Tanzimat (W)

The Tanzimât  (Turkish: [tanziˈmaːt]; Ottoman Turkish: تنظيمات‎, romanized: Tanẓīmāt, lit. 'reorganization', see nizâm) was a period of reform in the Ottoman Empire that began in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876.

The Tanzimat era began with the purpose, not of radical transformation, but of modernization, desiring to consolidate the social and political foundations of the Ottoman Empire. It was characterised by various attempts to modernise the Ottoman Empire and to secure its territorial integrity against internal nationalist movements and external aggressive powers. The reforms encouraged Ottomanism among the diverse ethnic groups of the Empire and attempted to stem the tide of nationalist movements within the Ottoman Empire.

The reforms sought to emancipate the empire's non-Muslim subjects and more thoroughly integrate non-Turks into Ottoman society by enhancing their civil liberties and granting them equality throughout the empire. In the midst of being forced to recognize the supremacy of Western power, the Ottoman elite intellectuals attempted to bring reconciliation between the West and the East within the framework of Islam.

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 foreign influence on the world of Islam. That perception complicated reformist efforts made by the state.

During the Tanzimat period, the government's series of constitutional reforms led to a fairly modern conscripted army, banking system reforms, the decriminalization of homosexuality, the replacement of religious law with secular law and guilds with modern factories. The Ottoman Ministry of Post was established in Constantinople on 23 October 1840.

The reforms emerged from the minds of reformist sultans like Mahmud II, his son Abdulmejid I 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 elimination of the devshirme system of conscription in favour of universal conscription; 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.

The ambitious project was launched to combat the slow decline of the empire that had seen its borders shrink and its strength weaken in comparison to the European powers. There were both internal and external reasons for the reforms.

Internally, the Ottoman Empire hoped that getting rid of the millet system would lead to direct control of all of its citizens by the creation of a more-centralized government and an increase of the legitimacy of Ottoman rule. Another major hope was that by being more open to various demographics, more people would be attracted 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 was considered likely to reduce the danger of outside intervention on their behalf.

The Ottomans became worried of an escalating intervention of the European powers in Ottoman affairs, another reason for the reforms. After the Crimean War, caused by Russia's incursion into the Ottoman Empire in the 1850s, Ottoman leaders tried to avoid a repeat. They thought that the Great Powers would accept the Tanzimat as long as the reforms were ongoing.

Although the motives for the implementation of Tanzimât were bureaucratic, it was impulsed by liberal ministers and intellectuals like Dimitrios Zambakos Pasha, Kabuli Mehmed Pasha, the secret society of the Young Ottomans, and liberal minded like Midhat Pasha who is also often considered as one of the founders of the Ottoman Parliament. Thanks to the emerging internal, financial and diplomatic crises of 1875-1876, Midhat Pasha introduced the constitution of 1876, ending the Tanzimat.

The Tanzimât reforms began under Sultan Mahmud II. On November 3, 1839, Sultan Abdulmejid I issued a hatt-i sharif or imperial edict called the Edict of Gülhane or Tanzimât (تنظيمات) Fermânı. 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 were:

• guarantees to ensure the Ottoman subjects perfect security for their lives, honour, and property (1839, see Edict of Gülhane below for details);
• the introduction of the first Ottoman paper banknotes (1840);
• the opening of the first post offices of the empire (1840);
• the reorganization of the finance system (1840);
• the reorganization of the Civil and Criminal Code (1840);
• the establishment of the Meclis-i Maarif-i Umumiye (1841) which was the prototype of the First Ottoman Parliament (1876);
• the reorganization of the army and a regular method of recruiting, levying the army, and fixing the duration of military service (1843-44);
• the adoption of an Ottoman national anthem and Ottoman national flag (1844);
• the first nationwide Ottoman census in 1844 (only male citizens were counted);
• the first national identity cards (officially named the Mecidiye identity papers, or informally kafa kağıdı (head paper) documents, 1844);
• the 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);
• the abolition of slavery and slave trade (1847);
• the establishment of the first modern universities (darülfünun, 1848), academies (1848) and teacher schools (darülmuallimin, 1848);
• the establishment of the Ministry of Healthcare (Tıbbiye Nezareti, 1850);
• the Commerce and Trade Code (1850);
• the establishment of the Academy of Sciences (Encümen-i Daniş, 1851);
• the establishment of the Şirket-i Hayriye (tr) which operated the first steam-powered commuter ferries (1851);
• the establishment of the modern Municipality of Constantinople (Şehremaneti, 1854) and the City Planning Council (İntizam-ı Şehir Komisyonu, 1855);
• the Hatt-ı Hümayun of 1856 (called Islahat meaning improvement) promising full legal equality for citizens of all religions (1856);
• the abolition of the devshirme system of military conscription, allowing adult non-Muslims to become soldiers (1856);
• various provisions for the better administration of the public service and advancement of commerce;
• the establishment of the first telegraph networks (1847–1855) and railway networks (1856);
• the replacement of guilds with factories;
• the establishment of the Ottoman Central Bank (originally established as the Bank-ı Osmanî in 1856, and later reorganized as the Bank-ı Osmanî-i Şahane in 1863) and the Ottoman Stock Exchange (Dersaadet Tahvilat Borsası, established in 1866);
• the Land Code (Arazi Kanunnamesi (1857);
• the permission for private sector publishers and printing firms with the Serbesti-i Kürşad Nizamnamesi (1857);
• the decriminalization of homosexuality (1858);
• the establishment of the Civil Service School, an institution of higher learning for civilians (1859)
• the establishment of the School of Economical and Political Sciences (Mekteb-i Mülkiye, 1859);
• the Press and Journalism Regulation Code (Matbuat Nizamnamesi, 1864); among others.
• the establishment of the Imperial Ottoman Lycée at Galatasaray, another institution of higher learning for civilians (1868)
• the Nationality Law of 1869 creating a common Ottoman citizenship irrespective of religious or ethnic divisions (1869).

The Hatt-ı Şerif, lit. Noble Decree or Imperial Rescript of Gülhane, was the first major reform in the Tanzimat reforms under the government of sultan Abdulmecid 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 is 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.

Reactions

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 they 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'".