The ambitious project was launched to try and combat the slow decline of the empire that had seen its borders shrink and a growing weakness when compared to the European powers. It began under Sultan Abd al-Majid who in 1839 issued an edict outlining some of the general nature of reform. These reforms were overseen by the European educated bureaucrats, and many of the reforms were attempts to graft successful European practices onto the empire. The reforms included universal conscription, educational reform, and the elimination of corruption.
In 1856 a second decree was issued expanding the scope of reforms by guaranteeing equality for all Ottoman citizens irrespective of religion. The reforms peaked in 1876 with the implementation of an Ottoman constitution checking the autocratic powers of the Sultan. While the new Sultan Abdul Hamid II signed it he quickly turned against it. The rest of his thirty-year reign was one of conservative reaction against the reforms.
Despite this backlash the Tanzimat would have wide reaching effects. Both the Young Turks and the later leaders of Turkey were educated in the schools established during the Tanzimat, as were many of the early Arab Nationalists.