Tanzimat

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 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 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 the Edict of Gülhane of 1839, declaring equality before the law for both Muslim and non-Muslim Ottomans.^[4]

 

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, the Janissaries, had fallen from grace in terms of military prestige and a European-inspired reconstruction was a necessary change to be made.^[5] 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.^[6]

Internally, 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 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,^[7][8] and Midhat Pasha.^{[9][10][11][12]} During 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,^[13] even though reform continued uninterrupted at its end in 1878, and then into the Hamidian Era.

 

 

On November 3, 1839, Sultan Abdulmejid I issued 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 the reforms thereafter included were the following:^[14][15]

• Establishment of the Ministry of Trade and Agriculture (1839)
• Introduction of the first Ottoman paper banknotes (1840)
• Establishment of the Ministry of Post and the first post offices of the empire (1840)^[16][17]
• Reorganization of the finance system (1840)
• Reorganization of the Civil and Penal Code (1840)
• Establishment of the Council of Education (Meclis-i Maarif-i Umumiye) (1841)^{[citation needed]}
• Reorganization of the army and a regular method of recruiting, levying the army, and fixing the duration of military service (1843–44)
• Redesign of Ottoman national anthem and Ottoman national flag (1844)
• First nationwide Ottoman census in 1844 (only male citizens were counted)^{[citation needed]}
• First national identity cards (officially named the Mecidiye identity papers, or informally kafa kağıdı (head paper) documents, 1844)^{[citation needed]}
• Institution of a Council of Public Instruction (1845) and the Ministry of Education (Mekatib-i Umumiye Nezareti, 1847, which later became the Maarif Nezareti, 1857)
• Establishment of the Chaldean Catholic Millet (1846)
• Disestablishment of the Istanbul Slave Market (1847)^[18]
• Suppression of the slave trade in the Persian Gulf (1847)^[19]
• Establishment of the Protestant Millet (1847)
• Establishment of the first telegraph networks (1847–1855) and railway networks (1856)
• Establishment of the first modern universities (darülfünun, 1848), academies (1848) and teacher schools (darülmuallimin, 1848)
• Establishment of the Ministry of Healthcare (Tıbbiye Nezareti, 1850)
• Promulgation of the Commerce and Trade Code (1850)
• Establishment of the Academy of Sciences (Encümen-i Daniş) (1851)
• Establishment of the Şirket-i Hayriye [tr] which operated the first steam-powered commuter ferries (1851)
• Reorganization of the Penal Code (1851)^[20]
• Prohibition of the Circassian and Georgian slave trade (1854–1855)^[21]
• Legislative functions of the Supreme Council of Judicial Ordinances [tr] (Meclis-i Vâlâ-yı Ahkâm-ı Adliye) passed to the Council of Reorganization (Meclis-i Âli-i Tanzimat) (1854)
• Establishment of the modern Municipality of Constantinople (Şehremaneti, 1854) and the City Planning Council (İntizam-ı Şehir Komisyonu, 1855)
• The Imperial Reform Edict of 1856 promising full legal equality for citizens of all religions (1856)
• Establishment of the Ottoman Bank (originally established as the Bank-ı Osmanî in 1856, and later reorganized as the Bank-ı Osmanî-i Şahane in 1863)^[22] and the Ottoman Stock Exchange (Dersaadet Tahvilat Borsası, established in 1866)^[23]
• Prohibition of the Black Slave Trade (1857)^[24]
• Codification and promulgation of the Land Code (1858)
• Permission for private sector publishers and printing firms with the Serbesti-i Kürşad Nizamnamesi (1857)
• Decriminalization of homosexuality (1858)
• Promulgation of a western-inspired Penal Code, replacing 1851 codex, which endured until 1928 (1858)^[20]
• Establishment of the School of Civil Service, an institution of higher learning for civilians under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the School of Economical and Political Sciences (Mekteb-i Mülkiye-i Şahane) (1859)^[25]
• Internal security duties of the office of Grand Vizier passed to a new Ministry of the Interior (1860)
• Establishment of the Bulgarian Catholic Millet (1860)
• Promulgation of a French inspired Mixed Commercial Code (1861)^[26]
• Merging of the Supreme Council of Judicial Ordinances and Council of Reorganization (1861)
• Establishment of the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate (1861)
• Promulgation of basic laws for the Greek Millet (1862)
• Promulgation of a French inspired Maritime Commerce Code (1863)^[26]
• Promulgation of a Constitution for the Armenian Millet and the Armenian National Assembly (1863)
• Promulgation of a Press and Journalism Regulation Code (Matbuat Nizamnamesi) (1864)^[14]
• Reorganization of provincial administration with the Vilayet Law (1864)
• Establishment of secular Nizamiye courts (1864)
• Promulgation of a Constitution for the Jewish Millet and a Jewish National Assembly (1865)
• Governance over Sufi Orders handed to the ulema with the establishment of the Assembly of Shaykhs (Meclis-i Meşayıh) under the Şeyhülislam, (1866)
• Reorganization of waqf, or Islamic mortmain property (1867)
• Regulation of foreigners on owning Ottoman property, effectively weakening capitulation treaties (1867)
• Supreme Council of Judicial Ordinances (Meclis-i Vâlâ-yı Ahkâm-ı Adliye) split into a Council of State and a Judicial Council [tr] (Divan-ı Ahkâmı Adliye), the latter of which acted as a supreme court of appeal and cassation (1868)
• Establishment of Galatasaray High School (Imperial Ottoman Lycée at Galatasaray), another institution of higher learning for civilians (1868);^[25]
• Nationality Law creating a common Ottoman citizenship irrespective of religious divisions, another attack on capitulations (1869)
• Establishment of the Ottoman Gendarmerie (1869)
• Publication of a Hanefite-Sharia civil code: the Mecelle which endured until 1926 in Turkey and beyond in other post-Ottoman states (1869–1876)
• Reorganization of the judiciary of the Muslim millet (1869)
• Establishment of the Bulgarian Exarchate and the Bulgarian millet (1872)
• Establishment of the Syriac Orthodox Millet (1873)
• Promulgation of an Ottoman Constitution, Senate, and Chamber of Deputies (1876)

 

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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'".^[27]

 

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 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 the law for all citizens. That served to strengthen the Christian middle class, increasing their economic and political power.^{[citation needed]}

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 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.^[28] 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 a foreign influence on the world of Islam. That perception complicated reformist efforts made by the state.^[29] 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^[30] and guilds with modern factories.

Some scholars argue that from the Muslim population's traditional Islamic view, 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.^[31]

In Lebanon, 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 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."^[32]

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 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 the local peasants' lands out from under their feet to the new Jewish immigrants, as they themselves relocated permanently to Syria or Turkey.^[33] 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 the Armenian intelligentsia and defined the powers of the Armenian Patriarch under the Ottoman millet system and the newly formed Armenian National Assembly.^[34]

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 the world. Zeynep Çelik wrote: "In summary, from 1838 to 1908 the Ottoman Empire staged its final but doomed struggle for survival."^{[citation needed]}

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

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