THE OTTOMAN STATE AND SEMI-NOMADIC GROUPS ALONG THE OTTOMAN DANUBIAN SERHAD (FRONTIER ZONE) IN THE LATE 15 TH AND THE FIRST HALF OF THE 16 TH CENTURIES: CHALLENGES AND POLICIES (original) (raw)
The main subject of this article is the relationship between the Ottoman state and semi-nomadic groups in the Ottoman Danubian frontier zone (serhad) in the late 15 th and the first half of the 16 th century. Taking the two extremities of the Danubian frontier zone – the provinces of Smederevo in Serbia and Silistre in the northeastern Balkans – as case studies, the article compares the ways in which the Ottoman state dealt with semi-nomadic Vlachs at one end of the frontier zone and Turcoman yürüks (and related groups) at the other. Placing the subject in the broader context of the historical development of the Danubian frontier zone, the author analyzes the Ottoman state's changing policies toward these two groups. Taking into account the largely different historical legacies and demographic make-ups, the article analyzes the many commonalities (as well as some important differences) in the way the Ot-toman government integrated such groups in its administrative structure. It highlights the process in which such semi-nomadic groups, traditionally utilized by the Ottoman state as auxiliary soldiers, were gradually " tamed " by the state in the course of the 16 th century, becoming gradually sedentarized and losing their privileged status.
Related papers
2019
The present article is an attempt to reveal the process of adaption of the colonized Muslim population in parts of Ottoman Rumeli -modern Eastern Upper Thrace, where the majority of the migrated population were the semi-nomadic groups of the yörüks. After the establishment of new settlement network in the region at the end of the 15th and first half of the 16th centuries, the huge pasturelands and swamps were converted to regular exploitations under the çift-hane system by the semi-nomadic groups. Last led to the sedentarizaion of some of the yörüks and changes in the settlement network. A role in the process played the ottoman state by implementing special tax policy toward the yörük taxpayers.
Vlachs and Yörüks as Military Groups under Ottoman Rule and the Evolution of Their Roles
Chronica, 2023
This paper discusses the changing role of the semi-nomadic groups within the Ottoman military structure. First, the position of the yörüks—the Turkish seminomadic group—will be underlined during the foundation of the Ottoman State. It is argued that they were a significant source for the Ottoman army both as infantry and cavalry. Then, through the imperial building process which peaked during the reign of Mehmed II, they were less needed and turned into auxiliary forces. Similarly, the Vlachs were another group of semi-nomadic nature that was utilized by the Ottomans from their first encounter onwards. Being a demographic pool for the military class of the Balkans before the Ottoman arrival, they were granted their previous status by the Ottomans as well. Yet, in time, in accordance with their needs, the Ottomans turned them into auxiliary forces, too.
Peasantry in a Well-protected Domain: Wallachian Peasantry and Muslim Çiftlik/Kışlaks under the Ottoman Rule, 2020
Focusing on the relationship between the Porte, Wallachian peasants and the Danubian military notables, this study explores the nature of large-estate formation in Wallachia during the eighteenth century, and the aggressive policies pursued by the Ottoman imperial centre in the Danube region to halt the spread of animal farms (kışlaks) and large estates (çiftliks). In Balkan scholarship, there is a widely shared assumption that the Porte acted as a passive spectator of the agrarian changes in the eighteenth century as a result of its declining power and had no other option than to allow military magnates to establish large landholdings. This study, however, argues that the Porte was not a passive spectator of çiftlik politics in the eighteenth-century Balkans as regards the formation of large animal farms. It also suggests that the position of Ottoman rulers, peasants and military large-estate owners in the eighteenth-century Wallachian crisis resembles those that dominated the strategies and discourses centeed on the nineteenth-century çiftlik crisis. From this perspective, this study claims that the complex relationships between çiftlik holders and peasants, as well as the strategies of the Ottoman administration in Wallachia around the mid-eighteenth century, were the precursors of the nineteenth-century agrarian question in the Balkans.
Ottoman serhad organization in the Balkans (1450s to early 1500s)
2017
This thesis analyses the Ottoman frontier organization in the Balkans from the second half of the fifteenth century to the early sixteenth centuries. Based mainly on the archival documents, Ottoman chronicles, and the secondary sources this thesis first shows that the Ottomans already had an established and comprehensive frontier policy, long before the conquest of the Hungarian Kingdom and the subsequent establishment of a new serhad against the Habsburg Empire. Then, it gives specific attention to the participation of Christian military groups (Voynuks, Martoloses, and Vlachs) and local subjects in the Ottoman defense organization in exchange for the reduction or exemption from certain taxes. Also, it deals with the hierarchical organization in the fortresses, the composition of the garrison troops and their services. Lastly, it concentrates on the Ottoman financing methods for the garrison troops and tries to reveal the cost of the Ottoman network of fortresses.
OTTOMAN BORDER PERIPHERY (SERHAD) IN THE VILAYET OF NİĞBOLU, FIRST HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY
This article will attempt a rather different approach to 15th-16th century Ottoman reality that specialists call the "classical" or "timar" period. Generations of historians diligently studied the phenomena and processes that characterized that period, including the timar system of land tenure, its influence on military establishment and the administrative structure of the state, the so-called timar legislation and its importance for regulating agricultural production, urban economy and trade. Some contributions were also made -to the extent permitted by available source material -to the study of ethnic, religious and demographic changes in the first centuries following the Ottoman conquest.
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.