Mahmud II was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire who became known as 'Peter the Great of Turkey' for undertaking massive administrative, military, and fiscal reforms. He came to power in 1808 amidst a tumultuous internal conflict and ruled until his death in 1839. He followed in the footsteps of his forward-thinking cousin Selim III, who was dethroned and assassinated for introducing too many reforms within a short period of time. He abolished the conservative Janissary corps and initiated the Tanzimat reforms which, along with his several other sociopolitical reforms, marked the beginning of the modern Turkish Republic. While Mahmud II is often blamed by Western historians for severe loss of territory due to nationalist uprisings in Ottoman-ruled regions including Serbia and Greece, the fragmentation had already started when he assumed power.