ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the meaning of the present historicization of postcolonial theory before looking into the Ottoman-Turkish and Ethiopian experiences in greater detail. It identifies two key geopolitical encounters, the Battle of Adwa in 1896 and the Ottoman Gallipoli campaign of 1915, as historical moments of successful resistance with meaning far beyond their individual contexts. Both histories, thus far neglected by IR historical scholarship, are then contextualized within their global contexts, namely the anti-colonial pan-Islamism of the late Ottoman Empire and the pan-Africanism still embodied in the notion of "Ethiopianism". Apart from having successfully fought wars of independence, the Ottoman Empire and "Abyssinia" produced much of their wealth by occupying important geo-strategic locations. After expansion peaked in 1683, Ottoman rule entered a process of territorial decline. Its dual legitimacy from control of Mekka and Medina and Istanbul/Constantinople suffered accordingly. India's anti-colonial Muslims organized in the Klilafat Organization agitated in favor of preserving the Caliphate under Ottoman-Turkish rule.
