Bir Dehanın İzleri II. Abdülhamid Han

If you have read my previous book review, you will know that this is not my first experience with a work by Talha Uğurluel. I had earlier read his book on Kanuni Sultan Süleyman and, despite some shortcomings, found it a satisfying and engaging read. Since I am deeply interested in both Ottoman history and modern Turkish Republican history, I decided to continue exploring his works. Bir Dehanın İzleri II. Abdülhamid Han is the first volume of a two-part series, and I was curious to see how the author approached such a pivotal and often-debated figure in our history.

Before I begin my review, I should acknowledge that Abdülhamid II is a controversial figure, not only in Türkiye but also in the wider Islamic and European worlds. He remains deeply divisive. You either admire him or despise him. The author is fully aware of this polarization, and it shapes the way the book is written. To put it simply, if the question is whether this work is pro- or anti-Abdülhamid, it is clearly pro-Abdülhamid.

That said, more than anything, the author seeks to dispel the many misconceptions surrounding Abdülhamid II, and in my view, he does this very effectively. He supports his arguments with well-chosen examples, credible references, and visual aids that strengthen his case. What stands out most, however, is how the book humanizes this divisive figure. Abdülhamid is not presented only as a distant statesman but as a man with a personality, emotions, and burdens. The author shows us the reasoning behind many of his decisions while also acknowledging his shortcomings.

What surprised me most was realizing that many of the essential institutions and infrastructure we rely on in modern Türkiye, whether schools, military buildings, or reforms in education, actually trace their roots back to Abdülhamid II’s reign.

The author also does an excellent job of describing the state of the Ottoman Empire during this period. He highlights how the empire contained as many traitors as patriots, and how many reforms failed simply because there were not enough qualified people to run the institutions. The author is refreshingly realistic. He even states outright that the Ottoman Empire dissolved because it deserved to dissolve. To support this claim, he points to Abdülhamid himself, who, after traveling to Europe, admitted that they were a hundred years ahead of the Ottomans.

After reading this book, I have come to see Abdülhamid II as a truly tragic figure. He never expected to ascend the throne, and his personal life was marked by sorrow, including the death of his mother at a young age, the loss of his children, and the forced removal of his forebears from the payitaht due to the political agendas of those around them. In many ways, he was a visionary, but the circumstances of the empire and the condition of its people prevented him from fully realizing his ambitions. His policy of Ottoman nationalism ultimately failed, as the empire’s diverse religious and ethnic groups increasingly demanded independence. In response, he turned to a policy of ümmetçilik (Pan-Islamism), which the author shows he carried out with great effectiveness in many respects. Yet, despite these efforts, the book makes it clear that this too ultimately failed.

From a reading perspective, the book is generally easy to follow, though at times it wanders and the connections between chapters are not always clear. That is my main criticism. If Turkish is your second language, this will be of medium difficulty, but it will significantly improve your vocabulary. The author’s style even has a slight travelogue quality, which I found enjoyable and refreshing for a history book.

If you are looking for a highly detailed and comprehensive account of Abdülhamid II’s reign, this book may not fully satisfy you. Roughly half of it focuses on his policies and rule, but often at a surface level rather than in deep analysis. The other half is dedicated to his personal life which, as I mentioned before, does an excellent job of humanizing him. Taken on its own, however, this book is better seen as an introduction, a quick and engaging read that provides a balanced overview while sparking curiosity for deeper study.

Rating: 4/5

It is a great and accessible starting point for anyone who wants to get into the history of Abdülhamid II’s reign.