In the 18th and 19th centuries the Egypt, Iran, and the Ottoman Empire saw a multitude of reform movements. These reforms were in response to both foreign powers and internal pressure. The Ottoman Empire’s first big reform movement happened under the rule of Selim III. Egypt began reform after the British occupation under Muhammad Ali and Iran’s reforms started under the rule of Nasir al-Din Shah. While the Ottoman Empire was at war with Russia, they saw a relatively new power that had the ability to defeat them. This put pressure on the Ottomans to reform, so in 1792, after signing a treaty with Russia, Selim III created a group of 22 people, two of which were foreign, to create a proposal for reform. Since military pressures sparked this reform, they started by reforming the military. The Janissaries immediately opposed any type of reform, but foreign officers were invited to advise the Ottoman army. They also imitated french academies to establish military colleges. Next they …show more content…
Because of this, alliances with foreign powers required administrative reform. In an attempt to centralize power, Selim III separated the nation into provinces to be ruled by a grand vizier. However, This was not very effective and was overshadowed by nationalism. Although the French revolution was disapproved by the Ottomans, it did influence them by sparking a nationalist movement. This lead to revolts of the people which were sponsored by foreign powers, such as the Serbian revolt with the assistance of Austria.The nationalist movement had people favoring the traditional policies over the westernization displayed by the leaders, so they overthrew Selim III. Reform halted and the Empire began reverting to traditional