What if the ideas of the Age of Enlightment did reach the Ottoman Empire? Can that change history?
They did, perhaps most notably in then Ottoman Greece.
The Ottoman Empire was never some backwards state, it did reform at various points, however like the rest of Europe, while these reforms were good, they were opposed by the minority of scoiety that would be negatively effected by them, sometimes successfully, other times not.
They werent aposed by the ottomans or a minority. Ottomans had aready reached a level of enlightenment when you consider there liberal laws for the time and there administrative style. What the ottomans lacked in reform was military and infrustructer which they wanted to do but did not have the reasources. Ottomans colapes because it was left out of the industrial revolution. The ottomans lacked basic needs through no fault of there own to be apart of the industrial revolution.