Demographic Structure of the 18th Century Ottoman Rule in the Balkans: A Study of Judicial Records (Qādī Sijil) in Manastir

Abstract

Based on archival materials left by the Ottomans, it has become incumbent upon the Ottoman or Balkan historian to investigate and analyze as objectively as possible the history of Ottoman rule in this region. Among all the documents contained in the Ottoman archives those of the judicial records (Shari’ah or Qadi Sijils) are considered to be the most important. In them we have both a reliable objective source and a chronology of history with regard to the Balkans and other regions. These records were not merely compilations of bureaucratic, administrative and verbose data relating only to judicial, social, architectural, economic, and agricultural undertones. These facts are already explicitly stated in the Sijils themselves. It is, however, implicit facts which are of great importance and which are of enormous historical significance. Demographic structure is among the most complicated and disputed issue among the historians of religion and social sciences. Taking into consideration the objective data found in the Shari’ah Sijils, particularly to those pertaining to the most important district of the Ottomans in the Balkans namely Manastir (today Bitola), the subject of demography will be analyzed as objectively as possible. In addition, in this article, both explicit and implicit facts will be studied.

How Does the Sense of Closeness to God Affect Attitudes toward Refugees in Turkey? Multiculturalism and Social Contact as Mediators and National Belonging as Moderator

“…Spiritual and religious, intellectual and cultural, linguistic, and traditional aspects and similarities in art and ethnic affinity, inherited from Ottomans and the Prophet Muhammed era, have led to an easier harmony between Turks and Syrians (Shaherhawasli and Güvençer 2021;Grine et al 2013). During the Ottoman period, Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived together for centuries by forming their laws according to the norms of their religion (Gara 2017;Idriz 2020;Horii 2018;Çiçek 1993;Barkey 2007).…”

“…Religious, cultural, and historical reasons can be cited as the reasons for this approach. In this sense, societies with different ethnicities, religions, and cultures have lived together with Turkish society for centuries (Grine et al 2013;Barkey 2007;Gara 2017;Horii 2018;Idriz 2020). Historically, there has been no fundamental contradiction between religion (Islam) and nationalism in Turkish society in general (Cetinsaya 1999).…”