Changes

The Tanzimat reforms were carried out between 1830 and 1870 in the Ottoman Empire. They were a wide ranging series of reforms. They included educational, political and economic reforms. They are widely seen as part of the process of were an attempt at modernisation to stop the apparent decline of Ottoman power. The process of modernisation as in so many other countries involved adopting the models and practices of western countries and societies. This was and it primarily motivated by the need to ensure that the Ottomans were able to compete against the western powers and to preserve their Empire. The modernization process in the Ottoman Empire was a way of ensuring that they did not become the subjects of the western powers.<ref>Inalcık, H. and Quataert, D. ''An Economic and Social History of The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1914''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994, p. 189.</ref> During the nineteenth century much of the world became subject to the western powers, especially Britain and France. The Tanzimat reforms were only partially successful and did not halt the Ottoman decline.

Until the 18th century the Ottoman Turks were at least as powerful as the great European powers. However, from the mid-17501750s, it became apparent that the Ottomans power declined and they could not no compete militarily with the great European powers, including Russian and the Hapsburg Empire.<ref>Qetvket Pamuk "Institutional Change and the Longevity of the Ottoman Empire, 1500–1800". ''Journal of Interdisciplinary History'', vol xxxv:2, Autumn, 2004, p.247.</ref> In successive conflicts the armies of the Sultan, once invincible, were consistently defeated and the Empire was losing lost territory. It appeared that their Their Christian enemies were adversaries slowly dismembering dismembered the Empire and that the existence survival of the realm empire was in danger.’threatened.<ref>Parmuk, p. 235.</ref> It soon became apparent that Just as the Ottoman armiesmilitary power was marginalized, could not compete with the European armies. This meant that the Ottoman Turks were increasingly vulnerable to the Europeantheir archaic economic system was becoming less viable. The economic system that prevailed in the Empire in 1800 was largely similar to that of had transformed little since the fifteenth century, it was clearly unsuitable to the needs of a society that had to . The antiquated economy could not compete with the European nations, who that were being transformed by the industrial revolution. <ref> Inalcık, H. and Quataert, D. ''An Economic and Social History of The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1914''. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), p. 189. </ref> There was a recognition The leaders of the Ottoman recognized that there needed to be economic changes and also accompanying revolution accompanied by extensive political and legal reforms. These were necessary because the The Sultan and his advisors accepted that the Ottoman Empire had to modernize in order to preserve the Empiresurvive.

Among the most significant changes of the The Tanzimat reforms were focused heavily on reforming the Ottoman educationsystem. Previously Ottoman education was had been dominated by the Islamic Clerics, and this was changed during but the periodreforms reduced their influence.<ref>Incalek and Quatert, p. 103.</ref> The Ottoman government established created schools and universities based on the western European model. This was designed to allow the Ottomans have the skills to run the economy and society in a modern way and to develop the technology they needed to develop modern armies and the economy need to sustain such forces. The Tanzimat reforms also provided political changes that were designed to improve the status of the non- Muslim population. They were granted equal status before the law with Muslims, for the first time.<ref>Salesman "Celenk Secularization Process in the History of Turkish Education". ''Journal Social Science'', vol 19(2): 2009, p. 101</ref> These reforms sought to secure the allegiance of the diverse ethnic and religious groups of the Empire. The reforms also attempted to restrict the power of the Sultan and to ensure the rule of law throughout the land. There were even attempts to start a multi-party system. The Ottomans sought to emulate the more advanced western models to enable their society to modernize. The Ottoman government began to centralize authority into its own hands in order to ensure that the Tanzimat reforms succeeded despite the opposition of Islamic religious leaders and the majority Muslim population.<ref>Attila Ayetkin, "Peasant Protest in the Late Ottoman Empire: Moral Economy, Revolt, and the Tanzimat Reforms" ''International Review of Social History''. Vol 57, August 2012, pp 191-227</ref>