The Tanzimat was a period of reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began in 1839 and ended in 1876. It intended to modernize the Ottoman Empire, and allowed for religious freedom. Tanzimat means "re-ordering" or "restructuring" the relationship between the state and the different communities, which were named subjects. The period started with the publishing of the Tanzimat edict which was written by Koca Mustafa Reşit Paşa under the order of Sultan Mahmud II. The period began in 1839, after Hatt-ı Şerif. It was followed by Hatt-ı Hümayun in 1856. The Constitution of 1876 made these two edicts into law. These laws limited the power of the Sultan. Some of the reforms were influenced by those in British Empire and France.