Hubbry Logo
search
logo
2327078

Abdulaziz

logo
Community Hub0 Subscribers
Write something...
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
See all
Abdulaziz

Abdulaziz (Ottoman Turkish: عبد العزيز, romanizedʿAbdü'l-ʿAzîz; Turkish: Abdülaziz; 8 February 1830 – 4 June 1876) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was overthrown in a government coup. He was a son of Sultan Mahmud II and succeeded his brother Abdulmejid I in 1861.

Abdulaziz's reign began during the Ottoman Empire's resurgence following the Crimean War and two decades of the Tanzimat reforms, though it was now reliant on European capital. The decade after his ascension was dominated by the duo of Fuad Pasha and Aali Pasha, who accelerated reorganization of the Empire. The Vilayet Law was promulgated, Western codes were applied to more aspects of Ottoman law, and the millets were restructured. The issue of Tanzimat dualism continued to plague the empire, however.

He was the first Ottoman sultan who traveled to Western Europe in a diplomatic capacity, visiting a number of important European capitals including Paris, London, and Vienna in the summer of 1867. With Fuad and Aali dead by 1871, Abdul Aziz promulgated reactionary ministries and attempted personal rule, revealing his eccentricities and fueling calls for a constitution by the Young Ottomans. In his last years as sultan, famine, economic crisis and default, diplomatic isolation, government dysfunction, and uprisings by Christian minorities culminated into a general international crisis known as the Great Eastern Crisis. Abdulaziz was deposed on 30 May 1876 by his ministers on the grounds of having mismanaged the economy. He was found dead from suicide six days later.

Abdulaziz was born at Eyüp Palace, Constantinople (Istanbul) on 8 February 1830. His parents were Mahmud II and Pertevniyal Sultan, originally named Besime, a Circassian.

The Pertevniyal Valide Sultan Mosque was built under the patronage of his mother. The construction work began in November 1869 and the mosque was finished in 1871.

His paternal grandparents were Sultan Abdul Hamid I and Sultana Nakşidil Sultan. Several accounts identify his paternal grandmother with Aimée du Buc de Rivéry, a cousin of Empress Joséphine. Pertevniyal was a sister of Hushiyar Qadin, third wife of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt. Hushiyar and Ibrahim were the parents of Isma'il Pasha.

Abdulaziz received an Ottoman education but was nevertheless an ardent admirer of the material progress that was being achieved in the West. He was the first Ottoman sultan who traveled to Western Europe, visiting a number of important European capitals including Paris, London, and Vienna in the summer of 1867.

In addition to his interest in literature, Abdulaziz was also a classical music composer. He took a special interest in documenting the Ottoman Empire. Some of his compositions, together with those of the other members of the Ottoman dynasty, have been collected in the album European Music at the Ottoman Court by the London Academy of Ottoman Court Music.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.