On June 28, 1914, a single city became the fault line between empires, nations, and ideologies.

In Sarajevo, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand set in motion a chain of events that would drag Europe into total war. But the shots fired that morning did not emerge from a vacuum. They were shaped by decades of imperial rule, nationalist movements, revolutionary politics, and a generation convinced that history itself was accelerating.

This episode explores Sarajevo not just as the site of an assassination, but as a place where competing visions of power, identity, and liberation collided—revealing how the pressures of empire and ideology can turn a local act into a global catastrophe.

This episode also serves as a bridge to my new podcast, ISM: Ideas Meet Power, which explores the history of political ideologies through the moments when they collide with reality.

Written and produced by Matt Payne.

Support, Subscribe, Read on Substack: https://ismhistorypodcast.substack.com/

Original Musical Compositions by Ian Payne: https://www.jamesianpayne.com/

Support the Show: PayPal

Contact: ismhistorypodcast@gmail.com

ISM is a narrative history podcast about political ideologies and social movements—socialism, anarchism, fascism, liberalism, and beyond.

Each season explores a major ideology through immersive storytelling and historical analysis, tracing how ideas move from theory into the real world, shaping revolutions, states, and everyday life.

Ideas Meet Power.

Written and produced by Matt Payne.

Support, Subscribe, Read on Substack: https://ismhistorypodcast.substack.com/

Original Musical Compositions by Ian Payne: https://www.jamesianpayne.com/

Support the Show: PayPal

Contact: ismhistorypodcast@gmail.com

We made it! As the Ottomans approach that apocalyptic vortex called World War I, they are led into the abyss by the CUP and the "Three Pashas": Talaat, Enver, and Cemal (in order of importance... sorry Cemal).

Season 2: The Young Turks - Revolutions of the Ottoman Collapse, pt. 2

For helpful maps, photos, and other media, check out the website: 20thcenturyrevolutions.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/mattpayne

Make a One Time Donation: PayPal

Talaat makes the plan. Enver gets the glory. Djemal is along for the ride.

Season 2: The Young Turks - Revolutions of the Ottoman Collapse, pt. 2

For helpful maps, photos, and other media, check out the website: 20thcenturyrevolutions.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/mattpayne

Make a One Time Donation: PayPal

The First Balkan War did not go so well for the Ottomans.

Season 2: The Young Turks - Revolutions of the Ottoman Collapse, pt. 2

For helpful maps, photos, and other media, check out the website: 20thcenturyrevolutions.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/mattpayne

Make a One Time Donation: PayPal

Ismail Enver, Mustafa Kemal, and other Unionist officers launch a guerrilla war to drive the invading Italians out of Libya. After the Italians open up a new front in the Aegean, the CUP faces a major crisis in Istanbul as the "Savior Officers" launch a coup to overthrow their government.

Season 2: The Young Turks - Revolutions of the Ottoman Collapse, pt. 2

For helpful maps, photos, and other media, check out the website: 20thcenturyrevolutions.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/mattpayne

Make a One Time Donation: PayPal

Exit Ottomanism. Enter Turkification.

Season 2: The Young Turks - Revolutions of the Ottoman Collapse, pt. 2

For helpful maps, photos, and other media, check out the website: 20thcenturyrevolutions.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/mattpayne

Make a One Time Donation: PayPal

General Mahmud Shevket leads a large multi-ethnic army out of Salonica and marches on Istanbul. Helping Shevket fight reactionaries in the capital would be other officers of destiny like Niyazi, Enver, Cemal, Mustafa Kemal, and of course, the Lucky Deer.

Season 2: The Young Turks - Revolutions of the Ottoman Collapse, pt. 2

For helpful maps, photos, and other media, check out the website: 20thcenturyrevolutions.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/mattpayne

Make a One Time Donation: PayPal