Slaves of The Ottoman Empire

When people say slave. 99% of the people think 'African slaves who work in Cotton, tabacco, etc.. planatges'

or who did housework


But whats was it like In the ottoman Empire?
When was it abolished?
What did they do? How were they threated compared to the Americas?
What was the Majority of the slaves(ethnic background)


I'm asking this for 2 reasons.

1. Because we all know that there were slaves in The Ottoman Empire but we don't(I) know much about them.
2. The Ottoman Empire was mabey the last 'old Empire' in the west/world (or at least one of the last)


Any information is welcome


Thank you, Xi tujue

Could you tell us more about "wanting to be like the west" Andrew? Which part of the west and when? I'll share my answer to this thread eventually.

Originally posted by Reginmund I have never read anything like this explanation before, what are your sources? As far as I know, there are no indications the European settlers in America ever planned on importing Slavs. I would also like to know where it can be read that Europeans actually blocked the Ottoman Empire from acquiring Black African slaves, since that too is news to me. I'm not trying to be difficult here, but these are in my opinion controversial claims and need to be backed up by at least something.

Originally posted by andrew   Also I think you misunderstood my post. In Europe the Slavs were usually regarded as slaves but later Western Europeans began regarding Africans as slaves.

What? The word "Slav" has nothing common with "slave" meaning.
Slavs weren't the only European nationally sold in muslim slave markets. In western Europe Spanish, French and Italian coastal lands were raided by North African Barbary pirates for slaves, plunder etc.

What do Slavs have to do with ottoman slavery?




Edited by es_bih - 30-Oct-2007 at 23:39

True, their tasks were far more varied than the slave work on the European plantations in America, but I've never heard they were spared from doing hard manual labour or that they were treated with respect. I've heard quite the opposite.

Slaves in the Ottoman Empire are extraordinarily different to slaves in the Americas. To the extent I think it is misleading to apply the same word. In the Ottoman Empire (as with all previous Islamic Empires), a slave had legal rights, a child of a slave was a free man, slaves were very often richer, and more influential than free men.

In the Americas you were not allowed to arm a slave, in the Ottoman Empire the Jannisaries and Kapikulu were slaves. The public service in the ottoman empire was almost exclusively based on slavery. They were Bureaucrats, Governors, and a government work force.

If a slave was purchased by a rich merchant it was common for the slave to become quite rich himself, forming an important part of the business. Often the slave may inherit the business after the owners death. It was common for owners to marry their slaves. All the Ottoman Sultans were the children of slaves.

The Ottoman Empire is an empire that was heavily dependent on slavery, but equally being a slave in the ottoman empire could open you up to opportunities you'd never get as a free man. I think slavery was abolished in 1811 (that's when Egypt abolished it, but Muhammed Ali may have abolished it early to prevent the Mamlukes coming back)

Slaves were mostly taken from the Slavs. But slaves from everywhere could be found.

There is much history regarding slavery in the Ottoman empire. Here is the short end of it and more to come from me later.

Edited by Seko - 31-Oct-2007 at 15:31

Originally posted by Seko There is much history regarding slavery in the Ottoman empire. Here is the short end of it and more to come from me later.   A compacted view would be to look at the meaning of slaves and the catagories. Slaves were commodities and protected under Ottoman jurisprudence and Islamic law. The Slave trade is an old institution the world over and the Ottomans were one of the last to implement it. Military captives were a good source, initially from border zones. Muslims could not legally become a slave in the Ottoman empire, though this law was tentatively overlooked as a matter of convenience by the raya. Raya, or flocks, were supposedly property of the state, and the Sultan. However, most any free person who can afford to could own a slave. Dispite military captives, where one fifth of the booty (humans included) was supposed to be handed over to the Sultan they rarely had more than 10 personal slaves. The bulk would go to the state as Kapikulu-Jannissary corps. Royalty of the Sultan's household (harem) would have their own slaves. The slaves of the Harem were mostly servants. Maids, if you will.  Women made up the bulk. Concubines were another form of slaves. They were not legal wives. Though slaves were sexually off limits, concubines were allowed.   Aside from the popular slaves of the state gained from the Devshirme system, other forms existed. A free person, mostly muslim, would buy and sell slaves. Slaves often worked in textiles, agriculture among other trades. People of the Book (Ottoman Christians and Jews) were protected from slavery and they eventually owned slaves. However, they were protected as long as they had legal representation under their own Ottoman courts, which was often the case. Otherwise Christians gathered from outside of the empire could become slaves   Once slaves became muslim they were allowed freedom. Slaves could also work off their indentured service and then be freemen as well. Since the Ottoman state was predominantly based on the merit system, slaves had career opportunities. They often advanced as state officials, gained higher ranks in the military and in government.   Ottoman records contained detailed accounts of the slave trade which included the number of slaves from certain cities. Bursa, Edirne, Baghdad, Kaffa, Istanbul, etc... were popular slave trade centers. Once the bosphorus straights were in Ottoman hands the Genoese lost thier lucrative slave trade routes from the black sea. Europe was denied crimean slaves. Crimea is an old bastion of slavery. The Mamluks used to gather Turks and export them into their territories. Arabs used to import Turks from Central asia. Byzantine and Italian slave trade was abundant in that location as well. The Ottomans folllowed in all of their footsteps.   The Ottomans classified people under religious millets. Each had their own religious institutions and spiritual leaders. One could say that the Ottoman state, being ethnically diverse, was more of a cosmopolitan nature than a Turkish empire. Even Greek was known to be the second most important language of the porte and of the establishment. To be an Ottoman carried prestige. The Turk, though everywhere, was often a rugged person from anatolia. A muslim who rode to the call of duty militarily. Yet as an Ottoman anybody had resources that allowed for direct access to state jobs.   Ottoman slaves were from all shapes, sizes and colours. Any captive or non-protected people were potential slaves. It is a mistake to think that slaves were only slavics. The Ottoman borders were large and from each zone one could find slaves. They could reach to the heights of power. Albanian and Greek veziers, Bosnian, Serb, and Hungarian miltary commanders are only a few examples of a persons potential. The ethinicities were endless as merits were rewarded with honor and glory. This opportunity mainly opened to muslims. Meaning any ethnicity could, and often did, turn 'Turk' in order to have a better career.   Religiously, each millet were governed by their own. One of the reasons for Slavic displeasure was the immense power of the Greek Church however. The Ottoman Patriarch ruled not only over Greeks but most of the east orthodox. Yet the Bulgars and other Slavs found that lack of direct representation difficult to accept. They eventually turned to Russia for ecclestial support. This is perhaps one reason why the Ottomans later had so many wars and problems with the Russians being that they disagreed over governance over their flocks and spiritual representation.   In sum, slaves were of two kinds; those of the state and those owned by free men. Slaves were looked upon as property. They were often a good source of income as a commodity. They had rights however, Human rights under Islamic rule. That is why a slave is looked upon as rather a servant who can earn freedom.   More to come later.

thank you for this wonderfull post seko