The Turkish Empire, Its Growth and DecayEversley, G. Shaw-Lefevre (George Shaw-Lefevre), Baron
History
The Turkish Empire, Its Growth and Decay
Eversley, G. Shaw-Lefevre (George Shaw-Lefevre), Baron
Turkey -- History
Mahmoud also effected many other important reforms. He abolished the
Court of Confiscations, which had provided a revenue to the State out
of property of persons condemned to death or exile, and which had
become a great abuse. He deprived pashas of their power to put people
to death at their will without trial. He enacted that no one should in
future be so dealt with without formal trial and the right of appeal.
He put the vast Vacouf property (dedicated to Islam) under State
management. He prohibited the wearing of turbans and made the use of
the fez universal in his Empire. He set the example of clothing himself
after the European fashion. He entertained ambassadors and their wives
and others at his palace as other sovereigns did. He contemplated great
reforms in favour of his Christian subjects, but it will be seen that
the task was left incomplete for his successors.
At this point of his career Mahmoud had attained unqualified success.
He had succeeded in putting down all the rebellious pashas, such as
Ali of Janina and others. Mehemet Ali of Egypt had recognized the
supremacy of the Sultan by sending his army and navy to suppress the
Greek rebellion. Greece had been practically reconquered. The Greeks
in other parts of the Empire had been terrorized into submission.
Insurrection in Moldavia and Wallachia had been suppressed. The Serbian
fortresses were in his hands. Above all, the Janissaries, who had
proved to be so useless as a military force and who had murdered two
of his predecessors and deposed many others, were suppressed. He had
carried out great reforms in his Empire. Mahmoud had effected all this
by his own inflexible firmness and by statesmanship of a high order,
not unmixed with cruelty and cunning.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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