In the last periods of the Ottoman Empire, the state had gone through a very difficult process. Domestic and foreign policy balances experienced in this process played a large role. As a result of the dynamics within the state and the pressure and influence of the West on the Ottoman Empire, a set of economic, political and social breakdowns inevitably occurred in the Ottoman Empire, and the country faced many difficulties by undergoing a positive-negative transformation. Therefore, these adverse conditions forced the empire to make a series of reform movements. The uprisings in favor of the Ottoman Empire, the internal matters becoming external issues, and the great land losses put the Ottoman Empire in serious trouble. Despite the reforms, the aimed success could not be achieved as stability could not be providedin the reforms. Interstate conflicts dragged the Ottomans into the world's first great war and as a result of all these adverse events, they lost the war.
These major problems, which were difficult to overcome, had naturally shown their effects in all administrative devisions. The efforts of the Ottoman Empire to cope with all the problems were maintained with the intense struggle of the administrators and civil servants. In order to protect the existence of the state, to maintain its continuity and to ensure the public peace, many statesmen carried out activities related to reforms, regulations and their implementation in the fields. However, these practices were not sufficiently effective in some places, especially in remote rural areas. In the provinces, with the weakening of the central authority, local governments started to gain power and the Ottoman Empire tried to maintain the power of pro-state families and communities and the central authority in the provinces in order to maintain this balance. However, this policy unfortunately did not achieve the desired effect, as a result of some arbitrary practices and administration, the central power disappeared, and this led to the increase of banditry in those regions and the emergence of important security problems. The people, who were subjected to heavy taxes, had to migrate from their regions as a result of the deterioration of the public order, and this situation almost caused the cessation of agricultural activities in the provinces where the economy was largely based on agriculture, causing great damage to the economy. Therefore, as a result of the emptiness or weakness of the central administration in these regions, the problem of public order, a series of economic, social and political problems arose and the people of the region faced serious difficulties.
Hüseyin Kazım Efendi, who struggled with these difficulties and had many important duties in the state administration, was aware of the state of the state during his duty as a statesman working for the peace of the state and the people and made some inferences based on his impressions and experiences. Hüseyin Kazım Efendi, who attached great importance to Islamic law, mentality and justice,clearly expressed his opinions accordingly on every occasion. It was stated by his contemporaries that he was cited by his social circle that he was intelligent, fair, courteous and humorist and a fighter especially against injustice. Having served as the governor of Aleppo in 1910/11, Hüseyin Kazım Efendi informed the state about the region with a great duty responsibility as he came to Aleppo and stated in his memories that the general situation was perilous there, as in many other Ottoman provinces, the public order was bad and the administration was not effective.
Osmanlı Devleti, eski ihtişamını kaybettikten sonra uzun ve zorlu bir süreç yaşamıştır. Bu zorlu süreç hem içerde hem dışarıda devam etmiş, Batının Osmanlı Devleti’nin içişlerine karışmasıyla da daha karmaşık bir hal almıştır. Devlet yöneticileri, XX. yüzyıla girerken uluslararası ilişkilerde devletin bekası için mücadele vermiş, diğer yandan da ülke içerisindeki büyük problemlerle uğraşmak zorunda kalmıştır. Hiç kuşkusuz bu problemlerden en önemlisi ve diğer birçok probleme de sebebiyet veren durum; taşrada merkezi otoritenin zayıflamasıdır. Merkezi otoritenin zayıflaması mali, siyasi ve asayiş gibi pek çok sorunu gündeme getirmiştir. Osmanlı Devleti içte bu sorunlar ile uğraşırken bir yandan da dış ilişkilerdeki aksaklıklarla da uğraşmak zorunda kalmıştır. Devletin iç ve dış siyaseti birbirinden bağımsız değildir, nitekim ülke içerisinde ya da dış ilişkilerde yaşanan istikrar devletin güçlenmesini ve varlığını sürdürmesini sağlamaktadır. Vatansever Osmanlı devlet adamları ise bu uğurda devletin sürekliliği için ellerinden geleni yapmış ve her daim güçlü, adil bir devlet uğruna çalışmışlardır. Merkezi otoritenin zayıfladığı, devletin yerel yöneticiler üzerinde etkisinin azaldığı dönemlerde toplumun huzuru bozulmuştur. Bu bağlamda çeşitli devlet hizmetlerinde görev alan Hüseyin Kazım Bey, Halep valiliği sırasında Ayıntab ve Antakya çevresinde siyasi, sosyal, ticari vb. alanlardaki faaliyetleri değerlendirmiş, gözlemlerde bulunmuş, bölgelerin kalkınması için fikirlerini açıklamış, yapılan haksızlıklara karşı gelmiş ve tüm bunları raporlarında merkeze sunmuştur. Halep valisi Hüseyin Bey’in hazırladığı rapor bu açıdan dönemin siyasi ve sosyal yapısını anlayabilmek açısından büyük bir önem arz etmektedir.
Primary Language | Turkish |
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Journal Section | Research Articles |
Authors | |
Publication Date | June 30, 2021 |
Submission Date | May 25, 2021 |
Published in Issue | Year 2021 Volume: 3 Issue: 1 |