Ahmed Cevdet Pasha or Jevdet Pasha in English (22 March 1822 – 25 May 1895) was an Ottoman scholar, intellectual, bureaucrat, administrator, and historian who was a prominent figure in the Tanzimat reforms of the Ottoman Empire. He was the head of the Mecelle commission that codified Islamic law for the first time in response to the Westernization of law. He is often regarded as a pioneer in the codification of a civil law based on the European legal system. The Mecelle remained intact in several modern Arab states in the early and mid-20th-century. In addition to Turkish, he was proficient in Arabic, Persian, French and Bulgarian. He wrote numerous books on history, law, grammar, linguistics, logic and astronomy. Early life Ahmed Cevdet Pasha was born in 1822 in Lofça, Ottoman Bulgaria. He came from the notable family of Yularkiranoglu that had served the state and the faith as military, administrative, and religious officials. It was his grandfather's, Hacı Ali Efendi, wish that Ahmed pursued a career in the religious, ilmiye, ranks. Ahmed was his original name; the name "Cevdet" (Jevdet) was given to him by his tutor Süleyman Fehim Efendi in 1843. Education Ahmed Cevdet began his education at a very early age. He started with his study of Arabic grammar from Hafız Ömer Efendi, who was the mufti of Lovech at the time. With his demonstrated rapid progress, Ahmed was soon introduced to the Islamic sciences. In 1836, he started reading with Hacı Esref Efendi, the deputy judge of Lovech who had a son that was Ahmed Cevdet's age. These two boys, who were both named Ahmed, went on to become famous as Ahmet Cevdet Pasha and Ahmed Midhat Pasha. So far, his elementary education had followed the traditional Muslim Ottoman pattern, being acquired through informal study with the local ulema. In 1839, having finished primary school in Lofça, Ahmed's education took a more advanced turn. He moved to Constantinople (now Istanbul), studied theology, mathematics, geology, and astronomy. He learned Arabic literature in several medreses, and received a diploma, , which qualified him to serve in an Ilmiye position. Ahmed also studied Persian under Mehmed Murad Efendi (died 1848) and Süleyman Fehim Efendi, studying the divans of Orfi Shirazi and Showkat (died 1695/6). In 1844, Ahmed was granted the permission to teach the Masnavi of Rumi. Following the death of his tutor Süleyman Fehim Efendi in 1845, Ahmed