Overview
Abdülaziz continued the Tanzimat reforms but ran up debts the empire could not repay. He was deposed by his own ministers.
Rise to Power
He succeeded his brother Abdülmecid I in 1861.
Rule and Achievements
- Visited Paris, London and Vienna in 1867, the first Ottoman sultan to travel to Western Europe in peace
- Built one of the largest ironclad navies of the time and the first railways
- Saw the treasury default on its foreign debt in 1875, followed by revolts in Bosnia, Herzegovina and Bulgaria
Legacy
On 30 May 1876 ministers led by Midhat Pasha deposed him. He was found dead a few days later; his death was officially declared a suicide.