The modernization of the Ottoman Empire occurred during his reign, including the reform of the

bureaucracy, the extension of the Rumelia Railway and Anatolia Railway, the construction of

the Baghdad Railway, and the Hejaz Railway. In addition, a system for population registration and
control over the press was established, along with the first local modern law school in 1898. The
most far-reaching of the reforms were in education: many professional schools were established for
fields including the law, arts, trades, civil engineering, veterinary medicine, customs, farming, and
linguistics. Although Abdul Hamid II closed Istanbul University in 1881, it was reopened in 1900, and
a network of secondary, primary, and military schools was extended throughout the empire. Railway
and telegraph systems were developed by primarily German firms.[4] During his reign, the Ottoman
Empire became bankrupt leading to the establishment of Ottoman Public Debt Administration in
1881.