Ottoman Sultans and State Administration: Strategies and Reforms to 1876

To govern a vast, multi-religious country for centuries, the Ottoman sultans developed particular strategies of state administration. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the policy of istimalet, which eased conquests, the timar system and a strong central organization lay at the heart of these strategies. In this article we look at methods of government ranging from the conception of sovereignty to the Tanzimat.

Quick Summary

Istimalet was the policy of winning the hearts of conquered peoples.
The timar system sustained both the army and the administration in the provinces.
Mehmed the Conqueror made fratricide law for the sake of the state’s indivisibility.
From Ahmed I onward the eldest member of the dynasty came to the throne; the princes were kept in the kafes.
The Tanzimat Edict was proclaimed on 3 November 1839, and the Kanun-ı Esasi on 23 December 1876.
In 1864 the eyalet system gave way to vilayets.

The policy of istimalet
Throne and succession
Provincial administration
Central organization
Reforms
Frequently asked questions

An Ottoman Strategy of State Administration: Istimalet

According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, istimalet means “inclining someone toward oneself, winning hearts”. In the chronicles it was used in the sense of looking after the people, especially the non-Muslim subjects, and treating them with tolerance. Protecting the people of conquered places, granting freedom of religion and easing taxes were the main elements of this policy.

This policy was inherited from the Seljuks and, in the founding years, took the form of getting along well with the Byzantine lords (tekfurs) of Bithynia. According to the encyclopedia, winning over an important raider family such as the Mihaloğulları was one of its positive results. Its most striking results, however, were seen in the conquests of Thrace and the Balkans. We described the founding period in our article on expansion in the era of Orhan Gazi.

The state’s commitments to its subjects were guaranteed by official documents such as the istimaletname or istimalet letter. According to the encyclopedia, old administrative practices were not abolished at a stroke but adapted to the Ottoman system. Religious institutions, the status of social classes and customs were preserved, and heavy corvées were abolished. We examined the position of non-Muslim communities in our article on the millet system.

According to a view cited in the encyclopedia, lasting conquests went through certain stages. First came a period of vassalage and tribute, followed by a period of adjustment. Then the local dynasty, with which the people were not content, was removed by peaceful means. Local military groups familiar with a timar-like regime were also incorporated into the Ottoman timar system.

According to the encyclopedia, this practice was one of the reasons the Ottomans were able to hold on in the Balkans for centuries. It is also said that Balkan peasants, freed from the heavy burdens of the feudal regime, saw the new administration as a deliverer. The employment of Christian youths in the army and the inclusion of voynuks in the military order made non-Muslim subjects part of the administration.

Throne and Succession: The Principle of Indivisibility

The dynasty regarded not dividing the country among the princes as a basic principle. According to the encyclopedia, as soon as Mehmed the Conqueror came to the throne he had his brother Ahmed strangled, and he laid down the rule that “it is permissible to kill one’s brothers for the order of the world (nizam-ı alem)”. His aim was to secure the indivisibility of sovereignty and protect the state from the danger of claimants to the throne. We described the cost of division in our article on the Interregnum.

In the 15th and 16th centuries princes were sent to a sanjak at about eight to ten years of age and learned government in practice. This custom was abandoned after Mehmed III. According to the encyclopedia, from Ahmed I onward the principle of seniority (ekberiyet), under which the eldest member of the dynasty came to the throne, was adopted. The other princes were kept in the palace behind the kafes (“cage”). In keeping with this rule, Ahmed I was succeeded by his brother Mustafa I.

According to the encyclopedia, Ahmed I had been unable to go out to a sanjak because of the Celali disturbances. From then on, princes who were not sent to sanjaks lived with their wives, relatives and servants in the apartment called Şimşirlik in Topkapı Palace. Thus the type of prince who learned government in the provinces gave way to princes raised in the palace.

Provincial Administration: Eyalet, Sanjak and Timar

According to the encyclopedia, in 1357 Orhan Gazi sent his son Murad to Rumelia with his tutor (lala) Şahin. When the lands conquered in Rumelia were placed under Lala Şahin’s responsibility, he received the title of beylerbeyi. Beylerbeyliks were divided into sanjaks; the word eyalet was probably adopted in 1591. According to the encyclopedia, a Western report of 1534 lists, besides Rumelia and Anatolia, Algiers as a naval beylerbeylik. In the eyalets, provincial councils chaired by the governor operated as small copies of the afternoon council (ikindi divanı) at the center.

The backbone of provincial administration was the timar system. According to the encyclopedia, every holder of a timar, zeamet or has was obliged to join campaigns with a number of mounted soldiers, called cebelü, in proportion to his income. In the records, fiefs of 20,000 akçe later came to be called zeamet; through promotions a zeamet could rise to 100,000 akçe. The has granted to sanjak beys and beylerbeyis began at 100,000 akçe.

Ottoman sultans and state administration: governance strategies and reforms

Until a new survey (tahrir) was made, the timar holder collected the obligatory taxes from the peasants himself. One of the zaims was made responsible for all the affairs of the sipahis in the sanjak with the title of alay beyi. According to the encyclopedia, official records of 1527–1528 give the timar army as 37,521 men. When the campaign season began in March or April, the sipahis gathered first under the subaşıs and then under the sanjak beys.

İdris-i Bitlisi, for his part, estimated the Anatolian timar army in 1473 at about 20,000 men and the Rumelian army at about 24,000. This force made up the largest part of the Ottoman army.

Central Organization: The Divan, the Law and the Kul System

The most important council at the center was the Imperial Council (Divan-ı Hümayun). From Mehmed the Conqueror onward the grand vizier presided over the council; some decisions became final only with the sultan’s approval. According to the encyclopedia, decisions were put into practice through fermans prepared by the nişancı and bearing the sultan’s tughra. We described in detail how the institution worked in our article on the Imperial Council.

Customary (örfi) law was regulated by the sultans’ law codes. According to the encyclopedia, the law code attributed to Suleiman the Magnificent rests on a text from the reign of Bayezid II that includes the amendments of Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha. The kadis applied these laws together with sharia law. We described the kadi’s role in the provinces in our article on the Ottoman qadi.

A large share of the soldiers and administrators at the center were raised through the devshirme. According to the encyclopedia, in the Enderun culture and discipline, rather than blood ties, were the basis. We described this order in our article on the devshirme system.

Renewal and Reforms

At the end of the 18th century Selim III founded a new army under the name Nizam-ı Cedid. The Kabakçı Mustafa revolt of 1807, however, removed him from the throne. Under Mahmud II the Janissary corps was abolished in 1826, and at the center the divan gave way to a cabinet system.

According to the encyclopedia, Foreign Minister Mustafa Reşid Pasha read out the Tanzimat Edict in the Gülhane square on 3 November 1839. The basis of the new laws was set as the security of life, the protection of property, honor and dignity, the regulation of taxes and the reform of conscription. It was also announced that the system of tax farming (iltizam), which harmed the people and the treasury, would be abolished.

The edict was read before the ministers, the ulema, the Greek and Armenian patriarchs, the chief rabbi, representatives of the guilds and the ambassadors. According to the encyclopedia, recent research shows that the first measures of the Tanzimat period can be traced back as far as 1830. Although the literature gives Mustafa Reşid Pasha a central place, there was also a serious consensus among the palace, the ulema and the bureaucracy.

The Reform Edict of 1856 extended these arrangements. The Kanun-ı Esasi, the first constitution in Ottoman history, was proclaimed on 23 December 1876. According to the encyclopedia, after the General Assembly had sat for two sessions it was prorogued in February 1878 and did not meet again until the Second Constitutional period. The most disputed article of the constitution was Article 113, which gave the sultan the power of exile abroad; Namık Kemal and Ziya Pasha had opposed it. We discussed the details of this period in our article on the sultans and reform movements.

According to the encyclopedia, the constitution also listed the sultan’s inviolable rights. Among them were concluding treaties, declaring war and peace, commanding the land and naval forces, and convening and proroguing the parliament. The General Assembly consisted of two chambers, the Chamber of Deputies (Hey’et-i Mebusan) and the Senate (Hey’et-i Ayan).

Provincial administration changed too. According to the encyclopedia, administrative councils were set up in the eyalets and their borders were reduced; in 1864 the eyalet system gave way to vilayets. This system was preserved in the Republican period as well. You can also watch the video below on the subject.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does istimalet mean in Ottoman state administration?

It is the policy of protecting the people of conquered places and granting them freedom of religion and easier taxes.

How did the throne change hands in the Ottoman Empire?

At first there was no fixed rule. After Ahmed I the principle that the eldest member of the dynasty succeeded to the throne was adopted.

What is the difference between a timar and a zeamet?

According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, fiefs of 20,000 akçe later came to be called zeamet; a zeamet could rise to 100,000 akçe.

When was the Tanzimat Edict proclaimed?

It was proclaimed at Gülhane on 3 November 1839.

When was the eyalet system abolished in the Ottoman Empire?

According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, in 1864 the eyalet system gave way to vilayets; this order continued in the Republican period as well.

What was the most controversial article of the Kanun-ı Esasi?

It was Article 113, which gave the sultan the power of exile abroad.

What was the first Ottoman constitution?

It was the Kanun-ı Esasi, proclaimed on 23 December 1876.

Conclusion

The Ottoman sultans’ strategy of state administration rested on winning over conquered peoples through istimalet, binding the provinces to the army through the timar and organizing the center through the divan. Harsh methods were also used for the sake of the dynasty’s indivisibility. In the 19th century this order changed fundamentally with the Tanzimat and the Kanun-ı Esasi. The rulers of each period tried to transform the old institutions to suit changing conditions.