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