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State-Society Relations in the Ottoman era: A very brief overview

State-Society Relations in the Ottoman era: A very brief overview. One of the world’s biggest and longest-lived empires 1300-1918 Muslim Turkish dynasty: Osmanl ı lar Territory from Europe to N. Africa. Ottoman basics: who, what, when. The fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans, 1453.

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State-Society Relations in the Ottoman era: A very brief overview

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  1. State-Society Relations in the Ottoman era: A very brief overview

  2. One of the world’s biggest and longest-lived empires 1300-1918 Muslim Turkish dynasty: Osmanlılar Territory from Europe to N. Africa Ottoman basics: who, what, when The fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans, 1453.

  3. Mehmet II departs for Constantinople

  4. Map of the Ottoman Empire at its height

  5. Ottoman Empire and Tributary States, 1566 to 1700

  6. Basic Ottoman State Functions • Defend the borders of the empire • Protect the faith •  Collect taxes • Maintain public peace

  7. How does this differ from the function of modern states?

  8. State-society relations, in a nutshell • multi-ethnic empire • State did NOT attempt to create cultural conformity. • Ruling classes from many ethnic groups and religions • multi-lingual empire • Main language at court: Ottoman Turkish • Also Arabic, Persian • Everyday language: your choice • Decentralized • State largely ruled through governors and local notable families • Large amounts of local autonomy • Center-periphery relations rather than horizontal between communities

  9. Linking State and Society • Taxes and land • Tax farming • Nearly all land owned by the state (until 18th-19th c.) • Religious institutes and religious frameworks • Islam as a unifying medium • Justice: state-society compact • Administration • state-provincial relations

  10. Status of non-Muslims under Ottoman rule • Superior legal status accorded to Muslims • Dhimmis – special protection for “people of the book” • Special taxes • Some restrictions on building, etc. • The Millet system • Semi-autonomous religious communities (Greeks, Armenians, Jews)

  11. How does this compare to the treatment of religious minorities in Europe at this time?

  12. Basic divisions in society not between ethnic/religious groups but between the ruling class (Asker) & the ruled (reaya, the “flock”)

  13. Sultan/Caliph Vizier and Pasha Bureaucracy/civil service Local notables (ayan) Ulema –Muslim religious elite Military – Janissaries (paid standing army loyal to Sultan) Asker (ruling classes) An Ottoman cavalry man in the late 17th century.

  14. Settled peasants and villagers Tribes Some nomadic, some settled Prominent families scholars and clerics Sufi brotherhoods (tarikat) Merchants, Guilds Other Ottoman officials in the provinces – judges, governors, financial officials, rural police Society, and other reps of state

  15. Diversity in Dress: Images of women from the late Ottoman Empire. From Racinet’s Historic Costume.

  16. Sixteenth century war prisoners and the condemned being marched to prison at Topkapi Palace. Source: http://www2.egenet.com.tr/mastersj/encyclopedia-c.html

  17. 3 phases of Ottoman state-society relations • 1.   Rise, expansion, and consolidation of Ottoman state, 1300-1683 • 2. transformation of the state and territorial retraction,  1683-1798 • State withdrawal from social life. • Many provinces virtually autonomous. • 3. Long 19th century, 1798-1918

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