176 • 11 WESTERNIZING REFORM IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURYMahmud II
An ill-fated attempt by Selim's successor to revive the nizam sent the janis¬
saries on such a rampage that they killed all male members of the Ottoman
family but one, a cousin of Selim named Mahmud II (r. 1808-1839). Un¬
derstandably, Mahmud mounted his throne in fear and trembling. Not only
could the janissaries stir up the city mobs, trade guilds, and madrasa stu¬
dents to defend their privileges, but the whole empire was in danger. Some
of the Balkan provinces had become virtually independent under local war¬
lords. A Serbian nationalist uprising threatened to influence other subject
peoples. Local landowners in parts of Anatolia were taking the government
into their own hands. Garrisons in such Arab cities as Aleppo and Mosul
were held by dissident mamluk or janissary factions. Worse yet, Russia had
again gone to war against the empire and had invaded its Danubian princi¬
palities (now called Romania), while Napoleon's forces were battling the
British navy for control of the eastern Mediterranean. The Ottoman out¬
look was bleak, but Mahmud surprised everyone. Like his late cousin, he
wanted to reform and strengthen the Ottoman state. But Mahmud also saw
that ( 1 ) westernizing reforms must include every aspect of Ottoman gov¬
ernment and society, not just the military; (2) reformed institutions would
work only if the ones they replaced were destroyed; and (3) any reform pro¬
gram must be planned in advance and accepted by the country's leaders.
At first Mahmud kept a low profile, quietly cultivated groups that fa¬
vored centralization of Ottoman power, and slowly built up a loyal and
well-trained palace guard, to be used against the janissaries and their back¬
ers when they were strong enough. Only in 1826 did Mahmud strike. In a
move reminiscent of Mehmet Ali's fifteen years earlier, he ordered a general
attack on the janissaries. This time the sultan had an army, the ulama, the
students, and most of the people on his side. The janissaries were killed,
their supporting groups (including the Bektashi Sufi order) abolished, and
their properties redistributed among Mahmud's backers. So glad were the
people to be rid of the janissaries that the massacre in Turkish history is
called the "Auspicious Event." It cleared the way for a large-scale reform
program during the last thirteen years of Mahmud's reign.
Highest priority went, predictably, to forming a new military organiza¬
tion to replace the janissaries and other outmoded units, for the Greeks,
backed by the Great Powers, were rebelling against Ottoman rule. Mah¬
mud gathered into his new army soldiers from all units of the old system,
to be issued European uniforms and weapons and subjected to Western
drillmasters and instructors. Ottoman youths had also to be trained in
technical fields that served the military. Existing schools of military and
naval engineering were expanded, a medical college was founded, and