Abdülmecid I Explained

Abdulmejid I
Ottoman Caliph
Amir al-Mu'minin
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
Khan
Succession:Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (Padishah)
Reign:2 July 1839 25 June 1861
Predecessor:Mahmud II
Reg-Type:Grand Viziers
Successor:Abdulaziz
Birth Date:25 April 1823[1] [2]
Birth Place:Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Death Place:Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Burial Place:Yavuz Selim Mosque, Fatih, Istanbul
Spouse:Servetseza Kadın
Şevkefza Kadın
Tirimüjgan Kadın
Verdicenan Kadın
Gülcemal Kadın
Gülistu Kadın
Rahime Perestu Kadın
Bezmiara Kadın
Mahitab Kadın
Düzdidil Hanım
Nükhetseza Hanım
Zeynifelek Hanım
Nesrin Hanım
Ceylanyar Hanım
Serfiraz Hanım
Nalandil Hanım
Navekimisal Hanım
Nergizev Hanım
Şayeste Hanım
Others
Spouse-Type:Consorts
Issue-Link:
  1. Sons
Issue-Pipe:Among others
Full Name:Abdülmecid Han bin Mahmud[3]
House:Ottoman
House-Type:Dynasty
Father:Mahmud II
Mother:Bezmiâlem Sultan
Religion:Sunni Islam
Signature:Tughra of Abdülmecid I.svg
Signature Type:Tughra

Abdülmecid I (Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: عبد المجيد اول|ʿAbdü'l-Mecîd-i evvel, Turkish: I. Abdülmecid; 25 April 182325 June 1861) was the 31st sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839.[4] His reign was notable for the rise of nationalist movements within the empire's territories.

Abdülmecid's greatest achievement was the announcement of the Tanzimat Edict upon his accession, prepared by his then Foreign Minister Mustafa Reshid Pasha, which effectively began the reorganization of the Ottoman Empire in 1839. Abdülmecid was a mild-mannered monarch, giving the Sublime Porte the autonomy needed for its reform projects. One of the main goals of the Tanzimat was to encourage Ottomanism among secessionist subject nations and stop rising nationalist movements within the empire, but despite new laws and reforms to integrate non-Muslims and non-Turks more thoroughly into Ottoman society, in the long term, the movement failed.

Abdülmecid forged alliances with the major powers of Western Europe, namely the United Kingdom and France, which fought alongside the Ottoman Empire in the Crimean War against Russia. During the Congress of Paris on 30 March 1856, the Ottoman Empire was officially included among the Concert of Europe. Abdülmecid was succeeded by his brother, Abdul Aziz.

Early life

Abdülmecid was born on 25 April 1823 at Beşiktaş Palace or at Topkapı Palace, in Istanbul. His mother was the Georgian consort Bezmiâlem Kadın.[5] [6] [7] [8]

Abdülmecid received a European education and was the first sultan to speak fluent French.[1] Like Abdülaziz who succeeded him, he was interested in literature and classical music.

Reign

Oriental Crisis

When Abdülmecid acceded to the throne on 2 July 1839, he was only sixteen and inexperienced, and the affairs of the Ottoman Empire were in a critical state. His father Mahmud II died at the start of the Second Egyptian–Ottoman War, the news reached Istanbul that the empire's army had just been defeated at Nizip by the army of the rebel Egyptian viceroy, Muhammad Ali. At the same time, the empire's fleet was on its way to Alexandria, where it was handed over to Muhammad Ali by its commander Ahmed Fevzi Pasha on the pretext that the young sultan's advisers had sided with Russia. However, through the intervention of the European powers during the Oriental Crisis of 1840, Muhammad 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. The terms were finalised at the Convention of London (1840) which saved the empire from greater embarrassment.

Tanzimat reforms

See main article: Tanzimat. Like his father, Abdülmecid was an advocate of reforms and was lucky enough to have the support of progressive viziers such as Mustafa Reşit Pasha, Mehmet Emin Âli Pasha and Fuad Pasha. Abdülmecid was also the first sultan to listen directly to the public's complaints on special reception days, which were usually held every Friday. Abdülmecid toured the empire's territories to see in person how the Tanzimat reforms were being applied. He travelled to İzmit, Mudanya, Bursa, Gallipoli, Çanakkale, Lemnos, Lesbos and Chios in 1844 and toured the Balkan provinces in 1846. In compliance with his father's express instructions, Abdülmecid immediately carried out the reforms to which Mahmud II had devoted himself. On 3 November 1839, the Edict of Gülhane, also known as Tanzimat Fermanı, was proclaimed, consolidating and enforcing these reforms.

By these enactments it was provided that the sultan's subjects of all classes should have their lives and property protected; 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 strong opposition from the Muslim governing classes and the ulema, or religious authorities, and was only partially implemented, especially in the more remote parts of the empire. More than one conspiracy was formed against the sultan's life on account of it.

The 1840s saw the creation of the first banknotes and the establishment of the Ottoman lira. The financial system was reorganised after the French model. Tax farming was abolished and aşar was to be equally levied everywhere. Plans were also set to abolish slave markets.[9] After the Imperial Reform Edict, further reforms towards equality between millets were implemented, including the abolition of a capitation tax which imposed higher tariffs on non-Muslims and the right to serve as soldiers in the Ottoman army.

Other French-inspired reforms included the reorganization of the Civil and Criminal Code and the reorganization of education. The General Council of Education (Meclis-i Maarif-i Umumiye) was created in 1841, followed by the . A new system of civil and criminal courts was established with both European and Ottoman judges. The first modern universities and academies in the European tradition were established in 1848, coinciding with the founding of an Ottoman school in Paris.

Many army reforms were also implemented in the early 1840s, including the introduction of conscription. In 1844, an Ottoman national flag was adopted and Abdul Mecid's anthem was adopted as the Ottoman imperial anthem.

In 1853 the General Council of Reorganization (Meclis-i Âli-i Tanzimat) was established. Two representatives from each eyalet were summoned to a council to report the needs of their region. This was the prototype of the First Ottoman Parliament (1876).

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 by the Court. (The fez would be banned in 1925 by the same Republican National Assembly that abolished the sultanate and proclaimed the Turkish Republic in 1923).

Foreign politics

When Lajos Kossuth and his comrades sought refuge in Turkey after the failure of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the sultan was called on by Austria and Russia to surrender them, but he refused.

According to legend,[10] [11] plans were made to send humanitarian aid of £10,000 (£1,225,053.76 in 2019[12]) to Ireland during its Great Famine, but later it was agreed to reduce it to £1,000 (£122,505.38 in 2019) at the insistence of either his own ministers or British diplomats to avoid violating protocol by giving more than Queen Victoria, who had made a donation of £2,000. Food and grain were also sent.[13]

Crimean War and aftermath

See main article: article and Crimean War. On 16 October 1853, the Ottoman Empire entered another war against Russia that would be known as the Crimean War, where it was soon joined by France and Britain. The Ottomans successfully participated in the war and were winning signatories at the Treaty of Paris (1856). The Empire would be inducted into the Concert of Europe. In a compromise with the Great Powers, Abdul Mecid issued another reform edict on February 1856 known as the Imperial Reform Edict (Islâhat Hatt-ı Hümâyûnu) which was perceived by many subjects as relinquishing sovereignty. The Ottoman Empire received the first of its foreign loans on 25 August 1854 during the 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 the Ottoman Empire and indirectly to the later dethronement and death of Abdülmecid's brother Abdülaziz.

On the one hand, financial imperfections, and on the other hand, the discontent caused by the wide privileges given to the non-Muslim subjects again led the country to confusion. His attempts at strengthening his base in the Balkans were overshadowed by incidents that took place in Montenegro in 1858 and Bosnia. In 1861 he was forced to give up Lebanon through the creation of the Mutasarrifate of Mount Lebanon.

The major European states had taken the opportunity to intervene in their own interests. The Ottoman statesmen, who panicked in the face of this situation. The fact that Abdülmecid could not prevent this situation further increased the dissatisfaction caused by the Edict of Tanzimat.[14] The opponents formed the which sought to eliminate Abdülmecid and put Abdulaziz on the throne in order to prevent the European states from acting like a guardian. This revolt attempt, the Küleli Incident, was suppressed before it even started on 14 September 1859. Meanwhile, the financial situation deteriorated and foreign debts, which were taken under heavy conditions to cover the costs of war, placed a burden on the treasury. All of the debts received from Beyoğlu consumers exceeded eighty million gold liras. Some of the debt securities and hostages were taken by foreign traders and bankers. The Grand Vizier Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha, who criticized this situation harshly, was dismissed by the sultan on 18 October 1859.

Architecture

The Egyptian governor Mehmed Ali Pasha, who came to Istanbul as the official invitation of the sultan on 19 July 1846, was shown privileged hospitality by the sultan and the vükela (government ministers). So much so that the old vizier built the Galata bridge in 1845 so that he could drive between Beșiktaș Palace and Bab-ı Ali.

Although he emphasized his commitment to the ceremonial rules imposed by his ancestors at the ceremonies reflected outside, he adopted radical changes in the life of the palace. For example, he abandoned the Topkapı Palace, which the Ottoman dynasty had used for four centuries, and constructed the more modern Dolmabahçe Palace. Between 1847 and 1849 he had repairs made to the Hagia Sophia mosque. He also founded the first French Theatre in Istanbul.

Many reconstruction activities were also carried out during the reign of Abdülmecid. Palaces and mansions were built with some of the borrowed money. An addition to Dolmabahçe Palace (1853), Beykoz Pavilion (1855), Küçüksu Pavilion (1857), Küçük Mecidiye Mosque (1849), Teşvikiye Mosque (1854) are among the main architectural works of the period. Again in this period, as was done by Bezmiâlem Sultan's Gureba Hospital (1845-1846), the new Galata Bridge was put into service on the same date. In addition, many fountains, mosques, lodges and similar social institutions were repaired or rebuilt.

Death

Abdülmecid died of tuberculosis (like his father) at the age of 38 on 25 June 1861 in Istanbul, and was buried in Yavuz Selim Mosque, and was succeeded by his younger half-brother Sultan Abdulaziz, son of Pertevniyal Sultan. At the time of his death, Abdülmecid had one legal wife and queen consort, Perestu Kadın, and many concubines.

Personality

Abdülmecid would not allow conspirators against his own life to be put to death. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica says of him, "He 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."

Honours and emblem

Honours

Garter emblem and arms

Family

Abdülmecid had one of the most numerous harem of the dynasty. He is known to be the first sultan whose harem was not composed of slave girls but, due to the progressive abolition of slavery in the Ottoman Empire, of girls of free birth, noble or bourgeois, sent to the sultan by the will of the families. He was also the first sultan whose harem assumed a defined hierarchical structure which included four Kadın, followed by four Ikbal, four gözde and a variable number of minor concubines.

Consorts

Abdülmecid I had at least twenty-six consorts, but only two were also legal wives:[17] [18]

Sons

Abdülmecid had at least nineteen sons:[17]

Daughters

Abdülmecid I had at least twenty-seven daughters:[17]

In fiction

Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Encyclopedia: Encyclopædia Britannica . Abdulmecid I . online. 27 December 2019. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. .
  2. There are sources that state his birth date as 23 April.
  3. Garo Kürkman, (1991), Osmanlılarda Ölçü Ve Tartılar, p. 61
  4. [Chambers Biographical Dictionary]
  5. Book: Mahinur, Tuna. İlk Türk kadın ressam: Mihri Rasim (Müşfik) Açba. As Yayın. 2007. 25. 9789750172502. Bezmialem Sultan da Açba hanedanından imiş, ama onlara Gürcü söyleyişiyle "Maçabeli" diyorlarmış. Bezmialem Sultan was also from the Achba dynasty, but they called them "Machabeli" in Georgian..
  6. Web site: Gürcistan Dostluk Derneği. 10 June 2012. 2 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131102081810/http://www.gdd.org.tr/tarihtendetay.asp?id=63. dead.
  7. Web site: Bezmiâlem Valide Sultan, Bezmiâlem Vakıf Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Hastanesi. https://web.archive.org/web/20120606041224/http://www.bezmialemhastanesi.com/bezmi_alem_valide_sultan.asp. dead. 6 June 2012.
  8. The Private World of Ottoman Women by Godfrey Goodwin, 2007, p.157
  9. Christine Kinealy (2013), Charity and the Great Hunger in Ireland: The Kindness of Strangers, p. 115
  10. Book: Kinealy, Christine . The Meaning of the Famine . Leicester University Press . 1997 . 0-7185-1426-2 . O'Sullivan, Patrick . London . 151 . Potatoes, providence and philanthropy . According to a popular tradition, which dates back to 1853....
  11. Book: Ó Gráda, Cormac . Black '47 and Beyond . Princeton University Press . 1999 . 0-691-01550-3 . 197–198 . ...populist myths... . registration.
  12. Web site: Inflation Calculator . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20200312202659/https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator?number.Sections%5B0%5D.Fields%5B0%5D.Value=10000&current_year=9.3&comparison_year=1139.3 . 12 March 2020 . 12 March 2020.
  13. Web site: Relations between Türkiye and Ireland . www.mfa.gov.tr.
  14. Web site: ABDÜLMECİD عبد المجید (1823-1861) Osmanlı padișahı (1839-1861). . İslam Ansiklopedisi. 12 April 2020.
  15. The Americana, Vol.15, Ed. Frederick Converse Beach, George Edwin Rines, (1912);https://books.google.com/books?id=451PAAAAMAAJ&pg=PT589
  16. Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) The Knights of England, I, London, p. 59
  17. Book: Sakaoğlu, Necdet. Avrupalılaşmanın yol haritası ve Sultan Abdülmecid. DenizBank. 2001. 238. 978-9-757-10450-6.
  18. Book: Jamil ADRA . Genealogy of the Imperial Ottoman Family 2005 . 2005 . 7–13.
  19. Web site: The Bellini Card. 18 January 2013.