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HIST 146: History of the Middle East Ch. Constantinople was the capital of the Eastern Roman world The first remarkable ruler was Osman People during this time were mostly nomadic, their wealth consisting of camels, horses, and sheep Some raised crops, bartered in local markets, exchanging animals, forest products, and captives for goods Contacts with Muslims were: o Mainly raiders encountered in skirmishes o Wandering Muslim holy men o Merchants Commercial contact was the most influential in the long process of conversion By the end of the 10th^ century, Islam was securely established among the Oghuz Turks Seljuks Once converted to Islam, the Turks began expansion under the leadership of the Seljuks They started as military bands hired by Muslim princes They thrust themselves into settled centers and caused Baghdad, the seat of the caliphate, to fall They created a new empire in the Islamic heartland Their regime was sustained by a military class supported through land grants in return for service This aristocracy was threatened by nomadic Turks known as the Turcomens They hated the civilization of High Islam since it was identified in their minds with the evils of taxation and religious orthodoxy They were impelled by the love of booty and the desire to spread the faith of the prophet Muhammad They preferred the freer atmosphere of the frontier where they could more easily satisfy their yearnings for loot and independence The Seljuks encouraged the Turcomans to raid and plunder the eastern provinces of the Byzantine empire in Anatolia in order to divert them from settled Islamic areas Ghazis were warriors of the faith who inhabited the military border between Byzantium and Islam The duty of the Ghazi was to extend the Islamic territory, at the expense of the land inhabited by the non-Muslims
Wealth captured in these types of war was, according to the religious law of Islam, the sharia, lawful booty, and the inhabitants of the area could be enslaved or massacred As the number of ghazis increased, the attacks became more frequent, penetrating deeper into the Byzantine Empire When Romanus IV became emperor in 1068, he carried the battle to the ghazis with renewed vigor and success The Byzantines were so successful that the Seljuk sultan, Alp Arslan, was compelled to march into Anatolia at the head of the army o Direct confrontation was contrary to Seljuk policy Arslan had hoped to avoid a clash with Byzantium in order to concentrate his military strength on expansion in Syria and Palestine Conquest and settlement were accomplished not by the regular Seljuk army, but by the Ghazis These warriors began to wrest control of Anatolia from the Byzantine hands The border regions rose in rebellion, and the Byzantine defense system collapsed Faced with little resistance, the ghazis were successful, and attracted more ghazis The Seljuk government decided to incorporate under its own control all the newly conquered regions of Anatolia The government sent a prince, Suleiman ibn Kutulmush, of the ruling house to go and govern o His father had lost his life in a rebellion against the head of the dynasty, and posting the son to Anatolia would rid the dynasty of an undesirable Suleiman saw this as an opportunity to establish a firm base of personal support He hoped to build an army against the Turcomans and march towards the Muslim world and claim it as his own He negotiated with the Byzantine government o They expected him to keep the Turcomans under control in return for the right to settle his troops in the conquered areas He marched against Aleppo to conquer the central Muslim world, but was met with strong opposition and was killed in battle After his death, the army retreated to Anatolia Seljuks of Rum In the middle of the 12th^ century, descendents of Suleiman began to look upon Anatolia as the area where they would carve out their kingdom They focused their energy on central Anatolia and founded Rum o Muslim term used to designate Asian provinces of the Roman empire under the Byzantine rule
Ghazi raids soon revealed the weakness and therefore intensified their drive in the face of crumbling resistance Many Greek inhabitants felt deserted by the Byzantine forces, and therefore turned to the Ghazis Western Asia Minor was now almost entirely in the hands of the Turks, who were organized into Turkish ghazi emirates, or “principalities” These emirates were the products of borderland warfare and were imbued with the ghazi spirit The Emirate of Osman Smaller and less powerful then the other emirates Achieved lasting fame by forging the borderland principality into the Ottoman Empire What spared this emirate was the fact that it was the ghazi state par excellence Its borders were smack up against the Byzantine defense and it faced stronger resistance The emirates stature rose among its peers, especially after Osman and his ghazis defeated a large Byzantien force His fame spread and he attracted many followers, who all owed loyalty to Osman His followers became known as the Ottomans Martyrdom and glory were not the only rewards available o Wealth too was to be had for the Ottoman territories straddled the important caravan trade route between Konya and Constantinople Orhan Osman blockaded Bursa, Iznik, and Nicomedia Their capture was left to his son and successor Orhan Orhan chose Bursa as his capital and it remained the Ottoman chief seat In 1336 Orhan took advantage of a succession struggle to absorb the adjacent Emirate of Karasi, thereby extending his territory As a ghazi state, the Ottoman empire was geared for conquest It constantly had to expand, gain new territory, and provide new outlets for the energies of the ghazi The straits were a physical barrier and were soon overcome by the ghazis who were urged by psychological, religious, and economic motives Once the Ottomans had seen the loot to be had in the Balkans, they believed in “do unto others before other do unto you” These Ottoman expeditions were directed by Orhan’s eldest son, Suleiman In March 1354 an earthquake wrecked the walls of nearby fortress towns
This provided the Ottomans with a secure base from which to expand into the Balkans A steady stream of ghazis poured from Anatolia into the newly captured regions o The Turks were settling in for a long stay Suleiman’s accidental death in 1357 did not halt the Ottoman’s advance o Suleiman’s younger brother Murad took over as commander It was Ottoman practice to entrust young princes with the responsibility of command These princes were schooled in the affairs of government Murad’s warriors took the stronghold of Edirne in 1361 In 1365, Murad moved the capital from Bursa to Edirne to expedite the consolidation of Ottoman conquests in the west Ottoman Methods of Conquest The Ottoman’s expansion in the Balkans was facilitated by both the internal situation they encountered and their methods of conquest The Balkans were not politically unified and their inhabitants were incapable of presenting the Ottomans with unified resistance The Balkans gained a semblance of unity in 1350 through the creation of a Serbian empire There were two stages to Ottoman conquest o Sought to establish some form of control over adjacent territories in the path of their expansion These territories were subdued and then reduced to the status of tributary vassals They were required to provide troops for the campaign o The Ottomans eliminated the local ruling vassal and formally annexed territories The establishment of direct control involved the introduction of the timar system This entailed a survey of all inhabitants and revenue producing property within the domain This information was recorded in registers Rights to share in the income produced through taxation were granted to the sultan’s loyal supporters Those right were known as timars, and the man who received such a right was called a timariot The timar had to campaign as a mounted and fully armed warrior Through the timar system, the Ottomans created a gentry class that was loyal to the sultan
He also sought to bring more remote Balkan areas, such as Hungary, into tributary relationships in preparation for their annexation He accomplished his objectives through a series of brilliant military campaigns His objective was to create a Ottoman Empire Two factors favored Bajazet’s attempt at empire building o The internal socioeconomic and religious situation in the Balkans o Bajazet’s reliance upon the traditions of high Islam that served to strengthen centralized government and administration The Balkan peasants, subordinated to a ruling aristocracy that knew no limits to its authority, was ground down under the excessive burden of feudal dues heavier than other peasants There was deep seated religious animosity between the Orthodox and Latin Christian churches The social, economic, and religious problems tended to fuse as the rulers of the Byzantine Empire sought the aid of the West against the Ottomans and held out the possibility of church union in return for the assistance The peasants remained loyal to the Orthodox church and they preferred the Ottoman rule The Balkan military aristocracy also gained from the change to direct Ottoman control Bajazet granted timars to many members of the Balkan military aristocracy He also swept aside the confusing mass of feudal dues previously exacted in services , converting them into manageable cash payments The peasants now had a protector in the form of the centralizing Ottoman government o The Ottoman Empire kept an eye out for abuses in the system Sultans also built roads, improved communications, and kept the frontier troops under street discipline By 1394, Bajazet had reduced Anatolian opposition to Ottoman centralization to two main centers o Konya and Sivas Sought to subdue the Balkans through attacks spearheaded by the ghazis and campaigns by the regular army o Regular army was led by the sultan The sultan was able to preserve his image of the great ghazi leader who constantly expanded Islam by conquering land In 1394 he blockaded Constantinople In 1395 he personally led an invasion of Hungary and placed his own candidate on the throne of Walachia
Europe could no longer ignore Bajazet’s audacity and the threat he posed and they set out to save Constantinople His victory allowed him to turn his attention back to Anatolia where the Karamanids had taken advantage of his preoccupation in the Balkans in order to expand their territory Victory again went to Bajazet as he took Konya in 1397 His blockade of the imperial city might have resulted in its capture had he been able to continue undisturbed, but the Mongols invaded The Mongols tried to take Anatolia but Bajazet received recognition of his claim to the title of the Sultan of Rum He was no longer a frontier warrior, but the ruler of a great Islamic state The Mongols decided to attack and the Ottomans were defeated Bajazet was taken captive and some say he committed suicide The Ottoman state that Bajazet worked on fell apart Bajazet’s Legacy Bajazet’s efforts to establish an empire failed He was responsible for the introduction of centralized government Developed the slave system Murad I is credited with organizing the first of the janissary units from prisoners of war Bajazet’s slaves further strengthened central authority by giving him a military force and administrative officers totally dependent on him Strengthened the religious establishment o Attracted Muslim teachers and scholars from neighboring Islamic states Mohammad the Conqueror He was not politically inexperienced He had been gaining experience in governmental affairs Sent to Edirne to be governor in Anatolia His policy had four essential points: o Must rid himself of Chandrali Halil Pasha Represented the traditions of High Islam o Reorganize the janissaries to eliminate any divisive elements and make them more dependent upon himself o Take Constantinople o Make the holy war the guiding principle of the state He could not acquire the loyalty and support necessary to move against Halil without first achieving a significant military victory
In the first campaign he brought Tabriz and Baghdad under his control o As soon as he turned his attention to Europe, the Safavids retook Tabriz In the second campaign, Suleiman retook Tabriz Decided to campaign in Hungary His death was kept a secret until his son Selim could assume the throne in Istanbul without interference Ch. 2 Ottoman Society and Institutions The ottomans didn’t realize that they had lost more than just a great ghazi with the death of Suleiman Under his son, Selim II, military pressure against the west was maintained on land The holy war was extended into new areas o North Africa became a major zone of confrontation between the Ottomans and the Hapsburgs The empires golden age began to come to its end Many would lay the blame upon the corruption of the empire’s classic institutions that had flowered in Suleiman’s reign There was a system of government and a social structure that drew inspiration from three major systems o Steppe traditions of Central Asia o Ghazi ideal o Traditions of High Islam as influenced by Persian practices Steppe, Ghazi, and Class The steppe tradition contributed principally the notion that sovereignty was the prerogative of a single family chosen by god to bear the burden of rule Among the Ottomans, the descendants of Osman ruled in unbroken succession The Ottoman sultans were impelled by the ghazi urge to conquer the infidel lands for Islam The Ottoman state owed its existence and power to conquest The conquered areas were administered in accordance with the social, religious, and political practices and the fiscal procedures of earlier Islamic states Early Islamic society had been characterized by a kind of social equalitarianism o That trait quickly disappeared Askeris and Reaya
Dividing lines within the society existed Ottoman society was divided into two segments o Askeris Military Sovereign power resided in the will of the sultan, but the practical necessity of governing an expanding state required the sultan to delegate some of his authority Those who exercised that authority or served the sultan had askeri status Surrounded by privileges Tax exemption o Reaya The subjects Produced the wealth that supported the military class Made up of peasants, town and city dwellers, and nomads Had laws that regulated their dress and prevented them from riding horses or carrying swords The sultan could elevate a member of the Reaya to Askeris status The askeri-reaya division was a fundamental characteristic of Ottoman society Timars and Timar-Holders In return for military service, they were granted incomes derived from agricultural tax revenues collected from the provinces Those incomes were called timars The men who held them were timariots Until the reign of Mohammad II most of the timariots were men had been born Muslims or were the slaves of the sultan A number of Christians were also granted timars These Christians were members of the Balkan military aristocracy who had managed to preserve their privileged status under the new Ottoman dispensation Many realized that their future would be assured if they converted to Islam and become assimilated into the askeri class By granting timars to their cavalrymen, the Ottoman sultans solved the problem of maintaining a large military force without huge outlays of cash Paying their troops with timars rather than with cash relieved the central treasury of an enormous burden The timariots also performed important functions on the local level in the provincial administration
They were concerned with all matters related to income In time of campaign, many of the bureaucratic personnel accompanied the army into the field to accomplish the paperwork necessitated by warfare The grand vizier occasionally assumed the role of commander in chief when the sultans generally refrained from campaigning personally During the reign of Suleiman, the bureaucracy was staffed almost completely by men who were born Muslim Upon entering the bureaus, the apprentices were taught their trade, the format of various state documents Justice Another fundamental feature of the imperial divan was its role in the dispensation of justice Needed to ensure that justice reigned throughout the land Between the rise of the Ottoman Empire and the reign of Suleiman two crucial changes took place as Ottoman society became more sophisticated and complex o Thorough Islamization of the askeri class With the disappearance of the Christian timariot, the condition for membership into the askeri class was to profess the faith of Islam The reaya consisted of both Muslims and non-Muslims A Muslim reaya did not have to pay the capitation tax The reaya were organized into legally recognized religious communities Each had own religious leader Individual members related to the central government and their leader was responsible for tax allocations and collection, community education, and intracommunal legal matters Muslim reaya felt themselves superior to their non-Muslim fellow reaya o Dual process of diversification and stratification that took place within the askeri class The askeri class was composed of men who served the sultan within clearly defined careers Military, bureaucracy, and religion The devshirme and the palace educational enterprise were designed to prepare people for the sultan’s service who placed nothing above him For highly placed officials in the military to preempt positions for their own sons was to undermine one of the state’s fundamental pillars by making the family more important than the sultan
Career specializations and the education necessary for success in a chosen career combined to produce within the broader askeri class and elite whose members deserve to be called the true Ottomans To be ottoman one must: Serve the state o Working for the government in a position that gave the privileged status Serve the religion o Being a Muslim Know the ottoman way o Completely conversant with the High Islamic cultural tradition Social Nobility For someone born a non-Muslim below the status of askeri, the path to Ottoman status would involve first becoming a Muslim and then moving up from reaya to askeri through education and career This objective was most simply accomplished through the devshirme o A boy levied in the devshirme would become a Muslim o If fortunate enough to be chosen for service in the palace, would ultimately find a place in the military hierarchy within the Ottoman elite o At the very least this boy would become a janissary and be one of the askeri class Rising into another class was not always easy o The upward climb for the Muslim youth usually involved finding an Ottoman sponsor early enough to make the proper education feasible Entrance into the askeri could be done by volunteering for campaign in the hope of displaying courage and being rewarded with the grant of a timar Sons bore to men already in the Ottoman elite, their fathers would see to their education and had the necessary connections to launch their offspring on Ottoman careers
