Simboli e tradizioni “inventate” alla corte di Abdülhamid II

Abstract

After a brief constitutional experience, the Ottoman sultan Abdülhamit II imposed authoritarian power as an attempt to counteract internal nationalism. In fact, his power was legitimized via an imperial ideology similar to the official nationalism brought by European dynasties, such as Habsburg and Romanov. Together with a defensive pan-Islamism, Abdülhamit II promoted the reinstatement of past practices and old symbols around his figure and the restoration of the caliphate. The hamidian period has long been underestimated and criticized by Western historiography of the twentieth century. However, it was a very complex phase in which the Ottoman dynasty attempted, unsuccessfully, to strengthen its own power and to avoid the collapse of the Empire.

Keywords

• Ottoman empire
• Abdülhamid II
• nationalism
• khalifate
• invented traditions
• impero ottomano
• nazionalismo
• califfo
• tradizioni inventate