Journal of General Turkish History Research

Abstract

XIX. The century was shaped by the nationalism brought about by the French Revolution and the infuluence of colonialism that emerged as a result of the Industrial Revolution. These two pheno menapaved the way for the establishment of new states and the occupation of different areas and areas of the world. While Germany was founded in 1871 with the infuluence of the nationalist movement, the search for raw materials and markets for the developing industry of the relevant state caused it to come face to face with England and France.
The industrialization of England and France before Germany and their being ahead of other countries in the colonial race had an impact on the bloc of the states within their interests. The Triple Alliance was established in 1882 with the participation of Italya and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, under the leadership of Germany, which was disturbed by the fact that the currents to icism was against its interets. During the establishment of the Triple Alliance, the Ottoman Empire faced a great political, military and economic crisis. In this context, nationalis trevolts on the one hand, foreign debts on the other, and additionally the problems arising from the 1877-1878 Ottoman-Russian War led to a chaotic situation. In this environment, the Ottoman Empire got closerto Germany, especially after the 1877-1878 Ottoman-Russian War, due to Britain’s policy of dividing its own lands.
The rapprochement between the Ottoman Empire and Germany had an impact on the Baghdad Railway Project. Germany’s political goals towards the Middle East also effective in bringing the Project to the agenda. As a result of this rapprochement, the Baghdad Railway Project was a warded to German companies. The construction of the Project started in 1903 and the railway line consists of 3205 kilometers from Istanbul. This project, which could not be completed at the begining of the First World War, was implemented despite there actions of the Russian Tsardom and England. The Project was seen by the Russian Tsarist as a threat to the borders of the Caucasus and to England as a threat to its colonies in the Far East. The cooperation of Germany and the Ottoman Empire in the Baghdad Railway Project had an impact on the entry of the two states into the First World War on the same side. On the other hand, theren lated Project caused England and Russia tolay the foundations of the Entente Group in 1907 and to direct their foreign policy. Although there were many effective reasons for the blocking of states, the Baghdad Railway Project was important in international politics within the conditions of the period and appeared as an important milestone on theroad to war.
In this study, the Baghdad Railway Project, which led to the rapprochement of the Ottoman Empire and Germany on the way to the First World War, and theshaping of international politics during the period, will be included in the axis of archival documents, research Works and periodicals.