 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(October 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
TheHamidian period (c. 1878–1908), was named after SultanAbdul Hamid II, the 34th sultan of theOttoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. The Hamidian period was contained within the larger period known as theLate Ottoman period (c. 1750–1918). The period effectively began after theFirst Constitutional Era with the suspension of thefirst constitution in 1878, and ended in 1908 after revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of theYoung Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the Constitution, recall the parliament, and schedule an election, beginning theSecond Constitutional Era (c. 1908–1920).
The reign of Abdülhamid II (1876–1909) is often regarded as having been a reaction against theTanzimat, but, insofar as the essence of the Tanzimat reforms was centralization rather than liberalization, Abdülhamid may be seen as its fulfiller rather than its destroyer. The continued development of the army and administration, the formation of a gendarmerie, the growth of communications—especially the telegraph and railways—and the formation of an elaborate spy system enabled the sultan to monopolize power and crush opposition. His brutalrepression of the Armenians in 1894–96 earned him the European title "red sultan". But Abdülhamid's reign also made positive advances in education (including the renovation ofIstanbul University in 1900); legal reform, led by his grand vizierMehmed Said Pasha; and economic development, through the construction of railways in Asia Minor and Syria with foreign capital and of the Hejaz Railway from Damascus to Medina with the help of subscriptions from Muslims in other countries.[1][2][3]
Reign ofAbdul Hamid II | ||
|---|---|---|
| Major events | _p259_Sultan_Abdul_Hamid_II.jpg) | |
| Associated buildings | ||
| Wars | ||
| Family |
| |
| Wives | ||
