A series of reforms in the Ottoman empire. They were promulgated under sultans Abdülmecid I (1839–61) and Abdülaziz (1861–76) in response to western pressure. Under Mustafa Resid Pasha (1800–58) a programme of reform was steadily developed. The army was reorganized on the Prussian model and the slave trade was abolished. Abuses in the taxation system were to be eliminated and provincial representative assemblies were created. New codes of commercial, land, and criminal law, based on French models, were introduced, with new state courts, separate from the Islamic religious courts. In his last years sultan Abdülaziz lost interest in the Tanzimat and, from 1871, became increasingly autocratic.