Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire (1299 - 3 March 1924) (Ottoman Turkish: دولت عليه عثمانيه Devlet-i ʿĀliye-yi ʿOsmāniyye; literally, "The Sublime Ottoman State", modern Turkish: Osmanlı İmparatorluğu), is also sometimes known in the West as the Turkish Empire. At the height of its power in the 16th and 17th centuries, its territory included Anatolia, the Middle East, parts of North Africa, and much of south-eastern Europe to the Caucasus. It comprised an area of about 2.1 million square miles (5.6 million km²) (though if adjoining territories where the empire's suzerainty was recognised, populated mainly by nomadic tribes are included, it controlled a much larger area). The empire interacted with both Eastern and Western cultures throughout its 624-year history - the Eastern influence being dominant, however, in both pre and post industrial times.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottoman Empire was among the world's most powerful political entities, with the powers of eastern Europe constantly threatened by its steady advance through the Balkans, the Kingdom of Hungary and the southern part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Its navy was also a powerful force in the Mediterranean Sea. On several occasions, the Ottoman army invaded central Europe, laying siege to Vienna in 1529 and again in 1683 in an attempt to conquer the Habsburg domain, and was finally repulsed only by great coalitions of European powers at sea and on land. It was the only non-European power to seriously challenge the growing influence of the West between the 15th and 20th centuries, eventually becoming an integral part of European politics, hence blurring the distinctions.

The dissolution of the empire was a direct consequence of World War I, when the Allied Powers defeated the Axis Powers comprised of Central Powers in Europe as well as the Ottoman forces in the Middle Eastern theatre. At the end of the war, the Ottoman government collapsed and Ottoman territory was divided among the victorious powers. Subsequent years saw the creation of new states from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire, the Republic of Turkey among them. The new republic declared most of the former ruling elite, including the Ottoman Dynasty, persona non grata of Turkey. In 1974, after 50 years, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey granted the right to re-acquire Turkish citizenship to the descendants of the former ruling dynasty. Ertuğrul Osman V, ancestral head of the House of Ottoman, repatriated in 2004.

History

Further information: [[:Timeline of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Archives]]

The history of the Ottoman Empire spans more than seven centuries, and primary documentation of the empire's relations with other powers is to be found in the archives of thirty-nine nations. Earlier historiography of the empire was based largely upon analysis of Ottoman military victories and defeats; current approaches take a wider perspective, the scope of which includes the social dynamics of territorial growth and dissolution, and examination of economic factors and their role in the empire's eventual stagnation and decline.

An examination of Ottoman history from a political and military viewpoint will be presented here; a socioeconomic analysis is treated in separate articles, divided between two periods, the classic period (sometimes referred to as the "era of enlargement"), and the reform period (also called "the era of Westernisation"). As the fullest understanding of Ottoman history may be achieved only through comparative study of these differing perspectives, rather than either alone, both are recommended to the attention of the interested reader.

Origins

The ancestors of the Ottoman Dynasty were part of the Turkic migrations from Asia, which began during the 10th century. The Kai tribe (tr:Kayı) of Oghuz Turks were one of the main groups taking part in this migration, and it was they who established what became the Ottoman Empire in western Anatolia. When the Kayı first settled in Anatolia in the 12th century, they were under the suzerainty of the Seljuk State of Anatolia. With the westward territorial expansion of the Mongol Empire, the Kayı became a puppet and vassal of the Il Khanate of the Mongols. The Seljuk system allowed the Kayı protection from outsiders, which gave them a chance to develop their own internal structure; moreover, their position on far eastern fringe of the Seljuk state enabled them to build military power through cooperation with the non-Turkic populations of eastern Anatolia, among whom were many Christians.

When the Seljuk state was in the process of collapse, the various beyliks, or territories, of Anatolia came into conflict with one another, with the Ottoman beylik eventually emerging as the supreme power in the region. In 1299, Osman I declared the independence of the Ottoman beylik, which had gradually been developed by the now-settled Kayı. The history of the tribe before Osman I extended back through Osman's father Ertuğrul to his grandfather Süleyman Shah, who was drowned in the river Euphrates in the year 1227 whilst fleeing the advance of the Mongol hordes.

Rise (1299–1453)

Main article: Rise of the Ottoman Empire

Mehmed II and his agreement (ﻋﻬﺪنامه ahdnâme) to protect Bosnian Christians

The rise of the empire defined the characteristics and nature of the state. The Ottomans definitively carved out their own preserve in history under the rule of Mehmed II.

The Ottoman state existed before Osman I (Arabic: عُثمَان ʿUthmān; hence the name Ottoman Empire). However he is regarded as the founder of the empire, as he named it and was the first bey (chieftain) to declare his independence. He extended the frontiers of Ottoman settlement towards the Byzantine Empire, while other Turkish beyliks suffered from infighting. Under Osman I, the Ottoman capital moved to Bursa. In centuries to come, his age would be recalled with the phrase, "May he be as good as Osman".

Ottoman historians attached great importance to "Osman's Dream" and its supposed significance in the foundation of the Empire. The dream is also an example of Turkish oral tradition. The historian von Hammer cites the story.

It was in this period that a formal Ottoman government was created; it was to last in the form in which it was instituted for nearly four centuries before being reformed. In contrast to many contemporary states, the Ottoman bureaucracy tried to avoid military rule, (see: millet). Although the Ottoman Empire was primarily a military state, its civics and economy did not reflect a policy of aggression. The expansionist policies of the Ottoman Empire did not lead to total war, given the fact that the Ottoman raids in the Balkans were not undertaken with the aim of destruction, but with the goal of Ottoman settlement in the area. Ottoman cultural artifacts are distributed throughout the Balkans with a direct relation to the time of ruling.

The strategic conquest or fall of Constantinople was crucial for Ottoman rule to extend over the Eastern Mediterranean and Balkans. In 1389, the Ottoman victory at the Battle of Kosovo effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, and paved the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe. Mehmed II was only 12 years old when he became sultan for the first time, and he was reputed to have been a capable warrior. Mehmed II enjoyed the full support of the empire, and used this to reorganise the structure of both the state and the military. He demonstrated his military prowess by the fall of Constantinople on May 29, 1453 (which marked the final defeat and collapse of the Byzantine Empire); the city became the new capital of the Ottoman Empire, being renamed Istanbul (see: Istanbul (Etymology)).

Growth (1453–1683)

Main article: Growth of the Ottoman Empire

Template:Ottoman Empire periods infobox There are two reasonably distinct periods in this era. From the conquest of Istanbul in 1453 to the death of Suleiman I (the Magnificent) in 1566, the Ottoman state grew to its zenith as a dynamic engine of conquest and government. The Sultans of this era were committed and effective leaders, and under their guidance innovative and disciplined military, social and bureaucratic structures were established. In the second period after Suleiman's death, these structures were put under strain by diminishing territorial gains, economic difficulties and a protracted period of weak Sultans. Nonetheless, the empire remained a major expansionist power until the disaster at Vienna in 1683.

Expansion and apogee (1453–1566)

Ottoman Empire, 1299–1683

Sultan Selim I (1512–1520) dramatically expanded the empire's eastern and southern frontiers, defeating the young Safavid Shah of Persia, Ismail I, in the Battle of Chaldiran, establishing Ottoman rule in Egypt and a naval presence in the Red Sea. Selim's successor, Suleiman the Magnificent (1520–1566), further expanded upon Selim's conquests. After capturing Belgrade in 1521, Suleiman struck a major blow against the Kingdom of Hungary at the 1526 Battle of Mohacs, causing that kingdom to fall into anarchy. He then laid siege to Vienna in 1529, but failed to take the city, being forced to retreat before the onset of winter. Soon Transylvania, Walachia and, intermittently, Moldavia became tributary principalities of the Ottoman Empire. In the east, Suleiman took Baghdad from the Persians in 1535, giving the Ottomans control of Mesopotamia and naval access to the Persian Gulf.

Under Selim and above all Suleiman, the empire briefly became a highly proficient and dominant naval force, controlling the eastern Mediterranean and exerting an effective offensive capability into the western sector. The Ottoman admiral Barbarossa Khair ad Din Pasha ended the Spanish occupation of Tunis and Algeria. During the Spanish Inquisition, he evacuated Muslims and Jews from Spain to the safety of Ottoman lands, particularly Salonica, Cyprus, and the newly conquered and empty city of Istanbul. In 1543 the forces of the French king Francis I (whose mother had requested the help of the Ottoman Sultan against the Holy Roman Empire, underlining the religious divisions in Europe at the time) and Barbarossa combined to capture Nice on behalf of France. France was the empire's major European ally in this period; both powers were united by their mutual opposition to Hapsburg Spain, and the Ottomans' grant of the right to trade within their empire without levy of taxation was an economic boon for France.

The newly global reach allowed by improved naval capability, and the need to balance the influence of the European states, saw efforts to combat the European powers (most particularly Portugal) in the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean and the Spice Islands. The strain on the empire's resources, and the logistics of maintaining lines of supply and communication across such vast distances, rendered these efforts unsustainable and ultimately unsuccessful. Crucially, the empire's two main theatres of war, Austria-Hungary and Iran, lay in opposite directions from the capital, Istanbul, at gruelling distances, and the overriding military need for defence in these areas, which marked the western and eastern frontiers of the empire, rendered effective long-term engagement elsewhere impossible. Nevertheless, the Ottomans' strategic vision in this period, and their partial success in global campaigning, was striking and ambitious. With the Ottomans blockading sea lanes to the East and South, the European powers were driven to find another way to the ancient Silk and Spice routes, now under absolute Ottoman control.

The Ottoman Empire reached its apogee during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. It was by now a highly significant and accepted part of the European political sphere and entered into an alliance with France, England and Holland against Habsburg Spain, Italy and Habsburg Germany.

Revolts and Revival (1566–1683)

Köçeks at a fair

The Ottoman blockade of eastern trade routes was a factor in driving European exploration of previously unknown areas of the world (this exploration was one of the causes of European technological advancements in this era) and in forging a coalition of European powers allied against the Ottomans. The Ottoman defeat at the naval Battle of Lepanto (1571) weakened the Ottoman grip on the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, and was considered by earlier historians to mark the beginning of Ottoman decline. By the end of the 16th century, the era of sweeping conquest and territorial expansion by the empire was over. The Habsburg frontier in particular became a more or less permanent border, with relatively minor battles, mostly concentrated on possession of individual fortresses, defining the nature of engagement. This was partly a reflection of simple geographical limits—in the pre-mechanised age, Vienna marked the furthest point that an Ottoman army could effectively reach from Istanbul during the early-spring-to-late-autumn campaigning season, as Suleiman had discovered. It also reflected the difficulties imposed by the military need of the Ottomans to maintain two separate fronts, the second countering the persistent ideological and territorial threat posed by the Shi'ite Safavid empire of Persia.

On the battlefield, the Ottomans were gradually falling behind Europe in military technology as growing religious and intellectual conservatism stifled the innovation that had marked the empire's forceful expansion. The Sipahi cavalry was becoming an obsolescent force, and relaxations of recruitment policy and excessive growth of the Janissary corps to the detriment of other Ottoman military units led to chronic problems in maintaining the discipline and unit cohesion necessary for effective military performance.

Economically, the huge inflow of Spanish silver from the New World caused a sharp devaluation of the Ottoman currency and rampant inflation. This had serious negative consequences across all strata of Ottoman society, including widespread lawlessness and rebellion in Anatolia in the late 16th and early 17th centuries (commonly known as the Celalî rebellions), and Janissary revolts that toppled Sultans and ministers.

Nevertheless, modern historians have been reassessing the conventional view of the 17th century as an era of pure stagnation and decline, instead viewing it as the key period in which the Ottoman state and its structures began to adapt to new pressures and new realities, internal and external. The relative ineffectiveness of most individual Sultans led to actual governance devolving to various proxies; at first to powerful members of the Harem, and, later, to the Grand Viziers, important among whom were the sternly reactionary Mehmed Koprullu (1656-1661), and his more moderate son Fazil Ahmed Koprullu (1661-1676), under whom the state reasserted itself with some vigour. The warrior Sultan Murad IV (1612–1640), who recaptured Erivan (1635) and Baghdad (1639) from the Safavids, is the lone example in this era of a Sultan who wrested effective control of the empire into his own hands.

Despite internal conflict within the Ottoman bureaucracy and military, the 17th century saw the empire expand its frontiers to their furthest reach, with notable gains under the Koprullu administration in Crete, Southern Ukraine and Podolia.

The defeat of Ottoman forces led by Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha at the second siege of Vienna in 1683, at the hands of the combined armies of Poland and the Holy Roman Empire under Jan III Sobieski, was the decisive event that swung the balance of power in the region in favour of the European nations. Under the terms of the Treaty of Karlowitz, which ended the Great Turkish War in 1699, the Ottomans ceded nearly all of Hungary, Transylvania, the Morea and Podolia. They also acknowledged, for the first time in their history, that the Austrian Empire could treat with them on equal terms.

Decline (1699–1908)

The decline era is generally divided into two main periods; first, an era of attempts at reform, and, second, an era of modernisation. The military and political details of this period are covered in two separate articles; the stagnation of the Ottoman Empire (1699–1827), when the empire began to lose territory along its western borders, but managed to maintain its stature as a great regional power, and the decline of the Ottoman Empire(1828–1908), when the empire lost territory on all fronts, and there was administrative instability due to the breakdown of centralised government.

Reform (1699–1827)

Main article: Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire

Template:Ottoman Empire periods infobox Further wars were lost, and territories ceded, to Austria in the Balkans. Certain areas of the empire, such as Egypt and Algeria, became independent in all but name, and subsequently came under the influence of the United Kingdom and France. The 18th century saw centralised authority giving way to varying degrees of provincial autonomy enjoyed by local governors and leaders. A series of wars were fought between the Russian and Ottoman empires from the 17th to the 19th centuries.

During the "Tulip Era" (لاله دورى Lâle Devri), named for Sultan Ahmed II's love of the tulip flower and its use to symbolise his peaceful reign, the empire's policy towards Europe underwent a shift. The region was peaceful between 1718–1730, after the Ottoman defeat of Russia in the Pruth Campaign in 1712 and the subsequent Treaty of Passarowitz brought about a pause in warfare. The empire began to improve the fortifications of cities bordering the Balkans to act as a defence against European expansionism. Other tentative reforms were also enacted: taxes were lowered; there were attempts to improve the image of the Ottoman state; and the first instances of private investment and entrepreneurship occurred. Unfortunately, these measures failed to halt the empire's decline.

Ottoman military reform efforts Sultan Selim III (1789-1807) made the first major attempts to modernise the army along European lines. These efforts, however, were hampered by reactionism, partly from the religious leadership, but primarily from the Janissary corps, who had become anarchic and ineffectual, jealous of their privileges and firmly opposed to change. Selim's efforts cost him his throne and his life, but were resolved in spectacular and bloody fashion by his successor, the dynamic Mahmud II, who massacred the Janissary corps in 1826. During Selim's reign, the French, led by Napoleon, invaded and occupied Egypt from 1798 until their defeat and expulsion by the British in 1801. This was only the beginning of gradual European invasion and occupation of Ottoman territory during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

There were efforts at educational and technological reforms, including the establishment of higher education institutions such as Istanbul Technical University. Though the empire's decline continued despite these measures. The technological and scientific advantages the Ottomans had once enjoyed over the European powers (as a result of the medieval synthesis of classical learning with Islamic philosophy and mathematics by Ottoman scholars and the guilds of writers , and knowledge of such Chinese advances in technology as gunpowder and the magnetic compass) had long since evaporated, in part due to the regressive influence of conservative guilds of writers (who denounced press technology as "the Devil's Invention"); this attitude was responsible for such things as the 100-year lag between the European invention of the printing press and its introduction into the Ottoman Empire.

Modernisation (1828–1908)

Main article: Decline of the Ottoman Empire

"Consultative Menagerie", January 1885; see image detail for explication

The period of the Ottoman Empire's decline was characterised by the reorganisation and transformation of most of the empire's structures in an attempt to bolster the empire against increasingly powerful rivals.

The Tanzimat period (from Turkish تنظيمات tanzîmât, meaning "reorganisation") lasted from 1839 to 1876. During this period, many significant changes were implemented: a fairly modern conscripted army was organised; the banking system was reformed; and the guilds were replaced with modern factories. Economically, the empire had difficulty in repaying its loans to European banks; at the same time, it faced military challenges in defending itself against foreign invasion and occupation: Egypt, for instance, was occupied by the French in 1798, while Cyprus was occupied by the British in 1876. In a significant shift in military and diplomatic policy, the empire ceased to enter conflicts on its own and began to forge alliances with European countries. There were a series such alliances with France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Russia. As an example, in the Crimean War the Ottomans united with the British, French, and others against Imperial Russia.

File:Ottoman-Empire-first-parlement.png

Opening of the Ottoman parliament, 1876

The rise of nationalism swept many countries during the 19th century, and the Ottoman Empire was not immune. A burgeoning national consciousness, together with a growing sense of ethnic nationalism, made nationalistic thought one of the most significant Western ideas imported by the Ottoman empire, as it was forced to deal with nationalism-related issues both within and beyond its borders. There was a significant increase in the number of revolutionary political parties. Uprisings in Ottoman territory had many far-reaching consequences during the 19th century and determined much of Ottoman policy during the early 20th century. Many Ottoman Turks questioned whether the policies of the state were to blame: some felt that the sources of ethnic conflict were external, and unrelated to issues of governance. While this era was not without some successes, the ability of the Ottoman state to have any effect on ethnic uprisings was seriously called into question.

Despite the empire's label as the "sick man of Europe", from an economic perspective, the empire's actual weakness did not reside in its developing economy, but the cultural gap which separated it from the European powers. The empire's problems were, in fact, the result of an inability to deal with the new problems created by the conflict between external imperialism and rising internal nationalism. (See socioeconomics during the Ottoman reformation era.)

The era of the empire's First Constitutional government (برنجى مشروطيت دورى Birinci Meşrûtiyyet Devri), was short-lived; however, the idea (Ottomanism) behind the movement proved influential. A wide-ranging group of reformers known as the Young Ottomans, primarily educated in Western universities, believed that a constitutional monarchy would provide an answer to the empire's growing social unrest. Through a military coup in 1876, they forced Sultan Abdülaziz (1861-1876) to abdicate in favour of Murad V. Unfortunately, Murad V proved to be mentally ill, and was deposed within a few months. His heir-apparent Abdülhamid II (1876-1909) was invited to assume power on the condition that he declare a constitutional monarchy, which he did on 23 November 1876. The subsequent constitution—called the Kanûn-ı Esâsî (قانون اساسى, meaning "Basic Law"),written by members of the Young Ottomans—was in effect for only two years.

These reforms did not halt the rise of nationalism in the Danubian Principalities and Serbia, which had been semi-independent for almost 6 decades; in 1875 Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Wallachia and Moldova declared their independence from the Empire; following the Russo-Turkish war, independence was formally granted to Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania and Montenegro, with the other territories remaining under Ottoman control .

Dissolution (1908–1922)

Main article: Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire

Public demonstration in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, 1908

The period of the Ottoman Empire's final dissolution began with the onset of the Second Constitutional Era (ايکنجى مشروطيت دورى İkinci Meşrûtiyyet Devri). This era is symbolised by the Committee of Union and Progress (اتحاد و ترقى جمعيت İttihâd ve Terakkî Cem'iyyet) and the movement that would become known as the "Young Turks" (ژون تورکلر Jön Türkler). The Young Turk Revolution began on 3 July 1908 and quickly spread throughout the empire, resulting in the sultan's announcement of the restoration of the 1876 constitution and the reconvening of parliament. The Committee of Union and Progress managed to win the elections that were held in that year; once in power, the Young Turks introduced a number of initiatives intended to promote the modernisation of the Ottoman Empire. They supported industrialisation and administrative reform, and their restructuring of provincial administration quickly led to greater centralisation of government. In addition, they implemented the secularisation of the legal system and subsidies for the education of women, and altered the administrative structure of the state-operated primary schools. Their domestic reforms were in some ways quite successful, but their foreign policy proved to be disastrous.

The Balkan Wars, following the Italian occupation of Libya in 1911, were the first real test for the Committee of Union and Progress. The new Balkan states formed at the end of the 19th century sought additional territories from Albania, Macedonia, and Thrace, on the grounds of ethnic nationalism. Initially, with Russia acting as an intermediary, agreements were concluded between Serbia and Bulgaria in March 1912, and between Greece and Bulgaria in May 1912. Montenegro subsequently concluded agreements between Serbia and Bulgaria in October 1912. The Serbian-Bulgarian agreement specifically called for the partition of Macedonia, which was the chief casus belli of the First Balkan War; the Second Balkan War followed soon after the first. The political repercussions of the Balkan Wars led to the coup of 1913, and the subsequent rule of the Three Pashas.

File:Jihad 1914.jpg

The Ottoman Empire joins the Central Powers in World War I.

The Ottoman Empire took part in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, under the terms of the Ottoman-German Alliance. The Ottoman met with some military success in the early years of the war, particularly at the Battle of Gallipoli; there were setbacks as well, however, such as the disastrous Caucasus Campaign against the Russians. The Russian Revolution of 1917 gave the Ottomans the opportunity to regain lost ground; however, in the face of continued British offensives on other fronts, these efforts proved unsustainable. The Armenian resistance in the province of Van was a significant event in this conflict; the core Armenian resistance group formed an independent provisional government in May of 1915, which the ottoman citizens behind this movement accused of being in collaboration against their native state. The eventual Ottoman defeat came from a combination of coordinated attacks on strategic targets by British forces commanded by Edmund Allenby, assisted by the Arab Revolt. The initial cease-fire agreement was the Armistice of Mudros; under the terms of the subsequent Treaty of Sèvres the empire was to submit to partition under the mandate of the British and French, and formally recognise the Democratic Republic of Armenia (the terms of this treaty were superseded by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne). The United Kingdom obtained virtually everything it had sought under the secret agreement made with France in 1916, in the midst of the war. The other powers of the Triple Entente, however, soon became entangled in the Turkish War of Independence.

During the WWI Ottoman government also faced difficulties on the home front, including Armenian rebellions in eastern Anatolia that led for first April 24 circular and then the Tehcir Law of June 1-1915 to February 8-1916. Assassinations of CUP members of the period by members of Armenian Revolutionary Federation, which were either acquitted or intentionally not caught, are perceived by some as extrajudicial punishment to April 24 circular. Turkish authorities also claim that Tehcir Law was not the main contribution to total Armenian mortality during the WWI and the claim for an organized crime against the Armenians by Teşkilati Mahsusa or the special organization were also in dispute, even if the very poor conditions of the Armenians (also some Muslims) were not. The result of conditions that had effect on World War I casualties, and the civil war within the historical roots of the region, which pushed Armenian and Muslim population (mortality=2.500.000), back-and-forth within the war zone. Most academics define this period as the Armenian Genocide.

The Turkish War of Independence was a response to the designs of the victorious Allies; angered by the Sèvres agreement, Mustafa Kemal, who had been an important force at the 1915 Battle of Gallipoli—raised an army that expelled the Greeks, the Italians, and the French, confronted the Republic of Armenia, and eventually threatened the British as well. Turkish revolutionaries, under Mustafa Kemal's leadership, formed a parliament, the Grand National Assembly (Büyük Millet Meclisi), in Ankara on 23 April 1920. The final blow to the Ottoman Empire came on 1 November 1922, with the abolition of the sultanate. The last sultan, Mehmed VI Vahdettin (1918-1922), left the country on 17 November, and the Republic of Turkey was officially declared on 29 October 1923. The title of caliph, the very last official remnant of the empire, was constitutionally abolished several months later, on 3 March 1924.

Ultimately, the fall of the Ottoman Empire can be attributed to the failure of its economic structure; the size of the empire created difficulties in economically integrating its diverse regions. Also, the empire's communication technology did not migrate into the empire's state structure. The trade dynamics were based on non-state elements. In many ways, the circumstances surrounding the Ottoman Empire's fall closely paralleled those surrounding the fall of the Roman Empire, particularly in terms of the ongoing tensions among the empires' populations and the respective governments' inability to deal with these tensions. In the case of the Ottomans, the introduction of a parliamentary system during the Tanzimat proved to be too late to reverse the damage that had already been done.

Economic History

Main article: Economic history of the Ottoman Empire

Stamp 1901

The economic structure of the Empire was defined by the geopolitical structure. The Ottoman Empire stood in between West and East, thus blocking the route eastward and forcing Spanish and Portuguese navigators to set out in search of a new route to the Orient. The empire was controlling the route that Marco Polo once used. When Christopher Columbus first journeyed to America in 1492, the Ottoman Empire was at its highest position—an economic power which extended over three continents. Current Ottoman studies imply that the change in politics between Ottomans and central Europe did depend on the opening of the new sea routes. It is also possible to see the decay of the Ottoman Empire by measuring the diminishing significance of the land routes, as Western Europe opened the ocean routes that bypassed the Middle East and Mediterranean.

State

Main article: State organisation of the Ottoman Empire

In diplomatic circles, the empire was often referred to as the "Sublime Porte", a literal translation of the Ottoman باب عالی (Bâb-ı Âlî), which was the only gate of the imperial Topkapı Palace that was open to foreigners, and was where the sultan greeted ambassadors.

File:Ottoman-Empire-public-office.png

Ottoman bureaucracy

The Ottoman state revolutionised its administrative system with the aid and experience of Greeks and other Christians, Muslims, and Jews, while many other states still held tightly to their own religions and national identities. The rapidly expanding empire utilised skilled subjects to manage the empire, who were often selected from among loyal Phanariot Greeks, Armenians, and others. From the perspective of the West, this eclectic administration was apparent even in the diplomatic correspondence of the empire, which was initially undertaken in the Greek language. Like the Byzantines before them, the Ottomans practised a system in which the state had control of the clergy. The nomadic Turkic forms of land tenure were largely retained—with a number of unique adjustments—in the Ottoman Empire. Certain pre-Islamic Turkish traditions that had survived the adoption of administrative and legal practices from Islamic Iran continued to be important in Ottoman administrative circles. In the Ottoman judiciary, for example, the courts were run by kadı (قاضی), religious judges appointed by the sultan who exercised direct control over members of the religious establishment. Ultimately, the Ottoman administrative system was a blend of influences derived from the Turkish nomads, the Byzantines, and the Islamic world.

The Ottomans were primarily administrators and not producers in the sense that the empire did not employ a program of economic exploitation, as did the colonial empires of the modern European states. Its economic outlook (fiscalism) stressed abundance and regulated prices within the marketplace to ensure social stability, and the state never developed a Western mercantile outlook, leaving commerce very largely in the hands of the non-Muslim population. According to Ottoman understanding, the state's primary responsibility was to defend and extend the land of the Muslims and to ensure security and harmony within its borders within the overarching context of orthodox Islamic practice and dynastic sovereignty.

House of Osman

Further information: [[:Ottoman Dynasty, House of Osman]]

The Ottoman sultan, also known as the pâdişâh (پادشاه) or "lord of kings", served as the empire's sole regent and was considered to be the embodiment of its government, though he did not always exercise complete control.

Throughout Ottoman history, however—despite the supreme de jure authority of the sultans and the occasional exercise of de facto authority by Grand Viziers—there were many instances in which local governors acted independently, and even in opposition to the ruler. There are, for instance, eleven incidents in which the sultan was deposed because he was perceived as a threat to the state. On the other hand, although new sultans were always chosen from among the sons of the previous sultan, there was a strong educational system in place that was geared towards eliminating the unfit and establishing a common trust among the ruling elite for the son before he was actually crowned. Only two failed attempts were made in the whole of Ottoman history to unseat the ruling Osmanlı dynasty, suggestive of a high level of political stability.

Imperial Harem

Main article: Imperial Harem

The Harem was one of the most important powers of the Ottoman court. It was ruled by the Valide Sultan (also known as the Baş Kadın, or "chief lady"), mother of the reigning sultan, who held supreme power over the Harem and thus a powerful position in the court. On occasion, the Valide Sultan would become involved in state politics and could through her influence diminish the power and position of the sultan. For a period of time beginning in the 16th century and extending into the 17th, the women of the Harem effectively controlled the state in what was termed the "Sultanate of Women" (Kadınlar Sultanatı).

The harem had its own internal organisation, and order of formulating policies. Beneath the Valide Sultan in the hierarchy was the Hasseki Sultana, the mother of the sultan's first-born son, who had the best chance of becoming the next Valide Sultan. The sultan also had four other official wives, who were each called Hasseki Kadın. Next in rank below the sultan's wives were his eight favourite concubines (ikbâls or hâs odalıks), and then the other concubines whom the sultan favoured and who were termed gözde. Next in rank were the concubines of other court officials. Pupils (acemî) and novices (câriye or şâhgird) were younger women who were either waiting to be married off to someone or who had not yet graduated out of the Harem School.

Palace schools

The palace schools were where young male Christian slaves (devşirme), taken as tribute from conquered Christian lands, were trained. There were palace schools in the old palace in Edirne, one in the Galata Palace north of the Istanbul's Golden Horn, and one in Ibrahim Pasha Palace in the Hippodrome area of Istanbul. The boys would graduate from these schools after seven years, and were then ready to become servants to the sultan or other notables, to serve in the Six Divisions of Cavalry, or to serve as Janissaries. Some of the most talented devşirme would come to Topkapı Palace, where they were trained for high positions within the Ottoman court or military.

The Divan (Council)

Further information: [[:Divan, Grand Vizier, Vizier]]

Though the sultan was the supreme monarch, he had a number of advisors and ministers. The most powerful of these were the viziers of the Divan, led by the Grand Vizier. The Divan was a council where the viziers met and debated the politics of the empire. It was the Grand Vizier's duty to inform the sultan of the opinion of the divan. The sultan often took his vizier's advices under consideration, but he by no means had to obey the Divan. The Divan consisted of three viziers in the 14th century; by the 17th century, the number had grown to eleven, four of whom served as Viziers of the Dome (the most important ministers after the Grand Vizier).

Imperial Government

Main article: Imperial Government of the Ottoman Empire

Further information: [[:Subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire, List of Ottoman Grand Viziers]]

File:Ottoman-Empire-Divan.png

باب عالی Bâb-ı Âlî, the "Sublime Porte"

Though the state apparatus of the Ottoman Empire underwent many reforms during its long history, a number of its basic structures remained essentially the same. Chief among these was the primacy of the sultan. Despite important decisions usually being made by the Divan, ultimate authority always rested with the sultan.

The Divan, in the years when the Ottoman state was still a beylik, was composed of the elders of the tribe. Its composition was later modified to include military officers and local elites (such as religious and political advisors). These individuals became known as viziers. Later still, beginning in the year 1320, a Grand Vizier (صدر اﻋظم Sadr-ı a'zam) was appointed in order to assume certain of the sultan's responsibilities. The Sublime Porte, which became synonymous with the Ottoman government, was in fact the gate to the Grand Vizier's headquarters, and the place where the sultan formally greeted foreign ambassadors. At times throughout Ottoman history, the authority of the Grand Vizier was to equal, or even on some occasions surpass, that of the sultan.

After the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, the Ottoman state became a constitutional monarchy without executive powers, and a parliament was formed, with representatives chosen from the provinces.

At the height of its power, the Ottoman Empire contained 29 provinces, in addition to the tributary principalities of Moldavia, Transylvania, and Wallachia.

Insignia

Further information: [[:Tughra, Ottoman Flag]]

Sultan Mahmud II; it reads Mahmud Khan son of Abdulhamid is forever victorious

The Tughra were calligraphic monograms, or signatures, of the Ottoman Sultans, of which there were 35. Carved on the Sultan's seal, they bore the names of the Sultan and his father. The prayer/statement “ever victorious” was also present in most. The earliest belonged to Orhan Gazi. The ornately stylised tughra spawned a branch of Ottoman-Arabic calligraphy.

File:Ottoman Sultanate1299-1453.png

Early Ottoman Flag

Society

Main article: Society structure of the Ottoman Empire

One of the successes of the Ottoman Empire was the unity that it brought about among its highly varied populations. While the main reason was for this was the Empire's military strength and use of intimidation as a means of control in newly conquered territories, it may also be ascribed in part to the laws of Islam, which stated that Muslims, Christians, and Jews—who constituted the vast majority of the Ottoman population—were all related in that they were "People of the Book" (Arabic: اهل الكتاب; ahl al-Kitâb). As early as the rule of Mehmed II, the Ottomans had foreseen the results of such policies: Mehmed II, for instance, granted extensive rights to Phanariot Greeks and invited many Jews to settle in Ottoman territory.

Concept of Nation

Main article: Millet (Ottoman Empire)

See also: Ottomanism

Under Ottoman rule the major religious groups were allowed to establish their own communities, called millets, each retaining its own religious laws, traditions, and language under the general protection of the sultan. Millets were led by religious chiefs, who served as secular as well as religious leaders and thus had a substantial interest in the continuation of Ottoman rule. Mehmed II used the conquering army to restore the physical structure of the city. Old buildings were repaired, streets, aqueducts, and bridges were constructed, sanitary facilities were modernised, and a vast supply system was established to provide for the city's inhabitants.

Ultimately, the Ottoman Empire's relatively high degree of tolerance for ethnic differences proved to be one of its greatest strengths in integrating the new regions until the rise of nationalism (this non-assimilative policy became a weakness during the dissolution of the empire that neither the first or second parliaments could successfully address).

"...the Ottoman family was ethnically Turkish in its origins, as were some of its supporters and subjects. But ... the dynasty immediately lost this "Turkish" ethnic identification through intermarriage with many different ethnicities. As for a "Turkish empire", state power relied on a similarly heterogeneous mix of peoples. The Ottoman empire succeeded because it incorporated the energies of the vastly varied peoples it encountered, quickly transcending its roots in the Turkish nomadic migrations from Central Asia into the Middle East."

Slavery

Further information: [[:Devshirmeh]]

The Ottomans came from a nomadic people among whom slavery was little practised. Also, from the Islamic perspective, the Qur'an specifically states "everyone is same", although the practice showed differences based on cultures (Islam and Slavery covers these perspectives). Specifically, Ottoman application on their domain was not approved. However, the Ottoman policies were based on a millet perspective in which each millet had the right to govern their own domain. Trafficking in slaves is expressly forbidden by the Ottoman application of sharia, or Islamic law. For example, by the terms of the sharia, any slaves who were taken could not be kept in the status of slaves if they converted to Islam. It was, in fact, considered an insult to term an Ottoman man as a slave-master, and there were incidents in which Ottomans responded unsympathetically to any who even mentioned the idea of slavery to them.

Slavery was usually confined to domestic services, including odalisques. Many were captives of war and cross-border raids. In the Mediterranean, such enslaved captives manned the galley oars in the navy. By the era of Tanzimat, the Ottoman Empire aimed to gradually limit the scope of slavery. However, slavery was not formally abolished until the proclamation of the Republic.

The devshirmeh system can be considered as a form of slavery, of blacks, considering the Sultans' absolute power over its members, but the high status of the 'slave' or kul of the Sultan within Ottoman society, encompassing the very highest officers of state and the military elite, all well remunerated, makes 'slavery' as understood in the West a potentially misleading term.

Rural slavery was largely a Caucasian phenomenon, carried to Anatolia and Rumelia after the Circassian migration after 1864. Conflicts emerged within the immigrant community and the Ottoman Establishment, at times, intervened on the side of the slaves.

Culture

Main article: Culture of the Ottoman Empire

Further information: [[:Ottoman poetry, Prose of the Ottoman Empire, Costumes of the Ottoman Empire]]

Istanbul Park

Many different cultures lived under the umbrella of the Ottoman Empire, and as a result, a specifically "Ottoman" culture can be difficult to define. To some extent, there existed a Turkish Ottoman culture, a Greek Ottoman culture, an Armenian Ottoman culture, and so on. However, there was also, to a great extent, a specific intersecting multi-ethnic culture that can be said to have reached its highest levels among the Ottoman elite, who—far from being monolithic—were in fact composed of a myriad of different ethnic and religious groups.

One of the roots of Ottoman culture comes from the Oghuz Turks with their Central Asian Turkic nomadic culture. As the Oghuz passed into Anatolia through Persia over a period of a few hundred years they absorbed many elements of Persian culture. Following Sultan Mehmed II's capture of Istanbul in 1453, many aspects of Byzantine—and, more broadly, European—culture began to be integrated into Ottoman culture. As the empire expanded in subsequent years, different cultures were brought into this mix, enriching it still further.

This Ottoman multicultural perspective reflects on their policies. One of the reasons that the Ottoman Empire lasted as long as it did was the highly tolerant policies pursued originating from their nomadic inheritance. This statement should be taken as a comparison to assimilative medieval times (east and west). The Ottoman State pursued multi-cultural and multi-religious policies - accommodating different perspectives. Two examples of this are the Ottoman justice system and the regional governors. As the Ottomans moved further west, the Ottoman leaders themselves absorbed some of the culture of conquered regions. In addition, with intercultural marriages, new cultural structures were gradually added to the Ottomans, creating the characteristic Ottoman elite culture. When compared to common Turkish arts (folkloric), the assimilation of the Ottoman elites to these new cultures is apparent.

Architecture

Main article: Ottoman architecture

Architectural plan of Bey Hamam in Thessaloniki dated 1444

Ottoman architecture influenced by Seljuk, Byzantine and Arab architecture, came to develop a style all of its own. The years 1300-1453 (Rise Period) constitute the early or first Ottoman period, when Ottoman art was in search of new ideas. The years 1453-1600, which is named the classical period, coinciding with the growth period, constitutes the strongest period. During the years of the stagnation period, principles of architecture deviated from classical times. During the Tulip Era, it was under the influence of the excessive decorations of the west; Baroque, Rococo, Empire and other styles intermingled.

Concepts of Ottoman architecture mainly circles around the mosque. The society and mosque was being envisioned as an entity interconnected with city planning and communal life. Beside the mosque, there were soup kitchens, theological schools, hospitals, Turkish baths and tombs.

Examples of Ottoman architecture of the classical period, aside from Istanbul and Edirne, can also be seen in Egypt, Eritrea, Tunisia, Algiers, the Balkans and Hungary, where mosques, bridges, fountains and schools were built.

Language

Main article: Ottoman Turkish language

At the Ottoman court, a version of Turkish with Arabic and Persian vocabulary was spoken (see: Ottoman Turkish language). The basic grammar was still largely Turkish, but far more elaborate than the Turkish that was spoken outside of the court. The two varieties of the language became so differentiated that ordinary people had to hire special "request-writers" (arzıhâlcis) in order to be able to communicate with the government.

The Sultans had a very mixed ethnic lineage because the Sultans married women from various backgrounds. They spoke their mother tongue: Ottoman, Persian, Turkish, Greek, Arabic and some European languages.

In cosmopolitan cities, people often spoke their family languages, some Ottoman or Persian if they were educated, and some Arabic if they were Muslim. In the last two centuries, French and English emerged as popular languages where the elite learned French at school, and used European products as a fashion statement. All ethnicities who had their own language continued to speak their own language with their families. In villages where two populations lived together, the two populations would often speak each other's language (Cyprus:Greek/Turkish, the Balkans: Albanian/ Greek/ Serbian/ Bulgarian, Eastern Turkey: Kurdish/ Turkish/ Armenian, Northeastern Turkey: Laz/ Georgian/ Greek/ Turkish).

Music

Main article: Ottoman classical music

Further information: [[:Janissary Music, Roma music, Belly dance, Turkish folk music]]

As music was an important part of the education of the Ottoman elite, a number of the Ottoman sultans were accomplished musicians and composers themselves, such as Selim III, whose compositions are still frequently performed today. Due to a geographic and cultural divide between the capital and other areas, two broadly distinct styles of music arose in the Ottoman Empire: Ottoman classical music, and folk music.

Ottoman classical music arose largely from a confluence of Byzantine music, Arab music, and Persian music. Compositionally, it is organised around rhythmic units called usul, which are somewhat similar to meter in Western music, and melodic units called makam, which bear some resemblance to Western musical modes. The instruments used are a mixture of Anatolian and Central Asian instruments (the saz, the bağlama, the kemence), other Middle Eastern instruments (the ud, the tanbur, the kanun, the ney), and—later in the tradition—Western instruments (the violin, the piano).

In the provinces, several different kinds of Folk music were created. The most dominant regions with their distinguished musical styles are: Balkan-Thracian Turkus, North-Eastern Turkus(Laz), Aegean Turkus, Central Anatolian Turkus, Eastern Anatolian Turkus, and Caucasian Turkus. Istanbul does not have any Turkus, because it has the Turkish Classical Music.

Cuisine

Main article: Ottoman Cuisine

When one talks about the "Ottoman Cuisine", one refers to the cuisine of the Capital - Istanbul, and the regional capital cities, where the melting pot of cultures created a common cuisine that all the populations enjoyed. This diverse cuisine was honed in the Imperial Palace's kitchens by chefs brought from certain parts of the empire to create and experiment with different ingredient. Each cook specialised in specific tasks. The creations of the Ottoman Palace's kitchens filtered to the population, for instance through Ramadan events, and through the cookings at Yalis of Pashas, and from here on spread to the rest of the population.

Ottoman Cuisine is one of the most diverse and advanced cuisines in the World, and is based on the culmination of Ottoman regional and ethnic dishes and technological and innovational advancement of these with new ingredients and cooking techniques. Ottoman Cuisine ranks with the elegance of French and the complexity of the Chinese cuisine, and today reaches millions of people's plates through Greek, Turkish and Middle Eastern restaurants in the United States of America and Europe.

Ottoman Cuisine is also a palatal bridge between the Middle East and the West, where one can find Bread (European) and Rice or Noodles (Asian), on the same dinner table for the same meal.

The Imperial cooks were tested and hired by their method of cooking rice, a simple dish. They were brought over from various places to experiment and invent new dishes, which first passed by the palate of the Chesnidjibashi (the imperial food taster), who tested the food for poison and taste before it was served to the Sultan. These cooks experimented with such extreme textures and ingredients.

Few examples of Extreme Ottoman Cooking: Tavuk Gogsu (Chicken Breast Pudding): As the name states, chicken breast was beaten to strings and added as a texture to fine rice pudding to create this delicacy. Sonmus Kirec Kaymaginda Pismis Bal Kabagi Tatlisi (Pumpkin desert cooked on chalk) Shark Dolma: A seafood twist to a traditional dolma. Camel Dolma: An extravagant twist to a traditional dolma, where a camel is stuffed with 4 sheep, and the sheeps are stuffed with chicken, and rice, for a wedding or a feast.

Lifestyle

Main article: Lifestyle of the Ottoman Empire

Galata Bridge in Istanbul, 1878

The Ottoman court life in many aspects assembled ancient traditions of the Persian Shahs, but had many Greek and European influences.

The court (Topkapı)

Main article: Topkapı Palace

Further information: [[:Harem (household)]]

The culture that evolved around the court was known as the Ottoman Way. To get a high position in the empire, one must be skilled in the Way. It included knowing both Persian, Arabic and Ottoman Turkish and how to behave in court, in front of the sultan, and in formal and religious occasions. The Ottoman Way also used to separate the nobles from the lower classes. Peasants and villagers were called Turks, while nobles were Ottomans.

The sultan was served by an army of pages and scholars. Twenty-five of these served in the kitchen and in the larder. Others served in the Treasury and the Armoury, maintaining the sultan's treasures and weapons. There where also a branch of servants that were said to serve the Chamber of Campaign, i.e. they accompanied the sultan and his court while on campaign. The best of the pages was chosen to serve the sultan in person. One was responsible for the sultan's clothing, one served him with drinks, one carried his weaponry, one helped him mount his horse, one was responsible for making his turban and a barber shaved the sultan every day. At the palace served also a great number of stewards who carried food, water and wood throughout the palace and lit the fireplaces and braziers. The corps of doorkeepers (Kapıcı) numbered several hundred and were responsible for opening the doors throughout the entire palace. The chief doorkeeper was responsible for escorting important guests to the sultan. A number of lackeys (Çikadar) served as messengers in the palace and the city and from one of these were the Imperial Herald (Divan Çavısı, literally "sergeant of the divan") who was a man entrusted by the sultan to various tasks, among others to inform people who would take part in meetings of the Divan.

The Harem was under the administration of the eunuchs, of which there were two categories, Black and White Eunuchs. Black Eunuchs were Africans who served the concubines and officials in the Harem and together with chamber maidens of low rank. The White Eunuchs were Europeans from the Balkans. They served the recruits at the Palace School (see below) and were from 1582 prohibited from entering the Harem. An important figure in the Ottoman court was the Chief Black Eunuch (Kızlar Ağası or Harem Ağası). In control of the Harem and a perfect net of spies in the Black Eunuchs, the Chief Eunuch was involved in almost every palace intrigue and could thereby gain power over either the sultan or one of his viziers, ministers or other court officials.

The Harem was a small world in itself. Often the mother of the current sultan (Valide Sultan) was a politically influential person. She also selected the concubines for her son. The concubines could live in or around the palace for their entire life, and it supported them with whatever they needed. Women not found suitable for the sultan were married off to eligible bachelors from the Ottoman nobility or sent back home. Female servants did all the chores such as serving food and making the beds. Male (sometimes eunuch) white and black servants did the hard work such as shopping, guarding the palaces and maintaining the gardens and palaces.

Every prince has his own place. It is a tradition to take the bride from her house and take it to where she will be building her new familiy.

See also: Seraglio.

The provincial capitals

Apart from the Ottoman court, there were also large metropolitan centers where the Ottoman influence expressed itself with a diversity similar to metropolises of today: Sarajevo, Skopje, Thessaloniki, Dimashq, Baghdad, Beirut, Jerusalem, Makkah were other cities that tasted the Ottoman diversity with their own small versions of Provincial Administration replicating the culture of the Ottoman court locally.

Religion

Further information: [[:History of the Jews in Turkey, History of the Armenians in Ottoman Empire]]

Following the fall of Constantinople, in 1453, Mehmed II did not disband the Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate, but instead brought it under close control by installing Gennadius II Scholarius as the patriarch—after receiving from him a hefty fee—and thus establishing him as the ethnarch of the Millet of Rum; that is, the Orthodox Christian subjects of the empire, regardless of their ethnicity. Under the millet system—which applied to other non-Muslim religious groups as well—people were considered subjects, or rather raya (i.e. cattle), of the empire but were not subject to the Muslim faith or Muslim law. The Orthodox millet, for instance, was still officially legally subject to Justinian's Code, which had been in effect in the Byzantine Empire for 900 years. Also, as the largest group of non-Muslim subjects (ذمي zimmi) of the Islamic Ottoman state, the Orthodox millet was granted a number of special privileges in the fields of politics and commerce{citation needed}, in addition to having to pay higher taxes than Muslim subjects.

Similar millets were established for the Ottoman Jewish community, who were under the authority of the Haham Başı or Ottoman Chief Rabbi; the Armenian Orthodox community, who were under the authority of a head bishop; and a number of other religious communities as well.

Adoption of Islam

Further information: [[:Ottoman Caliphate]]

Before adopting Islam—a process that was greatly facilitated by the Abbasid victory at the 751 CE Battle of Talas, which ensured Abbasid influence in Central Asia—the Turkic peoples practised a variety of shamanism. After this battle, many of the various Turkic tribes—including the Oghuz Turks, who were the ancestors of both the Seljuks and the Ottomans—gradually converted to Islam, and brought the religion with them to Anatolia beginning in the 11th century CE.

State and Religion

Main article: State and Religion (Ottoman Empire)

Largely for practical reasons, the Ottoman Empire was, in a broad sense, tolerant towards its non-Muslim subjects; it did not, for instance, forcibly convert all of them to Islam. The sultans took their primary duty to be service to the interests of the state, which could not survive without taxes and a strong administrative system. The state's relationship with the Greek Orthodox Church, for example, was largely peaceful, and the church's structure was kept intact and largely left alone but under close control and scrutiny until the Greek War of Independence of 1821–1831 and, later in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the rise of the Ottoman constitutional monarchy, which was driven to some extent by nationalistic currents. Other churches, like the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, were dissolved and placed under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Church. On the other hand, the empire often served as a refuge for the persecuted and exiled Jews of Europe, as for example following the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, when Sultan Beyazid II welcomed them into Ottoman lands.

Law

Further information: [[:Mecelle]]

An Ottoman trial, 1877 (see image detail for explanation)

Legally, the Ottoman Empire was organised around a system of local jurisprudence; that is, local legal systems which did not conflict with the state as a whole were largely left alone. The Ottoman system had three court systems: one for Muslims, which was run by the kadıs, or Islamic judges; one for non-Muslims, involving appointed Jews and Christians ruling over their respective religious areas; and one which regulated trade and had its origins in the empire's capitulation agreements with foreign powers. The entire system was regulated from above by means of the administrative kanun (قانون) laws.

These court categories were not, however, wholly exclusive in nature: for instance, the Islamic courts—which were the empire's primary courts—could also be used to settle a trade conflict or disputes between litigants of differing religions, and Jews and Christians often went to them so as to obtain a more forceful ruling on an issue. Women nearly always choose the Islamic courts, as these courts tended to be fairer towards them and to give them more just recompense.

Throughout the empire, there were two systems of law in effect: one was the Islamic sharia (شريعة) law system, and the other was the Turkish kanun system. The Ottoman state tended not to interfere with non-Muslim religious law systems, despite legally having a voice to do so through local governors. The Islamic sharia law system had been developed from a combination of the Qur'ān (قرآن); the Hadīth (حدیث), or sayings of the prophet Muhammad; ijmā' (اجماع), or consensus of the members of the Muslim community; qiyas (قياس), a system of analogical reasoning from previous precedents; and local customs. The kanun law system, on the other hand, was the secular law of the sultan, and dealt with issues not clearly addressed by the sharia system. Both systems were taught at the empire's law schools, which were in Istanbul and Bursa.

Military

Main article: Military of the Ottoman Empire

Further information: [[:Sipahi, Akinci, Timariot]]

The Ottoman military was a complex system of recruiting and fief-holding. In the Ottoman army, light cavalry long formed the core and they were given fiefs called timars. Cavalry used bows and short swords and made use of nomad tactics similar to those of the Mongol Empire. The Ottoman army was once among the most advanced fighting forces in the world, being one of the first to employ muskets.

The modernisation of the Ottoman empire in the 19th century started with the military. This was the first institution to hire foreign experts and which sent their officer corps for training in western European countries. Technology and new weapons were transferred to the empire, such as German and British guns, air force and a modern navy.

Janissaries

Main article: Janissary

The Janissaries comprised infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguard. The force originated in the 14th century; it was abolished by Sultan Mahmud II in 1826. The Timar system, which organised the Janissary acquisition, was a land based system that extended through out the Empire. The first Janissary units comprised war captives and slaves. After the 1380s Sultan Mehmet I filled their ranks with the results of taxation in human form called devshirmeh: the Sultan’s men conscripted a number of non-Muslim, usually Christian, boys – at first at random, later, by strict selection – to be trained. Initially they favoured Greeks, Albanians (who also supplied many gendarmes), usually selecting about one in five boys of ages seven to fourteen but the numbers could be changed to correspond with the need for soldiers. Next the devshirmeh was extended to also include Serbs, Bosnians and other Balkan countries, later especially Ukraine and southern Russia.

For all practical purposes, Janissaries belonged to the Sultan, carrying the title kapıkulu ("door slave") indicating their collective bond with the Sultan. Janissaries were taught to consider the corps as their home and family, and the Sultan as their de facto father. Only those who proved strong enough earned the rank of true Janissary at the age of twenty four or twenty five. The regiment inherited the property of dead Janissaries, thus amassing wealth (like religious orders and foundations enjoying the 'dead hand').

Nizamis

Main article: Nizam-ı Cedid

The Nizamis (Nizam-ı Cedid) were the Ottoman soldiers who replaced the Janissaries. This army was established at the beginning of the year 1842.

Military Band

Main article: Ottoman military band

An Ottoman mehterân

Ottoman military bands are thought to be the oldest variety of military marching band in the world. Though they are often known by the Persian-derived word mehter (مهتر) in the West, that word, properly speaking, refers only to a single musician in the band.

References

• Cleveland, William L. "The Ottoman and Safavid Empires: A New Imperial Synthesis" in A History of the Modern Middle East. Westview Press, 2004. pp. 37–56. ISBN 0-8133-4048-9.
• Creasy, Sir Edward Shepherd. History of the Ottoman Turks: From the beginning of their empire to the present time. R. Bentley and Son, 1877.
• Finkel, Caroline. Osman's Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire, 1300–1923. John Murray, 2005. ISBN 0-7195-5513-2.
• Imber, Colin. The Ottoman Empire, 1300–1650: The Structure of Power. Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. ISBN 0-333-61386-4.
• Jelavich, Barbara. History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. Cambridge University Press, 1983. ISBN 0-521-25249-0.
• Lybyer, Albert Howe. The Government of the Ottoman Empire in the Time of Suleiman the Magnificent. AMS Press, 1978. ISBN 0-404-14681-3.
• Mansel, Philip. Istanbul: City of the World's Desire, 1453–1924. Gardners Books, 1997. ISBN 0-14-026246-6.
• McCarthy, Justin. The Ottoman Peoples and the End of Empire. Hodder Arnold, 2001. ISBN 0-340-70657-0.
• Necipoğlu, Gülru. Architecture, Ceremonial, and Power: The Topkapi Palace in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries. MIT Press, 1991. ISBN 0-262-14050-0.
• Quataert, Donald. The Ottoman Empire, 1700–1922. Cambridge University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-521-54782-2.
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

See also

• List of Ottoman Turkish dominated territories across Europe, Asia and Africa (1299-1922)
• Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
• History of the Balkans
• Turkish War of Independence

External links

In English

• Ottoman Legal Code (majalla)
• The Ottoman Empire
• Royal Ark: Turkey—an extensive site with much detailed information
• The Ottomans—covers various aspects of the Ottoman Empire in detail
• World Civilizations: The Ottomans—a comprehensive site that covers much about the Ottoman state and government
• Capitals of Ottoman Empire—covers the different Ottoman capitals
• History of Turkish Empire- Gives detail timetable.
• Ottoman Website
• Turkish Oral Narrative
• States that have been founded over the Ottoman Lands
• Istanbul Technical University is established (under the original name of Royal School of Naval Engineering) as the world's first comprehensive institition of higher learning dedicated to engineering education. Pioneer through the ages...(ITU)

In Turkish

• Everything about the Ottoman Empire—a detailed site covering many different aspects of the Ottoman Empire
• Turkcebilgi.com Ottoman Empire Pages—a site covering various aspects of the Ottoman Empire
• Flags of the Ottoman Empire—contains information about Ottoman flags

• Everything About Ottoman Coins—a comprehensive site that covers much about Ottoman currency
• chronological Ottoman Empire history
• İstanbul işgal edilmedi, inşa edildi
• Osmanlı Kütüphaneleri
• Osmanlı Döneminde Bir İmparatorluk Dili Olarak Türkçe