During the sultanate of Abdülmecid I (r. 1839-1861), two edicts were promulgated with the ambition of profoundly reforming the Ottoman Empire. The first was promulgated in 1839 and the second in 1856. Taken together, these two edicts enacted structural reforms, the last of which guaranteed equality to all citizens of the empire, regardless of their religion. This season of reforms was christened Tanzimat, which means ‘reorganisation’ in Ottoman Turkish. The basic philosophy of the Tanzimat was to sweep away an almost six-century old social order that favoured Muslims over Christians and Jews, who were also citizens of the empire. The numerous edicts and laws issued by Abdülmecid I during this period introduced new state primary and secondary schools, open to all regardless of religion. Previously, each religious community was responsible for the education of its children in its own religion and language. Law was also secularised. Previously, Islamic courts, which applied Islamic and secular law, were supreme, but once secular courts were introduced, Islamic jurists began to lose their power. The previous Ottoman class system, which divided the tax-exempt elite from the tax-paying common citizens, was abolished, making all male citizens equal and, for the first time, eligible to serve in the armed forces, regardless of religion. In addition, the economy was liberalised and the right to private property was protected. Abdülmecid I also closed the Istanbul slave market and put an end to the African slave trade, but without abolishing slavery altogether. Another long-term result of these reforms was the centralisation of the bureaucratic system, with the creation of new provincial and urban administrative offices. This led to greater public control of the administration, the spread of authority and the entry of new people into the world of administration, profoundly changing the face of the Empire.