Page:Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje - The Revolt in Arabia (1917).djvu/36

 Rh by the addition of the title of Caliph assumed by the Turkish Sultans as sign and seal of their unrivalled power in Islam.

The Osmans made as little effort to reform the hopelessly muddled administration of the holy cities as their predecessors in the Protectorate had done. By that date, the Shereefate had obtained for more than three centuries, and no Mohammedan thought of questioning either the legality or the desirability of the institution.

The administration methods of the Osmans were as little adapted for permanent centralization as those of the earlier Mohammedan empire had been. The provinces speedily assumed the character of feudal holdings, each possessing a large measure of independence. The Pashas of Cairo, of Damascus, of Bagdad, vied with each other for the first rank