#OnThisDay On this day, August 31, 1876, the 34th Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II ascended the throne. A Brief Overview of His Achievements Sultan Abdul Hamid II is considered to be the founder of modern Turkey. Although he came to power at a time of political upheaval, he made some very major developments and changes throughout his empire. Sultan Abdul Hamid II encouraged infrastructural and cultural modernization. Under his rule, Ottoman bureaucracy acquired rational and institutional features where admission into the civil service as well as promotion processes was arranged through objective criteria such as exams and rules. Abdul Hamid II's modernizing efforts ultimately laid the foundation for modern Turkey; the founders of the Turkish republic were educated at schools founded by Abdul Hamid II. #ottomanempire #ottoman #IslamicGoldenAge