Abd-ul-Mejid I
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Abdül Mecid (also with various alternate spellings, including Abd-ul-Mejid, Abd ül-Mecid and Abdülmecit; in Arabic عبد المجيد الأول) (April 23, 1823 – June 25, 1861) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire and succeeded his father Mahmud II on July 2 1839. His reign was notable for being enervated by internal nationalism and the incursions of European powers.
When Abd-ul-Mejid 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 signally defeated at Nizip by that of the rebel Egyptian viceroy, Mehemet 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 Pasha, on the pretext that the young sultan's advisers were sold to Russia. However, through the intervention of the European powers, Mehemet Ali was obliged to come to terms, and the Ottoman Empire was saved.
Image:Paolo Verona c1840 - scanned Constantinopole (1996)-Abdulmecid I going to mosque.png In compliance with his father's express instructions, Abd-ul-Mejid immediately carried out the reforms to which Mahmud had devoted himself. In November 1839 an edict known as the Hatt-i-sherif of Gulhane 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. 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 more important measures of reform promoted by Abd-ul-Mejid were:
- the national anthem of the Ottoman Empire was named after him
- the reorganization of the army (1843–1844)
- the institution of a council of public instruction (1846)
- the abolition of an odious and unfairly imposed capitation tax
- the repression of slave trading, and
- 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 Abd-ul-Mejid's reign, in favour of the fez. European fashions were also adopted in full swing by the Court. (The fez itself was to banned after the passing of the "hat law" in 1925 by the Republican National Assembly which had already abolished the sultanate and proclaimed 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 "boldly and determinedly" refused. He also would not allow the 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."
He died in 1861 and succeeded by his brother, Abd-ul-Aziz, the oldest survivor of the family of Osman. He left several sons, of whom two, Murad V and Abd-ul-Hamid II, eventually succeeded to the throne. During his reign the reckless system of foreign loans began, carried to excess in the ensuing reign and culminating in default, which led to the alienation of European sympathy from Turkey and indirectly to the dethronement and death of Abd-ul-Aziz.
Template:Wikisource1911Enc This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition{{#if:{{{article|}}}| article {{#if:{{{url|}}}|[{{{url|}}}}} "{{{article}}}"{{#if:{{{url|}}}|]}}{{#if:{{{author|}}}| by {{{author}}}}}}}, a publication now in the public domain.Template:Start boxTemplate:Succession box Template:End box
Template:Sultans of Ottoman Empirear:عبدالمجيد الأول bg:Абдул Меджид de:Abdülmecid I. eo:Abd-ul-Mejid fr:Abdülmecit Ier hr:Abdul Medžid I. hu:I. Abdul-Medzsid nl:Abdülmecit ja:アブデュルメジト1世 ru:Абд ал-Маджид I sh:Abdul Medžid I. sr:Абдул Меџид sv:Abd ül-Mecid I tr:Abdülmecit