Pluralism in the Ottoman Empire Research Assignment

Ottoman Empire Legal Pluralism
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Introduction
Founded by Osman I, the Ottoman Empire represents one of the largest imperial projects in the human history. The empire ruled over vast regions and territories within the North of Africa, Middle East and parts of the Balkans. The reign of the empire lasted over five centuries, making it one of the largest and longest rules over such vast territories. During the rule of the Ottoman, there was quite some emphasis on the sustenance of the Islamic civilization. It was quite common for the outsiders and the insiders to have element of mistrust for one another. In most of the cases the outsiders would be viewed as a threat to the empire. This was especially the case when considering the non-Muslims in the empire. These were the outside and even they, did not have much trust for the empire. For the empire this represented the element of security, where they much relied on their Muslim believes to drive most of the aspects of the society at the time (Yapp & Shaw, 2017). However towards the end of the existence of the empire this was viewed as a means to corrupt the society and more importantly a means to decadence. It is however important to note that towards the end of the empire there had been some efforts that went into trying to bring about democracy. The process was later sabotaged by the young Turks. At the same time the empire was suffering from massive debt as such it was trying to move away from the European politics. In this effect, it joined forces with Germany in a bid to improve trade and commerce. This was an alignment that was strategic given the fact that, this is the only partner at the time who had healthy trade operations with the empire (In Nielsen, 2012). As such the ottoman empire was trying to make sure it could survive the politics and the dynamics in the society with reference to the factions of the empire that were now feeling disgruntled by the arrangements and the Islam approaches. Of interest in this paper is the relationship of the various religions in the empire. This is with reference to the Jews, Christians and the Islam within the millet system (Yapp & Shaw, 2017). These were the main relations in the empire the way they interacted also defined the way the empire formulated policies and also related with the external world. Using legal pluralism the Ottoman Empire was able to build a dominant Islamic state while maintaining peace and tranquility among the religions.
Organization of the Empire
The empire’s success is largely associated with the element of organization that they used to rule over the rest of their territories. Their organization was based on a hierarchy with the Sultan at the top of the power ladder. The Sultan was also the Caliph and below him were the Viziers, court officials and then the military commanders. The sultan made sure that the empire experienced the element of justice for the occupants. However there was also a body that was referred to as the Diwan which tasked with observing the sultan. There was some element of openness in the empire given that the sultan made effort to collect polls on the popular opinions of the people. It was also quite interesting to note that, even the popular laws and the taxes would be posted in the public forums so that all the people had the chance to get in touch with the content (Yapp & Shaw, 2017). The provinces had been previously governed by the military leaders who in most of the cases would pass the positions to their offspring. Later on however, there were pashas who were appointed, after which there was the subdivision of the provinces into smaller units which were now supervised by the Beys. On the other hand the leaders of the millets were the legal protectors of the religious minorities (Quataert, 2005). They were also tasked with the tax collection and overseeing the legal system at the community levels. In some of the instances, there was a strong cohesive relationship however at times they would also crush and have very volatile relations.
Culture
One of the main illustrations that comes from the Ottoman Empire is the fact that, the Turks had some high levels of tolerance for other alien cultures and religions. This was especially the case when considering the Christian west (Barkey, 2017). As the Turks drove the Byzantines away from Anatolia and pursued them to Europe, they were able to observe some of the cultures of the outsiders and they liked them. As such, they ended up incorporating some of them in their culture to create a unique Ottoman culture. Even after the Constantinople capture which was later dubbed Istanbul, the Turks did not destroy the churches and left them intact. However, much of this changed after the rule of the rule of the young Turks took precedence between the years 1908 and 1918 (Barkey, 2017). At the time, the sultan became sidelined and the treatment of the non-Muslims and non-Turks also deteriorated.
Ottoman Empire Jews
For most of the Jews that did not have the freedom to practice their religion in Europe, the Ottoman Empire was the refuge. This was also the case for the Jews that were expelled from Spain in the year 1492, where they found refuge in the Balkans and even in the Ottoman territories. This was after the sultan had decreed that they should be welcomed. It is also important to note that several of the Jews and even Christians came to hold some very significant positions in the society such as becoming ambassadors as well as court physicians. In some of the cases the Christians and the Jews would even become viziers during the time of the empire (Barkey, 2017).
Ottoman Empire Christians
Like the Jews, the Christians as well were given the chance to hold some very significant positions in the empire. Given the impact that the millet system had on the society at the time, there was some element of autonomy, where the minority were given the chance to rule over themselves with reference to the personal laws and the legal systems between the different religions (Barkey, 2017). The Ottoman government did not have much interference on the various institutions that were held and operated by the other religions such as the Christians.
Millet system of the Ottoman Empire
By the nineteenth century the empire had an estimated 14 millets, with the main ones being the Greeks, Jews, Armenians, Georgian orthodox, and gypsies among others. Through the millet system, the minority tribes and religions were given the freedom to achieve their very best without much interference from the empire authorities. The groups of the minority religions under the various millets were spread out across the empire and as such, the element of freedom could not be attributed to territories or leadership.
‘Once millet arrangements were agreed upon, they were maintained by religious or secular intermediaries from each community, enforced by incentives and punishments. As the key brokers between the state and the millets, these intermediaries strategically behaved as boundary managers, maintaining peace and order by actively and efficiently monitoring relations across religious and community lines. Fear on and Laitin, in their work on issues of interethnic peace, call such arrangements “institutionalized in-group policing,” where leaders successfully police not only activity with in their communities but also transactions among communities. In order to keep intergroup relations from blowing up into large-scale ethnic conflict, the state empowered intermediaries, whether religious or secular leaders, to monitor internal community affairs in return for continued benefits and autonomy. Community leaders who maintained peace and paid their dues on time would be rewarded with continued appointment and increased opportunities for wealth. Leaders whose communities were embroiled in violence or who were unable to collect taxes lost their livelihoods and, quite often, their heads.’ (Barkey, 2017)
Legal Pluralism and the Impact on the Empire
The legal systems in the empire was integrated in a s...