Midhat Pasha
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Ahmed Shefik Midhat Pasha was an Ottoman politician, reformist and statesman. He was the author of the Constitution of the Ottoman Empire.
Midhat Pasha
Midhat Pasha in his middle age
Midhat Pasha played a major role in the abolition of slavery in the Ottoman Empire
Statue of Midhat Pasha in Ankara
Constitution of the Ottoman Empire
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The Constitution of the Ottoman Empire was the first and only constitution of the Ottoman Empire. Written by members of the Young Ottomans, particularly Midhat Pasha, during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the constitution was in effect from 1876 to 1878 in a period known as the First Constitutional Era, and from 1908 to 1922 in the Second Constitutional Era. After Abdul Hamid's political downfall in the 31 March Incident, the Constitution was amended to transfer more power from the sultan and the appointed Senate to the popularly-elected lower house: the Chamber of Deputies.
Cover of the Ottoman constitution of 1876
Meeting of the first Ottoman Parliament in 1877
An English translation of the Constitution, derived from the French version, published in The American Journal of International Law
The version in Ottoman Turkish was used as the basis of translations of versions for Muslims, in Arabic and Persian