Abdul Hamid II or Abdülhamid II reigned as the 34th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire - the last Sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. The time period which he reigned in the Ottoman Empire is known as the Hamidian Era. He oversaw a period of decline, with rebellions, and he presided over an unsuccessful war with the Russian Empire followed by a successful war against the Kingdom of Greece in 1897.
In accordance with an agreement made with the Republican Young Ottomans, he promulgated the Ottoman Empire's first Constitution, which was a sign of progressive thinking that marked his early rule. However, in 1878, citing disagreements with the Ottoman Parliament, he suspended both the short-lived constitution and the parliament. The modernization of the Ottoman Empire continued during his reign, including reform of the bureaucracy, the extension of the Rumelia Railway and of the Anatolia Railway, and the construction of the Baghdad Railway and of the Hejaz Railway. In addition, systems for population registration and control over the press were established, along with the first local modern law-school in 1898.