Tanzimat facts for kids

The Tanzimat (meaning 'Reorganization' in Ottoman Turkish) was a special time of big changes in the Ottoman Empire. These changes started in 1839 with an important announcement called the Edict of Gülhane and finished in 1876 when the empire got its first constitution. Important leaders like Mustafa Reşid Pasha, Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha, and Fuad Pasha helped guide these reforms. They worked under Sultans Abdul Mejid and Abdul Aziz.

The main goal of the Tanzimat was to make the empire stronger and more modern. Leaders wanted to update laws, the army, and how the government worked. They also wanted to make sure all people in the empire were treated equally, no matter their background. During this time, new courts, modern schools, and important structures like railways were built.

However, these changes were not easy. Some religious leaders did not like the new ideas. The reforms also caused some problems between different groups of people, especially in the Balkans. The empire also borrowed a lot of money from other countries, which caused big financial problems. Historians still discuss whether the Tanzimat helped the empire or made its problems worse.

Many parts of the government were changed or started fresh. This included how laws were made, how trade worked, and how the legal system became more modern and fair for everyone. Efforts were also made to stop the slave trade, improve education, and update property laws. The army and police also saw big changes. Ottoman leaders also worked with different religious communities to update their own rules and make them more democratic.

These reforms built on earlier efforts by Sultan Mahmud II. For a while, the government's offices in Istanbul became very powerful, sometimes even more so than the Sultan. After a period of confusion around 1871, the idea of reorganization led to the creation of the 1876 Ottoman Constitution, written by Midhat Pasha. The Tanzimat period is usually considered to have ended with the big problems of the Great Eastern Crisis (1875–1878). But, efforts to modernize the empire continued for many years after.

Why the Reforms Started

For many years, the Ottoman Empire faced big challenges. In the 1700s, the government had problems that led to defeats in wars, like the wars with Russia and the Greek War of Independence (1821–1830). These defeats showed that the empire's army was not as strong as European armies. Also, local leaders in different parts of the empire started to ignore the central government.

Sultan Selim III tried to make some changes, but conservative groups and the old army (called Janissaries) stopped him. Later, Sultan Mahmud II became ruler. He was also keen on reforms but waited for the right moment. In 1826, he finally removed the Janissaries, who had resisted many changes. After this, Mahmud II's rule focused on modernizing the empire, taking ideas from Western countries.

By 1838, the Ottoman government signed a trade agreement with Britain, which opened up Ottoman markets to many European goods.

On July 1, 1839, Sultan Mahmud II passed away suddenly. His son, Abdul Mejid I, became the new Sultan. Reformers like Mustafa Reşid Pasha, who had seen how things worked in London and Paris, believed that adopting European-style systems could make the empire strong again. Their ideas became clear in the Gülhane Edict of 1839, which the new Sultan signed. This edict promised safety for everyone's life, property, and honor. It also promised fair taxes, fair military service, public trials, and an end to the old system of tax farming.

Goals of the Tanzimat

Mustafa Reşid Pasha, a key leader of the Tanzimat reforms.

The Tanzimat was a big plan to stop the empire from getting weaker. The empire had lost land and power compared to European countries. There were reasons for these reforms both inside and outside the empire.

The Gülhane Edict was based on traditional ideas of good government. Some historians believe it was also influenced by ideas from the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen of 1789.

A main goal of the Tanzimat was to improve the army. The old Ottoman army, the Janissaries, had lost its strength. So, leaders wanted to create a new, modern army inspired by European forces. The Ottoman Empire had many different cultures and religions. Another important goal was to create a fairer society where all people were treated equally, not just Muslims. The reforms also aimed to end the old system of İltizam, which was about how land was rented out for taxes.

Inside the empire, reformers hoped that changing the old system, where different religious groups had their own rules, would make the government stronger and more central. Non-Muslims often had their own leaders or received protection from foreign countries. Leaders hoped that being more welcoming to all groups would attract more people to the empire. They also wanted to prevent conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims by giving more religious freedom to everyone. Giving more rights to Christians was also seen as a way to reduce the chance of other countries getting involved in Ottoman affairs to protect them.

Many liberal ministers and thinkers, like Dimitrios Zambakos Pasha and Midhat Pasha, helped with these reforms. A secret group called the Young Ottomans also pushed for change. During the Great Eastern Crisis, government ministers, led by Midhat Pasha, even worked to remove Sultan Abdul Aziz and introduce a constitution in 1876. This started the First Constitutional Era, which many historians see as the end of the main Tanzimat period, even though reforms continued.

Key Reforms and Changes

On November 3, 1839, Sultan Abdulmejid I issued a special imperial order called the Edict of Gülhane. This order promised to protect the lives, honor, and property of all Ottoman subjects. Many new laws followed to put these promises into action. The Sultan said he wanted to bring "the benefits of a good administration to the provinces of the Ottoman Empire through new institutions."

Here are some of the important changes during the Tanzimat period:

• A new Ministry of Trade and Agriculture was created (1839).
• The first Ottoman paper banknotes were introduced (1840).
• A Ministry of Post and the first post offices were set up (1840).
• The financial system was reorganized (1840).
• New Civil and Penal Codes were created (1840).
• The Council of Public Education was established in 1841 to modernize schools. It helped create higher education institutions.
• The army was reorganized, with new ways of recruiting soldiers and setting military service times (1843–44).
• The national anthem and flag were redesigned (1844).
• The first empire-wide census was taken in 1844 (only counting male citizens).
• The first national identity cards were issued (1844).
• Provincial councils were set up to help governors (1845).
• The Istanbul Slave Market was closed (1847).
• The slave trade in the Persian Gulf was stopped (1847).
• The first telegraph and railway networks were built (1847–1856).
• The first modern universities and teacher schools were established (1848).
• A Ministry of Healthcare was created (1850).
• New Commerce and Trade Codes were announced (1850).
• Commercial courts with mixed Turkish and European members were established, creating the first secular legal system (1850).
• The Circassian and Georgian slave trade was forbidden (1854–1855).
• The Imperial Reform Edict of 1856 promised full legal equality for citizens of all religions. It also ended the Jizya tax for non-Muslims, replacing it with a military exemption fee.
• The Ottoman Bank was established (1856).
• The Black Slave Trade was forbidden (1857).
• A new Land Code was created (1858).
• A new Penal Code, inspired by Western laws, was put in place (1858).
• The School of Civil Service was established for higher learning (1859).
• New Ministry of the Interior was created for internal security (1860).
• The Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate was established (1861).
• Paper currency, kaime, was issued (1862).
• New laws for the Greek Millet were announced (1862).
• A Constitution for the Armenian Millet and an Armenian National Assembly were created (1863).
• New rules for Press and Journalism were made (1864).
• Provincial administration was reorganized with the Vilayet Law (1864).
• Secular Nizamiye courts were established (1864).
• A Constitution for the Jewish Millet and a Jewish National Assembly were created (1865).
• Rules for foreigners owning Ottoman property were changed, weakening old treaties (1867).
• The Supreme Council of Judicial Ordinances was split into a Council of State and a Supreme Court of Cassation (1868).
• Galatasaray High School was established as another important school (1868).
• A Nationality Law created a common Ottoman citizenship for everyone, regardless of religion (1869).
• The Ottoman Gendarmerie (police force) was established (1869).
• A civil code based on Islamic law, the Mecelle, was published (1869–1876).
• The Bulgarian Exarchate and Bulgarian millet were established (1872).
• The metric system was adopted (1875).
• An Ottoman Constitution, Senate, and Chamber of Deputies were put in place after the 1876 revolution (1876).

The Gülhane Edict of 1839

Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha, a main leader behind the Imperial Reform Edict of 1856.

The Edict of Gülhane was the first big reform of the Tanzimat. It was a major step towards making the government more secular, meaning less controlled by religious rules. The decree, named after the rose garden (gülhane) at the Topkapi Palace, ended the system of tax farming. Instead, government workers collected taxes. This showed how the Tanzimat reforms aimed to make the central government stronger. The Edict of Gülhane also introduced forced military service based on how many people lived in each area.

The most important part of the Gülhane decree was that it promised equal laws for all subjects, including non-Muslims. It guaranteed everyone the right to life and property. This ended an old system where the ruler's servants could be executed or have their property taken away at his will. These reforms aimed to create legal and social equality for all Ottoman citizens. They also changed the millet system, which had organized people into religious communities that often had their own rules and special rights. This new rule meant everyone followed the same laws.

These reforms called for big changes in public life. A system of state schools was created to train government workers, and Ottomans were encouraged to attend. Each province was organized with an advisory council and clear duties for governors. The reforms also aimed for a modern financial system with a central bank, government bonds, and a decimal currency. Finally, there were plans to build more roads, canals, and railways to improve communication and travel.

Reactions to the Reforms

Not everyone was happy with the new edict. Christians in the Balkans, for example, wanted more independence, which became harder to get under a stronger central government. In fact, some areas rebelled because of these changes. Strong support from Britain was needed to help the Ottoman Empire keep its territory and put the reforms into action.

The 1856 Edict and Religious Freedom

The Ottoman Reform Edict of 1856 was meant to continue the promises of the Tanzimat. This edict was very clear about the rights of non-Muslims. It aimed to stop forced conversions to Islam and made it illegal to execute people who changed their religion. Before 1856, tolerance for non-Muslims was sometimes limited. The Ottoman Empire tried to include non-Muslims by offering them Dhimmi status, which allowed them to live and own property in the empire but required special taxes.

For the Ottoman leaders, "freedom of religion" meant the freedom to practice and defend one's own religion.

Legal Changes

The Tanzimat introduced new legal codes that were not based on traditional religious law:

• 1858 Ottoman Penal Code: This law was similar to France's Napoleonic Code. It changed old punishments, like cutting off a limb for theft, replacing them with fines and prison time. However, religious courts still handled family matters.
• Commercial Code (1850): This law standardized trade rules to attract European investors. But it also weakened traditional Ottoman craft groups, leading to protests from artisans in cities like Bursa.

Challenges and Problems

The Tanzimat reforms faced many difficulties and sometimes caused problems that went against their original goals.

Financial Difficulties

The empire borrowed a lot of money from British and French banks, especially for building new infrastructure. By 1875, this led to bankruptcy. In 1881, European countries created the Ottoman Public Debt Administration to control some of the empire's income, like tobacco taxes.

Tensions Between Groups

The reforms did not stop groups from wanting to break away, especially in the Balkans. For example, the Herzegovina Uprising in 1875 was partly caused by Christian farmers being unhappy about taxes. The 1856 Imperial Reform Edict required non-Muslims to serve in the military, but they could pay a fee to avoid it. This caused anger among poorer Christians. However, in practice, Christians were not expected to serve in the Ottoman army until 1909.

Resistance from Conservatives

Conservative religious leaders did not like the new secular courts and schools. They worried that these changes would reduce the importance of Islamic authority. Muslim farmers and artisans also felt unhappy because they lost old tax benefits and had to compete with cheaper European goods. While the Tanzimat aimed to bring secular laws into many parts of life, Muslim conservatives did achieve a victory with the creation of the Mecelle, a civil code based on Islamic law but adapted for a modern government.

Resistance from Government Workers

Even within the Ottoman government, there was strong resistance to the Tanzimat reforms. Some conservative officials formed secret groups to oppose changes, especially those that threatened their special positions. For instance, a group of conservative elites worked to stop early Tanzimat policies before Sultan Mahmud II removed them from power.

Impacts of the Tanzimat

A Greek drawing celebrating the 1876 Constitution. It shows leaders like Midhat Pasha and different religious groups giving freedom to a figure representing Turkey. The banner shows the motto of the French Revolution: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.

Even though the Gülhane Edict and the Tanzimat provided important guidelines, they were not a constitution and did not take away the Sultan's power.

Still, the Tanzimat reforms had a huge impact. Many important people who later led the new countries that formed from the Ottoman Empire were educated in the schools created during the Tanzimat. The reforms were also affected by negotiations with European powers after the Crimean War. European countries pushed for more rights for ethnic communities within the empire. This was different from the Ottoman idea of equality, which meant everyone being treated the same under the law. This helped strengthen the Christian middle class, giving them more economic and political power.

The reforms reached a peak in 1876 with the creation of an Ottoman constitution, which aimed to limit the Sultan's absolute power. This period is known as the First Constitutional Era. However, the new Sultan Abdul Hamid II signed the constitution but quickly went against it.

Some historians have noted that while the reforms promised equality for non-Muslims on paper, Muslims often remained more powerful in practice. Other historians suggest that the changes made it harder for non-Muslims to protect their legal rights, leading to land being taken and people moving away. The Tanzimat also brought economic policies based on the 1838 Treaty of Balta Liman. Many changes aimed to improve people's rights, but some Muslims saw them as foreign influences on their Islamic world. This made it harder for the state to carry out reforms. During the Tanzimat, the government's reforms led to a modern army, banking system changes, and the replacement of religious law with secular law. Old craft guilds were replaced with modern factories.

By the mid-1800s, about 35% of the Ottoman Empire's population was non-Muslim.

Effects in Different Regions

In Lebanon, the Tanzimat reforms aimed to bring back the idea of equality for all people under the law. However, the government thought that the old social order would stay the same. Instead, the changes led to different groups understanding the Tanzimat goals in their own ways. Leaders in Mount Lebanon had very different ideas, which led to conflicts between religious groups, like the Druze and Maronites. European and Ottoman officials then tried to win the loyalty of local people.

In Palestine, land reforms, especially the Ottoman Land Law of 1858, allowed some people to buy land. To collect more taxes, the Ottoman government required Arabs in Palestine to register their lands for the first time. Many farmers did not trust the government and feared higher taxes or military service. Because many farmers could not read, local village leaders often registered village lands under their own names. This allowed them to later claim ownership and sell the land, sometimes to new Jewish immigrants, while the original farmers moved away. Rich Christian or Muslim families also gained large amounts of land.

In 1863, the Armenian National Constitution was approved. This document, written by Armenian thinkers, had 150 articles that defined the powers of the Armenian Patriarch and the new Armenian National Assembly within the Ottoman system.

Political Outcomes

The Tanzimat reforms aimed to make the Ottoman Empire stable and modern, but they often caused big political problems that changed the empire's path in the 1800s.

Centralization and Resistance

The reforms tried to bring more power to Istanbul, reducing the independence of local leaders and religious figures in the provinces. This caused rebellions in areas like:

• Bosnia Vilayet (1850–1851): Local leaders fought against Istanbul's authority.
• Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate (1860 Druze–Maronite conflict): Religious and local groups rejected Ottoman rule.

Even new projects like railways, meant to modernize, were sometimes seen as ways for the empire to control more, leading to distrust in the provinces.

Changes in Ottoman Identity

While the Tanzimat promoted the idea of "Ottomanism" (equality for all people regardless of religion), it accidentally made ethnic and religious groups want to separate even more. In the Balkans, Christian communities used their new legal rights to demand independence. This led to:

• The 1875 Herzegovina Uprising.
• The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878.

On the other hand, Muslim leaders were unhappy about what they saw as favoritism towards Christians. This fueled movements that promoted unity among Muslims under Sultan Abdul Hamid II (who ruled from 1876–1909).

Foreign Influence and Lost Land

European countries used the idea of minority rights to get involved in Ottoman affairs. After the Ottoman Empire lost the Russo-Turkish War, the Treaty of Berlin (1878) officially recognized the loss of Bulgaria, Bosnia, and Cyprus. Also, France and Britain gained more control over Ottoman reforms, further reducing the empire's independence.

Internal Power Struggles

Reform-minded government officials, like the Young Ottomans, often disagreed with conservative religious leaders and Sultan Abdulaziz (who ruled from 1861–1876). Sultan Abdulaziz even stopped the 1876 Constitution within two years. This back-and-forth between reform and control made groups like the Committee of Union and Progress (Young Turks) more extreme. Their revolution in 1908 ended Abdul Hamid II's rule but could not save the empire.

Historian Zeynep Çelik explained the Tanzimat's challenge: The Ottoman Empire tried hard to survive from 1838 to 1908. The Tanzimat tried to balance Western progress with Islamic traditions, but this often made both reformers and traditionalists unhappy, which sped up the empire's breakup.

Gallery

See also

• Decline and modernization of the Ottoman Empire
• Ottoman military reforms
• Young Ottomans
• Court uniform and dress in the Ottoman Empire
• Düstür
• Ahmed Cevdet Pasha