TAR352

School of Humanities \ History

3

6

Elective

Turkish

-

History department; all departments

Ottoman identity and peasants, urbanites and nomads as the basic layers of Ottoman social structure; Ottoman peasants' relations with production, settlement and state; Celali rebellions as a threat to Ottoman peasants; Land ownership issue and farming; Basic structure of city and urban population; Neighborhood order; Craftsmen and artisans and guilds; Taxation of city production; Ayan period and change in social order; General characteristics of nomads; Nomads in Rumelia; The issue of settlement of tribes; Literature review and research techniques for research article.

Özbaran, Salih. An Ottoman Identity: Rum/Rumi Belonging and Images in the 14th-17th Centuries. Istanbul: Kitap Publishing House, 2004. Ergenç, Özer. Ottoman Historical Writings: City, State, Society. Istanbul: Tarih Vakfı Yurt Publishing House, 2012. Arslan, İsmail. Villages and Peasants in the Ottoman World: The Example of 19th-century Balıkesir. Istanbul: Bilge Culture and Art, 2014. Ortaylı, İlber. Family in Ottoman Society. Istanbul: Timaş Publishing House, 2016. Kasaba, Reşat. A Nomadic Empire. Istanbul: Kitap Publishing House, 2012. Emecen, Feridun. Dynasty, State, and Society in the Classical Ottoman Age. Istanbul: Timaş Publishing House, 2011. Faroqhi, Suraiya. Cities and Townspeople in the Ottoman Empire. Istanbul: Tarih Vakfı Yurt Publishing House, 2011.

The course aims to evaluate the Ottoman social and economic structure through the basic elements that constitute the social structure. In this context, it aims to teach the students the place of the main categories of the Ottoman social structure, namely the peasants, urban dwellers and nomads, within the Ottoman order, in the context of production and taxation methods and their relations with the state. Another main objective of the course is to provide students with practical knowledge about historical research through a research assignment to be prepared within the scope of the course topics.

1. To learn the main lines of the Ottoman social structure
2. To be able to evaluate the Ottoman villagers in terms of their social and economic dimensions
3. To have information about the groups that constituted the Ottoman urban population
4. To have information about the basic characteristics of the Ottoman nomads and the differences between the nomads in Rumelia
5. To learn how to conduct a historical research through a prepared research article

Week 1: Introduction to the course, explanation of objectives and expectations; A general view of the Ottoman social structure
Week 2: Distribution of research article topics; Research techniques aimed at research articles
Week 3: What is Ottoman identity? How do Ottomans and historians see Ottoman society? Categorical evaluation of Ottoman social structure: Distinction between military and subjects; Peasants, urbanites and nomads as layers of Ottoman social structure.
Week 4: Ottoman peasant: Production, social life and settlement relations and the relationship between peasant and state; The characteristics of rural life in terms of feudalism and the Ottoman timar system; Article presentations
Week 5: Celali rebellions as a crisis period in rural life; The emergence of large farms as land ownership and commercial agricultural system in the Ottoman Empire; Article presentations
Week 6: The general structure of the urban population and the general characteristics of city life; Neighborhood and city culture; Article presentations
Week 7: Tradesmen and artisans, their organization as guilds, production and taxation processes; Article presentations
Week 8: Providing feedback on the first draft of research articles
Week 9: The period of the notables as a new phase in social structure; Article presentations
Week 10: Nomads in the Ottoman Empire, their lifestyles and general characteristics; Semi-military organizations of Rumelian nomads; Article presentations
Week 11: The issue of the settlement of tribes in the 17th and 18th centuries; Article presentations
Week 12: General evaluation and article presentations

• Participation 5 %
• Homework 15 %
• Presentation 10 %
• Midterm 30 %
• Final 40 %