The Ottoman constitution of 1876 (Ottoman Turkish: قانون اساسى, "basic law"; Turkish: Kanûn-u Esâsî) was the first constitution of the Ottoman Empire. Written by members of the Young Ottomans, particularly Midhat Pasha, during the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II (1876–1909), the constitution was only in effect for two years, from 1876 to 1878.
The major reason for the introduction of the Constitution was Midhat Pasha’s recognition of the need for reform and a check on the power of the Sultan. However, the Constitution that was put in place certainly represented a certain limitation of the autocracy of the monarch, although Abdulhamid could still imprison or send to exile people who he considered harmful to the state, or to his emerging absolute rule, in spite of the opening of the first parliament. Although the rules in the Constitution had been twisted to suit Abdulhamid’s needs, it was suspended in 1878 and those who created it were exiled. Midhat Pasha died in exile in Taif.
Read more about Ottoman Constitution Of 1876: Framework, Second Constitutional Era, Significance of The Constitution
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“In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution of our country with our dearest domestic ties; adopting our fundamental laws into the bosom of our family affections; keeping inseparable and cherishing with the warmth of all their combined and mutually reflected charities, our state, our hearths, our sepulchres, and our altars.”
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