= Congress of Berlin =

The '''Congress of Berlin''' was a conference held in [[Germany/Berlin|Berlin]] in 1888 to reoganize the Balkans following the Russo-Turkish War.

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== History ==

The [[WorldHistory/OttomanEmpire|Ottomans]] and [[Russia/Monarchs#Imperial_Russia|Russians]] fought a series of twelve land wars across the 1700s and 1800s. They are all collectively known as the '''Russo-Turkish Wars'''.

The '''Russo-Turkish War of 1878''' erupted in the context of significant ethnic and religious upheaval in the Balkans.

 * Following the [[WorldHistory/CrimeanWar|Crimean War]], the '''Paris Peace Treaty''' required that the [[WorldHistory/OttomanEmpire|Ottomans]] recognize equal rights between Muslims and non-Muslims (among other things). This was then reinforced by internal reforms pushed by [[WorldHistory/OttomanEmpire/AbdulmecidI|Abdülmecid I]] and [[WorldHistory/OttomanEmpire/MustafaResid|Reşid]] in the '''Edict of Gülhane'''.

 * A religious civil war erupted in the '''Beirut vilayet'''; it was settled when [[WorldHistory/OttomanEmpire/MehmedFuad|Fuad]] directly intervened and executed all agitators on both sides. A French and British military intervention forced the sultan to agree to the creation of an autonomous '''Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate''' led by a Christian mutasarrif (''متصرّف'').

 * A small religious rebellion on Crete was similar crushed; in particular the siege of '''Arkadi Monastery''' ended with the execution of all rebels. A diplomatic intervention forced the sultan to agree to greater self-rule in Greece.

 * [[WorldHistory/Circassia|Circassians]] fled Russian genocide into the Ottoman Empire.

 * There was a confluence of political goals in Russia. Conservative statesman were in favor of irredentist claims, a pan-Slavic state, or a united Orthodox state. Liberal statesman were in favor of liberating the imperial nations (Bulgaria in particular).

Serbia and Montenegro declared war against the empire in June 1876.

Covertly, [[Russia/AlexanderII|Alexander II]] and [[Austria/FranzJosephI|Franz Joseph I]] bargained for a redivision of the Balkans. Austria would occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina; Russia would annex [[
The war itself was a clear victory for Russia, and they enforced their war goals in the '''Treaty of San Stefano'''.

The '''Congress of Berlin''' was a diplomatic intervention, because the terms of that peace treaty would have imbalanced European international relations. The '''Treaty of Berlin''' walked back several war goals


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