The death of Sultan Mahmud II on July1st 1839 marked a decisive turning point in the history of Ottoman modernization. The empire's political and strategic situation had reached a dramatic low : a few days before the sovereign's death, the Ottoman army had been defeated at Nizib by the Egyptians ; two days after his death, the Grand Admiral had defected, taking the entire fleet to Egypt. His young son and successor, Abdülmecid, barely 16 years old, found himself at the head of a decaying empire threatened by an Egyptian invasion that could only be prevented by a de facto Russian protectorate.
However, four months later, a major event would turn the situation around and revive hopes that the empire might break the deadlock. On November 3 1839, the Tanzimat decree was proclaimed, the name of which, meaning " reorganizations ", evoked the intention to take back in hand certain fundamental aspects of the state and its legal foundations. Citing the responsibility of a century and a half of neglect and non-compliance with Sharia law for the decline and failure of the empire, the edict called for new legislation providing for a proportional distribution of the tax base and military conscription, the abolition of leasing, the application ofHabeas corpus, the prohibition of summary executions and the protection of the life, property and honor of all subjects, both Muslim and non-Muslim. Some saw this document as an imperial charter, a draft constitution ; others saw it as nothing more than strong rhetoric aimed at securing the position and interests of the ruling class, and protecting it against the autocratic impulses of the sovereign ; still others saw it as part of a continuing reform strongly tinged with the notion of " renouveau " in the purest naqshbandi-mudjaddidi tradition. The Prince de Joinville, son of Louis-Philippe, who attended the ceremony, saw the edict as nothing more than a " miserable piece of rag " that could hardly save the " Turkish nation " from decadence.
