A CRITICAL APPROACH TOWARD CEVDET PASHA’S UNDERSTANDING OF REFORM: GRANDVIZIERS, SULTANS, AND SOCIETY IN THE CONTEXT OF TEZAKİR AND MARUZAT by BETÜL SANCAK Submitted to the Graduate School of Social Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Sabancı University July 2019 BETÜL SANCAK 2019 © All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT A CRITICAL APPROACH TOWARD CEVDET PASHA’S UNDERSTANDING OF REFORM: GRANDVIZIERS, SULTANS, AND SOCIETY IN THE CONTEXT OF TEZAKİR AND MARUZAT BETÜL SANCAK HISTORY M.A. THESIS, JULY 2019 Thesis Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Selçuk Akşin Somel Keywords: Ahmed Cevdet Pasha, the Tanzimat era, Partiality This thesis aims to reassess the reliability of Ahmed Cevdet Pasha’s Tezakir and Maruzat as the substantial primary sources of the Tanzimat period and go beyond the understand- ing of the ‘incontestability’ of Cevdet Pasha’s writings. Being originally from the ilmiye class, Cevdet Pasha was one of the most prominent statesmen of the Tanzimat era and actively involved in the implementation of numerous reforms. Therefore, while his ac- counts are dealt with, it is important to figure out the expectations, purposes, and perspec- tives that formed the basis of Cevdet's narration in order to evaluate to what extent Cevdet’s accounts are objective and reliable. In this study, first, Cevdet’s subjective atti- tude toward the five grand viziers —Reşid, Fuad, Âli, Mahmud Nedim, and Midhat Pa- shas— of the era is examined. Second, Cevdet’s notion of the sultanate is considered and his attitude toward the two sultans of the Tanzimat era—Abdülmecid and Abdülaziz— and their reigns is analyzed. Third, Cevdet’s state-centered view while describing and interpreting the oppositional movements of the people of different strata and diverse re- gions of the empire is illustrated. Fourth, Cevdet's manner toward İstanbul society, in which he spent most of his life, and societies of Bosnia and the Çukurova region, to where he was sent as a state official are considered. Lastly, the Ottoman political thought is briefly mentioned in order to understand the roots of Cevdet’s traditional and conserva- tive outlook on rulership. iv ÖZET CEVDET PAŞA’NIN REFORM ANLAYIŞINA ELEŞTİREL BİR BAKIŞ: TEZAKİR VE MARUZAT BAĞLAMINDA SADRAZAMLAR, PADİŞAHLAR VE TOPLUM BETÜL SANCAK TARİH YÜKSEK LİSANS TEZİ, TEMMUZ 2019 Tez Danışmanı: Doç. Dr. Selçuk Akşin Somel Anahtar Kelimeler: Ahmed Cevdet Paşa, Tanzimat Dönemi, Tarafgirlik Bu tez Tanzimat döneminin önemli birincil kaynakları arasında olan Ahmed Cevdet Paşa’nın Tezakir ve Maruzat’ının güvenilirliğinin yeniden değerlendirilmesini ve Cevdet Paşa’nın eserlerinin sorgulanamazlığı anlayışının ötesine geçmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Aslen ilmiye sınıfından olan Cevdet Paşa, Tanzimat döneminin en önde gelen devlet adamlarından biriydi ve dönemin birçok reform hareketinin uygulanmasında aktif olarak rol aldı. Bu yüzden, eserleri ele alınırken Cevdet Paşa’nın anlatımının temelinde ne tür beklenti, amaç ve bakış açısının yattığını ortaya çıkarmak, Cevdet’in yorumlarının ne de- receye kadar objektif ve güvenilir olduğunu değerlendirmek açısından önemlidir. Bu çalışmada, öncelikle Cevdet’in dönemin beş sadrazamına—Reşid, Fuad, Âli, Mahmud Nedim ve Midhat Paşa— karşı takındığı subjektif tavır incelendi. İkinci olarak, Cevdet’in saltanat kavramı göz önünde bulunduruldu ve Tanzimat döneminin iki padişahı—Abdül- mecid ve Abdülaziz— ve dönemlerine karşı tavrı incelendi. Üçüncü olarak, Cevdet’in imparatorluğun çeşitli bölgelerindeki farklı sınıflardan insanların muhalefet hareketlerini tasvir ederken ve değerlendirirken devlet merkezli bakış açısı gösterildi. Dördüncü olarak, Cevdet’in hayatının çoğunu içinde yaşadığı İstanbul toplumuna ve devlet memuru olarak gönderildiği Bosna ve Çukurova bölgelerinin halklarına karşı tavrı ele alındı. Son olarak, Cevdet’in iktidar konusundaki geleneksel ve muhafazakar bakış açısının köken- lerinin anlaşılabilmesi için Osmanlı siyasi düşüncesine kısaca değinildi. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor Selçuk Akşin Somel for his invaluable support, encouragement, and patience in all the stages of bringing this thesis into existence. Asking meaningful questions would not be possible without his guidance and help. I would particularly like to offer my gratitude to Y. Hakan Erdem whose graduate seminar on sources and methods for the nineteenth century Ottoman his- tory inspired and encouraged me to work a prominent figure like that of Ahmed Cevdet. I would also like to thank my jury member Fatih Bayram for his valuable comments and precious advice. I owe a significant debt to my dear family members as each of them has come to my rescue many times. My father and mother are my greatest source of inspiration in this life who deserve infinite thanks for their sincerest support and encouragement during all the stages of my studies. Affection and happiness of my beloved brother and little lovely sisters made this process more bearable. I am deeply grateful to my husband for his never- ending support and inspiring friendship. He was with me during each day of my writing process and asked enthusiastic questions about my research which motivated me to com- plete this project. I would also like to thank Turkish Historical Society (Türk Tarih Kurumu) for supporting me financially during my graduate education. vi Küçük ve Büyük Aileme vii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 A Review of the Literature on Cevdet ...................................................................... 2 The Goal of the Study .............................................................................................. 6 Outline of the Study ................................................................................................. 8 1. A CRITICAL APPROACH TOWARD CEVDET PASHA’S ACCOUNTS OF THE PROMINENT TANZIMAT GRAND VIZIERS .................................................10 1.1 Cevdet’s Hero: Reşid Pasha ..........................................................................11 1.2 Cevdet’s Close Friend: Fuad Pasha ...............................................................15 1.3 Cevdet’s Contentious Collaborator: Âli Pasha ...............................................19 1.4 Cevdet’s Persistent Opponent: Mahmud Nedim Pasha ..................................26 1.5 Cevdet’s Adversary: Midhat Pasha ................................................................31 1.6 Conclusion ....................................................................................................36 2. A CRITICAL APPROACH TOWARDS CEVDET PASHA’S ACCOUNTS OF THE SULTANS, PALACE, AND ECONOMY OF THE TANZIMAT ERA ........38 2.1 The Concept of the “Sultanate” in Cevdet’s Writings ....................................39 2.2 Main Themes in Abdülmecid’s Era ...............................................................40 2.2.1 External Borrowing ................................................................................42 2.2.2 The Palace Ladies and the Damads (Imperial Sons-in-Law) ...................43 2.3 Main Themes in the Era of Abdülaziz ...........................................................45 2.3.1 The “Inexcusable Dethronement” and Death of Abdülaziz .....................47 2.3.2 Cevdet's Agenda While Claiming Abdülaziz was Murdered ...................48 2.4 The Palace and the Economy in Abdülmecid’s Era; Cevdet’s Main Concerns49 2.4.1 “Horrible” Prodigality ............................................................................50 2.4.2 Palace Ladies; Leading to “Collapse” .....................................................51 2.4.3 Construction of New Buildings; a Reason for “Economic Depression” ..53 2.4.4 An Analysis of Cevdet’s Concerns .........................................................54 2.4.5 Main Problems of the Tanzimat Economy from the Perspective of the 21st Century 57 viii 2.5 The Palace and the Economy in Abdülaziz’s Era; Cevdet’s Silence ...............58 2.5.1 An Analysis of Cevdet’s Silence for the Reign of Abdülaziz ..................60 2.6 Conclusion ....................................................................................................63 3. OUTSIDE THE RULING CIRCLE: CEVDET’S ACCOUNTS OF THE REACTIONS TO THE REFORM MEASURES .........................................................65 3.1 Reactions by Muslims and Non-Muslims to the Islahat Edict ........................66 3.2 The Mecca Rebellion of 1855........................................................................68 3.3 The Kuleli Incident of 1859...........................................................................71 3.4 The Syrian Uprising of 1860 .........................................................................72 3.5 An Analysis of Cevdet’s Statist Attitude .......................................................76 4. CEVDET’S ATTITUDE TOWARD THE TANZIMAT-ERA OTTOMAN SOCIETY IN THE CONTEXT OF REFORMS ..........................................................78 4.1 The Social Situation in İstanbul .....................................................................79 4.1.1 An Analysis of Cevdet’s Limited Focus .................................................81 4.2 Cevdet’s Inspectorship in Bosnia...................................................................84 4.2.1 The Resolution of the Recruitment Problem thanks to Cevdet’s Social Analyses 85 4.3 Cevdet’s Mission to the Çukurova Region .....................................................88