Abdulmejid I

(23^rd April 1823 - 25^th June 1861)

Reign

2^nd June 1839 - 25^th June 1861

Sultan Abdulmejid I was educated in France. When he was 16 years old, he returned to the Ottoman Empire to succeed his father Mahmud II. He adopted many of the ideas he had learnt while abroad. He admired his father and his ideas of a reformed Ottoman Empire and continued the reforms.

His reign began in a very difficult time of nationalist movements within the Empire's territories. He tried to meet these movements not by waging war against the separatists, he created new laws like the Tanzimat reforms, which his father Mahmud II had implemented in order to integrate non-Muslims and non-Turks into the Ottoman society. These reforms started the modernisation of the Ottoman Empire, insuring that all Ottomans should have security for their life and property, that taxes should be fairly imposed, that justice should be impartially adminstered and that all citiziens of the Ottoman Empire should have full religions liberty and equal rights. He travelled through the Empire to see with his own eyes whether the reforms were applied and listened to public complaints in special reception days, without any middlemen.

In 1856, the Ottoman Empire was officially included among the European family of nations - that was a success of Sultan Abdulmejid I's politic of understanding and harmonisation.

A popular myth best describes the character of Sultan Abdulmejid I:

During the Great Irish Famine, which claimed over one million deaths, Sultan Abdulmejid I declared to send 10,000 Sterling to Irish farmers, but Queen Victoria requested to send only 1,000 Sterling, because she had send only 2,000 Sterling. He complyed with the request, but beside of this he sent secretly three ships full of food to Ireland. The English courts tried to stop the ships, but the food arrived at Drogheda harbour and was left there.

That event led to the appearance of Ottoman symbols on the Drogheda's coat of arms.

Sultan Abdulmejid I's most important reforms at a glance:

• Introduction of the first Ottoman paper banknotes (1840)
  
  
• Reorganization of the army (1843 - 1844)
  
  
• Adaption of an Ottoman national anthem and Ottoman national flag (1844)
  
  
• Reorganization of the finance system according to the French model
  
  
• Reorganization of the Civil and Criminal Code according to the French model
  
  
• Establishment of the "Meclis-i Maarif-i Umumiye" (1845) which was the prototype of the First Ottoman Parliament (1876)
  
  
• Institution of a council of public instruction (1846)
  
  
• Establishment of the first modern universities and academies (1848)
  
  
• Ablolition of an unfairly imposed capitation tax which imposed higher tariffs on non-Muslims (1856)
  
  
• Not-Muslims were allowed to become soldiers (1856)
  
  
• Various provisions for a better administration of the public service and for the advancement of commerce