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The Societies within the Ottoman Empire - Coggle Diagram
The Societies within the Ottoman Empire
Ottomans
The most protected class of Ottoman Society - enjoyed immense protection under the law and complete religious freedom
Were originally tolerant of people of Jews and Christians, calling them "People of the Book"
This later changed, and they saw them no different to pagans - "nonbelievers". During the Crusades, they began treating the subjugated people of other religions much worse, thinking of them as the Fifth Crusade and an enemy.
Their main goal was to spread their religion and political authority throughout Europe.
Christian Population
They were "zimmi", people who had right to protection from the government "aman", given that they abided by the strict limitations imposed upon them. Any violation would be considered grounds for violent retribution from the Muslim population.
After the fall of Constantinople, Genadii (Georgios Sholarios), the patriarch of the Byzantine Empire, was made the religious and political leader of the entirety of the orthodox population under Ottoman rule.
While this community was allowed to remain religiously and culturally separated from Muslim society and was given some independent jurisdiction, it was to bend to the will of the sultan.
Armenian and Syrian Christians were considered a separate milet from the orthodox one due to their vast differences. The small Catholic population was also considered a separate milet.
Jews and Roma People
Jews
They were considered a separate milet from the Christians despite their designation under the same "People of the Book" title. Their leader enjoyed similar authority to the Christian patriarch.
Despite the similarities between Jewish and Muslim traditions, they often faced discrimination from the Muslim population just as Christians did.
Roma People
The half-nomadic existence of this group did not allow them to be controlled fully by the centralized government, and as such, they would be considered separate entities from Muslim or Christian faith despite their formal belonging to one of these groups.
They lived in separate "mahali" within cities, usually around one of their religious buildings.
Bulgarian Society
Islamization
Faced with the choice between death or conversion, many of the Bulgarian elite chose conversion. A significant amount of the regular population also converted due to the higher taxes the Christian Population was subjected to, with other factors such as violent conversion or or religious propaganda also being in play.
These Bulgarians gradually lost their connection to the Bulgarian ethnicity. Some of them were assimilated into Turkish population, while others remained in Bulgarian speaking territories, "pomaci", "yahrani" or "torbeshi".
Catholicism
Some communities associated with herecy chose conversion to Catholicism, but remained connected to Bulgarian culture.
Economic and Social Status
Economy
The Bulgarian population was mainly composed of villagers who made a living off of agricultural and stock-raising. It was subjected to heavy taxation and occasionally even heavier, supplementary taxes. They had some degree of right over their lands, but those rights were often violated.
Social Status
"Vlasi" and "Vojnuci" - these miltary communities were granted the right to bear arms despite their "zimmi" status. The "Martolosi: and :derventeddjii" enjoyed similar privileges due to their obligation to guard strategic points.
The heaviest tax imposed on the population was the "blood tax". Promising youths were kindnapped, radicalized into Islam, and added to the sultan's personal army, the enichars.
Social and religious life
Religious life
The Enorian Church was a center of religious life and united the orthodox communities. Their "zimmi" status significantly inhibited religious expression, as it forbade them from building new religious buildings and made renovating old ones extremely difficult.
Social Life
Bulgarian Society was organized into villages which were granted some right to self-govern under the watchful eye of Ottoman powers.. Family was extremely important, as it was the main way to preserve ethnic identity under the heavy serfdom. People lived in christian "mahali" a long with other member of the same milet.