four pillars: Islam, the Osman dynasty, the hüküment which was the Ottoman government, and the existence of the capital, Istanbul. He wrote "We do not possess the necessary [military] power to maintain the territorial integrity of our state. Consequently, it is our [geographical] position which shall help us preserve [that integrity]. [In order to do so] we must build a good administration. The foreign states shall not leave us in peace. All states aspire to possess Constantinople but the city is indivisible. If we are not able to produce a good administration [the foreign powers] will establish a joint administration [in Constantinople] too". Immediately following the reading of the Hatti-Sherif of Gülhane, Reşid Pasha presented the sultan with two propositions concerning the Meclis-i Vâlâ (Supreme Council of Judicial Ordinances, which had become law on 8 December 1839). First, he wanted to combine the Dar-ı Şura-yı Bab-ı Âli, which advised the Office of the Foreign Minister, with the Meclis-i Vâlâ, so that there was only one institution advising the Sublime Porte eliminating the frequent contradictions. The Meclis-i Vâlâ, would also be based out of the Sublime Porte compound, indicating the major influence the Tanzimat reformers would have over the drafting of new legislature. Also in 1841, Reşid Pasha renamed the new army, which had replaced the Janissaries after their fall in 1826, the Asakir-i Nizamiye-i Şihane. Reşid Pasha also created a new court of justice within the also newly established Ministry of Commerce, which he hoped would promote foreign trade with the Ottoman Empire. The new court would judge on commercial disputes. At the same time he created a new commercial code dealing with bankruptcies, partnerships and bills of exchange which had largely been based on French models. Upon questioning by the ulema, Reşid responded that Islam had no pertinence to these codes leading to his immediate removal from office as Foreign Minister. Starting in 1846, during Reşid Pasha's first two terms as Grand Vizier, the Tanzimat Reforms were at their peak. He focused on creating liberal economic policies, again established commercial courts and laws based on French models, as well as finally abolished slavery and the slave trade within the Empire. Reşid also strove to improve the educational system. In 1846 he created the Meclis-i Maarif, a committee of education that was designed to reduce the ulema's influence on education, essentially creating a secular system of learning. In 1847, the