Tanzimat

Tanzimat , [Turk.,=reorganization], the name referring to a period of modernizing reforms instituted under the Ottoman Empire from 1839 to 1876. In 1839, under the rule of Sultan Abd al-Majid , the edict entitled Hatti-i Sharif of Gulhane laid out the fundamental principles of Tanzimat reform. Foremost among the laws was the security of honor, life, and property for all Ottoman subjects, regardless of race or religion. Other reforms, which sought to reduce theological dominance, included the lifting of monopolies, fairer taxation, secularized schools, a changed judicial system, and new rules regarding military service. Tanzimat ended (1876) under Abd al-Hamid II 's reign, when the ideas for a Turkish constitution and parliament promoted by the vizier Midhat Pasha were rejected by the sultan.

Tanzimat reforms (1839–71) A series of reforms in the OTTOMAN EMPIRE. They were promulgated under sultans Abdülmecid I (1839–61) and Abdülaziz (1861–76) in response to western pressure. Under Mustafa Resid Pasha (1800–58) a programme of reform was steadily developed. The army was reorganized, on the Prussian model and the slave trade was abolished. Abuses in the taxation system were to be eliminated and provincial representative assemblies were created. New codes of commercial, land, and criminal law, based on French models, were introduced, with new state courts, separate from the Islamic religious courts. In his last years sultan Abdülaziz lost interest in the Tanzimat and, from 1871, became increasingly autocratic.