Reforms for political and economic independence

Essay from the year 2008 in the subject History - Asia, grade: 1,3, Muhlenberg College, course: The Modern Middle East, language: English, abstract: Abdulhamid II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (in office from 1876 to 1909), Muhammad Ali, ruler of Egypt (in office from 1805 to 1848), Mustafa Kemal (in office from 1920 to 1938), the founder of the Turkish Republic, and Reza Shah of Iran (in office from 1926-1941) were, as political heads of their countries, all challenged to modernize their states and establish a uniting state identity. Because of the similarity of the problems the different states had to deal with, a comparison of the reaction of their political leaders can be made. Therefore, a closer look is given on the state identity, education reforms and industrial and infrastructure solutions.