Introduction
Departing from the usual analysis of the Baghdad Railway as a symbol of German imperialism, this book revisits the railway's construction sites on the Ottoman frontier to document the important Ottoman contribution to the enterprise and reveal the dynamics of a developing Turco-German partnership that came into being during the railway's construction. By analyzing the railway as a joint Turco-German enterprise and not as the sole product of German ingenuity and capital, this study provides the first balanced historical account of the railway's construction and its cultural implications.
As the focal point of a shared Turco-German imperial strategy, the Baghdad Railway was instrumental in forging a lasting Turco-German partnership. The railway's construction sites served as experiments in intercultural living and as the proving ground for emerging Turco-German relations. Far removed from the centers of state power, railway personnel grew more attentive to regional concerns than to Great Power policies. German railway planners, forced to revise their plans to compensate for the harsh construction environment, grew increasingly dependent on Ottoman hospitality, security, and labor, and their ability to compromise in the face of adversity.
The Baghdad Railway did not force the Ottoman Empire into German orbit. On the contrary, the railway helped to restore the Ottoman Empire to health and allowed German imperial demands to be redirected to satisfy Ottoman domestic needs. Although German personnel actively participated in each phase of the railway's planning and construction, the Ottomans maintained control over the railway's pace, route, and progress. Far from being a nail in the "Sick Man's" coffin, the Baghdad Railway gave the Ottoman Empire a new lease on life, strengthening its ability to counter German economic and political expansion. The Ottoman leadership used the Baghdad Railway project to play off Great Power rivalries and safeguard its status as a sovereign state... |