{{Ottoman Succession box |Sultan_Name=Abdülaziz|image_portrait=Abdulaziz.jpg|Military=Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire |title=[[Ottoman Sultan]] |title2=[[Ottoman Caliphate|Caliph]] |before=[[Abdülmecid]]|after=[[Murad V]]|years=1861–76}}
'''Abdülaziz''' ([[Ottoman Turkish language|Ottoman Turkish]]: عبد العزيز) ([[February 9]], [[1830]] – [[June 4]] [[1876]]) was the 32nd [[sultan]] of the [[Ottoman Empire]] and reigned between [[June 25]], [[1861]] and [[May 30]], 1876. He was the son of Sultan [[Mahmud II]] and succeeded his brother [[Abdülmecid]] in 1861.

Born in [[İstanbul]] on February 9, 1830, Abdülaziz received an Ottoman education but was nevertheless an ardent admirer of the material progress that was made in the West. He was interested in literature and was also a classical music composer. Some of his compositions have been collected in the album ''"European Music at the Ottoman Court"'' by the London Academy of Ottoman Court Music.

Between 1861 and 1871, the [[Tanzimat]] reforms which began during the reign of his brother [[Abdülmecid]] were continued under the leadership of his able chief ministers, Fuat Pasha and Ali Pasha. New administrative districts (''vilayets'') were set up in 1864 and a Council of State was established in 1868. Public education was organized on the French model and the University of Istanbul was reorganized as a modern institution in 1861. Abdülaziz cultivated good relations with France and Great Britain and was the first Ottoman sultan to visit western Europe, in 1867, which included a visit to England, where he was made a [[Order of the Garter|Knight of the Garter]] by [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]] and shown a [[Fleet Review, Royal Navy#Queen Victoria|Royal Navy Fleet Review]] with his [[Ismail of Egypt|Khedive of Egypt]]. He travelled by a private rail car, which today can be found in the [[RMK Museum]] in [[İstanbul]]. In [[1869]] he received visits from [[Empress Eugenie]] of [[France]] and other foreign monarchs on their way to the opening of the [[Suez Canal]]. The [[Prince of Wales]], the future [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom]], twice visited İstanbul.

By 1871 both Ali Pasha and Fuat Pasha were dead, and France, his western European model, had been defeated by Germany. In foreign policy, he turned to Russia for friendship, as turmoil in the Balkan provinces continued. When insurrection in Bosnia and Herzegovina spread to Bulgaria (1876), ill feeling mounted against Russia for its encouragement of the rebellions. The crop failure of 1873, the sultan's lavish expenditures for the Navy and the new palaces which he built, and the mounting public debt had also heightened public discontent. Abdülaziz was deposed by his ministers on May 30, 1876; his death a few days later was attributed to suicide.

The biggest achievement of Abdülaziz was to modernize the Ottoman Navy. In 1875, the Ottoman Navy had 21 battleships and 173 other types of warships, ranking as the third largest navy in the world after the British and French navies.

He also established the first Ottoman railroad network and [[Sirkeci Station|Sirkeci Train Station]] in İstanbul, terminus of the [[Orient Express]].

Impressed by the museums in London, Paris and Vienna, he established the [[Istanbul Archaeology Museum|Istanbul Archaeological Museum]].

Ten children survived him:<ref>http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~royalty/turkey/i339.html</ref>

# Prince Yussuf Izzeddin ([[1857]]-[[1916]])
# Princess Saliha, wife of Kürt Ismail Pasha (1862-1941)
# Prince Shehzade Mahmud Celaleddin Efendi (1862-1888)
# Princess Nazime, wife of Halit Pasha (1866-1947)
# Prince [[Abdülmecid II]] ([[1868]]-1944)
# Prince Şevket ([[1872]]&ndash;[[1899]])
# Princess Esma Sultana (1873-1899)
# Prince Seyfeddin ([[1874]]-1927)
# Princess Emine, wife of Mehmet Bey (1874-1920)
# Princess Munire Sultana (1877-1877)
{{Sultans of Ottoman Empire}}

==References==
<references/>

{{Wikisource1911Enc|Abd-ul-Aziz}}

{{1911}}

[[Category:Sultans of the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Turkic rulers]]
[[Category:Knights of the Garter]]
[[Category:Knights of the Golden Fleece]]
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1876 deaths]]

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[[bg:Абдул Азис]]
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