API tools faq
paste
Advertisement
jonstond2

Islam in the Ottoman Empire

jonstond2
Jan 11th, 2017
230
0
Never
Add comment
Not a member of Pastebin yet? Sign Up, it unlocks many cool features!
text 72.67 KB | None | 0 0
raw download clone embed print report
  1. Introduction
  2.  
  3. The Ottoman dynasty’s history can be traced from about 1300 to the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1923. At its greatest extent, the Ottoman Empire covered an enormous territory, including Anatolia, the Balkan region in Europe, most of the Arabic-speaking Middle East, and all of North Africa except for Morocco. As of the 1510s the empire had possession of Sunni Islam’s three holiest shrine cities—Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem. The Turkish-speaking Ottoman royal family, the administration it created, and the educational and cultural institutions it eventually favored were all Sunni Muslim. However, subordinate Christian and Jewish sects also coexisted with Islam, which enjoyed the support and favor of the state. While a tremendous amount of scholarly material is available on the history of the Ottomans, surprisingly little of a general nature has been written on the history of Islam in the Ottoman Empire. What has been published is often narrow in scope and frequently not theoretically based. The earliest period of Ottoman history contains the contentious issue of the role of Islam in the spreading of Ottoman rule beyond the small territory in northwest Anatolia where it began. Despite a dearth of reliable sources, several valuable studies have appeared recently that modify the earlier view that waging holy war against Christians was the chief impetus for Ottoman expansion. However, Ottoman sultans did appeal for political legitimacy on the basis of their sponsorship of Islamic buildings, institutions, pious foundations, and judicial institutions. Among the four main legal schools of Sunni Islam, the Ottomans favored the Hanafis. The Ottoman ruling establishment and the general Muslim population also had close links with Sufis (Islamic mystics). Among the main opponents of the Ottoman state was the Safavid Empire, a Shiʿi Muslim empire to the east of the Ottoman lands. Shiʿism and so-called Islamic heresies were major internal issues as well as an external threat for the Sunni Ottomans. One means of curbing Shiʿism, as well as promoting Sunni Islam, was through the patronage of the judicial system that was organized and formalized in a new manner by the Ottomans. The question of how much flexibility was available to judges and legal scholars has been a source of much controversy among scholars. Other Muslim institutions that received government support included schools and numerous charitable foundations, many of which owned extensive properties. The state also had a direct role in the training and promoting of the Sunni religious hierarchy. Even in the production of art, religion played a large role. Outside the Ottoman ruling elite, much is known about the religious conditions of town dwellers, thanks in large part to the archival records of Muslim courts. It is safe to assert that the role of Islam in everyday life was substantial. However, for the majority of Ottoman subjects, who lived in villages, there is less information available, and even less is known about nomadic groups. On the other hand, many fine studies now exist dealing with the history of urban Muslim Ottoman women. Returning to the study of political elites, accounts of the rise of secularism in the 19th-century Ottoman Empire have been heavily revised on the basis of new scholarship. Many researchers now point to a closer involvement of religion in the reforms that tried to save the empire from the destruction that ultimately overtook it at the end of World War I.
  4.  
  5. General Overviews
  6.  
  7. High-quality English-language surveys of Ottoman history have increased in number since the 1990s. While several such studies exist, Finkel 2006, a one-volume survey, is a good beginning point for readers. When completed, the Cambridge History of Islam, of which Faroqhi 2006 is one part, will perhaps replace Shaw and Shaw 1976 as the standard multivolume survey. Hathaway and Barbir 2008 deals with the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire. These authors, along with many others, have helped demolish the former interpretation that the Ottoman Empire in the 17th and 18th centuries witnessed little change. Few documentary films have been made on the subject of Islam and the Ottoman Empire. While Gardner 2000 is centered on political history, it does include some discussion and footage of religious sites. Overviews of Islam and the Ottomans are often informed by an anti-Muslim and anti-Ottoman bias. Such biased works were frequently written by post-Ottoman nationalists in the successor states of the empire. Two more balanced treatments that both specialize in the early Ottoman or pre-Ottoman period are Inalcik 1968–1970 and Itzkowitz 1972. Scholars specializing in Ottoman-Islamic topics have tended to avoid the politically charged question of the impact of this subject on the period after World War I. One exception to this pattern is Ochsenwald 1996.
  8.  
  9. Faroqhi, Suraiya N., ed. The Later Ottoman Empire, 1603–1839. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
  10. DOI: 10.1017/CHOL9780521620956Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  11. Part 3 of the new four-volume Cambridge History of Turkey. This volume and the series as a whole do not dwell considerably on the topic of Islam, but they can serve as detailed, multiauthored introductions to Ottoman history in its other aspects.
  12. Faroqhi, Suraiya N., ed. The Later Ottoman Empire, 1603–1839. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
  13. Find this resource:
  14. Finkel, Caroline. Osman’s Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire, 1300–1923. New York: Basic Books, 2006.
  15. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  16. The author has written for a general audience and in a lively style, even while incorporating the results of recent scholarship. She is most informative in regard to Anatolia.
  17. Finkel, Caroline. Osman’s Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire, 1300–1923. New York: Basic Books, 2006.
  18. Find this resource:
  19. Gardner, Robert, dir. Islam, Empire of Faith. Episode 3, The Ottomans. DVD. Washington, DC: Gardner Films in association with the Public Broadcasting System, 2000.
  20. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  21. A fifty-six-minute film made for American public television, directed and produced by Robert Gardner, with narration by Ben Kingsley. Though this film emphasizes military history, there is some coverage of religious matters, including part of its discussion of Sultan Suleyman.
  22. Gardner, Robert, dir. Islam, Empire of Faith. Episode 3, The Ottomans. DVD. Washington, DC: Gardner Films in association with the Public Broadcasting System, 2000.
  23. Find this resource:
  24. Hathaway, Jane, with Karl K. Barbir. The Arab Lands under Ottoman Rule, 1516–1800. Harlow, UK: Pearson, 2008.
  25. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  26. An important work on a time period often neglected. For the topic of Islam and the Ottoman Empire, the most significant sections are chapter 3 on the organization of provincial administration, chapter 6 on the men of religion and intellectual life, and chapter 10 on mysticism and the Wahhabi movement in Arabia.
  27. Hathaway, Jane, with Karl K. Barbir. The Arab Lands under Ottoman Rule, 1516–1800. Harlow, UK: Pearson, 2008.
  28. Find this resource:
  29. Inalcik, Halil. “Islam in the Ottoman Empire.” Cultura Turcica 5–7 (1968–1970): 19–29.
  30. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  31. Chiefly a review of the pre-Ottoman Turks’ experience with Islam.
  32. Inalcik, Halil. “Islam in the Ottoman Empire.” Cultura Turcica 5–7 (1968–1970): 19–29.
  33. Find this resource:
  34. Itzkowitz, Norman. Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition. New York: Knopf, 1972.
  35. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  36. Even though published in 1972, this work retains its utility as an outstanding, brief review of the early history of the Ottoman Empire.
  37. Itzkowitz, Norman. Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition. New York: Knopf, 1972.
  38. Find this resource:
  39. Ochsenwald, William. “Islam and the Ottoman Legacy in the Modern Middle East.” In Imperial Legacy: The Ottoman Imprint on the Balkans and the Middle East. Edited by L. Carl Brown, 263–283. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996.
  40. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  41. Both a sketch of the role of Islam in Ottoman history and an analysis of the subsequent impact of Ottoman Islam on Turkey and the Arab Middle East. This chapter also has been translated into Turkish as “Modern Ortadoğu’da Islam ve Osmanlı Mirası,” in Imparatorluk Mirası: Balkanlar’da ve Ortadoğu’da Osmanlı Damgası, edited by L. Carl Brown and translated by Gűl Gűven, 384–411 (Istanbul: Iletişim Yayınları, 2000).
  42. Ochsenwald, William. “Islam and the Ottoman Legacy in the Modern Middle East.” In Imperial Legacy: The Ottoman Imprint on the Balkans and the Middle East. Edited by L. Carl Brown, 263–283. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996.
  43. Find this resource:
  44. Shaw, Stanford J., and Ezel Kural Shaw. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. Vol. 1, Empire of the Gazis: The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire 1280–1808. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1976.
  45. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  46. While heavily criticized by reviewers for its emphasis on politics and administration, this work should still be consulted as an overview of Ottoman history. Volume 2, subtitled Reform, Revolution, and Republic: The Rise of Modern Turkey 1808–1975, was published in 1977.
  47. Shaw, Stanford J., and Ezel Kural Shaw. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. Vol. 1, Empire of the Gazis: The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire 1280–1808. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1976.
  48. Find this resource:
  49. Reference Works
  50.  
  51. Many of the most useful general reference sources are written in Turkish and intended for specialists. For readers of Turkish, the two Turkish-language encyclopedias of Islam are beginning points for research and study (Islam Ansiklopedisi 1940–1986 and Tűrkiye Diyanet Vakfı 1988–). For those who do not read Turkish, Ágoston and Masters 2009 is the first resource to consult. Ergene 2009 compiles and expands on articles drawn from the English-language Encyclopaedia of Islam, including coverage of judicial practice, institutions, officials, concepts, punishment, and police, thereby greatly simplifying the task of studying these topics. Faroqhi 1999 is an important survey of historiographical and bibliographical issues connected with Ottoman history; graduate students should consult this work before beginning extensive reading in the field. For the more advanced researcher, Pakalın 1946–1954 is a highly useful tool, since the meaning of many terms changed during the six hundred–year duration of the Ottoman Empire. Specialists will want to consult archives, libraries, museums, and institutes where original sources may be found. The Ottoman archives in Istanbul are affiliated with the office of the prime minister (başbakanlık) of the Turkish Republic. Guidance to the abundant holdings of the archives may be found in Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri 1995, while Unat 1994 is essential for calculating the relationship between the Islamic calendar and Common Era dates.
  52.  
  53. Ágoston, Gábor, and Bruce Masters, eds. Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Facts on File, 2009.
  54. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  55. Intended for college students, this work is useful for quick reference purposes and for beginning a bibliographical search.
  56. Ágoston, Gábor, and Bruce Masters, eds. Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. New York: Facts on File, 2009.
  57. Find this resource:
  58. Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri. Osmanlı Arşivi Katalogları Rehberi. Ankara, Turkey: Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri, 1995.
  59. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  60. (Guide to the catalogs of the Ottoman archives.) A guide for advanced researchers who plan to work in the Ottoman archives.
  61. Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri. Osmanlı Arşivi Katalogları Rehberi. Ankara, Turkey: Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri, 1995.
  62. Find this resource:
  63. Ergene, Boğaç A., ed. Judicial Practice: Institutions and Agents in the Islamic World. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2009.
  64. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  65. Compilation of articles from various editions of the English-language Encyclopaedia of Islam dealing with justice, officials, concepts, documents, punishments, and policing for the whole Muslim world, with bibliographies.
  66. Ergene, Boğaç A., ed. Judicial Practice: Institutions and Agents in the Islamic World. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2009.
  67. Find this resource:
  68. Faroqhi, Suraiya. Approaching Ottoman History: An Introduction to the Sources. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
  69. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511605710Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  70. Most useful for graduate students and specialists from other fields of research seeking an introduction to the field. Faroqhi is especially notable for her numerous publications on Ottoman social and institutional history in the period from around 1450 to 1800, a specialization reflected in the tenor of this book.
  71. Faroqhi, Suraiya. Approaching Ottoman History: An Introduction to the Sources. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
  72. Find this resource:
  73. Islam Ansiklopedisi. 13 vols. Istanbul: Maarif Basımevi, 1940–1986.
  74. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  75. (Encyclopedia of Islam.) Many of the articles are Turkish translations from the first edition of the English-language Encyclopaeda of Islam, but much new material dealing with Ottoman and Turkish subjects has been added.
  76. Islam Ansiklopedisi. 13 vols. Istanbul: Maarif Basımevi, 1940–1986.
  77. Find this resource:
  78. Pakalın, M. Zeki. Osmanlı Tarih Deyimleri ve Terimleri Sőzlűğű. 3 vols. Istanbul: Milli Eğitim Basımevi, 1946–1954.
  79. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  80. (Ottaman historical phrases and terms dictionary.) The standard reference work for terminology and the evolution of meanings in Ottoman history.
  81. Pakalın, M. Zeki. Osmanlı Tarih Deyimleri ve Terimleri Sőzlűğű. 3 vols. Istanbul: Milli Eğitim Basımevi, 1946–1954.
  82. Find this resource:
  83. Tűrkiye Diyanet Vakfı. Islam Ansiklopedisi. Istanbul: Tűrkiye Diyanet Vakfı, 1988–.
  84. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  85. (Encyclopedia of Islam.) An updated and revised version of the first Turkish-language Encyclopedia of Islam, published by the Turkish Religious Foundation. This ongoing current edition should be consulted before looking at the earlier version.
  86. Tűrkiye Diyanet Vakfı. Islam Ansiklopedisi. Istanbul: Tűrkiye Diyanet Vakfı, 1988–.
  87. Find this resource:
  88. Unat, Faik Reşit. Hicri Tarihleri Miladi Çevirme Kılavuzu. 7th ed. Ankara, Turkey: Tűrk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 1994.
  89. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  90. (A guide for changing Hijri to Christian-era dates.) This guide contains conversion tables from the Muslim lunar calendar to the Common Era calendar as well as for the calculation of equivalents to the Ottoman fiscal calendar.
  91. Unat, Faik Reşit. Hicri Tarihleri Miladi Çevirme Kılavuzu. 7th ed. Ankara, Turkey: Tűrk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 1994.
  92. Find this resource:
  93. Foundation of the Dynasty and State
  94.  
  95. Earlier authors, such as Paul Wittek, argued that the Ottoman dynasty owed its rapid expansion from about 1300 to 1453 to its role in fighting jihad (holy war for Islam) against the Christian Byzantine Empire. The Ottoman reputation for holy war on the frontier of Islam drew Muslim warriors to its ranks. Holy war could involve just gaza (raiding—Turkish, gaza; Arabic, ghaza) or full-fledged conquest. More recent interpretations claim that population pressure (Inalcik 1980) or tribal organization and dynamics (Lindner 1983) were more important factors. Kafadar 1995 argues that raiding was the primary motivation but for secular aggrandizement, not for religious reasons. Lowry 2003 takes this argument further by using the memorable phrase “predatory confederacy,” including both Muslims and some Christians as part of the early Ottoman frontier warrior force. Darling 2000 discusses the various arguments advanced by scholars about the religious or secular bases of the Ottoman state in a balanced manner and presents her own comparative analysis, in which she looks to earlier Iranian and Central Asian examples. Darling 2000 should be the beginning point for readers examining this issue.
  96.  
  97. Darling, Linda. “Contested Territory: Ottoman Holy War in Comparative Context.” Studia Islamica 91 (2000): 133–163.
  98. DOI: 10.2307/1596272Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  99. The author defines holy war as a process whose meaning changed with time. Similarly, different groups contested the meaning of gaza (raiding, including attacks on the frontier of Islam against non-Muslims). Early Ottomans were probably more influenced by raiding than holy war, but the causes of both gaza and holy war were related to pre-Ottoman patterns of behavior.
  100. Darling, Linda. “Contested Territory: Ottoman Holy War in Comparative Context.” Studia Islamica 91 (2000): 133–163.
  101. Find this resource:
  102. Inalcik, Halil. “The Question of the Emergence of the Ottoman State.” International Journal of Turkish Studies 2 (1980): 71–79.
  103. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  104. Population pressure from those fleeing the Mongols was the chief cause for the formation of Turkish mercenary units employed by the Byzantines. Thus the single most important cause of the rise of the Ottoman dynasty was secular rather than religious in nature. Available online.
  105. Inalcik, Halil. “The Question of the Emergence of the Ottoman State.” International Journal of Turkish Studies 2 (1980): 71–79.
  106. Find this resource:
  107. Kafadar, Cemal. Between Two Worlds: The Construction of the Ottoman State. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995.
  108. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  109. Turkish soldiers sought gaza, or raiding, desiring expansion and booty from the Christian Byzantines but not seeking to die in a holy war. Other factors also motivated the military groups founding the Ottoman and other Turkish states in western Anatolia, while motives and experiences changed over time.
  110. Kafadar, Cemal. Between Two Worlds: The Construction of the Ottoman State. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995.
  111. Find this resource:
  112. Lindner, Rudi Paul. Nomads and Ottomans in Medieval Anatolia. Bloomington, IN: Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, 1983.
  113. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  114. The author discounts both the holy warrior and gazi (raider) hypotheses and instead contends that tribal identity was the basis of the new Ottoman state.
  115. Lindner, Rudi Paul. Nomads and Ottomans in Medieval Anatolia. Bloomington, IN: Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, 1983.
  116. Find this resource:
  117. Lowry, Heath W. The Nature of the Early Ottoman State. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003.
  118. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  119. Since some Christians were gazis, raiders, the author argues that the Ottomans did not attach a Muslim religious significance to the term. The Ottomans were not gazis, nor were they fighters of the holy war; instead, they constituted a “predatory confederacy” seeking loot and power.
  120. Lowry, Heath W. The Nature of the Early Ottoman State. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003.
  121. Find this resource:
  122. Sultans and Islamic Legitimacy
  123.  
  124. Islam was one of the chief sources of political legitimacy for the Ottoman dynasty. However, some of the rulers were far more active in promoting Islam than were others. The best beginning point for considering the subject is Karateke 2005a, which includes a general review of the matter but one that pertains particularly to the early and middle eras of Ottoman rule. Another chapter of the same book, Karateke 2005b, looks more particularly at some of the sultans’ personal mystique, Islamic devotion, and pious acts. One particular method used by the sultans to establish their religious credentials was to build vast mosque complexes, as explained in detail in Crane 1991. Still another manner of demonstrating religious legitimacy was through the maintenance and occasional display of holy relics, permanently housed in the chief imperial Istanbul palace. An informative visual tour of this palace is available online at the Topkapi Palace Museum website, maintained by the Bilkent University Department of History, with both English- and Turkish-language versions available. In practice, many of the Ottoman dynasty’s patterns of behavior, particularly in regard to succession to the throne, were clearly un-Islamic, as may be seen in Peirce 1993. Insofar as such behaviors were known to Muslim subjects of the state, the dynasty probably lost some part of its religious legitimacy. For the role of the sultanate and Islam in the last part of the dynasty’s long history, see Deringil 1998, which is theoretically sophisticated but written in an accessible manner. Also pertinent to the last two centuries of Ottoman rule is the issue of Pan-Islam, which was the concept that all Muslims should be loyal to the Ottoman sultan-caliph as the leader of the last large independent Muslim empire. While Landau 1990 is quite lengthy, it is still the best introduction to the subject. For more on the Ottomans and the caliphate see Caliph and Caliphate.
  125.  
  126. Bilkent University, Department of History. Topkapi Palace Museum.
  127. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  128. This website features a visual tour of the chief Istanbul palace of the sultans, including historical background, a bibliography, illustrations, and links to related sites. Of particular interest is the collection of artifacts said to have belonged to the Prophet Muhammad and housed in the chambers of the sacred relics.
  129. Bilkent University, Department of History. Topkapi Palace Museum.
  130. Find this resource:
  131. Crane, Howard. “The Ottoman Sultan’s Mosques: Icons of Imperial Legitimacy.” In The Ottoman City and Its Parts: Urban Structure and Social Order. Edited by Irene Bierman, Rifaʾat Abou-El-Haj, and Donald Preziosi, 173–243. New Rochelle, NY: A. D. Caratzas, 1991.
  132. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  133. Studies of the chief imperial mosques in Bursa, Edirne, and Istanbul by the author include the use of the mosques for lending legitimacy to the sultans who built them. This detailed and complex study will be most valuable for an advanced reader or someone well-grounded in comparative architectural history.
  134. Crane, Howard. “The Ottoman Sultan’s Mosques: Icons of Imperial Legitimacy.” In The Ottoman City and Its Parts: Urban Structure and Social Order. Edited by Irene Bierman, Rifaʾat Abou-El-Haj, and Donald Preziosi, 173–243. New Rochelle, NY: A. D. Caratzas, 1991.
  135. Find this resource:
  136. Deringil, Selim. The Well-Protected Domains: Ideology and the Legitimation of Power in the Ottoman Empire, 1876–1909. London: I. B. Tauris, 1998.
  137. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  138. This is the best single work on the sources of legitimacy for the Ottoman ruler Sultan Abdulhamid II. The author’s comparative framework and new approaches take discussion beyond familiar themes, such as Pan-Islam.
  139. Deringil, Selim. The Well-Protected Domains: Ideology and the Legitimation of Power in the Ottoman Empire, 1876–1909. London: I. B. Tauris, 1998.
  140. Find this resource:
  141. Karateke, Hakan. “Legitimizing the Ottoman Sultanate: A Framework for Historical Analysis.” In Legitimizing the Order: The Ottoman Rhetoric of State Power. Edited by Hakan Karateke and Maurus Reinkowski, 13–52. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2005a.
  142. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  143. Karateke’s introduction to this book serves as a useful summary for the topic and a good introduction for a reader first exploring the subject.
  144. Karateke, Hakan. “Legitimizing the Ottoman Sultanate: A Framework for Historical Analysis.” In Legitimizing the Order: The Ottoman Rhetoric of State Power. Edited by Hakan Karateke and Maurus Reinkowski, 13–52. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2005a.
  145. Find this resource:
  146. Karateke, Hakan. “Opium for the Subjects? Religiosity as a Legitimizing Factor for the Ottoman Sultan.” In Legitimizing the Order: The Ottoman Rhetoric of State Power. Edited by Hakan Karateke and Maurus Reinkowski, 111–129. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2005b.
  147. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  148. An analysis of the personal mystique of the sultans, the public’s devotion to them, and religious acts performed in the name of the sultans, such as aiding the pilgrimage to Mecca.
  149. Karateke, Hakan. “Opium for the Subjects? Religiosity as a Legitimizing Factor for the Ottoman Sultan.” In Legitimizing the Order: The Ottoman Rhetoric of State Power. Edited by Hakan Karateke and Maurus Reinkowski, 111–129. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2005b.
  150. Find this resource:
  151. Landau, Jacob M. The Politics of Pan-Islam: Ideology and Organization. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.
  152. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  153. Since much sensationalistic material has been published about the Pan-Islamic movement, the careful scholarship and calm tone of this book are quite welcome.
  154. Landau, Jacob M. The Politics of Pan-Islam: Ideology and Organization. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.
  155. Find this resource:
  156. Peirce, Leslie. The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
  157. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  158. Covers the period from 1520 to 1650; a major revisionist work on the role of women in Ottoman dynastic politics. The author demonstrates that religion played only a very small role in dynastic issues and rule.
  159. Peirce, Leslie. The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
  160. Find this resource:
  161. Sunnism and the Hanafi Madhhab
  162.  
  163. As a result of political differences and theological disputes, two main divisions emerged in Islam: Sunnism and Shiʿism. Inside Sunnism, the four main madhhabs (schools of Islamic legal practice) that gradually appeared were Hanafi, Shafiʿi, Maliki, and Hanbali. The Ottoman dynasty and state espoused the Hanafi madhhab and reserved top posts for Hanafi ulama (men of religion), though according to Peters 2005, sultans could and did interfere in Hanafi judges’ interpretations. Among the Hanafis there were differences in interpretation and degrees of zealotry. A particularly zealous Hanafi reform movement, the Kadizadeli movement, was ultimately unsuccessful in imposing its narrow interpretation of Islam on the Ottoman population, as discussed in Zilfi 1986. Rafeq 1999 compares Hanafi with Shafiʿi ulama in terms of career patterns. Both Madeline C. Zilfi and Abdul Karim Rafeq employ a close and insightful reading of Ottoman records, while Rafeq also looks at Arabic-language chronicles. The study of conversion from one religion to another has provoked great controversy. In the context of Ottoman history, this issue has usually been examined in terms of the conversion of Christians and Jews to Islam, as in Vryonis 1986. A relatively understudied aspect has been the motives of Muslims who sought converts and the reasons they chose particular methods to encourage conversion. Baer 2008 helps fill this gap with a pioneering book.
  164.  
  165. Baer, Marc David. Honored by the Glory of Islam: Conversion and Conquest in Ottoman Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
  166. DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331752.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  167. The author contends that in the 17th century conversion to Islam in Istanbul and eastern Europe assumed new directions as the ruling establishment became more rigorously pious. This sophisticated study opens the door to a more balanced interpretation of the motives and actions of the Ottomans.
  168. Baer, Marc David. Honored by the Glory of Islam: Conversion and Conquest in Ottoman Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
  169. Find this resource:
  170. Peters, Rudolph. “What Does It Mean to Be an Official Madhhab? Hanafism and the Ottoman Empire.” In The Islamic School of Law: Evolution, Devolution, and Progress. Edited by Peri Bearman, Rudolph Peters, and Frank E. Vogel, 147–158. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005.
  171. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  172. While the Ottomans gave precedence to the Hanafi madhhab and judges, the state did allow other Islamic legal schools to take part in the carefully regulated judicial system. In this advanced study, Peters contends that judges had little discretion as the state pursued uniformity and predictability.
  173. Peters, Rudolph. “What Does It Mean to Be an Official Madhhab? Hanafism and the Ottoman Empire.” In The Islamic School of Law: Evolution, Devolution, and Progress. Edited by Peri Bearman, Rudolph Peters, and Frank E. Vogel, 147–158. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005.
  174. Find this resource:
  175. Rafeq, Abdul Karim. “Relations between the Syrian ʿUlama and the Ottoman State in the Eighteenth Century.” Oriente Moderno 18 (1999): 67–95.
  176. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  177. Rafeq establishes that, in the Arab lands of the Ottoman Empire, Turks were usually appointed as judges, while Arabs were chosen for other judicial posts. He compares the status of Hanafis with Shafiʿis and examines the ulama’s educational patterns and connections with Sufism.
  178. Rafeq, Abdul Karim. “Relations between the Syrian ʿUlama and the Ottoman State in the Eighteenth Century.” Oriente Moderno 18 (1999): 67–95.
  179. Find this resource:
  180. Vryonis, Speros, Jr. The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the Process of Islamization from the Eleventh through the Fifteenth Century. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986.
  181. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  182. This classic work carefully traces conversion from Christianity to Islam in the last centuries of Byzantine rule and in the early years of the Ottoman Empire. First published in 1972.
  183. Vryonis, Speros, Jr. The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the Process of Islamization from the Eleventh through the Fifteenth Century. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986.
  184. Find this resource:
  185. Zilfi, Madeline C. “The Kadizadelis: Discordant Revivalism in Seventeenth-Century Istanbul.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 45.4 (1986): 251–269.
  186. DOI: 10.1086/373194Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  187. In this specialized article, Zilfi traces the puritanical and fundamentalist Kadizadeli movement inside Ottoman Hanafi Islam. Pragmatists and Sufis ultimately overcame the Kadizadeli extreme reformers.
  188. Zilfi, Madeline C. “The Kadizadelis: Discordant Revivalism in Seventeenth-Century Istanbul.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 45.4 (1986): 251–269.
  189. Find this resource:
  190. Sufism
  191.  
  192. Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, flourished in the Ottoman Empire as Sufi brotherhoods became deeply entrenched in social, economic, and political life. Studies of Ottoman Sufism tend to be very specific and intended for advanced readers, as can be seen in the works cited here. The earliest period of Ottoman Sufism is the beginning point of Mélikoff 1998, although the author continues her narration up to the late 20th century. Le Gall 2005 has an extensive geographical scope while examining only one Sufi order. On the other hand, Faroqhi 1976 looks at a very specific geographic spot (the location where a brotherhood began), examining the order’s social and economic impact in the region. Although it may be difficult for the reader to locate, Ocak 2001 has a valuable overview of Ottoman Sufism up to about 1800. Winter 1982 studies thought and Sufi criticism in Ottoman Egypt, one of the richest and largest provinces of the empire. Abu-Manneh 2001 contains several influential articles on Sufism reflecting a new appreciation of its durability and relevance into the 19th century.
  193.  
  194. Abu-Manneh, Butrus. Studies on Islam and the Ottoman Empire in the 19th Century (1826–1876). Istanbul: Isis, 2001.
  195. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  196. This collection of articles brings together several difficult-to-locate items that, for the most part, deal with Sufism. The book also contains Abu-Manneh’s 1994 article on the Islamic roots of the Gulhane decree.
  197. Abu-Manneh, Butrus. Studies on Islam and the Ottoman Empire in the 19th Century (1826–1876). Istanbul: Isis, 2001.
  198. Find this resource:
  199. Faroqhi, Suraiya. “The Tekke of Haci Bektaş: Social Position and Economic Activities.” International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 7 (1976): 183–208.
  200. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  201. An analysis of a pious foundation and the Sufi organization based there from about 1270 to 1914. Faroqhi’s study of Sufi finances is noteworthy, while the Bektashi links to the Ottoman military make the article applicable to broader themes.
  202. Faroqhi, Suraiya. “The Tekke of Haci Bektaş: Social Position and Economic Activities.” International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 7 (1976): 183–208.
  203. Find this resource:
  204. Le Gall, Dina. A Culture of Sufism: Naqshbandīs in the Ottoman World, 1450–1700. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2005.
  205. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  206. This work of enormous erudition describes the dissemination of a Sufi brotherhood in Ottoman Europe, Anatolia, and Arabia while also carefully tracing its devotional practices and its relations with the puritanical Kadizadeler movement.
  207. Le Gall, Dina. A Culture of Sufism: Naqshbandīs in the Ottoman World, 1450–1700. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2005.
  208. Find this resource:
  209. Mélikoff, Irène. Hadji Bektach: Un mythe et ses avatars. Genèse et evolution du soufisme populaire en Turquie. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1998.
  210. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  211. (Hajji Bektash: A myth and its origins; Genesis and evolution of popular Sufism in Turkey.) The author discusses the life of Hajji Bektash, the organization of the Bektashi Sufi order, Bektashi beliefs and literature, and in part of the last chapter, the influence of the Bektashis on mysticism in modern Turkey.
  212. Mélikoff, Irène. Hadji Bektach: Un mythe et ses avatars. Genèse et evolution du soufisme populaire en Turquie. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1998.
  213. Find this resource:
  214. Ocak, Ahmed Yaşar. “Religion.” In History of the Ottoman State, Society, and Civilisation, Vol. 2. Edited by Ekmeleddin Ihsanoğlu, 177–238. Istanbul: Research Centre for Islamic History, Art, and Culture, 2001.
  215. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  216. While the author primarily discusses Sufism, he also covers other aspects of Ottoman Islam up to about 1800. A much fuller version of his analysis may be found in Ocak 1998, discussed under Shiʿism and Heresies.
  217. Ocak, Ahmed Yaşar. “Religion.” In History of the Ottoman State, Society, and Civilisation, Vol. 2. Edited by Ekmeleddin Ihsanoğlu, 177–238. Istanbul: Research Centre for Islamic History, Art, and Culture, 2001.
  218. Find this resource:
  219. Winter, Michael. Society and Religion in Early Ottoman Egypt: Studies in the Writings of ʿAbd al-Wahhab al-Sharani. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books, 1982.
  220. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  221. Winter examines the life of the 16th-century thinker al-Sharani, his writings on Sufis, his impact on the ulama, and his views of Islamic society.
  222. Winter, Michael. Society and Religion in Early Ottoman Egypt: Studies in the Writings of ʿAbd al-Wahhab al-Sharani. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books, 1982.
  223. Find this resource:
  224. Shiʿism and Heresies
  225.  
  226. The Ottoman dynasty and administration were strongly Sunni and anti-Shiʿi. This meant that inside the empire, Shiʿis and Druze were the victims of discrimination, as shown in Abu-Husayn 1992 for the Syria and Lebanon region and in Imber 1979, which discusses chiefly Ottoman Anatolia. In Ottoman-ruled southern Iraq, Shiʿis ultimately came to be a majority, a process elucidated by Nakash 2003. As a result, many problems emerged there for the Ottoman government. One difficulty the Ottomans faced was defining who was a Sunni, who was a Shiʿi, and who was a so-called heretic. By far the best discussion of this subject for the early and middle Ottoman periods is Ocak 1998, a rather dense but rewarding volume. Khoury 2007 examines somewhat similar issues in a short chapter that deals with one Ottoman region in one century. Ottoman anti-Shiʿism also carried over to foreign policy, particularly relations with predominantly Shiʿi Iran. Dressler 2005 is one of the most recent of many works that could be cited for this purpose, including in part Imber 1979.
  227.  
  228. Abu-Husayn, Abdul-Rahman. “Problems in the Ottoman Administration in Syria during the 16th and 17th Centuries: The Case of the Sanjak of Sidon-Beirut.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 24.2 (1992): 665–675.
  229. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  230. Abu-Husayn looks at Ottoman policies toward the Druze, a breakaway sect from Shiʿi Islam.
  231. Abu-Husayn, Abdul-Rahman. “Problems in the Ottoman Administration in Syria during the 16th and 17th Centuries: The Case of the Sanjak of Sidon-Beirut.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 24.2 (1992): 665–675.
  232. Find this resource:
  233. Dressler, Markus. “Inventing Orthodoxy: Competing Claims for Authority and Legitimacy in the Ottoman-Safavid Conflict.” In Legitimizing the Order: The Ottoman Rhetoric of State Power. Edited by Hakan Karateke and Maurus Reinkowski, 151–173. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2005.
  234. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  235. The author contends that the rivalry with the Shiʿi Safavids helped cause the Ottoman Empire’s leadership to adopt a stricter and more conventional mode of Sunni Islam.
  236. Dressler, Markus. “Inventing Orthodoxy: Competing Claims for Authority and Legitimacy in the Ottoman-Safavid Conflict.” In Legitimizing the Order: The Ottoman Rhetoric of State Power. Edited by Hakan Karateke and Maurus Reinkowski, 151–173. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2005.
  237. Find this resource:
  238. Imber, Colin H. “The Persecution of the Ottoman Shiʿites according to the Műhimme Defterleri, 1565–1585.” Der Islam 56 (1979): 245–273.
  239. DOI: 10.1515/islm.1979.56.2.245Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  240. This detailed article deals with the kizilbash Shiʿi groups in Ottoman Anatolia and Iraq and their persecution by the Ottoman central government. Many excerpts from the Ottoman archives give the reader an understanding of official views and goals.
  241. Imber, Colin H. “The Persecution of the Ottoman Shiʿites according to the Műhimme Defterleri, 1565–1585.” Der Islam 56 (1979): 245–273.
  242. Find this resource:
  243. Khoury, Dina Rizk. “Who Is a True Muslim? Exclusion and Inclusion among Polemicists of Reform in Nineteenth-Century Baghdad.” In The Early Modern Ottomans: Remapping the Empire. Edited by Virginia H. Aksan and Daniel Goffman, 256–274. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
  244. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  245. This chapter examines views of the Wahhabi sect of Sunni Muslims held in Ottoman-ruled Iraq. The author weaves these views into a valuable broader discussion of the issue of takfir (declaring a person to be a non-Muslim).
  246. Khoury, Dina Rizk. “Who Is a True Muslim? Exclusion and Inclusion among Polemicists of Reform in Nineteenth-Century Baghdad.” In The Early Modern Ottomans: Remapping the Empire. Edited by Virginia H. Aksan and Daniel Goffman, 256–274. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
  247. Find this resource:
  248. Nakash, Yitzhak. The Shiʿis of Iraq. 2d ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003.
  249. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  250. Casts much light on Sunni- Shiʿi relations in Ottoman Iraq, especially for the 19th century.
  251. Nakash, Yitzhak. The Shiʿis of Iraq. 2d ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003.
  252. Find this resource:
  253. Ocak, Ahmet Yaşar. Osmanlı Toplumunda Zındıklar ve Műlhidler (15–17. Yűzyıllar). Istanbul: Tarih Vakfı Yurt Yayınları, 1998.
  254. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  255. (Atheists and heretics in Ottoman society [15th–17th centuries].) The author extensively examines the social setting for a variety of atheist and heretical groups. He also looks at official Ottoman religious claims, the social role of the ulama, and Sufis. For non-Turkish readers, the English-language article Ocak 2001, discussed under Sufism, covers some of the subjects dealt with in this book.
  256. Ocak, Ahmet Yaşar. Osmanlı Toplumunda Zındıklar ve Műlhidler (15–17. Yűzyıllar). Istanbul: Tarih Vakfı Yurt Yayınları, 1998.
  257. Find this resource:
  258. Justice and Law
  259.  
  260. Justice and law in the Ottoman Empire were based on several sources. Christians and Jews could use their own separate courts, though some minorities chose to take issues to Islamic courts. For Muslim Ottomans, the Sharia (holy law of Islam) was theoretically the most important source of law; according to many of the ulama, it was the only appropriate source for many kinds of cases that would be tried by government-appointed judges. However, Kanuns (administrative decrees by the sultan) affected a lot of issues and people. In addition, customary law also greatly influenced society, especially people living outside the larger cities. An extensive and profound survey of the whole history of Sharia may be found in Hallaq 2009, the best beginning point for the reader. Judges issued decisions for particular cases, while muftis (religious legal consultants) gave legal opinions that might be taken as authoritative interpretations in subsequent cases. Imber 1997 closely examines a highly important mufti, giving the reader an opportunity to closely follow judicial reasoning. In the last decades of the empire, much of the civil law was codified; an English-language translation may be found in Ottoman Empire 1901. This law code was the basis of law in some of the successor states of the Ottoman Empire long after the empire itself had disappeared. Most people were more directly affected by the local application of law than by the actions of the judicial elite in Istanbul. Many studies of Ottoman local history are based on court registers. Some useful examples are Gerber 1994 for Anatolia, el-Nahal 1979 for Egypt, and Jennings 1975 for the treatment of women in courts.
  261.  
  262. Gerber, Haim. State, Society, and Law in Islam: Ottoman Law in Comparative Perspective. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994.
  263. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  264. The author examines chiefly Bursa and Istanbul in the 17th and 18th centuries for applications of Sharia law to personal, criminal, and commercial cases. He argues that the Sharia was the basis of law and was applied by judges.
  265. Gerber, Haim. State, Society, and Law in Islam: Ottoman Law in Comparative Perspective. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994.
  266. Find this resource:
  267. Hallaq, Wael B. Sharīʿa: Theory, Practice, Transformations. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
  268. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  269. An overview of the history of the Sharia. For Ottoman justice and law, see chapter 5, “The Circle of Justice and Later Dynasties” (pp. 197–221), and chapter 15, “The Middle East and North Africa during the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries” (pp. 396–429).
  270. Hallaq, Wael B. Sharīʿa: Theory, Practice, Transformations. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
  271. Find this resource:
  272. Imber, Colin. Ebuʿs-suʾud: The Islamic Legal Tradition. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1997.
  273. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  274. Using many specific legal cases, the author examines the rulings and impact of Abu al-Suʾud (Ebuʿs-suʾud), the chief Ottoman legal authority from 1545 to 1574, who helped reconcile Sharia law with Kanun law, especially in the areas of land tenure and taxation. For another study of Ebu al-Suʾud, see Repp 1986 under Religious Hierarchy.
  275. Imber, Colin. Ebuʿs-suʾud: The Islamic Legal Tradition. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1997.
  276. Find this resource:
  277. Jennings, Ronald C. “Women in Early 17th Century Ottoman Judicial Records: The Sharia Court of Anatolian Kayseri.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 18.1 (1975): 53–114.
  278. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  279. This pioneering article shows how Ottoman court records could be used to illuminate the history of women.
  280. Jennings, Ronald C. “Women in Early 17th Century Ottoman Judicial Records: The Sharia Court of Anatolian Kayseri.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 18.1 (1975): 53–114.
  281. Find this resource:
  282. el-Nahal, Galal H. The Judicial Administration of Ottoman Egypt in the Seventeenth Century. Studies in Middle Eastern History 4. Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1979.
  283. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  284. This book is useful for the study of the practical application of law in society.
  285. el-Nahal, Galal H. The Judicial Administration of Ottoman Egypt in the Seventeenth Century. Studies in Middle Eastern History 4. Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1979.
  286. Find this resource:
  287. Ottoman Empire. Mecelle-yi Ahkam-ı ʿAdliyye. Translated into English by Charles Robert Tyser and D. G. Demtriades. Nicosia, Cyprus: Government Printing Office, 1901.
  288. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  289. (The Mecelle.) The civil code of Ottoman law adopted between 1869 and 1876, including contracts, torts, and procedures.
  290. Ottoman Empire. Mecelle-yi Ahkam-ı ʿAdliyye. Translated into English by Charles Robert Tyser and D. G. Demtriades. Nicosia, Cyprus: Government Printing Office, 1901.
  291. Find this resource:
  292. Muslim Institutions and Education
  293.  
  294. As discussed in General Overviews, many fine general studies of Ottoman history have been published since 1990. Often, these works cover institutional history, usually specializing in government administrative efficiency or economic affairs. Those authors who cover the 18th and 19th centuries have been in effect revising or attacking Gibb and Bowen 1950–1957, a work that for several decades was the standard book on the subject. More specialized studies of Ottoman institutions linked to religion include works on the extremely important topic of charitable foundations (Barnes 1986), the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca (Faroqhi 1994), and the status of Christians (Inalcik 1991). Gerber 1999 carefully studies the role of muftis and concludes by reinforcing the idea—as seen in Justice and Law—that judicial institutions played a large and positive role in Ottoman governmental affairs. Studies of Ottoman education have also flourished recently, though chiefly for the last years of the empire rather than for earlier times. Two fine examples are Bein 2006 and Fortna 2002, with each author covering a different part of the age spectrum of students.
  295.  
  296. Barnes, John Robert. An Introduction to Religious Foundations in the Ottoman Empire. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1986.
  297. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  298. A thorough treatment of religious pious charities that used the income from property, rents, and cash for such purposes as hospitals, public fountains, and assisting the blind.
  299. Barnes, John Robert. An Introduction to Religious Foundations in the Ottoman Empire. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1986.
  300. Find this resource:
  301. Bein, Amit. “Politics, Military Conscription, and Religious Education in the Late Ottoman Empire.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 38.2 (2006): 283–301.
  302. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  303. Discusses medreses (religious schools; Arabic, madrasahs) in the age of Sultan Abdulhamid II.
  304. Bein, Amit. “Politics, Military Conscription, and Religious Education in the Late Ottoman Empire.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 38.2 (2006): 283–301.
  305. Find this resource:
  306. Faroqhi, Suraiya. Pilgrims and Sultans: The Hajj under the Ottomans, 1517–1683. London: I. B. Tauris, 1994.
  307. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  308. The author extensively examines Ottoman support for the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, beginning with the extension of Ottoman rule to the Hijaz (Hejaz) region of western Arabia.
  309. Faroqhi, Suraiya. Pilgrims and Sultans: The Hajj under the Ottomans, 1517–1683. London: I. B. Tauris, 1994.
  310. Find this resource:
  311. Fortna, Benjamin C. Imperial Classroom: Islam, the State, and Education in the Late Ottoman Empire. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
  312. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  313. The author revises the long-held interpretation that the late Ottoman Empire enacted strictly secular educational reforms. Instead, he shows that the government used ulama to improve education and brought about a fusion of new pedagogy with earlier Islamic education at preparatory schools.
  314. Fortna, Benjamin C. Imperial Classroom: Islam, the State, and Education in the Late Ottoman Empire. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
  315. Find this resource:
  316. Gerber, Haim. Islamic Law and Culture, 1600–1840. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1999.
  317. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  318. This work looks at the institution of muftis, or legal juristic consultants, arguing that they often subtly expressed logical flexibility rather than being rigid and intellectually stagnant.
  319. Gerber, Haim. Islamic Law and Culture, 1600–1840. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1999.
  320. Find this resource:
  321. Gibb, Hamilton, and Harold Bowen. Islamic Society and the West: A Study of the Impact of Western Civilization on Moslem Culture in the Near East. Vol. 1, Islamic Society in the Eighteenth Century, Pts. 1–2. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1950–1957.
  322. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  323. An early English-language study that systematically examines Ottoman institutions. Includes discussion of Sharia, the caliphate, ulama, law, education, pious foundations, and Sufis.
  324. Gibb, Hamilton, and Harold Bowen. Islamic Society and the West: A Study of the Impact of Western Civilization on Moslem Culture in the Near East. Vol. 1, Islamic Society in the Eighteenth Century, Pts. 1–2. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1950–1957.
  325. Find this resource:
  326. Inalcik, Halil. “The Status of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch under the Ottomans.” Turcica 21–23 (1991): 407–436.
  327. DOI: 10.2143/TURC.23.0.2014212Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  328. Inalcik sees the situation of the spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox population following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople as in line with earlier Islamic patterns. The article includes the text of petitions.
  329. Inalcik, Halil. “The Status of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch under the Ottomans.” Turcica 21–23 (1991): 407–436.
  330. Find this resource:
  331. Religious Hierarchy
  332.  
  333. This subject is closely related to items mentioned in several other sections, including Sunnism and the Hanafi Madhhab, Justice and Law, and Muslim Institutions and Education. For the reader new to the subject, three valuable studies exist: Inalcik 1973 for the early and middle Ottoman periods, Zilfi 1988 for the middle and early modern periods, and Kushner 1987 for the late period of Ottoman history. All three cover the role of the ulama in general. Two specialized studies deal with the legal hierarchy: Repp 1986 looks at the role of muftis in Ottoman courts as well as the learned hierarchy more broadly speaking, while al-Qattan 2007 is an essay on the role of judges and a quite useful evaluation of earlier scholarship on this subject.
  334.  
  335. Inalcik, Halil. The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age, 1300–1600. Translated by Norman Itzkowitz and Colin Imber. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1973.
  336. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  337. Chapter 16 of this important book deals with the religious hierarchy of judges and medreses (madrassas).
  338. Inalcik, Halil. The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age, 1300–1600. Translated by Norman Itzkowitz and Colin Imber. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1973.
  339. Find this resource:
  340. Kushner, David. “The Place of the Ulema in the Ottoman Empire during the Age of Reform (1839–1918).” Turcica 19 (1987): 51–74.
  341. DOI: 10.2143/TURC.19.0.2014270Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  342. Shows that, despite secularizing reforms, the ulama kept much of their influence in education, law, and administration.
  343. Kushner, David. “The Place of the Ulema in the Ottoman Empire during the Age of Reform (1839–1918).” Turcica 19 (1987): 51–74.
  344. Find this resource:
  345. al-Qattan, Najwa. “Inside the Ottoman Courthouse: Territorial Law at the Intersection of State and Religion.” In The Early Modern Ottomans: Remapping the Empire. Edited by Virginia H. Aksan and Donald Goffman, 201–212. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
  346. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  347. This chapter is a theoretically sophisticated but brief review of the scholarly debate over the role of judges in the premodern Ottoman Empire.
  348. al-Qattan, Najwa. “Inside the Ottoman Courthouse: Territorial Law at the Intersection of State and Religion.” In The Early Modern Ottomans: Remapping the Empire. Edited by Virginia H. Aksan and Donald Goffman, 201–212. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
  349. Find this resource:
  350. Repp, Richard C. The Müfti of Istanbul: A Study in the Development of the Ottoman Learned Hierarchy. London: Ithaca, 1986.
  351. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  352. An extremely detailed work that traces career patterns of muftis in general as well as the role of Abu al-Suʾud in particular. Compare this work with Imber 1997 under Justice and Law.
  353. Repp, Richard C. The Müfti of Istanbul: A Study in the Development of the Ottoman Learned Hierarchy. London: Ithaca, 1986.
  354. Find this resource:
  355. Zilfi, Madeline C. The Politics of Piety: The Ottoman Ulema in the Postclassical Age (1600–1800). Studies in Middle Eastern History. Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1988.
  356. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  357. A highly successful effort to analyze ulama career patterns as well as Sufism and puritanical trends.
  358. Zilfi, Madeline C. The Politics of Piety: The Ottoman Ulema in the Postclassical Age (1600–1800). Studies in Middle Eastern History. Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1988.
  359. Find this resource:
  360. Art
  361.  
  362. Islam substantially influenced art in the Ottoman Empire. Building mosques, whether large imperial complexes or smaller provincial structures, was a means for the wealthy to demonstrate their piety and improve their status. Ottoman mosques were part of a long tradition of architectural style, but they ultimately developed a distinctive form, as shown in Kuran 1968. The peak of artistic accomplishment in the field of mosque design was reached by the architect Sinan, whose career and milieu are discussed in Necipoğlu 2005. Sinan’s most famous mosque, the Sűleymaniye in Istanbul, is analyzed in Necipoğlu 1985; that mosque may also be viewed at the website of Saudi Aramco World, an online version of Gross and Gross 2006. Islam had an important effect on other aspects of Ottoman art, most notably calligraphy (Derman 1998), but also in such fields as the design of tiles that were used inside mosques. Of course, secular themes and purposes were also present. For a good review of Ottoman decorative art, see Petsopoulis 1982, which provides a useful beginning point for readers.
  363.  
  364. Derman, M. Uğur. Letters in Gold: Ottoman Calligraphy from the Sakıp Sabancı Collection, Istanbul. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998.
  365. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  366. A visual treat, this exhibit catalog is especially valuable in demonstrating the role of calligraphy in mosques and in ornamenting Qurʾans.
  367. Derman, M. Uğur. Letters in Gold: Ottoman Calligraphy from the Sakıp Sabancı Collection, Istanbul. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998.
  368. Find this resource:
  369. Gross, Barry, and Michael Gross. “A Virtual Walking Tour: The Sűleymaniye Mosque.” Saudi Aramco World 57.5 (2006): 22–27.
  370. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  371. Includes photographs by Barry Gross and Michael Gross. Online version features spherical panoramic photographs, a zoom feature, and an audio guide. Journal is published by the Saudi Aramco oil company. It should be viewed in conjunction with reading Necipoğlu 1985.
  372. Gross, Barry, and Michael Gross. “A Virtual Walking Tour: The Sűleymaniye Mosque.” Saudi Aramco World 57.5 (2006): 22–27.
  373. Find this resource:
  374. Kuran, Aptullah. The Mosque in Early Ottoman Architecture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968.
  375. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  376. This work, intended for the advanced reader, develops the idea that the basic unit in early Ottoman architecture was the domed square used in mosques.
  377. Kuran, Aptullah. The Mosque in Early Ottoman Architecture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968.
  378. Find this resource:
  379. Necipoğlu, Gűlru. “The Süleymaniye Complex in Istanbul: An Interpretation.” Muqarnas 3 (1985): 92–117.
  380. DOI: 10.2307/1523086Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  381. The author considers the construction of the imperial mosque complex between 1550 and 1557, including its school, hospital, hostel, and charity kitchen. For an online visual tour of the complex, see the Saudi Aramco World website.
  382. Necipoğlu, Gűlru. “The Süleymaniye Complex in Istanbul: An Interpretation.” Muqarnas 3 (1985): 92–117.
  383. Find this resource:
  384. Necipoğlu, Gűlru. The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005.
  385. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  386. While discussing such issues as the relationship of imperial mosques to dynastic legitimacy, the bulk of this book is devoted to descriptions of the donors and the constructed buildings.
  387. Necipoğlu, Gűlru. The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005.
  388. Find this resource:
  389. Petsopoulis, Yanni, ed. Tulips, Arabesques, and Turbans: Decorative Art from the Ottoman Empire. New York: Abbeville, 1982.
  390. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  391. A wide-ranging series of chapters covering most aspects of the topic.
  392. Petsopoulis, Yanni, ed. Tulips, Arabesques, and Turbans: Decorative Art from the Ottoman Empire. New York: Abbeville, 1982.
  393. Find this resource:
  394. Social Practice
  395.  
  396. The actual lived experience of Muslims inside the Ottoman Empire during its six hundred-year history varied considerably at different times and in different places. Often individuals and groups in the provinces encountered religion-based values and structures that were quite different from those espoused by ruling elites. It is important therefore to try to examine actual social practice in addition to more formal descriptions. For religious minority groups’ experiences, a useful place to begin reading is Braude and Lewis 1982. For Muslims, the intersection of daily life and religion in the Anatolian provinces can be seen in Faroqhi 2005, while the relationship of religion and everyday life in the Arab province of the Hijaz constitutes a theme of Ochsenwald 1984. For the imperial capital of Istanbul, the often-cited Inalcik 1990 can set the researcher on the path toward more specialized studies. A very controversial issue in social history is the role of slavery and its relationship to religion. Toledano 1983 adopts a balanced approach to this topic. The social practice of religion affected women particularly, but the history of Ottoman women and the influence of Islam on them will be treated primarily under Women, Gender Relations, and Sexuality.
  397.  
  398. Braude, Benjamin, and Bernard Lewis, eds. Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire: The Functioning of a Plural Society. 2 vols. New York: Holmes and Meier, 1982.
  399. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  400. This is the standard work for the beginning reader. These two volumes cover most aspects of the subject, especially for the later period of the empire’s history.
  401. Braude, Benjamin, and Bernard Lewis, eds. Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire: The Functioning of a Plural Society. 2 vols. New York: Holmes and Meier, 1982.
  402. Find this resource:
  403. Faroqhi, Suraiya. Subjects of the Sultan: Culture and Daily Life in the Ottoman Empire. New ed. London: I. B. Tauris, 2005.
  404. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  405. Among the many works of this prolific author, this may be the most useful for examining the impact of religion in everyday life. Chapters on architecture, charitable foundations, ceremonies and festivals, and changes in the life of the upper classes are especially noteworthy.
  406. Faroqhi, Suraiya. Subjects of the Sultan: Culture and Daily Life in the Ottoman Empire. New ed. London: I. B. Tauris, 2005.
  407. Find this resource:
  408. Inalcik, Halil. “Istanbul: An Islamic City.” Journal of Islamic Studies 1.1 (1990): 1–23.
  409. DOI: 10.1093/jis/1.1.1Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  410. The author examines the role of religion in the history of Constantinople/Istanbul after the Muslim conquest, including discussions of charitable foundations and religious officials.
  411. Inalcik, Halil. “Istanbul: An Islamic City.” Journal of Islamic Studies 1.1 (1990): 1–23.
  412. Find this resource:
  413. Ochsenwald, William. Religion, Society, and the State in Arabia: The Hijaz under Ottoman Control, 1840–1908. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1984.
  414. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  415. In addition to analyzing the importance of Islam for government, there are also sections on education, law, social organization, and the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
  416. Ochsenwald, William. Religion, Society, and the State in Arabia: The Hijaz under Ottoman Control, 1840–1908. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1984.
  417. Find this resource:
  418. Toledano, Ehud R. The Ottoman Slave Trade and Its Suppression, 1840–1890. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983.
  419. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  420. In this work, and in subsequent essays, the author talks about slavery and the slave trade, including some analysis of the relationship between Islam and the position of slaves in the Ottoman Empire.
  421. Toledano, Ehud R. The Ottoman Slave Trade and Its Suppression, 1840–1890. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983.
  422. Find this resource:
  423. Women, Gender Relations, and Sexuality
  424.  
  425. In the last part of the 20th century, scholars became more interested in the history of women in the Ottoman Empire. Numerous articles and books have now appeared, including many that deal with the intersection of women’s history and Islam; only a few can be mentioned here. Jennings 1975, listed under Justice and Law, and Peirce 1993, under Sultans and Islamic Legitimacy, are useful. Beginning readers should turn first to Peirce 2009, a bibliographic survey, for its discussion of available materials and the state of the field. A similar item, Yüksel 2005, would be most useful for those more advanced in the field, especially graduate students. Three excellent case studies of Ottoman women’s history also include aspects of Islam: the very specific work seen in Peirce 2003 for Anatolia; Tucker 1998, which deals with the Arab provinces in a shorter book than that of Leslie Peirce; and Tucker 1985, one of the most influential and widely cited studies published in this field. The chapters in Zilfi 1997 include other useful case studies as well as some more general analyses written by leading scholars. The history of gender relations and sexuality in the Ottoman Empire is a newer topic with relatively little yet available. Ze’evi 2006 is a sophisticated work that is also accessible to a beginning-level reader. While many of the author’s conclusions may be revised on the basis of future research, it has set a high level for discussion and debate.
  426.  
  427. Peirce, Leslie. Morality Tales: Law and Gender in the Ottoman Court of Aintab. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003.
  428. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  429. The author has compiled a lengthy but fascinating history covering only one year, 1540–1541, but including discussion of a wide range of issues, such as social equity, local variation versus central government prescriptions, the flexibility of judges, morality, property, and class.
  430. Peirce, Leslie. Morality Tales: Law and Gender in the Ottoman Court of Aintab. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003.
  431. Find this resource:
  432. Peirce, Leslie. “Writing Histories of Sexuality in the Middle East.” American Historical Review 114.5 (2009): 1325–1339.
  433. DOI: 10.1086/ahr.114.5.1325Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  434. An excellent bibliographical review article for the whole Middle East. Much of the article concerns the premodern Ottoman Empire.
  435. Peirce, Leslie. “Writing Histories of Sexuality in the Middle East.” American Historical Review 114.5 (2009): 1325–1339.
  436. Find this resource:
  437. Tucker, Judith E. Women in Nineteenth-Century Egypt. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
  438. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511583506Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  439. A revisionist interpretation of the notion that modernization improved conditions for women. Instead, the author convincingly shows that many urban and village Muslim women were worse off than before.
  440. Tucker, Judith E. Women in Nineteenth-Century Egypt. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
  441. Find this resource:
  442. Tucker, Judith E. In the House of the Law: Gender and Islamic Law in Ottoman Syria and Palestine. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.
  443. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  444. Through examining law courts and the declarations of muftis, the author discusses marriage and divorce, mothering and fathering, sexuality, and reproduction in the regions of Damascus, Nablus, and Jerusalem in the 17th and 18th centuries.
  445. Tucker, Judith E. In the House of the Law: Gender and Islamic Law in Ottoman Syria and Palestine. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.
  446. Find this resource:
  447. Yüksel, Metin. “Reconstructing the History of Women in the Ottoman Empire.” International Journal of Turkish Studies 1.1–2 (2005): 49–59.
  448. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  449. A bibliographic survey especially useful as a review of various methodologies and of Turkish-language publications.
  450. Yüksel, Metin. “Reconstructing the History of Women in the Ottoman Empire.” International Journal of Turkish Studies 1.1–2 (2005): 49–59.
  451. Find this resource:
  452. Ze’evi, Dror. Producing Desire: Changing Sexual Discourse in the Ottoman Middle East, 1500–1900. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006.
  453. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  454. By analyzing such sources as books on dream interpretation, shadow-theater plays, and travelogues, the author sees a dramatic shift in the 19th century away from relative tolerance in medical, legal, and ulama opinions about the construction of sexual identity and in regard to homosexual behavior.
  455. Ze’evi, Dror. Producing Desire: Changing Sexual Discourse in the Ottoman Middle East, 1500–1900. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006.
  456. Find this resource:
  457. Zilfi, Madeline C., ed. Women in the Ottoman Empire: Middle Eastern Women in the Early Modern Era. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1997.
  458. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  459. This work includes chapters on such topics as crime, wealth, charitable foundations, marriage and divorce, sexuality, law, and justice, written by a variety of authors and covering the period from 1650 to 1830.
  460. Zilfi, Madeline C., ed. Women in the Ottoman Empire: Middle Eastern Women in the Early Modern Era. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1997.
  461. Find this resource:
  462. Modern Reforms and Secularism
  463.  
  464. Most scholars in the early and middle 20th century believed that there had been a steady and perhaps even inevitable growth of secularism and nationalism in the Ottoman Empire during the 19th century. However, toward the end of the 20th century a revisionist approach emerged among scholars who argued that Islam and religious values had influenced the secular reforms to some degree. Scholars also looked again at reforms inside Islam that sought to reinvigorate religion. Berkes 1998 is often cited as among the best scholarship to see steadily increasing secularism and nationalism. Mardin 2000 shows that seemingly secular critics had a religious aspect. The newer approach can be seen more fully in Abu-Manneh 1994, which links Islam to one of the most famous secularizing reform documents. For the relationship between nationalism and Islam inside the late Ottoman Empire, the reader should turn first to Kayali 1997, a convincing and clearly written work. Karpat 2001 raises many of the same questions but is less approachable. Reformist movements inside Islam have drawn much attention because of the rise of so-called Islamic fundamentalism from the 1970s onward. Two useful studies in earlier intellectual and theological history dealing with this topic are Voll 1975 and Commins 1990.
  465.  
  466. Abu-Manneh, Butrus. “The Islamic Roots of the Gülhane Rescript.” Die Welt des Islams 34.2 (1994): 173–203.
  467. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  468. The author argues that the Ottoman imperial reform decree of 1839 had religious as well as secular aspects. This revision of earlier views helped spark much subsequent scholarship. The article is also reprinted in Abu-Manneh 2001, which is discussed under Sufism.
  469. Abu-Manneh, Butrus. “The Islamic Roots of the Gülhane Rescript.” Die Welt des Islams 34.2 (1994): 173–203.
  470. Find this resource:
  471. Berkes, Niyazi. The Development of Secularism in Turkey. London: Routledge, 1998.
  472. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  473. The best single source for intellectual history about the rise of secularism in the late Ottoman Empire. This book is a reprint of the original 1964 edition published in Montreal by McGill University Press.
  474. Berkes, Niyazi. The Development of Secularism in Turkey. London: Routledge, 1998.
  475. Find this resource:
  476. Commins, David Dean. Islamic Reform: Politics and Social Change in Late Ottoman Syria. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
  477. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  478. Intellectual reform in the 19th century included new approaches to politics among the men of religion. As the author demonstrates, reform was not limited to secularist thinkers.
  479. Commins, David Dean. Islamic Reform: Politics and Social Change in Late Ottoman Syria. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
  480. Find this resource:
  481. Karpat, Kemal H. The Politicization of Islam: Reconstructing Identity, State, Faith, and Community in the Late Ottoman State. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
  482. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  483. This is a complicated and difficult work that argues that socioeconomic changes inside the empire led to the rise of a Muslim middle class employed as state bureaucrats, who favored secularism.
  484. Karpat, Kemal H. The Politicization of Islam: Reconstructing Identity, State, Faith, and Community in the Late Ottoman State. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
  485. Find this resource:
  486. Kayali, Hasan. Arabs and Young Turks: Ottomanism, Arabism, and Islamism in the Ottoman Empire, 1908–1918. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.
  487. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  488. The author revises the earlier view that the Committee of Union and Progress that controlled the central Ottoman government for most of the time between 1908 and 1918 was exclusively secular. Instead, a much more complex relationship linked Ottomanism, Arab and Turkish nationalisms, and Islamism.
  489. Kayali, Hasan. Arabs and Young Turks: Ottomanism, Arabism, and Islamism in the Ottoman Empire, 1908–1918. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.
  490. Find this resource:
  491. Mardin, Şerif. The Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought: A Study in the Modernization of Turkish Political Ideas. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2000.
  492. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  493. This is a reprint of the original 1962 edition in which the author shows that the young Ottoman thinkers of the late 19th century blended secularism with some Islamist-based criticism of the Ottoman government.
  494. Mardin, Şerif. The Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought: A Study in the Modernization of Turkish Political Ideas. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2000.
  495. Find this resource:
  496. Voll, John O. “ Muḥammad Ḥayyā al-Sindī and Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb: An Analysis of an Intellectual Group in Eighteenth-Century Madīna.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 38.1 (1975): 32–39.
  497. DOI: 10.1017/S0041977X00047017Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  498. As the author shows, Muslim intellectuals participated in a neo-revivalist attempt to reinvigorate Islam even before the secularist reformers of the late 19th century became predominant. This article spurred many other studies examining the same issues in other parts of the Muslim world.
  499. Voll, John O. “ Muḥammad Ḥayyā al-Sindī and Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb: An Analysis of an Intellectual Group in Eighteenth-Century Madīna.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 38.1 (1975): 32–39.
  500. Find this resource:
Advertisement
Add Comment
Please, Sign In to add comment
Advertisement
Public Pastes
Advertisement
We use cookies for various purposes including analytics. By continuing to use Pastebin, you agree to our use of cookies as described in the Cookies Policy.  OK, I Understand
Not a member of Pastebin yet?
Sign Up, it unlocks many cool features!