Mahmud II was born in 1785. His father was Abdulhamid I and his mother was Naksidil Sultan. He ascended to the throne as the 30th Ottoman Sultan on July 28, 1808, after his older brother Mustafa IV was dethroned in a rebellion. During his reign, he had to deal with Janissary rebellions, tyrannical administrators who weakened the central administration, Serbian and Greek nationalist uprisings, Iran and Russia wars, and especially the rebellion of the Egyptian governor Mehmed Ali Pasha and his occupation of Anatolia. He ended the war with England and Russia by signing peace treaties, but the Empire suffered territorial losses. The French invaded Algeria in 1830. Nationalist movements against the Ottomans gained momentum in the Balkans.
During all of this turmoil and chaos, he was a sultan who made vital reforms regarding the restructuring of the State and played a role in laying the foundations of the Tanzimat Edict. He carried out radical reforms such as abolishing the Janissary Corps. This led to the events known as the Vaka-i Hayriye in 1826, which resulted in the destruction of the Janissary Corps by cannon fire and the execution of the survivors on June 16-17. He modernized the military and established new military units.
He supported the opening of schools that provided Western-style education. He played an important role in bringing Western music and culture to the Ottoman Empire. A European-style dress code of jackets and trousers was envisaged for civil service personnel, and traditional clothing was abandoned by accepting the wearing of the fez. Since modern wars could not be fought in old traditional clothing, new uniforms were sewn for the soldiers. It was also decided that the trumpet and bugle would be used in the army and the Mehter (Janissary) band would be dismissed. The sultan had his pictures hung in government offices in the country and embassies abroad.
Mahmud II saw it as a vital necessity that all people, regardless of whether they were Muslims or non-Muslims, be embraced by the State. He had mosques and lodges repaired and allowed the repair of many Christian churches. He ensured that Catholic Armenians were officially recognized as an independent community in 1830 and that new churches were built for them. He was also interested in music and calligraphy art.
Sultan Mahmud II died on June 28, 1839 as a result of his illness getting worse and was buried in his mausoleum in Sultanahmet, Istanbul. His eldest son Abdulmecid ascended to the throne.