The polity of the Ottomans was originally one of many small Turkish principalities on the border of the Byzantine realm
[1]
against whom their ghazi chieftain launched raids for territory and plunder. Through both warfare and diplomacy with farmers, townspeople and Christian nobles, they eventually forced the submission of the western Balkans and then annexed their rival Turkish principalities in western Anatolia.
[1]
The massive expansion of the Ottoman polity (18,000 km2 in 1320 CE to 690,000 km2 by 1400 CE) came to an abrupt halt with the invasion of Timur in 1402 CE who conquered the Ottomans and made its ruler a vassal. There was then a civil war for control of the Ottoman state which ends the first period (1290-1402 CE).
As the polity rapidly expanded, the Ottoman government was run out of a succession of capitals: Sogut (1299-1325 CE), Bursa (1326-1364 CE), and Adrianople (1364-1413 CE) all provided a base for a period. The title of Sultan was introduced in 1383 CE by Murat I (1362-1389 CE). His government was an extension of his court and the top officials were directly appointed, and increasingly powerful through the period.
[2]
An Imperial Council (divan)
[3]
issued his decrees and made less important and administrative policy decisions.
[3]
Viziers in the government were able to make some appointments in the name of the Sultan at the very least by the fifteenth century.
[4]
The date when the Grand Vizier became the most powerful official in the state is disputed; some scholars believe this occurred c1360 CE
[5]
while Ottoman tradition has it when Mehmed II stopped attending meetings in early 15th century.
[6]
Provinces with governors probably did not exist until the 1380s CE.
[7]
The rapid increase in size of the Ottoman state meant that the winner of the Ottoman civil war would gain control of territory that held 5 million people.
[1]: (Lapidus 2012, 429) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
[2]: (Imber 2002, 148) Colin Imber. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[3]: (Imber 2002, 154) Colin Imber. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[4]: (Imber 2002, 156) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[5]: (Shaw 1976, 22) Stanford J Shaw. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey: Volume 1, Empire of the Gazis: The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire 1280-1808. Cambridge University Press.
[6]: (Imber 2002, 156) Colin Imber. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[7]: (Imber 2002, 177) Colin Imber. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
35 T |
Ottoman Emirate |
Adrianople | |
Karajahisar | |
Erdine | |
Sogut | |
Bursa |
Ottoman Dynasty | |
Ottoman Beylik | |
Osmanli Dynasty | |
Othman Dynasty | |
Ottoman Principality |
vassalage to [---] | |
none | |
nominal allegiance to [---] |
Turkic | |
Islamic | |
Persian |
Ottoman Empire I |
[4,500,000 to 5,000,000] km2 |
elite migration |
Succeeding: Ottoman Empire I (tr_ottoman_emp_1) [continuity] | |
UNCLEAR: [elite replacement] | |
UNCLEAR: [elite replacement] |
loose | |
unitary state |
[20,000 to 30,000] people |
18,000 km2 | 1320 CE |
52,000 km2 | 1340 CE |
70,000 km2 | 1360 CE |
260,000 km2 | 1380 CE |
690,000 km2 | 1400 CE |
[200,000 to 400,000] people | 1325 CE |
[700,000 to 1,400,000] people | 1350 CE |
5,000,000 people | 1400 CE |
3 | 1299 CE 1380 CE |
4 | 1381 CE 1402 CE |
2 |
6 |
2 | 1299 CE 1328 CE |
[3 to 4] | 1329 CE 1359 CE |
5 | 1360 CE 1402 CE |
absent | 1299 CE 1328 CE |
present | 1329 CE 1402 CE |
present |
absent | 1299 CE 1328 CE |
present | 1329 CE 1402 CE |
inferred present |
present |
present |
inferred present |
inferred present |
present |
inferred present |
inferred present |
present |
present |
present |
present |
inferred absent |
present |
absent |
absent | 1290 CE 1387 CE |
present | 1388 CE 1413 CE |
absent | 1388 CE 1413 CE |
present |
present |
absent |
Year Range | Ottoman Emirate (tr_ottoman_emirate) was in: |
---|---|
(1393 CE 1402 CE) | Konya Plain |
Sogut: 1299-1325 CE; Bursa: 1326-1364 CE; Adrianople: 1364-1413 CE.
[1]
[2]
[3]
Residence in Bursa maybe right after conquest in 1326.
[4]
In Ottoman tradition, first Ottoman, Osman had a base at Karajahisar (Malagina in Sakarya valley) in the palace of an old Bishopric. In 1387 CE the Genovese concluded a royal treaty at Malagina. However, Bursa was the capital under Orhan right after 1326 CE.
[5]
Murad I had a palace built at Edrine.
[6]
[2]: (Palmer 1992)
[3]: (Davidson 2011, 122)
[4]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
[5]: (Imber 2002, 144) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[6]: (Imber 2002, 143) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
Sogut: 1299-1325 CE; Bursa: 1326-1364 CE; Adrianople: 1364-1413 CE.
[1]
[2]
[3]
Residence in Bursa maybe right after conquest in 1326.
[4]
In Ottoman tradition, first Ottoman, Osman had a base at Karajahisar (Malagina in Sakarya valley) in the palace of an old Bishopric. In 1387 CE the Genovese concluded a royal treaty at Malagina. However, Bursa was the capital under Orhan right after 1326 CE.
[5]
Murad I had a palace built at Edrine.
[6]
[2]: (Palmer 1992)
[3]: (Davidson 2011, 122)
[4]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
[5]: (Imber 2002, 144) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[6]: (Imber 2002, 143) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
Sogut: 1299-1325 CE; Bursa: 1326-1364 CE; Adrianople: 1364-1413 CE.
[1]
[2]
[3]
Residence in Bursa maybe right after conquest in 1326.
[4]
In Ottoman tradition, first Ottoman, Osman had a base at Karajahisar (Malagina in Sakarya valley) in the palace of an old Bishopric. In 1387 CE the Genovese concluded a royal treaty at Malagina. However, Bursa was the capital under Orhan right after 1326 CE.
[5]
Murad I had a palace built at Edrine.
[6]
[2]: (Palmer 1992)
[3]: (Davidson 2011, 122)
[4]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
[5]: (Imber 2002, 144) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[6]: (Imber 2002, 143) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
Sogut: 1299-1325 CE; Bursa: 1326-1364 CE; Adrianople: 1364-1413 CE.
[1]
[2]
[3]
Residence in Bursa maybe right after conquest in 1326.
[4]
In Ottoman tradition, first Ottoman, Osman had a base at Karajahisar (Malagina in Sakarya valley) in the palace of an old Bishopric. In 1387 CE the Genovese concluded a royal treaty at Malagina. However, Bursa was the capital under Orhan right after 1326 CE.
[5]
Murad I had a palace built at Edrine.
[6]
[2]: (Palmer 1992)
[3]: (Davidson 2011, 122)
[4]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
[5]: (Imber 2002, 144) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[6]: (Imber 2002, 143) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
Sogut: 1299-1325 CE; Bursa: 1326-1364 CE; Adrianople: 1364-1413 CE.
[1]
[2]
[3]
Residence in Bursa maybe right after conquest in 1326.
[4]
In Ottoman tradition, first Ottoman, Osman had a base at Karajahisar (Malagina in Sakarya valley) in the palace of an old Bishopric. In 1387 CE the Genovese concluded a royal treaty at Malagina. However, Bursa was the capital under Orhan right after 1326 CE.
[5]
Murad I had a palace built at Edrine.
[6]
[2]: (Palmer 1992)
[3]: (Davidson 2011, 122)
[4]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
[5]: (Imber 2002, 144) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[6]: (Imber 2002, 143) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
Western, Turkish, Arabic derived spelling of the name. [1] Ottoman Principality [2]
[1]: (Palmer 1992)
[2]: (Cosgel, Metin. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. April 2020)
Western, Turkish, Arabic derived spelling of the name. [1] Ottoman Principality [2]
[1]: (Palmer 1992)
[2]: (Cosgel, Metin. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. April 2020)
Western, Turkish, Arabic derived spelling of the name. [1] Ottoman Principality [2]
[1]: (Palmer 1992)
[2]: (Cosgel, Metin. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. April 2020)
Western, Turkish, Arabic derived spelling of the name. [1] Ottoman Principality [2]
[1]: (Palmer 1992)
[2]: (Cosgel, Metin. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. April 2020)
In terms of territorial extent, period of Bayezit I 1402 CE before the Battle of Anakara.
[1]
Other dates coud be 1364 CE Murat I or Bayezit I in the 1390s.
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
[1]
Dynasty starts with Osman of Sogut, the ruler of a principality near modern Eskisehir in Turkey.
[2]
Shaw refers to an "interregnum" (in the aftermath of the defeat at Ankara against Tamerlane 1402 CE
[3]
) 1402-1413 CE in which "different elements of Ottoman society struggled for power, with chaos again enveloping the entire area." Breakdown was a "struggle for power between the Turkish notables and their descendants, who wanted to restore the gazi tradition and the primacy of the High Islamic institutions of the Seljuks, and the survivors of the kapikullars and the Christian advisors, who proposed opposite policies... As Bayezit’s sons fought for power, they gained support of one or another of these groups, with the alliances changing rapidly as the groups changed their estimates of which prince had the best chance of leading them to victory."
[4]
[1]: (Cosgel, Metin. Personal Communication to Jill Levine, Dan Hoyer, and Peter Turchin. April 2020. Email)
[2]: (Palmer 1992)
[3]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
[4]: (Shaw 1976, 12, 22, 36)
Until 1335/1350 CE the Ottomans as other Turkish Emirates in Anatolia were (first actually, later nominally) subordinated to Mongol Ilkhan-Rulers of Persia, Iraq and Anatolia as their overlords and had to pay tribute. [1]
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Until 1335/1350 CE the Ottomans as other Turkish Emirates in Anatolia were (first actually, later nominally) subordinated to Mongol Ilkhan-Rulers of Persia, Iraq and Anatolia as their overlords and had to pay tribute. [1]
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Until 1335/1350 CE the Ottomans as other Turkish Emirates in Anatolia were (first actually, later nominally) subordinated to Mongol Ilkhan-Rulers of Persia, Iraq and Anatolia as their overlords and had to pay tribute. [1]
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Turkic. Maybe also Islamic World, also strong ties to Persian Cultural Sphere. [1]
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Turkic. Maybe also Islamic World, also strong ties to Persian Cultural Sphere. [1]
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
km squared. Figure includes Anatolia, Transoxania, Persia, West Eurasian Steppe.
Seljuk sultans lost their power to Mongol governors by 1243 and by the early fourteenth century, what had been Seljuk and Ilkhanid Anatolia fragmented into a kaleidoscope of principalities. The Largest and longest lived was the emirate of Karaman in south-central Anatolia, with the old Seljuk capital of Konya as its principal city. In western Anatolia, Byzantine rule did not survive Turkish immigration of the late thirteenth century, and by 1300 Turkish rule had replaced Greek with several Turkish principalities on the former Byzantine territory. In the former Byzantine province of Bithynia was the emirate of Osman, the founder of the Ottoman dynasty whose lands would form the nucleus of the Ottoman Empire. [1]
[1]: (5-7) Imber, C. 2019. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650: The Structure of Power. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Seljuk sultans lost their power to Mongol governors by 1243 and by the early fourteenth century, what had been Seljuk and Ilkhanid Anatolia fragmented into a kaleidoscope of principalities. The Largest and longest lived was the emirate of Karaman in south-central Anatolia, with the old Seljuk capital of Konya as its principal city. In western Anatolia, Byzantine rule did not survive Turkish immigration of the late thirteenth century, and by 1300 Turkish rule had replaced Greek with several Turkish principalities on the former Byzantine territory. In the former Byzantine province of Bithynia was the emirate of Osman, the founder of the Ottoman dynasty whose lands would form the nucleus of the Ottoman Empire. [1]
[1]: (5-7) Imber, C. 2019. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650: The Structure of Power. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Bursa.
In 1485, Bursa has 5,000 households - that would be 20,000-30,000 inhabitants. For such data see esp. H. İNALCIK, An Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire, Volume I: 1300-1600. Cambridge 1997 (and the second volume for the later period).
[1]
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
KM2.
[1]
Permanent basis on the Balkans only from 1352 CE onwards.
[2]
according to J. MATUZ, Das Osmanische Reich. Grundlinien seiner Geschichte. Darmstadt 2006.
[2]
Ca. 18,000 1320 CE
260,000 in 1389 CE according to Matuz 2006.
690,000 in 1402 CE according to Matuz 2006.
[1]: (Chase Dunn Spreadsheet)
[2]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
KM2.
[1]
Permanent basis on the Balkans only from 1352 CE onwards.
[2]
according to J. MATUZ, Das Osmanische Reich. Grundlinien seiner Geschichte. Darmstadt 2006.
[2]
Ca. 18,000 1320 CE
260,000 in 1389 CE according to Matuz 2006.
690,000 in 1402 CE according to Matuz 2006.
[1]: (Chase Dunn Spreadsheet)
[2]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
KM2.
[1]
Permanent basis on the Balkans only from 1352 CE onwards.
[2]
according to J. MATUZ, Das Osmanische Reich. Grundlinien seiner Geschichte. Darmstadt 2006.
[2]
Ca. 18,000 1320 CE
260,000 in 1389 CE according to Matuz 2006.
690,000 in 1402 CE according to Matuz 2006.
[1]: (Chase Dunn Spreadsheet)
[2]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
KM2.
[1]
Permanent basis on the Balkans only from 1352 CE onwards.
[2]
according to J. MATUZ, Das Osmanische Reich. Grundlinien seiner Geschichte. Darmstadt 2006.
[2]
Ca. 18,000 1320 CE
260,000 in 1389 CE according to Matuz 2006.
690,000 in 1402 CE according to Matuz 2006.
[1]: (Chase Dunn Spreadsheet)
[2]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
KM2.
[1]
Permanent basis on the Balkans only from 1352 CE onwards.
[2]
according to J. MATUZ, Das Osmanische Reich. Grundlinien seiner Geschichte. Darmstadt 2006.
[2]
Ca. 18,000 1320 CE
260,000 in 1389 CE according to Matuz 2006.
690,000 in 1402 CE according to Matuz 2006.
[1]: (Chase Dunn Spreadsheet)
[2]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Population of Ottoman Empire
[1]
1,000,000: 1325 CEToo high compared to territory; rule of thumb for this period ca. 10-20 people/km2 as good estimate for medieval/Byzantine/Mediterranean provinces - thus more around 200,000-400,000.
[2]
2,500,000: 1350 CEMaybe 700,000-1,4 Million; starting from 1346 effects of Black Death also in Ottoman area have to be taken into consideration - cf. the excellent new book N. VARLIK, Plague and Empire in the Early Modern Mediterranean World. The Ottoman Experience, 1347-1600. Cambridge 2015.
[2]
5,000,000: 1400 CEDue to plague effects maybe in this order of magnitude, otherwise maybe larger.
[2]
7,000,000: 1450 CE
9,000,000: 1500 CE
22,000,000: 1550 CE
28,000,000: 1600 CE
27,500,000: 1650 CE
24,000,000: 1700 CE
24,000,000: 1750 CE
24,000,000: 1800 CE
25,000,000: 1850 CE
25,000,000: 1900 CE
[1]: (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 137)
[2]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Population of Ottoman Empire
[1]
1,000,000: 1325 CEToo high compared to territory; rule of thumb for this period ca. 10-20 people/km2 as good estimate for medieval/Byzantine/Mediterranean provinces - thus more around 200,000-400,000.
[2]
2,500,000: 1350 CEMaybe 700,000-1,4 Million; starting from 1346 effects of Black Death also in Ottoman area have to be taken into consideration - cf. the excellent new book N. VARLIK, Plague and Empire in the Early Modern Mediterranean World. The Ottoman Experience, 1347-1600. Cambridge 2015.
[2]
5,000,000: 1400 CEDue to plague effects maybe in this order of magnitude, otherwise maybe larger.
[2]
7,000,000: 1450 CE
9,000,000: 1500 CE
22,000,000: 1550 CE
28,000,000: 1600 CE
27,500,000: 1650 CE
24,000,000: 1700 CE
24,000,000: 1750 CE
24,000,000: 1800 CE
25,000,000: 1850 CE
25,000,000: 1900 CE
[1]: (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 137)
[2]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Population of Ottoman Empire
[1]
1,000,000: 1325 CEToo high compared to territory; rule of thumb for this period ca. 10-20 people/km2 as good estimate for medieval/Byzantine/Mediterranean provinces - thus more around 200,000-400,000.
[2]
2,500,000: 1350 CEMaybe 700,000-1,4 Million; starting from 1346 effects of Black Death also in Ottoman area have to be taken into consideration - cf. the excellent new book N. VARLIK, Plague and Empire in the Early Modern Mediterranean World. The Ottoman Experience, 1347-1600. Cambridge 2015.
[2]
5,000,000: 1400 CEDue to plague effects maybe in this order of magnitude, otherwise maybe larger.
[2]
7,000,000: 1450 CE
9,000,000: 1500 CE
22,000,000: 1550 CE
28,000,000: 1600 CE
27,500,000: 1650 CE
24,000,000: 1700 CE
24,000,000: 1750 CE
24,000,000: 1800 CE
25,000,000: 1850 CE
25,000,000: 1900 CE
[1]: (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 137)
[2]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
1. Capital (Bursa, Adrianople)
2. Chief town of a province (from late 14th century)
[1]
3. Town4. Village
[1]: (Imber 2002, 178) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
For the administrative history, I would recommend C. IMBER, The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650: The Structure of Power. Basingstoke. 2009.
[1]
Ulema
Imams
Ulema means "scholars" - they are scholars of the Quran and the holy law, but not priests in the sense of rituals etc. But one should discuss this categorisation with an expert on Islam.
[1]
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
C. IMBER, The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650: The Structure of Power. Basingstoke 2009, and Rh. Murphey, Ottoman Warfare 1500-1700. New Brunswick, New Jersey 1999 (esp. for the classical period).
[1]
Emir Orhan: "A regularly paid force of Muslim and Christian cavalry and infantry was created by his vizier, Allah al Din. The horsemen were known as müsellems (tax-free men) and were organised under the overall command of sancak beys into hundreds, under subaşis, and thousands, under binbaşis. The foot-soldiers, or yaya, were comparably divided into tens, hundreds and thousands. These infantry archers occasionally fought for Byzantium, where they were known as mourtatoi. Müsellems and yayas were at first paid wages, but by the time of Murat I (1359) they were normally given lands or fiefs in return for military service, the yayas also having special responsibility for the protection of roads and bridges."
[2]
1. Sultan
2. sancak beys3. Thousands4. Hundreds5. Tens6. Individual soldier (yaya or müsellems)
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
[2]: (Nicolle 1983, 9)
For the administrative history, I would recommend C. IMBER, The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650: The Structure of Power. Basingstoke. 2009.
[1]
1290-1326 CE
1. Chief
Chief was first among equals in the Council of Elders
2. Council of Elders
"The Ottoman Empire lived for war. Every governor in this empire was a general and every policeman was a Janissary. Every mountain pass had its guards and every road had a military destination."
[2]
1326-1360 CE
1. Sulan
_Central government_
[3]
2. Minister for central administration (from Orhan)
[4]
3.
_Provincial line_
[5]
2. appanagesOsman and Orhan divided territory into appanages for sons, family members and followers.
[6]
by 1350s CE, however, Suleyman’s son was "in effect" a governor of the western "province" of Thrace.
[7]
1360-1413 CE
1. Sultan
title from 1383 CE under Murat I (1362-1389 CE)
Sultans "ruled the Empire through members of their own household, whom they had appointed to government office. This was a tendency which began probably in the late fourteenth century, and had become very pronounced by the late fifteenth."
[8]
_Central government_
[5]
2. Imperial Council (divan)
[9]
Issued decrees of Sultan and made less important and administrative policy decisions.
[9]
"These scattered references suggest that probably during the fourteenth and certainly during the fifteenth century, a small group of viziers advised the sultan on political and administrative affairs, and had the power to make appointments in his name."
[10]
Grand Vizier became chief executive officer of state c1360 CE.
[5]
However this date is disputed. According to Ottoman tradition, grand vizirate may have come about after Mehmed II stopped attending meetings in early 15th century.
[10]
3. ChancellorPost dates to earliest days of empire.
[11]
3.Military judges (kadi’asker) were the "chief judges of the Empire, who were responsible for judicial matters that came before the council."
[12]
First one dated to Murad I.
[13]
4.
_Provincial line_
[5]
2. Provinces with governors c1380 CEProvinces with governors probably did not exist until last two decades of fourteenth century.
[6]
3. Judgeship [kadi] of a town or city judge
[14]
"The judge, unlike the sanjak governor, had authority throughout his area, with judgeships forming what has been called ’a parallel system’ of administration
[15]
3. Districts (Sanjaks) under district governor (Sanjak beyi)
[16]
who was also a military commander
[17]
Role of sanjak included law and order (with fief holder), pursuing bandits, investigating heresy, supplying army, materials for shipbuilding, and those on the frontier special military duties.
[18]
4. Fief-holding soldiers responsible for local law and order
[19]
"The troops of each sanjak, under the command of their governor, would then assemble as an army and fight under the banner of the governor-general of the province. In this way, the structure of command on the battlefield resembled the hierarchy of provincial government."
[20]
[18]
Fiefs were only one form of land-holder in Sanjaks. Other land was privately owned, formed part of a trust, or controlled by the Sultan. Beglik or miri land was given out by Sultan as fiefs.
[21]
Millet "Christians and Jews were expected to have their own laws. Everyone was organised in the so-called ’millets’, communities based on faith, and as long as the millet did not come into conflict with Islamic organisation and society, paid its taxes and kept the peace, its leaders were largely left to run their own affairs."
[22]
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
[2]: (Turnball 2003, 17) Turnball, S. 2003. The Ottoman Empire 1326-1699. Osprey Publishing Ltd.
[3]: (Shaw 1976, 22) Stanford J Shaw. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey: Volume 1, Empire of the Gazis: The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire 1280-1808. Cambridge University Press.
[4]: (Lapidus 2012, 440)
[5]: (Shaw 1976, 22)
[6]: (Imber 2002, 177) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[7]: (Imber 2002, 178) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[8]: (Imber 2002, 148) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[9]: (Imber 2002, 154) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[10]: (Imber 2002, 156) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[11]: (Imber 2002, 60) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[12]: (Imber 2002, 157) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[13]: (Imber 2002, 159) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[14]: (Cosgel, Metin. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. April 2020)
[15]: (Imber 2002, 191) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[16]: (Imber 2002, 184) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[17]: (Imber 2002, 189) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[18]: (Imber 2002, 190) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[19]: (Imber 2002, 194) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[20]: (Imber 2002, 182) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[21]: (Imber 2002, 193) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[22]: (Turnbull 2003, 77)
For the administrative history, I would recommend C. IMBER, The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650: The Structure of Power. Basingstoke. 2009.
[1]
1290-1326 CE
1. Chief
Chief was first among equals in the Council of Elders
2. Council of Elders
"The Ottoman Empire lived for war. Every governor in this empire was a general and every policeman was a Janissary. Every mountain pass had its guards and every road had a military destination."
[2]
1326-1360 CE
1. Sulan
_Central government_
[3]
2. Minister for central administration (from Orhan)
[4]
3.
_Provincial line_
[5]
2. appanagesOsman and Orhan divided territory into appanages for sons, family members and followers.
[6]
by 1350s CE, however, Suleyman’s son was "in effect" a governor of the western "province" of Thrace.
[7]
1360-1413 CE
1. Sultan
title from 1383 CE under Murat I (1362-1389 CE)
Sultans "ruled the Empire through members of their own household, whom they had appointed to government office. This was a tendency which began probably in the late fourteenth century, and had become very pronounced by the late fifteenth."
[8]
_Central government_
[5]
2. Imperial Council (divan)
[9]
Issued decrees of Sultan and made less important and administrative policy decisions.
[9]
"These scattered references suggest that probably during the fourteenth and certainly during the fifteenth century, a small group of viziers advised the sultan on political and administrative affairs, and had the power to make appointments in his name."
[10]
Grand Vizier became chief executive officer of state c1360 CE.
[5]
However this date is disputed. According to Ottoman tradition, grand vizirate may have come about after Mehmed II stopped attending meetings in early 15th century.
[10]
3. ChancellorPost dates to earliest days of empire.
[11]
3.Military judges (kadi’asker) were the "chief judges of the Empire, who were responsible for judicial matters that came before the council."
[12]
First one dated to Murad I.
[13]
4.
_Provincial line_
[5]
2. Provinces with governors c1380 CEProvinces with governors probably did not exist until last two decades of fourteenth century.
[6]
3. Judgeship [kadi] of a town or city judge
[14]
"The judge, unlike the sanjak governor, had authority throughout his area, with judgeships forming what has been called ’a parallel system’ of administration
[15]
3. Districts (Sanjaks) under district governor (Sanjak beyi)
[16]
who was also a military commander
[17]
Role of sanjak included law and order (with fief holder), pursuing bandits, investigating heresy, supplying army, materials for shipbuilding, and those on the frontier special military duties.
[18]
4. Fief-holding soldiers responsible for local law and order
[19]
"The troops of each sanjak, under the command of their governor, would then assemble as an army and fight under the banner of the governor-general of the province. In this way, the structure of command on the battlefield resembled the hierarchy of provincial government."
[20]
[18]
Fiefs were only one form of land-holder in Sanjaks. Other land was privately owned, formed part of a trust, or controlled by the Sultan. Beglik or miri land was given out by Sultan as fiefs.
[21]
Millet "Christians and Jews were expected to have their own laws. Everyone was organised in the so-called ’millets’, communities based on faith, and as long as the millet did not come into conflict with Islamic organisation and society, paid its taxes and kept the peace, its leaders were largely left to run their own affairs."
[22]
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
[2]: (Turnball 2003, 17) Turnball, S. 2003. The Ottoman Empire 1326-1699. Osprey Publishing Ltd.
[3]: (Shaw 1976, 22) Stanford J Shaw. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey: Volume 1, Empire of the Gazis: The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire 1280-1808. Cambridge University Press.
[4]: (Lapidus 2012, 440)
[5]: (Shaw 1976, 22)
[6]: (Imber 2002, 177) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[7]: (Imber 2002, 178) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[8]: (Imber 2002, 148) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[9]: (Imber 2002, 154) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[10]: (Imber 2002, 156) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[11]: (Imber 2002, 60) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[12]: (Imber 2002, 157) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[13]: (Imber 2002, 159) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[14]: (Cosgel, Metin. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. April 2020)
[15]: (Imber 2002, 191) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[16]: (Imber 2002, 184) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[17]: (Imber 2002, 189) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[18]: (Imber 2002, 190) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[19]: (Imber 2002, 194) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[20]: (Imber 2002, 182) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[21]: (Imber 2002, 193) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[22]: (Turnbull 2003, 77)
For the administrative history, I would recommend C. IMBER, The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650: The Structure of Power. Basingstoke. 2009.
[1]
1290-1326 CE
1. Chief
Chief was first among equals in the Council of Elders
2. Council of Elders
"The Ottoman Empire lived for war. Every governor in this empire was a general and every policeman was a Janissary. Every mountain pass had its guards and every road had a military destination."
[2]
1326-1360 CE
1. Sulan
_Central government_
[3]
2. Minister for central administration (from Orhan)
[4]
3.
_Provincial line_
[5]
2. appanagesOsman and Orhan divided territory into appanages for sons, family members and followers.
[6]
by 1350s CE, however, Suleyman’s son was "in effect" a governor of the western "province" of Thrace.
[7]
1360-1413 CE
1. Sultan
title from 1383 CE under Murat I (1362-1389 CE)
Sultans "ruled the Empire through members of their own household, whom they had appointed to government office. This was a tendency which began probably in the late fourteenth century, and had become very pronounced by the late fifteenth."
[8]
_Central government_
[5]
2. Imperial Council (divan)
[9]
Issued decrees of Sultan and made less important and administrative policy decisions.
[9]
"These scattered references suggest that probably during the fourteenth and certainly during the fifteenth century, a small group of viziers advised the sultan on political and administrative affairs, and had the power to make appointments in his name."
[10]
Grand Vizier became chief executive officer of state c1360 CE.
[5]
However this date is disputed. According to Ottoman tradition, grand vizirate may have come about after Mehmed II stopped attending meetings in early 15th century.
[10]
3. ChancellorPost dates to earliest days of empire.
[11]
3.Military judges (kadi’asker) were the "chief judges of the Empire, who were responsible for judicial matters that came before the council."
[12]
First one dated to Murad I.
[13]
4.
_Provincial line_
[5]
2. Provinces with governors c1380 CEProvinces with governors probably did not exist until last two decades of fourteenth century.
[6]
3. Judgeship [kadi] of a town or city judge
[14]
"The judge, unlike the sanjak governor, had authority throughout his area, with judgeships forming what has been called ’a parallel system’ of administration
[15]
3. Districts (Sanjaks) under district governor (Sanjak beyi)
[16]
who was also a military commander
[17]
Role of sanjak included law and order (with fief holder), pursuing bandits, investigating heresy, supplying army, materials for shipbuilding, and those on the frontier special military duties.
[18]
4. Fief-holding soldiers responsible for local law and order
[19]
"The troops of each sanjak, under the command of their governor, would then assemble as an army and fight under the banner of the governor-general of the province. In this way, the structure of command on the battlefield resembled the hierarchy of provincial government."
[20]
[18]
Fiefs were only one form of land-holder in Sanjaks. Other land was privately owned, formed part of a trust, or controlled by the Sultan. Beglik or miri land was given out by Sultan as fiefs.
[21]
Millet "Christians and Jews were expected to have their own laws. Everyone was organised in the so-called ’millets’, communities based on faith, and as long as the millet did not come into conflict with Islamic organisation and society, paid its taxes and kept the peace, its leaders were largely left to run their own affairs."
[22]
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
[2]: (Turnball 2003, 17) Turnball, S. 2003. The Ottoman Empire 1326-1699. Osprey Publishing Ltd.
[3]: (Shaw 1976, 22) Stanford J Shaw. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey: Volume 1, Empire of the Gazis: The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire 1280-1808. Cambridge University Press.
[4]: (Lapidus 2012, 440)
[5]: (Shaw 1976, 22)
[6]: (Imber 2002, 177) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[7]: (Imber 2002, 178) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[8]: (Imber 2002, 148) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[9]: (Imber 2002, 154) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[10]: (Imber 2002, 156) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[11]: (Imber 2002, 60) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[12]: (Imber 2002, 157) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[13]: (Imber 2002, 159) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[14]: (Cosgel, Metin. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. April 2020)
[15]: (Imber 2002, 191) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[16]: (Imber 2002, 184) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[17]: (Imber 2002, 189) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[18]: (Imber 2002, 190) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[19]: (Imber 2002, 194) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[20]: (Imber 2002, 182) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[21]: (Imber 2002, 193) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[22]: (Turnbull 2003, 77)
"By 1400, therefore, most of the troops in the Ottoman army served on a contractual basis, allowing the sultan to levy a predictable number of reliable troops year after year."
[1]
Emir Orhan: "A regularly paid force of Muslim and Christian cavalry and infantry was created by his vizier, Allah al Din. The horsemen were known as müsellems (tax-free men) and were organised under the overall command of sancak beys into hundreds, under subaşis, and thousands, under binbaşis. The foot-soldiers, or yaya, were comparably divided into tens, hundreds and thousands. These infantry archers occasionally fought for Byzantium, where they were known as mourtatoi. Müsellems and yayas were at first paid wages, but by the time of Murat I (1359) they were normally given lands or fiefs in return for military service, the yayas also having special responsibility for the protection of roads and bridges."
[2]
Janissaries were paid a monthly salary.
[3]
The Janissary organization is believed to have started during the reign of Murat I.
[4]
[1]: (Imber 2002, 256-257) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[2]: (Nicolle 1983, 9)
[3]: (Nicolle 1983, 10)
[4]: (Cosgel, Metin. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. April 2020)
"By 1400, therefore, most of the troops in the Ottoman army served on a contractual basis, allowing the sultan to levy a predictable number of reliable troops year after year."
[1]
Emir Orhan: "A regularly paid force of Muslim and Christian cavalry and infantry was created by his vizier, Allah al Din. The horsemen were known as müsellems (tax-free men) and were organised under the overall command of sancak beys into hundreds, under subaşis, and thousands, under binbaşis. The foot-soldiers, or yaya, were comparably divided into tens, hundreds and thousands. These infantry archers occasionally fought for Byzantium, where they were known as mourtatoi. Müsellems and yayas were at first paid wages, but by the time of Murat I (1359) they were normally given lands or fiefs in return for military service, the yayas also having special responsibility for the protection of roads and bridges."
[2]
Janissaries were paid a monthly salary.
[3]
The Janissary organization is believed to have started during the reign of Murat I.
[4]
[1]: (Imber 2002, 256-257) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[2]: (Nicolle 1983, 9)
[3]: (Nicolle 1983, 10)
[4]: (Cosgel, Metin. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. April 2020)
Ulema means "scholars" - they are scholars of the Quran and the holy law, but not priests in the sense of rituals etc. But one should discuss this categorisation with an expert on Islam. [1] "Religious employees included the imams, the hatibs and the muezzin, who led daily prayers and served in local mosques. Some state employees, such as the muftis, the kadıs and the muderris, had both a legal and religious identity. The Ulema, scholars of the Quran and the holy law, were not priests in the sense of rituals etc. These scholars were trained in medreses, which first appear during the reign of Orhan." [2]
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
[2]: (Cosgel, Metin. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. April 2020)
Emir Orhan: "A regularly paid force of Muslim and Christian cavalry and infantry was created by his vizier, Allah al Din. The horsemen were known as müsellems (tax-free men) and were organised under the overall command of sancak beys into hundreds, under subaşis, and thousands, under binbaşis. The foot-soldiers, or yaya, were comparably divided into tens, hundreds and thousands. These infantry archers occasionally fought for Byzantium, where they were known as mourtatoi. Müsellems and yayas were at first paid wages, but by the time of Murat I (1359) they were normally given lands or fiefs in return for military service, the yayas also having special responsibility for the protection of roads and bridges." [1]
[1]: (Nicolle 1983, 9)
Emir Orhan: "A regularly paid force of Muslim and Christian cavalry and infantry was created by his vizier, Allah al Din. The horsemen were known as müsellems (tax-free men) and were organised under the overall command of sancak beys into hundreds, under subaşis, and thousands, under binbaşis. The foot-soldiers, or yaya, were comparably divided into tens, hundreds and thousands. These infantry archers occasionally fought for Byzantium, where they were known as mourtatoi. Müsellems and yayas were at first paid wages, but by the time of Murat I (1359) they were normally given lands or fiefs in return for military service, the yayas also having special responsibility for the protection of roads and bridges." [1]
[1]: (Nicolle 1983, 9)
Mints.
"Numismatic evidence suggests that the first [silver] Ottoman coin was struck in the Hegira year of 727 (1326-27) during the reign of Orhan Gazi (1324-62). […] Numismatic catalogs and textual documents indicate that the earliest Ottoman coinage was struck in Bursa, Edirne, and in other unspecified places around the Marmara basin. In addition. They circulated together with the coinage of the other Anatolian principalities, the Ilkhanid Empire and the Byzantine Empire. As the Ottoman state began to expand its territories, new mints were established in commercially and administratively important cities and close to silver mines. In this period the aqcha was minted in Bursa, Edirne, Constantinople, Ayasoluk, Serez, Uskup, Novobrdo, Tire, Amasya, Balat, Karahisar, Engiiriye and Germiyan. By the middle of the fifteenth century aqcha had become the basic monetary unit of the southern Balkans, western and central Anatolia."
[1]
[1]: (Akkaya 1999, 19-20) Akkaya, T. 1999. THE EVOLUTION OF MONEY IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE, 1326-1922. Master’s Thesis, University of Bilkent. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/QZJDKCRJ/library
The following excerpts summarise the early development of Ottoman bureaucracy. They seem to suggest that at this stage, not only were only some elements of bureaucracy in place rather than the whole system, which came later, but what bureaucracy existed was patrimonial rather than meritocratic.
"The Ottoman bureaucracy is defined here as the men who were paid to manage the affairs of the government: specifically the members of the scribal service and financial officers (kalemiye), along with the ubiquitous secretaries who accompanied every bureau in the empire. […] It is not until the reign of Süleyman in the sixteenth century that the kalemiye and the government as a whole may properly be called a bureaucracy. As the Ottoman armies pushed west into Hungary and Austria and south and east to the Indian Ocean, the influx of new territories brought about increases in the bureaucracy’s size, influence and degrees of specialization and professionalization. So while the origins of the Ottoman bureaucracy lay in the patrimonial house of the sultan and while its general contours reflect this fact, the administration developed characteristics of an impersonal, predictable and rationalized organization as it expanded. This process of bureaucratization did not come about immediately or easily. It took time, and people continued to rely on patrimonial relations to advance in rank while adopting bureaucratic styles. The transition mostly took place during Süleyman’s reign, although, once established, bureaucracy continued to coexist with elements of patrimonialism for centuries. […] Looking at the core regions of the empire, we quickly get a sense of the bureaucratic features of Ottoman rule that had formed by the end of the sixteenth century. In these regions, administrators and judges were appointed from the capital on a rotating basis, rules of office were codified and passed down, training was formalized, career lines and hierarchies were present, and universalistic principles as well as an ‘ethos’ of office – being an Ottoman bureaucrat – were all in evidence. Elements of the system – which had roots in the traditions of Near Eastern and Islamic governance as well as Byzantine land practices – were already discernable in the fourteenth century when the house of Osman was still an Anatolian principality."
[1]
[1]: (Barkey 2016: ) Barkey, K. 2016. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923): The Bureaucratization of Patrimonial Authority. In Crooks and Parsons (ed) Empires and Bureaucracy in World History: From Late Antiquity to the Twentieth Century pp. 102-126. Cambridge University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/JGQJ29PI/library
The first of following excerpts summarise the early development of Ottoman bureaucracy. They seem to suggest that at this stage, elements of professional bureacracy were in place but it only properly emerged more than a century after the end of the Emirate period.
"The Ottoman bureaucracy is defined here as the men who were paid to manage the affairs of the government: specifically the members of the scribal service and financial officers (kalemiye), along with the ubiquitous secretaries who accompanied every bureau in the empire. […] It is not until the reign of Süleyman in the sixteenth century that the kalemiye and the government as a whole may properly be called a bureaucracy. As the Ottoman armies pushed west into Hungary and Austria and south and east to the Indian Ocean, the influx of new territories brought about increases in the bureaucracy’s size, influence and degrees of specialization and professionalization. So while the origins of the Ottoman bureaucracy lay in the patrimonial house of the sultan and while its general contours reflect this fact, the administration developed characteristics of an impersonal, predictable and rationalized organization as it expanded. This process of bureaucratization did not come about immediately or easily. It took time, and people continued to rely on patrimonial relations to advance in rank while adopting bureaucratic styles. The transition mostly took place during Süleyman’s reign, although, once established, bureaucracy continued to coexist with elements of patrimonialism for centuries. […] Looking at the core regions of the empire, we quickly get a sense of the bureaucratic features of Ottoman rule that had formed by the end of the sixteenth century. In these regions, administrators and judges were appointed from the capital on a rotating basis, rules of office were codified and passed down, training was formalized, career lines and hierarchies were present, and universalistic principles as well as an ‘ethos’ of office – being an Ottoman bureaucrat – were all in evidence. Elements of the system – which had roots in the traditions of Near Eastern and Islamic governance as well as Byzantine land practices – were already discernable in the fourteenth century when the house of Osman was still an Anatolian principality."
[1]
The first emirs issued charters and foundation documents, but these were probably written by members of the ulema, serving for the ruler´s chancery part-time.
[2]
Bayezit I (1389-1402 CE) attempted to break from the Turkish aristocracy by recruiting trained slaves to government positions. The aristocrats saw this as a challenge to their power. Murat I (1362-1389 CE) had previously attempted this with the army, Bayezit I took it further.
[3]
[1]: (Barkey 2016: ) Barkey, K. 2016. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923): The Bureaucratization of Patrimonial Authority. In Crooks and Parsons (ed) Empires and Bureaucracy in World History: From Late Antiquity to the Twentieth Century pp. 102-126. Cambridge University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/JGQJ29PI/library
[2]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
[3]: (Shaw 1976)
The following excerpts summarise the early development of Ottoman bureaucracy. They seem to suggest that at this stage, not only were only some elements of bureaucracy in place rather than the whole system, which came later, but what bureaucracy existed was patrimonial rather than involving the kind of rigorous training that would involve an examination.
"The Ottoman bureaucracy is defined here as the men who were paid to manage the affairs of the government: specifically the members of the scribal service and financial officers (kalemiye), along with the ubiquitous secretaries who accompanied every bureau in the empire. […] It is not until the reign of Süleyman in the sixteenth century that the kalemiye and the government as a whole may properly be called a bureaucracy. As the Ottoman armies pushed west into Hungary and Austria and south and east to the Indian Ocean, the influx of new territories brought about increases in the bureaucracy’s size, influence and degrees of specialization and professionalization. So while the origins of the Ottoman bureaucracy lay in the patrimonial house of the sultan and while its general contours reflect this fact, the administration developed characteristics of an impersonal, predictable and rationalized organization as it expanded. This process of bureaucratization did not come about immediately or easily. It took time, and people continued to rely on patrimonial relations to advance in rank while adopting bureaucratic styles. The transition mostly took place during Süleyman’s reign, although, once established, bureaucracy continued to coexist with elements of patrimonialism for centuries. […] Looking at the core regions of the empire, we quickly get a sense of the bureaucratic features of Ottoman rule that had formed by the end of the sixteenth century. In these regions, administrators and judges were appointed from the capital on a rotating basis, rules of office were codified and passed down, training was formalized, career lines and hierarchies were present, and universalistic principles as well as an ‘ethos’ of office – being an Ottoman bureaucrat – were all in evidence. Elements of the system – which had roots in the traditions of Near Eastern and Islamic governance as well as Byzantine land practices – were already discernable in the fourteenth century when the house of Osman was still an Anatolian principality."
[1]
[1]: (Barkey 2016: ) Barkey, K. 2016. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923): The Bureaucratization of Patrimonial Authority. In Crooks and Parsons (ed) Empires and Bureaucracy in World History: From Late Antiquity to the Twentieth Century pp. 102-126. Cambridge University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/JGQJ29PI/library
Ulema means "scholars" - they are scholars of the Quran and the holy law, but not priests in the sense of rituals etc. But one should discuss this categorisation with an expert on Islam. [1]
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Religious judges called kadis.
[1]
Military judges (kadi’asker) were the "chief judges of the Empire, who were responsible for judicial matters that came before the council."
[2]
First one dated to Murad I.
[3]
[1]: (Shaw 1976)
[2]: (Imber 2002, 157) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[3]: (Imber 2002, 159) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
Law at this stage was dominated by tribal custom rather than religious authorities.
[1]
It was Mehmet II who "promulgated the first systematic legal codes dealing with the organization of the state and the obligations of subjects."
[2]
But there is the huge corpus of islamic law integrated into the Ottoman realm during this period.
[3]
Coded switchover at time capital moved to Bursa.
[1]: (Shaw 1976)
[2]: (Lapidus 2012, 439)
[3]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Law at this stage was dominated by tribal custom rather than religious authorities.
[1]
It was Mehmet II who "promulgated the first systematic legal codes dealing with the organization of the state and the obligations of subjects."
[2]
But there is the huge corpus of islamic law integrated into the Ottoman realm during this period.
[3]
Coded switchover at time capital moved to Bursa.
[1]: (Shaw 1976)
[2]: (Lapidus 2012, 439)
[3]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Fiqh (islamic jurisprudence) knows courts. [1] (However, judges could also conduct business from their homes -- it would be good to have a reference. )
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Literate society: "The first Ottoman college was established in Iznik in 1331, when scholars were invited from Iran and Egypt to augment Muslim instruction in the new territories." [1] The Ottomans integrated the traditions of classical Arabic and Persian literature - but original own works start mostly in the later period. [2]
[1]: (Lapidus 2012, 440)
[2]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
The Ottomans integrated the traditions of classical Arabic and Persian literature - but original own works start mostly in the later period. [1]
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Literate society: "The first Ottoman college was established in Iznik in 1331, when scholars were invited from Iran and Egypt to augment Muslim instruction in the new territories." [1] The Ottomans integrated the traditions of classical Arabic and Persian literature - but original own works start mostly in the later period. [2]
[1]: (Lapidus 2012, 440)
[2]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Literate society: "The first Ottoman college was established in Iznik in 1331, when scholars were invited from Iran and Egypt to augment Muslim instruction in the new territories." [1] The Ottomans integrated the traditions of classical Arabic and Persian literature - but original own works start mostly in the later period. [2]
[1]: (Lapidus 2012, 440)
[2]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
The first works of Ottoman historiography come from the later 15th century. [1] The Ottomans integrated the traditions of classical Arabic and Persian literature - but original own works start mostly in the later period. [1] Coding inferred present because the written document does not have to be original to the polity. It can be republished work, or existing text that is kept and consulted.
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Literate society: "The first Ottoman college was established in Iznik in 1331, when scholars were invited from Iran and Egypt to augment Muslim instruction in the new territories."
[1]
The Ottomans integrated the traditions of classical Arabic and Persian literature - but original own works start mostly in the later period.
[2]
[1]: (Lapidus 2012, 440)
[2]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
"Ottoman strategy relied on mobility and offensive tactics during their era of expansion, but from the second half of the 17th century, as they lost the tactical initiative, the Turks were increasingly obliged to rely on elaborate field fortifications." [1] Present, see description of Battle of Nikopolis 1396 CE. [2]
[1]: (Nicolle 1983, 6)
[2]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
later, yes. [1]
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
later, yes. [1]
[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Budluk cuisse, cebe hauberk, cevsen lamellar cuirass, cebe cevsen "which was perhaps an early form of mail-and-split cuirass." zirh mail hauberk and zirh kulah mail coif. [1] Illustration of "West Anatolian infantryman, first half 14th C." shows chainmail. [2]
[1]: (Nicolle 1983, 23)
[2]: (Nicolle 1983, Plate A)
Capture of Imrali island in the Sea of Marmara 1308 CE "may have been the Ottomans’ first seaborne adventure." First fleet was "built and crewed by ex-Byzantine sailors and manned by gazi warriors." [1] Mehmed II (1444-1446 CE and 1451-1481 CE) was the first Sultan to build up large naval forces. [2]
[1]: (Nicolle 1983, 24)
[2]: (Hodgson 1961, 563)
Capture of Imrali island in the Sea of Marmara 1308 CE "may have been the Ottomans’ first seaborne adventure." First fleet was "built and crewed by ex-Byzantine sailors and manned by gazi warriors." [1] Mehmed II (1444-1446 CE and 1451-1481 CE) was the first Sultan to build up large naval forces. [2]
[1]: (Nicolle 1983, 24)
[2]: (Hodgson 1961, 563)