Abdulmecid I was born in Istanbul in 1823. His father was Mahmud II and his mother was Bezmialem Valide Sultan. He received a western education as well as a traditional education in the palace and was raised like a European prince. He ascended to the throne as 31st Ottoman sultan at the age of seventeen upon his father's death on July 1, 1839.
The Tanzimat Edict, a reform program that would please the West, was declared on 3rd of November 1839. After the Tanzimat, the intervention of European states in the Ottoman Empire's internal affairs increased. The ambassadors of England and France in Istanbul began to mentor the sultan. At that time, the rebellion of the Governor of Egypt, Mehmed Ali Pasha, and the Ottoman defeat were continuing. The Western states were also pressuring the Ottomans. Upon England's proposal, five major states came together in London. France, which supported the governor of Egypt, was excluded and the London Treaty was signed between England, Russia, Austria and Prussia on July 15, 1840. The governorship of Egypt was left to Mehmed Ali Pasha and the occupied lands and the Ottoman fleet were taken back. War was declared against Russia on October 4, 1853. In this war, which went down in history as the Crimean War and ended with the Paris Treaty signed on 30th of March 1856, England, France and Piedmont sided with the Ottoman Empire, meanwhile Austria and Prussia remained neutral.
Abdülmecid ended the tradition of the sultans remaining secluded in the palace and occasionally joined the people and dealt with their affairs. He made some trips within the country to see the needs of the people on site and listened to their complaints. Until his time, Ottoman sultans had given medals but not received them, but for the first time he broke this tradition by accepting the "Legion d'Honneur" medal from French Emperor Napoleon III.
Some laws were obtained from Western states through translation. The Penal Code was enacted in 1840, the Commercial Code in 1850, and the Land Code in 1857. Important steps were taken in the field of education; primary education became compulsory, high schools and girls' schools were opened, and the War Academy was established.
Starting from 1848, the Ottoman treasury entered a period of continuous crisis. In 1854, first foreign loan was taken from abroad to meet the heavy expenses caused by the Crimean War. Important sources of income of the country were mortgaged in return for each debt. Financial difficulties on one hand, and the discontent caused by the wide privileges granted to non-Muslims on the other hand dragged the country into chaos again. Rebellions and land losses continued in the border provinces.
During the reign of Abdülmecid, which was marked by various internal and external events and financial crises, many construction activities were also carried out. Palaces and mansions were built with some of the money borrowed from abroad. Dolmabahçe Palace, Beykoz Pavilion, Küçüksu Pavilion, several mosques and the new Galata bridge are some of the major architectural works of his period.
Abdulmecid, like his father, had tuberculosis and died at the Ihlamur Mansion on 25th of June 1861, at the age of 39. Abdülaziz ascended to the throne, but after him, Murad V, Abdulhamid II, Mehmed Resad V and Vahdeddin, the children of the previous sultan Abdulhamid I, became sultans in order.