OTTOMAN EMPIRE OUDE. 



375 



sultan, Mahmoud II. (born in 1785.) As grand- 

 vizier of Mahmoud, lie restored the new military 

 system, and concluded a truce with Russia ; but the 

 fury of the janizaries again broke out, and destroyed 

 him and his work, November 16, 1808. 



Mahmoud alone now supported the throne ; for he 

 was since the death of Mustapha IV., the only prince 

 of the family of Osman. He soon showed extraordi- 

 nary courage and prudence. He concluded peace 

 with Great Britain Jan. 5, 1809, and continued with 

 redoubled vigour, the war against the Russians, who 

 already threatened the passages of the Balkan. Twice 

 (1810 and 181 1) the' Russians were obliged to retreat 

 beyond the Danube ; nevertheless, their policy con- 

 quered the French party in the divan. In vain had 

 the French emperor, in his treaty with Austria, March 

 14, 1812, declared that he would maintain the integ- 

 rity of the Turkish territory. Notwithstanding this, 

 before the French army had passed the Niernen, the 

 sultan bought peace with Russia, May, 28, 1812, at 

 Bucharest, by ceding that part of Moldavia and Bess- 

 arabia, which lies beyond the Pruth, with the north- 

 ern fortresses on the Dniester and at the mouths of 

 the Danube, and the southern gates of the Caucasus 

 on the Kur. The Servians, left to themselves, again 

 became subjected to Turkey. They retained, how- 

 ever, by their treaty with the Porte in November, 

 1815, the administration of the government. In 

 1817, Mahmoud was obliged to give up the princi- 

 pal mouth of the Danube to Russia. But the Greek 

 insurrection again disturbed the relations of the two 

 powers, and has produced important changes in the 

 situation of the Porte. (See Greece, Revolution of, 

 and Mahmoud //.) The Porte believed that Russia 

 secretly favoured the insurrection, and therefore seized 

 Moldavia and Walachia, and restricted its maritime 

 commerce. Both were open violations of the peace 

 of Bucharest. After an interchange of notes, the 

 Russian ambassador left Constantinople. The medi- 

 ation of the British and Austrian courts, together 

 with the emperor Alexander's desire for peace, pre- 

 vented the outbreak of a war ; but the divan, under 

 various pretexts, refused all satisfaction to the Rus- 

 sian cabinet, until, at last, the emperor Nicholas de- 

 clared the Russian ultimatum, upon which the Porte, 

 May, 14, 1826, granted all the demands of the Rus- 

 sian court, and promised that in Moldavia and Wala- 

 chia (where, in three years, it had raised 37,000,000 

 of piastres, which were employed in the war against 

 the Greeks) every thing should be replaced on its 

 former footing, and sent commissioners to Ackerman. 

 Here a final term was again fixed for the decision of 

 the divan, and, Oct. 6, 1826, eighty-two articles of the 

 Russian ultimatum wereaccepted. This treaty of Ack- 

 erman carries into effect the peace of Bucharest. The 

 Porte surrendered to Russia the fortresses in Asia 

 which it had hitherto held back, and acknowledged 

 the privileges granted by Russia, to Servia, Molda- 

 via and Walachia. The treaty was executed in 1827. 



In the mean while, the Porte had begun its internal 

 reform, and it was resolved utterly to extermi- 

 nate the janizaries, who had lately burnt the st.b 

 urb of Galata, from the 3d to the 5th of January, 

 1826. An army was formed upon the European sys- 

 tem, and in June, 1826, the body of janizaries was 

 destroyed after a bloody struggle. The violence em- 

 ployed in the execution of this and other measures, 

 caused an insurrection, in which (August 31 and Oc- 

 tober 11) 6000 houses were burnt in Constantinople. 

 Instead of military insubordination, the most rigid mil- 

 itary despotism began, which did not spare even the 

 ulema. At the same time the Porte, in June, 1827, 

 firmly refused the offered mediation of Russia, Britain, 

 and France, in its war with the Greeks, and the grand 

 seignior called all his subjects (Christians included) to 



arms, to fight, if necessary, against all Europe. Af- 

 ter the fall of the Acropolis (June 5, 1827,) Reschid 

 Pacha came into possession of Livadia. East and 

 West Hellas again submitted to the Crescent. The 

 relations of Turkey and Greece, and those arising 

 therefrom between the former and the great powers 

 of Europe, have been treated of in the article Greece. 

 The war between Turkey and Russsia, which began 

 in 1828, and was terminated by the peace of Adri- 

 anople, Sept. 14, 1829, will be described in the article 

 Russia. It remains only to mention here, that, 

 though the sultan seemed, for a time, determined to 

 infuse into his military and civil establishment as 

 much as possible of western civilization, and though 

 he seemed for a time successful wore himself the 

 European dress, and prohibited, throughout the em- 

 pire, the calling of Christians " dogs" yet, accord- 

 ing to the latest accounts, he has been obliged to give 

 up all attempts of this kind ; and the late desolating 

 fires at Constantinople prove the sentiment with which 

 the Turkish rabble regarded the improvements. 

 For the geography of the Ottoman empire, see Tur- 

 key ; for the janizaries, see Janizaries. 



OTUS. See Aloides. 



OTWAY, THOMAS, an English writer of tragedy, 

 was born in 1651, at Trotting, in Sussex, his father 

 being the rector of Woolbeding, in that county. He 

 was educated at Winchester, and was entered a com- 

 moner of Christ-church, Oxford, which he left with- 

 out a degree, or any professional determination, went 

 to London, and made some attempts as an actor,,but 

 with little success. In 1675, he produced his first tra- 

 gedy of Alcibiades. The following year appeared his 

 Don Carlos, which proved extremely successful. 

 His theatrical reputation introduced him to the 

 patronage of the earl of Plymouth, a natural son of 

 Charles II., who procured him a cornetcy in a regiment 

 of cavalry, destined for Flanders, in which country 

 he served for a short time, and then returned, pursued 

 by his habitual poverty. He continued to write for 

 the stage, but found it a very scanty means of sub- 

 sistence. He produced, in 1677, Titus and Berenice, 

 from Racine, and the Cheats of Scapin, from Moli&re, 

 which were acted together as play and farce, and 

 succeeded. The following year he produced his 

 Friendship in Fashion, a comedy, which was followed, 

 in 1680, by his tragedies of Caius Marius and the 

 Orphan ; and, in 1682, by Venice Preserved, on 

 which last two pieces his dramatic fame is chiefly 

 founded. His comedies were coarse and licentious, 

 even for that day. He died in 1685, in his 34th year, 

 at a public house on Tower Hill, where he had 

 secreted himself from his creditors, in a state of great 

 destitution. It is a traditionary story that, being 

 nearly famished, he begged a shilling of a gentleman, 

 who gave him a guinea, and that he was choked by 

 eagerly devouring a roll, which he purchased to al- 

 lay his hunger. Pope was, however, informed, that 

 he fell a sacrifice to a fever, occasioned by his anxious 

 pursuit of a person who had shot a friend of the name 

 of Blakeston. All accounts agree that he closed his 

 life in great penury. The unhappy fate of Otway 

 has excited great sympathy, associated as his memory 

 is with some of the most tender and pathetic scenes 

 in English tragedy ; but his dissoluteness of life and 

 manners, and shameless flattery of the great, much 

 tended to abate this kindly feeling. As a tragic wri- 

 ter he stands high, and no one has touched scenes of 

 domestic distress with more force and feeling. His 

 language is easy and natural, and the sentiments and 

 incidents moving. The miscellaneous poetry of Ot- 

 way is indifferent. The latest edition of his works is 

 that by Thornton, in 3 vols. 8vo. (1812.) 



OUDE (Dutch} signifies old ; e. g., Oudenaerd^ 

 Old Land 



