The Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire: Focus on Society


By the 16th century, the vast and mighty empire of the Ottomans
had reached the zenith of its power. The lands under Ottoman
rule stretched from the heart of Central Europe to the deserts of
Arabia. In nearly every respect, the Ottoman Empire was strong
and well-organized. As such, it comes as no surprise that the
people under Ottoman rule were organized in a neat power
structure as well. From the royal Sultan to the villagers in the
rayyah class, the people of the Empire each had a unique position
in Ottoman society.
At the very top of the pyramidal societal structure was the
Sultan, absolute commander of all, and executor of decisions
concerning politics and state wealth (for the purposes of serving
the state's interests). A step below the Sultan were a small
group of wealthy, esteemed leaders, who were ascribed special
status because they were essentially the Sultan's "slaves". The
main duties of this select little group were to protect and
enlarge the financial assets of the state for the benefit of
the Sultan and the Empire. These leaders also ruled and defended
the far-flung Ottoman Empire.
While the Sultan invested wealth and the leaders protected it,
the majority of commoners, the rayyahs, had the task of actually
producing the wealth. The rayyahs had to pay part of their
profits from industry, commerce, and farming to the state in the
form of taxes. Townsfolk, villagers, and pastoral peoples made up
the eclectic mix of the rayyah class. The word "rayyah" literally
translates into "the protected flock of the Sultan".
While Ottoman society was clearly divided into distinct social
classes, these classes were neither closed nor confining, meaning
that with the proper attributes and luck, a man could raise his
social status. For example, to be a member of the small ruling
class below the Sultan, one had to possess the following three
qualities:

- deep-rooted patriotism and loyalty for the Empire and the
Sultan.
- acceptance and practice of Islam, which was integrated into the
Ottoman lifestyle.
- knowledge and practice of the Ottoman Way, which consisted of
complex customs, behavior, and language.

If a rayyah possessed these qualities, he had a chance of
becoming one of the numbered leaders. On the other hand, if a
leader appeared to be lacking one or more of these qualities, he
could just as easily be removed from his position and sink to
being a rayyah again. The shaping force behind the Ottoman Empire
was most definitely the religion of Islam. As a result, religion
became a foremost guiding factor in people's lives. To maintain
religious harmony and unity among the diverse Muslim and non-
Muslim sects of the Empire, the rayyah class were given the right
to organize themselves as they wished. What happened next is that
people gravitated towards religion-dictated groups. The people of
each important religion and/or sect organized themselves into
self-centered, self-governing communities called millets.
Millets were like mini-states, that regulated smaller civic
matters such as marriages, deaths, etc. In a sense, the Ottoman
Empire was like the United States is today; a powerful "federal"
government that ruled from the seat of power in Istanbul, while
"millet state" governments ruled over their small vicinities. The
significance of millets is that they kept diverse peoples from
clashing too much, since each cultural/religious group maintained
a dignified distance from each other. This is not to say that the
populace of the Ottoman Empire could not get along together
though. The people of the Ottoman Empire were united through
other common interests, morals, and ideals, as well as by an
overwhelming unanimous loyalty to the Sultan himself.
Such was the harmonious and organized society of the Ottoman
Empire, the huge empire that left its mark on Turkey - and the
world - forever. Neatly categorized into unique positions, each
individual in the Ottoman Empire had his or her own part to play
in society, a role to fulfill in order to contribute to the
overall success of the state.

Word Count: 614