Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire at the Congress of Vienna era was an enormous but declining multi-ethnic state spanning Anatolia, the Arab Middle East, North Africa, and the Balkans — territories that Christian Europe regarded as both a threat and an opportunity. The Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) demonstrated the empire's vulnerability to nationalist separatism backed by European powers, and the subsequent 'Eastern Question' — who would fill the power vacuum if the empire collapsed — became the central geopolitical puzzle of 19th-century diplomacy. The empire attempted repeated reform programmes (the Tanzimat, 1839–1876) to modernise its administration and military, but structural weaknesses, chronic fiscal crisis, and nationalist rebellions accelerated its fragmentation through the 19th century.

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