Shaykh al-Islāms during the reign of Mahmūd II and their effects on reforms

In the Ottoman Empire, period of Mahmud II covers the years 1808 -1839. By this period, most of the state's institutions had ceased to function and could not meet the demands of the period. The sultans before him wanted to make the necessary changes, especially in the military field, but they were not successful. During his time as prince, Mahmud II was educated by the sultan of the period, Selim III, and he personally observed the necessity of reforms. From the moment he ascended to the throne, he made preparations for reforms and put them into action when the time came. While Mahmud II put the reforms into action, he wanted to get the support of the ilmiye class. For this reason, sheikh al-Islams, the heads of the ulama, became his biggest supporters. In the first part of our research, we included the sheikh al-Islams who served during the reign of Mahmud II. We researched the lives of sheikh al-Islams, their duties and the important events they experienced during these duties. We explained the family members, death and burial information of the Sheikh al-Islams mentioned in the sources. In the second part, we talked about the attitudes of the sheikh al-Islams in the reforms made during the reign of Mahmud II. We tried to investigate which reforms and how they legitimized them with their fatwas. In general, our research has tried to share the attitudes of the sheikh al-Islams, who were in the position of supervising the compliance of the reforms made during the reign of Mahmud II in the Ottoman Empire with sharia laws. KEYWORDS: History of Islam, Ottoman, Mahmud II, Shaykh al-Islam, Reform.