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55-659: The Gülhane Hatt-ı Şerif ("Supreme Edict of the Rosehouse") or Tanzimât Fermânı ("Imperial Edict of Reorganization") was a proclamation by Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I in 1839 that launched the Tanzimât period of reforms and reorganization in the Ottoman Empire . The 125th anniversary of the edict was depicted on a former Turkish postcard stamp. The proclamation was issued at the behest of reformist Grand Vizier Mustafa Reşid Pasha . It promised reforms such as

110-633: A hatt-i sharif , or imperial edict, called the Edict of Gülhane . The edict gave guarantees to ensure the Ottoman subjects perfect security for their lives, honour, and property. This was followed by several statutes enacting its policies. In the edict the Sultan stated that he wished "to bring the benefits of a good administration to the provinces of the Ottoman Empire through new institutions". Among

165-588: A committed constitutional monarch, and rarely if ever asserted his royal authority (even though after 1913 the ruling party ceased to respect the Constitution of the Ottoman Empire ). His successor, Sultan Mehmed VI proved to be more assertive as a monarch. Under the Constitution, the Ottoman Sultan was the head of state and possessed strong royal powers, and appointed their head of government

220-578: A deputy. The Ottoman Empire's first election was held in 1876, and its second in 1877, both of which lacked political parties. With the end of the First Constitutional Era came 34 years of direct rule by Yıldız Palace . The elections held following the 1908 revolution were the first elections in Ottoman and Turkish history to feature political parties. The two major parties during the Second Constitutional Era were

275-485: A flat rate. Finally, the third dealt with reformation in the area of human rights and the justice system. The accused were to be granted public trials; individuals could possess and dispose of property in freedom; and punishments were to fit the deed regardless of rank. Reward by merit was presented in this edict. Additionally, the edict emancipated minorities, which granted them the opportunity to be conscripted. However, conscription could be avoided by minorities if they paid

330-531: A foreign influence on the world of Islam. That perception complicated reformist efforts made by the state. During the Tanzimat period, the government's series of constitutional reforms led to a fairly modern conscripted army , banking system reforms, the replacement of religious law with secular law and guilds with modern factories. Some scholars argue that from the Muslim population's traditional Islamic view,

385-541: A governor assigned to each vilayet. Law was codified during the Late Ottoman Empire, with various systems given legitimacy: including Sharia , secular law , Code Napoleon , and various other laws derived from the millets . Hoping that a constitution would please minorities in the Ottoman Empire and foreign powers, the Young Ottomans placed Abdul Hamid II on the throne. Initially thought to be

440-700: A reformer, Abdul Hamid did promulgate the Constitution in 1876 , and established a parliament . However, Russia invaded the Ottoman Empire anyway the next year. Parliament's criticism of the monarch over incompetency in the war resulted in Abdul Hamid suspending the constitution and parliament in 1878, thus ending the First Constitutional Era . For three decades Abdul Hamid ruled as the Empire without checks on his power as an autocrat. The 1908 Young Turk Revolution forced Abdul Hamid to reinstate

495-835: A result, "European and Ottoman officials engaged in a contest to win the loyalty of the local inhabitants — the French by claiming to protect the Maronites ; the British, the Druze ; and the Ottomans by proclaiming the sultan's benevolence toward all his religiously equal subjects." In Palestine , land reforms, especially the change in land ownership structure via the Ottoman Land Law of 1858 , allowed Russian and Yemeni Jews to buy land, thus enabling them to immigrate there under

550-635: Is considered to have ended with the accession of Abdul Hamid II during the Great Eastern Crisis (1875–1878). However, it can also be said that reform efforts continued into the Hamidian , Second Constitutional , and Unionist eras until the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1922 . The reforms emerged from the minds of reformist sultans like Mahmud II ( r.  1808–1839 ), his son Abdulmejid I ( r.  1839–1861 ) and prominent, often European-educated bureaucrats, who recognised that

605-461: The kul system, which allowed the ruler's servants to be executed or have their property confiscated at his desire. These reforms sought to establish legal and social equality for all Ottoman citizens. The reforms eliminated the millet system in the Ottoman Empire. The millet system created religiously based communities that operated autonomously, so people were organized into societies, some of them often receiving privileges. This clause terminated

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660-552: The Edict of Gülhane of 1839, declaring equality before the law for both Muslim and non-Muslim Ottomans. The ambitious project was launched to combat the slow decline of the empire that had seen its borders shrink and its strength wane in comparison to the European powers. There were both internal and external reasons for the reforms. The primary purpose of the Tanzimat was to reform the military by modernizing and taking inspiration from European armies. The traditional Ottoman army,

715-563: The Grand Vizier (who possessed prime ministerial powers ) to form a cabinet and government in their name. The Sublime Porte is a synecdoche to refer to the Ottoman government, a complex of buildings where the Grand Vizier and his cabinet was based. The Minister of War and Navy used to be picked by the Sultan instead of the Grand Vizier. However, in the early months of the Second Constitutional Era, Abdul Hamid, under pressure by

770-475: The Great Eastern Crisis , government ministers lead by Midhat Pasha conspired to overthrow Sultan Abdul Aziz in a coup and introduce a constitution . This began the First Constitutional Era , which many historians agree represents the end of the Tanzimat, even though reform continued uninterrupted at its end in 1878, and then into the Hamidian Era . On November 3, 1839, Sultan Abdulmejid I issued

825-525: The Janissaries , had fallen from grace in terms of military prestige and a European-inspired reconstruction was a necessary change to be made. The Ottoman Empire consisted of a multitude of different cultures and the secondary priorities of the Tanzimat reforms were aimed at balancing the social structure that previously favoured Muslim subjects. Another vital section of these reforms was the abolition of İltizam , or land-tenure agreements. Internally,

880-680: The Jizya . This allowed minorities of means to avoid conscription and it allowed for the military to mostly maintain its purity of minorities. Below are some of the important clauses in detail: Some of the most important clauses are as follows: Some of the changes instituted by the Edict of Gülhane: Tanzimat Different functions of government received reform, were completely reorganized, or started from scratch. Among institutions that received significant attention throughout this period included legislative functions, secularization and codification of

935-725: The Napoleonic Code and French law under the Second French Empire as a direct result of the increasing number of Ottoman students being educated in France. Changes included the conscription reforms; educational, institutional and legal reforms; and systematic attempts at eliminating political corruption. Also, a policy called Ottomanism was meant to unite all the different peoples living in Ottoman territories, "Muslim and non-Muslim, Turkish and Greek, Armenian and Jewish, Kurd and Arab". The policy officially began with

990-480: The Porte 's bureaucracy overshadowed the sultans. Leading " Men of the Tanzimat " included Mustafa Reşid Pasha in the period of 1839–1855, and then Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha and Keçecizade Fuad Pasha from the early 1850s to 1871. After Âli Pasha's death, the spirit of reorganization turned towards the imperial social contract , in the form of the 1876 Ottoman Constitution , written by Midhat Pasha . The Tanzimat Period

1045-753: The Union and Progress Party (the CUP's parliamentary group) and the Freedom and Accord Party (as well as its predecessor: the Liberty Party ). Though both were ideologically Young Turks parties, the Unionists desired a centralized Turkish-dominated Ottoman state, while the Itilafists desired decentralization and federalization. In addition, many ethnic political parties also existed, but most were banned after

1100-564: The first Aliya . In order to boost its tax base, the Ottoman state required Arabs in Palestine, as elsewhere, to register their lands for the first time. As a rule the fellahin didn't trust the ailing regime, fearing that registration would only lead to higher taxation and conscription . Prevailing illiteracy among the fellahin meant in the end that many local mukhtars were able to collectively register village lands under their own name. Thus, they were able to later claim ownership and to sell

1155-578: The Armenian intelligentsia and defined the powers of the Armenian Patriarch under the Ottoman millet system and the newly formed Armenian National Assembly . Despite progressive intentions, the policy of reform in the form of Tanzimat ultimately failed. The historical circumstances of the reforms, the reasons for this failure and the consequences of the reforms are of interest for historical analysis and are considered by historians all over

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1210-606: The CUP was stripped of this privilege, and all cabinets seats were chosen by the Grand Vizier in 1908. During Mehmed Talaat Pasha 's premiership, the office of Sheykh-ul-Islam was detached from the cabinet. As a goal of the Tanzimat reforms was standardization and centralization, the millets of the empire lost much of their autonomy. However, during the 19th century, many of the Christian Millets were quick to import Western systems of governance and political participation in their societies. The Armenian millet promulgated

1265-654: The Constitution and recall parliament, starting the Second Constitutional Era , which lasted until the Empire's end in 1922. The Constitution was briefly suspended during next year in the 31 March Incident , when reactionaries rose up in Constantinople and forced the parliament to accept its demands. However, the uprising was crushed by the Action Army , which restored the constitution and the status quo. In addition to Abdul Hamid's deposition,

1320-580: The Constitution was also modified to strengthen the powers of the lower house: the Chamber of Deputies . The Constitution was de facto suspended following the takeover of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) dictatorship in 1913 . The Ottoman Empire was a bicameral system, with a lower house, the popularly elected Chamber of Deputies , and an upper house, the Senate , whose members were appointed by

1375-495: The Empire into a constitutional monarchy by promulgating the Empire's first Constitution , which established the short First Constitutional Era and also featured elections for a parliament . Defeat in the 1877–1878 War with Russia and dissatisfaction with Abdul Hamid lead to the "temporary" suspension of the constitution and the parliament, resulting in a modern despotism/autocracy of Abdul Hamid, during which internal reform continued. The Young Turk Revolution in 1908 started

1430-406: The Empire's collapse and subsequent abolition by Turkish nationalist forces led by Atatürk . During this time period the various Viziers ' responsibilities became equivalent to European style ministries , while the Grand Vizier received de jure equivalent powers to Prime ministers . In 1864, provincial reform was undertaken by standardizing administrative divisions into vilayets , with

1485-423: The Ottoman Empire hoped that abolishing the millet system would create a more centralized government, as well as increased legitimacy of the Ottoman rule, thus gaining direct control of its citizens. Another major hope was that being more open to various demographics would attract more people into the empire. There was fear of internal strife between Muslims and non-Muslims, and allowing more religious freedom to all

1540-548: The Sultan. Collectively, both chambers were known as the General Assembly . After the 31 March Incident in 1909, the constitution was amended to delegate the popularly elected lower house: the Chamber of Deputies , more powers over the Senate and the Monarchy . All registered males above the age of 25 were allowed to vote in two-stage elections, where they first voted for a representative who would go on to vote for

1595-618: The Tanzimat reforms were intended to return to the tradition of equality for all subjects before the law. However, the Sublime Porte assumed that the underlying hierarchical social order would remain unchanged. Instead, the upheavals of reform would allow for different understandings of the goals of the Tanzimat. The elites in Mount Lebanon , in fact, interpreted the Tanzimat far differently from one another, leading to ethno-religious uprisings among newly emancipated Maronites . As

1650-428: The Tanzimat's fundamental change regarding the non-Muslims, from a status of a subjugated population ( dhimmi ) to that of equal subjects, was in part responsible for the Hamidian massacres and subsequent Armenian genocide . In their view, these were inevitable backlashes from the Muslim community to the legal changes, as the Tanzimat's values were imposed from above and did not reflect those of society. In Lebanon ,

1705-469: The ability to live in the Ottoman Empire and own property, but this ability was not without special taxes ( jizya ). For the "Ottoman ruling elite, 'freedom of religion' meant 'freedom to defend their religion ' ". Although the Edict of Gülhane and the Tanzimat provided strong guidelines for society, they were not a constitution and did not replace the authority of the sultan. Still, the Tanzimat reforms had far-reaching effects overall. Those educated in

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1760-518: The abolition of tax farming , reform of conscription , and guarantee of rights to all Ottoman citizens regardless of religion or ethnic group. The goal of the decree was to help modernize the empire militarily and socially so that it could compete with the Great Powers of Europe . It also was hoped the reforms would win over the disaffected parts of the empire, especially in the Ottoman controlled parts of Europe, which were largely Christian . At

1815-464: The centralizing effects of the Tanzimat reforms. Additionally, the Edict of Gülhane imposed forced military conscription within the administrative districts based on their population size. However, the most significant clause of the Gülhane decree was the one enforcing the rule of law for all subjects, including non-Muslims, by guaranteeing the right to life and property for all. This put an end to

1870-403: The developed bureaucracy created through a century of reform and centralization by undertaking genocide against Christian minorities . The CUP also undertook many reforms relating to social structure, religion, and education, which would be continued and more far reaching under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's regime . The Union and Progress dictatorship lasted until the end of World War I , which lead to

1925-589: The disbandment and massacre of the Janissary corps , at this point a conservative bureaucratic elite, in the Auspicious Incident . A long period of reform known as the Tanzimat period started, which yielded much needed reform to the government and social contract with the multicultural citizens of the empire. In the height of the Tanzimat period in 1876, Abdul Hamid II (r. 1876–1909) turned

1980-637: The end of the Crimean War , the Western powers pressured Turkey to undertake further reforms, mainly to deprive the Russians, with whom peace negotiations were then under way, of any further pretense for intervention in the internal affairs of the Ottoman Empire. The result of these pressures was the proclamation of the Hatt-ı Hümâyûn (Imperial Rescript) of 18 February 1856 . While the Edict of Gülhane

2035-519: The execution of apostates from Islam illegal. Despite the official position of the state in the midst of the Tanzimat reforms, this tolerance of non-Muslims seems to have been seriously curtailed, at least until the Reform Edict of 1856. The Ottoman Empire had tried many different ways to reach out to non-Muslims. First it tried to reach out to them by giving all non-Muslims an option to apply for Dhimmi status. Having Dhimmi status gave non-Muslims

2090-487: The government and public good. The second proposed a regular system of assessing and levying taxes, troops, and duration of service. Subjects would be taxed a quota determined by their means and a reduced military term would lessen the blow that occurred to industries when the men were away. This collection of demands can be summed up under the title of governmental impositions on subjects. This new system of taxing ended tax-farming and introduced taxing based on means rather than

2145-538: The law for all citizens. That served to strengthen the Christian middle class, increasing their economic and political power. The reforms peaked in 1876 with the implementation of an Ottoman constitution checking the autocratic powers of the Sultan. The details of this period are covered under the First Constitutional Era . Although the new Sultan Abdul Hamid II signed the first constitution, he quickly turned against it. Historian Hans-Lukas Kieser has argued that

2200-477: The legal system, crackdowns on the slave trade, education, property law, law enforcement, and the military, to name a few. The end goal was to establish a powerful and centralized national government . Ottoman statesmen also worked with reformers of the many confessional communities of the empire, millets , to codify, and in some cases democratize, their confessional governments. The Tanzimat built on previous reform efforts of Sultan Mahmud II . During its height,

2255-549: The local peasants' lands out from under their feet to the new Jewish immigrants, as they themselves relocated permanently to Syria or Turkey. Alternately, rich Christian or Muslim families, the class of the ' Effendis ', were able to accumulate large amounts of land which they exploited by themselves or sold on. In 1863 the Armenian National Constitution was approved by the Ottoman government. The "Code of Regulations" consisted of 150 articles drafted by

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2310-473: The longer lasting Second Constitutional Era and forced Abdul Hamid to reinstate the constitution, recall the parliament, and hold elections again which this time which featured political parties . However, by 1913 the Ottoman Empire was a dictatorship of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), led by the Three Pashas ( Talat Pasha , Enver Pasha , and Cemal Pasha ). This dictatorship capitalized on

2365-414: The old religious and military institutions no longer met the needs of the empire. Most of the symbolic changes, such as uniforms, were aimed at changing the mindset of imperial administrators. Many of the officials affiliated with the government were encouraged to wear a more western style of dress. Many of the reforms were attempts to adopt successful European practices. The reforms were heavily influenced by

2420-542: The passage of a law banning ethnic parties. Some ethnic parties like the Dashnaktsutyun (Armenian Revolutionary Federation) held a strong alliance with the CUP and continued to participate in Ottoman politics until 1915. Most governments between 1908 and 1918 were formed by the CUP. How the monarchy exercised its power in the Empire's twilight days depended on the context. Sultan Abdul Hamid II ruled as an autocrat for most of his reign. Sultan Mehmed V served to be

2475-457: The privileges of these communities and constructed a society where all followed the same law. The new reforms called for an almost complete reconstruction of public life in the Ottoman Empire. Under the reconstruction, a system of state schools was established to produce government clerics. Ottomans were encouraged to enroll. Each province was organized so that each governor would have an advisory council and specified duties in order to better serve

2530-546: The reforms led to "the rhetorical promotion of equality of non-Muslims with Muslims on paper vs. the primacy of Muslims in practice" (see Tanzimat Dualism ); other historians have argued that the decreased ability of non-Muslims to assert their legal rights during this period led to the land seizure and emigration. Part of the reform policy was an economic policy based on the Treaty of Balta Liman of 1838. Many changes were made to improve civil liberties, but many Muslims saw them as

2585-518: The reforms thereafter included were the following: The Hatt-ı Şerif of Gülhane , was the first major reform in the Tanzimat reforms under the government of sultan Abdulmejid and a crucial event in the movement towards secularization. The decree, named after the rosehouse ( gülhane ) on the grounds of the Topkapi Palace , abolished tax farming . It also created a bureaucratic system of taxation with salaried tax collectors. This reflects

2640-404: The reforms were instated. The Reform Edict of 1856 was intended to carry out the promises of the Tanzimat. The Edict is very specific about the status of non-Muslims, making it possible "to see it as the outcome of a period of religious restlessness that followed the Edict of 1839". Officially, part of the Tanzimat's goal was to make the state intolerant to forced conversion to Islam, also making

2695-576: The schools established during the Tanzimat period included major personalities of the nation states that would develop from the Ottoman Empire. The system was ultimately undone by negotiations with the Great Powers following the Crimean War . As part of the Charter of 1856, European powers demanded a much stronger sovereignty for ethnic communities within the empire, differing from the Ottomans, who envisioned equality meaning identical treatment under

2750-683: The territory. The new reforms also called for a modern financial system with a central bank , treasury bonds and a decimal currency . Finally, the reforms implemented the expansion of roads, canals and rail lines for better communication and transportation. The reaction to the edict was not entirely positive. Christians in the Balkans refused to support the reforms because they wanted an autonomy that became more difficult to achieve under centralized power. In fact, its adoption spurred some provinces to seek independence by rebelling. It took strong British backing in maintaining Ottoman territory to ensure that

2805-569: The time of the edict, millets (independent communal law-courts) had gained a large amount of religious autonomy within the empire, threatening the central government. This edict, along with the subsequent Imperial Reform Edict of 1856, was therefore an early step towards the empire's goal of Ottomanism , or a unified national and legal Ottoman identity. It was published in the Tekvim-i Vekayi in Ottoman Turkish. In addition, it

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2860-522: The world. Zeynep Çelik wrote: "In summary, from 1838 to 1908 the Ottoman Empire staged its final but doomed struggle for survival." Government of the late Ottoman Empire Starting in the 19th century the Ottoman Empire's governing structure slowly transitioned and standardized itself into a Western style system of government, sometimes known as the Imperial Government . Mahmud II (r. 1808–1839) initiated this process following

2915-410: Was more complex, it consisted mainly of three demands. The first was a guaranteed insurance of the security of life of every subject. The direction of thought here being that if a subject's life is endangered, he/she can become a danger to others and the sultan, since people do many things out of fear in order to protect their health. If there is an absence of security to fortune, everyone is insensible to

2970-606: Was published in Greek and French, the latter in Moniteur ottoman , and François Alphonse Belin , a dragoman , created his own French version, published in the Journal Asiatique . The Edict of Gülhane did not enact any official legal changes but merely made royal promises to the empire's subjects, and they were never fully implemented due to Christian nationalism and resentment among Muslim populations in these areas. At

3025-505: Was supposed to diminish this threat. Giving more rights to the Christians within the empire was considered likely to reduce the danger of outside intervention on their behalf. Although the motives for the implementation of Tanzimât were bureaucratic, liberal ministers and intellectuals contributed to reform like Dimitrios Zambakos Pasha , Kabuli Mehmed Pasha , the secret society of the Young Ottomans , and Midhat Pasha . During

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