Organizational Reforms

 During my reign, I made many new organizational reforms that helped to improve the Ottoman Empire. I wanted to change the legislation so that it could adapt to the continuously changing empire. The eternal law of the empire was the Sacred Law, or Shari’ah, and these were the laws that could not be touched. However, the Kanuns, or the canonical law, depended on my decisions and it covered many areas, including criminal law, land tenure, and taxation. I collected all of the judgments that were issued by the nine Ottoman Sultans before me. Then, I organized and issued a single legal code. This single legal code did not violate the basic laws of Islam. My code of laws soon became to be known as the kanun-I Osmani, or Ottoman laws.  Another one of my codes was my Kanune Raya, or Code of the Rayas. This focused on the predicament of the rayas, who were Christian subjects who worked the land of the Sipahis, who were the Ottoman cavalry corps. My code helped to raise the rayas’ status above serfdom by governing levies and taxes that gave money to the rayas.  Some Christian serfs even migrated to my territories to benefit from the Kanune Raya. Furthermore, I also protected Jews in my Ottoman empire.  I issued a decree that formally condemned blood libels, which were false accusations, against Jews. I also made new criminal and police legislation which fined for particular offenses and had less death penalties. Lastly, education was an important aspect for me. I increased the amount of primary schools in the capital so that children could be taught reading and writing. Children were also able to learn the principles of Islam. Furthermore, universities provided higher education for those who wished to learn even more.