Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire

1, Politics, edited by Güler Eren, Ercüment Kuran, Nejat Crimean War 161 Göyünç, İlber Ortaylı, and Kemal Çiçek (Ankara: Yeni Türkiye, 2000), 302–310; Uli Schamiloglu, “The Qaraçi responsibility to protect the interests of their Orthodox Beys of the Later Golden Horde: Notes on the Organiza- co-religionists in the Ottoman Empire. Most of the Otto- tion of the Mongol World Empire.” Archivum Eurasiae man Empire’s Orthodox subjects lived in the Balkans. Medii Aevi 4 (1984): 283–297. 1853: THE WAR BEGINS Crimean War (1853–1856) The outbreak of this war, the only general European conflict in the period Presented as an ultimatum during Menshikov’s Febru- between 1815 and 1914, resulted from a combination of ary 1853 mission to Istanbul, Russian demands concern- Russian diplomatic and military aggression against the ing the Orthodox population of the Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire and concomitant British fears concern- were rejected by the Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I (r. ing a potential recalibration of the balance of power in 1839 –61). In response, the Russian army in early July the Black Sea region to the benefit of Russia. Follow- 1853 moved across the Prut River and took up posi- ing the Treaty of Hünkar Iskelesi (1833)—a Russo- tions in Moldavia (in present-day Romania). This move Ottoman defensive alliance that significantly increased constituted an act of war as Moldavia, despite its status Russian diplomatic influence in the Ottoman Empire— as a Russian protectorate, was under nominal Ottoman British foreign policy in the Balkans and the Near East suzerainty. With British and French warships en route centered on maintaining the territorial integrity of the to Istanbul, and believing that they could count on fur- Ottoman Empire and resisting any forward moves by the ther British and French support, the Ottoman Empire Russian Empire. declared war on the Russian Empire in October 1853. The Ottoman army, preparing for war with the Russians, In step with a series of wars fought between the crossed the Danube River and moved forward out of Ottoman and Russian empires over the preceding cen- eastern Anatolia into the southern Caucasus. tury, in the Crimean War, Ottoman and Russian troops engaged in military conflict in the Balkans and along the In the winter of 1853, the Ottoman Black Sea fleet Russo-Ottoman frontier in eastern Anatolia (along the was harbored in Sinop. This north Anatolian port lay present-day Turkish border with Georgia, Armenia, and only 100 miles across the Black Sea from Sevastopol— Iran). However, the Crimean Peninsula in the north- the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea fleet on the central Black Sea region constituted the main theater of southwestern tip of the Crimean Peninsula. Destined the conflict between the Russians and the Anglo-French to be the focal point of military conflict in the Crimean forces. Not surprisingly, given the heavy casualties suf- War, Sevastopol in the mid-19th century was a well-forti- fered in this theater of the war, the conflict for control of fied port city with a population of roughly 50,000. In the the Black Sea region is remembered as the Crimean War. early morning of November 30, six Russian ships of the line, under the command of Admiral Pavel Nakhimov, The outbreak of the Crimean War signaled the launched an attack on Sinop using exploding shell pro- unraveling of the post-Napoleonic Concert of Europe—a jectiles. Within one hour the entire Ottoman Black Sea diplomatic system instituted at the Congress of Vienna in fleet had been sunk. The town of Sinop was torched and 1815 that aimed to prevent warfare between the so-called the commander of the Ottoman Black Sea fleet, Osman Great Powers of Europe. The diplomatic blunderings Pasha, was taken captive. that resulted in the Crimean War originated in a dispute between Orthodox Russia and Catholic France concern- The Russian bombardment of Sinop, which intensi- ing rights over Christian religious sites and populations fied the increasing Russo-phobia of British and French in Jerusalem. Ottoman backing of the French position public opinion (a new factor in European foreign policy in this diplomatic confrontation resulted in the dispatch decision making), internationalized the 1853 Russo- in February 1853 of a Russian mission to Istanbul led Ottoman conflict. On March 28, 1854, following another by Prince Alexander Menshikov. During his negotia- round of ineffective diplomacy, the British and French tions with the Ottoman Sublime Porte or government, declared war on Russia. The opening move in this Menshikov not only argued for the assertion of Russian phase of the war was an Allied bombardment of Rus- rights over Orthodox Christian sites in the Holy Land sian positions in the eastern Baltic Sea. While this theater but also demanded Ottoman recognition of Russian remained somewhat peripheral to the main proceedings rights to speak on behalf of the 12 million Orthodox sub- in the Black Sea region, the Allied threat in the Baltic jects of the Ottoman Empire. Beginning with the Treaty served to pin down 200,000 Russian troops in the north. of Küçük Kaynarca (1774), Russian government offi- cials had increasingly asserted their presumed right and 1854: THE SIEGE OF SILISTRA In order to take advantage of weather conditions con- ducive to mid-19th-century warfare, Russian campaigns in the Balkans were generally restricted to the period between spring and autumn. In the spring of 1854, the

162 Crimean War heart of Russian strength in the Black Sea region—the fortress port of Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula. On Russian army opened their campaign by sending two September 14, 1854, the bulk of the Allied army, com- army corps, a combined total of 50,000 troops under the posed primarily of French and British troops, landed in command of Prince Paskevich, across the Danube River Eupatoria on the western shore of the Crimean Penin- at the key crossings of Galatz and Tulcea. In mid-April sula. Moving toward Sevastopol, the Allies scored a vic- these Russian troops proceeded to lay siege to the Otto- tory on the Alma River and, following two major battles man fortress town of Silistra on the southern bank of (Balaklava and Inkerman), settled in for a siege of Sev- the river. Under the leadership of the capable Ottoman astopol. At the height of the Crimean conflict, the Allies commander Omer Pasha, Silistra was well defended by a maintained an army of almost 140,000 troops on the 12,000-strong Ottoman army, composed mostly of Egyp- Crimean Peninsula. Russian military personnel in Sevas- tian and Albanian troops. Sustained Ottoman resistance topol numbered roughly 100,000. Following an 11-month at Silistra allowed British and French troops to build siege, on September 10, 1855, Sevastopol fell to the Allies. up a significant army in the Bulgarian Black Sea port of The final siege and occupation of the port city resulted in Varna. 24,000 dead. This buildup of Allied troop strength in the Balkans, Although Ottoman troops did provide significant coupled with an Allied naval bombardment of the impor- labor and logistical support to the Allied war effort, Otto- tant Russian Black Sea port city of Odessa, compelled man military contributions to the Crimean campaign and the Russian army to break off the siege of Silistra and to the siege of Sevastopol were minor compared to those of retreat back across the Prut (which forms the present-day the French and British. Some 7,000 Ottoman troops par- border between Romania and the Republic of Moldova) ticipated in the landings at Eupatoria and for the balance into Russia proper. Following the Russian retreat, Czar of the campaign were employed primarily to harass Rus- Nicholas I acceded to a joint Austrian-Ottoman mili- sian supply lines and to screen any Russian attempts to tary occupation of the Danubian principalities. The Rus- relieve the siege. sian retreat and the Austrian-Ottoman occupation of the principalities effectively ended the Danubian phase of the THE END OF THE WAR AND THE AFTERMATH Crimean War. The fall of Sevastopol, Allied bombardments of the key In the southern Caucasus, forward Ottoman move- Russian Black Sea ports of Kerch (May 1855) and Kin- ments in the autumn and winter of 1853 were easily burun (October 1855), and an Austrian threat to enter checked by experienced Russian troops, and the Russians the war on the Allied side compelled the Russian czar seized the initiative in this theater of the Crimean War. Alexander II, who had ascended to the Russian throne A Russian victory in late July 1854 near Bayazid (close following Nicholas I’s death on March 2, 1855, to agree to the present-day Turkish border with Iran) opened the to negotiations to end the war. Overall, 800,000 soldiers way for a Russian advance in strength toward the key died in the Crimean War. If not for the improvements eastern Anatolian Ottoman cities of Kars, Erzurum, and in the provision of medical relief efforts by Russian and Trebizond. A decisive victory by 20,000 Russian troops Allied medical personnel, overall casualty totals for the over 40,000 Ottoman troops at Kurudere near Kars in war (from both fighting and disease) would have been August closed the 1854 campaign season. still higher. The British nurse Florence Nightingale, who organized medical relief services in Scutari (present-day 1855: KARS, BALACLAVA, AND SEVASTOPOL Üsküdar) near Istanbul, and the Russian doctor N. I. Pirogov, working in Sevastopol, pioneered the provision- In preparation for an anticipated Russian offensive in the ing of medical relief services during the Crimean War. spring of 1855, the 12,000-strong Ottoman army in Kars was reorganized and placed under the overall operational Significant refugee movements accompanied the command of a British officer, William Fenwick Williams. cessation of fighting. For instance, the Crimean Tatars, In June 1855, the Russian army of the Caucasus, under charged by Czar Alexander II with collaborating with the command of General Muraviev, appeared before Kars Allied forces on the Crimean Peninsula during the war, fully prepared for a protracted siege. Despite the fact that were put under significant pressure to leave the Russian the Ottoman troops had not been paid for two years, the Empire. Russian officials accused Crimean Tatars of act- defenders of Kars performed admirably, especially the ing as a fifth column and disrupting Russian supply lines English-trained Ottoman artillery commander Tahir during the fighting on the Crimean Peninsula. Many Pasha. A dwindling food supply and the ravages of dis- Crimean Tatars were victims of Russian oppression and ease (cholera and typhus), however, forced Williams in violence and fled for safety to the Ottoman Empire. December 1855 to surrender Kars to Muraviev. In the period 1856–60 an estimated 100,000 Crimean Tatars left the Russian Empire and sought refuge in Rather than stand down their troops following the Russian retreat from the principalities in June 1854, the British and French command decided to strike at the

Ottoman ports along the northern Anatolian coast and Croatia 163 in Istanbul. Croatia (Croat.: Hrvatska; Turk.: Hırvatistan) Today, Following the Crimean War, on February 18, 1856, Croatia is a state in southeastern Europe or in the west- Sultan Abdülmecid introduced the second phase of the ern Balkans, with Zagreb as its capital. Its territory is Tanzimat period by issuing what is conventionally about 22,000 square miles (55,000 square km), and the known as the Imperial Rescript of Reforms (Islahat Fer- country has slightly more than 4 million inhabitants. The man), launching a far-reaching reform program for the country’s borders differ substantially from those of the empire. Although the initiatives unveiled in this edict early Middle Ages: there was no clearly defined border built upon ongoing reform efforts dating as far back to to the east, and the control of Croatian rulers and nobles the pre-Tanzimat reign of Sultan Selim III (1789–1807), extended some 60 miles (100 km) to the northwest and the Reform Edict of 1856 was enacted under considerable about 120 miles (200 km) to the south, into present-day pressure from Allied diplomats in Istanbul. Key provi- Bosnia-Herzegovina. sions in the edict included assurances of equal treatment for non-Muslim populations in the Ottoman Empire in The origins of the Croatian people are not very clear. the areas of education, justice, religion, and taxation. It is possible that the area was first inhabited by peoples of Iranian or even Turkic origin. Regardless of their origin, 1856: THE TREATY OF PARIS they were quickly Slavicized. The Slavs migrated from present-day southeastern Poland and western Ukraine The Treaty of Paris, signed on March 29, 1856, ended westward to Bohemia, then southward sometime around the Crimean War. On balance, the terms of the Treaty 600 c.e., although some historians argue that this migra- of Paris, insofar as they crippled the Russian Empire, tion occurred in the late eighth century. Some Slavs were advantageous to the Ottoman Empire. Territori- moved into the area between Carinthia and Montenegro, ally, the Russians were forced to relinquish their control but most settled between eastern Istria and the mouth of over Kars, the Danubian delta, and southern Bessara- the river Cetina. In the Adriatic hinterland they merged bia. In return, the Allies gave up their occupation of the with the already established Slavs and many speakers of Crimean Peninsula. The lower course of the Danube local vernaculars pertaining to the just emerging family of River was internationalized for commerce. The Danu- Romance languages. The Slavic population of northwest- bian principalities remained under Ottoman sovereignty, ern Croatia had some elements of political organization, albeit with increased autonomy backed by a joint Euro- but the area frequently changed hands between Croatian, pean guarantee. The Black Sea was demilitarized and Frankish, and Hungarian rulers until the late 11th or early neither the Russians nor the Ottomans were allowed to 12th century, when the Hungarian kings gained lasting harbor warships along the shores of the sea. Addition- control over Croatia. These political ties to Hungary con- ally, the Russians and Ottomans agreed to destroy all tinued for the next 600 years or more, through the rule their coastal fortifications on the Black Sea. All previ- of the Habsburg dynasty that began in 1526, and until the ous Russo-Ottoman bilateral treaties (e.g., the Treaty close of World War I in 1918, when Croatia entered the of Küçük Kaynarca, Treaty of Edirne, and Treaty Yugoslav period, which ended in 1991–92. of Hünkar Iskelesi) were annulled and the Russians agreed to renounce any rights of protection over Ortho- Although fairly autonomous, Croatia was part of the dox populations in the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Hungarian kingdom and thus political relations between Empire was termed an equal member of the Concert of Croatia and the Ottoman Empire were mainly confined Europe and the Allied powers agreed to guarantee the to interactions with local authorities, such as correspon- territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire. In Article 9 dence about and negotiations of borderland issues. of the Treaty of Paris, the signatories agreed to adhere to the principle of non-intervention in the domestic affairs Despite the fact that formal political relations were of the Ottoman Empire. limited, the Ottoman Empire was nevertheless an impor- tant presence for the peoples of Croatia, especially after Andrew Robarts the early 15th century when the continued expansion of Further reading: Roderic Davison, “Ottoman Diplo- the Muslim Ottomans began to be perceived as a threat macy and Its Legacy,” in Imperial Legacy: The Ottoman to the Catholic population of northwestern Croatia and Imprint on the Balkans and the Middle East, edited by L. central Bosnia. After the fall of Bosnia to the Ottomans Carl Brown (New York: Columbia University Press, 1996); in 1463, Ottoman expansion continued in the southern Caroline Finkel, Osman’s Dream: The Story of the Ottoman areas (Herzegovina and the coastland up to the river Empire (New York: Basic Books, 2006); David Goldfrank, Cetina), yet in other places it could not break the defense The Origins of the Crimean War (New York: Longman system set up by King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary (r. Publishing, 1994); Charles King, The Black Sea: A History 1458–90). A new wave of Ottoman conquests began in (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004). 1521 and lasted until 1552, at the end of which the Otto- mans had conquered a good portion of present-day Cro- atia, including territories between the rivers Drava and

164 Cromer, Lord ucts continued as the main source of income, with per- haps an increase in cattle breeding and some additional Sava. For approximately the next 150 years, due mainly income from auxiliary military engagement. The basic to the fact that the Habsburgs (see Austria) had estab- social unit of clan and large extended family remained lished an efficient defense system in Hungary and Cro- unchanged and towns remained about the same size as atia, the borders in the north and south stabilized. The before the Ottoman conquest; towns were mainly dwell- border was, in effect, a strip of no-man’s-land running ing places for small or medium-size garrisons made up between Koprivnica and Virovitica near the river Drava of peasant soldiers. In the land between the rivers Sava, to Sisak, then westward to a point near the present-day Drava, and Danube, however, towns such as Ilok, Osijek, town Karlovac, then southward to the Plitvice lakes, and and Požega became quite prosperous due to increased in the southwest to the Adriatic; in Dalmatia the Vene- commercial activities and craftsmanship; some reached tian-held territory was reduced to small enclaves around a population of 1,000 to 2,000 taxpayers (which cor- the principal towns. responds to 5,000 to 10,000 inhabitants). Nonetheless, according to 17th-century Ottoman travel author Evliya However, east of the Habsburg border in the central Çelebi, the level of cultural achievement remained low. region of Croatia, between the rivers Una and Kupa, Bos- nian ghazis or Muslim warriors (see ghaza) were still The withdrawal of the Ottomans had perhaps an making gains against Croatian nobles, who were fighting even greater impact than the earlier raids, war, and direct without Habsburg support. The situation changed in 1593 rule. It triggered deep political changes in Croatia and led when the Croatians broke the offensive power of the Bos- to the modern ethnic, cultural, and national identity of nian troops with lasting consequences in a battle at Sisak, its people. The previously loosely connected Croats, Sla- on the confluence of the rivers Sava and Kupa. In 1606, at vonians, and Catholic Bosnians eventually merged into a the Ottoman-Habsburg Treaty of Zsitvatorok that ended new Croatian people. the war of 1593–1601 between the two empires, the Croatians made some further territorial gains, but from Nenad Moačanin 1699 to 1718 Croatia’s surface almost doubled as a result See also Adriatic Sea; hayduk; Ragusa; Uskoks; of the treaties of Karlowitz and Passarowitz that ended Venice. the Long War of 1684–99 between the Ottomans and Further reading: Ivo Goldstein, Croatia: A His- Habsburgs. However, it took some time to negotiate clear tory (Montreal: McGill University Press, 1999); Nenad lines of control and actual change came slowly. The juris- Moačanin, Turska Hrvatska (Zagreb: Matica Hrvatska, diction of the Croatian autonomous administration in 1999); Nenad Moačanin, “Croatia and Bosnia: An ‘Eter- the northern parts of the reconquered lands down to the nal’ Movement from Integration to Dissolution and Back,” river Danube was extended in 1745, while the rest was in Zones of Fracture in Modern Europe: The Baltic Coun- integrated in 1871 and 1881, after the Habsburg Military tries, the Balkans, and Northern Italy, edited by Almut Bues Border was abolished. (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005), 99–107. The century and a half of Ottoman rule in parts of Cromer, Lord (b. 1841–d. 1917) British high com- present-day Croatia (from the mid-16th century until the missioner for Egypt Evelyn Baring, Lord Cromer after peace of Karlowitz in 1699) brought substantial change 1891, served as Great Britain’s diplomatic adviser to the to the area, but it also allowed economic and social con- government of the khedive and the de facto British gov- tinuity. The vast majority of the Croatian nobility and ernor of Egypt from 1883 until 1907. His first contact clergy either left the Ottoman-controlled territories or with Egypt came in 1879, when he was Great Britain’s perished. A great number of peasants followed their mas- choice to serve on the Dual Control Commission set up ters into more secure parts of Croatia, western Hungary, by Britain and France to manage Egypt’s foreign debt and or Austria. Their abandoned lands were occupied pri- national budget. After the British occupation of Egypt in marily by pastoralist or semi-pastoralist Vlachs from 1882, Baring was appointed to be Britain’s consul-general the south or southeast, especially the Ottoman sancak in Cairo in 1883. Although he was technically only Her of Herzegovina. In many places Catholic priests were Majesty’s diplomatic representative in Egypt, in fact, his replaced by Serbian Orthodox priests or even Protestant role was much more than that. The first test of his power preachers, and later by Bosnian Franciscans. The latter came soon after his arrival. The Egyptian army was fac- had become active in the Adriatic hinterland shortly after ing a losing battle against the forces of Muhammad the Ottoman conquest of the mid 16th century, mov- Ahmad (1844–85), who had assumed the title of Mahdi, ing into Slavonia after the Treaty of Zsitvatorok (1606). in Sudan, and Baring ordered them to retreat. When Other than freed slaves, few people in rural areas con- Khedive Tawfiq balked at the order, as he viewed Sudan verted to Islam. as properly belonging to Egypt, Baring produced a cable On the other hand, continuity persisted in some important segments of the economy and society. In the Adriatic hinterland pastoralism and trade in dairy prod-

from London saying that henceforth his advice must be Cyprus 165 followed. Policy makers in London were still uncertain as to what Britain’s future role in Egypt should be and some As in all pre-modern empires, there was a major dif- sought a withdrawal of British troops from the country. ference between the cuisine of the palace and that of the Baring lobbied strenuously for a permanent British mili- countryside. Rice, for example, was the mainstay of the tary occupation of Egypt, arguing that control of Egypt imperial kitchens, while peasants in Anatolia and Syria ate was vital to the maintenance of the British Empire in boiled cracked wheat (bulgur). Olive oil was used by the India. His view triumphed in Her Majesty’s Foreign and elite while peasants inland from the Mediterranean coast Colonial Offices by 1889. used animal fats: butter in the Balkans, sheep fat in Ana- tolia and the Arab provinces. According to accounts of When Khedive Tawfiq died in 1892, Lord Cromer European travelers to the empire, most peasant diets were engineered the accession of Tawfiq’s underage son, healthy in that they consisted almost entirely of vegetables, Abbas Hilmi, to the office of khedive. But having done beans, and grain products, supplemented with cheese and so, Cromer clashed with the young khedive on several yogurt. Preserved vegetables, either dried or pickled, were issues. On each occasion, however, Cromer won out, a mainstay of winter diets. Despite their healthiness, meals demonstrating that he was in fact the real power in Cairo were also monotonous, with meat usually being available despite his simple diplomatic title. At the same time, only on feast days. Peasant families ate communally out of Egyptian nationalists, led by Mustafa Kamil, increas- one bowl and usually with their hands or perhaps a spoon. ingly challenged both Cromer’s position as de facto gov- There were no tables or chairs and so a special mat was ernor-general and the right of British troops to remain often placed on the floor to serve as a table. in the country at the start of the 20th century. Taking advantage of the explosive growth of newspapers, Egyp- By contrast, the elite ate elaborate meals consisting of tian nationalists were able to mobilize public opinion and numerous dishes (mezze in Turkish, mezedhes in Greek, large public demonstrations following the Dinshaway mazza in Arabic) that would be eaten in a leisurely man- Incident in 1906 in which a number of Egyptian nation- ner. These ranged from simple salads and pureed vege- als were wrongly executed following a scuffle with British tables and beans to complex combinations of vegetables troops. Cromer shortly thereafter announced his retire- and meat in various types of sauces. The main course ment and returned to England. always consisted of meat. Like the poor, the wealthy did not use dinnerware or tables and chairs until the end of Bruce Masters the empire when Western dining fashions became a cul- Further reading: Roger Owen, Lord Cromer: Victorian tural fad in the empire. Muslims, whether religious or Imperialist, Edwardian Proconsul (Oxford: Oxford Univer- not, generally did not drink wine with their meals. But sity Press, 2004). the less religious among them drank a distilled alcoholic drink flavored with anise (rakı in Turkish, ouzo in Greek, cuisine The imperial court of the Ottoman Empire araq in Arabic). Ottoman Christians, however, both pro- had a major influence on cultural styles throughout duced and consumed wine in many parts of the empire. the Middle East and the Balkans. In no field of cultural In all the religious traditions of the empire, men and production was this more apparent than in cuisine. The women of the upper classes ate separately. After dinner, peoples who now inhabit the former Ottoman Empire coffee was invariably served. are extremely proud of their culinary traditions and each claims that its national cuisine is indigenous. An out- Bruce Masters side observer cannot fail to notice, however, that they Further reading: Sami Zubaida and Richard Tapper, are remarkably the same, with only small regional varia- eds., Culinary Cultures of the Middle East (London: I.B. Tau- tions. The pastry known as baklava, for instance, is made ris, 1994). in Serbia with apples and layered thin sheets of pastry dough, while that of Greece is made with honey and wal- currency See banks and banking; money and mon- nuts and that of Syria, pronounced locally as baqlawa, is etary systems. made with sugar-water syrup and pistachios. Many of the dishes produced in the different nations that once com- Cyprus (Gk.: Kipros, Kypros; Turk.: Kıbrıs) In 1565, posed the empire have the same name, usually a local after a costly and bloody siege, the Ottomans gave up variation of a Turkish word. These similarities point to on their attempt to take the island of Malta from the the existence of a court cuisine that emanated from the Knights of St. John. This defeat is important to under- capital in Istanbul and was carried to the provincial standing their successful conquest of Cyprus just five centers by the officials assigned there who wished to rep- years later. Until 1565, the Ottomans had enjoyed a string licate the imperial style in their own localities. of victories in the Mediterranean, both east and west, a record that encouraged them to think that they might

166 Cyprus Famagusta was the principle port of Cyprus when the island was conquered by the Ottomans from the Venetians in 1571. The larg- est medieval cathedral on the island, the Gothic cathedral of St. Nicholas, was converted into a mosque by the Ottomans. (Photo by Gábor Ágoston)

attain hegemonic power over the entire sea. After the fail- Cyprus 167 ure at Malta, the empire gave up its pan-Mediterranean dreams in favor of the more modest policy of consolidat- masters of the island. From the beginning, the Otto- ing its hold on the eastern half of the sea. The successful mans presented the conflict as a war against the “Franks” attack on Venetian-held Cyprus in 1570 was the first fruit (Westerners, in this case the Venetians), not against the of this new strategy. Orthodox Christian peasantry who formed the vast majority of the island’s population. To that end, the con- Besides having the general goal of eliminating Chris- querors were quick to apply the policy of istimalet or leni- tian sovereignty in the eastern Mediterranean, Sultan ency that had also characterized their earlier conquests Selim II (r. 1566–74) had many reasons to be unhappy in the Balkans. Peasants were thus freed from the jizya with Venetian control of Cyprus. About a month after (tax applied to non-Muslims) for one year and the tax in the start of the war, an Ottoman messenger handed the crops was reduced for the vast majority of the peasantry Venetian doge a list of complaints. Among other things, from the one-third required by the Venetians to one- these complaints alleged that Christian corsairs (see cor- fifth. The forced labor required by the former Venetian sairs and pirates) interfering with Ottoman authority masters of the island was also abolished. had been supported with food and water in Cyprus in the summer of 1569 and had then gone on to destroy two Istanbul’s decision to settle a large Turkish Muslim Ottoman ships, killing all aboard; in the autumn of that population on the island would have great consequences year, another Ottoman ship was plundered off the Egyp- for the modern history of Cyprus. For in the age of tian coast by corsairs who had previously stopped on the decolonization that began after World War II, the Mus- island. Other complaints touched on areas of Ottoman- lim population of Cyprus (which had become a British Venetian relations not connected to Cyprus, but the fact colony in 1878) contended fiercely against the island’s remained that the island sat on one of the main routes Greek Orthodox majority which had launched an armed connecting Istanbul to its vital Arab provinces, particu- struggle for union with Greece, since this was obviously larly Egypt. Ships proceeded along the Anatolian coast, not an attractive political outcome for the island’s Muslim then cut between Rhodes and the mainland, calling at citizens. Independence, a sort of compromise solution, Famagusta (on the eastern coast of Cyprus), Beirut, and was granted in 1960, but the conflicting aims of Greek Sidon before going to Egypt. and Turkish nationalism have continued to trouble the island to the present day. The Ottoman fleet reached the Cypriot coast in July 1570. The fortified cities of the island fell one by one, Molly Greene and by August of the following year the Ottomans were Further reading: Ronald Jennings, Christians and Mus- lims in Cyprus and the Mediterranean World, 1571–1640 (New York,: New York University Press, 1993).

D Dalmatia (Serbo-Croat.: Dalmacija) Dalmatia is a river Cetina) there were Muslims. These Muslims were historic coastal region of Croatia, situated in the Balkans mostly converts of local origin. In the south most of the between the Adriatic Sea, Bosnia and Herzegovina, population were simple taxpayers, while in other regions and the southern slopes of Mount Velebit. The coastal some were ordinary Ottoman peasants (reayas) and oth- islands from Rab in the north as far as Korcula in the ers were taxpayers under the command of their Ottoman south are also considered to belong to the region. The sipahis or landlords. Near the coast there were also some area around Dubrovnik is sometimes considered to be a prosperous waqf lands. part of Dalmatia too. The name Dalmatia is derived from the name of the Roman province that covered nearly the There were always sharp differences between way of whole of the western Balkans. In the medieval period, life near the coast, which was more urban and practiced under Byzantine, Croatian, Hungarian, and Venetian an intensive Mediterranean-style agriculture, and the control, Dalmatia shrank to just a few coastal towns and hinterland, which was more rural and practiced Balkan- islands. From the beginning of the 15th-century Venice style pastoralism. These differences became accentuated became the exclusive master of the coast. From the end during the two centuries of Venetian-Ottoman cohabita- of that century until 1537, Ottoman expansion in the tion and conflict. Pastoralism made great progress, Otto- Balkans forced Croatian nobles and Hungarian troops to man wheat was exchanged for salt, and landings at Zadar, withdraw from the hinterland, leaving a thin strip of land Šibenik, and Split were opened, mainly to serve the needs between Ottoman lands and Venetian possessions. Dur- of Bosnian traders. However, population movements and ing the Cretan War (1645–69), the Ottomans lost some popular uprisings, such as the hayduk and Uskok raids, territory to the Venetians, and in 1699 and 1717 Venice frequently underminded the military, political, and eco- was able to push its borders far inland. This “greater” nomic activities of the Venetian and Ottoman authorities. Dalmatia was taken over by Austria after the end of the Much of what is known as south Slavic oral heroic epic Republic of Venice in 1797. originated in Dalmatia and neighboring parts of Bosnia- Herzegovina during the long Cretan War. The territory under Ottoman control to the west of the River Krka belonged to the sancak or subprov- Nenad Moačanin ince of Kırka. The region from there to the mouth of the Cetina River (near present-day Split) was part of the Damascus (Ar.: Dimashq, al-Sham; Fr.: Damas; subprovince of Klis. The remainder of the territory was Turk.: Şam) Syria’s present-day capital of Damascus part of the subprovince of Herzegovina (Hersek). Most also served as capital city of a province of the same name of the population was made up of Vlach colonists: the for most of the Ottoman period. The province included Orthodox population lived in the north, while the rest most of what is today southern and central Syria, Leba- was Catholic. In the towns (usually more fortified places non, Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories, but not than urban centers) plus in some fertile places (along the northern Syria. Damascus lays claim to being the oldest 168

Damascus 169 After the riot of 1860, wealthy Damascenes moved out of their old-style courtyard houses in the walled city to the suburban quarter of Salihiyya where houses in the late Ottoman style were constructed along paved streets. This photo dates from the 1880s. (Photograph by Maison Bonfils, courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia) continually inhabited city in the world; it had served as 1520–66). The rebellion was quickly suppressed and the the capital of the early Islamic Umayyad Dynasty (661– Ottoman general allowed his troops to sack the city in 750). As such its capture by Sultan Selim I (r. 1512–20) in retaliation for its rebellion. From that date, loyal Otto- 1516 added to the prestige of the Ottoman ruling dynasty. man officials appointed from Istanbul would govern the Additionally, the city served as one of the two major city for the next two centuries. starting points (the other being Cairo) for the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in which thousands from Although Damascus was the capital of a fertile prov- throughout the Muslim world participated. ince that produced significant revenues for the state, its importance in the Ottoman period was largely linked to Damascus had served as the administrative center of its position as an important starting point for the hajj. Syria under the Mamluk Empire that ruled both Egypt Because the sultans understood that Damascus held reli- and Syria between 1260 and 1517, and the initial Otto- gious significance as the official starting point for the hajj, man policy toward the province was to leave the Mam- they sought to impress the pilgrims who would gather in luk administration more or less in place. Sultan Selim the city with the majesty of the House of Osman by build- appointed as the province’s governor Janbirdi al-Ghaz- ing a mosque complex that might rival the eighth-century zali, a Mamluk who had betrayed the last Mamluk sul- Umayyad cathedral mosque that had served as the city’s tan, Qansuh al-Ghawri, by switching to the Ottoman side main mosque. Sultan Süleyman placed the imprint of his before the crucial Battle of Marj al-Dabiq in 1516. With dynasty on Damascus with the construction of the mag- the death of Selim in 1520, however, Janbirdi al-Ghaz- nificent Takiyya al-Sulaimaniyya mosque on the banks of zali rose in rebellion against Selim’s son, Süleyman I (r. the Barada River, outside the city walls. Designed in 1554

170 Damascus The Umayyad mosque is the central landmark of Damascus and one of the oldest surviving mosques in the world. After the old Umayyad capital became an Ottoman provincial center, the Ottomans made renovations to the structure, including the addition of minaret caps in the style of Istanbul, thus marking the city architecturally as an Ottoman possession. (Photo by Gábor Ágoston) by the famed architect Sinan, it was known as the Taki- The peace that the Ottomans had brokered with the yya in reference to the Sufi hostel (tekke or zawiyya) that Bedouin tribes broke down in the early 18th century as a was established in its courtyard chambers. Sultan Selim II new and more aggressive Bedouin Anaza Confedera- (r. 1566–74) added the Madrasa Salimiyya to his father’s tion moved out of Arabia into the Syrian Desert. The mosque and the complex thereafter served as the starting Anaza proved far less tractable than their predecessors, point for the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. the Mawali, had been. They forced caravans coming from Iraq to abandon the trans-desert route to Damas- The first century of Ottoman rule brought prosper- cus in favor of one following the Euphrates River ity to Damascus. The population in both the city and its to Aleppo, as the latter route could be more easily gar- rural hinterlands grew. This was due in no small part to risoned. There was, however, no alternative for the hajj the peace that the Ottomans were able to effect with the route, and the sultan’s prestige suffered as the flow of pil- Bedouin tribes who refrained from attacking either the grims to Arabia was disrupted. To preserve the security caravans, carrying trade to the city, or the villagers in of the hajj, Sultan Ahmed III (r. 1703–30) broke with two the fertile oasis, the Ghuta, that lay to its south and sup- centuries of tradition and in 1725 appointed a local man, plied the city with most of its fruits and vegetables. But Ismail Pasha al-Azm, as governor of Damascus. trade with Europe went into a steep decline in the early 16th century as overland trade routes moved north to Ismail Pasha al-Azm was the first of several highly Aleppo to avoid Bedouin raids and European mer- effective governors from the al-Azm family whose eth- chants who had been in Damascus in the late Mamluk nic origins are uncertain but who had served as tax farm- period and the early years of Ottoman rule withdrew ers in central Syria. The Azm family dominated political from the city. In their absence, the people of Damascus life in southern Syria for much of the 18th century, with acquired a reputation among Europeans as religiously family members serving as governors of the provinces conservative and hostile to outsiders. In the centuries of Damascus and Tripoli on and off from 1725 through following the departure of the European merchants, the 1783. Asad Pasha al-Azm, who ruled Damascus from Damascenes themselves would boast that they had never 1743 until 1757, enjoyed an unprecedented longevity in allowed Franks (western Europeans) to live among them, the position, as the governors of the city who preceded but that was clearly not the case. him had held the office for a year or two at most.

In the 19th century, Damascus was the site of two Damascus Incident 171 infamous incidents that involved the city’s non-Muslim minorities and that drew the critical attention of western cal camp. The city’s garrison surrendered to Australian Europeans to the city: the Damascus Incident of 1840 forces on October 1, 1918, while Bedouin forces riding and the Damascus Riots of 1860. Both were connected for the Arab Army took the city center. with a return of centralized Ottoman control over the province during the Tanzimat reform period and with a Damascus was the object of intense political bargain- shift in the city’s economic identity as Syria increasingly ing as Faysal al-Hashimi sought to establish the city as became a producer of raw materials for the world mar- the capital of his Arab Kingdom. An Arab national con- ket and a consumer of imported manufactured goods. gress met in the city in 1919 and declared Faysal its king This led to the displacement of many who had worked in in 1920. But the European powers did not recognize the the handicraft sector and to the enrichment of a few who kingdom’s independence. In July 1920, French forces were able to gain control of lucrative farmlands. moved into Syria and defeated the nationalists at Khan Maysalun, a caravansary just outside Damascus. Fac- In the aftermath of the riots, the province was reor- ing no further opposition, the French entered the city on ganized into the province of Syria in 1864, but substan- July 25, 1920, and proclaimed it the capital of their man- tial reforms to the province’s political and economic dated territory. infrastructure did not occur until the Ottoman reformer, Midhat Pasha, was appointed as governor in 1878. Bruce Masters Although his appointment was intended as an exile, Further reading: Karl Barbir, Ottoman Rule in Damas- Midhat Pasha threw himself into the task of modernizing cus, 1708–1758 (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, the province in his brief two-year term. These modern- 1980); Philip Khoury, Urban Notables and Arab Nationalism: izations included construction of a road connecting the The Politics of Damascus, 1860–1920 (Cambridge: Cam- city to its port at Beirut, the further development of the bridge University Press, 1983). province’s network of telegraph lines, the construction of new government schools, and the establishment of a pub- Damascus Incident In the middle of the 19th cen- lic library. In the second half of the 19th century, wealthy tury, Christian and Jewish merchants in Damascus were residents of the city began to construct new houses in locked in fierce competition for control of the fast-grow- suburbs such as al-Salahiyya, outside the city walls, using ing trade with western Europe. Muslim merchants pre- the style prevalent in the city. ferred not to deal directly with European merchants, concentrating on the overland trade to Iraq; this left Throughout the remainder of the Ottoman period, the profitable trade with Europe in the hands of non- progress in building modern urban infrastructure and Muslims. The Egyptian occupation of Syria in 1831 had industries was slower in Damascus than in the coastal cities opened Damascus to European merchants for the first of Syria, where local merchants and foreign capitalists took time in more than two centuries. The tensions between the lead in importing new technologies and fashions. As a Christians and Jews came to a head in 1840 when a result Damascus earned the reputation of being resistant Roman Catholic priest and his servant were reported to rapid westernization. The reputation was not entirely missing after having last been seen in the Jewish quar- deserved, however, as the city was home to a number of ter of Damascus. Some in the Christian community Muslim scholars belonging to the Salafiyya movement charged that the two had been abducted and murdered who probed the possibility of reforming Islam to meet the by Jews so that their blood might be used in a Passover demands of the modern age. Damascus also emerged as ritual. The Egyptian military governor, Ibrahim Pasha, a center of a growing new national consciousness among levied fines and arrested several prominent members of Arab intellectuals that scholars have named Arabism. the Jewish community; those arrested were tortured to confess to the reputed abduction or to name those who Arabism included a broad spectrum of ideologies had committed it. The incident ushered in a period of that ranged from a simple pride in Arab culture and his- heightened tensions between Christian and Jewish com- tory to outright calls for the end of the Ottoman Empire munities throughout Syria. and its replacement by a properly Arab kingdom. The latter goal gained popularity after the Committee of When the reputed bones of the priest were discov- Union and Progress strengthened its control in Istan- ered, six members of the Jewish community of Damas- bul in 1909 and attempted to impose Turkish as the only cus—including three prominent and very wealthy language of government and as the exclusive medium of Jewish merchants—were arrested on murder charges. instruction in government schools. After World War I Other Jews were arrested when the reputed bones of began in 1914, Cemal Pasha was appointed governor of the servant were uncovered. In the end, four men died Syria, where he ruled with a heavy hand, arresting and as a result of torture endured while in prison, while the executing those he believed to be in the Arabist politi- remainder were released only after a prolonged period of negotiations, accompanied by bribes liberally extended

172 Damascus Riots Further reading: Leila Fawaz, An Occasion for War: Civil Conflict in Lebanon and Damascus in 1860 (Berkeley: to many in the governor’s palace. This incident became University of California Press, 1994). known as the “Damascus Affair” in Europe where it served to galvanize newly emancipated Jews in western Danube Province (Bulg.: Dunav; Ger.: Donau; Europe to concern over the fate of their co-religionists Hung.: Duna; Rom.: Dunarea; Russ.: Dunay; Turk.: in an Ottoman Empire that seemed to be on the verge Tuna Vilayeti) The Danube Province or Tuna Vilay- of collapse. It also made evident the prevalence of anti- eti (1864–77) was established as a model project for Semitism in France where the popular press played up the application of the Ottoman Provincial Law Code the lurid side of the case. of 1864, which introduced further centralization into provincial government complemented by some prin- Bruce Masters ciples of decentralization. The project entailed a num- Further reading: Jonathan Frankel, The Damascus ber of Western-inspired reforms including government Affair: “Ritual Murder,” Politics and the Jews in 1840 (Cam- restructuring to include greater local involvement, bridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997). increased secularization of government institutions (especially courts and schools), and the improvement of Damascus Riots The 1860 Lebanese Civil War regional infrastructure. The purpose of this project was between Christians and Druzes heightened the animos- to expand the implementation of the Tanzimat reforms, ity between Christians and Muslims throughout Syria to eliminate local discontent, and to integrate non-Mus- that had been building since the 1856 proclamation of lims into the administration. equality among all the Ottoman sultan’s subjects, regard- less of religious community. During the summer of 1860, The province included the sancaks (subprovinces) of with rumors of the ongoing civil war in Lebanon help- Tulçea (in present-day Romania), Varna, Ruse (Rusçuk), ing convince each community that the other would soon Turnovo, Vidin, Sofia (detached at the beginning of attack, Christians and Jews in Damascus became radi- the 1870s), all in present-day Bulgaria, and, until 1869, cally polarized. In July, a group of Muslim teenagers were Nish (in present-day Serbia). The Danube Province also arrested for painting crosses on the doors of Christian included the island of Adakale, today submerged in the homes. As Ottoman soldiers took the youths away, a mob waters of the Danube after the construction of the dam quickly formed to release them. Having secured their on the Iron Gate in the 1960s. Ruse, a major Ottoman freedom, the mob moved on to loot houses in the Chris- port on the Danube, was chosen as the province’s admin- tian quarter of the city. The looting soon escalated into istrative center. In 1867 the town was visited by Sultan the full-scale sacking and burning of the Christian quar- Abdülaziz (r. 1861–76) on his return from a European ter, including the killing of any Christians encountered tour. This visit served as the starting point for an inspec- by the mob. In the midst of the rioting, Abd al-Qadir tion of the empire’s Balkan provinces, during which al-Jazairi and his Algerian retainers did much to pro- Abdülaziz also received Prince Charles of Romania (r. tect Christians, escorting many to safety in the city’s cit- prince 1866/ king 1881–1914) in Ruse. adel. The Ottoman garrison in the city, by contrast, did little to contain the violence. The first governor of the Danube Province, Midhat Pasha (1864–68), had broad authority over provincial In the aftermath of the riots, France sent an expedi- affairs. He was assisted in his duties by an Administrative tionary force to Lebanon and the Ottoman army restored Assembly that included state officials appointed by and order in Damascus. It was not clear how many Christians directly responsible to their superiors in the Ottoman had been killed. Estimates of the dead ranged from a few capital of Istanbul and six representative members, three hundred to ten thousand. The actual total was impos- Muslims and three non-Muslims, elected from among sible to determine since many Christians fled Damascus the inhabitants of the province. Convened by the gover- after the riots and never returned. The Ottoman authori- nor annually for no longer than 40 days, the Provincial ties executed a number of Muslims for the crimes and General Assembly, composed of two Muslim members exiled many more, including some of the city’s promi- and two non-Muslim members elected by each sancak, nent Muslim religious leaders. The Christian quarter was was charged with working out the provincial budget, the completely destroyed in the riot. The Christians com- construction and upkeep of roads and bridges, tax collec- plained that the Ottoman government had not responded tion, improvement of agriculture, and the development quickly enough to prevent the outburst and was not just of crafts and commerce. The decisions of the Provincial in providing compensation for their losses. Although the General Assembly were subject to the approval of the Christian quarter was rebuilt within a decade, the mem- Sublime Porte (Ottoman government) and the sultan. ory of the riots continued to haunt Christians of the city Non-Muslims also participated in the provincial criminal for at least another generation. Bruce Masters

and commercial courts that were based on a secular code Danube River 173 of law and justice, and in the Court of Appeals. major steps in this direction was the decision to establish Significant efforts were devoted to the modern- mixed Bulgarian-Ottoman schools. However, this initia- ization of the vilayet’s administrative center of Ruse. tive was met with hostility. Local Muslims were reluctant These efforts included paving streets, improving public to mix with non-Muslims and wanted an education inter- hygiene, and constructing hospitals, hotels, and other twined with religion; ethnic Bulgarians suspected that public buildings. Improvements to the infrastructure and these institutions were designed to promote their cultural communications network in the province included the assimilation and to deter the development of their own construction of new roads and bridges, and support for national educational and cultural institutions. steamship lines on the Danube River. These steamship lines carried both private passengers and commercial Administrative units modeled on the Danube Prov- cargo. In addition, the Ruse-Varna railroad was com- ince were subsequently established elsewhere in the Otto- pleted in 1866; in 1869, Emperor Francis Joseph of Aus- man Empire, and by the end of 1876 the new provincial tria-Hungary was one of the passengers who used this system was in operation throughout the empire except in line to travel to Istanbul. Both the railway and steamship the Arabian peninsula and in autonomous provinces such lines were supported by repair workshops. as Egypt. The main purpose of the reforms instituted in the Danube Province was to give the central government Agriculture became one of the priorities of the pro- a better hold on the region; however, these changes also vincial administration. Under the direct supervision gave significant powers to the provincial governor, pro- of governor Midhat Pasha, a model farm was estab- moted the participation of the local population, including lished near Ruse, where imported modern agricultural non-Muslims, developed the local economy, improved machines and technologies were tested and applied. As public infrastructure and education, and brought a bet- early as 1864, agricultural credit cooperatives were intro- ter program of taxation. The Danube Province project duced to provide farmers and municipalities with low- contributed significantly to the extension of the reform interest loans. The government also encouraged industry outside the capital, including the modernization of the by opening specialized schools to train workers and Ottoman Balkans and the introduction of the representa- through a protectionist policy which obliged provincial tive principle in Ottoman government. However, it failed administrative officers to wear clothes made of locally in one of its most important goals: preventing the devel- produced woolens. Tax incentives were also offered to opment of the Bulgarian national movement. encourage new industrial enterprises. Rossitsa Gradeva The administration took extra measures to improve Further reading: Roderick Davison, “Midhat Pasha,” internal security, providing special assistance in the in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., vol. 6, CD-ROM edition, resettlement of Circassians and Tatars displaced due to edited by C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, et al. (Leiden: Brill, the frequent Russo-Ottoman wars. In 1869, a new 2001), 1031b–1034a; Bernard Lewis, “Ahmad Midhat,” in Second Army (Tuna Ordusu) was stationed in the city of Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., vol. 1, CD-ROM edition, Shumen, clearly establishing the importance of this bor- edited by H. A. R. Gibb et al. (Leiden: Brill, 2001), 289a; der province for the Ottoman Empire. From this vantage Bernard Lory, “Rusčuk,” in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., point, the army could monitor political developments vol. 8, CD-ROM edition, edited by C. E. Bosworth, E. van across the Danube. Donzel, et al. (Leiden: Brill, 2001), 633b–634b; Stanford Shaw and Ezel Kural Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire, The policy of the provincial administration was vol. 2: Reform, Revolution, and Republic: The Rise of Mod- backed by the first official vilayet newspaper in the Otto- ern Turkey, 1808–1975 (Cambridge: Cambridge University man Empire, Tuna/Dunav (1865–1877), which was pub- Press, 1977). lished simultaneously in Ottoman Turkish and Bulgarian and had both Ottoman and Bulgarian editors. Among its Danube River (Bulg.: Dunav; Ger.: Donau; Hung.: Duna; editors in chief were Ismail Kemal and Ahmed Midhat Rom.: Dunarea; Russ.: Dunay; Turk.: Tuna) Originating Efendi. The former, an Albanian, after a long service to in Germany’s Black Forest, the Danube is Europe’s second the Ottoman state and complex relations with the Young largest river after the Volga. Flowing mainly eastward for Turks, was in 1912 to declare Albanian independence. 1,771 miles (2,850 km) before emptying into the Black Sea, The latter was to become one of the leading Ottoman it connects most of central and eastern Europe. Its size and journalists and men of letters of the late 19th and early position defined it as an important boundary to several 20th centuries. empires. The Roman Limes, or military frontier, followed the river for the most part, and the Lower Danube served A staunch supporter of the ideas of Ottomanism, as the Balkan peninsula’s northern border for centuries. It the provincial governor Midhat Pasha tried to promote marked the northern border of the Byzantine Empire cohesion between Muslims and non-Muslims and the formation of an Ottoman national identity. One of the

174 dar al-harb Petrovaradin, Osijek, among other locales), though some did arrive from Vienna. in the late fifth through the early seventh centuries as well as that of the hurriedly assembled empire of Sultan During the Holy League’s war of 1684–99 against Bayezid I (r. 1389–1402). Although the Ottomans lost the Ottomans, the Danube—along with its tributaries to most of their possessions in the Balkans after the Battle the west, the Drava and Sava rivers, and its tributaries to of Ankara and the ensuing civil war (1402–1413), by the north and northeast, the Tisza and Temes rivers— the mid-15th century the Danube was again the demar- received much attention from Habsburg military plan- cation line between the expanding Ottoman Empire and ners, for the rivers and their extensive marshlands created the medieval Hungarian kingdom that ruled the Car- major logistical problems. The 1690s also witnessed the pathian basin from 1000 through 1526. first serious exploration of the river and its basin by the Italian Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli (1658–1730), a scien- In the face of the Ottoman threat, the Hungarians tific polymath and military engineer in Habsburg service. reorganized their southern border by building new for- Viennese authorities directed Marsigli to identify cross- tresses or strengthening existing castles along the rivers ings for the Habsburg army, map the Danube’s marshes, Danube and Sava, which flows into the Danube at Bel- and, during the peace talks with the Ottomans that led to grade. This line stretched from Szörény (Turnu Severin) the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, to delineate the new via Orsova (Orşova) and Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) to border between the defeated Ottomans and Habsburg Zimony (Zemun) and Szabács (Šabac), where it finally Hungary. Using his notes, sketches, and maps from the left the Sava and continued through Srebrenik, Jajce, and 1690s, Marsigli later prepared a six-volume encyclopedia Knin up to Klis on the Adriatic Sea coast. The Otto- of the Danube, which appeared in 1726. mans also recognized the importance of the Danube as early as the late 14th century and occupied all strategi- By the end of the 17th century, the Danube again cally vital fortresses along the river during the next 150 became the northern border of the Ottoman Empire, the years. These included the fortresses at Kilia (1484), Silis- demarcation line between Ottoman and Habsburg lands, tra (1388), Ruse (1388), Nikopol (1395), Vidin (1396), and a cordon sanitaire (line of containment) against the Szörény (1524), Orsova (1522), Golubac (1427, 1458), Ottomans. Yet the Danube, and the “imperial road” along Hram (1483), Smederevo (1439, 1459), Belgrade (1521), the river, continued to facilitate trade, as it had done for Petrovaradin (1526), Buda and Pest (1541), Vác (1543), centuries. Orthodox Christian merchants from the Otto- Visegrád (1544), and Esztergom (1543). man Balkans and Habsburg Hungary championed this commerce. Between 1650 and 1850, some 1,500,000 Following their conquests, Belgrade and Buda became “Greeks” (as these Balkan merchants were commonly Ottoman administrative centers and were used as logistical known to contemporaries regardless of their ethnicities) bases during Ottoman campaigns against the Habsburgs. were involved in this profitable trade, exporting mainly The Ottomans also established naval arsenals at Ruse Ottoman textiles, garments, and other “oriental” goods (Rusçuk), Nikopol (Niğbolu), and Vidin, and smaller from Ottoman territories to Habsburg lands. shipbuilding sites at Golubac (Güvercinlik), Smederevo (Semendire), Belgrade, Zvornik (İzvornik), Kruševac (Ala- The Crimean War (1853–56) brought international cahisar), Pojega, Mohács, Buda, and Esztergom. Smeder- recognition of the Danube’s importance. The Congress of evo and Zvornik were each capable of constructing some Paris (1856) that ended the war established the European 200–250 riverboats for Süleyman’s campaigns in the 1540s Commission of the Danube, appointing it to clear the and 1560s. Danube delta of obstructions. In 1878 the lower Danube became a neutral waterway; however, by that time the Most of the cannons, military equipment, food, and Ottoman Empire had already lost the Danube due to the fodder during Ottoman campaigns against Hungary and independence of Serbia and Romania, the creation of an the Habsburgs were also transported via the Danube. autonomous Bulgaria, and the occupation of Bosnia However, the river was not fully navigable, and the water- and Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary. way was used only from Ruse or Belgrade up to Buda or Esztergom. Thus supplies shipped from Istanbul via the Gábor Ágoston Black Sea to Varna were then transported overland on carts to Ruse (or Belgrade), where they were again loaded dar al-harb In the political theory prevalent in Mus- onto ships. lim lands before the 19th century, Muslim rulers were believed to be under an injunction from the Quran to The Danube, together with the “imperial road” that wage holy war (ghaza) against non-Muslim rulers until ran along the right bank of the river, also functioned as their territories were conquered or they acknowledged a major trade route. In 1571, 437 boats reported at the their vassalage to a Muslim overlord. For this reason, Buda customs carrying mainly wheat and agricultural those parts of the world that were not under direct Mus- produce from the Balkans. Most of the boat captains were residents of the major ports along the Lower Dan- ube or its tributaries (including Belgrade, Semendire,

lim rule were termed by Muslim legal scholars as dar darülfünun 175 al-harb, meaning “house of war.” During the Ottoman period, Sunni religious scholars at the sultan’s court nian ruler Nadir Shah, the legal justification for war ruled that Shii rulers such as the Safavid shahs were also was not as apparent because under that same law, war in the “house of war” as they had strayed from Muslim between Muslims was illegal. Nonetheless, in the capi- orthodoxy and had become rafidi (renegades) or khariji tal, jurists generally issued legal justifications for such (Muslim extremists). The sultans therefore considered actions, whatever their personal views of the legality of themselves justified in waging war against these groups the campaigns, that stated that the war was necessary to until they returned to Sunni Islam, the mainstream or secure the Ottoman sultans’ position as the protectors conventional form of the faith. of the Holy Places in Arabia and to defend Islam against its non-Muslim enemies. Away from the capital, Muslim According to Islamic legal theory, no true peace jurists were openly ambivalent about whether the sultans (salam) could be established between a Muslim state could transform regions that properly belonged in the and one in the “house of war.” But a truce (sulh), which dar al-Islam into arenas of the dar al-harb. was understood to be of limited duration, was permitted between the Ottoman sultan and a non-Muslim mon- Bruce Masters arch. The territory of such a ruler was considered to be Further reading: Muhammad Shaybani, The Islamic in the “house of truce” (dar al-sulh) and his subjects were Law of Nations: Shaybani’s Siyar, translated and edited by allowed to visit, trade with, and even reside in the Otto- Majid Khadduri (Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University man Empire with a status known as istiman (trust or Press, 1966). confidence). This legal status provided the framework for the capitulations, which allowed European merchants Darülmuallim See education. to reside in the Empire and provided the framework for diplomatic relations between the Ottoman Empire and Darülmuallimat See education. various European powers. darülfünun The darülfünun (meaning “house of sci- Bruce Masters ences”) was the institution of higher education devel- See also capitulations. oped by the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century to address the growing need for scientific and technical dar al-Islam In Islamic legal theory as it was developed in education, as opposed to the madrasas, or religiously the first centuries of Muslim rule, territories governed by based schools, that had hitherto been the foundation of Muslim rulers and where Islamic law is in force constitute Ottoman learning. The darülfünun continued its activi- one monolithic entity known as the “house of Islam” (dar ties during the first decade of the Republic of Turkey and al-Islam), as differences between secular Muslim rulers was superseded by the University of Istanbul in 1933. are not recognized as legally valid. This category invokes a historical time when there was a universal caliphate that The idea to establish a university or darülfünun was ruled all Muslims. A desire for its return is in implicit in initially proposed in an education report prepared for the discussions of the dar al-Islam by Muslim legal schol- Sultan Abdülmecid (r. 1839–61) in 1845. However, basic ars. This “house of Islam” is contrasted with the dar al- requirements such as buildings, teachers, and books had harb, the “house of war,” non-Muslim territories that are to be met in order for this institution to begin its work. considered fair target for holy war, or jihad, unless their Foundations for the university buildings were laid near rulers have concluded peace treaties with a Muslim state. the Hagia Sophia Mosque under the supervision of Ital- Even when such a treaty does exist, other Muslim states ian architect Gaspare Fossati, while future teachers were do not have to honor that treaty and the Muslim state that sent to Europe to prepare to become the new faculty of entered into the treaty can abrogate it at any time. the school. A committee, the Encümen-i Daniş (Ottoman Academy of Sciences), was formed in 1851 to prepare the This stark dichotomy between two monolithic school’s textbooks. The prime minister (sadrazam) of the “houses” was undermined when Muslim rulers went to era, Fuad Pasha (1815–69), realized that these prepara- war against one another. For Ottoman jurists, a claim tions would take a great deal of time; beginning in 1863, that a war against Shii rulers was justified under Islamic he started lectures in the form of conferences in the com- law seemed reasonable as they were willing to concede pleted parts of the building. that some Shii doctrines were un-Islamic and those who believed them might be considered heretics. But when On January 13, 1863, chemist Derviş Pasha became the Ottoman sultans went to war against Sunni rul- the first to teach at the institution, lecturing on phys- ers, such as the Mamluk Empire that ruled Egypt and ics and chemistry. These conference lessons lasted until Syriain the 16th century, or against the 18th-century Ira- 1865, when they were moved to the Nuri Pasha mansion

176 darülfünun University at this time. In 1909 the university was moved to the Zeynep Hanım mansion in the Vezneciler district in the Çemberlitaş district of Istanbul. September 8, 1865 of Istanbul. witnessed a major fire at Darülfünun, which destroyed the building and ended this first experiment in Ottoman In 1912, the university was reorganized: the schools higher education. of pharmacy and dentistry were connected to the school of medicine, and the school of medicine in the province Establishing the darülfünun gathered momentum of Damascus was attached to the Istanbul darülfünun. again in the Public Education Regulation (Maarif-i Umu- Some changes were also made to the university’s admin- miye Nizamnamesi) of early 1869. The second darülfü- istrative structure, including rules regarding attendance nun, identified in regulations as Darülfünun-ı Osmani and discipline. During World War I, 20 German pro- (Ottoman University), was to include divisions of litera- fessors joined the university’s faculty, further strength- ture, science, and law, and detailed curricula were pre- ening it. With the contributions of these professors, pared for each discipline. However, when the darülfünun various research institutes, laboratories, and libraries reopened on February 20, 1870, the curricula of the three were founded, and the number of publications increased. branches were indistinguishable, with all students tak- More buildings were added to accommodate the univer- ing the same courses. This failure to specialize may have sity’s growth, and on September 12, 1914, a women’s col- resulted from the difficulties in providing instructors and lege, the Inas Darülfünun, was founded. It consisted of textbooks. It is unknown whether any students graduated schools of literature, mathematics, and biology. Its first before the second darülfünun closed its doors in 1873. graduates completed their studies in 1917, but with the advent of coeducation at the university in 1921, the sepa- After these two failed attempts, the Ottoman gov- rate school for women was closed. ernment decided to develop the darülfünun on the foundation of an existing educational institution. Begin- The end of World War I and the consequent end of ning in 1874, some classes were given at the Galatasa- the Ottoman-German alliance coincided with the begin- ray High School or University (Galatasaray Mekteb-i ning of the 1918–1919 academic year, causing an aca- Sultanisi or Darülfünun-ı Sultani). The new institution demic crisis when a number of the university’s German consisted of schools of law, literature, and engineer- professors returned home. This departure resulted in a ing (rather than science). In the first academic year, shortage of faculty that was exacerbated by an increase in 21 students were enrolled in the school of law and 26 the number of students. students were enrolled in the school of engineering. It is unknown whether courses began at the same time New administrative and scientific organizations were in the school of literature. Both the law and engineer- created on October 11, 1919 when the regulation of the ing schools were closed in 1877–78, reopened again Ottoman University (Darülfünun-ı Osmani Nizam- in October 1878, and graduated their first classes in namesi) gave the institution scientific and administrative 1879–80. A second class graduated in 1880–81, but autonomy and faculty directors, as well as trustees. no information is available about the activities of this darülfünun after 1881. Until the foundation of the Republic of Turkey on October 29, 1923, the darülfünun operated under the The first university in the Ottoman Empire based statutes provided by these regulations. With the forma- on Western models was the Imperial University (Darül- tion of the Republic, the darülfünun was given legal sta- fünun-ı Şahane), founded 20 years after Darülfünun-ı tus. After World War I, when British forces withdrew Osmani. Opened on August 31, 1900 on the 25th anni- from the Ministry of Defense building (Harbiye Neza- versary of the enthronement of Abdülhamid II (r. 1876– reti), it was donated to the university. It currently serves 1909), this university had branches of science, literature, as the main building of the University of Istanbul. and theology, as well as schools of law and medicine, though these last two were not connected officially. A reform process at Istanbul Darülfünun began in 1929. The project used internal recommendations from Degrees were awarded after three years of study in individual schools within the university. The Ministry the schools of science and literature and after four years of Education, however, rejected the project, considering in the school of theology. The Imperial University over- it inadequate. Additional reforms were undertaken in came earlier logistical problems of Turkish universities, 1930, resulting ultimately in the closure of Darülfünun such as inadequate instructors or textbooks. However, it and the founding of Istanbul University. Albert Malche restricted the number of students admitted, and courses (1876–1956), professor of education at the University remained fairly theoretical. The Imperial University of Geneva, was invited to Turkey to prepare a report on remained in operation until the declaration of the sec- Istanbul Darülfünun. Malche submitted his report on ond constitution in 1908 (see constitution/Consti- May 29, 1932, after a month of research and observation. tutional Periods), when its name was changed to He criticized various aspects of the university, especially Istanbul Darülfünun or Istanbul University. The schools its emphasis on theoretical rather than practical knowl- of medicine and law were also officially connected to the

edge, and suggested substantial reforms. The Turkish death and funerary culture 177 cabinet approved the report. The Grand National Assem- bly of Turkey closed the darülfünun on July 31, 1933 nor of Baghdad. He started his career as a mamluk of and opened the University of Istanbul the following day, Büyük Süleyman Pasha and was about 50 years old August 1, 1933. Reşit Galip, the minister of education, when he became governor of Baghdad in 1816. Unlike personally led the reform: 65 Darülfünun professors and most of his predecessors, he had an established reputa- scholars were appointed to posts in the new university tion as a scholar of Islamic legal texts and Quran com- while another 82 were discharged. The 1933 university mentaries. While Christian chroniclers in Baghdad reform represents a milestone in the history of Turkish praised his patron and predecessor Büyük Süleyman for higher education: Darülfünun, the first university of the his tolerance, Muslim chroniclers praised Dawud for his Ottoman era, was replaced by the University of Istanbul, piety and good works. the new nucleus for later Turkish universities. However, although Dawud Pasha was enshrined in Sevtap Kadıoğlu the historical memory of Baghdad’s Muslims as a just gov- Further reading: Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, Science, ernor, he lacked his predecessor’s military skills, leaving Technology and Learning in the Ottoman Empire: Western his territory vulnerable to attack. In 1821, Abbas Mirza, Influence, Local Institutions, and the Transfer of Knowledge the son of the Iranian Qajar Shah Fath Ali (r. 1797–1834), (Aldershot, UK: Ashgate–Variorum, 2004); Feza Günergun, invaded Iraq and defeated Dawud in a battle in Shah- “Science in the Ottoman World,” in G. N. Vlahakis, I. M. rizor, but an outbreak of cholera decimated the Persian Malaquias, N. M. Broots, F. Regourd, F. Gunergun, and D. forces and Baghdad was saved. Sultan Mahmud II (r. Wright, Imperialism and Science: Social Impact and Interac- 1808–39)dissolved the Janissaries in the capital in 1826 tion (Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2006). and ordered his governors to do the same. When those orders reached Dawud, he called his Janissaries to the Davud Pasha (d. 1873) (r. 1861–1868) mutasarrif of parade ground, read them the order, and then offered Lebanon Davud Pasha was the first to hold the office of them places in his new army corps that was to be com- administering the mutasarrifiyya, a new administrative manded by French officers. Most accepted and Baghdad structure established by the Ottoman government in 1861 avoided the violence that accompanied the dissolution to appease European outrage at the excesses committed by of the Janissaries elsewhere. But even under new organi- Druzes against Christians in the Lebanese Civil War of zation, the former Janissaries remained as incompetent 1860. Davud Pasha was a career Ottoman diplomat who as they had been before. Sultan Mahmud attempted to was born into an Armenian Catholic family in Istanbul replace Dawud in 1829, but his emissary was assassinated around 1816. He was educated in French and Ottoman en route. Not deterred, Mahmud sent an army to march schools and held Ottoman diplomatic posts in Berlin and on Baghdad. Before this army arrived at the city’s walls, Vienna. He was appointed as mutasarrif in 1861 for a term however, plague struck Baghdad, decimating the city’s of three years and given the rank of vizier. He was reap- population and Dawud’s new army. When the Ottoman pointed for a five-year term in 1864. Davud Pasha faced forces arrived at the city gates in 1831, Baghdad immedi- the opposition of Lebanon’s feudal lords, who resented ately capitulated. Dawud was sent in chains to Istanbul, but their loss of power, especially the Maronite Yusuf Bek was given a partial reprieve and allowed to go into exile in Karam. Nonetheless, Davud Pasha is generally credited Medina, where he died 20 years later. Ali Rıza Pasha, hav- with implementing his charge and establishing a precedent ing removed Dawud from the political scene in Baghdad, for fair and impartial rule. But Davud Pasha’s ambitions proceeded to execute all the remaining male members of led to trouble as the Ottoman Foreign Ministry worried the Mamluk household that had ruled Baghdad province about his establishing direct contacts with the European from the early 18th century. diplomats and merchants in Beirut rather than going through the provincial governor. In 1868, in an attempt to Bruce Masters pressure Istanbul to give him more power, he resigned his Further reading: Tom Niewenhuis, Politics and Society position. To his surprise, his resignation was accepted. He in Early Modern Iraq: Mamluk Pashas, Tribal Shaykhs and returned to Istanbul where he was appointed minister of Local Rule Between 1802 and 1831 (The Hague: Martinus public works. He was later charged with corruption and Nijhoff, 1981). went into exile to France where he died in 1873. death and funerary culture Although death ritu- Bruce Masters als and funerary practices in the Ottoman Empire were as diverse as the ethnic and religious cultures included Dawud Pasha (d. 1851) (r. 1816–1831) governor of within the empire, the dominant rituals and practices Baghdad Dawud Pasha was the last mamluk gover- were those of Ottoman Muslims. And although these were Islamic in essence, Ottoman funerary culture had its own peculiarities that distinguished it from the tradition

178 death and funerary culture generally as a result of surviving pre-Islamic Turkic tra- ditions. Some evidence suggests that the practice of let- of non-Ottoman Muslim lands and even from the Arab ting bodies decompose before burying the bones was still provinces of the empire. sometimes observed. The early Ottomans also infringed on a number of Islamic injunctions, showing excessive In the early centuries of Ottoman rule, as in most grief in mourning, for instance, or bringing the horse of Islamic social and political formations in medieval Ana- the deceased with its tail cut to the funeral. Such behav- tolia, funerary practices were borrowed directly from the ior, frequently observed until the 16th century, was Arab-Islamic tradition. The earliest examples of Ottoman gradually abandoned as the state shifted toward Islamic cemeteries and tombstones, dating from the 15th century orthodoxy and began to impose a control over funer- and located in the first Ottoman capital, Bursa, resem- ary practices. Nevertheless, certain customs persevered, bled the model dominant throughout the Islamic lands. especially in rural areas and in the heterodox circles of Tombstones were carved with inscriptions in Arabic certain mystic or Sufi orders (tarikat). Horses following with purely religious content and provided very succinct their deceased masters to the grave were observed in the information about the deceased: name, father’s name, 19th century, and professional wailing has survived in date of death. Cemeteries were generally located within Anatolia to the present day. the city, very often adjacent to a mosque. Ottoman digni- taries such as beys, viziers, and sultans were generally put In most respects, Ottoman death rituals were consis- in mausoleum-like structures known as türbes. tent with fundamental Islamic principles. The body of the deceased was washed before being placed in a seamless Yet despite this consistency with other Islamic prac- tice, early Ottoman funerary customs still diverged from the norms in other Islamic lands on some major points, The Muradiye tomb complex in the first Ottoman capital of Bursa was the ancestral burial ground of the Ottoman dynasty. (Photo by Gábor Ágoston)

shroud consisting of two or three pieces; the shrouded death and funerary culture 179 body was then carried in a coffin to a mosque where a funeral prayer was held in the presence of the entire com- and frequently visited. Inside the city, smaller grave- munity. The body was then carried to the grave where it yards were generally attached to a religious building, was laid to rest without the coffin, in direct contact with generally a mosque, and enclosed behind walls. How- the earth, lying on the left flank and facing the qibla (the ever, these walls always had windows, ensuring that direction of Mecca). tombstones remained visible to passersby. The arrange- ment of tombs within cemeteries suggested the exis- The Ottomans shared the faith of other Muslims in tence of a notion of ”prime space” defined in terms of terms of the meaning of death and their idea of an after- visibility or of proximity to a prominent figure. As for life. Islamic eschatology was simple. Death was not an those who had been most powerful, they generally end but rather the beginning of another form of life; the enjoyed the privilege of a mausoleum where they and dead waited in the grave until the resurrection of Judg- their close relatives would be buried. The most striking ment Day when souls would be subjected to the final example was that of the sultan, whose mausoleum, gen- test and sent either to paradise or to hell. One important erally built close to his own mosque, could then house principle was that of total submission to death, seen as a number of members of the dynasty. Istanbul was thus the irrevocable will of God. studded with a large number of imperial mausoleums that left a significant dynastic imprint. The 16th century was marked by the emergence of a more characteristically Ottoman funerary culture. From the 18th century on, thanks in part to the Three major elements constituted the core of this cul- greater availability of marble, tombstones grew in size ture: the importance given to increasingly conspicuous and sophistication, adopting baroque styles, while epi- monuments; the appearance of a carved representation taphs grew in length. Increasingly secular stock verses of headgear as a distinguishing feature on gravestones; derived from a largely oral tradition came to be widely and the development of a peculiar textual format for the used throughout the empire, allowing for sentimental epitaph, where Arabic was gradually replaced by Turkish. laments over the loss of loved ones, especially children. Although not prohibited, conspicuousness in gravestones The popularity of the style was such that traces of it can and funerary monuments was considered reprehensible be found in the decoration of Jewish graves or in the in Islam. Death was supposed to level human beings in wording of epitaphs within the Turkish-speaking Greek the face of God, eliminating worldly inequalities; there- and Armenian communities. fore, showy monuments were considered a breach of this essential principle. Purists in Islam went so far as to claim By the second half of the 19th century, especially in that no recognizable trace whatsoever should be left over the capital, funerary art reached a modern climax, with a grave. The Ottomans, on the contrary, soon developed the monumentalization of tombstones, the occasional a taste for durable and prominent monuments, such as use of figurative sculpture, and the spread of lengthy epi- mausoleums for the sultans and members of the elite, taphs signed by renowned poets. Nationalism was soon and heavily carved and inscribed marble stones for the to follow, after the Young Turk revolution, bringing in a well-to-do. The carving of headgear, generally turbans, political and ideological dimension that further reduced to decorate the top of tombstones seemed to stem from the religious character of monuments. By the end of the the same concern for visibility. Some have claimed that empire, Ottoman funerary culture had become a strange this was a remnant of the pre-Islamic Turkic tradition mix of traditions, most of which were wiped out with the of anthropomorphic (human-shaped) gravestones; it is advent of the modern Republic of Turkey in 1923 and more likely that the inspiration came from the tradition with the government’s formal shift to the Latin alphabet of placing the deceased’s headgear on the coffin, and in 1928. that the real aim was to give a visual clue to his status in life. Finally, the use of Turkish instead of Arabic also Edhem Eldem responded to a growing desire to identify or character- Further reading: Werner Diem and Marco Schöller, ize the dead. Instead of bearing only uniform or repeti- The Living and the Dead in Islam: Studies in Arabic Epi- tive Arabic religious verses, tombstones came to record taphs (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2004); Edhem Eldem, more detailed and specific descriptions of the deceased, Death in Istanbul: Death and Its Rituals in Ottoman-Islamic especially with respect to status, patronage, and fam- Culture (Istanbul: Ottoman Bank Archives and Research ily links. In short, tombstones began to look more like Centre, 2005); Gülru Necipoğlu, “Dynastic Imprints on social markers. the Cityscape: The Collective Message of Imperial Funer- ary Mosque Complexes in Istanbul,” in Cimetières et tradi- The organization of Ottoman cemeteries clearly tions funéraires dans le monde islamique, vol. 2, edited by reflected this evolution. The larger cemeteries were J.-L. Bacqué-Grammont and A. Tibet (Ankara: Türk Tarih located outside the city walls but were easily accessible Kurumu, 1996), 23–36; Minna Rozen, Hasköy Cemetery: Typology of Stones (Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University and Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, 1994); Jane Idleman Smith and Yvonne

180 debt and the Public Debt Administration apparatus of the state. In a memorandum presented to Sultan Abdülmecid (r. 1839–61) on August 22, 1850, the Yazbeck Haddad, The Islamic Understanding of Death and British ambassador in Istanbul, Lord Stradford Canning, Resurrection (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002). forcefully warned the Ottoman government that to sus- tain its financing it would have to borrow from abroad. debt and the Public Debt Administration Al- Aware of the condition of the Ottoman treasury, Canning though, in the Ottoman context, the origins of the con- advised the Ottoman government that, to ensure the suc- cept of borrowing from international markets dates back cess of international borrowing efforts, certain sources to the second half of the 18th century, the first instance of revenue would have to be presented as collateral. of Ottoman international borrowing occurred at the Although the grand vizier Mustafa Reşid Pasha was in beginning of the second half of the 19th century. The favor of this action, the sultan obstructed further negoti- main impetus for drawing on the international markets ations on the topic of international borrowing. However, stemmed from disorder in Ottoman public finances. The it was just a matter of time before the poor state of the origins of this disorder can be traced back to the late Ottoman fiscal situation would dictate the necessity of 16th century. The Ottoman government was tradition- borrowing from abroad. ally reluctant to borrow from abroad. It chose instead to use domestic instruments such as internal borrowing and In 1852, after it defaulted on its debt to the Bank of currency debasement to raise revenue. Currency debase- Constantinople, the Ottoman government made its first ment involved reducing the amount of gold and silver in serious attempt to borrow from abroad. In that year, coins. It was only when the limits of these fiscal resources Ottoman representatives signed contracts with Bechet, were reached that the Ottoman state resorted to interna- Dethomas & Co. in Paris and Deveaux & Co. in London. tional markets. When the Ottoman state finally turned to Without waiting for the approval of the sultan, Ottoman these markets it encountered various problems in attract- bureaucrats sought a loan of 50 million French francs ing interest in providing loans to the Ottoman Empire. (the equivalent of $237.4 million today), with a term of The reluctance of international investors to extend loans 27 years. The first installment of this loan was paid to the to the empire stemmed from the continued disorderly agent of the Bank of Constantinople in London. However, state of Ottoman public finances and a lack of informa- the sultan did not endorse this deal, claiming that the Otto- tion available to potential foreign investors. man representatives exceeded their authority by agreeing to the terms of the loan. This failure shocked markets in Motivated by a lack of funding in the face of spiraling London and Paris and left a negative impression of Otto- war costs, Ottoman bureaucrats first proposed the idea man credibility in international loan markets. In order to of external borrowing during the Russian occupation erase this negative impression, the first installment drawn of the Crimea in 1783. In various reports prepared on from this loan was paid back by the Ottoman government this issue, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Morocco with an indemnity of 2,200,000 French francs (the equiv- were identified as possible lender countries. However, alent of $10.4 million today) after seven months. in this instance, the Ottoman state opted against inter- national borrowing. In 1787, at the start of war with the This initial foray into the realm of international bor- Habsburgs and the Russian Empire, external borrowing rowing affected future attempts to borrow on the interna- was again proposed to finance war expenses. It appears tional market. After the outbreak of the Crimean War that, after these initial attempts, the idea of borrowing (1854–56), the Ottoman government, in search of emer- from abroad was postponed until the second half of the gency funding, attempted to borrow from the London 19th century. market. This attempt was unsuccessful due to the nega- tive impression left by the 1852 fiasco. In 1854, even with In this interim period, the Ottoman State again the mediation of the influential banking house Rothschild turned to internal resources in times of financial emer- & Sons, the Ottoman government was only able to raise gencies. Debasement of the currency (that is, reducing a loan of ₤1,100,000 (the equivalent of $115.6 million the silver content of coins thus issuing more currency to today). This loan was not taken due to its small amount. increase state revenues) was one of the most frequently Most interest in lending to the Ottomans came from spec- employed methods of Ottoman financing. During the ulators. The lack of credibility of the Ottoman state made reign of Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1808–39), the Ottoman it impossible to borrow in international markets without currency was reportedly debased 37 times. the support of the British and French governments. In another attempt in 1854, during the Crimean War and Toward the second half of the 19th century, the Otto- with the support of its allies Britain and France, the Otto- man state stepped up its modernization efforts in the man state was able to borrow internationally by pledging areas of administration and finances. After the 1839 dec- the tribute of Egypt as collateral. In 1855, again backed laration of the Imperial Rescript of Gülhane (see Tanzi- by guarantees from the British and French governments mat), external borrowing efforts were renewed in order to finance restructuring the administrative and fiscal

to cover interest payments to bondholders, the Ottoman debt and the Public Debt Administration 181 government was able to secure an international loan. The 1854 loan, which was underwritten by Dent, Palmer & ment of internal debt liabilities. For these purposes the Co., raised ₤3,000,000 (the equivalent of $311.3 million Ottoman government was able to obtain loans, in nomi- today); and the 1855 loan, underwritten by Rothschild & nal terms, of ₤8,000,000 (the equivalent of $812 million Sons, raised ₤5,000,000 (the equivalent of $518.8 million today) and ₤6,000,000 (the equivalent of $593 million today). The Ottomans not only pledged important reve- today) in 1863 and 1865; ₤22,222,000 (the equivalent of nue sources as collateral for these loans, they also agreed $2.2 billion today) in 1869; ₤5,700,000 (the equivalent of to allow British and French monitoring to ensure that the $574 million today) in 1871; ₤11,126,000 (the equivalent borrowed funds were spent on war expenses. of $1.1 billion today) in 1872; ₤11,000,000 (the equivalent of $1 billion today) and ₤28,000,000 (the equivalent of In the 19th century, Britain, fearing the rise of a $2.6 billion today) in 1873; and ₤40,000,000 (the equiva- strong state astride overland routes to its Indian posses- lent of $3.8 billion today) in 1874. sions, pursued a foreign policy that focused on shoring up and ensuring the survival of the Ottoman Empire. This Excluding the 1852 loan, between 1854 and 1875 policy continued until the death of Lord Palmerston (d. the Ottoman Empire borrowed from European financial 1865), who had been an active supporter of Britain’s for- markets 15 times and raised a total of, ₤217 million (the eign policy objectives concerning the Ottoman Empire. equivalent of $21.4 billion today), of which ₤107 million Guarantees on interest payments of loans and other forms (the equivalent of $10.6 billion today) was retained. A of support during the Crimean War were manifesta- small portion of these loans (₤12 million, the equivalent tions of this policy. Thus the British government unof- of $1.3 billion today) was spent on railroad construction. ficially supported the loan of ₤5,000,000 underwritten As a result of rapidly growing public debt coupled with by Dent, Palmer & Co. in 1858, and a loan of ₤8,000,000 increased budget deficits, the Ottoman Empire was unable (the equivalent of $812 million today) underwritten by to fulfill its debt servicing obligations and declared a mor- Deveaux & Co. in 1862. These loans were primarily used atorium on its debt payments. According to the Ramazan for financial reforms in the Ottoman Empire. In particu- Decree (October 6, 1875), in which the moratorium was lar, they were spent on recalling kaime (paper money) announced, the Ottoman government promised to pay from circulation. Kaime was a major source of disorder in back half of its accumulated interest and capital and half the Ottoman money market at the time. of its debts in five years and to issue bonds with a 5 per- cent interest rate to cover the rest of its obligations. After As with the loans of 1854 and 1855, British inspec- a short time, the Ottoman government found itself unable tors were employed to ensure that expenditures were in to keep the promises in the Ramazan Decree. As a result, accord with international agreements. Moreover, bond- complete default was declared. From 1875 to 1881, when holders were allowed to create a committee to monitor the Public Debt Administration was established, only one new loan was obtained by the Ottoman Bank. Although it the resources that were provided as collateral. Due to the was classified as an external loan, this loan, in the amount of ₤5 million (the equivalent of $532 million today), was opposition of the Ottoman government, however, this underwritten by the Imperial Ottoman Bank and used to committee never came into existence. In the following help finance a war with Russia. years, this opposition proved to be a source of discord between bondholders and the Ottoman government. Negotiations between bondholders and the Ottoman Bondholders’ appeals to the British government to inter- government during this period focused on re-starting debt vene in disputes went unanswered. payments. These negotiations culminated in the Muharrem Decree of December 20, 1881. In this decree, the Ottoman Before the 1862 loan, the Ottoman government had government agreed to allow the formation of a financial difficulty in paying down internal and external debt, and control administration. Called the Public Debt Adminis- appeals to the British and French governments for help tration, this administration was composed of bondholders in obtaining loans were turned down. Thus the Ottoman of Ottoman debt. The administration was housed in Istan- state was forced to contact Mires & Co., a speculator in bul and consisted of seven members representing British, the Paris market, to secure a loan of ₤16,000,000 (the Dutch, German, Austro-Hungarian, Italian, and Ottoman equivalent of $1.7 billion today). To obtain this loan, the bondholders. The administration was empowered to collect Ottoman government was forced to agree to very harsh directly from tax revenues allocated to the administration terms. However, due to the arrest and imprisonment of and to use these moneys to repay the debt of the Ottoman Mires, this loan was never finalized. state. It had the authority to hire and fire its personnel inde- pendently of the Ottoman government. From 1863 to 1875, the Ottoman government engaged in frequent and large-scale borrowings from international The Ottoman government allocated to the Public financial markets. These loans were mostly used for inter- Debt Administration all the revenues from eight indi- est payments on existing debt, recalling of debased coins rect taxes. They included taxes on alcoholic beverages, from circulation, financing budget deficits, and repay-

182 debt and the Public Debt Administration which were secured by the Public Debt Administration. The Ottoman government was able to raise other loans stamps, fish, and silk, and the revenues from salt and by stipulating specific income sources as collateral. These tobacco monopolies. The Public Debt Administra- loans, like the ones raised before 1875, were spent on tion was also entitled to draw revenues from the tribute activities such as financing budgetary deficits and mili- from Bulgaria, the surplus of revenues from Cyprus and tary expenditures. The loans of 1904, 1910, and 1912, Eastern Rumelia (an Ottoman province in present-day which were under the control of the Public Debt Admin- Bulgaria), any surplus in customs revenues that might istration, were used to construct the Baghdad railway. accrue from revisions of trade agreements and, gener- ally, any other surplus from government revenues. The After 1881, French and German capital had a domi- Ottoman state could substitute sources of revenue for nant position in the Ottoman loan market. From 1903 to any of the sources listed above, provided that the substi- the start of World War I, the share of German capital in tute would raise the same amount of revenue and that the the Ottoman state’s overall debt portfolio increased rap- board of the administration was in unanimous agreement idly. In 1881, the share of English capital was 30 percent on the substitutions. The loans of 1854, 1855, 1871, and of total Ottoman debt. By 1914, this ratio had decreased 1877, in which tribute of Egypt was pledged as collateral, to 12 percent. During this same time frame, the French were excluded from the agreement. Bondholders agreed to share in Ottoman debt increased from 40 percent to 60 a reduction in their claims, from ₤191 million (the equiva- percent, and the German share increased from 5 percent lent of $20.8 billion today) to ₤97 million (the equivalent to 21 percent. The most important representatives of of $10.6 billion today). This amount was eventually fixed French and German capital in the Ottoman Empire were, at ₤106 million (the equivalent of $11.6 billion today) to respectively, the Imperial Ottoman Bank and Deutsche compensate for the period between 1875 and 1881. This Bank. These two institutions cooperated on many large amount was split into four groups: series A loans consisted investments. At the outbreak of World War I, the total of the 1858 and 1862 loans; series B loans consisted of the external debt of the Ottoman Empire, including the trib- 1860, 1863–64, and 1872 loans; series C loans consisted ute of Egypt, was about 157,000,000 Ottoman liras (₤T, of the 1865, 1869 and 1873 loans; and series D loans con- the equivalent of $16.2 billion today). sisted of the 1865–74 general loans and the 1870–72 lot- tery loans. Railroad loans, which did not carry interest and Following the conclusion of the Balkan Wars were called “Lots Turcs,” were excluded from the agree- (1912–1913), the Ottoman Empire was in a poor finan- ment. The maximum interest rate was set at 4 percent and cial state. The government was saved from insolvency the sinking fund (minimum) rate was fixed at 1 percent. thanks to a loan of £22,000,000 (the equivalent of $2.2 billion today) from the Imperial Ottoman Bank. With The foundation of the Ottoman Public Debt Admin- the outbreak of World War I, the Ottoman government istration signaled a new era in Ottoman financial history. was forced to issue kaime to finance government expen- Because of the authority vested in the administration, ditures. During World War I, the Ottoman government Ottoman debt was subject to restructuring as to improve issued paper money on seven different occasions, equiv- term and interest rate structure. These restructures, alent to ₤T 160,000,000 (the equivalent of $12.6 billion which took place in 1890, 1891, 1893, 1894, 1903, and today). While the first issue was backed by German and 1906, did not lead to the imposition of new financial bur- Austrian gold, the other six issues were backed by Ger- dens on the Ottoman government. Instead, they proved man treasury bills. Additionally, a total of ₤T 74,000,000 beneficial to the Ottoman government by generating a (the equivalent of $5.8 billion today) was raised from credit to the Ottoman treasury that was equivalent to the donations from Germany and Austria. A further ₤T tribute from Egypt. 18,000,000 (the equivalent of $1.4 billion today) was raised from internal loans. The sound governance of the Public Debt Administra- tion improved the Ottoman Empire’s credibility in Euro- During World War I, the English, Dutch, French, and pean financial markets and increased the willingness of Italian members of the Ottoman Public Debt Administra- European capitalists to lend to the Ottoman government. tion left Istanbul. Only German, Austro-Hungarian, and The efficiency of the Public Debt Administration in col- Ottoman members remained. In this period, payments lecting revenues and fulfilling the debt payments in accor- to non-allied countries (Italy, Britain, and France) were dance with the Muharrem Decree was the main factor in suspended. After the ceasefire, the German and Austrian the Ottoman state’s improved international credibility. members of the administration were deported and a new Improved international credibility resulted in a reduction committee was formed by English, French, Italian, and of borrowing costs. Before 1875, the cost of borrowing had Turkish members. The victorious countries planned to been 10 percent; it now decreased to 5 percent. impose full financial control over the Ottoman Empire. Provisions to this end were included in the terms of the Following the formation of the Public Debt Adminis- 1920 Treaty of Sèvres. However, as the Ankara govern- tration foreign borrowing by the Ottoman state increased rapidly. The government raised new loans, many of

devs¸irme 183 ment did not recognize this treaty, Allied plans to impose demography See population. full financial controls on the Ottoman Empire were never realized. dervish See Bektaşi Order; Mevlevi Order; Naqshbandiyya Order; Rifaiyya Order; Shadhliyya The collapse of the Ottoman Empire soon after the Order; Sufism. end of World War I resulted in the emergence of many new countries in the Near East, North Africa, and the devshirme See devşirme. Balkans. The Republic of Turkey, occupying the core Anatolian territories of the former Ottoman Empire, devşirme (devshirme) The Turkish word devşirme, or refused to assume responsibility for all the Ottoman “collection,” refers to the periodical forced levy of chil- debt and proposed to share this burden with other suc- dren from among the Christian subjects in the provinces cessor countries. Subsequent negotiations resulted in in Europe and Asia Minor. The children taken replen- an agreement whereby the new Turkish Republic would ished the ranks of the Janissaries, the sultan’s elite be responsible for 65 percent of the total Ottoman debt infantry troops, and were also trained for positions as of ₤T 129,385,000 (the equivalent of $7 billion today). high-ranking government officials. In 1395 Isidore Gla- Turkey’s share thus amounted to ₤T 84,578,000 (the bas, metropolitan (bishop) of Salonika from 1380 to equivalent of $4.6 billion today), which required annual 1397, lamented “the seizure of the children by the decree payments of ₤T 5,808,000 (the equivalent of $315 million of the emir” with these words: “What would a man not today). The rest of the debt was apportioned to other suffer were he to see a child, whom he had begotten and successor countries, including 9 percent for Greece, 8 raised . . . carried off by the hands of foreigners, suddenly percent for Syria and Lebanon, 5 percent for Iraq, 4 and by force, and forced to change over to alien customs percent for Yugoslavia, 3 percent for Palestine, and 6 and to become a vessel of barbaric, speech, impiety and percent apportioned collectively to Bulgaria, Albania, other contaminations.” An Italian source from 1397 the Hejaz (in present-day Saudi Arabia), Yemen, Trans- stated that the Turks took boys aged 10 to 12 years old for jordan (present-day Jordan), Italy, Najd (in present-day their army. These sources suggest that by the late 1390s Saudi Arabia), Maan (in present-day Jordan). the devşirme was already an established practice. The mission of the Public Debt Administration Unlike other Muslim empires, who purchased their ended with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. By 1954, slave soldiers from outside the lands of Islam, the Otto- The Turkish Republic had fulfilled its share of the debt man sultans seized slaves from amongst their own Chris- obligations it inherited from the Ottoman Empire. The tian subjects, contradicting the sharia or Islamic law that resolution of this outstanding Ottoman debt marked the forbade the enslavement of dhimmis or people of other conclusion of the roughly 100-year history of Ottoman revealed religions. It is possible that the devşirme origi- relations with international lending institutions. nated in the Balkans, where Ottoman frontier warriors are reported as having taken, in the 1380s or earlier, “trib- Hüseyin Al ute children” in central Macedonia to fill the ranks of the Further reading: Donald C. Blaisdell, European Finan- Janissaries. In taking children for their own service, the cial Control in the Ottoman Empire: A Study of the Estab- Ottoman sultans might thus have been following a prac- lishment, Activities, Significance of the Administration of tice established by their frontier military commanders. the Ottoman Public Debt, 2nd ed. (New York: AMS Press, 1966); David Gillard, ed., The Near and Middle East—The Under the Ottoman devşirme system Christian chil- Ottoman Empire: Finance and Trade, 1860–1879, British dren between 8 and 20 years old—preferably between Documents on Foreign Affairs: Reports and Papers from 12 and 14—were periodically taken, at varying rates. the Foreign Office Confidential Print, pt. 1, series B, vol. According to sources, including the memoirs of former 7, ser. eds. Kenneth Bourne and D. C. Watt (Frederick, Serbian Janissary Constantin Mihailović (1435–1501) Md., University Publications of America, 1984); Vincent and an early 16th-century Ottoman imperial decree, Caillard, “Turkish Finance,” in Encyclopaedia Britannica. the recruiting officers seized one boy per 40 house- 11th ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1911); holds. However, the sources are inconsistent regarding Christopher Clay, Gold for the Sultan: Western Bankers and both the age of eligibility and the total numbers of boys Ottoman Finance, 1856–1881 (New York: I.B. Tauris, 2000); taken per devşirme. These inconsistencies suggest that William H. Wynne, State Insolvency and Foreign Bondhold- the rules of the levy varied greatly according to needs of ers, vol. 2, Selected Case Histories of Governmental Foreign the army, as did the intervals during which the devşirme Bond Defaults and Debt Readjustments (New Haven, Conn.: was practiced. Sources indicate that the devşirme took Yale University Press, 1951). defterdar See administration, central.

184 devs¸irme Turks and Muslims were excluded from the child levy to avoid a situation in which their relatives would demand place haphazardly in the 15th century and more regularly tax exemptions. However, according to The Laws of the in the 16th century, when the frequent and prolonged Janissaries, the Muslims of Bosnia were subject to the wars often decimated the ranks of the Janissaries. By the devşirme because they requested and were granted this end of that century however, the ranks of the Janissaries favor during their initial mass conversion to Islam after the were filled from within the corps. As the Janissary corps conquest of the region in 1463. This shows that while many ceased to be the elite force of the sultan, the devşirme was tried to escape the practice, others saw it as an opportu- less valued. In the 17th century the levy was practiced nity for upward social mobility and access to the askeri, the only sporadically. English author and diplomat Sir Paul privileged Ottoman military and bureaucratic class. Rycaut (1629–1700), who stayed in Istanbul in the 1660s, claimed that by that time the devşirme was “in a great When a decree was issued to collect Christian boys part grown out of use” and “wholly forgotten,” though from a specified region, the recruiting officers ordered all sources mention an attempt in 1705 to levy 1,000 boys in the boys, their fathers, and their priests to appear before Greece. Reports recording the number of youths taken them. Using baptismal registers, provided by the priests, during the levy also vary, from as low as 1,000 to as high the recruiting officers —aided by the local Ottoman dis- as 12,000 per devşirme. trict judge and the village’s sipahi (Ottoman landlord) or his representative—inspected and selected the boys. The regulations concerning the devşirme were exten- For each group of 100–200 boys, designated “the flock,” sive with regard to the physical and mental conditions of a detailed register was compiled. This listed the boy’s the children, as well as their social status. According to name, the name of his father, the name of his sipahi, and The Laws of the Janissaries (Kavanin-i Yeniçeriyan), writ- the name of his village. It also gave a physical description ten by a former Janissary in 1606, the officials charged of the boy so that if he escaped or disappeared, he could with taking the boys could not take the only child of a be found with the help of the register. The “flock” then family, for the head of the household needed his help in traveled on foot to the capital, hundreds of miles away. cultivating his land in order to pay his taxes. The same Many died or ran away during the long journey. Others source noted that recruiting officers were not supposed escaped service because their families bribed the recruit- to take the sons of the village headmen “as they belonged ing officers. to the lower classes,” the children of shepherds and herds- men “as they had been brought up in the mountains so Those who made it to the imperial capital were they were uneducated,” the boys of craftsmen, towns- inspected, circumcised, and converted to Islam. Those men in general, “since they did not fulfill their pledge who seemed smartest were sent for education in the elite for soldier’s pay;” and married boys, because their “eyes Palace School or for service in the sultan’s gardens, or had been opened, and those cannot become the slave of were given to Ottoman dignitaries. These appointments the sultan.” The Laws of the Janissaries similarly excluded were part of their grooming for later positions of trust from the levy orphans, those who were considered in any and authority. Those designated for the Palace School way unhealthy or defective (e.g., cross-eyed boys); those were the most fortunate, for they were looked after and who were too tall or too short, for they were considered given the best education of the time and, in due course, stupid and trouble-makers, respectively, and those who could achieve the highest offices within the empire. The had been to Istanbul (and the inhabitants of Istanbul, rest were hired out to Turkish farmers for seven to eight in general), “for they did not have a sense of shame.” years, during which time they grew accustomed to hard- According to the same source certain ethnic groups ship and learned the rudiments of the Turkish language were also ineligible, such as Hungarians and Croatians and Islamic customs. All the boys were delivered by name north of Belgrade (who were considered unreliable and listed in registers so that the sultan could gather by the Ottoman authorities), or those who lived in the them when they were needed to fill vacancies in the regions between Karaman and Erzurum (because they Janissary corps. Government officials inspected the boys were mixed with (Muslim) Turkomans and Kurds and every year, and also collected an 80-akçe “inspection fee” (Christian but presumably untrustworthy) Georgians. (approximately equal to the price of three to four sheep) Regions where the Christian population voluntarily from the families on whose farm the youth worked. After acknowledged Ottoman rule were also exempted from seven or eight years of work in the fields the boys were the devşirme, as were those Christians who performed recalled to Istanbul or Gallipoli. There they joined the auxiliary military service, such as guarding bridges and ranks of Janissary novices or acemi oğlans and lived in mountain passes, working in mines, saltpeter works, their own barracks under strict military discipline. They and gunpowder works, or working as couriers. These also served as a cheap workforce for public works proj- exemptions also suggest that the levy was considered ects, carrying stones and earth, or manning the ships that one of the many taxes Christian subjects owed to the transported snow from the Bursa mountains to the sul- sultan.

tan’s ice-houses or firewood to the palace. Others served dhimmi 185 in the sultan’s gardens or in the imperial dockyards in Istanbul and Gallipoli, as blacksmiths, caulkers, carpen- and promising not to help the Muslims’ enemies. This ters, oar-makers, and so on. Others became apprentices rather rudimentary formula for political and religious in the Imperial Cannon Foundry or in the naval arsenal. coexistence was based on the realities of Arabia, where Only after several years of such service did the novices the vast majority of inhabitants had already at least nom- become Janissaries or fill in vacancies in the corps of inally accepted Islam by the time of the Prophet’s death gunners, gun-carriage drivers, bombardiers, or armorers in 632 c.e. of the sultan’s standing army. But as the first Arab-Islamic empire, the Umayyad The child levy and the system of military slavery Caliphate (661–750 c.e), expanded its territory, millions created an extraordinarily strong and stable structure of of non-Muslims were incorporated into the new empire. support for the House of Osman, because the boys taken As Islam became established as a mature political force, and raised by the state ultimately became its strongest it became more legalistic, enshrining what might have supporters. In periods of crisis, the slaves of the sultan been temporary historical expediencies as holy law. This helped prevent the breakup of the state. In addition, the was particularly true in its formulation of the conditions devşirme proved to be an effective means of conversion. under which non-Muslims might enjoy Islam’s protection. The tribute children were Islamized and incorporated As Muslims gained ground numerically with large-scale into the Ottoman military, while the inhabitants of conversions to Islam, the legal status of non-Muslims some areas of the Balkans, especially Thrace and Mace- became more problematic. Social and political subordina- donia, voluntarily converted to Islam in order to avoid tion to the people of Islam was given concrete legal form the child levy. in a document known as the Pact of Umar. According to Muslim tradition, the caliph Umar ibn Khattab (634–644 Gábor Ágoston c.e.) issued the Pact to the non-Muslims of Jerusalem fol- See also administration, central. lowing its fall to Muslim armies in the 630s. By the ninth Further reading: V. L. Ménage, “Devşirme,” in Ency- century c.e., a written formulation of the agreement clopaedia of Islam, edited by P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, entered into Muslim legal texts as a standard formula, C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, and W. P. Heinrichs. Brill, invariably ascribed to the caliph Umar. It was in this form 2007. Brill Online. Online edition (by subscription), that it came down to the legal scholars of the Ottoman viewed 14 March 2007: <http://www.brillonline.nl/sub- Empire where it served as the foundation of laws govern- scriber/entry?entry=islam_SIM-1807>; Speros Vryonis, ing both the freedoms of, and the limitations placed on, “Isidore Glabas and the Turkish Devshirme.” Speculum 31, non-Muslims. no. 3 (1956): 433–443; Speros Vryonis, “Seljuk Gulams and Ottoman Devshirme.” Der Islam 41 (1965): 224–252; Vas- In return for being granted safe-conduct for their silis Demetriades, “Some Thoughts on the Origins of the persons and property, dhimmis agreed to a number of Devşirme,” in The Ottoman Emirate, 1300–1389, edited by conditions. These included the requirement to wear dis- Elizabeth Zachariadou (Rethymnon: Crete University Press, tinctive clothing to distinguish them from Muslims and 1993), 23–31; Colin Imber, The Ottoman Empire, 1300–1650 prohibitions on riding horses or camels or having houses (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002), 134–142. that could overlook those of Muslims. Dhimmis could not sell anything to Muslims that was forbidden to them dhimmi (zimmi) Dhimmi was the Muslim term for a by the Quran, such as pork or alcoholic beverages. They Christian or Jewish subject of a Muslim ruler. The term could not build new houses of worship or celebrate their is derived from the Arabic expression ahl al-dhimma, religions publicly. There was to be no ringing of church “the people of the contract,” and is translated as zimmi in bells. Non-Muslim men could not marry Muslim women, Ottoman Turkish. The legal implications of this status, although Muslim men could marry dhimmi women. in terms of obligations and rights, were already estab- lished in Islamic law before the founding of the Ottoman The pact guaranteed that Muslims would not inter- Empire. The Prophet Muhammad set the precedent that fere in the personal affairs of non-Muslims. Islamic Muslim authorities should recognize the rights of believ- law would be applied to dhimmis only when all parties ers in the monotheistic faiths (ahl al-kitab or “the people involved in a legal case agreed to it, or in cases involv- of the book”) to remain at peace within the Muslim state ing dhimmis and Muslims in which Muslim law was the as long as they recognized Islam’s political authority over only option. In the latter case, dhimmis suffered a dis- them. This client status established the rights of these tinct disadvantage, as their testimony in Muslim courts non-Muslims to property, livelihood, and freedom of was not accepted as valid in cases that might lead to the worship, in exchange for paying an extra tax (the jizya) punishment of a Muslim. In effect, this meant that their testimonies were only accepted in commercial cases. No restrictions were placed on where dhimmis might live or what professions or trades they might enter. There were no religious ghettos mandated by law in the Muslim

186 Dinshaway Incident viewed as an illegal outrage helped propel Mustafa Kamil (d. 1908) to the forefront of the Egyptian Nation- world, although the prohibition on building new houses alist movement with his call for the return of national of worship led both Christians and Jews to cluster near sovereignty to the Egyptians. The Egyptian judge who existing ones. had presided over the trials, Butrus Ghali, was assassi- nated in 1910. Many Muslim Egyptians felt that it was a In the Ottoman Empire there was a tension between just reward for his collaboration with the British. For the the theory of the place of dhimmis in the state and actual largest sect of Egyptian Christians, the Copts, however, practice, as Islamic law sometimes conflicted with what the assassination of Ghali, the most politically prominent the Ottoman authorities wanted. At times, invocation Copt in Egypt, seemed to be aimed at their community of the conditions established by the Pact of Umar could in general rather than being tied to his role in the Din- serve dhimmi interests. For example, during the cam- shaway Incident. paigns against the Kizilbaş, those rebelling against the Ottomans in the name of Shah Ismail I (r. 1501–24), Bruce Masters Sultan Selim I (r. 1512–20) requested permission to kill or enslave Christians living in the territory where the Divan See administration, central. rebellion was occurring. The chief judge of the empire responded that the Kızılbaş were heretics and therefore Dolmabahçe Palace Between the 17th and the 19th deserved no mercy, but the Christians were dhimmis centuries, several mansions and outbuildings called and protected. They could only be executed or enslaved kiosks were built by the Ottoman sultans along the coast if they were found in actual rebellion. At other times, of the Bosporus leading to the Sea of Marmara. The the Pact was used against dhimmi interests. For exam- existing bays in this area were filled to widen and flatten ple, governors often threatened to implement the rules the land and these mansions, extended with new addi- that dhimmis had to wear distinctive clothing in order tions, became known as the Beşiktaş coastal palaces. to extract bribes from them. Similarly, the ban on new These were a favored retreat of Sultan Mahmud II (r. houses of worship could be imposed on communities in 1808–39), who introduced a strong European influence one location but ignored in another, depending on what into Ottoman institutions and architecture. These plea- the local authorities would allow. sure grounds became the site of the Dolmabahçe Palace, the empire’s first modern, Western-style royal residence, The distinction between Muslims and dhimmis offi- when Mahmud’s successor, Sultan Abdülmecid (r. cially ended with the imperial decree (Hatt-i Hümayun) 1839–61), demolished parts of the existing palaces and of 1856 that established equality between all the sultan’s commissioned a new residence made entirely of stone. subjects, regardless of their religious community. The adoption of many architectural changes and West- ern innovation reflected the changing circumstances and Bruce Masters culture of the Ottoman state, weakened economically and Further reading: Bruce Masters, Christians and Jews in thus more prone to European influences, and in the midst the Ottoman Arab World: The Roots of Sectarianism (Cam- of the sweeping political and social reforms of the Tanzi- bridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001). mat. The sultan was ready to leave the old-fashioned Topkapı Palace, which had been the Ottoman royal resi- Dinshaway Incident In June 1906 a group of Brit- dence and the center of Ottoman administration for cen- ish soldiers in Egypt stopped to shoot pigeons for sport turies. The new palace embraced a European architectural outside the village of Dinshaway. Pigeons were a major style in line with the empire’s other changing structures, source of protein for Egyptian villagers, a fact of which and its magnificence was intended in part as a demonstra- the soldiers were apparently unaware. The villagers’ anger tion of the weakened empire’s remaining power. at the soldiers’ transgression increased to the point of riot when a stray bullet injured a local woman. Dinshaway Dolmabahçe Palace was designed in the European residents surrounded the soldiers and two officers were architectural style; however, the Baroque and Empire injured in the melee that followed. The army opened fire styles were blended with Turkish ornamental features. on the villagers and beat a retreat. On their way back to The palace was designed with two stories and three camp, one of the officers died, probably of sunstroke. sections, with the basement and attic serving as ser- vice floors. Its style and structure and the lifestyle it The affair became widely known as the Dinshaway was designed to accommodate bespoke a strong East- Incident after 52 villagers were arrested and put on trial. ern influence, but by incorporating Western features as Egyptian Nationalists presented their trial in the popu- well, the Dolmabahçe Palace became a monument with lar press as proof of the injustice of British rule in Egypt since no British soldier was charged with any wrongdo- ing. Ultimately, four Egyptian men were sentenced to death, and the rest were sentenced to imprisonment or flogging. The anger of the Egyptian public at what was

Dolmabahçe Palace 187 Opened in 1856, the Dolmabahçe Palace was the first European-style palace in the empire and represented the westward-looking spirit of the Reform (Tanzimat) era. (Photo by Alíz Ágoston) a uniquely Ottoman quality. The construction of the palace. The Beşiktaş section of the palace held the impe- palace commenced in 1842, and it was opened in 1856. rial kitchen and the private rooms of princes. Abdülhalim Bey, Garabet Balyan, Nikogos Balyan, and Altunizade İsmail Zuhtu worked as architects in the The three sections of the palace were the official construction of the palace. The interior decoration was part (mabeyn-i hümayun), the ceremonial hall (muayede completed by Charles Séchan, the decorator of the Paris salonu), and the residential area (harem). The official Opera Hall. The palace, which stretched over a 110,000- section was used for affairs of state and formal recep- square meter area, was used by the sultans until 1924 tions. Statesmen and foreign ambassadors met the sultan when the Ottoman dynasty was exiled. here. The entrance hall (medhal) on the first floor and the ambassador hall (sufera) on the upper floor are spa- Although most of the administrative functions were cious and impressive. Even more impressive are the glass conducted from the Sublime Porte (Bab-ı Âli or “High ceiling and crystal staircase. Gate,” also used to refer to the Ottoman government), the Dolmabahçe Palace also held a central role in the admin- The second section, the ceremonial hall was used for istration of the state. The sultans both worked and resided large formal ceremonies. Situated between the mabeyn-i in the palace during the remainder of the Ottoman hümayun and the harem, the ceremonial hall is covered period. After the proclamation of the Turkish Republic, by a dome 120 feet (36 m) high and spanning 21,000 Kemal Atatürk used the Dolmabahçe Palace for both square feet (2,000 m2). The hall boasts a four-and-a-half- personal and state occasions until his death in 1938. ton English chandelier, a gift from Queen Victoria. The main building has five gates from the sea side, The third section, the private residential area of the nine gates from the land side, and a clock tower, which sultan and his family, occupies the largest area of the pal- was added by Abdülhamid II (r. 1876–1909). The gate ace. This includes the sultan’s personal rooms: a study, a in the clock tower side is called the Gate of the Treasury relaxing room, a bedroom, and a reception room. The and the gate on the road is called the Imperial Gate. The mother of the sultan (valide sultan), who helped admin- treasury and textile (mefrusat) departments are linked to ister the harem, also had private rooms for receiving, the main building and stand in the Treasury entrance of relaxing, and sleeping. Each of the princes, princesses, the palace. The theatre hall and imperial tables, which no and wives of the sultan (kadınefendiler) also had his or longer exist, were situated in the Cihangir section of the her own three- or-four-room apartments in the palace, living separately with their own servants.

188 dragoman Muslim court, and the Europeans were suspicious of Mus- lim justice. When trade involved parties who spoke differ- With its wooden parquet flooring and rich European ent languages, it was usually conducted in Italian, known furnishings, its ornamental carpets, curtains, and fabrics, in the Mediterranean as the lingua franca (“language of its invaluable collections of paintings, vases, and clocks, the Franks”). As Catholic missionary schools within the the 19th-century Dolmabahçe Palace, both inside and empire offered young Christian men the opportunity to out, reflects a moment in Ottoman history when Turkish learn both Italian and bookkeeping, their graduates were taste was subject to the influence of 19th-century Euro- keenly sought after, even by merchants from Protestant pean style. nations. In many cases, the position of dragoman passed from father to son, sometimes over several generations. Zeynep Tarım-Ertuğ Further reading: Nurhan Atasoy, A Garden for the Sul- The dragomans were in a privileged position, as they tan: Gardens and Flowers in the Ottoman Culture (Istanbul: knew both the ways of the West and those of the Otto- Aygaz, 2002); Çelik Gülersoy, Dolmabahçe Palace and Its man Empire. They also benefited from the various legal Environs (Istanbul: İstanbul Kitaplığı, 1990). exemptions that their status provided. Many became wealthy, using their contacts and inside knowledge of dragoman (tercüman) A dragoman, known as a both worlds. Although the treaties that established their tercüman in Ottoman Turkish, was a translator for the rights as translators for the Europeans specifically stated European merchants and diplomats who resided in the that they should not engage in trade, as the Ottoman Ottoman Empire. While these translators worked for framers of the agreement recognized that the dragomans the Europeans, they were typically subjects of the Otto- would have unfair advantages over their competitors, man sultans, as the Europeans rarely took the trouble to most did engage in trade. As one English merchant wrote learn Ottoman Turkish or Arabic. The translators were in the 18th century, it would have been impossible to hire non-Muslims, largely due to unwillingness on the part of a competent translator if the Europeans did not allow Muslims to learn the languages of those they considered them to trade so that they could make profits in addition infidels. The role and privileges of the dragomans were to their salaries. first formalized by a commercial treaty between England and the Ottomans in 1675, by which Europeans were per- The representatives of the European trading compa- mitted to designate Ottoman subjects as translators. All nies were generally given the title of consul by their home subsequent treaties between the various European pow- governments and had diplomatic immunity and status. ers and the Ottoman Empire granted them similar privi- Each consul was in turn allowed to designate two men leges. While the practice of commercial translation was, as dragomans and four more as “helpers.” So in theory of course, not new, these treaties explicitly gave rights to a country could have no more than six men employed the translators comparable to those the Europeans enjoyed, as dragomans in any given city, all enjoying European even while asserting that they were to remain the sultan’s diplomatic privilege that included favored legal sta- subjects. These rights included exemptions from the jizya, tus, special tax exemptions, and other trade advantages. the head tax on non-Muslim males, and the irregular taxes Although the number of dragomans who were registered imposed on the dragoman’s religious community by either as working for the Europeans was well above the number the Ottoman central treasury or the local governors. The stipulated in the various commercial treaties, in the 18th treaties established that individuals holding the berats (pat- century they still only numbered in the hundreds. By ents) of office as a dragoman would pay the same favorable the middle of the 19th century their number had risen customs duties as their European patrons; they could also to thousands. The issue of European powers’ granting avoid having their commercial disputes decided by local extraterritorial privileges to Ottoman subjects, claiming Muslim courts, being granted the advantage of heaving that they were translators, was a major point of diplo- their cases heard in Istanbul in the presence of the consul matic contention between Europeans and the Ottomans of the country for which they worked. until the end of the empire. Sephardic Jews and local Christians provided the Bruce Masters majority of the dragomans working for the Europeans, See also capitulations. although some were also the descendants of European Further reading: Maurits van den Boogert, The Capitu- merchants who married local women. The absence of lations and the Ottoman Legal System: Qadis, Consuls and Muslims in their ranks had two causes. Muslims were Beratlıs in the 18th Century (Leiden: Brill, 2005). advised by their religious authorities not to learn the lan- guages of the Franks (western Europeans), and the Euro- Drava River The source of the River Drava is in the peans would have been wary of employing them even if Dolomite Alps in Italy. After passing through Austria they did. A Muslim employee could always demand that and Slovenia, its right bank and some sections of the left any dispute with the European merchants be heard in a

bank lie in Croatia, while most of the left bank is in Hun- Druzes 189 gary. It joins the Danube River near Aljmas in eastern Croatia. It is navigable upstream as far as Barcs, in Hun- early Druze history remains unclear, but by the Ottoman gary. Along with the River Sava, which runs parallel to it period, the Druze form of worship was well established some 50–70 miles to the south, the Drava was important among a significant minority in Syria in the Jabal al- in that it separated Hungary from the Ottoman Empire’s Druz, in Lebanon, and in the nearby hills of Galilee. Balkan territories and facilitated the defense of Hungary. However, the Ottomans gained a foothold at the most Druzes call themselves Muwahhidun, meaning important crossing at Osijek (Ösek, Eszék, in present-day “those who profess the unity of God,” the same name, Croatia) in the late 1520s, then made further conquests in coincidentally, that is used by the Wahhabis, or the fol- 1543 and 1566. At Osijek the great bridge of Sultan Sül- lowers of the 18th century reformer Muhammad ibn eyman I (r. 1520–66) was built to facilitate the crossing Abd al-Wahhab, but any similarities between the two of troops and commodities to Hungary, while a flotilla of religious traditions end there. The Druzes hold that the some 50–60 vessels was built for military and commer- Quran is sacred but that is an allegory to be interpreted cial purposes. These facilities were exposed to damage by by the wise men of the community, the sheikhs, who war and climate. The commander (kapudan) of the Otto- must go through years of study and preparation. After man Drava flotilla had his residence in Osijek. close scrutiny, if candidates are deemed worthy, they are admitted to the inner circle of the initiated, the uqqal, The Ottoman conquest initiated the process of push- “those who know,” as opposed to the rest of the commu- ing back the southern border of Hungary. On the Drava nity who are called the juhhal, “those in ignorance.” In crossings, customs dues were levied, and a law code from addition to the Quran, the Druzes have sacred writings 1579 calls the left bank of the Drava the “Hungarian of their own that they ascribe to al-Hakim. coast” (Engürüs yakası). The Druzes differ from other Muslims in a num- Nenad Moačanin ber of key areas. They do not pray five times a day, nor Further reading: Nenad Moačanin, Town and Country do they have noon prayer services on Fridays or build on the Middle Danube, 1526–1690 (Leiden: Brill, 2006). mosques. In place of mosques, the Druzes have a prayer hall where the main services are held on Thursday eve- Druzes The Druzes are a sect that follows an esoteric nings and which men and women can attend in mixed teaching that broke away from Islam in the 11th cen- company. The Druzes, like the Alawis, another offshoot tury. Because this group does not accept converts and of Islam, believe in reincarnation; they hold that all the does not talk about its beliefs to outsiders, the faith has souls that will ever be were created when God created often been misunderstood and misrepresented by non- the universe. The Druzes do not permit polygamy, and Druze neighbors. The Druzes identify the faith as origi- although women cannot enter the ranks of the uqqal, nating with the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr-Allah, they are allowed to participate in religious services to a who ruled in Cairo from 996 to 1021. The Fatimids greater extent than is allowed in either the Shii or the were followers of the Ismaili sect of Shia Islam and Sunni tradition. Though the Druzes profess that they much of their theology was available only to those who are Muslims, legal scholars in other Islamic traditions do were initiated into the mysteries of their faith. But with- not concede this point. out the support of the ruling elite, populist preachers from Cairo spread out through the Middle East saying The Druze feudal lords (muqtajis) dominated the that al-Hakim was the awaited imam of the Shia, who political life of Lebanon from the 16th through the they believed would come at the end of days to restore 18th centuries. Although the Ottomans controlled the the rule of justice. The movement gained popularity in coastal cities of Lebanon, they could exert their control what is today Syria and Lebanon until 1021, when al- over the mountains that rise steeply behind the coast at Hakim disappeared. only great cost in lives and treasure. In their mountains, which they shared with Maronite Christians, the Dru- Western historians suspect foul play on the part of the zes enjoyed virtual autonomy. The Ottoman authori- caliph’s sister, Sitt al-Mulk. Christians in Egypt say that al- ties had an uneasy relationship with the Druzes. When Hakim was overcome by the persecution that he had vis- they were compliant with Ottoman demands for taxa- ited on them and that he joined a monastery in penance. tion, the Ottoman authorities were content to accede to Druze beliefs indicate that he had become the “hidden the fact that the Druzes were Muslim and the poll tax imam” who would return at the end of days. Whatever his on non-Muslims (jizya) was never asked of them. But fate, the movement he founded entered a period of per- when they were in rebellion, those same authorities secution, for it was regarded as heretical by both Sunni labeled them Kizilbaş, a term that had become a catch- and Shii authorities. Because it was an underground faith, all phrase for “heretic” in Ottoman legal language. Bruce Masters Further reading: Robert Betts, The Druze (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1988).

190 Duwayhi, Istifanus a history of the Maronite Church, a chronology of the Maronite patriarchs, and a general history of the region Duwayhi, Istifanus (b. 1629–d. 1704) Maronite patri- that comprises Lebanon and Syria from the time of the arch and historian Istifanus Duwayhi is considered by First Crusade in 1095 to his present. It is the last, entitled many to be the first modern historian of Lebanon. He Tarikh al-azmina (A history of times), that is considered was born into a Maronite Catholic family in the village most significant. of Ihdin, in the mountains of northern Lebanon. When he was 12 his uncle, who was a Maronite bishop, sent him to As a historian, Duwayhi occupies a significant place the Maronite College in Rome. He was ordained as a priest in Middle Eastern scholarship. His History of Times in 1655, and the office of the Propaganda Fide (propaga- serves as a bridge between the traditional Middle East- tion of the faith) sent him back to Lebanon to work as a ern format, in which the author chronicles the events of missionary. He then served as a missionary among the the years in which he lived without analysis, and mod- various Eastern-rite Christians in the city of Aleppo. ern histories, which provide interpretation and use a The Eastern-rite churches were those such as the Arme- variety of sources. Although Duwayhi was uncritical of nian Apostolic Church or the Nestorians who fol- his sources in a way that no modern historian would be, lowed their own traditions rather than those of either the he acknowledges his sources, and pushes his narrative Roman Catholic or Orthodox churches. Duwayhi became back to several centuries before his birth. Citing docu- Maronite bishop of Cyprus in 1668; in 1670, a council of ments from his own time for his contemporary his- Maronite clergy elected him patriarch. Pope Clement tory, Duwayhi developed a historical methodology that X confirmed him in that office two years later. Duwayhi would be followed by Maronite historians for the next served as patriarch until his death. During his long years two centuries. of service as the patriarch he devoted much of his efforts to bringing the traditional practices and dogma of the Bruce Masters Maronite Church into agreement with those of Rome. Further reading: Kamal Salibi, Maronite Historians of Medieval Lebanon (Beirut: American University in Beirut, Although Duwayhi wrote a number of theologi- 1959). cal texts, he is best remembered for his three histories:

E Eastern Question First coined at the Congress of There is also significant controversy as to the final Vienna (1815) by the Russian delegates to describe the date of the resolution of the Eastern Question. Loaded as growing tensions between the Ottoman sultan and his it is with imperialist ambitions, the Eastern Question was Greek subjects, this phrase gained popularity during the not resolved with the final dismemberment of the Otto- 19th century as diplomats debated the fate of the declin- man Empire in 1918; rather, it paved the way for a new ing Ottoman Empire. Simply put, the Eastern Question set of political problems in the Balkans and the Middle revolved around the question of how to eliminate the East that continue into the 21st century. power vacuum in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the modern Middle East that emerged with the decline of Acting to further their own strategic interests, the the Ottoman Empire and the partitioning of the Polish- Great Powers all attempted to create their own zone of Lithuanian Commonwealth (Poland) without harming influence in the Ottoman Empire by claiming the status of the delicate balance of power in Europe. protector of a particular Christian subject people and urg- ing the Sublime Porte to undertake political reforms. The There is no consensus among historians as to when Ottomans, however, viewed all attempts to advance the the Eastern Question emerged, or when—or even if—it rights of particular Christian subject peoples through such was resolved. The diplomatic circles of the 19th cen- diplomatic pressures as an encroachment on the rights of tury understood it as a matter of contemporary politics their sovereignty. They viewed European intervention and tried to find the best solution by improvising vari- in internal Ottoman affairs as a smokescreen that hid the ous reforms. However, the Great Powers of Europe were Great Powers’ ambitions to dismantle the empire. Thus the never in agreement about what to do with the Ottoman Eastern Question has a legacy in shaping contemporary Empire, that is, whether to try to sustain it or let it die. public opinion of some in modern Turkey toward the Euro- Each power changed its position regarding the Sublime pean Union (EU); they fear that EU demands that Turkey Porte based on that power’s ambitions in the eastern enhance the political and cultural rights of ethnic and reli- Mediterranean. gious minorities, and reconsider the Armenian deportation in 1915, might simply be a pretext to dismember Turkey. Although it first came into use in 1815, the term Eastern Question is now used by historians to identify The Eastern Question also became a code to cover issues of imperial stability dating to the second siege a number of other “questions,” including dissension and of Vienna (1683), which ended Ottoman expansion in political unrest over the Romanian principalities (1774– Europe; some historians even see the question as going 1878); the Serbian revolt (1790s–1828); the French inva- back to the 14th century when “Turks” first set foot on sion of Egypt (1799–1801); the Greek revolt (1820s); the Balkan Peninsula. Conventional history now dates the revolt of Mehmed Ali of Egypt (1830s); the problem the issues of the Eastern Question in this sense as having of the straits on the Sea of Marmara (1830s); the prob- been born out of the 1774 Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, lem of the Polish and Hungarian refugees (1848); the which marked the emergence of Russia as a Great Power. Crimean War (1853–56); the Bulgarian revolt (1870s); 191

192 economy and economic policy artisanship, and trade. Family-run farms of between 60 and 150 acres were thought to be the most productive the Russo-Ottoman War (1877–78); the war with Greece landholding pattern in agriculture, and the state, as the (1897); the Armenian question (1878–1915), the question owner of the land, protected these units so that holdings of Macedonia (1880s–1912); the War with Italy (1911); would not be broken into smaller units through inheri- the Balkan Wars (1912–13); and finally World War tance. While the state would allow the transfer of land I (1914–18). A glance at this list reveals that the Eastern between individuals to prevent potential setbacks in pro- Question has been stretched to its limits in an attempt to duction, it restricted peasants from abandoning villages explain the entire history of the relations between Europe and leaving land untilled. and the Ottoman Empire. Contemporary historians gen- erally avoid the term, considering the “Eastern Question” The basic economic, fiscal, and administrative unit to be a Eurocentric reduction of the Ottoman Empire in the empire at this time was the kaza, or judicial dis- and its peoples to passive recipients of the power politics trict, overseen by a kadı or judge with extensive powers. of the Great Powers. The kaza usually consisted of a town with a population of 3,000–20,000 and a number of villages varying from Kahraman Şakul 20 to 200 with a total area of 200–1200 square miles. Further reading: Virginia Aksan, Ottoman Wars 1700- Small-scale artisanship was the norm in the kaza as was 1870: An Empire Besieged (Longman, 2007); M. S. Ander- the small-scale landholding pattern in the village, and it son, The Eastern Question, 1774–1923 (New York: St. Martin’s, was the responsibility of these small farmers to market 1966); M. S. Anderson, ed., The Great Powers and the Near their own agricultural produce in the town. Marketing of East, 1774–1923 (New York: St. Martin’s, 1970); Selim Derin- produce and goods out of the kaza was prohibited unless gil, The Well-Protected Domains: Ideology and the Legitima- the demand within the town was already satisfied. Excess tion of Power in the Ottoman Empire, 1876–1909 (London: goods were offered first to the army and the palace, then I.B. Tauris, 1998); Caroline Finkel, Osman’s Dream: The to the city of Istanbul, followed by other regions. Export Story of the Ottoman Empire, 1300–1923 (London: John was an option only after domestic demands were satisfied. Murray, 2005); Donald Quataert, The Ottoman Empire, 1700–1922 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000); Export was not an objective of provisionist Ottoman F. A. K. Yasamee, Ottoman Diplomacy: Abdulhamid II and the economic policy, which aimed at satisfying domestic Great Powers, 1878–1888 (Istanbul: Isis, 1997). demand. The state regularly intervened in export, forc- ing quotas and special customs taxes on export goods. economy and economic policy Ottoman economic Imports, by contrast, were fostered. This economic history can be divided into two main periods: the first, approach differs considerably from the export-oriented or classical, period from the beginning of the empire in mercantilist policies pursued in Europe at that time. For the 14th to the end of the 18th century, which witnessed this reason, Ottoman capitulations, or trade privileges little change with regard to the basic institutions, values, offered to foreigners who sold goods within the empire, objectives, and tenets; and the second period, character- were not restricted until the end of the classical period. ized by modernization and reform, from the second half of the 19th century. Although provisionist policy always took priority in this period, another economic policy followed dur- PRINCIPLES OF OTTOMAN ECONOMIC POLICY ing this era was fiscalism, which may be defined as the policy of maximizing treasury income and trying to pre- Ottoman economics in the classical period was centered vent its level from falling. Like increases in production on the concept of need and was motivated by three main capacity, increases in treasury income were difficult and principles, provisionism, fiscalism, and traditionalism. slow to achieve, especially when transportation costs Provisionism was the policy of maintaining a steady sup- were so high and gold and silver stocks were very lim- ply of goods and services, which had to be cheap, plentiful, ited. The reliance on provisionism was considered indis- and of good quality. Fiscalism was the policy of maximiz- pensable for social welfare, but this policy actually made ing treasury income. Traditionalism was the tendency to any attempt to grow the economy both risky and costly, preserve existing conditions and to look to past models creating a situation in which any growth in revenues was when changes occurred. These three policies created the difficult to achieve, which is evidenced by the budgets referential framework of the Ottoman economic system. or treasury balance sheets from the 1550s to the 1780s. The first principle was that of provisionism. Because Also falling within this period, though not arising the early Ottoman economic atmosphere was character- until provisionism and fiscalism had come into matu- ized by low productivity and because it was difficult to rity by the mid-16th century, was the economic policy of increase productivity while transportation costs were traditionalism. This may be summarized as the tendency high, the Ottomans built an extensive network of produc- to preserve existing conditions, to look to past models tion and exchange facilities in the fields of agriculture, instead of searching for a new equilibrium when changes

occurred, and to maintain some institutions for the sake economy and economic policy 193 of traditionalism even when they had lost their func- tional value. land. There was no law forcing the peasant to till the land but rather an obligation from which he could escape by These three policies created the referential frame- paying a fine equivalent to 7–10 times his usual tax. This work of the Ottoman economic system. Any difference practice was valid not only for peasants but also for some in policies stemmed from the combination of the three urban industrial workers whose labor was indispensable principles in varying degrees. For instance, whenever to the state, and for workers in the mines owned by the provisionism prevailed, export was restricted and import state was fostered; when fiscalism was favored, the opposite policy was followed. State control of labor was also common in the case of several urban artisan groups, which were organized STATE CONTROL OF PRODUCTION in accordance with the sharia, or religious law, and imperial decrees. All the members of each guild had to Classical Ottoman economic policy coincided with complete an apprenticeship, a means of building human the state’s attempt to control all factors of production— capital in specialized fields. The guilds tended toward including land, labor, and capital—with long-term con- monopoly, each group coming to dominate a particular sequences on the Ottoman economic and commercial area of production, especially in Istanbul and other big structure. Of all factors of production, land was the most cities. By the 17th century, the state began to issue guilds important. Agricultural land accounted for the largest monopoly licenses (known as gediks or patents) stipulat- portion of land use and, for the most part, was owned ing that certain products or services could only be offered and controlled by the state. The landholding pattern by members of specified guilds. This practice spread prevalent in most of the Asian and European provinces throughout the 18th century, enabling state control of the was called miri (state-owned); it allocated small units of urban sector of artisans. Control of labor helped limit the land for cultivation by families. Under this system, peas- mobility of labor in the pre-industrial age when insuf- ants paid taxes on the land they cultivated and consumed ficient production was chronic; it also enabled the gov- its produce as they saw fit, but they could not convert ernment to protect both the structure and the volume of the land into a religious endowment (waqf) or grant it production, and promoted specialization, as evidenced to another party. If the land was left untilled for three by production successes in such fields as metal goods, years in a row without excuse, the plot would be given jewelry, dyeing, and leather manufacturing. to another farmer. Furthermore, if a farmer moved to another area and abandoned his plot, he could be brought While controlling both land and labor, the state back by force in a decade unless he was registered in the also worked to control both financial and physical capi- land survey of the village he moved to or paid a specified tal, with significant consequences. The policy of pro- penalty (çift bozan resmi). Family farms passed from gen- visionism motivated the state to limit the rate of profit eration to generation intact without inheritance taxes. on consumer goods, setting a maximum of 5 to 15 per- cent profit for tradesmen and merchants from the 16th Given the inherent protections of this system for to the mid-19th centuries. The actual rate of profit was both the state and the peasantry, this ownership structure decided based on the kind of economic activity. In retail played a crucial role in the rapid expansion of Ottoman and wholesale trading the norm was 5 to 10 percent. rule in the 14th century. Based on cadastral surveys of The prices of the goods and services sold in the mar- the 15th and 16th centuries, it seems that this structure ket, as well as the wages paid by guilds, were determined enabled increases in both production and population. through the cooperation of the relevant guild with the kadı, the inspector of the marketplace (muhtesib). For Although this structure began to shift in the 17th example, in 1726, retail merchants selling Egyptian flax century with the emergence of large farms, most of these in Istanbul as raw material with minor processing were new farms were located in previously vacant lands out- allowed a profit of 6.5 percent. Trades that required more side settled areas. Considering the spread of big farms complicated production—such as ceramics or nails— both an economic and a cultural threat, the peasantry and yielded profits as high as 20 percent. the state reacted against this shift and prevented the big farms from expanding into the villages. Small landholders Even when the state did not fix the prices, the com- continued to constitute the basic unit of agricultural pro- plexities of the Ottoman guild system had a strong ten- duction, and statistics indicate that land distribution in dency to reduce profits, because each step in production Anatolia and Rumelia preserved its egalitarian character was dominated by a particular guild. Any attempt by one until the end of the empire in the early 20th century. group to increase its own profit would decrease that of others and thus artisans and tradesmen kept each other Ottoman control of labor during this period was sec- in check. When this system of internal balances failed to ondary, important only for the state’s control of the land; stabilize profit margins, the guilds would seek interven- Ottoman subjects were not serfs or semi-slaves tied to the tion and the state would impose a fixed average profit of

194 economy and economic policy iff, increasing both the volume of cotton exported and the customs revenue. This increase is all the more significant 10 percent. Under the circumstances, it was very difficult since domestic woven and printed cotton manufacture for any group or individual to accumulate capital. State also expanded enormously. However, in accordance with intervention led to the lack of capital in commerce and the principle of provisionism, this growth in industrial artisanship. Small-scale craftsmen could meet produc- crops did not take place at the expense of cereal cultiva- tion costs, yet certain fields required substantial invest- tion. Likewise, dues from the export of silk began to yield ment that only the state could undertake either directly or more revenue in the 17th and 18th centuries. However, through pious foundations. These areas included the con- high domestic demand for silk increased prices, reducing struction of covered bazaars; caravansaries; dyeing, print- foreign demand. Thus silk was mainly consumed domes- ing, and finishing/polishing installations; oil, candle, and tically. After the domestic demand was satisfied, silk could soap manufacturing; and tanneries. In these plants the be exported in small quantities. By the beginning of the state could charge rent equal to between 5 and 8 percent 19th century, the increase in foreign demand increased of the invested capital. In this manner, the state ensured silk prices to the detriment of domestic producers. The necessary production by controlling physical capital, at Ottoman authorities, in response, prohibited the export the same time limiting the market in contraband goods. of silk. The export of any good was prohibited when it caused an increase in the price in the domestic market. The opportunity to accumulate capital was limited During the classical period, the state always favored the by the fact that interest rates on credit were higher than domestic economy, and this policy played an important the 10 percent average permissible profit. Moreover, part in the vitality of the Ottoman economy for centuries. interest, a crucial factor for the formation and the out- let of capital, was only permitted in particular areas of As a rule, the Ottomans favored redistribution over the Ottoman economy and was required to comply with accumulation and promoted general prosperity rather sharia, or Islamic law. An interest rate of approximately than progressivism or economic growth. Through its 20–25 percent was allowed to provide capital for the tax- policies, the state aimed to prevent production from farming sector in the 17th and 18th centuries. Money- concentrating in private hands and sought to distribute changers, in their turn, were allowed to accept deposits these means of production equally among its subjects, an at an interest rate of 15 percent in order to form the nec- approach also used by Ottoman religious foundations, or essary capital for the tax-farming sector. The other two waqfs, controlled by the state. The state kept earnings and sectors in which free interest was applicable were opera- savings low to prevent the accumulation of capital. By tions concerning cash inheritance belonging to orphans fostering this system it was thought that both the econ- and cash waqfs or endowments. While the upper limit omy and the government would enjoy greater stability. for interest rates was between 12 and 29 percent with an average of 20 percent, the prevailing interest rates tended The economic policy of the state, however, was not to be higher, limiting the flow of capital to those sectors always wholly consistent. The official Ottoman purchase working with a profit rate of approximately 10 percent. regime (miri mübayaa), for instance, driven more by fis- With such high interest rates, the main outlet for capital calism than provisionism, worked to limit the costs of the in the empire was tax farming. state at the expense of its subjects. This policy imposed a tax-like levy to facilitate the provision of goods and PURPOSE AND CONSEQUENCES OF services for the state at a price usually lower than the STATE CONTROL market prices (and sometimes even below production costs). During times of peace, this purchase regime had During the classical period, the state usually did not little affect on the people, but in times of war and dur- actively engage in industry even when it owned the ing economic crises, larger-scale craftsmen and trades- means of production. Except for goods and services con- men would be vulnerable to the ever-increasing demands sumed by the residents of the palace, the government of the state. During the era of defensive wars from the left production to the market. Even in the military, the mid-18th century to the 1830s, these groups were made state ran only the arsenal (see Tersane-i Amire), the especially vulnerable as the official purchase regime was gun foundry, and the gunpowder works. In other fields applied frequently, damaging high-production work- it only invested in the physical plant and passed manage- shops. As ongoing wars decreased revenues, the state ment over to artisans and craftsmen, sometimes provid- increased its demand for goods and services at reduced ing them with working capital. prices, creating a situation in which those workshops that showed the most growth were hardest hit by the demands State control changed depending on the industry. of the government. This situation, in turn, effectively For instance, while the state legally possessed the land, it favored small producers and reinforced the egalitarian treated vineyards and vegetable gardens as private prop- tendencies of the Ottoman economy. erty. While the export of cotton was prohibited in the 16th and 17th centuries, this prohibition was lifted in the 18th century and its export was subjected to a new tar-

In keeping with the overall principle of egalitari- Edirne 195 anism, the state also undertook an unusual means of helping to fund its defensive wars during the period nomic transformation was completed within 25–30 years. 1770–1812. This was the policy of confiscating the pri- Thus the classical paradigm effectively came to an end as vate inheritance money of those considered rich. Know- a result of a long and contradictory period of transforma- ing that it had no legal right to pursue such a policy, the tion covering most of a century. From the mid-19th cen- state presented these confiscations as compulsory loans, tury on, the foundations of a modern economy were laid, replaced confiscated funds with treasury bonds, and but true economic growth began only with the demise of promised repayment in peacetime. Having already made the empire. it difficult for individuals to accumulate capital, this pol- icy further hindered such accumulation by transferring Mehmet Genç the little available private capital into the war effort. See also banks and banking; caravan; caravan- sary; charity; debt and the Public Debt Adminis- CHANGING THE CLASSICAL STRUCTURE tration; ihtisab and muhtesib; markets; merchants; merchant communities. The process of investment liquidation that began with Further reading: Fikret Adanır, “Tradition and Rural the period of defensive wars ultimately lasted 70 years, Change in Southeastern Europe During Ottoman Rule,” in until 1839, the beginning of the Tanzimat or Ottoman The Origins of Backwardness in Eastern Europe: Econom- reform era. This coincided with the Industrial Revolu- ics and Politics from the Middle Ages until the Early Twenti- tion, which actually necessitated the fostering of capital eth Century, edited by Daniel Chirot (Berkeley: University of accumulation. The preceding period of capital liquida- California Press, 1989), 131–177; Gábor Ágoston, Guns for tion left the empire ill-prepared to meet the economic the Sultan: Military Power and the Weapons Industry in the requirements of this new age, but radical economic Ottoman Empire (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, changes were made nevertheless in an effort to rise to the 2005); Engin Deniz Akarlı, “Gedik: A Bundle of Rights and demands of this new phase. Obligations for Istanbul Artisans and Traders, 1750–1840,” in Law, Anthropology and the Constitution of the Social, edited Because the civil sectors, the traditional providers of by Alain Pottage and Martha Mundy (Cambridge: Cambridge consumer goods, could not adequately meet increased University Press, 2004), 166–201; Giancarlo Casale, “The demands at this point, the government undertook the Ottoman Administration of the Spice Trade in the Sixteenth production of goods and services by establishing state-run Century Red Sea and Persian Gulf.” Journal of the Economic firms, although it did not push further its ever-expand- and Social History of the Orient 49, part 2 (2006): 170–198; ing control of the capital. In addition to heavy invest- Eunjeong Yi, Guild Dynamics in Seventeenth Century İstanbul: ments for arms and ammunition production required Fluidity and Leverage (Leiden: Brill, 2004); Haim Gerber, by the new army, the state undertook the production of Economy and Society in an Ottoman City: Bursa, 1600–1700 sailcloth, woolen fabrics, leather, garments, shoes, fez- (Jerusalem: Hebrew University, 1988); Halil İnalcik and Don- zes, paper, and other goods by setting up factories. It also ald Quataert, eds., An Economic and Social History of the entered into trade to finance the new army and these Ottoman Empire, 1300–1914 (Cambridge: Cambridge Uni- investments. The state monopolies that had started with versity Press, 1994); Charles Issawi, The Economic History of a few goods at the beginning of the 19th century flour- Turkey, 1800–1914 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, ished with the inclusion of various new trade items, such 1980 ); Bruce McGowan, Economic Life in Ottoman Europe: as opium, wool, silk, olive oil, soap, and charcoal. In Taxation, Trade, and the Struggle for Land, 1600–1800 (Cam- addition, the state assumed control of all trade in some bridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981); Bruce Masters, regions, including Salonika and Antalya. These policies The Origins of Western Economic Dominance in the Middle were without precedent in the classical system. East: Mercantilism and the Islamic Economy in Aleppo, 1600– 1750 (New York: New York University Press, 1988); Linda With the introduction of these policies, conventional Schatkowski Schilcher, Families in Politics: Damascene Fac- Ottoman economic policy fell apart. Traditionalism was tions and Estates of the 18th and 19th Centuries (Wiesbaden: abandoned at the very beginning of the period of transi- F. Steiner, 1985); Benjamin Braude, “International Competi- tion. Nevertheless, provisionism and fiscalism continued tion and Domestic Cloth in the Ottoman Empire, 1500–1650, to prevail as motivating economic factors, and the means a Study in Undervelopment.” Review 2 (1979): 437–54. of the state began to play an active role in the economic life of the empire. The period of transition lasted until Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople See Greek the beginning of the Tanzimat era and was replaced by Orthodox Church; millet. a new trend of transformation in which the state aban- doned both the principles of provisionism and fiscal- Edirne (Gk.: Adrianople; Lat.: Hadrianopolis) The ism and its control over the mechanisms of production. city of Edirne is at the junction of the Tundzha and Except for state control over the land, this process of eco-

196 Edirne Mehmed II became the Ottoman sultan in 1451 in Edirne. The city served as his base of operations as he Maritsa rivers, near Turkey’s border with Greece and prepared for the 1453 conquest of Constantinople, Bulgaria. As the city lies on the transit route between also known as Istanbul. Following its conquest, Constan- Europe and Asia Minor, migrations, invasions, trade, and tinople became the Ottoman capital, but Edirne contin- cultural exchanges have shaped its history. The ancient ued to occupy a significant place in imperial strategy and city was probably first founded by Thracian tribes. At the cultural history. During the 16th century, the Ottoman beginning of the second century c.e. the Roman emperor advance westward was directed from Edirne. The sultans Hadrianus rebuilt and enlarged the city, naming it after spent much of their time in the palace there, effectively himself. The city soon grew into a military stronghold making Edirne the seat of government for much of the and commercial center of the Roman Empire, making it century. Sultans Bayezid II (r. 1481–1512) and Selim a desirable target for invaders. Goths attacked and cap- II (r. 1566–74) built great mosques, building complexes tured the city in 378, Avars in 586, and Bulgars in 914. (külliyes), and public buildings in the city. One of these is Edirne was plundered twice by the crusaders and fell to the külliye of Bayezid II, whose hospital and medical col- the Ottomans in 1361. lege became well known; another is the Selimiye Mosque, the largest of all Ottoman mosques, built between 1569 The Ottoman conquest of Edirne marks a turning and 1575 by Sultan Selim’s chief architect, Sinan. point in Ottoman history, as the city served as the key staging area for further Ottoman expansion in Europe. In the 17th century Edirne regained its importance Shortly after the conquest, Sultan Murad I (r. 1362–89) when Sultan Ahmed I (r. 1603–17) chose the city as his renamed the city Edirne in the fetihname (declaration place of residence. As the century progressed, sultans of conquest) and constructed its first Ottoman palace. Osman II (r. 1618–22), Murad IV (r. 1623–40), and The Ottoman advance through the Balkans after the Mehmed IV (r. 1648–87) organized magnificent hunt- conquest of Edirne led to the formation of a crusader ing parties in the forests around the city, which was con- army to stop the Ottomans. The Ottomans defeated sidered almost a second capital (after Istanbul); Mehmed the crusaders in the Maritsa River valley in the 1371 IV also mounted military campaigns against Venice and Battle of Çirmen, after which the Ottomans solidified Poland from Edirne. Other sultans who preferred to live their hold over the region. The city of Edirne acquired in Edirne included Süleyman II (r. 1687–91), Ahmed II even greater importance during the interregnum period (r. 1691–95), and Mustafa II (r. 1695–1703); Mustafa was (1403–13) when three sons of Sultan Bayezid I (r. 1389– deposed after an uprising in 1703, known as the Edirne 1402) fought each other for the throne. During this time Incident. Bayezid’s eldest son, Emir Süleyman Çelebi, moved the state treasury and archives from Bursa to Edirne and Edirne was devastated by a great fire in 1745 and declared himself sultan, a claim that was challenged by by an earthquake in 1751. The city was also stricken by Süleyman’s brother, Musa Çelebi, and his half-brother, political turmoil; Ottoman notables in Edirne rebelled Mehmed Çelebi. In 1411 Musa Çelebi attacked the city, twice against Selim III (r. 1789–1807) in 1801 and 1806. seized it, and minted coins in his own name, a sign that In 1829, for the first time in its history as an Ottoman he, too, considered himself sultan. The interregnum city, Edirne was invaded by a foreign power when Russia period officially came to an end in 1413 when Mehmed, took the city after a three-day siege; through the media- in alliance with the Byzantine Empire, took Edirne tion of the Prussian ambassador, a treaty was signed, from Süleyman, reunited the state, and became Sultan and the Russians withdrew. This withdrawal, however, Mehmed I (r. 1413–21). did not prevent a mass exodus of Muslims from the city. Following this episode, Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1808–39) Edirne enjoyed a further period of growth during the visited the city in 1831, hoping to revive its former glory. reign of Sultan Murad II (r. 1421–1444; 1446–51), who A second invasion of Edirne by Russian forces during was responsible for constructing the Muradiye Mosque in the Russo-Ottoman War of 1877–78 resulted in many 1436, considered the most successful example of 15th-cen- casualties among the population and great destruction of tury Ottoman decorative art. Edirne’s Üç Şerefeli Mosque, the city’s infrastructure and architecture. In 1913, dur- built by Murad in 1447, marks the transition between early ing the First Balkan War (1912–13) (see Balkan wars), and classical Ottoman architecture. Murad also began Bulgarian armies occupied Edirne for four months. construction of the new Edirne Palace in 1450; it was com- Toward the end of the Ottoman period, at the close of pleted by his son, Mehmed II (r. 1444–46; 1451–81), in World War I, the city was invaded by Greece (1920– 1452. Edirne became a center of magnificent celebrations, 22). The Turkish army reentered Edirne in 1922 after the including those marking the circumcisions of Murad II’s Mudanya Armistice. Finally, with the Treaty of Laus- two sons, Alaaddin and Mehmed, in 1439, and of Mehm- anne in 1923, Edirne became a frontier city on the Turk- ed’s two sons, Bayezid and Mustafa, in 1457. Indeed, ish border with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne was the only city in the empire in which citywide celebrations were organized before the 16th century.

Edirne, Treaty of 197 Because of its strategic location, Edirne was an important commercial center during the Ottoman period. During the 15th century revival of the eastern Mediterranean, Edirne’s market grew. Several commercial buildings were constructed in Edirne to promote trade activities. These included a bedestan or covered market, 18 hans or inns, bazaars, and caravansaries. Many traders would buy locally produced goods or products from Asia in Edirne and travel to the Balkans to sell them. Euro- pean products were also available in the Edirne markets from the 18th century onward. Yunus Uğur Further reading: Halil İnalcık, “The Conquest of Edirne (1361).” Archivum Ottomanicum 3 (1971): 185–210; F. Thomas Dijkema, The Ottoman Historical Monumental Inscriptions in Edirne (Leiden: Brill, 1977); Haim Gerber, “The Waqf Institution in Early Ottoman Edirne.” Asian and African Studies 17 (1983): 29–45; Tayyip Gökbilgin, “Edirne,” in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., vol. 2 (Leiden: Brill, 1960–), 683–686; Aptullah Kuran, “A Spatial Study of Three Ottoman Capitals: Bursa, Edirne, İstanbul.” Muqarnas 13 (1996): 114–131; Godfrey Goodwin, A Guide to Edirne (Istan- bul: A Turizm, 1995); Erol Haker, Edirne, Its Jewish Commu- nity, and Alliance Schools, 1867–1937 (Istanbul: Isis, 2006). The city of Edirne was the second capital of the Ottoman Edirne, Treaty of (Adrianople, Treaty of) (1829) Empire. Its skyline is dominated by the 16th-century Selimiye The Treaty of Edirne, signed on September 14, 1829, mosque. (Photo by Gábor Ágoston) concluded the Russo-Ottoman War of 1828-29 (see Russo-Ottoman Wars). Despite Russia’s clear military The population of Edirne before the Ottoman con- supremacy in this conflict, Czar Nicholas I, fearing Brit- quest was about 10,000. Following the conquest, large ish and French intervention on the Ottoman Empire’s numbers of Turks began to settle in Edirne, especially behalf, was moderate in his territorial demands. In the within the city walls. In the years after the conquest, the Treaty of Edirne, signed by Russia’s Alexei Orlov and the city’s population exceeded 15,000, and people started Ottoman Empire’s Abdülkadir Bey, the Russians agreed building and living outside the city walls. According to to withdraw their troops from the Danubian principali- 16th and 17th century Ottoman tax records, there were ties (Wallachia and Moldavia), Dobruja, Ottoman more than 150 quarters (mahalles) in Edirne where differ- Rumelia, Erzurum, Kars, and Bayazid. In return, Rus- ent demographic groups, including Muslims, Christians, sia acquired the entire Danube River delta as well as and Jews lived together. The total population numbered the Armenian cities of Nakhichevan and Yerevan; Rus- between 20,000 and 30,000 people during those centuries. sia also gained Ottoman recognition of a Russian pro- At the beginning of the 18th century, the population num- tectorate over all of Georgia. The Russian Empire was bered between 35,000 and 45,000; most were Turks, with now in control of the entire northern Black Sea littoral approximately 5,000 Christians (Greek and Armenian), from the Danube River to Poti in Georgia. Moreover, 3,000 Jews, and 1,000 Roma, among others. After the con- although Wallachia and Moldavia remained nominally flagration of 1745 and the destructive earthquake of 1751, Ottoman vassal states, an array of political, economic, Edirne’s population decreased dramatically. During the and social provisions in the treaty effectively resulted in Russo-Ottoman War in 1828–29, the Muslim population a Russian protectorate over the Danubian Principalities. largely abandoned the city; by the end of the 19th century, For example, all Ottoman subjects were required to sell the population of 68,661 was predominantly Christian their land and leave the Danubian Principalities within (48,546 Christians, 19,576 Muslims, and 539 Roma). After 18 months, and the Ottomans lost exclusive rights over World War I and the Greek occupation of the 1920s, the the trade in grain, cattle, and sheep in the Principalities. population decreased by about half, to 34,528. Additional terms of the treaty included the unhin- dered passage of unarmed Russian commercial vessels

198 education the Balkans and heightened British and French aware- ness of the Russian threat to their interests in the Otto- through the straits of the Bosporus and Dardanelles; man Empire. the dismantling of Ottoman fortresses on the Danube; the erection of quarantines along the Danubian border Andrew Robarts between the Ottoman and Russian empires; Ottoman Further reading: Barbara Jelavich, History of the Bal- acceptance of the terms of the Treaty of London (1827) kans, vol. 1, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (Cam- concerning Greek autonomy; Serbian autonomy under bridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983); Paul Robert Russian protection; the same commercial capitula- Magosci, Historical Atlas of East Central Europe (Seattle: tions for Russian subjects in the Ottoman Empire as University of Washington Press, 1993); Stanford J. Shaw and those awarded previously to England and France; Ezel K. Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern and, most egregiously from the Ottoman perspective, Turkey, vol. 2, Reform, Revolution and the Republic: The Rise the payment of an indemnity equal to twice the annual of Modern Turkey, 1808–1975 (Cambridge: Cambridge Uni- budget of the Ottoman Empire. The sum of the indem- versity Press, 1977). nity was subsequently reduced in exchange for increased territorial concessions to the autonomous Greek state. education For hundreds of years, education in the In general, the Treaty of Edirne continued a process, Ottoman world was carried out in both official and pri- initiated with the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in vate institutions. One of the most important of these was 1774, of Russian territorial aggrandizement in the Black the Palace School (Enderun Mektebi), an institution Sea region. This both increased Russian influence over Orthodox Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire in As the first capital of the empire, Bursa had some of the most prestigious madrasas in the realm, including the Yes¸il Madrasa, shown here. (Photo by Gábor Ágoston)

for the education of military and civilian administrators. education 199 The Palace School was located within the sultan’s palace and was established to train individuals for elite positions mon worldview among these different groups, forming within the imperial administrative structure. The cur- an Ottoman Muslim elite with shared goals and values. riculum included both traditional subjects and rational When the Ottoman madrasas were first established, they sciences: Quran, hadith (oral traditions of the Prophet), drew on the educational traditions and models of exist- speech, calligraphy, Arabic, rhetoric, poetry, philoso- ing schools in Anatolia established by the Seljuk Turks phy, history, mathematics, and geography. The major or the Turkic principalities who ruled Asia Minor before difference between the curriculum of the Palace School the Ottomans. The first madrasa teachers were either and other schools in the empire was that students were those born and raised in other parts of Anatolia outside required to concentrate on military and administrative the expanding Ottoman empire or those born in Anato- subjects. The most common educational institutions in lia and educated in ancient Islamic cultural centers such the empire were religious schools known as madrasas as those in Egypt, Iran, and Turkestan. (medreses). A free education similar to that found in the madrasas was also offered in mosques, in the libraries The primary objective of the madrasas, which had and mansions of prominent government officials, and been established during the earlier Seljuk period and by religious scholars called ulema. Education was also continued in the Ottoman period before the second available within Sufi convents or lodges (tekkes, zaviyes). ascension of Sultan Mehmed II (r. 1444–46; 1451–81), Education was not confined to formal institutional set- was to teach religious subjects and specifically to encour- tings; the different levels of Ottoman bureaucracy often age the spread of Islamic jurisprudence. Despite this offi- provided in-service training. cial focus, however, the fact that various Seljuk madrasas were built next to hospitals and sometimes included Primary schools (sıbyan mektepleri) established by astronomical observatories attests to their founders’ the sultans, or by prominent statesmen or philanthro- interest in the sciences of medicine and astronomy, as pists, were generally located within the külliye (mosque well as their devotion to religious teaching. Education in complex), or in freestanding buildings in many villages the early Ottoman madrasas was left to the initiative of and city quarters. These were established and operated the teachers, in accordance with the terms stipulated by through a charitable foundation or endowment system the founders of the endowments or waqfs. These terms (waqf) and might be co-educational or segregated by included matters such as the choice of subjects to be sex, according to the stipulation in the deed establishing studied, teacher qualifications, teaching hours, payment the school. These schools had no official, formal curricu- to be made to teachers, and student stipends. lum; education simply followed an established tradition that might vary from place to place. Generally, children The first Ottoman madrasa was established by aged five or older could attend these schools. The teachers Orhan (r. 1324–62) in the early Ottoman capital city, were selected from among those with madrasa education Iznik, in 1331, approximately 30 years after the founding or simply from among those who were literate and judged of the Ottoman state. A total of 84 madrasas were estab- by the community to be sufficiently knowledgeable. Often lished between 1331 and 1451—about three every four these were religious functionaries, such as the imam years. After the 1453 conquest of Constantinople, (prayer leader), the muezzin (person who calls the faithful Sultan Mehmed II began a program of urban redevelop- to prayer), or the caretaker of the mosque. Women who ment to give the capital city a new personality and make had memorized the Quran were also eligible to teach in it a center of culture and learning. Central to that proj- the schools for girls. The general objective of these schools ect was the construction of a magnificent monument, was to teach children how to read, write, and perform the Fatih mosque complex (Fatih Külliyesi), a building the four basic arithmetic operations, and to have them to complex named after Mehmed Fatih, “the Conqueror.” memorize passages from the Quran and the precepts of According to the waqf deed establishing the Fatih Külli- Islam. In their last years at school students would read dic- yesi, it was to be made up of eight upper-level madrasas, tionaries in Arabic and Persian, rendered in verse. known as sahn (courtyard) madrasas, and eight prepara- tory madrasas, known as tetimme madrasas, where stu- The madrasas associated with mosques typically pro- dents were prepared for the sahn education; it was also vided the next phase for those who continued with their to have a primary school and a library. The külliye also education. Although madrasa graduates were considered included a hospital, lodgings, and a soup kitchen that to be among the empire’s elite, these schools drew from served the needy. The deeds of the Fatih madrasas stated a broad spectrum of Muslim peoples of different origins, that they were based on the principles of hikmet (science providing equal educational opportunities and the prom- and wisdom), which included virtue, talent, religion, and ise of social mobility to individuals from all social classes. sharia (canon law), and that they were dedicated to the They also served to create cultural uniformity and a com- development of human capacities and faculties. Unlike Ottoman madrasas before Mehmed II, whose deeds of establishment generally referred solely to the religious

200 education radical reform. One of the most important aspects of this period was the introduction of modern institutions of sciences, these deeds stipulated that their teachers would education based on European models and developed to be selected from scholars who knew both the religious meet the changing needs of the empire. The educational and the rational sciences such as logic, philosophy, math- reform movement began in the army, born out of the ematics and astronomy. Their curriculum was prepared need to prevent further defeats on the battlefields and to by renowned scholars of the time including the Samar- regain Ottoman military superiority. Educational reforms kand mathematician and astronomer Ali Kuşcu, who were later extended to the civilian areas. In the 18th cen- came from the scholarly circle of the famed Timurid sul- tury, repeated defeats on the battlefields of Europe com- tan and astronomer Ulug Bey (1394–1449). Ali Kuşcu’s pelled the Ottomans to abandon their policy of conquest influence on the formulation of a new educational tradi- and instead focus on acquiring the cultural and technical tion within the framework of these madrasas was signifi- skills of the Europeans. New methods and technology, as cant and provided the basis for the teaching of rational well as experts to teach them, were brought from Europe sciences along with religious sciences. This influence to modernize the Ottoman army. This modernization gradually increased after Mehmed II and culminated in project focused initially on three areas: shipbuilding the establishment of the Süleymaniye madrasas in the techniques, engineering, and modern medical education. 16th century. Programs in these areas were instituted in the Tersane-i Amire (Imperial Shipyard), reforming this existing insti- The Süleymaniye Külliye or building complex, named tution to serve new needs. for Süleyman I (r. 1520–66), who ordered its construc- tion, was built on the second prominent hill in Istanbul MILITARY ENGINEERING EDUCATION and marked the zenith of Ottoman culture and education. Its plan included schools, madrasas, a hospital, a public The first wholly new institution, established in 1735, was kitchen, a convalescence hospital, and a pharmacy, all built the Ulufeli Humbaracı Ocağı (Corps of Bombardiers), around the central mosque. Education was carried out at under the direction of Alexander Comte de Bonneval different levels in the complex and included two special- of France, in which recruits were taught practical les- ized madrasas, Darülhadis (the school where the traditions sons in geometry, trigonometry, ballistics, and technical of the Prophet were taught) and Tarüttıb (the school of drawing. In 1775 Baron de Tott, another Frenchman of medicine). Darülhadis was considered the highest-ranking Hungarian origin, was instrumental in establishing, the madrasa in the empire and its teachers were the most hon- Hendesehane (Mathematical School) in the Imperial ored, as is evident from the high wages they received. Shipyard, which was assigned exclusively to the task of teaching modern military technology. This school was later Of the 350 Ottoman madrasas constructed between known as Tersane Mühendishanesi (Shipyard School of the 14th and 16th centuries, 40 were built in the 14th Engineering). Between 1783 and 1788, a great number of century, 97 in the 15th century, and 189 in the 16th cen- French experts taught at the School of Engineering. Upon tury. They were concentrated in different cities and towns their departure the courses that they had initiated were throughout Anatolia and Rumelia (the empire’s Asian and continued by Ottoman professors who had been trained European provinces, respectively), primarily in Istanbul. in the traditional madrasas. In the Arab Ottoman provinces, by contrast, only three madrasas were established in Syria, six in Hejaz, and one During the Nizam-ı Cedid (New Order) movement in Yemen. On the other hand, a great number of madra- in 1793, the second military engineering school Müh- sas were built in the territories that became Muslim after endishane-i Cedide (The New School of Engineering) they were included in the Ottoman lands: 128 in Anatolia, was established with the objective of providing educa- 142 in Istanbul and 70 in Rumelia or the Ottoman Bal- tion for bombardiers, mining specialists called sappers, kans. A total of 665 madrasas were established in Rumelia and artillerymen. A new generation of Ottoman teach- throughout the history of the Ottoman Empire. Although ers of engineering, who had studied military engineer- these figures are all approximate, they provide a rough ing with the French experts at the Hendesehane, taught outline of the pattern of investment and construction. geometry, trigonometry, and the measurement of eleva- tions for artillery. In 1806 this school acquired a formal- During the Second Meşrutiyet or constitutional period ized structure that was a blend of Ottoman and European (1908–20), specialized madrasas were established for dif- traditions, and a new system of education composed of ferent positions of the Muslim clergy. These included four classrooms and four teachers was initiated. Students schools to train imams and preachers and schools to teach were taught calligraphy, orthography, technical drawing, religious science, calligraphy, and the related classical arts. arithmetic, algebra, geometry, plane trigonometry, conic sections, differential calculations, integral calculations, THE MODERN PERIOD Arabic, French, astronomy, geography, geodesy, military Beginning in the 18th century and continuing until the end of the imperial era, the Ottoman Empire went through a period of continuous change that often included

history, mechanics, applied explosive materials, military education 201 training, and military engineering. latter, students were offered a theoretical and practical With the transfer of the artillery and army engineer- education instead of the master-apprentice approach that ing teachers to the New School of Engineering, the only was traditional in the empire. The school provided five courses still offered at the Shipyard Engineering School years of education in subjects such as mechanics, casting, were shipbuilding, navigation, cartography, and geogra- carpentry, bookbinding, architecture, blacksmithing, tai- phy. In 1806, it was re-named the Mühendishane-i Bahri-i loring and dressmaking, and shoemaking. Hümayun (Imperial School of Naval Engineering). After the French principal of the school returned to his home- Formal education in civil engineering began with land, Ottoman naval officers who were graduates of this the Mülkiye Mühendis Mektebi (Civil School of Engi- school replaced him. It was later moved to one of the neering), which was opened in 1874–75 as a branch of small islands near Istanbul where, as the Naval School, it the Darülfünun-ı Sultani (Imperial University of Gala- continues to provide education. tasaray). Its four-year program was directed at educating engineers who would carry out the services required in With the establishment of other military and civil public works, especially in the area of transportation. In schools, interest in the Imperial School of Military 1909 the school was renamed the Mühendis Mektebi Alisi Engineering decreased for some time. However, inter- (Engineering School for Higher Education). In 1928, five est in this school revived in 1881. The traditional four- years after the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, it year period of education was increased by a year. An was elevated to a university-level school with the name extra year was added to the traditional four-year period Yüksek Mühendis Mektebi (High Engineering School); of education, with the name “distinguished class”; fifth- in 1946 it became the present-day Istanbul Technical year students who knew foreign languages and wished to University. receive higher education were then accepted to the War School or Academy (Harbiye Mektebi). MEDICAL EDUCATION IMPERIAL MILITARY ACADEMY The first modern medical education began at the Tersane Tıbbiyesi (Shipyard Medical School) in 1806. The goal In 1826, Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1808–1839) abolished of the school was to make modern medical education the Janissaries and established a new army called the available, thereby increasing the number of Muslim phy- Asakir-i Mansure-i Muhammediye (Victorious Troops sicians in the empire. Previously, most physicians were of Muhammad) in its place. Subsequently, in 1831, he drawn from the religious minorities. The school was opened Mekteb-i Harbiye-i Şahane (Imperial Military closed in 1808 after Sultan Selim III (r. 1789–1807) was Academy), modeled on European military schools, with deposed. Around the same time two famous Ottoman the objective of training scientifically skilled officers who scholars—Mustafa Behçet Efendi, the court physician, would be able to use modern military methods and tech- and Şanizade Mehmed Ataullah Efendi—greatly influ- niques. The principal was an Ottoman general who had enced Ottoman medical education. Şanizade Mehmed been educated in Europe, and the curriculum was pre- Ataullah Efendi produced reference works on modern pared by the teachers from the Army and Navy schools medicine and anatomy, while Mustafa Behçet Efendi of engineering; the number of students to be accommo- founded a modern medical school, the Tıphane-i Amire dated was 400. A large number of Ottoman students were (Imperial Medical School) in 1827. This was followed by also sent to Europe to receive education in military and the establishment of the Cerrahhane-i Amire (Imperial civilian areas. School of Surgery) in 1832, headed by a Frenchman, with some European physicians as teachers. In 1836 these two CIVIL ENGINEERING EDUCATION schools were merged under the name Mekteb-i Tıbbiye (Medical School). In 1839 that school was relocated and Graduates of the military engineering schools were also its name was changed to Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Adliye-i engaged in civil works such as surveying, preparing archi- Şahane (Imperial School of Medicine) in honor of Sultan tectural plans, and directing public construction projects. Mahmud II; it was headed by Karl Ambroise Bernard, From the second half of the 19th century onward, the an Austrian physician. In the same year, the school was construction of new industrial plants, small industrial opened to non-Muslim Ottoman citizens. Education enterprises, a telegraph system, railroads, and high- was limited to five years, at the end of which graduates ways increased the need for civil engineers. This need was received a diploma. met partly with Ottoman military engineers and partly with foreign experts or Ottomans who had been educated Because the language of instruction at the Imperial in Europe. But gradually specialized technical schools, Medical School was French, the system favored non- such as the Telgraf Mektebi (School of Telegraphy) and Muslims, many of whom had attended European-run Sanayi Mektebi (Technical School), were opened. In the private schools and thus were generally already familiar with the French language. To counteract this, a “distin-

202 education tem with three distinct levels: primary, secondary, and higher education. guished class” was opened for talented Muslim students. Students in this class also received language courses in SIBYAN MEKTEPLERİ (PRIMARY SCHOOLS) Turkish, Arabic, and Persian. Some of its graduates later, in 1866, founded the Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Mülkiye (Civil- Efforts to modernize primary education began under ian Medical School) under the Imperial Medical School, Mahmud II in 1824 and were accelerated during the which provided medical education in Turkish. In 1905, Tanzimat in 1845. Radical changes were made by the a third medical school was established in Damascus. In Maarif-i Umumiye Nizamnamesi (Public Education 1909, the two medical schools based in Istanbul were Regulations) in 1869. These regulations, which reorga- merged into one, forming the medical faculty of the nized the entire Ottoman educational system, created a Istanbul University, while the Damascus school contin- standard curriculum and decreed that four-year schools ued to function as its branch. be opened in villages and districts; attendance of boys between the ages of 7 and 11 years and girls between the MODERN CIVILIAN EDUCATIONAL ages of 6 and 10 years be mandatory at these schools; and INSTITUTIONS teachers be required to be Ottoman subjects and gradu- ates of the Darülmuallimin (Teachers Training Colleges). In the years following the implementation of the Tanzi- The reorganization of the primary education system was mat or reforms (1839–76), the expected results did not finally and successfully completed by the Constitution of materialize and it became apparent that the reforms 1876 and primary education became mandatory. should be based on education of the general population if they were take hold. The Provisional Council of Edu- RÜŞTIYE MEKTEPLERİ (MIDDLE SCHOOLS) cation undertook the organization of educational affairs, and many Ottoman scholars took part in preparing the The rüştiye mektepleri, which may be placed between the basic principles and plans for the new educational policy sibyan (elementary schools) and idadi (high schools), and reforms that would produce a new educational sys- The Harbiye Nezareti, built in 1898, was originally the Ministry of War, but was later incorporated into the campus of Istanbul University. (Personal collection of Gábor Ágoston)

were created as middle schools that would prepare stu- education 203 dents for higher education. After getting good results, the number of middle schools in Istanbul was increased, with provincial center. However, prior to the Second Constitu- the goal of eventually having one in every town with 500 tion of 1908 no sultani schools were opened. Later some households. The curriculum included an introduction of the idadis in provincial centers were converted into to religious sciences, Ottoman grammar, composition, sultanis. The number of sultanis had reached 50 in 1918. Arabic and Persian grammar, calligraphy, arithmetic, In the years 1913-14, one Inas (Girls) Sultani was opened bookkeeping, introduction to geometry, world history, in Istanbul. Ottoman history and geography, physical education, and local languages, depending on the region. French was TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGES an optional course in the regions where commerce was concentrated. By 1883 there were 460 middle schools in The Darülmuallim (Teacher Training School for Boys) Ottoman territories, with 30,000 students. was established in 1848 to train teachers in conformity with the modernization policy. Their formal educa- GALATASARAY MEKTEB-I SULTANI tion lasted three years, and graduates worked as trainees (GALATASARAY HIGH SCHOOL) before being appointed as teachers to middle schools. With the opening of modern primary schools (iptidai) Over time, it became apparent that the middle schools in 1862, the Primary Teachers Training College was also were not entirely adequate to prepare students for higher opened to provide these schools with teachers. education. In 1868, therefore, in collaboration with the grand vizier, the Ottoman minister of foreign affairs, the As middle schools for girls were opened, the need French ambassador to Istanbul, and the French minis- for women teachers was felt, and the first Darülmualli- ter of education, France helped open a school to pro- mat (Teacher Training School for Girls) was opened in vide education in French at the level of European high 1870. It had a principal, three male teachers, three female schools, and promised all the necessary technical and teachers, and 45 students. In the 1882–83 school year it financial support. The French assistant principal orga- was divided into a primary and middle school section. nized the establishment, which officially opened in 1868 In the same year, the Darülameliyat (Applied Train- as the Galatasaray Mekteb-i Sultani, or Imperial School ing School) was opened, with 24 students. During the of Galatasaray, at the former Military High School in 1910–1911 school year the Kız Sanayi Mektebi (Techni- Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district. It was administered by two cal School for Girls) was established, which trained 737 principals, one Turkish and one French. At first, the teachers over the 39 years of its existence. school had five grades for beginners and five college-level grades; this was later reduced to nine grades, with three DARÜLFÜNUN (UNIVERSITY) primary, three secondary, and three college-level grades. The teachers were both Turkish and French. The school The idea of establishing a darülfünun or university for was renamed Galatasaray High School after the Republic educating civil servants was proposed in the Tanzimat of Turkey was proclaimed. reform period, but early efforts to form one met repeat- edly with insuperable obstacles. The first attempt to IDADI AND SULTANI (HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION) develop a darülfünun began in 1846 when a Swiss archi- tect began work on a grand structure that continued for İdadis are schools that are higher than the rüşdiyes and many years. While students and faculty waited for the lower than the sultanis. The Regulations of 1869 estab- completion of their new university building, public lec- lished the idadis as 3-year schools for Muslim and non- tures in physics, chemistry, natural sciences, astronomy, Muslim rüşdiye graduates. Set up in communities with a and history were started in some of the completed rooms. population of more than 1,000 households, the first idadi When the building was finished, however, the authori- was opened in Istanbul in 1874. Under Abdülhamid II, ties deemed it too large and grand for its intended pur- the number of idadis in Istanbul and the provinces grew pose; the building was allocated instead to the Ministry and the period of education was increased to 4 years; of Finance, and lectures continued in the smaller Nuri rüştiyes were merged with idadis in places where ida- Pasha Mansion in the Çemberlitaş district of Istanbul. dis were already present. The education programs were Lectures were suspended when this building burned re-organized to ensure the transition between civil and down in the fire of 1865. military idadis. Towards the end of the Abdülhamid II period, the total number of idadis was more than 100. In A second effort to establish a darülfünun began in 1880, an idadi for girls was also opened in Istanbul. 1869, when new public education regulations reorganized the educational system and provided for a new university The Public Education Regulations of 1869 envi- to resemble its European counterparts. This university sioned a sultaniye school for idadi graduates in every was established under the name Darülfünun-ı Osmani (Ottoman University) and consisted of three schools: philosophy and literature, natural sciences and math- ematics, and law. It also included a museum, a library, and

204 Egypt richest province of the Ottoman Empire. The Egyptian capital, Cairo, also served as a major center of trade. laboratories. The departments of the first school of phi- But Egypt also had cultural and political traditions of its losophy and literature included Arabic, Persian, French, own, and these often came into conflict with those of the Latin, and Greek. The department of law offered courses Ottoman capital. Egypt produced generations of legal in Islamic and Roman law. But once again, conditions scholars who contested the interpretations of Islamic law for the continuation of the university were unfavorable. that were emanating from Istanbul. As a result, Egypt Finances were limited, the number of teachers and books remained much less influenced by Ottoman norms than were insufficient, and this second attempt at a university its neighbor Syria, in part, perhaps, because of the Egyp- also failed. tian tradition of forming mamluk households, founded by slaves and perpetuated not by conventional family A third attempt to open a university was made in succession but through the adoption and appointment of 1873. Established on the foundations of the Galatasa- promising younger mamluks, or male slaves. The forma- ray Imperial School, which had been open since 1868, tion of households in this tradition led to the founding of this university was called Darülfünun-ı Sultani (Impe- the Mamluk Empire and did not end with the Ottoman rial University of Galatasaray) and included schools of conquest. Instead, these households provided an alterna- law, science, and humanities. Later the School of Law tive structure of political power with national rather than was affiliated with the Ministry of Justice and functioned imperial foundations. independently until 1909 when it became a part of the university. The School of Science, which was transformed The Ottoman Sultan Selim I (r. 1512–20) conquered into the Civilian School of Engineering, was attached to Egypt in 1517, but the arrival of the Ottomans did not the Ministry of Public Works. This formed the basis for signal a radical break with the country’s Mamluk past. the Istanbul Technical University. Rather than introducing the timar system, under which Ottoman cavalry officers (sipahi) would be assigned the The process of establishing the Ottoman university revenues of agricultural lands on which they would live, took so long because it lacked the necessary infrastruc- the whole country was treated as one large tax farm: Rev- ture (such as specialized faculty members, sufficient enue collection was turned over to the Ottoman governor number of students educated in modern curricula, legal in Cairo who would collect the taxes, pay a prearranged bylaws, and financial resources). The attempts that had amount to the central treasury in Istanbul, and keep any- started in 1846 ended in 1900 with the successful estab- thing above that amount for himself. The governor then lishment of the Ottoman university under the name of allocated the various sources of revenue to his subordi- Darülfünun-ı Şahane (Imperial University). In 1909 the nates and friends as smaller tax farms. This meant that Darülfünun became a full-fledged university under one direct Ottoman involvement in the day-to-day admin- central administration, marking the successful beginning istration of the country through a state-trained bureau- of modern university education in the Ottoman Empire. cracy was limited. Furthermore, the Ottomans made no attempt to limit the recruitment of new mamluks, into Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu existing households, and many of the Ottoman governors Further reading: Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, Science, established Mamluk households of their own. Technology and Learning in the Ottoman Empire: Western Influence, Local Institutions and the Transfer of Knowledge The survival of the Mamluk system meant that there (Aldershot, UK: Variorum, 2004); Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, were two potential rivals to Ottoman authority in Egypt: “The Genesis of Darulfunun: An Overview of Attempts the Mamluks, who could invoke a memory of a glorious to Establish the First Ottoman University,” in Histoire political past that predated the Ottomans, and the Sunni Économique et Sociale de l’Empire Ottoman et de la Turquie, religious intellectual class centered at al-Azhar, the 1326–1960, edited by Daniel Panzac (Paris: Peeters 1995), famed Muslim university founded in 970 c.e., which pro- 827–842; Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, “Ottoman Educational and vided a framework of religious law that often challenged Scholarly Scientific Institutions,” in History of the Ottoman the one imposed by Ottoman Istanbul. Despite these State, Society, and Civilisation, vol. 2, edited by E. İhsanoğlu potential sources of opposition, Egypt remained politi- (Istanbul: IRCICA, 2002), 357–515; Selçuk Akşın Somel, cally quiet for the rest of the 16th century, enjoying a long The Modernization of Public Education in the Ottoman period of peace and prosperity. In the 17th century, how- Empire: 1839–1908: Islamization, Autocracy and Discipline ever, leaders of some of the Mamluk households, known (Leiden: Brill, 2001); Benjamin Fortna, Imperial Classroom: locally as emirs (commanders), began to take on unoffi- Islam, the State, and Education in the Late Ottoman Empire cial duties in the governance of the province. An Otto- (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002). man military commander remained as governor, but his authority was no longer absolute. The rivalry among the Egypt (anc.: Aegyptus; Ar.: Misr; Turk.: Mısır) Thanks Mamluk beys, or military leaders, forestalled the collapse to its tremendous agricultural output, the result of a reg- ular annual flooding of the Nile that provided renewed topsoil to its fields and water for irrigation, Egypt was the

of Ottoman control in Egypt in the second half of 17th Egypt 205 century, as the beys could not unite to make common cause against the Ottoman governor. Instead, broadly invaded the country. Mamluk cavalry skills proved no based confederations of smaller Mamluk households match for Napoleon’s modern infantry and artillery tac- emerged; and within these broader coalitions, individual tics, and the French forces easily occupied the country. households might contend as much with each other as Napoleon pressed on into the Ottoman Empire but was with rivals outside their confederation. stalled by Cezzar Ahmed Pasha, who had succeeded Zahir al-Umar as the military warlord in Acre. Although Within this shifting power balance in Cairo, a Mam- Napoleon soon returned to France, French forces luk household founded by Mustafa al-Qazdaghli, a mem- remained in Egypt until 1801, when they were with- ber of the Janissaries who had himself been a client in drawn in the face of a combined British and Ottoman a Mamluk household, emerged as the dominant politi- invasion. In the aftermath of the French withdrawal, the cal force by the middle of the 18th century. In 1760 the political situation in Cairo was in a flux for several years. dominant Mamluk in the household, Ali, who would Out of the turmoil Mehmed Ali, the commander sent later be known as Bulutkapan (One who Grasps the by the sultan to restore Ottoman control in the province, Clouds), took the title Shaykh al-Balad or “head of emerged as the leading political player. Acknowledged by the town,” a title that harked back to the days of Mamluk the local Muslim religious leadership as the best person independence. to restore order to the country, he received the sultan’s decree appointing him as governor in 1805. Ali entertained wider ambitions. In 1790 he replaced the Ottoman governor of Jeddah with one of his own With his authority to rule endorsed by the sultan, Mamluks, challenging the authority of Sultan Mustafa Mehmed Ali set about securing his position in Egypt. III (r. 1757–74) in his role as “Servant of the Two Noble He did this first by killing all potential rivals and build- Sanctuaries” (guardian of Mecca and Medina).Later ing a modern army. That army’s effectiveness was proven in the same year, in an act of open rebellion against the in 1811 when the sultan called on him to rescue the holy sultan, Ali ordered his forces to invade Syria. Ali’s Mam- cities of Mecca and Medina from the Wahhabis, the rad- luk and lieutenant, Abu al-Dhahab, found a local ally in ical followers of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab who Yusuf al-Shihab (of the prominent Shihab family), who had seized the holy cities in 1804. The Egyptian forces headed a coalition of Druze and Christian clans in Leba- captured Medina in 1812 and Mecca the following year. non, and together they entered Damascus in 1771. Just In a bid to enlist Mehmed Ali’s new army to combat the when it looked as if Ottoman control of Syria might be Greek War of Independence, Sultan Mahmud II (r. at an end, Abu al-Dhahab turned against Ali Bey, his for- 1808–1839) also made him governor of Crete in 1822 mer owner and mentor, returning to Egypt with his army and of Morea (the Peloponnese) in 1824. The Egyptian and forcing Ali to flee first to Upper Egypt and then to troops under Mehmed Ali’s son Ibrahim Pasha proved Acre where Zahir al-Umar, the political strongman in to be too successful, however, and the British and French Galilee, sheltered him. After a year in exile, Ali returned public clamored for their governments to intervene on to Egypt to confront Abu al-Dhahab, confident that the the side of the Greeks. Fleets from those two countries other Mamluk households of Cairo would support him. destroyed the combined Ottoman-Egyptian fleet at the They did not; Ali Bey was defeated, wounded on the bat- Battle of Navarino in 1827, which precipitated the with- tlefield, and taken prisoner by Abu al-Dhahab. He died a drawal of the Egyptian forces from Greece. week later and Abu al-Dhahab himself assumed the title Shaykh al-Balad. Mehmed Ali next set his sights on the empire itself. In 1831 his son Ibrahim Pasha commanded the Egyptian With Abu al-Dhahab’s death in 1775, the Mamluk army that drove into Syria. In December 1832 Ibrahim households in Egypt again reverted to factional fight- defeated an Ottoman army near Konya in central Ana- ing among themselves, with no single household able to tolia, and the road to Istanbul was open. At that point, dominate its rivals. The Ottoman army was dispatched to Mehmed Ali became cautious, and the army withdrew Egypt in 1786 in an attempt to bring the unruly province to Syria. Mahmud II reorganized the Ottoman army back under direct Ottoman control, but the Mamluk emirs in response to the occupation of Syria; in 1839 the simply retreated to Upper Egypt. There they waited until Ottomans moved to retake the region, but were again the Ottoman commander agreed to a truce as he could not defeated. At this point the European powers intervened defeat the Mamluks in their redoubts in the south and the and forced an Egyptian withdrawal from Syria in 1840. In war had become too costly to continue. But the two inva- return, Sultan Abdülmecid (r. 1839–61) agreed to give sions of Syria mounted by the Mamluks had demonstrated Egypt to Mehmed Ali and his descendants as a heredi- that the sultan’s suzerainty over Egypt existed in name only. tary governorship that could not be revoked by the sultan or any of his successors. A blow to the continuation of the Mamluk system in Egypt came in 1798 when Napoleon Bonaparte Mehmed Ali died in 1848 and was succeeded by Ibra- him Pasha, who died later that same year. Ibrahim was

206 Enderun Mektebi Cairo was the effective ruler of the country. The fiction that Egypt remained a province of the Ottoman Empire succeeded by Abbas Hilmi I, Mehmed Ali’s grandson. also continued, and the Ottoman sultan routinely issued Under Mehmed Ali’s descendants, Egypt continued along a patent of office to each new khedive. This pretense only the path he had envisioned for it. This included the mod- ended in 1914 when the Ottomans declared war on Great ernization of the army and the redistribution of agricul- Britain; the British responded by announcing that Egypt tural lands into the hands of a few men who were either was a self-governing sultanate, under their protection. in the royal family or closely connected to it. A boom in the cotton market during the American Civil War (1861– Bruce Masters 1865) propelled Egypt to the forefront of world cotton Further reading: Michael Winter, Egyptian Society production. Foreign capital and foreign merchants, work- under Ottoman Rule, 1517–1798 (London: Routledge, 1992); ers, and opportunists entered the country in increasing Ehud Toledano, State and Society in mid-Nineteenth-Century numbers, protected by capitulations, treaties negotiated Egypt (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990). by the European powers that gave their citizens extraordi- nary legal and commercial protections and privileges. Enderun Mektebi See education. Modernization projects, including the building of engineering schools See education. the Suez Canal, took a heavy toll on Egypt’s finances as the country’s rulers borrowed from European banks England England’s political relationship with the to finance them. The banks put pressure on their gov- Ottoman Empire had its beginnings in the middle years ernments to ensure that the moneys were properly of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), less than expended, thus effectively establishing European control a quarter of a century after the death of Süleyman I (r. over Egypt’s economy. Khedive Ismail resisted Euro- 1520–66). From the founding of the English Levant pean demands, but in 1879 the Europeans succeeded in Company in 1581, through the granting of commercial getting the sultan to remove Ismail’s patent of office and and trading privileges known erroneously in the West as the leadership of Egypt passed to Ismail’s son, Khedive capitulations, to the abolition of the Levant Company Tawfiq. This was a symbolic act as the Ottomans had in 1825 and the abrogation of the capitulations in 1914, effectively lost political control of Egypt from the time Anglo-Ottoman relations developed in a complicated of Mehmed Ali’s governorship. Nevertheless, it preserved and interwoven pattern of trade and diplomacy. There the outward appearance that Ismail’s removal had been were, however, certain constants in this complex tapes- carried out by a Muslim ruler rather than by the Euro- try. These included: the primacy of the city of London peans. But the Egyptian public was not fooled, and the in the Levant trade; the early entrepreneurial ebullience intervention of the Europeans fueled a growing anger and the later timidity and conservatism of the Levant among the Egyptian military, who saw the Europeans Company itself; and English diplomatic defense of Otto- having colonial aspirations toward Egypt. man interests from Edward Barton’s presence on the field of Mezökeresztes in 1596 and Lord Paget’s mediation at This military unrest broke out in 1881 and propelled the Congress of Karlowitz in 1698–99, to the Congress of Colonel Ahmad Urabi to the forefront. Although the Berlin in 1878. officers did not seek to topple Tawfiq, they demanded the return of the Assembly of Delegates, which had been The English mercantile presence in the Ottoman suspended after Ismail’s dismissal, an increase in the size Empire can be traced from the late 16th century with of the army, and the dismissal of the unpopular Egyptian an English ambassador resident at the Ottoman capital, prime minister Uthman Pasha Rifqi. This led to a period English consuls and expatriate merchants residing in of political instability that alarmed the Europeans, who major entrepots of the empire, including Aleppo, Izmir, began looking for an excuse to intervene in Egypt. The Cyprus, and Cairo), and a trade built around English British and French sent their fleets into Alexandria Har- exports, especially woolen cloth and munitions, and bor in May 1882; this sparked anti-European riots in the Ottoman exports such as silk, cotton, spices, and dye- city in June that, in turn, led to the shelling of the city by stuffs. This trading relationship would continue with lit- the British navy. The landing of British troops followed, tle variation until the early 19th century. and on September 13, 1882, these troops decisively defeated the Egyptian army, commanded by Colonel During the later 17th century, the English Levant Urabi, at the Battle of Tel el-Kebir. Urabi was tried and trade reached its highest point, but Britain did not pur- sent into exile on Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Egypt was now sue its advantage aggressively. In the 18th century the securely in British hands. Levant Company’s factors in Aleppo and elsewhere did The British did not seek to replace the khedive but simply to have him act as they wished. The façade of Egyptian autonomy was maintained, even though Brit- ish troops remained in Egypt and the British consul in

not bid for provincial tax farms, as their contemporaries enthronement and accession ceremony 207 were doing in India, nor did Anglo-French rivalry at the Sublime Porte even begin to develop as it did in India. and Devonshire Square: English Traders in the Levant in the Instead, the history of English trade with the Ottoman 18th Century (London: Macmillan & Company, 1967); Dan- Empire is one of slow, steady decline throughout the iel Goffman, Britons in the Ottoman Empire, 1642–1660 18th century. In 1825 the Levant Company was formally (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1998); S. A. Skilli- wound up and its charter annulled; little more than a ter, William Harborne and the Trade with Turkey, 1578–1582 decade later, in 1838, the Anglo-Ottoman Conven- (London: Oxford University Press, 1977); A. C. Wood, A tion of London opened up the Ottoman market to unre- History of the Levant Company (Oxford: Oxford University stricted free trade and to the inroads of 19th-century Press, 1935). industrial capitalism. enthronement and accession ceremony (cülus) In It was this change in mercantile relations between the Ottoman Empire, the term cülus, which means “to Britain and the Ottoman Empire that provided the eco- sit” in Arabic, was used to refer to a sultan’s accession nomic foundation for the diplomatic ascendancy of to the throne. Until the 19th century, the heir to the Britain at the Porte during the time of the 19th-century throne was not identified during the reign of his prede- Tanzimat reforms. That ascendancy, perhaps overval- cessor. All men who belonged to the dynasty through ued by British statesmen and publicists at the time, was their father and who shared the title of prince had an embodied in the person of Stratford Canning, Britain’s equal right to the throne. A sultan governed the Otto- ambassador at the Porte for much of this period until man Empire with the support of state dignitaries, the the Crimean War (1854–56). Canning envisaged lead- ulema (religious scholars), and military commanders, ing the empire from what he regarded as an antiquated and gaining the support of these three powerful groups theocracy toward a modern capitalist economy. This was thus fundamental for any prince to ascend to the vision points to a fundamental contradiction at the throne. When a sultan died, the prince whom these heart of Anglo-Ottoman relations: a desire to support groups considered most capable was invited to take the and encourage a reformed Ottoman Empire, backing its throne. Opposition from these groups could preclude a claims against aggressive Russian expansion and the need prince’s ascension. According to a law code introduced to exploit the empire’s economic resources in the interests by Mehmed II (r. 1444–46; 1451–81), a “prince who of free trade. Because these competing desires were never would succeed to the throne could kill his brothers for capable of resolution, either by direct military action as the integrity of the empire.” Fratricide aided the stability in the Crimean War, or by diplomacy as at the 1878 Con- and longevity of Ottoman hierarchical systems, as lands gress of Berlin, the British and Ottoman paths diverged. were not divided amongst sons. The Ottoman Empire witnessed several conflicts between brothers in the 15th At the Congress of Berlin, Britain secured Cyprus and 16th centuries; fights for succession to the throne as a forward base close to eastern Anatolia; three years among Mehmed II’s sons (Bayezid II and Prince Cem), later the British occupation of Egypt and control of the the sons of Bayezid II (r. 1481–1512), and the heirs of Suez Canal gave greater security to the British sea route Süleyman I (r. 1520–66) caused various upheavals and to India than any earlier policy of friendly involvement severe turbulence. with the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, during the despotic reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II (1876–1908), the Porte Until the end of the 16th century, upon complet- came increasingly into the orbit of the Central Powers— ing his initial education in the Palace, each prince, Germany and Austria-Hungary—and Britain had little together with his tutors and assistants, was installed in to offer in comparison. As England drifted into World a different province of the empire as governor. Here the War I in 1914, it was not surprising that the Ottoman princes continued their education while also gaining Empire allied itself with the Central Powers, taking arms practical experience. When a sultan passed away, the not only against Russia, its traditional enemy, but also prince selected for ascension to the throne was informed against Britain and France, hitherto its two oldest Euro- of his imminent enthronement, for preparations were pean allies and supporters. It was not until after the Otto- made simultaneously for both the enthronement and the man Empire had ceased to exist that relations between funeral ceremony. On receiving the news of the death Britain and Turkey could begin anew and on a very dif- or abdication of a sultan, the prince and his escort came ferent basis. swiftly to the capital or place where the throne was left empty. If more than one prince survived his father, state Colin Heywood dignitaries delayed sending news of the sultan’s death to Further reading: M. S. Anderson, The Eastern Question, those princes who had been passed over. For instance, 1774–1923 (New York: St. Martin’s, 1966); Sonia Ander- when Mehmed II died, Prince Cem was the assumed son, An English Consul in Turkey: Paul Rycaut in Smyrna, heir; however, state dignitaries prevented Cem from 1667–1678 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1989); Ralph Davis, Aleppo

208 enthronement and accession ceremony ity; as the courtyard was suitable for crowded gatherings, people who were invited to the ceremony were welcomed being informed and instead notified Prince Bayezid, thus there. When everyone had gathered, the new sultan was securing his succession. informed that everything was ready for the oath of alle- giance and guests wearing ceremonial kaftans encircled At the end of the 16th century, when Mehmed III the throne. Only the şeyhülislam (the head of the reli- (r. 1595–1603) succeeded to the throne, the Ottoman gious establishment) and members of the Imperial Coun- princes were no longer sent to the provinces but instead cil waited in the council hall to take their turn. The sultan lived out their years in the confines of the palace. When then entered with the chief black eunuch (Darüssade Ahmed I (r. 1603–17) died in 1617 he was followed Ağası) of the palace at his right hand and the Agha of by his brother, Mustafa I (r. 1617–18, 1622–23), the the “Gate of Felicity” (Babüssaade Ağası), the head of all eldest living member of the Ottoman dynasty. With the servants in the personal quarters of the Topkapı Palace, enthronement of Mustafa I, the principle of seniority was at his left. Before formally taking his seat on the throne, introduced into Ottoman succession practices. In the the sultan saluted three separate groups: to his right, the 19th century, Ottoman princes began to live in their own head gatekeeper; to his left, the palace elite group includ- palaces outside the sultan’s court. ing sons of pashas, vassal lords, and the head tasters (çaşnegir); and facing him, the guardians (çavuş) of the ENTHRONEMENT CEREMONY Imperial Council, who applauded while offering short formal prayers such as “May you and your reign endure a The enthronement ceremony was always completed thousand years.” as soon as possible to ensure that a sultan reigned at all times. If the previous sultan died, the ceremony was At the beginning of the ceremony, the nakibüleşraf held before the funeral; if the sultan was deposed, the (head of the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad and ceremony was held within hours. A prince’s ascension one of the leading ulema in the Ottoman Empire) entered ceremony included state dignitaries, scholars, military the sultan’s presence and prayed. The new sultan then commanders, and officials who, by escorting the prince, rose and received the kiss of the nakibüleşraf on his hand tacitly approved his succession. An ancient Turkish tradi- while the palace guards clapped. Following this the sul- tion, the cülus or enthronement ceremony began under tan returned to his throne and the nakibüleşraf returned the first rulers of the Ottoman Empire. It involved the to his seat in front of the treasury. During greetings, to swearing of oaths of allegiance to the sultan. The digni- prevent any confusion on the sultan’s part, the guardians tary would approach the sultan and either kiss his hand let him know when to stand and sit by saying “My Sultan, or bend to the floor while taking his oath. The structure may you stand up” or “My Sultan, may you rest.” One by of the ceremony was of particular importance because one, the members of the court approached to take the without it, any prince could proclaim his succession oath of allegiance. individually. When the enthronement ceremony was held out- For similar reasons, the ceremony was held where the side Istanbul, a throne was set between two tuğs (horse- throne was abdicated, preventing a prince from installing hair battle standards) in front of the imperial tent, and himself in a far-away province; this practice was regarded the allegiance ceremony was completed there. Bayezid I’s as essential to the integrity of the empire. For instance, enthronement ceremony was held in this manner, as was after the defeat of Bayezid I (r. 1389–1402) by Timur at that of Selim II in Belgrade. The enthronement ceremo- the Battle of Ankara in 1402, many princes claimed nies of Mehmed II, Ahmed II (r. 1691–95), Mustafa II the throne for themselves, leading to a turbulent inter- (1695–1703), and Ahmed III (r. 1703–30) were held in regnum period (1402–13). The throne accompanied the Edirne Palace. sultan on holidays or military expeditions, as state dig- nitaries accompanied the sultan and he continued to dis- As soon as the enthronement ceremony was over, a charge his administrative duties. Accession ceremonies public crier was sent through the city to announce the new were thus held wherever the sultan passed away. Selim sultan’s ascension to the throne. At the same time, cannons II (r. 1566–74), for instance, came to the throne in Bel- were fired from the Imperial Foundry and from naval ships. grade in 1566 because Süleyman I died in Hungary. The enthronement ceremony, which was usually held two- Apart from these special occasions, however, enthrone- and-a-half or three hours after sunrise, would be followed ment ceremonies were usually held in the Topkapı Pal- by a funeral ceremony held in the same place right after the ace in Istanbul. midday prayer. After a few days, the new sultan welcomed greetings for the enthronement in the Chamber of Peti- The sultans of the Ottoman Empire used the Topkapı tions. On the first Friday after the enthronement of the new Palace as their royal residence for 400 years beginning in sultan, the sultan visited one of his imperial mosques to the second half of the 15th century. The second court- pray. Immediately thereafter, the Friday sermon delivered yard of the palace, or Alay Meydanı (Ceremonial Square), was used for formal ceremonies. The throne was put in front of the third gate, the Babüssaade, or Gate of Felic-

in all mosques was read in the sultan’s name. This custom, Evliya Çelebi 209 called hutbe, was as crucial as the oath of allegiance, and was one of the most important symbols of dynastic rule. federations moved out of Arabia, the caravans became increasingly subject to being attacked and plundered by Another important aspect of the enthronement cer- these groups, and the desert course was largely aban- emony was the cülus bahşişi (accession bonus). This gra- doned in favor of the safer route along the Euphrates tuity was promised to military officials, who cried out which, besides providing water and forage for the cam- at the time of the oath of allegiance, “Your bonus and els, could be garrisoned. The valley of the Euphrates, promotion will be accepted.” The promised money was in what is today Syria, is relatively fertile. At the start distributed immediately to prevent disturbances. The of the 16th century it was inhabited by peasants, but at enthronement ceremony of Selim II was initially held in the end of that century a combination of droughts and Istanbul, even though the viziers and military were in Bedouin raids led to its depopulation. This increased Szigetvár, Hungary. The ceremony was not acknowledged insecurity in the region and led more peasants to flee and a new ceremony in Belgrade was demanded. In Bel- villages along the steppes that bordered the Syrian Des- grade, since the sultan walked directly into the imperial ert to seek protection in cities or larger fortified villages, tent without first giving the accession bonus, members allowing the desert to expand, as without peasant culti- of the standing army asked to be promised gratuity and vators to build barriers against drifting sand formerly promotion, but the new sultan did not take their demand arable land was covered in sand. seriously. As a result the army rioted while entering Istanbul, claiming that the enthronement ceremony had In a report sent to Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1808–39) not been held. The practice of the cülus bonus often led from the office of the tax collector of Aleppo in 1829, the to discord, particularly when sultans changed frequently, derelict state of the Euphrates Valley was contrasted with emptying the treasury. Apart from the gratuity and pro- its earlier flourishing state under the Abbasid Caliph- motion given to the military, it was also customary to ate. The unnamed tax collector suggested that if only grant gifts to state dignitaries. the sultan would commit the manpower to control the Bedouin tribes, the region could flourish again, produc- Zeynep Tarım-Ertuğ ing revenues equal to the wealth the Europeans received Further reading: Zeynep Tarım Ertuğ, “Ceremony from their colonies. Although no immediate action was and Protocol at the Ottoman Court,” in A Cultural Atlas of taken in response, in 1870 the Ottomans established a the Turkish World: Ottoman Period, vol. 1 (Istanbul: Turk- province centered on the Euphrates town of Dayr al-Zor ish Cultural Service Foundation, 1999), 428–77; Gülru and opened the valley up to local notables to claim as Necipoğlu, Architecture, Ceremonial, and Power: The their private property. The result was a small land grab Topkapı Palace in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries that resulted in the reclamation of some of the formerly (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1992). abandoned villages. Full restoration of the area’s prosper- ity would await the 20th century, however, and the con- Erdel See Transylvania. struction of dams along the river. esham See tax farming. Bruce Masters Euphrates River (Ar.: al-Firat; Turk.: Fırat Nehri) Evliya Çelebi (Mehmed Zılli) (b. 1611–d. 1683?) Otto- The Euphrates River rises in the Turkish highlands and man traveler and author Evliya Çelebi was a famous flows 1,700 miles (2,700 km) before emptying into the Ottoman traveler who spent more than 40 years traveling Persian Gulf. The banks of the Euphrates served as the all over the Ottoman Empire and beyond. His 10-volume main overland route linking the Mediterranean and the travelogue is the most important single text of Ottoman port cities of the Persian Gulf for much of the Ottoman literature. It is the largest work of its kind in Islamic lit- period. For much of its length, the river also served as erature, and perhaps in world literature, a literary source the demarcation line between settled villages and the of unique richness. Born in Istanbul, Evliya spent several nomadic Arabic tribes of Bedouins. years in a madrasa, then trained as a page in the Topkapı Palace. This education made him a perfect Ottoman In the 16th century, caravans bringing trade goods gentleman, familiar with the Muslim religious traditions as from India and further east would arrive in Basra, well as poetry, calligraphy, and music. Known for his wit, in southern Iraq, and then be transported by camel his voice as a singer, and as a Quran reciter, Evliya became across the desert to Damascus or Aleppo. In the 17th a boon companion to Sultan Murad IV (r. 1623–40). and 18th centuries, as more aggressive Bedouin con- Driven by an “insatiable wanderlust” (Dankoff 2006), after 1640 Evliya served several Ottoman dignitaries in different provinces; his various jobs included muezzin, secretary, entertainer, special envoy, and inspector, among others.

210 Evliya Çelebi rative shifts readily from persuasive to expository, from factual to ironic, building in tongue-in-cheek fables Due to the mobility of the Ottoman elite, this and even hoaxes. The distinction between reliable fact life took Evliya to almost every corner of the Otto- and Evliya’s invention for the sake of entertainment is man Empire and into some adjacent territories. These not always easy to make, and the work is thus a unique included the southern Russian steppes, Vienna (accom- reflection of the oral aspect of Ottoman culture, the panying an embassy in 1665), Sudan, and Abyssinia. In social gatherings in courts, in which such conversations 1671–72 he went on the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, took place. Judging from minor gaps and the presence of and then settled in Cairo, where he wrote his Seyahat- unedited portions in the manuscript, it appears that the name (Book of Travels). The Seyahatname is primarily book was never fully completed; since the latest events based on what Evliya saw during his travels, although noted in the text occurred in 1683, scholars surmise that some sections clearly derive from sources written by Evliya must have died at some point around or after this other authors, and the authenticity of some other sec- time, though the exact date and manner of his death are tions has been disputed. The text creates a vast panorama unknown. of the Ottoman Empire of the time from the point of view of the educated, cosmopolitan and pious Ottoman, Usually the strict canon of Ottoman literature seems much more comprehensive and colorful than the dry to have prevented such narratives from being written factual geography of his contemporary Katib Çelebi. down, and in this context, the Seyahatname has never That is only fitting as the goal of the author was as least been fully appreciated. Manuscripts are rare (due also as much to entertain as to inform. Thus the work talks to the size of the book), and references to it in contem- about cities, social and economic life, buildings, institu- porary works have not been found. The Seyahatname tions, pious foundations (waqfs), sanctuaries, pilgrimage has also not yet seen a full critical edition, though sev- sites, pleasure gardens, fountains, food, customs, local eral sections are available in transliteration and English languages (with remarkably accurate examples), legends translation in a series edited by Klaus Kreiser and Robert of saints and Sufis, dramatic or comical personal adven- Dankoff. tures, jokes, commentaries in poetry, and anecdotes about life at the court of the sultan or in his retinue. Gottfried Hagen Further reading: Robert Dankoff, Evliya Çelebi: An Otto- Within a geographical arrangement and systematic man Mentality, 2nd ed. (Leiden: Brill, 2006); Klaus Kreiser fashion, all this is presented in a happily disorganized and Robert Dankoff, eds., Evliya Çelebi’s Book of Travels: Land way, abounding with digression, in a language that play- and People of the Ottoman Empire in the Seventeenth Century: fully oscillates from the most complex ornate prose, to A Corpus of Partial Editions (Leiden: Brill, 1988–). plain Turkish, to pun-filled slang, to dialect. The nar-