Essay On Tanzimat

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By the early 18th century, the Ottoman Empire which ruled the Middle East began to decline. While the Western European states were not necessarily superior at this point, they were transforming. Western Europeans were able to transform their society from an agricultural one to a technology and industry based one. This momentum spread from industry, to military and intellectual fields. This rapid change, known as the Great Western Transmutation, made it nearly impossible for competing nations to catch up. The Industrial Revolution gave them vast social and political power that enabled them to enforce their will on much of the world.
The Ottoman Empire, by the late 18th century was deteriorating at a rapid rate. Once called the “terror of Europe,” there was now very little fear or concern with the Ottoman Empire’s military power. [Armajani, n.d.] Of great concern in the early 19th century to its rulers, reform efforts began. One of the most important and aggressive programs was Tanzimat. Tanzimat is Turkish for “reorganization” and this was of utmost importance to the Ottoman Empire. Initiated at a time when it was understood that the weakening empire was surrounded by countries that were flourishing, Tanzimat was an attempt at modernizing a dying empire.
Reformist sultans, Mahmud II and his son, Abdul-Mecid, were the major contributors and supports of Tanzimat. They recognized that the outdated religious and military foundations no meshed with the necessities of the empire in a modern world. Much of the reform was attempts at converting to positive European practices. Government officials were encouraged to wear a more “western” style of dress, in an attempt to change the outlook of imperial leaders. Educa...

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...e Problem of Political Authority in the Ottoman Empire:
1839-1876. Retrieved July 6, 2014 from: http://digitalcommons.ric.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=honors_projects&seiredir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ca%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Dtanzimat%2Breforms%2Bsuccess%2Bor%2Bfailure%2Bsite%3A.edu%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D2%26ved%3D0CDUQFjAB%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fdigitalcommons.ric.edu%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D1005%2526context%253Dhonors_projects%26ei%3Db9cmUa6LPLL9iQLJ4IBo%26usg%3DAFQjCNFK2BhH7thAH3K1LgJZ1HGkdOS22g Kjeilen, T. (n.d.) Tanzimat. Retrieved July 6, 2014 from: http://looklex.com/e.o/tanzimat.htm Armajani, Ricks, Perry, & Stavrianos, (n.d.) Tanzimat Reforms: varying perspectives. Retrieved July 6, 2014 from:
http://www.artsrn.ualberta.ca/amcdouga/Hist323/autumn%202012/additional%20rdgs/tanzimat_reforms%201.htm

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