Abstract
Mahmud's reforms were not limited to reorganizing the army, adopting Western costumes and appearances, or defying religious prohibitions with feasts. There was also a political dimension aimed at changing the relationship between the state - the sultan - and his subjects. This " liberal " dimension, as we have already said, often fades into the background in the face of the violence of the repression exercised by the new system against elements of the population deemed dangerous ; it nonetheless exists in people's minds and, sometimes, in their actions, creating an expectation among certain groups. At the top of the list was Mahmud's stated intention, as early as the day after the " revolution " of June 15-16 1826, to abolish the practice of confiscation(müsadere), which for centuries had given sultans the arbitrary power to lay their hands on the fortunes of deposed or disgraced dignitaries. For an empire with a reduced tax base and efficiency, this was a practical way of replenishing the state coffers, but its drawbacks were numerous : financial and political instability, unpredictability of the civil service, tendency to reproduce abuses of power and predatory actions..
Obviously, the decision to abolish confiscation hardly concerned the majority of the population, but only those members of the ruling class who felt targeted. It is therefore likely that Mahmud II's main reason for taking such a step was to secure the support of dignitaries at a time of intense crisis. It is in this light that we should read reports suggesting that he was particularly keen to assure the ulema (the " clergy ") of this intention, in a context of " holy war " waged against the janissaries and their associates. In the same vein, it is reported that he had asked the members of the council to abandon the etiquette that forbade them to sit in his presence, and that he had ended up having to oblige them to do so..
