Daily Life In The Ottoman Empire

DAILY LIFE IN

 

THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

 

MEHRDAD KIA

 

To

my mother, Kiadokht Kia

 

It is certain that Europeans . . . resident in Turkey [are]
as ignorant of all that relates to her political economy, her system of
government, and her moral ethics, as [if] they had never left their own country
. . . If you succeed in prevailing on them to speak on the subject, they never
progress beyond exanimate and crude details of mere external effects . . . It
is a well-attested fact that the entrée of native houses, and intimacy with
native families, are not only extremely difficult, but in most cases impossible
to Europeans; hence the cause of the tissue of fables which, like those of
Scheherazade, have created genii and enchanters . . . in every account of the
East. The European mind has become so imbued with ideas of Oriental
mysteriousness, mysticism, and magnificence, and it has been so long accustomed
to pillow its faith on the marvels and metaphors of tourists, that it [is] to
be doubted whether it will willingly cast off its old associations, and suffer
itself to be undeceived.

Julia
Pardoe,
The City of the Sultan

 

 

CONTENTS

 

Note
on Pronunciation, Transliteration, and Spelling

Introduction

Chronology

1.
      
Historical
Overview

2.
      
Sultan and
the Palace

3.
      
Governing
an Empire

4.
      
Cities,
Towns, and Villages: Merchants,

5.
      
Craftsmen,
and Peasants

6.
      
Religious
Communities

7.
      
Muslims

8.
      
Islamic Law
and Education

9.
      
Sufi Orders
and Popular Culture

10.
   
Courtship
and Marriage

11.
   
Sex and
Family

12.
   
Eating,
Drinking, Smoking, and Celebrating

13.
   
Games and
Popular Sports

14.
   
Sickness,
Death, and Dying

 

 

NOTE ON PRONUNCIATION, TRANSLITERATION,
AND SPELLING

 

The multiplicity of languages used in the Ottoman Empire
and the varieties of spelling that were adopted throughout centuries present a
number of problems, making complete consistency impossible. With a few
exceptions, I have used the modern Turkish spelling system. I have not,
however, applied Turkish spellings and pronunciations to non-Turkish words.
Thus, Sharif (Arabic) has not been spelled as Şerif (Turkish); and Shah (Persian),
not Şah (Turkish).

 

c (Turkish)

j (English)

ç (Turkish)

ch (English)

ö (Turkish)

ö (German)

ş (Turkish)

sh (English)

ü (Turkish)

ü (German)

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Much has been written about the rise, decline, and fall of
the Ottoman Empire and the achievements of its greatest and most charismatic
rulers, Mehmed II (1444 –1446, 1451–1481), the conqueror of Constantinople;
Selim I (1512–1520), who brought the Arab Middle East and Egypt under Ottoman
rule; and Süleyman the Magnificent (1520–1566), who led his armies to the gates
of Vienna after conquering Belgrade and Budapest. Historians have also written
extensively about the causes for the decline of the Ottoman state, which began
at the end of the 16th century, and the military defeats that the empire
suffered at the hands of European powers, forcing Ottoman sultans and statesmen
to introduce administrative, political, social, economic, and educational
reforms throughout the 19th century.

For nearly six centuries, the Ottoman
dynasty ruled a vast empire that at the height of its power stretched from
Budapest on the Danube to Basra at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, and from
Crimea on the northern shores of the Black Sea to Tunis on the southern shores
of the Mediterranean. In Europe, the empire comprised Crimea, Hungary, Podolia,
Transylvania, Moldavia, Wallachia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Herzegovina,
Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, as well as the Aegean Isles, Crete, and
Cyprus, while in Asia it ruled Anatolia, the Arab Middle East as far south as
the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden, as well as parts of southern Caucasus.
Finally, in North Africa, the Ottomans controlled Egypt, Libya (Tripoli and
Benghazi), Tunisia, and Algeria.

The population of the empire included Turks, Tatars,
Hungarians, Serbs, Montenegrins, Bosnians, Albanians, Romanians, Bulgarians,
Greeks, Georgians, Circassians, Abkhazians, Armenians, Arabs, Berbers, Kurds,
Jews, and many others. Each group possessed its own unique customs and
traditions that distinguished it from others. The majority of the population in
Anatolia, the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of the Balkans, such as
Bosnia and Albania, was Muslim, while the majority of the population in the
Balkans was Christian. The Jews lived predominantly in the urban centers of the
empire. Thus, ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity and heterogeneity
constituted the most basic characteristic of the state. To write a
comprehensive book on everyday life in the Ottoman Empire requires an in-depth
study of the traditions, customs, and beliefs of all the communities that lived
under Ottoman political and administrative control and whose cultures, habits,
and manners, differed so widely. The present monograph, however, is a far more
humble effort; it makes no pretense of using original documents or offering
bold new interpretations. It is designed to provide the general reader with a
series of selective representations of daily life in the Ottoman Empire.

The everyday life of the people of the Ottoman Empire
changed significantly during the six centuries that extended from the formation
of the state in the last decade of the 13th century to the collapse of the
empire in the aftermath of the First World War. As the Ottoman dominion
expanded from a small principality in western Anatolia to one of the largest
and most powerful empires in the world, its increasingly diverse population
grew, and patterns of social, economic, and cultural interaction underwent a
dramatic transformation. This transformation was further intensified in the
18th and 19th centuries as Ottoman society was impacted by the rise of
capitalism and a world economic system that battered down the walls of
traditional and pre-capitalist social formations. The daily life of an Ottoman
subject was greatly affected by the rise of market economy and the arrival of
European ideas, goods, and customs.

It is beyond the scope of this book to include the social
and cultural history of all the ethnic and linguistic communities who lived and
worked as the subjects of the sultan and analyze the profound changes that the
Ottoman society experienced throughout the six hundred years of its existence.
After providing the reader with a brief historical overview of the Ottoman
Empire in chapter 1, in chapter 2, I have discussed the role of the sultan and
the imperial palace in the daily life of the empire. In chapter 3, I have made
a short presentation on the Ottoman ruling elite, which managed the empire and
ensured the smooth functioning of the highly complex and stratified Ottoman
society that assigned exact functions to members of each social strata. From a
discussion of the Ottoman ruling elite, the book moves to a brief presentation
on three important social classes in the Ottoman society, namely the merchants,
the craftsmen, and the peasant farmers. Throughout chapter 4, the reader gets a
glimpse of everyday life in the rural and agricultural communities of the
empire as well as the internal structure of the urban economy, including the
central role played by the guilds. In chapter 5, I have analyzed the
millet
system,
which divided the subjects of the sultan into religious communities, including
the Orthodox Christians, the Armenians, and the Jews. From the non-Muslim
communities, we move to a discussion in chapter 6 on the teachings and the role
of Islam in the Ottoman Empire. As a religion that legislated and regulated all
aspects of a Muslim’s daily life, Islam had a profound and immediate impact on the
social, economic, and cultural institutions of the empire. Building on our
discussion of Islam in chapter 6, we move to a short presentation on Islamic
education and law in chapter 7. Islam was not, however, the only cultural and
spiritual force in the Ottoman Empire. Chapter 8 focuses on the Sufi or
mystical orders, which enjoyed enormous popularity and influence in the Ottoman
Empire, and, at times, challenged the cultural and ideological monopoly enjoyed
by the Islamic religious establishment. From this discussion of religious and
spiritual life, chapter 9 focuses on courtship and marriage, particularly among
the Muslim communities of the empire, and chapter 10 deals with sex, family,
childbirth, childrearing, circumcision, and divorce. In chapter 11, I have
presented an overview of the rich and diverse Ottoman cuisine. Although each
ethnic and religious community had its own rich culinary traditions, after
several centuries of living together and interacting with neighbors who had
also developed their own unique cuisine, a distinctive Ottoman cooking
tradition emerged. From food and popular drinks, the book moves in chapter 12
to a discussion of popular sports that enjoyed an enormous following among all
communities living in the Ottoman Empire. Finally, chapter 13 focuses on
sickness, dying, and death in the Ottoman Empire, introducing the popular
fears, superstitions, and healing methods prevalent among the empire’s diverse
communities.

 

 

CHRONOLOGY

 

1260–1310

The establishment
of Turcoman principalities in western Anatolia.

1326

Ottomans capture
Bursa.

1327

The first Ottoman
silver coin (akçe) is minted.

1331

Ottoman conquest
of Iznik (Nicaea).

1337

Ottoman conquest
of Izmit (Nicomedia).

1354

Ottomans take
Ankara and Gallipoli.

1361

Ottoman conquest
of Edirne (Adrianople).

1363–1365

Ottoman conquest
of southern Bulgaria and Thrace.

1371

Ottoman victory
over the Serbs at Chermanon.

1385

Ottoman conquest
of Sofia.

1387

Ottoman conquest
of Thessaloniki (Salonika/Salonica).

1388

A coalition of
Serbs, Bosnians, and Bulgarians defeat the Ottomans at Plošnik (Ploshnik).

1389

Battle of Kosovo
Polje. Ottoman sultan Murad I is killed.

1389–1392

Ottoman conquest
of Turcoman principalities of western Anatolia.

1394

Ottoman conquest
of Thessaly.

1396

Bayezid I defeats
a Crusader army at the Battle of Nicopolis.

1397

Bayezid I annexes
Karaman.

1398

Ottoman conquest
of the principality of Vidin.

1399

Ottoman conquest
of the Mamluk-held cities of Malatya and Elbistan in the Euphrates valley.

1402

Timur defeats
Bayezid I at the Battle of Ankara.

1402–1413

Interregnum. Sons
of Bayezid fight for Ottoman throne.

1413

Mehmed I unifies
Ottoman territories under his rule.

1413–1416

Revolt of Şeyh
Bedreddin.

1423–1430

Ottoman-Venetian
war.

1430

Ottomans capture
Salonika.

1437

Ottoman conquest
of the Turcoman principality of Hamidili.

1441–1442

John Hunyadi
defeats the Ottomans in Transylvania.

1443–1468

Rebellion of
George Kastrioti (Gjergi Kastrioti) also known as Iskender Beg (Skanderbeg)
in northern Albania.

1444

Ottomans defeat a
Crusader army at Varna.

1453

Ottoman conquest
of Constantinople.

1459

Mehmed II orders
the construction of Topkapi Palace.

1460–1461

Mehmed II orders
the construction of the Covered Bazaar in Istanbul.

1460

Ottoman conquest
of Morea.

1463

Ottomans capture
Bosnia.

1469–1474

Ottoman
pacification of Karaman.

1473

Mehmed II defeats
Uzun Hasan, the chief of Aq Qoyunlu.

1478

Crimean Tatars
accept Ottoman suzerainty.

1480

Ottoman conquest
of Herzegovina.

1481

Death of Mehmed
II.

1481–1483

War of Succession
between Prince Bayezid and Prince Cem ends with Bayezid’s victory.

1484

Bayezid II
attacks Moldavia and captures Kilia and Akkerman.

1484–1491

Ottoman-Mamluk
War.

1496

Ottomans enter
Montenegro.

1497–1499

War with Poland.

1501

Shah Ismail
seizes the throne of Iran and establishes the Safavid dynasty.

1504

Shah Ismail
captures Baghdad.

1512

Selim I forces
his father to abdicate.

1514

Selim I defeats
Shah Ismail at the Battle of Chaldiran.

1516

Ottoman conquest
of eastern Anatolia.

1516–1517

Selim I defeats
the Mamluks and captures Syria and

 

Egypt. The holy
cities of Mecca and Medina fall under Ottoman rule.

1520–1566

Reign of Süleyman
I.

1521

Ottomans capture
Belgrade.

1522

Ottoman conquest
of Rhodes.

1526

Süleyman I
defeats the Hungarians at the Battle of Mohács.

1529

Süleyman I
captures Buda.

1529

First Ottoman
siege of Vienna.

1534–1555

War with Safavid
Iran, culminating with the Treaty of Amasya.

1556

Construction of Süleymaniye
mosque-complex begins.

1570

Ottomans capture
Tunis and Nicosia.

1571

Ottomans are
defeated at the Battle of Lepanto by the Holy League.

1571

Ottoman conquest
of Cyprus.

1575

Selimiye
mosque-complex completed in Edirne.

1578–1590

War with Safavid
Iran.

1590s

Celali revolts
against the Ottoman central government in Anatolia.

1593–1606

War with
Habsburgs.

1596

Ottoman victory
at Mezökeresztes.

1603–1618

War with Safavid
Iran.

1603

Iran re-conquers
Tabriz.

1604

Iran captures
Yerevan (Erivan), Kars, and Shirvan.

1606

Peace treaty
between the Ottomans and Austrians at Zsitva-Torok.

1617

Sultan Ahmed
Mosque in Istanbul is completed.

1623

Iranian forces
capture Baghdad.

1624–1639

War with Safavid
Iran.

1638

Murad IV captures
Baghdad.

1644–1669

Ottoman war with
Venice over Crete.

1656–1661

Mehmed Köprülü
serves as grand vizier.

1660–1664

War with
Habsburgs.

1661–1676

Fazil Ahmed
Köprülü serves as grand vizier.

1663

Ottoman forces
are defeated near St. Gotthard.

1671–1672

War against
Poland.

1683

Second Ottoman
siege of Vienna.

1686

Habsburg forces
capture Buda.

1687

Venetian forces
invade Greece.

1688

Habsburg forces
capture Belgrade.

1690

Ottoman forces
recapture Belgrade.

1697

Ottomans are
defeated near Zenta.

1699

Treaty of
Karlowitz.

1709–1714

Charles XII of
Sweden seeks refuge at the Ottoman court after his defeat at the hands of the
Russians at Poltava.

1710–1711

War against
Russia.

1715–1718

War against the
Habsburgs and Venice.

1720s

Tulip Period.

1722

Fall of the
Safavid dynasty in Iran.

1724

Ottoman Empire
and Russia agree to partition northern and western Iran.

1724–1746

Ottoman military
campaigns in Iran.

1730

Patrona Halil
uprising.

1739

Treaty of
Belgrade.

1755

Nuruosmaniye
Mosque is completed in Istanbul.

1768–1774

War with Russia
culminates in the treaty of Küçük Kaynarca

1783

Russia annexes
the Crimea.

1787–1792

War with Russia.

1788–1791

War with Austria.

1791

Selim III
establishes the Nizam-i Cedid (New Army).

1798

French forces under
Napoleon Bonaparte invade Egypt.

1799

Napoleon returns
to France.

1805

Mohammad Ali
(Mehmed Ali) is appointed governor of Egypt.

1807

Selim III is
deposed.

1808

Selim III is
murdered. Mustafa IV is deposed.

1808–1839

Reign of Mahmud
II.

1820–1823

War against Qajar
Iran.

1821–1830

Greek revolt.

1826

Mahmud II
destroys the janissaries.

1828–1829

War against
Russia.

1830–1831

First Ottoman
census.

1830

France invades
Algiers.

1830

Serbia is
recognized as an autonomous principality.

1831

Mohammad Ali of
Egypt invades Syria.

1833

Egyptian army
arrives in Kütahya in western Anatolia after defeating Ottoman forces.

1833

Treaty of Hünkar
Iskelesi with Russia.

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