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The Sick Man of Europe: Second Constitutional Era

NOTE: Now before I start this timeline, which I have made my second post because I'm a crazy bastard, I am going to be doing this in the way that you will first notice no POD right away. This is going through the time before the POD, with minor changes. So think of the whole thread until the end of WW1 an... intro of sorts.

June 12, 1908: March to the Palace

The men of the Third Army were finally ready to march. The army, based in the plains of Macedonia were now ready to march onto the Palace, and create the Second Constitution. The men were eager and they knew the glorious Young Turks revolution would soon be over with a great victory.

The first Congress of Ottoman Opposition was held in 1902, where only a mere 47 delegates were present at the congress. The congress was hosted in the house of Germain Antoin Lefevre-Pontalis, and was in compliance with the French Government Some delegates, specifically the Armenians, voted to have the conversation in French, both other delegates refused the proposition.


By 1906 the Young Turks had become a large movement within the Ottoman Empire. Members who joined the movement prepared to sacrifice themselves for the grand Second Constitution. 1906 was also the year the Ottoman Freedom Society (OFS) was founded, and gradually recruited a large amount of members from the Third Army, including Enver Pasha, the future leader of the Ottoman Empire.


The second Congress of Ottoman Opposition was held in Paris, France in 1907. At this congress several significant leaders were present, including Ahmed Riza, Sabahaddin Bey, and Khachatur Malumian of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. The purpose of the Second Congress was to lay the groundwork for the Revolution by uniting all the parties. These parties included the CUP (Commitee of Union and Progress), a largely significant Ottoman organization which had aligned itself with the Young Turks.


Finally, the revolution began in Mid-April of 1908. The Third Army, which was still loyal to the C.U.P. began the march to the Palace in Constantinople on June 12, 1908. Enver Pasha had already became a military leader of the Young Turks. Then the march to Constantinople began. After a long march, finally, on July 24, 1908, the Second Constitution was declared. The revolt was successful, and the Absolute Monarchy which had been part of the Ottoman Empire for so long, abolished.


1909: The Passing Glory
Sultan Abdul Hamid's 35 year rule had been abolished and the revolution had succeeded. The Young Turks tried to replace the Monarchy polices with Constitutional ones. Enthusiasm had been largely present within the first months of the new regime, with the theme of uniting all the people of the Empire under Ottomanism. But the foolish policies brought upon by Abdul Hamid had made the full unification of Muslims and Christians impossible, and reforms were often met by violence. By early 1909, it was easy to tell that people were not satisfied with the new regime.


The Young Turks were overwhelmed by religious and ethnic issues, and they had limited ability to solve the Empire's problems. The Sultan Abdul Hamid, whom had managed to maintain symbolic power, tried to regain his position of power in March, only 9 months after the Young Turk revolution. The Sultan tried a counter-coup, where he promised a return to Islamic rule in the Empire. This led to the March 31st incident, where the Sultan tried to regain his power. It failed, and Abdul Hamid was banished from the Empire, replaced by Sultan Mehmed V.


Mehmed V was, like Abdul Hamid, a symbolic power, although he retained several leadership rights, including the ability to declare war, among other small powers. Mehmed and Abdul however both shared 1 common interest. An alliance with Germany, whom both Sultans believed would let them regain territories from Britain, France, and Russia. Enver Pasha left for Germany in 1909, and would not return for 2 years.


The new Sultan, along with the Constitution, all knew they had to step up their game for Ottomanism, and the unification of the people under one flag. Arab newspapers which talked of Muslim Extremism were cancelled and replaced by Christian-Muslim equality newspapers. Although this worked for the Christians, many Muslim supporters of the old Islam-hegemony were angered.


Turkish-Arab collaboration was largely encouraged by the new regime, but not as much with the Christian Europeans. The new regime was desperately trying to prevent more counter-coups and return the short-lived glory of the Young Turk revolution. With the Sick Man on his Death Bed, nothing short of a miracle could save the Ottoman dynasty.


1910: Islam Unleashed
By January of 1910, the concept of Unification and Ottomanism had reached the Arab and Turkish worlds with great enthusiasm and Turkish-Arab collaboration was having a great effect. However, with this effect encouraging Turkish-Arab collaboration also encouraged Pro-Islam in the Empire. The ideas of the return of Islamic hegemony in the Empire became so popular in Libya and the Middle East that the censoring of Extremist newspapers became impossible.


In Christian Europe and Armenia, however, the Christian population realized the new Constitution was heading toward Islam-hegemony and that the Christians of the empire had become in danger of Extremist movements. Talks of Christian revolution in the Balkans and Armenia became heavy, and revolt was once again in the air.

The Young Turks could not deal with another counter-revolution, and they desperately looked for solutions. They realized they could not unite Muslims and Christians peacefully. And, if they could not be united by peace, they would be by force. Sultan Mehmed V declared a jihad, or holy war against Christians in the Empire, with the intention of converting the entire empire to Islam. The religious war was kept secret to any reporters or other nations. The brutality of Ottomanism and the Young Turks was about to be unleashed.

The Young Turks made a plan for the crusade. The Ottoman army would surge through Europe and Armenia, forcibly converting the population to Islam. The armies would take a route through all of Ottoman Europe, hitting the cities of Edirne, Salonika, Bitola, Skopje, Ioannina, Shkodjer, Tirane, Serrai, Florina, and Prizren, from there advancing into the rest of Albania and Kosovo on the European side. The Armies would do the same in Armenia.

The Christians were stunned by this sudden act of counter-revolution. The Islamic armies surged through the Christian lands, forcibly converting the population to Islam. Women who refused were raped, and men, killed. The brutality was so immense the population didn't try to fight back, they just watched helplessly as their lives were destroyed. The Jihad would go on for the entire year, until Febuary 1911.

In months the traces of Christianity were gone, and all the former-Christian men who were converted had no choice but to enlist in the jobs which the Ottomans encouraged - the Army and Workforce. Their homes were destroyed and some of their families killed. The Turks had sent their message. After the crusade, revolution was unthinkable in the Empire. Half or more of the Christian population was killed, the other half converted to Islam or injured. Only a few people managed to escape the crusade. "If religious unification could not be brought upon by peace," Mehmed V declared, "Then it shall be by force."


ANOTHER NOTE: Any feedback or constructive criticism is welcome, as this is my first attempt at writing alternate history. Thanks for reading! More to come soon!
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