Abu-Manneh, B. 'The Islamic Roots of The Gulhane Rescript'

The Islamic Roots of the Glhane Rescript
Author(s): Butrus Abu-Manneh

Source: Die Welt des Islams, New Series, Vol. 34, Issue 2 (Nov., 1994), pp. 173-203
Published by: BRILL
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1570929 .
Accessed: 27/03/2014 11:29
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
BRILL is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Die Welt des Islams.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Die Welt des Islams 34 (1994), ? E.J. Brill, Leiden
THE ISLAMIC ROOTS OF THE GULHANE
RESCRIPT*
BY
BUTRUS
ABU-MANNEH
Haifa
1. Mustafa Reqid and the Drafting of the GiilhaneRescript

Ottoman historiography of the Tanzimat period generally attributes the drafting of the Giilhane Rescript to Mustafa Re?id Papa.1
In the middle and late 1830s Re?id served for a number of years as
Ottoman ambassador to Paris and London, which brought him in
contact with the leading statesmen of Western Europe, and obviously provided him with a chance to observe closely the functioning of
European political systems.2 Thus it is believed by modern historians that Re?id and other Ottoman diplomats who like him served in
the capitals of Europe at this time, had "an opportunity to undergo
in person the direct impact of the West".3 He "acquired the
French language" noted Henry Layard,4 an attache at the British
* I owe gratitude to several institutes which facilitated the researching and
writing of this paper: the Ba*bakanlik Arqivi, the Atatiirk (Belediyye) Library, and
the Orient Institute, all in Istanbul, and the Skilliter Centre for Ottoman Studies
at Newnham College, Cambridge. A summary of this paper was read at the "Sixth
International Conference of the Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey," held in Aix-en-Provence, France, in July 1992, and a
fuller version at the Institut ffir Islamwissenschaft, Freie Universitat Berlin. My
thanks are due to all who participated in that discussion. Professor Dr. F. Steppat
had read the full version of this article and suggested valuable remarks. I owe him
special thanks.
1 On Mustafa Resid Papa, see Re,at Kaynar,
Mustafa Resit Pasa ve Tanzimat
(Ankara, 1954); Ali Fuat, Ricali muhimme-isiyasiye (Istanbul, 1928); Abdulrahman
~eref, Tarih Musahabeleri (Istanbul, 1339/[1920-21]),
pp. 75-87; Cevid Baysun
"Mustafa Resid Papa" in Tanzimat (Ankara, 1940), pp. 723-46; Erciiment Kuran, "Resit Papa" in Islam Ansiklopedisi (hereafter IA) X, 701- 705; F.E. Bailey,
British Policy and the Turkish ReformMovement(Cambridge, Mass., 1942), pp. 179ff.
2 Cf. Ahmed Lutfi, Tarih, VI, 55, 59-60.
3 B. Lewis, The Emergenceof Modern Turkey(London, 1961), p. 87.
4 On
Henry Layard, see Dictionary of National Biography, Supplement III (London, 1901), pp. 82-4.

174
BUTRUS
ABU-MANNEH
Embassy in Istanbul in the late 1840s, "and through it had studied

much of the political literature of Europe".5 It was sweeping and
weighty statements such as these which led modern historians to
conclude that the Giilhane Rescript was written under the impact of
the West. Niyazi Berkes, for instance, had no doubt about it.
"We do not need to look at the English or French political impact
in order to discover the origins of the ideas contained in the Tanzimat Charter [sic], and we shall not find them in the Muslim political
thinking of the past",6 he wrote. S. Shaw goes yet further in suggesting Western origins for the Rescript: "Though presented in the
context of the Ottoman experience and expressing particular goals
rather than abstract principles, the decree of Gfilhane thus encompassed many of the ideals contained in the French Declaration of the
Rights of Man and the Citizen of 1789".7
On the face of it thesis looks plausible and fits within the widely
accepted views that the reforms in the Ottoman Empire in the
nineteenth century were, as a whole, undertaken under the influence of the West. However, it is our contention that while this
might be true of the later period of the Tanzimat, as far as the Gillhane Rescript is concerned, contemporary evidence tends to contradict such views. Moreover, the contents of the Rescript itself lend
no evidence of ideas or ideals borrowed from Western political theory. On the contrary "the traditional state philosophy was genuinely apparent in it" states Halil Inalcik, and "the basic principle of
legislation, also, was ... not in natural rights but in the practical
necessity of resuscitating the empire" .8
There is no doubt that serving in West European countries imparted Re?id with some knowledge of the political systems prevalent
in those countries. But it does not seem that this knowledge served
him in the drafting of the Guilhane Rescript, suggesting that either
5
Quoted in A. Hourani, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age, 2nd imp. (Oxford,
1969), p. 44.
6 N. Berkes, The Developmentof Secularism in Turkey

(Montreal, 1963), p. 144.
7
S.J. Shaw and E.K. Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey
(Cambridge, 1977), II, 61.

8 H. Inalclk, "The Nature of Traditional Society: Turkey," in R.E. Ward and
D.A. Rustow (eds.), PoliticalModernizationinJapan and Turkey(Princeton, 1964), pp.
56 -7.

THE ISLAMIC ROOTS OF THE GULHANE RESCRIPT
175
he had partners in the act or the earlier and perhaps more lasting influence of his formative years prevailed upon him. That influence
originated from Pertev Papa, his mentor and protector at the
Porte for many years, who was known to hold an extremely Sunniorthodox outlook.9 Indeed, as we shall see in this paper, the ideals
that were to find expression in the Rescript seem to have been shared
by many members of the Ottoman political and religious elite, and
were the subject of much discussion before the drafting of the
Guilhane.
While modern historiography has put great emphasis on the role
played by Re?id personally, and by a few other young associates in
the drafting of the Guilhane Rescript and on its promulgation and
application,10 it has, at the same time, ignored many other important figures, perhaps equally motivated and without whose support
and backing nothing would have been achieved. First and foremost
among these was Sultan Abdiilmecid. The Sultan, portrayed as
"young and inexperienced",11 is regarded as a passive witness, as
are such old, experienced and powerful functionaries as the Grand
Vizier Hfisrev Papa, and the Sheikh ill-Islam Mustafa 'Asim Efendi.
They and many other statesmen and ulema are seen as no more than
onlookers, while Re?id upon his return from Europe, so it is
claimed, was immediately received by the Sultan and succeeded in
winning him over to his views.12
To my mind, the prevailing view of the origins and drafting of
the Giilhane Rescript does not stand up to closer scrutiny. While
the contribution of Mustafa Re?id and associates of his to the drafting of the Rescript and to other measures of reform cannot be
underestimated, the truth was much more complicated. The following is an attempt to have a fresh look at the origins and making
9 serif Mardin, The Genesis
of Young Ottoman Thought (Princeton, 1962), pp.
158f. On Pertev, see note no. 70 below.
10 Modern historiography is virtually united in its claim that Resid was the sole
drafter. See Kaynar, p. 154; 5eref, p. 48 and Bailey, pp. 185f. A slightly different
view is found in Shaw and Shaw, p. 60: "the text itself [was] prepared under
Mustafa Resid's guidance at the Porte by its Consultative Council ..." The
authors provide no evidence for their statement.
11 C. Baysun, "Mustafa Resid Papa," in Tanzimat, (Istanbul,
1940), p. 734.
12 Baysun, Ibid.; see also
5eref, pp. 61-2; Bailey, p. 180 and "Tanzimat" in
IA, XI, 719.

176
BUTRUS
ABU-MANNEH
of the Giilhane Rescript, to suggest new avenues for understanding

it, and to find out Sultan Abdiilmecid's motivations in promulgating it. Finally, we will try to briefly ascertain its immediate effects.
2. The Inner Conditionsof the OttomanLands in the 18th and early
19th Centuries
In the period of decline, especially in the 18th century, government in the Ottoman lands degenerated into injustice and tyranny.
The sharia and laws, were disregarded and corruption spread
through all governmental services and the judicial system.13 The
checks and balances of the earlier period which had helped to keep
the officials and governors of the provinces under control, became
largely ineffective.14 The central government, concerned primarily
in obtaining the annual tax, turned the governors of the provinces
practically into chief tax farmers.15 Because they had to cover the
expenses of their household and of the civil and military administration by themselves and had in addition to pay for various influential
people in Istanbul in order to secure their next appointment, they
were obliged to collect much more in taxes than they actually turned
over to the treasury. What is more, they did not collect these taxes
directly but divided them up and farmed them out to the highest bidder, which made matters worse since the main burden fell on the
peasantry. Many governors were not particularly concerned with
the welfare of the subjects. "The object of appointing a beylerbeyiand
a sancakbeyi... is not to have them descend upon a province to exact
illegal taxes and lay to ruins the country and the province" stated
a "rescript of justice" in 160916. About a century later Mehmed
13 See W.L.
Wright, OttomanStatecraft, The Book of Counselsfor Vezirs and Governors ... of Sarz Mehmed Pasha (Princeton, 1935), pp. 53 and 91.
14 This system was based primarily on the Kazi
(Qadi) whose functions in the
Ottoman system were much wider than dispensing justice and included many civil
duties. Cf. H.A.R. Gibb and H. Bowen, Islamic Societyand the West, I, 2 (London,
1957), pp. 125, 128. On the corruption of theJudicial System, see 132, and Wright,
p. 53.
15 Mustafa Nuri, Neta'ic ul-VukuCat,4 vols.
(Istanbul A.H. 1294-1327), see III,
99.
16
Quoted in H. Inalcik, "Centralization and Decentralization in Ottoman Administration" in Naff, Thomas and R. Owen (eds.) Studies in EighteenthCenturyIslamic History, (Southern Illinois Uni. Press, 1977) pp. 27-52, see especially p. 28.

THE ISLAMIC
ROOTS OF THE GULHANE
RESCRIPT
177
Sari remonstrated about the same abuse: "The giving of office

means the giving of permission to plunder the property of the subject
people".17 When the Gfilhane Rescript stated that "the harmful
practice of tax-farming amounts to handling over the financial and
political affairs of a country to the ... grasp of force and oppression", it was referring to exactly this situation.18
Since they were in constant need of money, the governors did not
hesitate to resort to tyrannical measures: "When governors and
mutesellims[a substitute of a governor] in towns and cities happened
to recognize a rich man, they, because of a minor offence, or merely
through unbased fabrication (iftira') would threaten him with severe
punishment, such as death or exile and exert a fine on him or confiscate his wealth and property".19
To maintain their rule, governors at this stage depended on
troops which they hired at their own expense. The power they thus
acquired, with no checks to stop them, they generally abused grossly
while on the whole behaving like tyrants. "The fate [of the subjects]
was on the lips of powerful men," relates the historian Abdulrahman 5eref. "One morning a vali put to death a most trusted person
of his men", and when the kazi inquired about the reason, the Papa
answered, "I had a dream last night in which he frightened me. I
don't trust him any longer . . . .20 This is one among several stories {eref recounts to show to what low level the security of the subjects had sunk.
By putting to death high functionaries without trial, and confiscating their wealth and property, it was in fact the sultans themselves
who set the example for such oppressive behaviour.21
In other words, in the period of decline, life, honour, and
property, which is the basic duty of a responsible government to
guarantee for its subjects, were in jeopardy and oppression and
17 As translated in Wright, p. 88.
18 See the translation of the "Giilhane Rescript" in
J.C. Hurewitz (ed.), The
Middle East and NorthAfrica in WorldPolitics (Columbia, 1975), pp. 269- 71. Inciden-
tally, this translation is not complete, see note 87 below.

19 Mustafa Nuri, IV, 102; Wright, p. 55, cf. also Ahmed CAta,Tarih, 5 vols.
(Istanbul, A.H. 1292-93), III, 203-4.
20
21
5eref, pp. 50ff.
On the practice of the Sultans, see Ahmet Mumcu, OsmanliDevletindeSiyaseten Katl (Ankara, 1963), pp. 147-62.

178
BUTRUS
ABU-MANNEH
tyranny prevailed throughout the land.22 This state of affairs encouraged the people to seek other means for protection and security,23 which in turn accelerated the decline of the central government and its agencies in the provinces.
Perhaps due to such conditions, or for other reasons, there
emerged in the 18th century in Anatolia local notables who were
called derebeys,"lords of the valleys," indigenous rulers who "were
inclined ... to consider the interest of the peasantry more sympathetically than the ... governors that represented the sultan".24
Not only did the derebeyssucceed in establishing ruling families and
achieve a great deal of self-rule, their rule was hereditary. They continued to acknowledge, however, the ultimate sovereignty of the sultan and paid him tribute. According to some, their dominions were
far better governed than those that were under direct government
control.25
About the same time in the towns and cities of the Balkans, there
emerged local notables (ayain) whose rise and origin perhaps differed
from that of the derebeys,but who came to occupy a very similar status. As the derebeysthey set out to protect the subjects, had their own
troops and enjoyed full control over their districts, while paying tribute to Istanbul.26
Thus, by the beginning of the 19th century, rule in the provinces
of the Ottoman Empire resembled to a large extent to a decentralized system of government.27 Aydan and derebeysand other local
chieftains were the virtual rulers of the land. Loyalty to the sultan
was observed, but his authority in most of the regions of the Empire
was ineffective.
22 Cf. Wright, pp. 54-5.

23 Inalcik, pp. 47-8.
24 Gibb and Bowen I, 1, p. 256. On the "Derebeys" see Lewis, p. 440 and El2,
III, 206-8 and Gibb and Bowen, I, 1, 256-7. See also Yuzo Nagata "The Role
of Ayans in Regional Development During the Pre-Tanzimat Period in Turkey:
A Case Study of the Kara-Osmanoglu Family" in Urbanismin Islam(Tokyo, 1989)
vol. 1 pp. 165ff.
25 A. Slade, Recordsof Travel,2 vols. (London, 1832); I, 216f. Inalcik, pp. 45ff.
26 On the acyansee Gibb and Bowen, I, pp. 198-9 and 256-7; Mustafa Nuri
IV, 98-9 and EI2 I, 778. See also Yuzo Nagata, Muhsin-Zade
MehmedPasaveAyanlk Muessesesi(Tokyo, 1976), pp. 27ff. and pp. 74ff.
27 Mustafa Nuri, IV, 46-58; Inalcik, pp. 51-3, and Lewis, pp. 378-9.

THE ISLAMIC
RESCRIPT
179
At this time, too, the authority of the sultans was challenged even
in Istanbul, the seat of government. As had happened in 1806 - 1807
to Sultan Selim III, Janissaries or rather Janissaries together with
a faction of high ulema contested his freedom of action. For the Sultanate of the House of Osman this meant that it had reached its
lowest ebb.
Sultan Mahmud II rose to the Sultanate after great disturbances
in Istanbul which had claimed the lives of his cousin Selim III and
of his elder brother Mustafa IV. He himself was elevated to the Sultanate by an acyan of Rus~uk (Russe) in Rumelia named Mustafa
Bairakdar, who had occupied Istanbul with his own troops and controlled it for several months, a course of action unheard of in the history of the Ottomans. It seemingly heralded the final move of the
acydnand derebeystowards taking control of the central government
and deciding the fate of the Empire.28
To attain the Sultanate in circumstances such as these was not a
particularly great honour for Mahmud, nor indeed for the Ottoman
dynasty, and he was determined to restore the power of the sultan
at whatever price and by whichever means necessary.29 First of all,
he set out to restore centralization to the system of government in
the provinces, which meant that he had to destroy the power of the
a'ydn and derebeysand substitute them by governors that he himself
had appointed and whose powers emanated from him. Many of the
aydan and derebeyswere moved to other, further away districts, and
many were declared rebellious, attacked and destroyed, while others
were done away with by other means.30
Even before the annihilation of the power of the acydnand derebeys
was complete, Mahmud moved against the Janissaries and in 1826
had them eliminated, followed by the suppression of their centuries28 See especially what Nuri (p. 58) and Inalcik (pp. 52-3) wrote about the
"Sened-iIttifak"which the a5yanand derebeys
signed in Istanbul in the Fall of 1808;
see Ahmed Cevdet, Tarih, 12 vols. 2nd ed. (Istanbul A.H. 1309); see IX, 278-82
(appendix 2) for the text of the "Sened".
29 There is no monograph on Sultan Mahmud II. Short assessments, however,
are found in Lutfi, Tarih,VI, pp. 32-7; Lewis, pp. 75ff; IA, VII, 165-70, and
El2, VI, 58-61 and bibliography.
30 Mustafa Nuri, IV, 98; Slade I, 218-20 and Ch. MacFarlane, Constantinople
in 1828, 2 vols. 2nd ed. (London, 1829), II, 11Off.

180
BUTRUS
ABU-MANNEH
long allies, the Bektashi order.31 The destruction of the Janissaries

had removed the last stumbling block in Sultan Mahmud's drive for
absolute power.32 Finally he could work unhindered to take full
control over the ulema and state functionaries and subdue the Sublime Porte to his absolute will.
To achieve his aim he did not hesitate, to exile or put to death
without trial many of the highest and most trusted functionaries, for
the slightest suspicion on his part, confiscating their wealth and
property33. In short, during his reign, a great many atrocities were
committed and much blood was spilled. At no other time indeed,
both in Istanbul and in the provinces, were life honour and possessions of the empire's subjects, as insecure as during the reign of Sultan Mahmud.34
In one of the provinces, however, he was not successfulMuhammad Ali Pasha, wali of Egypt since 1805, and himself of
a'yan origin, had firmly established himself and had become too
powerful for Sultan Mahmud to remove him. In the end, Muhammad Ali moved against Mahmud, and only the intervention first
of Russia and then the other European powers (except France),
appears to have saved Sultan Mahmud.35
The reign of Sultan Mahmud was a hated one throughout the
provinces.36 In Anatolia, for instance, "the aydan and conservative
masses" were hostile to "Mahmud's reform" and when the army
of Muhammad Ali entered Anatolia, "they were sympathetic to
him".37 We are told, moreover, that "several deputations arrived
31 On the destruction of the
Janissaries, see Mehmed Es'ad, Uss-i Zafer,2nd
imp. (Istanbul, 1292), Cevdet, Tarih,XII, 177ff.; Lufti, I, 136ff; Mustafa Nuri,
IV, 76ff, and IA, XIII, 394f.
32 On the growth of Mahmud's despotic rule, see Slade I, 267-8 and 276,
Lewis, 75, and Ahmed Rasim, Istibdattan Hakimiyet-i Milliyeye, 2 vols. (Istanbul
1342/1923-24), I, 172ff.
33 Such as Halet Efendi in 1822 or Pertev Pasha in 1837 and

many others sent
into exile who never put a foot again in Istanbul.
34 Ahmed Rasim, I, 141ff; and ;. Mardin, The Genesisof
YoungOttoman Thought
(Princeton, 1962), pp. 158f, and n. 88, and Slade, I, 209f.
35 See my forthcoming article "Muhammad Ali Pasha and Sultan Mahmud II,
the Genesis of a Conflict."
36 D.S. Frank (ed.), Islamin theModernWorld(Washington,1951), p. 42 (the article of Birge); see also I.H. Danismend,
Izahli Osmanli Tarihi Kronolojisi 4 vols.
(Istanbul, 1947-61), IV, 122-3.

37 Inalcik, p. 54; Mustafa Nuri, IV, 95.

181
in Egypt from Asia Minor and other provinces to testify to him the
good will of the people there . .. ".138
In the light of the policies of Sultan Mahmud and the attitudes
they provoked, there seems to have been an attempt in the late 1830s
to convince him to proclaim a decree along the lines we later will find
in the Guilhane Rescript.39 This is reported by Abdulrahman ~eref,
the last official Ottoman historian (VakCaNuves). While he does not
say when and by whom the Sultan was approached on the matter,
he adds that Akif Papa, the minister of the interior, convinced him
against such an act.
Sultan Mahmud did, however, at this stage decide upon a number of measures of reform. In March 1838 he established the High
Council of Judicial Ordinances and put at its head the veteran
officer and statesman, M. Hfisrev Papa, who in January 1837 had
been dismissed from the office of Serasker.40 Moreover, the Sultan
cancelled the arbitrary practice of miusdere, the confiscation of the
property of a deceased high functionary.41
That Mahmud would not be persuaded to promulgate an edict as
the later Guilhane Rescript, was possibly because he was still hoping
for a military victory over Muhammad Ali. Such a victory, he
deemed, would vindicate his acts and policies and silence his opponents. Whatever reform measures he introduced, Mahmud's motives were far from being inspired by the ideals later to underpin the
Guilhane Rescript. For him absolute sultanic power was and should
remain supreme throughout the land.
38
[Anonymous], Three Letters on the Policy of England towards the Porte and MohammedAli London, 1840), p. 18; see also [Anonymous] The Sultan Mahmud and
Mehmet Ali Pasha 2nd ed. (London, 1835), p. 24. See also Y. Hofman, "The Administration of Syria and Palestine under Egyptian Rule (1831 - 1840) in M. Ma'oz
(ed.), Studies on Palestine During the OttomanPeriod (Jerusalem, 1975), pp. 311 -33,
see p. 312-3 and n. 12.
39 Abdulrahman 5eref, Tarih-i Devlet-i Aliyye, 2 vols.
(Istanbul, A.H. 1315) II,
317 and idem, Tarih Musahabeleri, p. 48; and M. Nuri, IV, 94; Danismend, IV,
123.
40 On Mehmet Hiisrev, see Ahmed CAta, Tarih, II, 118- 27. 5eref, TarihMusa-
habeleri,pp. 10-5. Inalcik, in IA, V, 609-16.

41 On the abolishing of the "Miisadere," see Cavid Baysun in IA, VIII, 673.
EmMumcu, pp. 16If; see also Carter V. Findley, Bureaucratic
Reformin theOttoman
pire, The SublimePorte, 1789-1922 (Princeton, 1980), pp. 145f. Findley states,
however, that according to the Penal Code of 1838 of Mahmud only what is termed
"undeserved expropriation" was actually abolished.

182
BUTRUS
ABU-MANNEH
3. The Palace, the Porte and Sunni-OrthodoxIslam

From his rise to the Sultanate at the beginning of July 1839, Sultan Abdiilmecid, however, seems to have charted a course whose
ideals differed vastly from those of his father. His priorities, too,
were different. Whereas Mahmud II dedicated his efforts to restore
sultanic power, Abdfilmecid put his emphasis upon being regarded
as a virtuous ruler42 and worked to rectify malpractices and to uproot the oppression and abuses of power briefly discussed in the
previous section. How he thought to achieve this will be discussed
in the following section. We shall try to find out what determined
the convictions and the socio-political outlook of the new sultan and
of those who were close enough to him to be able to affect his decisions and course of action. Similarly, we shall ask whether there
were certain ideals common to the Palace and the Porte at this stage
because it is assumed that the Guilhane Rescript would not have
been possible without complete understanding between the sultan
and the leading bureaucrats.
It is known that three high standing ulema of Istanbul had been
the private tutors of Shah-zade Abdfilmecid. The first of these was
Mehmed Emin ?ehri Hafiz Efendi,43 the second Mehmed Zeyn-uil
Abidin Efendi, the first imam of Sultan Mahmud in his later
years,44 and the third Ak?ehirli Omer Efendi.45 We do not know
whether Abduilmecid was subjected to a systematic course of study.
42 In an article by H. Inalcik, entitled "Sened-i Ittifak ve GuilhaneHatt-i Humayun" and published in BelletenXXVIII (1964), a summary is given of a proclamation issued by Sultan Abdiilmecid at his rise. The Sultan proclaimed that God
"has appointed me Emir-illMiimininand a Caliph" and he exhorted the Muslims
to performthe five daily prayersand called upon state officialsthat "if they see men
in the streets who did not go to the mosque they should ask them about the reason
. . ." p. 618. Moreover, at his rise Abdiilmecid ordered that many hundreds of
wine bottles from the cellar of his father, the late Mahmud II, to be poured into
the Bosphoros. See Ch. White, ThreeYearsin Constantinople,
3 vols. (London, 1846),
III, 100-101.
43 On 5ehri Hafiz M. Emin, see Ahmed cAta, Tarih, III, 119 (he calls him
Kankarilizade el-Seyyid el-Haj Hafiz Mehmed Emin); M.Z. al-Kawthari, Irghdm
al-Murid(Istanbul, 1328), pp. 91-2; Sicill-i Osmani(hereafter SO), I, 433 and IV,
718. See also I.H. Uzuncarilih, Osmanli Devletinin Ilmiye Teskilatz. (Ankara, 1965)
p. 146, n. 2
44 Ahmed Lutfi, Tarih,V, 39 and SO, II, 435, and IV, 720.
45 On Ak?ehirli Omer, SO, III, 600-1.

THE ISLAMIC
RESCRIPT
183
Nothing could be found of the material of his studies, neither subjects nor books, except for the fact that at the age of ten he completed
the reading of the QurPn (hatm-i Fur.kan).46We may assume,
however, that he was introduced to such subjectsof Islamic learning
that a future Muslim ruler should acquire. This makes the role his
tutors played in his education exceptionally important.
Little is known about Zeyn-fil Abidin Efendi and Omer Efendi,
but about ?ehri Hafiz we know a good deal more. When on a visit
to Makka, he was initiated and trained in the Naqshbandi-Khalidi
suborderby Sheikh Abdullah al-Makki, a khalifa(deputy) of Skeikh
Khalid,47and thus became a follower of the Khalidi suborder. This
is important for our discussions, because to become a follower of this
order required certain convictions and a way of life turned towards
Allah. The Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi order, of which the Khalidi
suborder is a branch, is distinguished by its strict adherence to
Sunni-Orthodox Islam, and by enjoining its followers to abide by
shariFaprecepts.48Moreover, it enjoins them to seek influence with
rulers and their men in order to insure the supremacy of the sharFia
in the state and thus to bring justice and righteousness into their
acts.49One may assume that, as a Naqshbandi-Khalidi, 5ehri Hafiz tried to influence his young student in that direction. When Abduilmecidbecame Sultan he gave due respect to his former tutor and
had him appointed as the muftiof the Imperial Guard (Hassa Ordu
Humayunu).This means that 5ehri Hafiz continued his connections
with the Palace. He remained in this capacity until 1263 (1847).50
46
47
Lutfi, IV, 102.

He was a follower of Sheikh Abdullah al-Makki; see Kawthari, and M. Fev-
zi, Hediyyet-iilHilidin (Istanbul, A.H. 1313), p. 24 and Irfan Giindiiz, Giimiushanevi

Ahmed Ziyaiiddin (KS) (Istanbul, 1984), pp. 22-4.
48 On Sheikh Kh.lid and the Khalidi suborder, see A.H. Hourani, "Sufism
and Modern Islam: Mawlana Khalid and the Naqshbandi order" in idem, The
Emergenceof theModernMiddle East (London, 1981), pp. 75-89.
See also Hamid Al-
gar "A Brief History of the Naqshbandi Order" in Marc Gaborieau et al. (eds.)
Naqshbandis(Istanbul, 1990), pp. 28ff. and my article "The NaqshbandiyyaMujaddidiyya in the Ottoman Lands in the early 19th Century," Die WeltdesIslams, XXII (1982-84), pp. 1-36 and n. 1 and n. 4.
49 Ibid., p. 14 and H. Algar, "Political Aspects of Naqshbandi History" in
Marc Gaborieau et al. (eds.), op. cit. p. 126 and p. 139ff.
50 On this army corps, see M.Z. Pakalin, Osmanli Tarih-i Deyimleri ve Terimleri,
3 vols. (Istanbul, 1946-56), I, 763.

184
BUTRUS ABU-MANNEH
At the time, the Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya had a long tradition of more than one hundred and fifty years behind it in Istanbul.
It was first introduced into the Ottoman capital by Murad alBukharl, towards the end of the 17th century.51 During the 18th,
more "missionaries" of the order arrived in Istanbul, and interest
in its teachings grew. Not only did ulema or higher state functionaries join the order, it also found many followers among the litterateurs. Towards the end of the 18th century, Sheikh Muhammad
Emin, one of the order's khalifas, exerted a growing influence among
those state functionaries who stood behind the military reforms undertaken by Sultan Selim III.52
When khalifas of Sheikh Khalid began preaching in Istanbul a little before 1820, "many people of high rank and of good fortune
among
the dignitaries
(rijdl) and ulema
. .. ".53 joined
them. And
when towards the end of the 1820s Sultan Mahmud tried to remove
the Khalidi sheikhs from Intanbul (which turned out to be a temporary measure), it did not halt the expansion of the NaqshbandiMujaddidi order in the city. In the later 1820s a sheikh of Indian origin, Muhammad Jan (al-Bajuri), settled in Makka. He was a khalifa
of the famous Sheikh of Delhi, Shah Ghulam Ali, who was also the
preceptor of Sheikh Khalid. Muhammad Jan was active as of the
1830s and succeeded in gaining many followers in Istanbul.54
One of the believers and followers of Muhammad Jan in Istanbul,
was Abdiilmecid's mother Bezmi-Alem. Originally a Georgian
slave, she had been purchased and brought up by Esma Sultan, a
sister of Mahmud II.55 Esma Sultan was the widow of Kuiuik
Hiiseyin Papa (d. Dec. 1803), the celebrated kapudan (admiral) of
51 On Murad al-Bukhari see Khalil al-Muradi, Silk al-Durar,4 vols.
(Cairo
A.H. 1291-1301), IV, 129-30.
52 See my article, n. 48, above, pp. 17-21.
53 Suleiman Faik Mecmulasi, Istanbul Universitesi
Kuitiiphanesi TY 9577 fols.
4a-b; Lutfi, Tarih I, 286; and my article in n. 47, p. 24.
54 On sheikh Muhammad
Jan, see H. Vassaf, sefinet-ul Evliya Suleymaniye
Kiitiiphanesi Yazma Ba'gllar 2306, fol. 161, Abdulmajid al-Khani al-Hada'iq alWardiyya
(Cairo, A.H. 1308), pp. 221- 2 and M. Murad al-Qazani al-Manzilawi,
Dhayl al-Rashahat (on the margin
of Rashahat 'Ain al-.Haytah (Makka,
A.H.
1307/[1889-90], pp. 81ff.

55 Charles White, III, 2; on Esma Sultan see M. Qagatay
Uluqay Padisahlarnn
Kadinlarz ve Kzzlarz (Ankara, 1980), pp. 111 - 2.

THE ISLAMIC
RESCRIPT
185
Selim III's times who himself originally had been a Circassian or a

Georgian slave.56 Hfiseyin Pa?a was remembered for his "firm belief and observation of his religious duties" ,57 which may have left
their mark on his household after him.
Esma Sultan presented Bezmi-Alem to her brother to become his
second wife and the mother of his son, Abdiilmecid.58 According to
all surviving evidence, Bezmi-Alem was a remarkable woman. Abduilmecid was her only son, and she adored him. Throughout her life
(she died in 1853 after an illness), she was very close to him, and
seems to have exerted a powerful influence on him, both before and
after his rise to the Sultanate.59
Bezmi-Alem stood out for her generosity and her piety. Till today, she is remembered, especially in Istanbul, for her many
benevolent acts.60 Her piety and firm religious belief may have
originated in the household of Kfiufik Hiiseyin, but as mentioned
she was also a "believer" in Sheikh Muhammad Jan.61 It is not exactly known how she learned of him, but her kethuda (affairs
manager), Hasan Tahsin Bey who had won her favour,62 was a
khalifa of Sheikh Jan.63 A sign of her veneration of the sheikh and
her favourable attitude towards the Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi order
was the building of a zawiya in Makka for Sheikh Jan "at her order". She did so, in fact, through the services of Sheikh Shumnulu
'Ali Efendi, another deputy of SheikhJan and head of the Bala dergahi in Istanbul.64
In other words, through his tutor on the one hand and his mother
on the other, it is believed that Sultan Abdfilmecid at a young age
56 On Kuiiuk Hiiseyin see Cevdet, Tarih,2nd ed.
(Istanbul, A.H. 1309), VII,
and El2, III, 627-8.
369; and CAta, Tarih II, 193-8,

57
cAta, II, 197.
58
On Bezmi-Alem, see Uluqay, pp. 120- 1; see also IA, XIII, 185 "Valide Sul-
tan"; TiirkAnsiklopedisi, VI, 306-7.
59 Ch. MacFarlane,
Turkeyandits Destiny,2 vols. (London, 1850), see II, 244f;
Lewis, p. 104.
60 On the benevolent acts of Bezmi-Alem, see reference in n. 57 and 5emseddin
Sami, Kamus-ul Aclam, II, 1307.

61
62
63
On Bezmi-Alem being a "believer" in M. Jan, see al-Khani, p. 222.

Ahmed Cevdet, Tezakir,II, 157, "nezdinde hayli mukbil olup".
On Hasan Tahsin Bey, see M.K. Inal, SonAsir Turk 'airleri,III, 1866ff; Lutfi, TarihX, 64 and SO, II, 49.
64 Vassaf, II, fol. 161; al-Khani, 222.

186
BUTRUS
ABU-MANNEH
was exposed to Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi belief and that orthodox Islamic ideals formed the foundation of his convictions and sociopolitical outlook, which naturally after his rise and for some years
to come, continued to reflect itself in his actions.
Moreover, there were other people related to the Palace who at
this stage were followers of the Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi order. First
of all the Sultan's sister, CAdile Sultan, who in about 1845 became
a follower of Sheikh Shumnulu CAli.65Two other ulema employed
at the Palace during the later days of Sultan Mahmud were Naqshbandis. The first was Eyyubi Abdullah Efendi (d. 1252/1836) who
was the head reciter of the Qur'dn(re'is-il kurra').66 The second was
the calligrapher Mustafa Izzet. He had become a khalifa of Sheikh
Muhammad Jan when on a visit to Makka in 1830. After returning
to Istanbul and because of his beautiful voice he was taken to the
Palace as muiezzin.Prior to the death of Mahmud, however, he became the khattbat the Eyyup mosque. One Friday in 1845, Sultan
Abdfilmecid performed his prayers at his mosque and heard his sermon. Much impressed by it, he took him back into the Palace service
as his second and soon thereafter his first imam. In 1852, however,
Izzet left this position to join the legal service.67
Indeed, it would appear that not only the Sultan, the Valide
Sultan, and a number of Palace functionaries were influenced by
Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi teachings but that many members of the
upper echelons of the state were affected by them to one degree or
other.
Among the Khalidi followers in 1839, we find the incumbent
Sheikh il-Islam Mustafa CAsim Efendi who had occupied this office
65 CAdile Sultan was the wife of Damad Mehmed CAli. She contributed a
"chandelier" for the zawiya of Sheikh M. Jan in Makka. She is also remembered
in Istanbul for her many benevolent acts. Cf. Vassaf II, fol. 161, Inal, I, 32 -3, SO,
III, 501 and IA, IV, 710-1.

66 Cf. M.T. Brussali, Osmanli Miiellifleri, 3 vols. (Istanbul, A.H. 1333), I,
379-80 and Lutfi, V, 72-3 and SO, III, 396. His son Mehmed Emin wrote a
biography of him, Gelsen Mesayihi Selatin (in ms.) but it could not be located. According to Brussali, Abdullah Efendi was the author of a number of books one of
which was a translationof Naqshbandi treatises, anotherNasihatal-Muluk (Counsel
for Princes).
67 On Mustafa Izzet, see M.K. Inal, Son Hattatlar, pp. 154ff, and Tarih Musahabeleri, pp. 316-8.

187
twice before, but now was to serve in this capacity for about 14 years
successively (1833 -1846) and there are many signs that he enjoyed
a growing influence in the councils of the state, especially after the
death of Sultan Mahmud.68
At the rise of Sultan Abdfilmecid, the aged statesman Hfisrev
Papa occupied the post of Grand Vizier. An Abaza by origin who
had been brought to Istanbul as slave, Hfisrev started his career in
the Palace, then became a secretary and afterwards a kethudato Kui?uk Hiiseyin Papa. After his mentor had died, he maintained his
connections with the Palace and served Sultan Mahmud II faithfully
in various military capacities. We do not know of any sufi affiliations
he may have had, but his closeness to Kiiufik Hiiseyin in his early
life might have affected his views. In old age we find him establishing a Naqshbandi tekkein Emirgan, a township on the Bosphoros,
beside his mansion, and renovating the mosque of the place and establishing a library there.69 Moreover, in his vakfiye,he assigned an
adequate amount for the upkeep of the dervishes of the Naqshbandi
tekkeof Koca Mustafa Pa?a outside the Edirne gate in old Istanbul.70 Both acts suggest a favourable attitude towards the Naqshbandi order.
Not only the sheikh ill-Islam or, to some degree, the Grand Vizier
but also Mustafa Re?id, foreign minister in 1839, had been exposed
to similar influences. His mentor at the Porte, Pertev Pa?a-whom
Sultan Mahmud had put to death in September 1837-had been a
Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi adept and a follower of Sheikh 'Ali Bahcet,
the head of the Selimiyye tekkein Uskiidar.71 Mustafa Re?id owed
much to Pertev and held his memory in great respect.72
In summary, when Sultan Abdfilmecid rose to the Sultanate, both
68 On Mustafa CAsim,see IlmiyyeSalnamesi,p. 580; A. Rifcat, Devhat-iilMeidyih
(Istanbul, n.d.), pp. 124f. On his being a Khalidi see Ascad Sahib (ed.), Bughyat
al-Wajidfi MaktubatMawlanaKhalid(Damascus, 1915), p. 105f., p. 252f.; Algar,
"Political Aspects . . .", p. 140.
69 CAta, Tarih, II, 120.?
70 On Hiisrev, see above n. 39.
71 On Pertev Pasa, see M.K. Inal, SonAsir Turk5airleri,pp. 1301-9; TurkAnsiklopedisi,XXVI, 477-78, and my article cited above, n. 47, p. 21; and El2, III,
1066.
72 On Resid's debt to Pertev, see Baysun, p. 725 and n. 3, 4, 5 and Mardin,
p. 161.

188
BUTRUS ABU-MANNEH
the Palace and the Porte appear to have been motivated by the ideals
of Orthodox Islam, perhaps more than at any time before. This
might have helped to determine their view as to the measures needed
to put an end to the prevailing malpractices and abuses of power,
and to restore security and justice into the acts of the government
and throughout the Ottoman lands.
There is no doubt that it was this united resolve which made the
promulgation of the Guilhane Rescript possible. In this sense Muhammad Ali was right when he wrote to his son Ibrahim in Syria to
keep on his guard because after the death of Sultan Mahmud
"Istanbul started ... to close its ranks".73
As a final remark, it is perhaps appropriate to add that this rise
of the impact of Sunni-Orthodox Islam in Istanbul and in many
other urban areas of the Empire was clearly manifest in the cultural
field in the first half or so of the 19th century. According to one
authority: "In the field of literature and philosophy the Tanzimat,
as a whole, was an era during which translations into [Ottoman]
Turkish of Islamic literature reached unprecedented proportions
...
no translations from European thinkers,
Conversely,
philosophers, or litterateurs were undertaken in Turkey [sic] in the
first half of the nineteenth century".74 Furthermore, with the advent of printing both in Cairo (the Bulaq printing press) and in
Istanbul many of these translations found a relatively wide circulation. 75
4. The making of the GulhaneRescript
As we saw above, prior to his rise Sultan Abduilmecid had been
exposed to Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi beliefs through his tutors, espe-
73 A. Rustum
(ed.), al-Mahfu.zatal-Malakiyyaal-Misriyya, 4 vols. (Beirut,
1940-43), IV, 155, Doc. 5918.
74 Mardin, p. 203; see also Tanzimat (Ankara, 1940),
p. 445.
75 Translations from European languages took place in the fields of
engineering, medical and military sciences for specific purposes only. See Ekmel Eddin
Ihsan-Oglu, "Some critical notes on the introduction of modern sciences to the Ottoman state ..." in Jean-Louis Bacque-Grammont and Emeri van Donzel (eds.),
Comiti International D'Etudes . .. Ottoman, [the proceedings of the] VI Symposium
(Istanbul-Paris-Leiden, 1987), pp. 235-52.

189
cially ~ehri Hafiz and, through his mother Bezmi-Alem.76 How far
this influence went and what impact it left on him could only be
ascertained after a study of the life at the Palace during this period
and in particular of the life and customs of the Sultan himself. But
the fact that he gave his approval of and funded the building of a
mausoleum and a large zawiya over the tomb of Sheikh Khalid in
Damascus (between 1842- 1846) and designated evkaf for their upkeep,77 was undoubtedly a sure sign of the respect in which the Sultan held the memory of the founder of this Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi
suborder.
One other spectacular act of religiosity of the Sultan was the
building anew of the mosque of the Prophet in Madina (1270/
after he had the old building, dating from the
1854-1274/1858),
late 15th century, demolished.78
The benevolence the Sultan had shown towards the followers of
the Khalidi suborder by erecting the mausoleum over the tomb of
the founder must have endeared him to them. Abdulmajid alKhani, the author of a history of the Naqshbandi order in Arabic,
eulogized the Sultan as "ahlam muluk bani Cuthman"(the most clement of the Ottoman Sultans)79-an epithet of high praise, especially in a ruler. On his part, Abdiilmecid seems to have been eager
to live up to such a reputation. Thus, in an Imperial edict (Hatt-i Humayun) addressed to the Grand Vizier80 three days after his rise to
the Sultanate, Abdiilmecid wrote the following: "The Caliphate has
passed on to us by inheritance and by right." Because of that and
because God had entrusted to our care the lands and the people
(memalikve Cibdd),we have to depend upon divine support and upon
the spiritual aid of the Prophet. Consequently it is our wish to see
that the exalted fericatis applied in all matters and that "all the inhabitants" (kaffeyi ehali ... ve beraya)should enjoy tranquility and
peace.
76 See above, pp. 183-186.
77 CAbd al-Razzaq al-Bitar,
.Hilyat al-Basharfi Tarikh al-Qarn al-Thalith CAshar,3
vols. (Damascus, 1961-63), I, 586.

78 Ibid., II, 1036.
79
al-Hada'iq al-Wardiyya, p. 268.
80 Ahmed Lutfi, Tarih, VI, 39-40
zimat, 2 vols. (Paris, 1882), I, 35.
cf. also Ed. Engelhardt, La Turquieet Le Tan-

190
BUTRUS ABU-MANNEH
Two weeks later, on 17 July 1839, Sultan Abdfilmecid issued an

irade to be read "to the ministers" who, it seems, were meeting at
the office of Sheikh ill-Islam, in which he exhorted them "to follow
the law of justice and equity in all matters" and to observe constantly "the application of the honoured erPiatin all the affairs of the exalted sultanate ..." Moreover he called upon all officials "not to
deviate from the ways of uprightness and honesty" and to avoid
"bribery . .. and repugnant and oppressive acts . .. [and] to be extremely careful not to give room to the rise ... of unacceptable
methods." "All the inhabitants" of our protected lands, rich and
poor, he emphasized, should enjoy "tranquility and repose." "It is
our most special imperial desire that in my exalted sultanate,
property, soul, dwelling, and place should be secure and safe from
... offence and aggression ..." (mal ve can ve mahall ve makdnindan
miisterihve emin ve adsri rencis ve taddidenmasuinve mutma'in olmalarn
ahass-i matlabi iihdne).81
It was not unusual for a new sultan, at his ascent, to address state
functionaries and enjoin them to act justly, to avoid corrupt methods
and to care for his subjects, which all fell within the duties of a Muslim ruler towards his subjects. Many such exhortations survive of
former sultans and are known as "justice decrees" (adaletnames).82
But these decrees differ from Abdiilmecid's irade in that they were
normally addressed to governors, judges, or military commanders
in the provinces and concerned with abuses of authority committed
by them or by their subordinates there. This iradeof Sultan Abdiilmecid was issued to his own ministers meeting in council and was
concerned not with specific abuses but with general principles. This
is what makes it of special interest to us here because it contains basic
principles that were to appear afterwards in the Giilhane, for example, that the sharPiashould be applied, that justice and righteousness
should prevail, and that care should be given to "all" the subjects
of His Majesty, as well as the required guarantees for their well81 Published in Takvim-i-Vakayi, no. 182, on the 16th CA
(Cemaziyelevvel)
1255, but it was read to the ministers on the 5th of CA (17 July 1839).
82 Halil Inalcik, "The Ottoman Decline and its effects upon the Reaya," pp.
342-6, (Article no. 13 in the author's collected studies: The OttomanEmpire: Conquest, Organization and Economy, Variorum Rep., London, 1978); see also idem,
"Adaletnameler" in Belgeler, Turk Tarih BelgeleriDergisi, II (1955), pp. 49-145.

191
being. Furthermore, this iradewas drafted at the Palace while Re?id

was still in London and about two months before his return,83
which means that such ideas were not exclusively Re?id's and his
young associates but shared by others. As we shall see, it was the
death of Sultan Mahmud and the rise of a new sultan of a different
mind which created the opportunity to voice such ideas.84
In other words, we wish to suggest here to regard this iradeof Abdfilmecid as a prelude to the Giilhane Rescript. Since, however, the
Rescript carries more than is contained in the irade, our next question is: what was the source of the other ideas of the Gulhane?
Late in summer 1839, according to directives of His Majesty, a
meeting of the Meclis-i ?ura was held at the Sublime Porte in order
to discuss foundations upon which the "gerCilaws" should be enacted in the spirit of the above-mentioned irade of the sultan. A
memorandum was read-though it is not stated by whom it was prepared or read-and at the end of the meeting a petition was drawn
up and submitted to the Sultan which carried the seals of 38 dignitaries who apparently attended the meeting. The list was headed by
Husrev Pa?a, the Grand Vizier to be followed by the Sheikh uilIslam Mustafa cAsim Efendi. Halil Rifcat, the Seraskerand Ra'uf
Pa?a, the Chairman of the Council of Judicial Ordinances, came
third and fourth. Mustafa Re?id's seal is number seven. It would appear that half of the signatories were ulema and the others high state
officials.85
The petition opens with the statement that there should be "full
guarantees for soul and property and for the preservation of honour
and dignity according to the requirements of the erFiat".This basic
right was to extend to all His Majesty's subjects, "the Muslims and
83
Re?id arrived in Istanbul on 4 September 1839; see Bailey, p. 184, n. 21.
84 See,
e.g. on Ibrahim Sadib Efendi in Ba~bakanhlkArpivi (hereafter BBA), Da-
hiliye Iradeleri no. 197, dated 18 Ramazan, 1255.

85 This document is found in Topkapi Saray
Arpivi, no. 3084/2. My thanks are
due to Ms. Ulkii Altindag, the director of the Archives, for providing me with a
clear photocopy. A photocopy is found in Tanzimat (Ankara, 1940), opposite p. 708,
and a transliteration into modern Turkish in R. Kaynar, Mustafa Re;id Papa ve Tanzimat (Ankara, 1954), pp. 172- 73. A photocopy was also published in an article
about the archives by U, Altindag in Sanat, no. 7 (Istanbul, 1982), p. 81. None of
these writers commented on the document. Berkes in his book (n. 6) referred to it
as "A protocol prepared by a Consultative Council" without further additions, see
p. 145.

192
BUTRUS
ABU-MANNEH
the various other communities" (ehli Islam ve mileli sa'ire). Consequently, the petition demanded public trials for criminals, and that
no one should be put to death "openly or secretely, by execution or
and the law of
by poison" without a verdict according to the erMiat
the state. Another important point concerned the taxes. These
should be levied "according to the means and property" of the subjects. Conscription, moreover, should be "in proportion to the size
of the population of each province ... and the period of military
service should be defined."
For a long time, the petitioners added, "neither the illustrious
Qur'anic ordinances nor the exalted laws have been observed".
This and a variety of oppressive acts and severe measure caused the
decline of the Ottoman lands. In other words, the petition continued, as long as the current corrupted ways were not wholly and
totally eliminated and as long as a renewed form of administration
was not applied, and each person had not attained perfect security
of life, possessions, honour and dignity, it would be impossible for
the exalted state to achieve strength and power. Thus, principles
should be laid down according to which the necessary ierci laws
would be established.
(kavanin-i gerCiyye)
Once these foundations were laid, "the supreme interests of the
exalted Sultanate will progress day after day" and "the protected
lands will gradually gain in prosperity." Indeed there is no greater
service for the honoured gercithan this and no greater benevolence
and compassion for land and community. They suggested that the
Sultan issue an irade to this effect. The overriding objective, they
concluded, was "the revival and regeneration of religion and state,
land and community (millet)." They were of the belief moreover,
that "the news of this beneficial iradewill produce effects both internally and externally and will make easier [the solution] of several
difficult questions. " To reject these beneficial foundations "is tantamount to, God forbid, infidelity" (kufr menzilesinde).86They concluded by stating that they have agreed unanimously on these
matters.
86 This dictum is rooted in the classical Islamic concept that "by nature Muslims are predisposed to justice and infidels to injustice," see p. 93 in A.K.S. Lambton "Justice in the Medieval Persian Theory of Kingship," Studia Islamica XVII
(1962).

193
In the iradewritten at the top of the sheet of the petition, the Sultan
expressed his satisfaction with the petition and ordered to have it
proclaimed publicly as a hatt-i gerif. Though the petition is undated,
it is clear that it preceded the hatt-i ierif of Gfilhane, and formed in
fact its immediate antecedent. When we compare the two documents we find that most of the arguments run parallel. They follow
here, in a slightly changed order.
- The decline of the Ottoman lands was due to arbitrary and
despotic government.
- It is a duty to restore the supremacy of ierMCat
and law in the state.
- It is a duty to provide security for life, honour and property.
- No punishment without public trial and a verdict.
- Taxes are to be fixed according to the wealth and means of each
subject.
- Even distribution of the burden of military service according to
the size of the population in each province.
- The enacting (vazCi)of gerCilaws [sic] to guarantee the execution
of these fundamentals.
- Finally, these rights should be extend to all subjects, Muslims as
well as non-Muslims.
However, in one major aspect the Gfilhane Rescript went further
than the demands of the petition and that is that in it the sultan
pledged to take an oath in the hall of the sacred relics, not to act contrary to its stipulations, and that the senior ulema and state functionaries take a similar oath, an action no Ottoman sultan before Abdiilmecid had ever undertaken.87
While Mustafa Re?id Pa?a may have played a leading role in
drafting this petition as well as the Guilhane Rescript, they cannot
be attributed exclusively to him or to his initiative, as modern
historiography claims. Indeed, after the death of Sultan Mahmud all
political forces in Istanbul-the Palace, the old and young bureaucrats at the Sublime Porte and the senior ulema-were united in
their resolve to end the rule of arbitrary and despotic government
87 I haveusedthe GuilhaneRescriptwhichappearedin Lutfi, Tarih,VI, 61-4.
The translationwhichis foundin J.C. Hurewitz,TheMiddleEastandNorthAfrica
in World
Politics(Columbia,1975),pp. 269-71, is not complete.A long important
paragraphat the end of whichthe sultan'spledgeis found, is missingfromthis
translation;cf. fromthe bottomof p. 63 till end of the Rescript,p. 64 of Lutfi,VI.

194
BUTRUS
ABU-MANNEH
and to restore the supremacy of geriCatand law as the best guarantee

for a just and virtuous government according to the ideals of orthodox Islam.
That the higher ulema, led by Sheik iul-Islam Mustafa CAsim
Efendi were visibly active in the affairs of the state during this period
is a fact that should be emphasized. Of the 38 signatores who affixed
their seals to the petition, it has been possible to recognize 34 names.
Out of these, 19 were ulema most of whom were occupying active
posts in the Ilmiyye. Moreover, early in September, 1840, following
the conclusion on 15 July of the Protocolof Londonconcerning the solution of the conflict between the Sultan and Muhammad Ali, an ad
hoc meeting was convened at the office of the Sheikh iul-Islam (bab-i
fetvabinahi) to discuss the matter. Out of 70 participants 33 were
ulema.88 Again, we find four ulema out of the ten members of the
enlarged Council of Judicial Ordinances.89 And when it was decided to send inspectors to Rumelia and Anatolia to examine the implementation of the Tanzimat measures, two high ulema were
despatched, Arif Hikmet Bey for Rumelia and Mehmed Rafic for
Anatolia.90 Indeed, the sheikh iul-Islam and the ulema were involved in the process which led to the promulgation of the Gillhane Rescript to such an extent that, as far as it is known to us, a
fetva of the sheikh ill-Islam for its proclamation was as it seems not
even issued.
5. The Islamic Roots of the GiilhaneRescript
As we saw above, the Sultan required that his Grand Vizier and
ministers abide by shariFarules and follow the laws of justice and
equity, the foundations the petitioners regarded as the necessary
guarantees for security and prosperity of land and people.
It would appear that both the sultan and the petitioners were well
aware of the writings of the Ottoman memorialists and perhaps also
of some Muslim literature of the type of the Mirrors for Princes.
88
Takvim-iVakayi,no. 206, dated 125 Receb, 1256 (12 September 1840).
89 BBA, Dahiliyye Iradeleri no. 1907, dated 18 Ramazan, 1255; and Takvim-i-
Vakayi,no. 188, $evval, 1255, p. 1.

90 Takvim-iVakayi,no. 198, beginning of Rebic I, 1256 (May 1840), p. 2.

195
Already about the beginning of the 17th century, a poet by the

name of Veysi who served as Kazi complained of the disregard for
the sharifa and of the spread of corruption and injustice.91 The application of the sharFa, wrote Ko?u Bey a little later in 1630, is the
necessary condition for the good order of both state and religion,92
and he advised the sultan to hold fast to it as well as to take the laws
laid down by former sultans in all matters as the guiding principle
(distur-ul-'amel).93 A generation later, Hiiseyin Hizarfen expressed
a similar view: "The sultans must submit to the noble gerFat,
and ... must not kill anyone except by judgement according to the
geriat . . .' 94
Thus, that submission to shariha and law were necessary to halt the
decline of the state was already pronounced in the 17th century. The
GuiilhaneRescript echoes this view in its preamble: "In the last one
hundred and fifty years, . . . the sacred ieriat was not obeyed nor
were the beneficent regulations [of sultans] followed. Consequently,
the former strength and prosperity have changed into weakness and
poverty".95
In other words, the restoration of the rule of shariFaand law in the
state are seen as the best prescription for the restoration of the state's
strength and prosperity. But in a Muslim state the rule of sharia and
law are a prerequisite for justice. And it is in this sense that the Gillhane Rescript was understood. The historian Ahmed CAta, for e.g.,
defined it as "the declaration of Justice" (iClan-i Caddlet).96 It was
understood similarly in other parts of the empire.97 Indeed, this is
what Sultan Abdfilmecid wanted to convey in his edict, namely the
91 B. Lewis, "Ottoman Observers of Ottoman Decline" in Islamic
Studies,
Karachi, 1962), I, pp. 72-87, esp. p. 74.

92
226.
E.I.J. Rosenthal,
Political Thought in Medieval Islam (Cambridge,
1958), p.
93 Ali K. Aksut, Kofi Bey Risalesi(Istanbul, 1939), p. 19.

94 B. Lewis, "Ottoman Observers," p. 82.
95 As translated in Hurewitz, I, 269.
96 CAta, Tarih, III, 203.
97 See, for instance, BBA Meclis-iMahsusIradeleri,no. 2148, laf. 3, from
Beirut,
expressing the satisfaction of the population and calling the sultan "thalithal'Umarayn," the third of the former two Arab Caliphs called Umar, known for their
piety and justice; see also M. Mashaqa, Muntakhabat min al-Jawab Cali Iqtirdh al-
Ahbab(ed. by A. Rustum and S. Abu Shaqra, Beirut, 1955), p. 139.

196
BUTRUS
ABU-MANNEH
opening of a new era of justice and equity in the Ottoman lands.

Many iradesissued afterwards reinforced this aim. Thus, on the occasion of sending the aforementioned two senior ulema to Rumelia
and Anatolia, it was stated that "the basic purpose of the Tanzimat
was the application of the foundations of justice ... and the guaranteeing of the good order of land and people".98
Not only the views of the Ottoman memorialists may have contributed to the Giilhane, but, some writings of medieval Islamic
theologians and jurists may have had their share, too. When the
Giilhane proclaims that the sultan guarantees "perfect security for
life, honour and property" for all his subjects (a similar version of
which appeared in his iradeof July) it appears to have been inspired
by the medieval theologian Ghazali. In his book al-Musta.sfa, on the
foundations of law, Ghazali wrote that "the conservation of
religion, life, reason, off-spring and property" are the ultimate concern of the sharrCa.Known in Muslim law as the five foundations (alusuil al-khamsa), they belong to the field of maslaha (the public
weal),99 which is entrusted to the care of the ruler. Thus, when the
Gfilhane promised the aforementioned guarantees in the name of
the Sultan, and added "according to the sacred law", there were
grounds for such a claim.
The idea that justice brings security, and security breeds prosperity for subjects and land, and prosperity is a prerequisite for loyalty
and devotion for the ruler and the community, is a major argument
in the Giilhane Rescript. The origin of this argument is found, it is
believed in medieval Muslim political thinking. For instance we find
it in Ghazali's treatise Nasihat al-Muluk100(Counsel of Princes) a
major theme of which is the duty of the ruler to establish his government upon justice.
98 Takvim-iVakayi,
no. 198, datedR.I., 1256, p. 2.
99 See Ghazali,al-Musta.sfi
mincIlmal-Usul,2 vols. (Cairo,1356/1937),I, 140;
see also "Maslaha"in El2, VI, 739; and Ilse Lichtenstadter,
IslamandtheModern
Age(New York, 1958),p. 82; MalcolmKerr,IslamicReform
(California,1966),p.
93. They are also called"al-Kullyatal-Khams",ibid.,p. 69.
100I have used the ArabictranslationentitledAl-Tibral-Masbuk
fi NashatalMuluk(Cairo, 1378/1968[sic]), Englishtranslationwith introductionby F.R.C.
Bagley,Counselfor
Kings(London,1964).Thistreatisewasoriginallywrittenin Persian for the SaljukSultanMuhammadibn Malikshah,about 1109.

197
The drafter (or drafters) of the Gilhane may have been aware of
this work of Ghazali, or perhaps of other works of this genre which
on the whole regard justice as a primary duty of the ruler. However,
we find various parallels between the Gfilhane and Nas.hat al-Muluk.
Ghazali opens with the hadith that "a day of justice of the sultan
is more preferable to God than 70 years of worship".101 Thus, after
exhorting the ruler to be just, he adds that if a country is prosperous
and its people enjoy security and repose, this is a sign of the justice
of the ruler and his prudence and good intentions towards his subjects.102 The more the country prospers the more grateful and loyal
are its subjects.103 In pre-Islamic Persia, he added, when the kings
were just and cared for their subjects, their country flourished but
when they turned despotic, it fell into ruin and the Muslims occupied it. 104Indeed, "kingship survives with infidelity but not with
oppression".105
A similar argument appears in the Giilhane Rescript. After
promising guarantees for "perfect security for life, honour, and
property," the Giilhane goes on to say that "if there is an absence
of security for property . . . no one interests himself in the prosperity
of the land." A man who is subject to insecurity might take recourse
to violence and thereby injure government and country, added the
Rescript. But if "he feels complete security about his possessions
then he will become preoccupied with his own affairs, which he will
seek to expand, and his devotion and love for his state and community will steadily grow." Indeed when a man enjoys "perfect security ... he will not depart from the ways of loyalty ... ,"106
The above discussion has tried to show that among the sources of
the ideas contained in the Guilhane Rescript were the Ottoman
memorialists and Islamic political thinkers, especially of the Middle
Ages. It is our contention that none of what the Gulhane conveyed
constituted a deviation from the ierFiat. Indeed, Ziya Pasha, the
Young Ottoman activist was right in stating that "If the Guilhane
101NasIha,p. 13.
Ibid., p. 53.
103 Ibid., p. 47.
104 Ibid.,pp. 44-5.
102
105 Ibid., p. 4.
106 Hurewitz, p.
270.

198
BUTRUS ABU-MANNEH
Rescript is put ... under scrutiny, not a word can be seen outside
of the rules of the serFat . . . "107
6. The ImmediateEffects of the GuilhaneRescript
It is perhaps appropriate to ask at this stage what were the effects
of the Gfilhane Rescript on its promulgation? And in what way did
it serve the aims of the Ottoman government at the time?
In their petition of late Summer 1839, the signatories stated that
the news of the Sultan's "irade will produce effects both internally
and externally and will make [the solution] of several difficult questions easier."108 It is not entirely clear what is implied here, but
presumably the reference is to the conflict with Muhammad Ali.
By "externally," the petitioners may have meant that the news
of the proclamation of the Giilhane Rescript would show the Sultan
in the eyes of the European powers as worthy of support against the
Pasha of Egypt. Thus Professor R. Davison may have been right in
stating that primarily the Giilhane "was aimed at European public
opinion ".109 But, to my mind, it was only partly so. Rather, its objectives may largely have been "internal," aimed at the Ottoman
public to whom it promised to bring justice and equity, security and
stability. This, as we have seen, was the basic desire of Sultan Abdiilmecid, in contradistinction to his father, and as inspired in the
iradeto his ministers on 17 July 1839. In other words, it is suggested
to see the motives behind the Gfilhane Rescript as a mixture of idealism and political expediency.
The crushing defeat of the Ottoman forces at Nizib at the hands
of Muhammad Ali's army on 24 June 1839, a week before the rise
of Sultan Abdfilmecid must have been a most discouraging moment
for him. Inevitably, the image of the Ottoman government was badly affected. Thus a major question for the young sultan was how to
regain the respect, the goodwill, and the confidence of his subjects.
In other words, after Nizib, it was of the utmost necessity for the new
107 Quoted in I. Sungu "Tanzimat ve Yeni Osmanlilar,"
in Tanzimat (Ankara,
1940), p. 810.
108 See above pp. 191-192.

109 R. Davison, Reform in the OttomanEmpire 1856-1876
(Princeton,
54.

1963), p.
199
sultan and the Sublime Porte to capture a moral lead over Muhammad Ali and to counter those who, out of despair had come to hold
the view that only Muhammad Ali could regenerate community and
state.
If this was the aim, the Sultan and the Porte succeeded considerably well. The Rescript was printed and despatched (and translated
where necessary) to all the provinces of the empire, including Egypt
and Syria. As expected, it created a general sense of satisfaction.110
But perhaps, the most important effect from the Ottoman point of
view, took place in Syria, still under Muhammad Ali. In the words
of Cevdet Papa, "When the firman of the Tanzimat-i Hayriye was
made known in Arabistan, it turned public opinion (there) in favour
of the sultanate and against the Egyptians. The people of Aleppo
and Damascus changed all of a sudden against them. Consequently
the Ottoman troops that were sent to Syria achieved victory easily
while the Egyptian troops withdrew to Egypt hastily and in confusion" .111
If Cevdet is right, then the Gfilhane Rescript helped to tip the
scales in favour of the sultan in Syria. The attitude of the Syrians
towards Egyptian rule from the beginning had been ambivalent.
The contents of the Gfilhane Rescript reconfirmed their loyalty to
the sultan. But this in itself was not enough to cause the decline of
the power of the Egyptian army in Syria, as Cevdet assumed. There
were, it seems, other weighty factors connected with the Egyptian
army itself, which reacted unpredictably to the measures of Istanbul.
First of all, within days of the rise of Sultan Abdulmecid, a special
emissary was sent from Istanbul to Muhammad Ali, carrying the
pardon and forgiveness of the Sultan, and the undertaking to grant
him Egypt on hereditary basis.112 This conciliatory offer, Muhammad Ali deemed insufficient and he demanded Syria on a hereditary
basis as well together with the dismissal of his lifelong enemy Hfisrev
Papa from the post of Grand Vizier.113
110 See n. 96.
ll Ahmed Cevdet, Tezakir, I, 7-8.
112 Lutfi, Tarih, VI,
40-41; and Takvim-i Vakayi, dated 28 Rabi II, 1255 (11
July 1839).
113 See two letters of Muhammad Ali to the Porte in Lutfi VI, 42-47; also al-

200
BUTRUS ABU-MANNEH
When the Gfilhane Rescript was sent to Egypt and Syria, Muhammad Ali responded by saying that "he had given orders to have
it read publicly in a large meeting in Cairo".114 And as we have
seen, it was read publicly in Syria and well received.
These two moves by Istanbul seem to have led to the first beginnings of a change of heart among the officers of the Egyptian army,
the great majority of whom were of Turkish origin. These officers
had been fighting Istanbul for the last nine successive years. But
when the Sultan committed himself in the Gulhane Rescript to end
arbitrary and despotic government and promised a new era of security and the rule of law while offering at the same time to conciliate
himself with Muhammad Ali, their motivation to continue fighting
seems to have declined. As a result of that the army was not the same
fighting force as before. We are told that a colonel by the name of
Sadik Bey and the staff of his brigade, all defected to the Sultan's
side.l 15When Ibrahim Pasha returned to Damascus in November
1840, he put to death five colonels of his army "because they had
committed treason",116 whose nature remains unknown.
A little earlier, Ibrahim had put to death Ali Agha KhazlneKatibi, a Damascene notable who from the beginning had been one
of his close advisors on Syrian affairs, accused of treason.117 Even
Sharif Pasha, a son-in-law of Muhammad Ali who had served as
governor-general of Syria for eight years, was accused of contacts
with the enemy and was arrested by Ibrahim and taken back to
Egypt under escort.118 His case indicates without doubt that many
members of the Turco-Egyptian elite who had been united against
Sultan Mahmud began to show signs of a divided loyalty, if not an
outright change of heart, in the wake of the promulgation of the GillMahfu-atal-Malakiyya,IV, documents 5907, 5914, 5923, pp. 128-9, 130-1, 164,
respectively.
114 Ibid., doc. 6155, IV, p. 283, dated beginnings of
Zilqade, 1255.
115 Mustafa Nuri, IV, 96.
116 [CAbdullahNaufal], Mudhakkirat

Tarikhyya(Damascus, n.d.), p. 223. The
author was a high official in the Egyptian administration in Damascus.
117 Mashaqa, pp. 136-7, and al-Mahfuzat,IV, doc. 5915, pp. 132-4 and doc.
5924, pp. 147-8.
118 On the case of Sharif Pasha, see Mudhakkirat
Trikhliyya,pp. 220-21 and pp.
231 -32; see also A. Rustum, Bashirbainal-Sultanwa-al-cAziz,2 vols. (Beirut, 1956),
II, 219; and Mashaqa, pp. 147, 148, 150.

201
hane Rescript and the conciliatory measures of Sultan Abdiilmecid.

This may help explain the astonishing and unpredictably swift
decline of Egyptian power in Syria in the later months of 1840. In
this sense, the Guilhane Rescript served the Sultan where his army
had grossly failed.
7. Conclusion
The fact that the Gulhane Rescript was widely hailed both in
Istanbul and throughout the Ottoman lands, confirms the view suggested in this paper that at the start of the Tanzimat period many
members of the Ottoman elite-the sultan and officials affiliated to
the Palace as well as ulema and bureaucrats-were motivated by the
ideals of Sunni-orthodox Islam, and that the Gfilhane Rescript had
its roots in Muslim thought and political concepts. Indeed, the main
theme of the Rescript is the state and the community not the rights
and liberties of the individual subject. In other words it is not a 'Bill
of Rights' but a declaration to abide by a just government according
to the precepts of the shar~ia,which is a basic duty of a muslim ruler
in Islam. It is our belief that even when the Gfilhane promised "to
introduce new legislation" none of the acts and measures introduced
in the first decade of the Tanzimat contradicted the sharfa. Again,
when the Gulhane promised that "the Muslim and non-Muslim
subjects of our lofty sultanate shall without exception, enjoy our imperial concessions", this did not form a deviation from the sharFa.
There was no novelty in such "concessions", because as ahl aldhimma, the non-Muslims were entitled to the protection of the Muslim ruler, and because the laws and regulations (kanuns) former sultans issued, applied equally to all subjects. Moreover, equality before the law did not entail civil and political equality, and, above all,
the legal status of the non-Muslims as dhimmisdid not change-they
continued to payjizya and to suffer from a number of other disadvantages. In no way could the Gfilhane Rescript be claimed to have
granted equality to the non-Muslim subjects of the Ottoman sultan.
The Giilhane came at a time when the conflict with Muhammad
Ali had flared up again. With the promise of its high moral and legal
ideals, it seems to have helped regaining the sympathy for Sultan
Abdiilmecid of many of those who were disillusioned by the acts and

202
BUTRUS
ABU-MANNEH
policies of his father, Sultan Mahmud II. This change in attitude

had a large share in solving the conflict with Muhammad Ali in
favour of Istanbul.
What is more, the Guilhane Rescript came at a special moment in
time when the Palace and the Porte were in unison in their intention
to bring about the moral and legal regeneration of both state and
community. It carried the rather messianic belief that by implementing justice and the rule of law, the community would again
become prosperous and the state powerful.
With an insight perhaps unusual for a foreign observer, the British Ambassador to the Porte, Lord Ponsonby, wrote two days after
the promulgation of the Giilhane Rescript that "it is in perfect unison with the religion and interest and feelings of the people ... it is
a victorious answer to those who say that this empire cannot be
saved by its ancient government, and that the spurious regeneration
to be worked out by the Pasha of Egypt is its only preservation".119
It is our contention that the proclamation of the Rescript
represented the apex of the impact on the Ottoman government in
the nineteenth century of the ideals of Sunni-orthodox Islam as expounded by the Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi order. However, this does
not necessarily mean that also the acts of reform which were undertaken after about 1850 had their roots in the orthodox Islamic tradition. All those who had stood behind the sultan in 1839 had by then
disappeared from the scene. Sheikh ill-Islam Mustafa 'Asim Efendi
died in 1846 and his successor, Arif Hikmet Bey, though of similar
convictions, was not as powerful and was dismissed in 1854. The
Sultana Valide, Bezmi-Alem, died in 1853 and seems to have been
less influential in the last one or two years of her life. And, in 1852,
Mustafa Re?id lost his position of power in favour of his political
enemies who were advocates of the return of sultanic or state power
(though not despotic like Sultan Mahmud's).120
119 As quoted in Bailey, p. 186, n. 27, from F.O. 78/360 Ponsonby-Palmerston, desp. no. 301, 5 November 1839.
120 See my article "The Roots of the Ascendancy of Ali and Fuad Papas at the
Porte," forthcoming in the Proceedings of the conference held in Ankara in 1989
by the Turk Tarih Kurumu on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the
Tanzimat.

THE ISLAMIC
RESCRIPT
203
Indeed, already shortly before the fall of Reqid in 1852, the acts
of the government and the measures of reform took less and less account of the shari:a, and Ottoman statesmen began borrowing measures from the West. These developments resulted in a split within
the Ottoman elite in the third quarter of the 19th century as seen in
the Kiileli Affair in 1859 and in the rise of the Young Ottoman
movement about the mid-1860s.


Abu-Manneh, B. 'The Islamic Roots of The Gulhane Rescript'

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Titolo originale

Copyright

Formati disponibili

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

Abu-Manneh, B. 'The Islamic Roots of The Gulhane Rescript'

Caricato da

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

The Islamic Roots of the Glhane Rescript

Author(s): Butrus Abu-Manneh

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

Die Welt des Islams 34 (1994), ? E.J. Brill, Leiden

THE ISLAMIC ROOTS OF THE GULHANE

1. Mustafa Reqid and the Drafting of the GiilhaneRescript

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

Embassy in Istanbul in the late 1840s, "and through it had studied

6 N. Berkes, The Developmentof Secularism in Turkey

(Cambridge, 1977), II, 61.

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

THE ISLAMIC ROOTS OF THE GULHANE RESCRIPT

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

of the Giilhane Rescript, to suggest new avenues for understanding

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

ROOTS OF THE GULHANE

Sari remonstrated about the same abuse: "The giving of office

tally, this translation is not complete, see note 87 below.

5eref, pp. 50ff.

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

22 Cf. Wright, pp. 54-5.

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

ROOTS OF THE GULHANE

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

long allies, the Bektashi order.31 The destruction of the Janissaries

33 Such as Halet Efendi in 1822 or Pertev Pasha in 1837 and

Izahli Osmanli Tarihi Kronolojisi 4 vols.

(Istanbul, 1947-61), IV, 122-3.

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

THE ISLAMIC ROOTS OF THE GULHANE RESCRIPT

habeleri,pp. 10-5. Inalcik, in IA, V, 609-16.

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

3. The Palace, the Porte and Sunni-OrthodoxIslam

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

ROOTS OF THE GULHANE

Lutfi, IV, 102.

zi, Hediyyet-iilHilidin (Istanbul, A.H. 1313), p. 24 and Irfan Giindiiz, Giimiushanevi

Emergenceof theModernMiddle East (London, 1981), pp. 75-89.

See also Hamid Al-

3 vols. (Istanbul, 1946-56), I, 763.

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

(rijdl) and ulema

Dhayl al-Rashahat (on the margin

of Rashahat 'Ain al-.Haytah (Makka,

1307/[1889-90], pp. 81ff.

Kadinlarz ve Kzzlarz (Ankara, 1980), pp. 111 - 2.

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

ROOTS OF THE GULHANE

Selim III's times who himself originally had been a Circassian or a

369; and CAta, Tarih II, 193-8,

tan"; TiirkAnsiklopedisi, VI, 306-7.

Sami, Kamus-ul Aclam, II, 1307.

On Bezmi-Alem being a "believer" in M. Jan, see al-Khani, p. 222.

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

III, 501 and IA, IV, 710-1.

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

THE ISLAMIC ROOTS OF THE GULHANE RESCRIPT

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM

THE ISLAMIC ROOTS OF THE GULHANE RESCRIPT

vols. (Damascus, 1961-63), I, 586.

cf. also Ed. Engelhardt, La Turquieet Le Tan-

This content downloaded from 130.235.32.111 on Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:18 AM