Turkish Jöntürkler
Coalition of young dissidents who ended the sultanate of the Ottoman Empire .
Consisting of college students and dissident soldiers, the group succeeded in 1908 in forcing Abdülhamid II to reinstitute the 1876 constitution and recall the legislature. They deposed him the following year, reorganized the government, and began modernizing and industrializing Turkish society. They joined the Central Powers during World War I (1914–18). Facing defeat, they resigned a month before the war ended. See also Enver Pasha ; Midhat Pasha .