Abdülâziz

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	Abdülaziz Ottoman Period

Preceded by Abdülmecid	Ottoman Sultan 1861–76	Succeeded by Murad V

Abdülâziz (Ottoman Turkish: عبد العزيز) (February 9, 1830 – June 4, 1876) was the 32nd sultan of the Ottoman Empire and reigned between June 25, 1861 and May 30, 1876. He was the son of Sultan Mahmud II and succeeded his brother Abdülmecid in 1861.

Born in İstanbul on February 9, 1830, Abdülaziz received an Ottoman education but was nevertheless an ardent admirer of the material progress that was made in the West. He was interested in literature and was also a classical music composer. Some of his compositions have been collected in the album "European Music at the Ottoman Court" by the London Academy of Ottoman Court Music.

Between 1861 and 1871, the Tanzimat reforms which began during the reign of his brother Abdülmecid were continued under the leadership of his able chief ministers, Fuat Pasha and Ali Pasha. New administrative districts (vilayets) were set up in 1864 and a Council of State was established in 1868. Public education was organized on the French model and the University of Istanbul was reorganized as a modern institution in 1861. Abdülaziz cultivated good relations with France and Great Britain and was the first Ottoman sultan to visit western Europe, in 1867, which included a visit to England, where he was made a Knight of the Garter by Queen Victoria and shown a Royal Navy Fleet Review with his Khedive of Egypt. He travelled by a private rail car, which today can be found in the RMK Museum in İstanbul. In 1869 he received visits from Empress Eugenie of France and other foreign monarchs on their way to the opening of the Suez Canal. The Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII of the United Kingdom, twice visited İstanbul.

By 1871 both Ali Pasha and Fuat Pasha were dead, and France, his western European model, had been defeated by Germany. In foreign policy, he turned to Russia for friendship, as turmoil in the Balkan provinces continued. When insurrection in Bosnia and Herzegovina spread to Bulgaria (1876), ill feeling mounted against Russia for its encouragement of the rebellions. The crop failure of 1873, the sultan's lavish expenditures for the Navy and the new palaces which he built, and the mounting public debt had also heightened public discontent. Abdülaziz was deposed by his ministers on May 30, 1876; his death a few days later was attributed to suicide.

The biggest achievement of Abdülaziz was to modernize the Ottoman Navy. In 1875, the Ottoman Navy had 21 battleships and 173 other types of warships, ranking as the third largest navy in the world after the British and French navies.

He also established the first Ottoman railroad network and Sirkeci Train Station in İstanbul, terminus of the Orient Express.

Impressed by the museums in London, Paris and Vienna, he established the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.

Ten children survived him:^[1]

Prince Yussuf Izzeddin (1857-1916)
Princess Saliha, wife of Kürt Ismail Pasha (1862-1941)
Prince Shehzade Mahmud Celaleddin Efendi (1862-1888)
Princess Nazime, wife of Halit Pasha (1866-1947)
Prince Abdülmecid II (1868-1944)
Prince Şevket (1872–1899)
Princess Esma Sultana (1873-1899)
Prince Seyfeddin (1874-1927)
Princess Emine, wife of Mehmet Bey (1874-1920)
Princess Munire Sultana (1877-1877)

v • d • e Sultans of the Ottoman Empire
Rise (1299–1453)	Osman I - Orhan I - Murad I - Bayezid I - Mehmed I - Murad II - Mehmed II
Growth (1453–1683)	Bayezid II - Selim I - Suleiman I - Selim II - Murad III - Mehmed III - Ahmed I - Mustafa I - Osman II - Murad IV - Ibrahim I - Mehmed IV
Stagnation (1683–1827)	Suleiman II - Ahmed II - Mustafa II - Ahmed III - Mahmud I - Osman III - Mustafa III - Abdul Hamid I - Selim III - Mustafa IV - Mahmud II
Decline (1828–1908)	Abdülmecid - Abdülâziz - Murad V - Abdul Hamid II
Dissolution (1908–1923)	Mehmed V - Mehmed VI