Tanzimat reforms in Trabzon (1839-1856)

The city of Trabzon has been ane of the most important trade centers of North East Anatolia for a long time. For this reason many conflicts happened to take the region and its environment When Mehmet II succeeded to the Ottoman throne, he recognized the regions strategic importance and, in 1461, annexed the Trabzon city to the Ottomon realm, After that the traditional Ottoman method of conquest was followed to İslamızc and Turkify the region. By the year 1774, International trade found a place in Black Sea and Trabzon city also got its share from the commerce since the city offered a short route between İran and Turkey. As a result of the above developments when the Ottoman Sultan decleared Tanzimat the region was already an important trade center for in land and international businesses. From the beginning of 16 Th. century, it was clear that the Ottoman Empire entered a time of regression. Some Ottoman officials saw the situation and began to think about reforming the institutions of the country. At the beginning the reforms were made in military, later on in 1839, when "Tanzimat Fermanı" promulgated, the reforms also made in administrative, economic and other establishments. The main difference of the Tanzimat movement from the previous reforms was to declare that the Muslim and the Non-Muslim subject of the Empire, from now on, equal before the law. The other radical reforms of the Tanzimat were; Tax was going to be taken according to the population's in come and ordinary people were going to be represented in province counsels. The first attempt to implement Tanzimat Reforms in Trabzon was made by quarantine office superintendent Lebib Efendi. However, the Tanzimat Reforms in Trabzon began to be carried out in 1847-48, when director of the financial administration Arif Zeki Efendi was appointed to Trabzon.