Ottoman Empire

The differences between the Ottoman Empire at its peak under Süleyman the Magnificent and the late empire under the CUP are as startling as the continuities. In place of the devshirme and the palace school were professional, secular schools for the training of bureaucrats and military officers. Non-Muslims were also given access, though somewhat limited, to governmental careers. A place in the Translation Bureau, where many of the leaders of the late Ottoman Empire were trained, became as coveted a position as had been a place in the palace school. The timar system was completely phased out by the mid-19th century, and eventually replaced by an official register of individual landholdings created under the Land Law of 1858. The late Ottoman army was based on laws of conscription, not on the forced enlistment of youths to become Janissaries. Instead of family struggles for the throne, succession to the title of sultan was governed by the constitution of 1876 and the throne devolved upon the oldest living male in the dynastic family.

Curiously, the ghazi concept that inspired the early Ottomans was still at work in the Republic of Turkey. This was evident when—in recognition of Mustafa Kemal’s victory over the Greeks, who had nearly conquered Ankara in 1921—the Grand National Assembly conferred upon him the title of ghazi. The late Ottoman Empire was still heavily agricultural, with only a small percentage of its population able to read and write. Despite that, society was far more equal than before, with women playing a greater role in society than ever. Although the millet system no longer operated, identity was still largely a matter of religion within the smaller, 20th-century empire. And, while opportunities in every sphere of late Ottoman life were more available, the question, whether asked or unasked, was still “Kimsiniz Bey Efendi?” or “Who are you, sir?”, meaning where are you from within this society, what are your roots, what have you and yours contributed? That is the question that was asked in 1300, in 1922, and is still asked in modern Turkey.