TRENDEAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties
Revolt · 1808
Grand Vizier Alemdar Mustafa Pasha had summoned the provincial notables to Istanbul to sign the Deed of Alliance (October 1808) and founded the Sekban-ı Cedid as a successor to the Nizam-ı Cedid. Alemdar and his circle dropped their guard and underestimated the threat from the janissaries, which gave his opponents their chance. In the uprising that began on the night of 15 November 1808 the Sublime Porte was stormed and his residence besieged. When the help he expected did not arrive, Alemdar set fire to the powder store just as the janissaries were breaking in and died together with hundreds of them (16 November 1808). The revolt went on afterwards; several members of the Rusçuk Committee were killed and even the palace and the sultan were besieged.
| Date | 15–16 November 1808 |
|---|---|
| Location | Istanbul (Sublime Porte) |
| Result | Besieged at the Sublime Porte, Alemdar Mustafa Pasha set fire to the powder store and died together with hundreds of janissaries (16 November 1808); the revolt continued for some time |
| Belligerents | Mahmud II and Grand Vizier Alemdar Mustafa Pasha | Janissaries |
|---|---|---|
| Commanders | Alemdar Mustafa Pasha |
Took place during the reign of Mahmud II (1808–1839). Mahmud II
Open the reign of Mahmud II on the mapBy the atlas's calculation the Ottoman lands covered about 4,551,000 km² in 1808; at the start of Mahmud II's reign they measured 4,551,000 km², at its end 3,803,000 km².
During Mahmud II (1808–1839) the atlas records 0 regions gained and 6 regions lost.
Regions lost: Cyclades (Naxos) (1821), Morea (Peloponnese) (1828), Akhaltsikhe (Childir) (1828), Athens–Central Greece (1829), Algiers (1830), Euboea (Negroponte) (1833).
He recentralised the state: he abolished the Janissaries and founded modern ministries, schools and the census. The territorial losses were heavy (Greece, Algiers, Bessarabia), but the administrative structure he built made the Tanzimat possible.
Areas are land area computed from the atlas's region data; see Method and sources.
Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, “Alemdar Mustafa Paşa” (Turkish); text written for the atlas.