had been long engaged in a
process of innovation. In spite of the opposition of his Janissaries, he
had accomplished his purpose of establishing regular regiments, clothed
and disciplined after the European system.' The fact that it was these
troops which, after so many fruitless attempts, at last conquered
Greece, made a profound impression on the Sultan. He reverted to the
ideas of Selim and Bairaktar, and the establishment of regular troops
seemed to him the only salvation of his empire. Therefore, on May 28,
1826, in a solemn sitting of his Council of State, at which the
Commissioner who had lately been in Ibrahim's camp was present, was
pronounced the 'fetwah,' that, 'In order to defend God's word and
counteract the superiority of the unbelievers, the Moslems, too, would
submit to subordination, and learn military manoeuvres.' The subversion
of ancient privileges, then, was the fundamental basis upon which his
reforms rested, and to this the destruction of the Janissaries put the
finishing touch.

If Mahmoud found difficulty in carrying out his plans at Stamboul, how
much more hard must they have been to accomplish in the provinces; and
of these, as I have before said, Bosnia was the most strongly imbued
with a spirit of independent feudalism.

In Bosnia, therefore, as was anticipated, the greatest resistance to the
innovation was experienced.

Upon the death of Jelaludin, Hadji Mustapha had been appointed Vizier, a
man of small capacity, and little suited to those stormy times.

He, and the six commissioners who had been sent with him from
Constantinople, were driven out, and compelled to take refuge in
Servia, whence they returned to Constantinople.

Again the dominion of the Sultan in these provinces appeared to hang
upon a slender thread; and indeed it was only saved by the sagacity of a
single man.

Upon the ejection of Hadji Mustapha, Abdurahim, the Pacha of Belgrade,
was appointed Vizier of Bosnia. Gifted with great penetration and
ability for intrigue, he contrived to win over many of the native
chieftains, while he worked upon the jealousy entertained by the Prince
of Servia for the Bosnian nobles, and thus succeeded in raising a small
army, with which he took the initiative in hostilities. Ranke tells us:
'He was fortunate enough to secure the assistance of the Kapetan
Vidaitch of Svornik. Svornik is regarded as the key of Bosnia. It seems
that the Agas of Serayevo had already conceived some suspic