1900

On the death of Ba Ahmad in 1900 the regency ended, and 'Abd al-'Aziz took the reins of government into his own hands.  He chose an Arab from the south, El Menebhi as his chief adviser.

Urged by his Circassian mother, 'Abd al-'Aziz sought advice and counsel from Europe and endeavored to act on it.  However, advice not motivated by a conflict of interest was difficult to obtain and, in spite of the unquestionable desire of the young ruler to do the best for the country, wild extravagance both in action and expenditure resulted, leaving the sultan with depleted exchequer and the confidence of his people impaired. Additionally, intimacy of 'Abd al-'Aziz with foreigners and his imitation of their ways were sufficient to rouse xenophobic fanaticism and create unrest.

The attempt of 'Abd al-'Aziz to reorganize the state finances by the systematic levy of taxes was hailed with delight, but the government was not strong enough to carry the measures through, and the money which should have been used to pay the taxes was employed to purchase firearms instead.  Thus, the benign intentions of 'Abd al-'Aziz were interpreted as weakness.  Europeans were accused of having spoiled the sultan and of being desirous of spoiling the country.

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