SULTAN MAHMUT THE 2ND
He was born in 1785. He is the Ottoman Sultan reputed for his reforms and lifting the Janissary Organization with the event known as "Vaka-i Hayriye (Good Event)" in our history. He ascended the throne upon murdering of his uncle Selim the 3rd. He pioneered Westernization during his sultanate of thirty one years. He took many innovations to our country. He was a composer and a troubadour as well as a perfect calligrapher. He passed away in 1839 when he was 54. His tomb is in Istanbul in the district named Turbe.
Sultan Mahmut the 2nd, who succeeded to the throne upon killing of his uncle Selim the 3rd, was ready to claim the revolutionary movement initiated by his uncle. However, he had Janissary Organization against him which seemed to have cowered in fear because of Alemdar Mustafa Pasha, but which did not lose any of its power. In addition, there was chaos all over the country from Albania to Yemen, from Egypt to Manisa. The borders witnessed wars. Mahmut the 2nd, ascended the throne in such a difficult period and knew how to complete the work of his uncle.
At the same time, he managed to establish a regular army in western understanding by scattering Janissaries who were paid ulufe (quarterly salary) and who were roaming uncontrolled being engaged in jobs like porter, boatman leaving the army aside. Sultan Mahmut the 2nd waited patiently for exactly seventeen years to lift Kapikulu Organizations, Janissaries in particular. It was obvious that Janissaries, who could not even cope with Greek rebellion and who lost the confidence of their own commanders, would do no good in case of occurrence of a war. Mahmut the 2nd took the same path as his uncle in lifting of this organization. However, since what Selim the 3rd lived was a lesson to him, he acted in a more cautious manner. First he appointed people supporting establishment of a new army to the commands. Then he proclaimed that he would establish a modern military organization under the name of "Eşkinci" and that Janissaries could enter this organization voluntarily (25 May 1825).
Janissaries, who were in full disobedience, did not welcome even this and rebelled in the evening of 14 June 1825. They went to Atmeydani and started their demonstration shouting "We do not want". While Grand Vizier Benderli Selim Pasha ordered İzzet Aga and Huseyin Pasha to go into the city with their soldiers they command, Sheik of Islam Tahir Effendi went to Sultanahmet Quarter and planted the flag of the prophet. He gathered all principal scholars and high school students around. He began to speak against the rebels. The artillerymen units from Tophane were transferred to Janissary barracks between Atmeydani and Aksaray.
The barracks of the Janissaries were bombarded for the first time in history. Aga Huseyin Pasha, his soldiers and a crowded mass of people attacked on the barracks. Soldiers and people among whom there was Hadji Hafiz Ahmet Effendi, the Imam of Tophane, entered the barracks. A bloody conflict began. 6.000 Janissaries were killed. At least 20.000 Janissaries were arrested and sent into exile to distant places.
Thus Janissary Organization vanished. Janissary Organization of 465 years, which turned into a looter bed after years of glory, left its place to a new army named Asakir-i Mansure-i Muhammediye. The first Minister of Defense was Aga Huseyin Pasha and was commissioned to establish the new army. The old Palace (The central building of today's Istanbul University) was turned into the Ministry of Defense, and the Janissary Chief Palace in Suleymaniye was turned into the building of Office of Sheik of Islam.
With this movement called Vaka-i Hayriye, the period of reforms started in the country. Although it caused Sultan Mahmut the 2nd's being called as "Infidel Sultan", the first thing done was law on clothes (3 March 1829). He made all civil servants except for officers of religion wear fez, jacket and trousers. He was the first not to wear turban, robe and caftan. After that, he hanged his pictures in his new clothes on the official departments. He changed not only the organization of the palace but also the operating order of the state completely. He started a fast improvement movement in the country and imported steam ships and machinery from abroad. He opened new printing houses.
As from 1 November 1831, the newspaper Takvîm-i Vekâyi Gazetesi, started to be published in Turkish, French and Arabic by the state. Western music, band, orchestra, opera and theater entered our country. Military College and Faculty of Medicine were instituted in his period. Sultan Mahmut the 2nd achieved all these innovations and forced the nation to accept them even by force. However, the troubles he encountered on the way for achievement of these harmed his health conditions much. He caught Tuberculosis. Despite the care of physicians, he got weaker and weaker everyday. At last, he passed away when he was 54.