The First Constitutional Era ( ota, مشروطيت; tr, Birinci Meşrutiyet Devri) of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

was the period of

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

from the promulgation of the

Ottoman constitution of 1876 The Constitution of the Ottoman Empire ( ota, قانون أساسي, Kānûn-ı Esâsî, lit= Basic law; french: Constitution ottomane), also known as the Constitution of 1876, was the first constitution of the Ottoman Empire. Written by members ...

(, , meaning ' Basic Law' or 'Fundamental Law' in Ottoman Turkish), written by members of the

Young Ottomans The Young Ottomans () were a secret society established in 1865 by a group of Ottoman Turkish intellectuals who were dissatisfied with the Tanzimat reforms in the Ottoman Empire, which they believed did not go far enough. The Young Ottomans so ...

, that began on 23 December 1876 and lasted until 14 February 1878. These Young Ottomans were dissatisfied by the

Tanzimat The Tanzimat (; ota, تنظيمات, translit=Tanzimāt, lit=Reorganization, ''see'' nizām) was a period of reform in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Gülhane Hatt-ı Şerif in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. ...

and instead pushed for a constitutional government similar to that in Europe. The constitutional period started with the dethroning of Sultan

Abdulaziz Abdulaziz ( ota, عبد العزيز, ʿAbdü'l-ʿAzîz; tr, Abdülaziz; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the 32nd List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and reigned from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was 187 ...

Abdul Hamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

took his place as Sultan."Constitutional Period in the Ottoman Empire." Constitutional Period in the Ottoman Empire. N.p., n.d. Web. http://www.istanbul.com/en/explore/info/constitutional-period-in-the-ottoman-empire The era ended with the suspension of the Ottoman Parliament and the constitution by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, with which he restored his own

absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constitut ...

. The first constitutional era did not include a

party system A party system is a concept in comparative political science concerning the system of government by political parties in a democratic country. The idea is that political parties have basic similarities: they control the government, have a stabl ...

. At the time, the Ottoman Parliament (known as the

General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire The General Assembly ( tr, Meclis-i Umumî (French romanization: "Medjliss Oumoumi" ) or ''Genel Parlamento''; french: Assemblée Générale) was the first attempt at representative democracy by the imperial government of the Ottoman Empire. Als ...

) was seen as the voice of the people but not as a venue for the formation of political parties and organizations. The elections for the Parliament were held in accordance with the provisional electoral regulations. The Parliament (

; , ) was composed in two stages. The

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

legislature was the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

(, ), while the

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

was the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

(, ). The initial selection of deputies was made by administrative councils in the provinces (also called ). After the establishment of the General Assembly in the provinces, the members selected the deputies from within the assembly to form the

in the capital. The Chamber had 115 members and reflected the distribution of the

millets Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets a ...

in the empire. In the second elections, there were 69 Muslim millet representatives and 46 representatives of other millets (

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Phanariotes Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots ( el, Φαναριώτες, ro, Fanarioți, tr, Fenerliler) were members of prominent Greeks, Greek families in Fener, Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople whe ...

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

). The second body was the

, and the members were selected by the Sultan. The Senate had only 26 members. It was designed to replace the

porte Porte may refer to: *Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire *Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy *John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator *Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who competes ...

, and the

Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

become the speaker of Senate. The two elections happened between 1877 and 1878.

First term, 1877

The members' reactions to the approaching war were very strong, and Sultan

asked for new elections citing the

Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 ( tr, 93 Harbi, lit=War of ’93, named for the year 1293 in the Islamic calendar; russian: Русско-турецкая война, Russko-turetskaya voyna, "Russian–Turkish war") was a conflict between th ...

Second term, 1878

The life of the second term of the parliament was merely a few days, as after the initial speeches by the members from

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

vilayet A vilayet ( ota, , "province"), also known by #Names, various other names, was a first-order administrative division of the later Ottoman Empire. It was introduced in the Vilayet Law of 21 January 1867, part of the Tanzimat reform movement init ...

closed the parliament, citing social unrest. The president of the Chamber of Deputies was a Deputy from

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, Yusif Dia Pasha Al Khalidi.

Significant people

Mehmed Rushdi Pasha Mehmed Rushdi Pasha ( tr, Mehmet Rüşdi Paşa or ''Mütercim Rüşdi Paşa''; 1811, in Ayancik – 27 March 1882, in Manisa) was an Ottoman reformist and statesman. He served as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire during five separate terms. ...

Ahmed Vefik Pasha Ahmed Vefik Pasha ( ota, احمد وفیق پاشا ) (3 July 1823 2 April 1891) was an Ottoman statesman, diplomat, scholar, playwright, and translator during the Tanzimat and First Constitutional Era periods. He was commissioned with top-rank ...

Hussein Avni Pasha Hussein, Hussain, Hossein, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein or Husain (; ar, حُسَيْن ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-i-N ( ar, ح س ی ن, link=no), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", " ...

Midhat Pasha Ahmed Şefik Midhat Pasha ( ota , احمد شفيق مدحت پاشا, 18 October 1822 – 26 April 1883) was an Ottoman democrat, kingmaker and one of the leading statesmen during the late Tanzimat period. He is most famous for leading the O ...

* Suleiman Pasha

References

{{Great Eastern Crisis Politics of the Ottoman Empire 1870s in the Ottoman Empire Reform in the Ottoman Empire

First term, 1877

Second term, 1878

Significant people

See also

References