Ottoman Ayan
The Ottoman ayan (singlular: ayn) were local notables or dynasts that maintained different extents of administrative control over swaths of land in the Ottoman Empire from the 16th to the early 19th centuries. These dynasts held significant autonomy from the central Ottoman government but did not challenge the state. Though the title could only be earned by Muslims, their leadership was secular. This elite class consisted of, “Wealthy merchants, heads of Janissary garrisons, leaders of important craft guilds, those who had bought the right to collect taxes for the government in Istanbul, and those who supervised the distributions of wealth generated by, and the maintenance of, pious endowments.” Ultimately, their presence was a part of a greater decentralizing trend experienced in the Ottoman Empire beginning in the 16th century, one which would come to define the Empire’s structure until its fall in the early 20th century.
Young Ottomans
The First Constitutional Era began on December 23, 1876, when Sultan Abdul Hamid II appointed Midhat Pasha as Grand Vizier and promulgated the Ottoman constitution of 1876, although his motives for doing so are suspect as they seemed to be aimed at appeasing Europeans who were in Istanbul for a conference. Indeed, Abdul Hamid II "was distrusted by both the Porte and by intellectuals. The ministers knew that he was deceitful and cunning, and they suspected that his rule would mean a return to imperial control over the affairs of the state." The first Ottoman parliament, the General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire, convened from March 19, 1877 to June 28, 1877 and only convened once more before being prorogued by Abdul Hamid II, ironically using his constitutional right to do so on February 13, 1878. He also dismissed Midhat Pasha and banished him from the empire, effectively ending the first constitutional era and marking a return to centralization of power under the Sultan.