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| 1866 |
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| The Syrian Protestant College (later to become the American University of Beirut) was established by American missionaries. | 1 |
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| 1866–1914 |
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| The development of railways. The opening in 1866 of two railway lines in Anatolia (Izmir-Aydin and Izmir-Kasaba) introduced the first railways to the region (excluding Egypt, where a railway was started in 1851). By 1914 over 5,000 kilometers of railways had been built in Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, and Iraq, funded largely by European capital (two-thirds of foreign capital investments in the empire actually went into railway projects). The Hijaz Railway, promoted by Sultan Abdulhamid to carry pilgrims to the holy cities and facilitate his control over Arabia, was financed partly by contributions from Muslims. It was started in 1901 in Damascus, and reached Medina (1,320 kilometers away) in 1908. | 2 |
| The overall Middle Eastern network had grave flaws, including a multiplicity of gauges and wasteful duplication, but it reduced the costs of transport, cut traveling times sharply, and increased comfort and safety. In 1914, as much as 50 percent of the internal goods traffic of Syria and Anatolia was carried by rail rather than by animals and carriages. | 3 |
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| 1866–69 |
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| The revolt in Crete and its settlement. Some four decades of agitation by the Christian population in Crete against Muslim rule and in favor of union with Greece culminated in a great revolt beginning in May 1866. Greece, which sought persistently to annex the island, coordinated the uprising and supplied the rebels. Ottoman troops backed by reinforcements from Egypt suppressed the revolt. In consultation with Muslim and Christian leaders on the island, the Ottomans drew up a new organic regulation (Jan. 10, 1868), which established elected councils at various levels with equal representation for Muslims and Christians and reduced taxes; it exempted the Christians from military service as well as the conscription tax. Greece was pressured by the European powers to accept the settlement. | 4 |
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| 1867 |
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| Foundation of the Ottoman Theater, the first Turkish-language theater, by an Armenian repertory company directed by Agop Vartovyan, known as Gullu Agop (1840–1902). It performed European as well as new Turkish plays. | 5 |
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| April |
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| Consolidation of Serbian autonomy. The Ottomans agreed to withdraw their remaining troops and residents from Serbia, and their authority was confined to the annual tribute and an Ottoman flag flown jointly with that of Serbia over the Belgrade citadel. For all practical purposes Serbia was independent, a status formally recognized in 1878. | 6 |
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| June–July |
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| Abdulaziz attended the World Exhibition in Paris and then visited the British royal family in London. He was the first sultan to travel to the West. | 7 |
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