Tanzimat Fermanı'nın Osmanlı Devlet Düzenine Etkileri (1839-1876)

Abstract

Since it is a transition period between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey, Tanzimat is of special importance. The historical depth of the Republic extends to Tanzimat both at the institutional level and at the level of intellectual discussion. However, it must be noted that the relationship between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic includes not only continuities but also breaks. From another point of view, Tanzimat is in a relationship of break and continuities with the classical period of the Ottoman Empire. This thesis attempts to address the relations between Tanzimat and the periods before and after, through a perspective encompassing the two aspects mentioned. In the Tanzimat period, initiated with the Tanzimat Edict in 1839, major transformations occurred in political, legal, economic and, social areas. This study focuses on the transformation experienced in the context of the state order, located at the intersection of the legal and political fields. The first section explains the Ottoman state order before 1839. In this context, first of all, the central organization, later on, the religion-state relations, and finally the civil administration topics are discussed. Including the transformations in the Ottoman state order after 1839, the second section examines the issues on the internal and external dynamics that determined the Tanzimat, the analysis of the Tanzimat Edict, the central organization, religion-state relations, civil administration, and the relations between the ruler and the ruled, respectively. Although it is possible to talk about the effects of internal dynamics on the course of the Tanzimat process, in the final analysis, external dynamics were the main determinant. The Tanzimat Edict is a text determining the trajectory of developments that occurred between 1839 and 1876. Although the Edict is not a constitution in the modern sense, it has a significant place in the context of constitutional development, especially due to some provisions in its content. During the Tanzimat period, critical transformations took place in the Ottoman state order, and it is possible to follow this transformation in the context of the central organization, religion-state relations, civil administration, and relations between the ruler and the ruled. The steps taken towards the formation of a modern bureaucracy in the central organization, the established assemblies, and the local assemblies can be cited as examples of institutional reflections of this transformation. Although there was an expansion in religion-state relations compared to the past, there was no break that could be described as secularism. Yet, remarkable developments took place in the representation of the ruled.