Social class in the Ottoman Empire

Introduction

Although it can be said that the legacy of Arab rule was the religion of Islam, for the Turkish their claim to a legacy belongs to the formation of the Ottoman Empire. We see the Ottoman Empire being described as a bureaucratic state, holding different regions within a single administrative and fiscal system (Hourani 207). In fact the Ottoman Empire would last for six hundred years (1299-1923) and would encompass what is modern day Turkey, the Balkans and all of the Arab speaking nation states. Thus the Ottoman Empire would be home to a extremely diverse population ranging from the muslim majority to the minority population, specifically Christians and Jews who were referred to as the People of the Book.

The Ottoman state was founded by the first Osman and was one of the Turkish principalties generated by the expansion of the Saljuqs and of the Turkish immigrants westwards into Anatolia (Hourani 214). These immigrants appeared as a new band of conquering people, the Ottoman Turks, who after a quick march through Asia Minor, were ready to project their power onto the European continent (Janos 35). Ultimately the Empire would be ruled by the Sultan and his family, however, power was also shared with those who had no blood relation to the ruling family. For example there was the Vizir who was seen as the second most powerful figure in the Empire and was usually a slave. It was also possible for the Vizir to lose his position if he was not able to fullfill his responsiblilites in a satisfactory manner according to the Sultan. Rather than having one of the Sultan's close relatives being granted the position of Vizir a slave was given this position, implying that the minority population of the Empire was succesfully assimilated with little or no force required. Even more the minority population of the Empire were insured certain rights as long as those rights did not conflict with a muslim who consistuted as part of the majority population. The integration of minorities into the Ottoman Empire such as Jews and Christians into every level of society i.e. military, government, business and etc allowed a sense of unity to a certain extent and allowed the most qualified individuals to contribute his part for the Empire. Another example of the integration of minorities into Ottoman society was the creation of the Devsirme which served as a militatry draft for Christian boys that will eventually have them take part into an elite military force known as the Janissaries. The Janissaries, were considered as the best of the best in the Ottoman military machine. In respect to the Jewish population within the Empire they were integrated into the financial market in conjunction with some Christians from Syria who were used for trade and whose knowledege of the rough terrarin was useful. Ultimately the successful assimilation of the Empire's minorities into Ottoman society helped the Empire to flourish with the muslims in firm control.

References

Hourani, Albert Habib. A History of the Arab Peoples. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Havard University Press, 1991.

Janos, Andrew C. East Central Europe in the Modern World: The Politics of the Borderlands from Pre- to Postcommunism. Stanford, California: Standford University Press, 2000.