SYSTEMS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

OVERARCHING THEMES

Political, Economic, & Social factors lie at the heart of all conflict and/or cooperation. Political: of or related to power and its distribution Economic: of or related to money and its

distribution Social: of or related to lifestyle & quality of life

Empires all follow the same stages of development, maturity, and decline. The creation of systems allows for the

development and growth of empires; when these systems collapse so do the empires.

OTTOMAN EMPIRE AT HEIGHT OF EXPANSION

HOW CAN ANY EMPIRE DEVELOP IN THE ABSENCE OF SYSTEMS…IT CAN’T!!!

Every empire inevitably develops its own systems in order to sustain itself.

What are the political, economic, and social systems of the Ottoman empire? The Timar system The Devshirme system The Millet system

TIMAR SYSTEM

Timar: land granted by Ottoman Sultan Timariot: recipient of land grant Timars are temporary and are not hereditary

like in the feudal system; They were given in exchange for military

service Timars had 2 very important purposes:

Meant costs for military were kept to a minimum because the timar was the pay

It promoted conquest with an incentive for constant fighting thus allowing the Ottoman to continually expand

POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL…

Take a second to chat with a neighbor and explain how/why the Timar system is one or more of the following?

DIVSHERME SYSTEM

Divsherme system started under Murad I Tax of one child every 3-4 years in order

to develop the Janissary corps; initially non Muslim

The brightest were sent to school and were trained for civil service eventually becoming viziers

Opened to Muslims around 1560 and divsherme ended entirely by 1650s

FEUDAL SYSTEM BY COMPARISON

POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL…

Take a second to chat with a neighbor and explain how/why the Divsherme system is one or more of the following?

MILLET SYSTEM Set up by Mehmet II after conquering of

Constantinople to bring Christian Byzantines into Ottoman rule

Allowed religious groups to rule themselves Each millet ruled by a patriarch

Patriarch is chosen by community & reports to Ottoman leadership

Patriarch is intermediary between the millet in Ottomans

Patriarch is responsible for making sure the millet submits to Ottoman rules

JIZYA: TAX ON NON-MUSLIMS

A tax paid by members of the millet Enforced on able-bodied adult men of military age Payment acknowledged submission to Ottoman

rulership and laws Payment exempted them from zakat and military

service Guaranteed lives and property would be protected Allowed for peaceful coexistence within Ottoman

empire. The Pax Ottomanica

POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL…

Take a second to chat with a neighbor and explain how/why the millet system is one or more of the following?

REVIEW QUESTIONS:

What is the timar system and what are two reasons it is important to the Ottoman empire?

How is the timar similar/different to Europe’s feudal system?

How is the millet similar/different to Europe’s feudal system?

How is jizya similar/different to divsherme? How do any of these systems relate to

Ratzel’s Organic State Theory?