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206 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
was completely checked forever. Still the countries they conquered between 1326 and 1683 formed a vast empire. A few of these territories the Turks had lost to their enemies thereafter, but taking the extent of the Turkish Empire as it stood in 1789 on the eve of the French Revolution, it comprised
(1) the Balkans, south of the Danube, (2) Asia Minor, the Levant and the neighbouring islands (i.e., Cyprus), (3) Syria and Palestine, (4) Egypt, and (5) North Africa from Egypt to Morocco.
The tale of the disruption of the Turkish Empire is easily told. The first to break away de facto, if not de jure, was Egypt in 1769. The next were the Christians in the Balkans. Bessarabia was taken by Russia in 1812 after a war with Turkey. In 1812 Serbia rebelled with the aid of Russia and the Turks were obliged to place Serbia under a separate government. In 1829 similar concessions were granted to two other Danubian provinces, Moldavia and Wallachia. As a result of the Greek war of independence which lasted between 1822 29, Greece was completely freed from the Turkish rule and the Greek independence was recognised by the Powers in 1832. Between 1875-77 there was turmoil amongst the Balkans. There was a revolt in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bulgarians resorted to atrocities against the Turks, to which the Turks replied with atrocities in equal measure. As a result, Serbia and Montenegro declared war on Turkey and so did Russia. By the Treaty of Berlin, Bulgaria was given self-government under Turkey and Eastern Rumania was to be ruled by Turkey under a Christian Governor. Russia gained Kars and Batoum. Dobrudja was given to Rumania. Bosnia and Herzegovina were assigned to Austria for administration and England occupied Cyprus. In 1881 Greece gained Thessaly and France occupied Tunis. In 1885 Bulgaria and Eastern Rumania were united into one state.
The story of the growth and decline of the Turkish Empire upto 1906 has been very graphically described by Mr. Lane Poole in the following words * :—
“In its old extent, when the Porte ruled not merely the narrow territory now called Turkey in Europe, but Greece, Bulgaria and
- Turkey, pp. 363-64.