TRENDEAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties
Revolt · 1826
Mahmud II wanted to centralise the state, and above all to create a new military structure. The swift progress of the Western-trained Egyptian forces against the Greek revolt and the capture of Missolonghi (April 1826) strengthened public opinion in favour of trained troops. The new “eşkinci” units drove the janissaries to revolt one last time. On the evening of 13 June the janissaries gathered at Etmeydanı and overturned their cauldrons; they raided and looted the houses of leading men. The government crushed the revolt, and on 17 June 1826 the Janissary corps was abolished. The sources call it the “vakʿa-i hayriyye”, the Auspicious Incident.
| Date | 13–17 June 1826 |
|---|---|
| Location | Istanbul (Etmeydanı) |
| Result | The janissary revolt was crushed and the Janissary corps abolished (17 June 1826) |
| Belligerents | Mahmud II and the government | Janissaries |
|---|---|---|
| Commanders | Mahmud II Grand Vizier Mehmed İzzet 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 4,549,000 km² in 1826; 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, “Vak'a-i Hayriyye” (Turkish); text written for the atlas.