 1932; Part II, December 1932.

‘British Secret Diplomacy during the Palmerstonian Period.’ (Deals largely with the Czar’s overture to Clanricarde, 1840–1, in Mélanges de Halvdan Koht, Oslo [1932], 274–294.)

‘History of Serbia’ [1918].

LIST OF MORE IMPORTANT NOTES

LIST OF MORE IMPORTANT NOTES TO CHAPTERS

...

CHAPTER I
NOTE		PAGE
	General bibliographical note	399–401
3	Revolt of the janizzaries	401
23	Destruction of the janizzaries	402
31	The murder of Pertev	403
33	The Turkish Press under Mahmud	403
48	The Turkish Army under Mahmud	404
50	Strength of Russian and Turkish fleets in 1838	404
53	Finance in the reign of Mahmud. Value of piasters (1814–42).	405
54	Monopolies and the Iltizam	405
56	Monopolies and Mehemet Ali	405
62	Commercial agreements and treaties from 1838 to 1844	406
68	David Urquhart	407
69	The rayas and Mahmud	409
CHAPTER II
74	England’s policy to Turkey (1660–1790)	409
75	England’s policy to Turkey (1791)	409
76	England’s defensive alliance with Turkey (1799–1807)	409
78	Russia’s treaties with Turkey (1798 and 1805)	410
95	Russian Eastern policy as decided by Czar Nicholas, September 16, 1829	411
98	Palmerston and Grey on Greece	411
101	The French in North Africa (1826–38)	412
106–119.	Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi (1833). Russian entry into the Mediterranean, the Bosphorus, and the closing of the Dardanelles. Anti-Russian panic in England	412
CHAPTER III
	General bibliographical note for Chapters III and IV	415–18
131	Wellington’s military opinion on the way to deal with Mehemet Ali	418
140	British routes to India	419
142	Mehemet Ali, the Caliphate and the Pan-Arab movement	419
	(a) Mehemet Ali as Caliph	419
	(b) The Grand Sheriff as independent Caliph	422
145	Reschid’s negotiations for a Turko-British alliance (1838–9)	422
148	Ponsonby’s attitude.	423
CHAPTER IV
167	The prelude to Brunnow’s overture of 1839–40; views of Wellington and Palmerston on the opening and closing of the Straits (1835–9)	426
178	Note on the authorities for the campaign of 1840 and on its geography	428
179	The mystery of the captured standard	428
193	Losses of Ibrahim’s army	429
195	Submission of Mehemet Ali	429
196	Omissions and suppressions in Blue Books (1839–40)	429
CHAPTER V
	Bibliographical note for the Straits Question (1841–53)	432
214	The Straits Convention of 1841 and Brunnow’s abrogation of the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi	433

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Copyright Page
• Dedication
• FOREWORD
• Table of Contents
• LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND TECHNICAL NOTE
• BOOK I SULTAN MAHMUD
• BOOK II MEHEMET ALI
• BOOK III THE FRUITS OF REFORM
• BOOK IV THE FRUITS OF DIPLOMACY
• EPILOGUE
• LIST OF APPENDICES
• INDICES