Sultan II. Abdülhamid D neminde Kudüs-i erif’te Yap lan Islahat al malar (1896-1905)//// Reform Activities in Jerusalem during the Sultan Abdulhamid II Era (1896-1905)

By the beginning of the 19th century, the intervention of the Western European states into the Ottoman affairs, using ethnic divisions in population, became apparent. Beginning from the Treaty of Berlin, the necessity of Ottoman reforms in the regions populated by the non-Muslims had become an international problem. (1878) Sultan Abdülhamid started reform activities all over the empire in order to prevent foreign intervention by using the ethnic groups.The reform bill, which had been put into effect in the Balkans and Eastern Anatolia, started to be applied also in Jerusalem after the publication of the reform program about all lands of Ottoman State except Hicaz (Hejaz) in 22 September 1896.Until the end of 1905 in Jerusalem, many important reforms were made in public improvement, education, security and bureaucracy. Ottoman rule succeeded to preserve Jerusalem as a peaceful city despite the many peace-breaking powers around. Thanks to their wide experience, the Ottomans, even in the most difficult periods of history, did not leave a painful memory behind in Jerusalem.