Portrait: AI-generated imagined likeness
Monarch
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He presided over the beginning of the Tanzimat reforms and modernized the empire's legal system and administration. He is a person who thinks about the Ottoman reforms in the 19th century.
View in catalogIstanbul
Work
Gulhane Edict
1839
Political event · Leader
Crimean War
1853–1856
War · Leader
Map: Natural Earth (PD)
He grew up in the imperial court as the son of Mahmut II, and ascended to the throne at a young age, inheriting his father's reform policy. The empire was facing the Egyptian problem and pressure from the great powers.
The Gyulhane Edict of 1839 advocated the guarantee of life and property, reform of taxation and military conscription, and equality of subjects. In the Crimean War, it joined forces with Britain and France to oppose Russia.
Abd al-Mejid I's reforms introduced Western-style systems, but they also came with financial burdens and resistance from conservatives. It was a time when the ideals of reform and the realities of maintaining the empire were in conflict.
When we study Abdul-Mejit I, we learn that the Ottoman Empire not only declined, but also tried to transform into a modern state through law, military, diplomacy, and the integration of its subjects. It can also be used for comparison with surrounding areas from the same era.
