FEATURED ESSAYS 1. The Ottoman Empire: Focus On Soc... 2. Balkans, History On Geographic 3. Napoleon And Unrest In Europe 4. Austria Ottoman Report 5. The Fall Of The Roman Empire 6. Crisis In Kosovo 7. Changing Of Values From The Helle... 8. Jordan 9. The Byzantine Empire 10. The Fall Of The Roman Empire 11. World War I 12. Difference Between Sephardic A 13. Long-term Cause Of The Russian 14. Mozarts Turkish Side

The Ottoman Empire:  Focus on Society


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

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

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

Word Count: 614