Abdülmecid

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	Abdülmecid I Ottoman Period
Preceded by: Mahmud II	Ottoman Sultan 1839–61	Succeeded by: Abdülaziz

Abdülmecid I (Ottoman Turkish: عبد المجيد اول ‘Abdü’l-Mecīd-i evvel) (April 23, 1823 – June 25, 1861) was the 31st sultan of the Ottoman Empire and succeeded his father Mahmud II on July 2, 1839. His reign was notable for the rise of nationalist movements within the empire's territories. Abdülmecid wanted to encourage Ottomanism among the secessionist subject nations and stop the rise of nationalist movements within the empire, but failed to succeed despite trying to integrate non-Muslims and non-Turks more thoroughly into the Ottoman society with new laws and reforms. He tried to forge alliances with the major powers of Western Europe, namely the United Kingdom and France, who fought alongside the Ottoman Empire at the Crimean War against Russia. In the following Congress of Paris on March 30, 1856, the Ottoman Empire was officially included among the European family of nations. Abdülmecid's biggest achievement was the announcement and application of the Tanzimat (Reorganization) reforms which were prepared by his father Mahmud II and effectively started the modernization of Turkey in 1839.

Abdülmecid received a European education and was a fluent speaker of the French language while being interested in literature and classical music like Abdülaziz who succeeded him. He was an advocate of reforms like his father Mahmud II, and was lucky enough to have the support of progressionist viziers like Mustafa Reşit Pasha, Mehmet Emin Ali Pasha and Fuat Pasha. Throughout his reign he had to struggle against conservatives who opposed his reforms. Abdülmecid was also the first emperor to personally listen to the public's complaints in special reception days, usually every Friday, without any middlemen. Abdülmecid toured the empire's territories to see in first person how the Tanzimat reforms were being applied; travelling to Izmit, Mudanya, Bursa, Gallipoli, Çanakkale, Lemnos, Lesbos and Chios in 1844. He toured the Balkan provinces in 1846.

When Abdülmecid succeeded to the throne, the affairs of the Ottoman Empire were in an extremely critical state. At the very time his father died, the news was on its way to Istanbul that the empire's army had been defeated at Nizip by that of the rebel Egyptian viceroy, Mehmet Ali. The empire's fleet was at the same time on its way to Alexandria, where it was handed over to the same enemy by its commander Ahmed Fevzi Pasha, on the pretext that the young sultan's advisers were sold to Russia. However, through the intervention of the European powers, Mehmet Ali was obliged to come to terms, and the Ottoman Empire was saved from further attacks while its territories in Syria, Lebanon and Palestine were restored.

Dolmabahçe Palace, the first European-style palace in Istanbul, was built by Abdülmecid between 1842 and 1853, at a cost of five million Ottoman gold pounds, the equivalent of 35 tons of gold. 14 tons of gold was used only to adorn the interior ceiling of the palace. The world's largest Bohemian crystal chandelier, a gift from Queen Victoria, is at the center hall. The palace has the largest collection of Bohemian and Baccarat crystal chandeliers in the world, and even the staircases are made of Baccarat crystal.

In compliance with his father's express instructions, Abdülmecid immediately carried out the reforms to which Mahmud II had devoted himself. In November 1839 an edict known as the Hatt-ı Şerif of Gülhane, also known as Tanzimat Fermanı was proclaimed, consolidating and enforcing these reforms. The edict was supplemented at the close of the Crimean War by a similar statute issued in February 1856, named the Hatt-ı Hümayun. By these enactments it was provided that all classes of the sultan's subjects should have security for their lives and property; that taxes should be fairly imposed and justice impartially administered; and that all should have full religious liberty and equal civil rights. The scheme met with keen opposition from the Muslim governing classes and the ulema, or religious authorities, and was but partially put in force, especially in the remoter parts of the empire; and more than one conspiracy was formed against the sultan's life on account of it.

The most important measures of reform promoted by Abdülmecid were:

• introduction of the first Ottoman paper banknotes (1840)
• the reorganization of the army (1843-1844)
• the adoption of an Ottoman national anthem and Ottoman national flag (1844)
• the reorganization of the finance system according to the French model
• the reorganization of the Civil and Criminal Code according to the French model
• the establishment of the Meclis-i Maarif-i Umumiye (1845) which was the prototype of the First Ottoman Parliament (1876)
• the institution of a council of public instruction (1846)
• the establishment of the first modern universities and academies (1848)
• the abolition of an unfairly imposed capitation tax which imposed higher tariffs on non-Muslims (1856)
• non-Muslims were allowed to become soldiers (1856)
• various provisions for the better administration of the public service and for the advancement of commerce

Another notable reform was that the turban was officially outlawed for the first time during Abdülmecid's reign, in favour of the fez. European fashions were also adopted in full swing by the Court. (The fez itself was later banned with the "Hat Law" in 1925 by the Republican National Assembly which had already abolished the sultanate and proclaimed the Turkish Republic in 1923).

When Kossuth and others sought refuge in Turkey after the failure of the Hungarian rising in 1849, the sultan was called on by Austria and Russia to surrender them, but he refused. He also would not allow the conspirators against his own life to be put to death. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica says of him, "Abdülmecid bore the character of being a kind and honourable man, if somewhat weak and easily led. Against this, however, must be set down his excessive extravagance, especially towards the end of his life."

The Ottoman Empire took its first foreign loans on 25 August 1854 during the Crimean War. This major foreign loan was followed by those of 1855, 1858 and 1860, which culminated in default and led to the alienation of European sympathy from Turkey and indirectly to the dethronement and death of Abdülaziz in the following years.

Abdülmecid died of tuberculosis (like his father) at the age of 39 on 25 June 1861 and was succeeded by his brother, Abdülaziz, the oldest survivor of the family of Osman. He left several sons, of whom two, Murad V and Abdülhamid II, eventually succeeded to the throne.

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Wikisource has an original article from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica about:

Abd-ul-Mejid

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.