What were the political and economic weaknesses of the Otoman empire in the 19th century?

Sultan Ahmed
I was the ruler of the Ottoman Empire from 1603-1617. He was concerned about the constant
warfare and civil unrest that occurred when a sultan died. The sons of the sultan would quarrel
and inevitably, warfare would ensue.

Ahmed's curious solution to this problem
was that he would no longer allow sons to become active in government. They were essentially
prisoners in the palace until it was their time to govern. In this spirit, the future sultans
would only learn to enjoy the extravagances of palace life and not learn the skills needed to
run a massive empire. This policy would consistently produce completely incompetent rulers that
could not possibly govern such a large empire. It also meant that the sultans would no longer
lead their armies in battle, which produced an elite class of military men within the
empire.

The lack of strong central leadership led to corruption and bribery
in the government that further weakened the political system. The rise of an incompetent central
government led to regional or local governments gaining more autonomy and authority. Different
regions of the empire did not trust the sultan to protect their interests so they started to
exert their own authority. This resulted in a stark decline in tax revenue to Istanbul. With
less revenue, the government became more inept, and the military suffered as a result. This all
happened over the course of two centuries and coincided with the rise of the European empires of
England, France, Russia, and Austria.