Mihrimah Sultan (daughter of Mahmud II). Reforms of Selim III and Mahmud II in the Ottoman Empire In which palace did Mahmud 2 live

The reformist policy of Selim 3 was continued by his successor Mahmud 2.

In May 1826, Mahmud issued a decree on the formation of a new army with the help of foreign officers. In June 1826, a Janissary rebellion broke out. Mahmud was not taken by surprise, in part he himself forced the Janissaries to take rebellious actions in order to end them. The massacre was swift and bloody. The Janissaries gathered in their traditional gathering places - on the Hippodrome Square and on the Et-Meydan Square, and, turning over the boilers as a sign of rebellion, demanded the cancellation of the decree on the formation of new troops. Immediately, artillery and other regular units came out of the gates of the Sultan's palace with an unfolded "banner of the prophet" (the sacred banner of the Ottomans). Direct fire cannons hit the crowded Janissaries, who fled were overtaken in their houses and barracks. The slaughter continued for several days; tens of thousands of corpses were thrown into the Marble Sea and the Bosporus. The massacre of the Janissaries also took place in the provinces.

Subsequent reforms boiled down mainly to the following: the abolition of the military fief system (1834), the elimination of the most shy internal customs, and a new administrative structure that made the rulers of the regions directly dependent on the sultan. However, this applied only to those areas where the Sultan's power had the support of Turkish landlords and had sufficient force of military coercion. The outskirts still remained in the power of virtually independent rulers and governors

In the government, instead of the old posts, there were in 1836-1838. the posts of ministers of internal affairs, foreign affairs, and finances were established according to the European model. A military medical school was opened in Istanbul in 1826, and from 1832 the first newspaper began to be published in Turkish("Diary of Incidents"),

The most important of the changes was the abolition of the military system. Tamara And zeamety turned into ordinary landholdings, not associated with military service and subject to land tax. But the reform was not carried out to the end. In a number of areas timariotes And loans, having lost the right to corvée, they retained other feudal privileges, including the right to a third of the harvest. As before, one of the most important obstacles to bourgeois-capitalist development remained - the insecurity of private property. This also applied to the bourgeoisie. Mahmud II formally abolished the system of confiscation of property, but in fact arbitrariness continued. The Turkish and non-national (Greek, Armenian) commercial and usurious bourgeoisie, having accumulated money, could not invest it in industry.

An equally important obstacle to the development of its own capitalism in Turkey was the ever-increasing penetration of foreign capital. Mahmud II not only did not prevent this penetration, but even encouraged it. The reforms did little to strengthen Ottoman Empire, but at the same time contributed to the adaptation of the Turkish feudal system to the penetration of foreign capital and the further involvement of Turkey in the orbit of the world market.

In the 1830s, the capitalist powers launched a broad offensive against the Asian markets. Meanwhile, Turkey, bound by the regime of capitulations, had no right to increase duties or bring foreigners to justice, whether it was litigation with Turkish subjects or even crimes. In 1838, England forced Porto to sign a trade convention, which fixed a low customs duty on goods imported into Turkey (5% of the value), prohibited the establishment of any monopolies, and allowed internal trade to foreigners in the empire. The convention specifically stipulated that its effect extended to the entire Ottoman Empire, including Egypt, where Muhammad Ali introduced state monopolies, protecting the country from capitulations. In the same 1838, a similar Franco-Turkish convention was signed.

The results were not long in coming. Turkish handicraft industry has lost the last opportunity to compete with foreign goods imported at cheap prices.

History in Istanbul looks at you from almost every stone. So the walk drew my attention to this historical person. The personality turned out to be curious and ambiguous.

Mahmud II was 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Nice number, right? :)
And the son of a woman who is persistently credited with kinship (almost a cousin) with Napoleon's wife Josephine. In the harem they called her Nakshidil. But the true name, supposedly, Aimé de Riveri. Well, you remember, right? :)
She was born, they say, in the Caribbean, on the island of Martinique, and then the ship on which she sailed was captured by Berber pirates, who sold her to Algeria, from where she then ended up in the harem of Sultan Abdul-Hamid I, became his fourth wife and mother of Mahmud II:

Ruled by Mahmud II for 31 years early XIX century - from 1808 to 1839. And in theory, he could not have become a sultan at all. Before him, the sultan was Selim III, who in 1807 was overthrown from the throne by the rebellious Janissaries, dissatisfied with the reforms of the ruler. Mustafa IV, the elder brother of Mahmud II, was placed on the throne. But the deposed Selim III had his supporters, who, having gathered their strength a year later, tried to return him to the throne by revolting. While they stormed the palace, the ruling Mustafa IV, don't be a fool, ordered to kill Selim, and at the same time his younger brother Mahmud II. Selim was strangled, and Mahmud managed to dodge the killers like Santa Claus, jumping out of the chimney onto the roof. By that time, the rebels had already captured the palace and Sultan Mustafa. And here it turned out that, since Selim III was killed, the only one from the Ottoman dynasty who could inherit the throne was Mahmud II. By the way, after a couple of months, he took revenge on his brother, who ordered him to be killed, in a similar way. Intrigue-intrigue!...

It is curious that those who elevated the new Sultan to the throne subsequently died from his own "hand". It was Mahmud II who put an end to the legendary army of the Janissaries of the Ottoman Empire in 1826:

When I read about Mahmud II (Konstantin Ryzhov's essay "Sultan Mahmud II"), the first thing that came to mind was a comparison with Peter I. His reforms are very reminiscent of Peter's. Judge for yourself:

“Mahmud practiced sending young Turks to study abroad. State reforms took place against the backdrop of a general Europeanization of life. During the reign of Mahmud, the first Turkish newspaper began to appear, many printed books appeared, many European things came into use, including chairs and watches. The costume was Europeanized. An example of this was set by the Sultan himself, who on the holiday of Ramadan 1828 appeared before the people in blue trousers and a red uniform. Special decrees regulated the cut of men's and women's dresses, as well as the length of beards. Turkish dignitaries began to attend balls and receptions hosted by foreign embassies, sitting there at the same table with Europeans and ladies, which was previously considered completely unacceptable.

However, Mahmud II did not reach Peter I. The Ottoman Empire weakened under him, suffered defeats in wars ... As his military adviser, the famous Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke Sr., later wrote, “he (Mahmud II) was never able to achieve the goal he had been striving for all his life. Rivers of blood were shed, the old institutions and sacred traditions of the country were destroyed. For the sake of reforms, the faith and pride of his people were undermined, and these reforms were compromised by all the events that followed.

The sultan died in 1839 from pulmonary tuberculosis and cirrhosis of the liver, which, you know, from what happens. :)

Resting now behind high walls:

By the way, Abdulmejit I, his eldest son, became the successor of Mahmud II. The one with whom we already know a little thanks to.

Unfortunately, we did not get into the tomb of the Sultan at the cemetery, it was closed for restoration:

I had to content myself with her review:

From different sides:

However, this did not upset us at all and we had a wonderful walk around the lovely, quite romantic and not at all gothic cemetery. :)

It's probably not scary to come to this even at night. :)

Since we came to this cemetery by chance, I was not prepared informationally. So I just took a picture of what I saw around:

And I didn’t know that here, in this tomb, they rest elder sister Sultana Esma, his wife Bezmiyalem Valide Sultan, his son and grandson, who also later became sultans - Abdulaziz II(pictured right) and Abdulhamit II(pictured left):

At the cemetery itself - the last branches of the dynasty that lost power:

Granddaughter of Sultan Murad V Emine Atiye Sultan (Emine Atiye Sultan), last grandson of Sultan Abdulhamid II Osman Ertugrul(Osman Ertuğrul), who was born during the reign of the Ottoman dynasty (1912) Lived 97 years! Mashallah! - as the Turks say! And he died quite recently - in 2009. Would have been a sultan if Atatürk had not founded the Turkish Republic:

At the time of its proclamation, Osman was studying in Vienna. There he remained until 1939, after which he moved to New York. The descendants of the sultans were forbidden to enter the country for a long time. And when, finally, the government warmed up to the disgraced royal people and invited Osman to visit his historical homeland, the modest sultan, like an ordinary tourist, stood in line to see, in fact, his own home, where he spent his childhood - the Dolmabahce Palace. But he rested all the same in Istanbul. Earth to him rest in peace!

(1696–1754), reigned from 1730 to 1754, son of Mustafa II, twenty-fourth sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Mahmud I ascended the throne in a military coup led by Patron Khalil, which removed Ahmed III. Shortly after accession to the throne, Mahmud succeeded in removing Patron and his supporters from power (1730). Nevertheless, his reign was marked by backlash during internal affairs to the too sharp turn to the West that swept the upper strata of Ottoman society under his predecessor. Separate attempts to introduce European cannons and firearms into the Ottoman army were continued under the leadership of Conte de Bonneval, a French convert to Islam.

In 1731, during the first campaign against Iran, Mahmud managed to regain some of the former Ottoman possessions in the Caucasus, which were lost under Ahmed III, but the strengthening of the power of Nadir Shah (reigned 1736-1747) in Iran again led to their loss. In the end, after the death of Nadir Shah, the border between the Ottoman Empire and Iran was restored along the line established by the Kasre-Shira Treaty of 1639.

In the west, Mahmud's troops entered new war with Austria and Russia (1736–1739), as a result of which the Sultan, under the Belgrade Treaty (1739), was forced to make territorial concessions.

Mahmud I died in 1754. His brother Osman III took the throne.

Mahmoud II

(1784–1839) (reigned 1808–1839), son of Abdul-Hamid I, thirtieth sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Mahmud II was the first of the great reforming sultans of the Tanzimat era.

Immediately after accession to the throne, Mahmud appointed Bayraktar Mustafa Pasha as grand vizier, who led a military coup, thanks to which Mahmud took the throne. Bayraktar tried to start important reforms in the administration and the army. The relatively independent governors of the provinces were again brought into obedience. Some of the most obstinate military leaders were eliminated, and loyal officers were appointed in their places. An attempt was made to reform the janissary corps: it was reorganized and received new firearms, which were used at that time in Europe. However, this led to a revolt of the Janissaries, as a result of which Bayraktar Mustafa Pasha and his supporters were overthrown and killed (1809), and supporters of the Janissaries occupied key positions in the government.

To keep the throne, Mahmud II was forced to accept the conditions of the Janissaries. But over the following years, he managed to gradually place loyal people in key positions. In the new war with Russia (1809–1812), the Janissaries were constantly defeated, and as a result, the Ottoman Empire lost the Balkan provinces of Bessarabia and Moldavia under the Bucharest Treaty of 1812. Greece also achieved independence as a result of the uprising (1821-1826), during which the Janissaries were defeated, and the rebels were repulsed only with the help of the troops of Muhammad Ali, the Ottoman governor of Egypt.

The failure of the Janissaries during the uprising in Greece finally gave Mahmud II the opportunity to deal with them in 1826.

At least until 1833, international problems remained the main obstacle to reforms within the country. The European powers forced Mahmud to recognize the complete independence of Greece (1826) and the autonomy of Serbia, Wallachia and Moldavia, located in the southeast of Europe. Muhammad Ali declared independence from the Ottoman Empire, captured the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, Syria and southeastern Anatolia and defeated the main Ottoman forces near Konya on the Anatolian plateau (1833). Only the intervention of the European powers, who feared the revival of the Ottoman Empire, forced the Egyptian army to retreat.

Over the next six years (1833–1839), Mahmud II tried to introduce reforms. His main efforts were directed towards the creation of a new European-style army (segban-i djedid), which would allow him to avenge the loss of Egypt. The main posts in the administration and the army were taken by officials who had received their education in the new technical schools. Fundamental government and financial reforms were carried out. Western-style clothing was introduced and made mandatory for civil servants. In general, the reforms initiated or planned during these years formed the basis of the reforms carried out in subsequent years, known as the Tanzimat period (1839–1876). However, an attempt to use a new army against Egypt only led to another victory for Muhammad Ali at the Battle of Nezip in southern Turkey (1839). The intervention of the European powers again saved the Ottoman Empire from defeat. Shortly thereafter, Mahmud II died. His son Abdulmejid I took the throne.

Ahmud became Sultan almost by accident: he was enthroned by the participants in the coup on July 28, 1808, led by Mustafa Pasha Bayraktar. Besieging the Sultan's palace, they were going to return power to the sultan who had been deposed a year before. However, he was strangled on the orders of Mahmud's elder brother. Mahmud himself almost shared the fate of the unfortunate - the killers were already chasing him, but people loyal to the prince helped him get out through the chimney to the roof of the palace. In addition to the deposed, Mahmud remained the last offspring of the Ottoman dynasty. Bayrakrat had no choice but to proclaim him sultan. In turn, Mahmud was supposed to appoint Bayrakrat as the Grand Vizier and transfer all power to him. First of all, he unleashed his anger on the favorites and yamaks, who played a sinister role in the overthrow. In the very first days of his viziership, Bayrakrat executed 300 people (among them was Musa Pasha, who actually led the coup of 1807). Detachments of yamaks were deprived of their salaries and dispersed. Bayrakrat then brought order to the capital with harsh measures. Istanbul, which had been dominated by unbridled bands of Janissaries and Yamaks throughout the entire reign, finally calmed down. But the main goal of the organizers of the 1808 coup was to return to the policy of Selimov's reforms, as a result of which it was supposed to create a large, regular, European-trained army in Turkey.

Already in October, Bayrakrat decided to form a regular corps of sekbans (the so-called Janissary arrows) numbering 5 thousand people. Formally, the sekbans were supposed to form the eighth center of the Janissary army, but in fact they were the first detachment of the regular army. This innovation could not but irritate the Janissaries, who saw competitors in the sekbans. At court, he was also treated coldly. Mahmud, deprived of real power, looked at Bayrakrat as a usurper and dreamed of putting an end to him. However, deliverance from the all-powerful vizier did not come to Mahmud in the way he expected. Enemies of reform defeated in July, in November they went on the offensive. The uprising began on the night of November 14-15. A detachment of a thousand Janissaries surrounded Bayrakrat's house and began a battle with his people. When all the possibilities for defense were exhausted, Bayrakrat blew up the powder store in the basement of his tower. More than 300 Janissaries died under its rubble. Many of Bayrakrat's followers were killed. The Janissaries wanted to restore the throne and began the siege of the Sultan's palace. But now Mahmud ordered to kill and became the last surviving offspring of the Ottoman dynasty. The rebellion against him lost all meaning, and on November 17 peace was concluded. Mahmud agreed to execute Bayrakrat's closest associates and destroy the "new army" - the Sekban corps. In response, the Janissaries agreed to consider him their sultan.

It seemed the idea military reform buried forever. However, the objective course of events forced the Sultan to return to it again and again. The reason for this was external and internal wars, in which the Turkish army, with sad constancy, demonstrated its complete failure. The beginning of the reign of Mahmud was marked by another Russian-Turkish war. At first, it went sluggishly, since both states were not up to it. Then hostilities intensified. In the autumn of 1811, Kutuzov inflicted a heavy defeat on the Turks near Ruschuk. The Danubian army of the Sultan was defeated, and he was forced to start peace negotiations. Under the Treaty of Bucharest, Turkey ceded Bessarabia to Russia. The Serbs, who actively fought on the side of the Russians, received autonomy. However, Russia was unable to defend the interests of its allies because of the outbreak of war with Russia. Immediately after signing Treaty of Bucharest Mahmud began to prepare a campaign in Serbia. By the beginning of summer, three armies with a total strength of 250 thousand people were concentrated on its borders. In July, heavy fighting broke out along the entire Serbo-Turkish border. The Serbian rebels, who were five times smaller than the Turks, could not resist such a strong enemy. By October they were defeated on all fronts. The leader of the uprising fled to Austria. On October 7, the Turks entered Belgrade. A wild orgy of reprisals, murders, enslavement and robberies of civilians began. The Serbs were required to pay taxes for all the years of the uprising since 1804. Unable to endure the terror of the Turkish authorities, the Serbs in April 1815 again took up arms. Soon the forces of the rebels amounted to 40 thousand people. Mahmud realized that Serbia could not be held by repressive measures alone, and through the mediation of Russia, he concluded an agreement with the leader of the uprising. Under its terms, Serbia was granted minor autonomy. But the national movement in the Ottoman provinces did not stop there. In the early 1820s. the uprising swept through Wallachia. Then began liberation war Greeks.

The Greek uprising was prepared by members secret society"Filiku Eteria", headed by the general of the Russian service Ypsilanti. (The society was formed in 1814 in Odessa. Since 1818, the center of the organization moved to Istanbul. There were branches of etherists in many cities of the Balkan Peninsula.) The uprising began in April 1821 in Morea and in a short time spread to the whole of continental Greece, islands of the Aegean and Adriatic seas. The moment chosen for him turned out to be very favorable, since at that time the sultan waged a stubborn war with the Vali of the Janinsky Pashalik Ali Pasha Yaninsky, who created in the territory subject to him (in Southern Albania, part of continental Greece and Macedonia), in fact, independent specific principality. The government troops sent against Ali Pasha also included the garrisons of many cities of the Morea, which facilitated the implementation of the Eterists' plans. The rebels occupied Patra, Corinth, Argos and a number of other cities. Soon the inhabitants of the large islands joined them.

Mahmoud reacted to the news of the uprising very painfully. Messengers were sent to all parts of the empire, who were supposed to announce to the Muslims that the throne was in danger, and to call on everyone who was able to bear arms to hurry to Istanbul. Thereupon Mahmoud proclaimed " holy war against the infidels". The first victim of this appeal was the Christian population of the capital, most of which had nothing to do with the uprising. In a few weeks, Muslim fanatics killed more than 10 thousand Christians in Istanbul (including Patriarch Gregory of Constantinople was hanged on the gates of the patriarchal house) Then a wave of Christian pogroms spread throughout the empire, which caused innumerable new victims (for example, on Chios, the Turks killed and sold into slavery 70 thousand people - almost all of its Christian population).In response to these atrocities, a massacre of Muslims began in Greece. the Greeks, previously far from the liberation struggle, took up arms.In October 1821, after a five-month siege, the rebels captured Tripolis, the administrative center of the Morea.By the beginning of 1822, they were already masters of the entire peninsula, a significant part of central Greece and a number of Greek islands.In January, In 1822, the National Assembly was convened in Epidaurus, which proclaimed independence of Greece and adopted its constitution. After that, the uprising spread to a number of regions of Thessaly and Macedonia.

In the spring, the Sultan moved the army of Dramali Mahmud Pasha against the Greeks. At the beginning of July 1822, through the Isthmus of Corinth, she invaded the Morea, occupied Argos, but could not build on her success. The power of the Turks was powerless against the action of countless partisan detachments, which inflicted terrible damage on Mahmud Pasha in many small battles. It was necessary to urgently find reserves, but just at that time the war with Iran began, pulling over significant forces of the Turkish army. Having no other means to deal with the uprising, the Sultan turned to his vassal, the ruler of Egypt, for help. He provided Mahmud with a European-trained army and a fairly modern fleet to fight the Greek rebels, but in return demanded that Morea be transferred under the control of his son. The Sultan agreed. The arrival of troops dramatically changed the situation. In November 1824 he crushed an uprising in Crete, in February 1825 he captured Navarino, in the summer of that year he captured a large part of the Morea, and in June he took Tripolis.

The successes of the Egyptian army, its high combat effectiveness and good training convinced Mahmud that it was necessary to return to reforms and immediately begin the reorganization of the Turkish army. Many of his associates were inclined to the same. In May 1826, the highest secular and spiritual dignitaries of the empire discussed and approved a plan to create a new regular corps of ishkenji, numbering 7.5 thousand people. The salary for his soldiers was set 8 times higher than the Janissaries. On May 29, Mahmud signed a corresponding decree. Within a few days, more than 5 thousand people signed up for the corps. On June 12, with a large gathering of people on Myasnaya Square, the first training sessions with a group of soldiers of the new army. The Janissaries immediately felt the threat emanating from this undertaking and on June 15 raised an uprising in Istanbul. Upon learning of the rebellion, the Sultan (he was then in a summer residence on the European shore of the Bosphorus) immediately arrived at the Sultan's Topkau Palace and began to suppress it. Artillery units, as well as scorers, miners and sailors served as the main force to fight the Janissaries. While the Janissaries were running around Istanbul in a blind rage and wasting time setting fire to the houses of hated dignitaries, robbing property and killing their loved ones, a large army was drawn to Topkau. Some gunners - disciplined and in a European way trained soldiers- there were 14 thousand.

Hearing about these preparations, the rebellious Janissaries (there were about 15 thousand of them) gathered in the square and demanded that the Sultan cancel the decree on the formation of the Ishkenji army and give them some dignitaries for reprisal. Mahmud flatly refused to comply with these demands, and both sides prepared for battle. Public opinion was on the side of Mahmud. Even the ulema, when asked by the sultan, what kind of punishment deserve the rebels who took up arms against their sultan and caliph, gave a unanimous answer - death! It was decided to put up the sacred banner of the prophet, which was kept in the Ottoman palace, near the Sultan Ahmad mosque and call on the people to gather under it to punish the rebels. The inhabitants of the capital did not remain indifferent to this call, and weapons were issued to everyone who wished to take part in the battle. Sultan's troops surrounded Meat Square, after which the rebels were asked to surrender. They refused, and immediately the artillerymen opened deadly fire on the crowd of Janissaries. The rebels retreated in disarray to their barracks, but the shelling pursued them here as well. The wooden barracks caught fire. About 3,000 Janissaries died in the flames. Artillerymen burst into the square and began to kill those who were still alive. Within five hours the rebellion was crushed. The surviving Janissaries were seized on the streets, in the yards, pulled out of hiding and either killed on the spot or sent to a specially created court. In total, at least 7 thousand Janissaries were killed, another 15 thousand were expelled from the capital. On June 17, 1826, a meeting of senior dignitaries decided to liquidate the Janissary corps. A decree was sent out in the province to disband all Janissary formations and execute the recalcitrant. It was performed with great zeal. As a result, about 30 thousand more Janissaries were executed locally. This type of army has ceased to exist forever. Following this, Mahmud liquidated the divisions of the yamaks and abolished the regular Sipahian cavalry. Both of these formations, like the corps of the Janissaries, were a constant source of unrest and a stronghold of reaction. In August, the sultan dissolved the Baktashi dervish order, with which the Janissary corps had had close ties for many centuries. The leaders of the order were publicly executed, and all the dervish cloisters were destroyed. After that, the creation of a regular army went at an accelerated pace. In the summer of 1826, the Sultan issued a decree on the formation of new infantry units, the training of which was to be carried out according to European standards. In total, it was planned to create eight regiments of the new troops with a total number of 12 thousand people. French instructors were invited to train them.

The creation of a new army was only at the very beginning, when a new big external war broke out, caused by the Greek events. In June 1827, Russia, France and England sent an ultimatum to Mahmud demanding that Greece be granted autonomy. Mahmoud refused to fulfill it. In August, an Anglo-Russian-French squadron approached the shores of the Morea. The Allies had 26 ships. They were opposed by the Turkish-Egyptian fleet of 65 ships. Nevertheless, the battle in Navarino Bay, which took place on October 20, 1827, ended for the Sultan in complete defeat - the Turks lost 55 ships, and the Allies none. The position of the army of Ibrahim Pasha after that immediately deteriorated sharply. He was cut off from Egypt and had no opportunity to receive either ammunition or food. In 1828, at the request of the European powers, the Egyptians evacuated their army.

In April of the same year, Russian-Turkish war. War has been declared Russian emperor due to Turkish violations of shipping agreements in Black Sea straits and other provocative actions of the Porte. In May, the Russian army crossed the Prut and entered Moldavia. The Russian fleet began blockade of the Dardanelles.

In the Caucasus, plans to divert Turkish forces from the main theater of operations in the Balkans included the capture of Kars. Count Paskevich-Erivansky, personally commanding the Russian troops, advanced on June 14 (26), 1828 from Gumry to the fortified Kars, defeated the Turkish cavalry under its walls and, besieging this fortress, placed siege batteries with such art and bombarded the Turkish stronghold. a few days earlier than planned, June 23 (July 5), with a significant amount of guns and gunpowder.

Paskevich's offer to surrender to the commandant of Kars Emin Pasha went down in history: “Mercy for the innocent. Death is rebellious. Time for reflection." Hearing the words of the Russian commander, transmitted by a truce, the Turkish garrison rebelled against their commander and threw out two white flags at once.

At the beginning of 1829, Russian troops under the command of I.I. Dibich-Zabalkansky overcame the Balkans and occupied Edirne on August 20. The threat hung over Istanbul itself. At the same time, Erzurum was taken in Transcaucasia. Mahmud had no choice but to accept the demands of the European powers. In September, he signed a peace treaty. According to him, the mouth of the Danube and the eastern coast of the Black Sea passed to Russia. Greece and Serbia received autonomy. The Greeks and Serbs for the most part did not accept this compromise, and already at the beginning of 1830 the sultan had to recognize the complete independence of Greece (without Thessaly and Epirus), and to grant the status of an autonomous principality to Serbia. This was the largest defeat of the Ottomans in history, demonstrating to the whole world how weak the Turkish Empire had become. In the same year, France began the conquest of Algeria, and the Egyptian Pasha openly seceded from the Sultan.

Mahmoud was unable to repel the French aggression, but he was not going to endure the audacity of the Egyptians. Since he did not have troops for immediate war with him, the sultan pretended to maintain the most friendly relations with the Egyptian pasha, and in the meantime, he carried out military reform at an accelerated pace. But he didn't let him gather his strength. In the autumn of 1831 his army invaded Syria. In May 1832 Akka was taken, and in June Damascus fell. In July, the Turks were defeated near Homs and in the Beilan Gorge. In November, the Egyptians passed the Cilician Gates, entered Anatolia, and in December occupied Konya. On December 20, a general battle took place near this city, and the Turkish army was again utterly defeated. Mahmud lost almost all of his new regular regiments in this battle. The grand vizier who commanded them was taken prisoner. In May 1833, the sultan was forced to agree to the demands and place Syria, Palestine and Cilicia under his rule. However, the Egyptian pasha was still considered his vassal.

However, Mahmoud considered this agreement only as a temporary respite. He took up military reform with redoubled energy. Despite the acute shortage of funds and the dissatisfaction of the population with recruiting sets, the size of the regular army was increased by 1836 to 70 thousand people. At the same time, the fleet was being restored. Changes in the military sphere were accompanied by other transformations that covered all aspects of Turkish life. In 1834, an administrative reform was carried out, as a result of which the number of pashaliks increased, and their area decreased. Thus, the pashas were deprived of the opportunity to accumulate significant forces in their hands and act as independent rulers. In addition, military power was taken away from them - it passed to the commanders of regular units. The central authorities were not left without attention. Ministries were created, and in 1837 Mahmud formed the Council of Ministers, which took over the executive power. The Grand Vizier became known as the Prime Minister. New positions and ranks were introduced, state salaries were established (before that, officials lived on the offerings of those who applied to them). Mahmoud tried to fight bribery, but did not have much success. As a result of all these measures, the old feudal system of state organs of the empire was somewhat Europeanized. The authority of the central government was strengthened.

Like all reforming sovereigns, Mahmud faced an acute personnel problem. The state needed officers, military engineers, civil servants and specialists of various kinds - doctors, teachers, translators, etc. This problem was solved with great difficulty, because in Turkey there was no base for training such specialists - there were not even secular primary and secondary schools. The creation of the latter was initiated by the decree of 1824, but the matter progressed extremely slowly. The Sultan paid the main attention to the training of officers. In 1834 he opened the Combined Arms military school(The French College of Saint-Cyr was taken as a model for him, but Prussian officers prevailed among the teachers here). At first, no one wanted to study at the school, and therefore an order was given for forced recruitment: teenagers were grabbed right on the streets of Istanbul, and then they were strictly monitored so that they did not run away. It is clear that this was not the best way out, and there was little use for such cadets. In addition, the general educational level of the Turks was then so low that it was impossible to make worthy officers out of them in this way with all the desire. The Sultan also showed much attention to the training of physicians. In 1827, he opened a military medical school, and in 1829, a surgical school (however, only in 1838 was it possible to overcome the resistance of the clergy and allow practical training on corpses). In 1839, both medical schools were merged into the Sultan Higher Medical School. For officials, the School of Legal Education was founded, and for the training of translators, the School of Literary Sciences. In addition, Mahmud practiced sending young Turks to study abroad. State reforms took place against the backdrop of a general Europeanization of life. During the reign of Mahmud, the first Turkish newspaper began to appear, many printed books appeared, many European things came into use, including chairs and watches. The costume was Europeanized. An example of this was set by the Sultan himself, who on the holiday of Ramadan 1828 appeared before the people in blue trousers and a red uniform. Special decrees regulated the cut of men's and women's dresses, as well as the length of beards. Turkish dignitaries began to attend balls and receptions hosted by foreign embassies, sitting there at the same table with Europeans and ladies, which was previously considered completely unacceptable.

This whole era bore the imprint of the personality of Sultan Mahmud. Outwardly nondescript, small in stature, he was a man of great intelligence, stubborn in achieving his goal. Possessing a strong character and determination, at the same time he was very cautious and, when necessary, could hide his intentions for years. To his opponents, he was cruel and merciless. Executions under him were an ordinary and even an ordinary phenomenon. With all this, Mahmud was completely devoid of religious fanaticism and was keenly interested in European culture. Unfortunately, in last years life, he became addicted to alcohol, as a result of which he began to get sick, the further, the stronger. In 1837-1839. he had long breaks when he could not deal with public affairs.

Meanwhile, the unrest and war did not stop. In 1838, a new aggravation of relations with. The Sultan began to prepare for the war, which began in May 1839. Its outcome was the same as the first. On June 24, a decisive battle took place near Nisibin in Northern Syria. The Turkish army was completely defeated in it. Mahmud could not survive this defeat and died a few days after the news of him was received in Istanbul.

Participation in wars: Internecine wars. War with Yanina Pasha Ali. War with Muhammad Ali of Egypt. War with Russia (1806-1812). War with Russia (1828-1829).
Participation in battles:

(Mahmud II) Turkish Sultan (since 1808)

He was enthroned on July 28 as a result of a coup d'etat carried out by Mustafa Pasha Bayraktar in order to restore the "new system" Selima III. However, only in the mid-1820s, having strengthened his power and enlisted the support of influential dignitaries and higher clergy, Mahmoud II took the first steps towards overcoming feudal fragmentation, creating a centralized state apparatus and some "Europeanization" of the country.

The most important reforms of Mahmud II: the destruction of the Janissary corps in 1826, the establishment of European-style ministries and the introduction of a new administrative division with the deprivation of governors-general of the right to have their own army, the creation of several secular general education schools and military schools.

Mahmud II led, although not always successfully, the struggle against the separatism of the outlying feudal lords.

Under Mahmud II, the national liberation movement of the Balkan peoples intensified significantly, which led to the victory of the national revolution in Greece (1821-1829) and the autonomy of Serbia (1830).

In 1828-1829. Turkey was defeated in the war with Russia and two armed conflicts with