Speros Vryonis - The Byzantine Legacy and Ottoman Forms
Speros Vryonis - The Byzantine Legacy and Ottoman Forms
Speros Vryonis - The Byzantine Legacy and Ottoman Forms
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THE BYZANTINE LEGACY
AND OTTOMAN FORMS
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This paper was read at a Symposiumentitled"Afterthe
Fall ofConstantinople,"
held at DumbartonOaks in May 1968.
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PART ONE
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254 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
civilization,but the new Persian milieu of Iraq and Iran had replaced the
Byzantine atmosphereof Syria. HenceforthIranian influenceplayed a very
importantrolein the evolutionof Islamic administration, art,court practices,
statecraft,and literature.2It is all the more remarkablethat at this time of
vanishingByzantineinfluencein the domainof statecraftthe GreekBildungs-
gut made a powerfulimpact on and helped to create Islamic philosophy,
theology,science,and medicine,as well as manuscriptillumination.3 Converse-
ly, Islam had an effect on the populationsof the former Byzantineprovinces
largely as a resultof Islamization and Arabicization,while withinByzantium
proper Islamic influence of the Abbasid era has been traced in courtceremo-
nial, architecture,and miniaturepainting, and in the realm of literature
throughthe translationof orientaltexts into Greek.4It is the thirdphase of
this Byzantine-Muslim relationthat we mustinvestigatehere. In the broader
Mediterraneancontext this third period, the period of the Seljuk-Ottoman
advance fromManzikertto CentralEurope, is balanced in the West by the
Muslim retreatbeforethe Christianreconquistain Spain. These almost con-
temporaryreversalsoffortunein the Muslim-Christian war at the two extreme
ends of the Mediterraneanworld resulted in parallel sociological,cultural,
and religiousphenomenawhichprovideideal cases forcomparativehistorical
studies.
The comparisonof Byzantine and Ottoman institutionsis a game which
many Byzantinistsand not a fewOttomanistshave played, yet it is one still
fraughtwith snares and obstacles.5The most obvious of these impediments
a G. Wiet, "L'Empire n6o-byzantindes Omeyyades et 1'Empire n6o-sassanide des Abbassides,"
Cahiersd'histoiremondiale,I (1953-54), 63-71; M. Watt, Islam and theIntegrationof Society(London,
1961).
3 G. von Grunebaum, "Parallelism, Convergence,and Influence in the Relations of Arab and
ByzantinePhilosophy,Literature,and Piety,"Dumbarton
Oaks Papers, 18 (1964), 89-111; idem,
"Islam and Hellenism," in Islam. Essays in theNature and Growthof a CulturalTradition(Menasha,
1955), 159-167; M. Meyerhoff, VonAlexandriennach Baghdad. Sitzungsberichte der preussischenAKa-
demieder Wissenscha/ten, Philos.-hist.Klasse (1930); M. Steinschneider,Die arabischenUbersetzungen
aus demGriechischen (Graz, 1960); G. Bergstrasser,IHunainibn Ishaq und seine Schule (Leiden, 1913);
F. Rosenthal, Das Fortlebender Antike im Islam (Zurich, 1965); M. Watt, Islamic Philosophyand
Theology(Edinburgh,1962), 44-89, 93-142.
4 C. Becker, "Egypt," EI1; R. Brunschwig,"Tunis," EI,; H. Leclercq, L'Afriquechrdtianne (Paris,
1904), II; C. J. Speel, "The Disappearance of ChristianityfromNorth Africa in the Wake of the
Rise of Islam," ChurchHistory,XXIX (1960), 379-397; W. Margais, "Commentl'Afriquedu Nord a
6t6 arabis6e," Annales de l'Institutd'dtudesorientales(Facult6 des lettresde l'Universit6d'Alger), IV
(1938), 1-21; A. N. Poliak, "L'arabisation de l'Orient s6mitique," Revue des dtudesislamiques (1938),
35-63; M. Canard, "Byzantium and the Muslim World to the Middle of the Eleventh Century," The
CambridgeMedieval History,IV, 1 (1966), 734-735; idem, "Le c6r6monialfatimiteet le c6r6monial
byzantin. 'Essai de comparaison," Byzantion,XXI (1951), 355-420; A. Grabar, "Le succ6s des arts
orientaux la cour byzantinesous les Mac6doniens," MiinchenerJahrbuchder bildendenKunst, III,
2 (1951), 32-50; F. D61ger,"Byzantine Literature,"CMH, IV, 2 (1967), 242-243.
5 The most detailed and comprehensivestudy of Byzantine and Ottoman institutionsis that of
M. K6priilii,"Bizans miiesseseleriniosmanli miiesseselerinitesiri hakkinda bazi miilahazalar," Tiirk
hukukve iktisattarihimecmuass,1 (1931) (hereafter"Bizans,"), 165-313; idem,Alcune osservazioni
intornoall'influenzadelle istituzionibizantinesulle istituzioniottomane(Rome, 1953); idem, "Les
institutionsbyzantinesont-ellesjou6 un r61edans la formationdes institutionsottomanes?" Bulletin
of theInternationalCommittee of HistoricalSciences,VI (1933), fasc. 23, 297-302. K6priiliieffectively
demonstratedthe Islamic originof many Ottoman institutions,but not of all. For differentviews,
see the following:E. Taeschner,"Eine neue tiirkischePublikation zur Wirtschaftsgeschichte," Orien-
talischeLiteraturzeitung, XXXVI (1933), 482-490; Ph. Koukoules, BvLavTvrCvv PfiosKc WrrolTlaap6S
(Athens, 1948-52), I-VI; Kclio0Xi TrovpKtK& 1tpa, BZ, 30 (1929-30), 192-196; B. Cvet-
idem, Bvlatv&Tvd
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 255
is the insufficientlyinvestigatednature of the Palaeologan era, of the entire
Anatolianexperienceof the Turks (both Seljuk and beylik),and of the Otto-
man rise down to the invasionof Syria and Egypt. Though the similaritiesof
both states are immediatelyobvious,any attemptto explain themmust take
into account three possible, but different, originsof these likenesses.First,
the Byzantine and Ottomanwere polyglot,multisectarianstates whose core
lay in Anatolia and the Balkans. Accordingly,their emperorsand sultans
faced many of the same political,social, and economicproblemsand cultural
phenomena.These problems,commonto both empires,would have been re-
flectedin their institutionaland administrativeapparatus; hence, some of
these institutionsmight,theoretically,have been inspiredindependentlyof
any direct institutionalinfluenceor inheritance.Second, the Balkans, Asia
Minor,the Levant, and Egypt had, since the conquestsof Alexander,formed
a common cultural area which, though it possessed strong local cultural
variety,had neverthelessmany commoncharacteristics.The political,social,
and religiousstructurewhichthe Arabs erectedin the formerByzantineand
Sassanid provincesresembledthose of the Byzantinesand Sassanids in many
respects.Thus, whenthe Turks passed into the Muslimlands and were Islam-
icized, they too were influencedby many of the institutionsand practices
which Islam had absorbed fromByzantium.When the Turks conqueredthe
Byzantine Empire they broughtwith them many of these institutions,and
theywere frequentlysimilarto those theythenencountered.The thirdpossi-
bilityis that the Turksborrowedoutrightcertaincustomsfromthe Orthodox
and Armenian Christiansin Anatolia and the Balkans. Theoretically,the
process by which the Turks mighthave adopted, or unconsciouslyimitated,
Byzantine practicesand institutionsis a threefoldone. It could have come
about by directadoptionfromthe subject populationsof the various Turkish
states; or indirectlyby incorporationof older Islamic practiceswhich were
themselvesappropriatedfromByzantium when the Arabs conquered Syria
and Egypt; or because the Turksfoundsimilarproblemsin rulingthe Balkans
and Anatolia and therefore had to use solutionssimilarto thoseof the Byzan-
tines.
A brief survey of the geographicaldiffusionand strengthof Byzantine
civilizationin the Balkans and Anatolia, as well as of the featuresof Turkish
society on the eve of the invasions of these areas is necessaryfor a better
understandingof this general problem.A similarlyimportanttask is to as-
certainthe quality of the Turkishconquestsand the quantityof the Turkish
settlersas determinants in the new Balkan-Anatoliansynthesis.One may con-
venientlydescribe the geographicalconfigurationof Byzantine civilization
and influenceas composedof threegeographicalareas, the intensityof whose
Byzantine quality usually decreased as one moved fromthe center to the
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256 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 257
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258 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 259
of the semi-Byzantinizedzones served as importantvehicles of diffusionof
Byzantine cultureto nations beyond. The Syrians introducedthe Arabs to
Byzantineurban-administrative as well as to intellectuallife,and the South
Slavs played an important role in bringingaspects of the Byzantineheritage
to the Rumanians and Russians.1oConsequently,the cultural vitality and
creativityof these peoples withinByzantine civilizationwere real and sub-
stantial. Simultaneouslyone should say that the Byzantine formsemanating
fromthe central core were the dominantand characteristicfeaturesof this
civilization.It is importantto note that this Byzantine influenceproved
itselfto be powerfuleven in periodsof politicalweakness.This is particularly
evidentin the intensifiedByzantinizationof Serbian formallife in the reign
of Stephan Dushan just at that time when the political mightof Byzantium
was collapsingin the central and southernBalkans. When the Turks first
invaded Asia Minorand the Balkans theyfoundsocietieswhichwerein process
of political and militarydisintegration,but which neverthelessconstituted
compactsocial and culturalentities.
The social formsand culturalaffiliations of the Turks priorto theirAnato-
lian incursionswere quite differentfromthose just described. The Seljuk
Turks encounteredthe religionof Islam in the tenthcenturyand its civiliza-
tion and political life in the eleventh.From this encounterthere arose the
Turkishsultanate,a transformation of the tribal Asiatic khanate by Islamic
politicaltheoryin whichthe politicalauthorityusurpedby the Turkishrulers
was rationalized.Henceforththe Turkishrulers,as sultans,assumed the role
of Muslimpotentates,forwhichrole theirPersian viziersand administrators
preparedand schooledthem.
At this highestlevel of formalTurkishsociety,the newcomersenteredand
participatedin traditionalIslamic sedentarysociety,and the same pattern
was characteristicof all the tribalchieftainswho abandoned the errantlifeto
becomerulersof non-nomadicstates.They and theirimmediatefollowersthus
abandoned their formerpolity, were gradually sedentarized,and wherever
they went, as in thirteenth-century Anatolia, the sultans created an Islamic
court and cultureabout them by encouragingthe immigrationof the repre-
sentativesof this cultureto the new domains. In the eleventhcentury,how-
ever,thismetamorphosis fromnomad to sedentaryseemsto have been a rela-
tivelylimitedphenomenonamongthe Seljuks,and the majorityofthe follow-
ers of the Seljuks remainedin theirtribal state.1 Their nomadic status was
10
See notes nos. 1 and 3, supra. P. Olteanu, "Originesde la cultureslave dans la Transylvaniedu
Nord et le Maramures," Romanoslavica,1 (1958), 169-97; E. Turdeanu, Les principautdsroumaines
et les Slaves du sud: Rapports littdraires et religieux(Munich, 1959); idem,La littdrature bulgare du
XI Ve sidcle et sa difusion dans les pays roumains (Paris, 1947); G.
Nandris, "The Beginningsof
Slavonic Culturein the Rumanian Countries," The Slavonic and East European Review,XXIV (1946),
160-71; M. Murko,Geschichte der iilterensiidslawischenLiteraturen(Leipzig, 1908), 108, 162, 194-95.
11 The best account of this
societyunderthe Great Seljuks is O. Turan, Sel4uklulartarihive Tiirk-
Islami medeniyeti(Ankara, 1965) (hereafterSel4uklular).The nature of Oghuz society in the tenth
and eleventh centuries emerges from two contemporaryaccounts: C. Brockelmann,"Mahmud al-
Kashgari iiberdie Spracheund die Stamme der Turkenim 11. Jahrhundert,"KdrdsiCsoma Archivium,
I (1921-25), 26-40, and A. Z. V. To'an, Ibn Fadlan's Reisebericht, Abhandlungenfiirdie Kunde des
Morgenlandes,XXIV, 3 (Leipzig, 1939) (hereafterIbn Fadlan-To'an), 19ff.F. Siimer,"Anadolu'ya
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260 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
above all characterizedby its mobilenature.Therewas no tribalinstitution-
domicile,cuisine,economy,or militaryweaponryand tactics-which did not
conformto the demandsof maximummobility.The steppe environment with
its harshlaw of survivalhad forgeda societywhichwas sharplydifferentiated
fromthe societiesit was to conquer. Tiirkmennomadismbroughtwith it in
particularan economiclifewhichwas to become the bane of agriculture,an
economyrelyinglargely,thoughnot exclusively,upon pastoralismand war-
fare. For the formerthe Tiirkmenssoughtpasturagewhichthey usually ex-
propriatedby warfareat the expense of the farmingpopulation. Warfare,
especiallyraidingand banditry,was a highlycustomarysourceof enrichment
and it made great slave tradersof the Tiirkmens.Their social, military,and
economiclifewas fusedin theirinstitutions.FormallyIslamized in the tenth
century,the effectof the new religionresultedin nothingmore than a thin
coating over the old tribal shamanismof the Tiirkmens,the tribal shamans
simply becomingMuslim baba's while retainingtheir older characteristics.
Among the most spectacularsurvivalsof these previousshaman practicesis
human sacrifice,a customwhichpersistedforcenturiesafterthe Turks first
enteredByzantinelands and whichwas relatedto theirwarriorculture.12
yalniz g69ebetiirklermi geldi ?" Belleten,TiirkTarih Kurumu,XXIV, 96 (1960), 567-596, attempted
to give greateremphasis to the sedentaryquality among the Turks. D. Theodorides,"Turkeiturkisch
nadas," Zeitschrift fir Balkanologie,IV (1966), 146-48, has introduceda significantmodificationto
one of Stimer'spoints. There is no satisfactorystudy of Turkish nomadism in Anatolia duringthe
period betweenthe eleventhand fifteenth centuries.The remarksof V. Gordlevsky,Izbrannyesoche-
nenila (Moscow, 1960), I, 70-95, are usefulbut are based on only a partial samplingof the available
source material. For the Ottomanperiod, Siimer,Oguzlar(Tiirkmenler) tarihleri-boy teqkildti-destanlart
(Ankara, 1967).
12 M. K6priilii, "Anadoluda
Islamiyet," Edebiyat fakiiltesimecmuasz,II (1928), 385; idem, Tyrk
edebiyatv'ndailk mutasavvtflar (Ankara, 1966), 207, 215., forthe fusionof Turkishshamanistreligion
and Islam; also his brief,Influencede chamanismeturco-mongol (Istanbul, 1929).
Contemporaryobserverstestifyto the survival of human sacrificeamong the Turks in the four-
teenthand fifteenth centuries.JohnCantacuzene,who knew the Turks as well as did any otherByz-
antine author and who had used Turkish soldiers in extensive numbers,remarksthat the Turkish
soldiers performedhuman sacrificeover the graves of their slain comrades: ContraMahometemApo-
logia, PG, 154, col. 545; Ti y&p rfis-rotairrscbp6TlroSKat implravpcowrras XE1pov C~
ykvoitr'&v, 2ate qovEOstv
1~lStKK6TraS; KCaly&p6w6rTaV a&rD0coCtIMOuOValAp(VOti wp65w6AEsov,Kai v TI
rroXpcpTrrq -ris5
-r8-v o*
aTcrrov, bs tal-riovu woA?ouv, '-r
6 vpEKPbV -rTo TETTrwC)K6TOS
Aoyiovrat avrrois d&iovusppp?Ecos, rod &aX' ~TwI aGpC
Ltv-ras 6aovus8vvaOi
&v v KaaTos,
6v Kal i6ovTAov5
KTEIVEt,-roaoiTrovd)kASEIav i-rf
aq&r-rovauqrvXfs.El 8' racos a
-rEves-ros oOK e~O
airroi e ovaotv roT 6 povA6psvoSoi~BOfitai T1 Aoyif-rat
TETOVE"cTOS "TO,
TOy' JXi
Xpicrrtavoi~,efrrspEspoi,KOal'h' tr~V o -roVleKpoi acbpaT-roS
&kovels-rat aro'?, ?i klrri T 6cq aroi.
aqC&-r-rs
&
Kai 6 TavTrravooeyorov rw drr6 soo; r"-rOcP
Murad II purchased six hundredslaves in the Peloponnese which he then sacrificedto his dead
father; Chalcocondyles, 348. p-r&S vriadpEvoSd&vSpdrro8aS a viiys -rT gavrroOwcarpi,
&eK6ta Ouciav
i~toipEvoS -r"t96vc tov To-rororv.
&Sv8pwov
These two referencesare very clear and there can be no doubt that human sacrificesurvived
among a portion of the Tiirkmentribes in Anatolia and the Balkans as late as the fourteenthand
fifteenthcenturies.Cantacuzene understoodthe purpose of these sacrifices,but was in errorwhen he
consideredthe practice to be of Islamic origin.Islam, of course,never toleratedhuman sacrifice,and
what he describes is clearly a central Asiatic shamanistic practice. Among the shamanistic Ura-
Altaic peoples it was commonlybelieved that those whom a warriorslew in this world would serve
him in the next. Thus human sacrificeat the grave of the dead warriorwas a well-knowncustom in
the religionsof the Turco-Mongolpeoples and was observed as early as Herodotus and as late as the
nineteenthcentury.Theophanes, ed. de Boor, I, 379, recordsit among the Khazars, -ro
8'S TovSoivov
T
-1v ol X&CapsSE1 SoXhv
656v -er)YK6A0os, aVT'roi ov -ros
TrptlaKooiot0
KaTn& D.
o-rparicb-rcai. Dunlop, The Historyof the aTKTEav-r6VroV
JewishKhazars (Princeton,1954), 175. For the cult of the
ovUpppPXqv
dead among the shamanistpeoples, see the following,wheremoredetailed referenceis made to human
sacrifice:Ibn Fadlan-To'an (as in note ii supra), 24-25, 236-37; J.-P. Roux, La mortchezles
peuples
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 261
The Turksbroughta hybridsocietywiththemwhentheymoved acrossthe
Islamic worldand enteredAsia Minor: Islamic and nomadic.Duringthe cen-
turiesthat followedtheirinitial appearance in Anatolia and the Balkans the
natureofTurkishsocietychangedradically.In the earlystagesoftheinvasions
the Turkswere predominantly nomads,but theybegan,gradually,to become
settled-a trendwhichcontinueduntil the nineteenthcentury.In sixteenth-
centurywesternAnatolia the proportionof nomad to sedentaryMuslimwas
16.6 per cent to 83.4 per cent. By the late seventeenthcenturythe seden-
tarizationof nomads seemsto have intensified sharply.13
In termsof the Byzantinelegacy and Ottomanformsthe significant factor
that should be noted here is that the Tiirkmensor Yiiriikswho abandoned
the tribalforthe settledlifein Anatolia and the Balkans weresedentarizedin
the homelandof Byzantineculture(Slavic-Greek-Armenian). This is parallel
to the sedentarizationof the Arabs, duringthe firstIslamic centuries,in the
formerByzantine provincesof Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and
North Africa.The importanceof the sedentarizationof the Arabs in these
formerly Byzantineprovinceswas, of course,momentousin the formationof
early Islamic society.One should,however,make this reservation:When the
Arabs conqueredthese Byzantineprovincesin the seventhcenturyIslam was
not yet a fullydeveloped civilizationand culture,it still consistedprimarily
of the utterancesof Muhammadand the simplersocietyof the inhabitantsof
the Arabian peninsula. In contrast,the Turkish sultans, by conversionto
Islam and officialaffiliation
with the caliphate,inheritedat this top level of
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262 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
Turkishsocietyan entirecivilizationwithhighlydevelopedsystemsofreligion,
law, literature,art, and economicand urbanlife.Nevertheless,this was offset
by the factthat all the variouselementsof Islamic civilizationhad not at this
early time (eleventhcentury)affectedthe mass of the invading Tiirkmens,
who still lived in the impervioussocial cocoon oftribalism.Consequently,the
majorityof the Tiirkmenscontinuedto live in a conditionstronglyrecalling
that of the Arab bedouinswhen theyenteredthe Levant, Iraq, Egypt, etc.
A second factto be consideredat thispointfollows:The Turksfirstentered
Asia Minorin the eleventhcenturyand the Balkans (as settlers)only in the
second half of the fourteenth.Consequently,three centuriesseparate the
appearance of this conqueringpeople in the two peninsulas.One must,there-
fore,take into accountthe dynamicsofsocial-culturalchangewithinboth the
Turkish and Byzantine spheres during this interval. The Turkish-Muslim
society,which effectedthe initial conquest in Anatolia, underwenta great
transformation duringits three-century residencein Anatolia so that whenit
next implanted itselfin the Balkans-during the fourteenthand fifteenth
centuries-it had experienceda substantialevolution.These changes,to which
one can only allude here, included widespread sedentarizationof nomads,
large-scaleconversionsof Christiansand absorptionof their style of life in
Anatolia,and the influxof a considerableMuslimsedentaryelementfromthe
traditionalIslamic lands. The nomadic elementwhich crossedthe straitsto
Europe remainedmostfreeofthis change,but it was, in its turn,sedentarized
in a Byzantino-Balkanmilieu.Concomitantto this evolutionwithinTurkish-
Muslimsocietywas the developmentin Byzantinesociety.As the Turks con-
quered Asia Minor,the developmentof Byzantinesocietytherewas arrested
in the sense that it was cut offfromthe heartbeatof the culture,and so took
on a more archaisticor fossilizedaspect with the passage of time. The Chris-
tians of Seljuk Anatolia did not sharein manyof the laterByzantinedevelop-
ments (pronoiaforinstance). Consequently,the Byzantinesocietywhich the
Turks foundin eleventh-century Anatolia differedin some respectsfromthat
whichtheyfoundin fourteenth-century Bithyniaand the Balkans.
In past discussionsof Byzantineinfluenceon Turkishsocietyand culture
therehas been a tendencyto concentrateon the spectacularconquestof Con-
stantinopleand the replacementof the basileus with a sultan. More recently
scholars have called attentionto the absorptionof local Christianelements
and forcesin the Balkans. However, there is good reason to believe that
muchof this Byzantinizationof the conquerorstook place in late eleventh-
and twelfth-century Anatolia and in thirteenth-and fourteenth-century
Bithynia.
Not less importantthan the nature of Byzantine and Turkishsociety,in
this discussionof interplaybetweenthe institutionsof the two societies,is the
characterof the Turkishconquests and settlementsas a conditioningfactor
whichhelped to determinethe new synthesisin the Balkans and Anatolia. In
examiningthis fundamentalproblemwe must ask and attemptto answertwo
difficultquestions. Were the Turkish invasions of a destructiveor pacific
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 263
character?How great was the numberof Turks who enteredAsia Minorand
the Balkans? The question of the destructiveor relativelypacificcharacter
of the Turkishconquestsand migrationsis one whichhas rousedconsiderable
disagreement.One group of scholars.stronglyassertsthat the Turkishoccu-
pation of the two peninsulaswas effectedby fireand the swordand accompa-
nied by massacre, enslavement,destruction,and barbarizationof society.14
A second school counters,withequal vigor,that the Turkisharrivalwas rela-
tivelypeaceful,uneventful,and broughtthe economicand culturalfruitsof
politicalstabilityand unificationto the politicallysplinteredand underdevel-
oped Anatolian and Balkan populations.15Paradoxically,both propositions
containelementsof truthas well as, incidentally,the answerto our question.
But the paradox disappears upon closer consideration,for, as the heir of
steppe nomadismand the Islamic sultanate,eleventh-century Turkishsociety
containedwithinit both potentials,i.e., destructionand construction.Noma-
dismbroughtwithit, as we saw, an economybased on pastoralismand raiding.
Thus, nomadizationmeant the violentdisruptionof sedentarylifeand there-
fore not only its economic decline but its partial destruction.The Islamic
state, in the conquestof Byzantinelands, harnessedthe naturalbellicosityof
the nomad to its own needs by attachingit to thejihad againstthe Christians.
But withinits own domainsthe sultanate toiled to establishall the elements
of a viable sedentary culture--agriculture, crafts,commerce,religion,and
above all the peace and securitywhichwereabsolutelyessentialto thisculture.
There was latent,in thisrelationbetweenthe sultan and the nomads,a highly
destructivetendencywhichwas restrainedonlywhenthe state was centralized
and strong.When it weakenedor disappearedthe politicaland militarymight
of the nomads was no longerconstrained.Consequently,the periodsfromthe
late eleventhto the mid-twelfth century,and fromthe later thirteenthand
fourteenth centuries,periods in which therewas no effectivecontrolof a cen-
tralized state in large areas, were characterizedby rampant nomadismand
destruction.The list of destroyedtownsand villagesin theseperiodsis a long
one. Conversely,with the stabilizationof a centralizedauthorityin the late
twelfthand early thirteenthcenturiesand again with the effectiveestablish-
ment of unifiedand centralizedrule of the Ottomansultans orderonce more
prevailed,societyrecovered,and lifeprospered.
How destructive,then,was the Turkishconquest? If it had been as destruc-
tive as some maintain,we could terminateour discussionof the Byzantine
legacy at this point,forobviouslytherewould have been nothingleftof it in
the Balkans and Anatolia to discuss.Thoughit may have been so destructive
in certainlocalities,the overall conquestwas characterizedby a conservation
14The most detailed study of this destructive
aspect of the Turkishconquests is D. Angelov's "La
conquate des peuples balkaniques par les Turcs," Byzantinoslavica,XVII (1956), 220-275; "Turskoto
zavoevanie i borbata na balkanskite narodi protiv nashestventsite,"Istoricheskipregled,IX (1953),
374-398. A. Vakalopoulos, 'lo-ropia-roevovu'EAAiviatiocI(Thessaloniki, 1964), II, 40-60, 62-98;
I. Snegarov, Turshotovladichestvo prechkaza kulturnotorazvitiena bulgarskiianarodi drugitebalkanski
narodi (Sofia, 1958), takes a completelynegative view of the Ottoman conquest and administration.
15 Most recently,F. Siimer,"The Turks in Eastern Asia Minorin the Eleventh Century,"Supple-
mentaryPapers, Thirteenth InternationalCongressof ByzantineStudies (Oxford,1966), 141-143.
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264 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
ofa significant portionofthelocal societies.16We may further refinethe answer
the
by comparing process in the Balkans and Anatolia. The Turkish conquest-
settlementin Anatolia was prolonged,repeatedin certainareas, and resulted
in a phenomenalpoliticalsplinteringfromthe eleventhcenturyuntilthe final
Ottomanreunification in the late fifteenth
and earlysixteenthcenturies.The
politicalstabilizationattained by Konya and Nicaea in the thirteenthcentury
is a brilliantbut solitarylightin this long period. By contrastthe Ottomans
conqueredthe major portionofthe Balkans in littlemorethan a centuryafter
the seizure of Gallipoli, and, had it not been for the nearly fatal Timurid
interlude,they would have effectedthe conquest much sooner. Also, if one
takes into account the fact that duringthe conquest the Balkan kingdoms
were firstattached to the Ottomansin a vassal status,thenthe actual period
of conquestis even shorter.Thoughit is true that the conquestitself,during
its briefextent,was brutal and destructive,the Ottomans early asserted a
strict centralizedcontrol and conditionswere quickly normalized.Finally,
we returnto the apparentparadox,that the Turksultimatelybroughtpolitical
unificationand stabilityon the one hand and definitedisruption,even de-
struction,on the other.The sultans,once they had establishedpolitical and
militarycontrol,labored indefatigablyto restoreeconomicporsperity,tran-
quility,and securitywithintheirdomains.But until this was finallyaccom-
plished Byzantine society sufferedthe cruel afflictions of war, especiallyin
Anatolia. The destructionof towns and villages has alreadybeen mentioned.
A briefsamplingwill sufficeto convey the nature of this aspect of Turkish
conquest. Anna Comnenaremarksthat by the end of the eleventhcenturya
large proportionof the towns along the Aegean coastlinefromthe northto
Attalia had been completelyor partiallydestroyed."When the Second Cru-
saderspassed throughwesternAsia Minor,Odo ofDeuil remarkedthat,though
the Greekshad rebuiltand recolonizedsome ofthe urban centers,manyofthe
townswerestillnothingmorethanuninhabitedruins.s8 Adramyttium, formerly
verypopulous and prosperous,was so destroyed,a contemporary relates,that
one could not tell whetherit had ever been inhabitedby man.19Dorylaeum,
one of the largestand most prosperousof Greektownsin Asia Minor,lay a
desertedruinforover one hundredyears,no one stonestandingupon another
in the ruins.20Caesareia remainedan uninhabitedshambles for over half a
16On thisconservative
aspect, see H. Inalclk, "Ottoman Methodsof Conquest," Studia Islamica, II
(1954) (hereafter"Conquest"), 103-129.
17 Anna Comnena,Alexiade, ed. B. Leib (Paris, 1937) (hereafterAnna Comnena), III, 23; ...
-rov KTrr& 0aearTTav rEKal Xcopcv AErlacria Kai wTrav-rEe?9pEfiwrctS"
1taxKEtp~vov Wr6Xecbv 11, 142, ... r6 Kra
-rrapafav -ri~ Ipvopvls Kai p'Xpti
?riv18 asri- 'Ar-rcaAiaSof pd3pp3apot fpifTwcoaav.
Ode of Deuil, De
profectione Ludovici VII in
orientem, ed. and
-rEEio
tr. V. G.
Berry (New York, 1948),
86-89: Quam cum totaessetiuris,Graecorumhanc ex magna parte Turci possident,illis expulsis, aliam
106-107: Ibi multasurbesdestructasinvenimus.
destruxerunt;
19 Anna Comnena (as in note 17 supra), III, 143: T66AtS
68&
1rpcqv
'v viv
6TrrlvlK
6 TlcXas r& KaTi
TipXVlpipVn v plEX 1 woAvavepcoiwo-r&d-r"
S6 KaclaOrTVivTrCA5 X ca-
(piVoiE. TV617yo0v TOrav-rTAij
~11LET'o ptT'acS
vpblv riS -rotlacrrMs DOsaocpevo Tr6AscoS, cb oKETV LplU&&tOpcOTOV rTOTEV .rivani.
-resTITp -ris r v v 'AoigqKai
20 Cinnamus, 294-295: -rb 7 r KTaroiK1aI
68 Aop0Aaiov -rooro fjv p~v 6r TV6AS iv
pydrArl
A6yov &x(fa roAAo. ..... d AAf lTpopat,6TrrWviKa Ka-r& iKxpaLsvK6popfl,1rV7E EIS i(t9os
'PpaoiovT VTa pXpl Kid "r6uktV
PEPxriPvnrlv ppov mtrof10VTroKal -rir'BE ~WrlA~ETrrTv
Ti7s rTAat
Epvl6vnros&vOpepb6TAov
TXvoS. "rrav-rdrrtaotv
pdrqviacrav 't
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 265
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266 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 267
PART Two
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268 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
ratus by whichspecificnon-Muslimpracticescould be accommodated.Such a
principlehad been elaborated early in Islamic historybecause of pragmatic
necessity.In the Turkishperiod the sultans could legislate (the principleof
urft)by way of supplementingIslamic law. This loophole enabled them to
move above and beyondthe specificprovisionsof the holy law.28Partly as a
consequenceof the applicationof Islamic institutionsto thisByzantinemilieu
and of the sultan's legislativepowersthe Seljuk and Ottomanempiresdiffered
markedlyfromsuch otherIslamic states as the Mamelukeand Safavi.
It will be convenienthere to glance, briefly,at the class structureof the
Balkan and Anatolian regions during this long period of conflictbetween
Byzantiumand the Turks. At the apex of the social structuresthe Turkish
conquest removedthe rulingdynastiesof the Armenians,Greeks,Serbs,and
Bulgars; only the Rumanian princes survived the initial conquest. At the
next gradationof societythe aristocraciessuffered a partialdisplacementand
diminution.The Armeniannobles fledto the Taurus, Cilicia, Egypt, and to
Byzantiumin theeleventhcentury.The Byzantinearistocratsoftenabandoned
theirestates in centraland easternAnatolia. Indeed Alexius Comnenushim-
selfwitnessedwithhis own eyes the Turkishraids on the old familyholdings
(now abandoned) at Castamon, whereas Bourtzes was ordered to raid his
formerestates now withinTurkishterritoryand to evacuate the villagersso
that theywould be spared Turkishrule. There is a steady westwardflightof
Byzantine magnates in the eleventh,twelfth,and fourteenthcenturiesfrom
Anatolia to the Balkans. Later, many of the membersof this class continued
the flightbeforethe Turks, seekingrefugein Venetian possessionsor in the
West. Anna Notaras,daughterof the megaduxwho had in the heat of theolo-
gical passion expresseda preference forthe Turks,chose to live in Italy rather
than in Turkishpossessions.There is a corresponding withdrawalnorthward
beforethe Turkishadvance on the part of the Serbian and Bulgarian aristo-
crats.29
Simultaneouswith this dispersionof some of the higheraristocracybefore
the advancingTurks,however,one sees that a substantialnumberremained
in the Seljuk and Ottomandomainsand participatedactivelyin the economic,
political,and militarylife of these Turkishlands. The activityof Armenian
nobles in the early Turkishconquests and militaryadministrationis clearly
evidentin the chronicleof Matthewof Edessa. The Turkishepic, the Danish-
mendname,composed in the thirteenthcenturyto commemoratethe initial
conquests in northeasternAnatolia, recalls vividly and in great detail the
participationof these Armenianlords. The Syrianmerchantsand landowners
remainedin eastern Asia Minor,being as fearfulof the Greeks and Arme-
28 F.
Taeschner, "Eine neue turkischePublikation ...," OLZ, XXXVI (1933), 485-488. Inalcik,
"The Problem of the Relationship between Byzantine and Ottoman Taxation,"
nationalenByzantinistin-Kongresses Aktendes XI. Inter-
Miinchen 1958 (Munich,1960) (hereafter"Taxation"), 237-242.
29 Matthew of Edessa,
Chroniquede 952 & 136, tr. E. Dulaurier (Paris, 1858) (hereafterMatthew
of Edessa), 182; Bryennius,93; Anna Comnena (as in note 17 supra), III, 27, 29, 199-203. A detailed
account is to be found for GregoryPacurianus in L. Petit, "Typikon de Gr6goirePacourianes pour
le monastbrede Petritzos (Ba'kovo) en Bulgarie," supplement to VizVrem,XI (1904), 54-56; Vaka-
lopoulos, op. cit. (supra, note 14), IIJ, 62ff.
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 269
nians as of the Turks,and thereis also referenceto the presenceof a limited
numberof Georgiannobles amongthe Turks.30Representativesof the Byzan-
tine militaryand land-owningaristocracyare in evidence throughoutSeljuk
and early Ottomansociety.The Gabras familyfurnishedthreegenerationsof
emirs to the twelfth-century Seljuks.31Members of the Maurozomes clan
maintained officialconnections,both administrativeand marital, with the
Turkishcourtsfromthe twelfththroughthe fourteenthcentury.32 Scions of
the Comnenusand Taronites clans appear in the service of the Anatolian
Turks,33and representativesof the Palaeologus, Angelus, Cantacuzenus,
Comnenus,and Chalcocondylesdynastiesin the service of the Ottomansin
the Balkans.34Greek landed magnates preservingtheirold Byzantine titles,
continuedto existin thirteenth-century Seljuk domains,and one such appears
with a Seljuk title and an officialcostumein a cave mural of the thirteenth
century.35 These Armenian,Greek, Slav, and Albanian feudal lords figured
prominentlyin the early Ottoman magnate class. Such were the Mihaloglu,
the various tekfur'sof Bithynia,the Glavas of Thessaly,Laskarids of Avlona,
Kurtiksand ArianitesofAlbania,etc.36Consequently,as previouslymentioned,
this Christianaristocracypartlysurvivedthe conquests.It is interesting that
S0Matthew of Edessa (as in note 29 supra), 195, 199, 205-206, 209-210; I. Melikoff,La gestede
Malik Daniqmend (Paris, 1960) (hereafterDanigmend),I, 126, 128-129; Bar Hebraeus (as in note 21
supra), I, 265; Michael the Syrian (as in note 21 supra), III, 247; M. Brosset, Histoirede la Gdorgie
depuis l'antiquitdjusqu'au XIXe sihcle(St. Petersburg,1849), I, 331.
81 Nicetas Choniates, 245-246; Cinnamus, 56; Bar Hebraeus (as in note 21 supra), I, 330. It is
interestingthat one memberof the familywas martyredforthe faith by the Turks, Papadopoulos-
Kerameus, XvlaPhoAal EIsTlV VizIVtem,XII (1906), 132-137; Zonaras, III, 739;
-vto-ropiav TpaowELoGvros,
C. Cahen, "Une famillebyzantineau service des Seldjuqides d'Asie Mineure,"in Polychronion.Fest-
schriftFtanz D6lgerzum 75. Geburtstag, ed. P. Wirth (Heidelberg, 1966), 145-149.
32 H. Duda, Die Seltschukengeschichte des Ibn Bibi (Copenhagen,1959) (hereafterIbn Bibi-Duda),
38, 41, 117-120, 140, 330-331; Vryonis,"Seljuk Gulams and Ottoman Devshirmes," Der Islam, 41
(1965) (hereafter"Gulams,"), 232-235; P. Wittek, "L'6pitaphe d'un Comn6nea Konia," Byzantion,
X (1935), 505-515; idem, "Encore l'6pitaphe d'un Comn~ne ' Konia," ibid., XII (1937), 207-211;
S. Lampros-K. Dyovountiotes, "fprpyopiovfaAacxa wrp6seeaoYaovtKeiS," NooS 'EAAvouvic1ov,
XVI (1922),11. hTT-rokhl
38NicetasChoniates,48-49, 72; Lampros-Dyovouniotes,
op.cit. (supra,note 32), 13. Otherex-
amplesof Greeknoblesas Turkishofficials
duringthe Seljukperiodappearin thevaqf documents.
A. Temir, Kirgehiremiri Caca Oglu Nur el-Din'in 1272 tarihli Arabca-Mogolcavakfiyesi(Ankara,
1959), 123, mentions the Emir Constantineof Iskilib and Esed ud-devle Constantinein Kayseri;
Turan, Selcuklular (as in note 11 supra), 227, 233, mentions the patricius Michael son of Maurus,
and the son ofthe patriciusIoanes. S. Lampros, 'H 'EAArIVtKhI fdTrOs xrv oh'VA-r&vcov,
&cSS a
NiOS
'EhlvoviiAcov,V (1908), 48, a Kyr Alexius was the ambassador of the yAwaaCra
Seljuk sultan to the kingdom
of Cyprus.
S4M. Gbkbilgin,X V-XVI astrlarda Edirne ve Paqa
livdst vaktflar-miilkler-mukataalar
(Istanbul,
1952) (hereafterEdirne), 89, 93, 106-107, 151-152; R. Anheggerand Inalclk, sultanr
bermiiceb-i'drf-i osmanz.II MehmedveII Bayezid devirlerine ait yasakndmeve kan7innameler (Ankara,
Ki.anfnndme-i
1956), 73-74; F. Babinger, "Beitrage zur Geschichtedes Geschlechtesder Malqo6-Oglus," 355-369,
"Beitrage zur Geschichte von Qarly-Eli vornehmlichaus osmanischen Quellen," 370-377, "Eine
Verfiigungdes PalaiologenChass Murad-Paga," 344-354; all of these essays are reprintedin Aufsdtze
und Abhandlungenzur Geschichte Siidosteuropasund derLevante(hereafterAufsdtze)(Munich,1962), I.
93 Turan, op. cit. (supra, note 33), 227. N. and M. Thierry,Nouvellesdglisesrupestres de Cappadoce,
rdgiondu Hasan Dagi (Paris, 1963), 105, 202. The title, emir ariz, indicates an importantofficial
position; see I. Uzungarsllh, Osmanlidevletiteqkildtina medhal(Istanbul, 1944) (hereafterMedhal), 105.
1 Arnakis,
op. cit. (supra, note 5), 89; E. Frances, "La f6odalit6byzantineet le conqu6te turque,"
Studia et acta orientalia,IV (1962), 69-90; Inalcik, "Stefan Dusan'dan Osmanli Imparatorluguna.
XV asirda Rumeli'de hiristiyansipahiler ve mengeleri,"in Fatih devriiizerindetetkikler ve vesikalar
(Ankara, 1954) (hereafter"Dusan'dan,"), 142-143, 146-147, 158-162.
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270 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
a numberof their titles were absorbedinto Turkish: egendi,despina,patrik,
kyra,arhon,knez,voyvod,etc.
The peasant class ofAsia Minorand the Balkans remained,thoughtherewas
extensivedisplacement,particularlyin Anatolia. I shall returnto the problem
of the Christianpeasantryin discussingdemographyand ethnography.The
Christianurban class survivedin many cities,thoughit largelydisappeared
in others.The Christianartisans,merchants,and physicianscontinued,though
the intellectualswere adverselyaffectedand many of themfled.
Despite the fact that varioussocial classes of Christiansocietyexperienced
adversity,the Turks of the eleventh,twelfth,and thirteenthcenturiesin Asia
Minorand of the fifteenth and sixteenthcenturiesin the Balkans ruled com-
pact groups of Christian urban and rural population. It was basically these
social classes that gave theTurkishstates a styleand colorationwhichdiffered
sharplyfromthose of the Islamic states rulingEgypt, Syria, Iraq, and Iran.
It was due to theseChristianpopulationsthat Turkishsocietywas to a certain
degree Byzantinizedso that at the momentof genesis of this new Turko-
Muslimcivilizationin Asia Minorand the Balkans the Islamic superstructure
rested on Byzantine foundations.These different Christianclasses retained
the age-old traditionsof Byzantino-Armenian and Byzantino-Slavicculture,
which they now contributedto the cruciblein which Turkish culture was
forged.
The topic of Byzantineinfluenceon the Turkishpolitical,military,adminis-
trative,fiscal,and numismaticinstitutions(all ofwhichwereformallyIslamic)
is as yet insufficiently and unevenlyinvestigated.The Seljuk and Ottoman
courts were, theoretically,subject to outside influencesvia four channels.
There were occasionallysultans and princeswho spent time in the company
of Byzantine rulersin Constantinopleand Nicaea. Such, for instance,were
Kilidj Arslan II, his son Giyathed-Din Kaihusrau I, Izz ed-Din Kaikaus II,
of whomthe two latterwerehalf-Greeks, or mixovarvaroi.37A second channel
throughwhichsuch influencesmighthave penetratedinto Turkishcourtlife
was marriagealliance. Numerouswere the Seljuk, Danishmendid,emirate,
and Ottomanrulerswho took Christianwives: Kilidj ArslanII, Giyathed-Din
Kaihusrau I, Ala ed-Din Kaikubad I, and Giyath ed-Din Kaihusrau II, the
last of whomhad one Greek,one Georgian,and one Tiirkmenwife.The sub-
sequentintrigueindicatesthat Kaihusrau's domestictranquilitywas inversely
related to the ethnicvarietyof his harem.38 The Tiirkmenprincesofnorthern
Anatolia took Trapezuntineprincessesto wife,as did the Ak Koyunlu and
Karaman princes."9 The Ottomansin particularsatisfiedtheirdiplomaticand
3"Nicetas Choniates,156-157; Ibn Bibi-Duda (as in note 32 supra), 38, 274, 282-283. Alexius III
acted as baptismal sponsor of and adopted Giyath ed-Din Kaihusrau I; Acropolites,Chronicesyn-
graphe,ed. E. Heisenberg (Leipzig, 1903), I, 14.
38 Nicetas Choniates, 689-690; Ibn Bibi-Duda (as in note 32 supra), 37-38, 204, 210, 278, 313;
William of Rubrick, Itinerarium,ed. P. A. van den Wyngaert,in Sinica Franciscana, I (Florence,
1929) (hereafterWilliam of Rubrick-Wyngaert),330.
39O. Lampsides, MiXach-Tooi TTavapTrovwrept pEy&kcovKopvrqvcv, XXII (1958)
'ApXeiov 6vwrov,
(hereafterPanaretus-Lampsides),70, 72, 74; E."-rov
Rossi, II "Kitab-i Dede Qorqut"raccontiepico-caval-
lereschidei TurchiOguz tradottie annotaticon "facsimile"del ms. vat. turco120 (Vatican City, 1952),
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 271
32; A. Bombaci, Storia della litteraturaturca dell'antico imperio di Mongolia all' odierna Turchia
(Milan, 1956), 222; I. Melikoff,"G6orgiens Turcomans et Tr6bizonde: Notes sur le 'Livre de Dede
Qorqut," Bedi Karthlisa,XVII-XVIII (1964), 21-22; idem,Daniqmend (as in note 30 supra), I, 99-
100; Bertrandonde la Broqui^re, Le voyaged'outremer de Bertrandonde la BroquiBre,ed. C. Schefer
(Paris, 1892) (hereafterBertrandonde la Broquibre-Schefer), 90.
40 Nicephorus Gregoras,III, 504; F. Babinger, "Witwensitz und
Sterbplatz der Sultanin Mara,"
Au/sdtze,I, 340-344.
4t Ibn Bibi-Duda (as in note 32 supra), 265; William of Rubrick-Wyngaert(as in note 38
supra),
330; Pachymeres,I, 131, 263-268; Nicephorus Gregoras,I, 95.
42 John Cantacuzene,
II, 588-589; M. Andreeva, "0 tseremonil'prokipsi'," SeminariumKonda-
kovianum,I (1927), 157-173.
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272 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 273
armies of the caliphate and Byzantium.Armenianmilitarycontingents,led
by Armenianpatricians,served the Seljuks in the late eleventh and early
twelfthcenturiesin easternAnatolia.46NicephorusGregorasrelates that the
sultans recruitedmilitarycorps of Greek Christiansfromamong the Greeks
inhabitingthe Seljuk domainsand that theseservedundertheirown generals
with theirown uniforms.It was these troopsover whichMichael Palaeologus
was appointed kondistablwhen he fledto Konya.47 The survivalof Christian
militarygroups and theirincorporationinto the Ottoman war machine are
phenomenawhich have received considerableand detailed study and have
been rightlystressedas elementswhichhelped make possible the rapid mili-
tary conquests of the Ottomans,who, without auxiliary manpower,would
not have been numerousenoughto take and hold theirvast empire.Early in
the Bithynianconquestsof Osman Byzantinefeudallordsjoined the Ottoman
armies, the most famous of them-Mihal Beg-forming one of the longest
lived Muslim aristocraticdynasties. The fully developed Ottoman military
institutionsof the fifteenth and sixteenthcenturiescontainedverysignificant
Christiancontingentsin the martolos,voynuks,Eflaks, and derbentdjis(of
the 832,730 Christianhearthsrecordedfortax purposesin the Balkans during
the sixteenthcentury,7,851 were voynuk,82,692 were martolosand Eflak).
These groups,as a formallyrecognizedpart of the Ottoman askerclass and
enjoyingcertaintax exemptions,apparentlyretaineda numberof theirpre-
Ottoman militaryofficers.Halil Inalcik, the foremostauthorityon the insti-
tutionalhistoryofthe earlyOttomanperiod,has concludedthat thesevarious
Christianmilitarygroups, along with the Christianspahis, constitutedthe
majorityof Ottomanmilitaryforcesin the Balkans towardthe late fifteenth
and early sixteenthcenturies."4 This raises the problem,much discussed re-
cently, of the possible relation between the Byzantino-Slavicand Ottoman
militaryfief,to wit, the pronoia and timar. In the fourteenthand fifteenth
centuriesthe Turks establishedthe timaras a basic military,fiscal,and ad-
ministrativeinstitutionin the Balkans. In its essentialsthe Ottoman timar
was identicalwith the Byzantinepronoia. It was a revenueproducinggrant,
usually but not exclusivelyof land, the recipientof which, the spahi, was
entitledto hold it in usufructin returnformilitaryservice.The basic difference
betweentimarand pronoiawas a functionofthe reversefortunesof centralized
authorityin the Byzantine and Ottoman states. The sultan exercized strict
control of these fiefs,whereas in Byzantium decentralizationof imperial
authoritywas reflectedin the increasingpassage ofpronoia fromthe category
46 Matthewof Edessa (as in note 29 supra), 199, 205-206, 209-210; Ibn Bibi-Duda (as in note 32
supra), 97, 216, 219-220, 223, 227-230, 233, 334, 336.
7 Nicephorus Gregoras,I, 58.
48 Inalclk,
"Dusan'dan," (as in note 36 supra), passim; idem,Hicri 835 tarihlis4ret-idefter-isan-
cak-i Arnavid (Ankara, 1954); idem, "Timariotes chr6tiensen Albanie au XVe sidcle," Mitteilungen
des 6sterreichischenStaatsarchivs,4 (1952), 118-138. B. Cvetkova, "Novye o khristianakh-spakhiiakh
na balkanskom poluostrovev period turetskogogospodstva," VizVrem,XIII (1958), 184-197,
gives
additional Balkan literatureon the subject of the Christianspahis. Barkan, "Essai" (as in note 13
supra), 34; R. Anhegger, "Martoloslar hakkinda," TilrkiyatMecmuasz, VII-VIII (1940-42), 282-
320; M. Vasi6, "Die Martolosenim osmanischenReich," Zeitschrift fiurBalkanologie,II (1964), 172-
189. On the derbentdjis,see C. Orhonlu,Osmanisimparatorlugunda derbendtefkilatz(Istanbul, 1967).
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274 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
of usufructto that of dominium.It is of furtherinterestthat the Ottomans
incorporateda numberof the old Serbian and Greekpronoiarioias Christian
spahis,convertingtheirpronoiasintotimars.Duringthe fifteenth centurythe
proportionof Christianto Muslimtimarholdingspahis in the Balkans varied
fromabout 50 per cent in the districtof Branichevato 3.5 per cent in that of
Vidin. The liva of Arnavud ili had 60 Christiantimarsout of a total of 335,
Tirhala 86 of 182 (in the year 859), etc. The Byzantine magnate-soldiersof
Bithyniawho joined the Ottomanswerealso allowed to retaintheirlands and
castles, and this occurredelsewherein Asia Minor (Paipert, Kutahya, etc.).
A numberof tax practices associated with the old pronoia systemseem to
have been incorporatedwhen the Ottomans absorbed the Christianspahis
into the timarestablishment.49
But do these constitutecoincidencesof the incidentallysimilar,or was the
timarmoreintimatelyrelatedto thepronoia? I do not proposeto give a defi-
nitive answer to the question for this is not yet possible. However, a brief
glance at the Islamic nomenclaturefor such militarygrantsis not without
some significance.Timar, of Persian origin,and pronoia have very similar
meaningsand underwentparallel semantologicaldevelopments.They signify
"care, providence,and finallya revenuegrantedby the rulerto the military
and administrativeofficialsforservicesrenderedto the state." It seems that
the Ottomanswere the firstof the Islamic peoples to employthe termtimar
withthis last meaning.The Persianshad previouslyused the Arab termiqta,
as did the Seljuks of Anatolia.50With the appearance of the Mongolsand rise
of the Tiirkmentribal confederationsin eastern Anatolia new terms,tiyul
and siyurgal,appeared,but not timar.51 Now, thisfactis ofinterestifwe keep
in mind a point which I mentionedearlier: that the Seljuks encountered
Byzantine society at one stage of its developmentin the eleventhcentury,
whereasthe Ottomansof the fourteenthand fifteenth centuriesencountered
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 275
the same societyat a later stage of development.The pronoiasystemwas still
in its infancyin the eleventhcenturyand the Seljuks did not encounterit
withintheirAnatoliandomains.The Ottomansexpanded into Bithyniain the
early fourteenthcentury,and then into the Balkans, by which time the
pronoiasystemhad spread throughoutboth the Byzantinedomainsand those
of the South Slavs. This coincidencebetweenthe geographicaldiffusion of the
pronoia institutionand of the term timaris indeed striking and would rein-
forcethe evidence fora hypothesisof the timar'sByzantine origin.But the
Seljuk iqta must still be considereda possible source of the Ottoman timar
untilthe problemis settledby moredetailedresearch.
The role of the Byzantinesin the Turkishfleetswould be one whichby the
nature of thingswe would be moreinclinedto suspect. The Turks developed
in centralAsia, Iran, and the centralAnatolianplateau, all landlockedareas,
whereas the Byzantines carried on a maritimetraditiondating back many
centuries.It was the Greeks and Italians fromwhom the Turks learned of
maritimelife.The evidenceis scant forthe Seljuk period,but it supportssuch
an assumption as does the rich maritimelexicographywhich passed into
Turkishvery oftenvia Greek.52When the Turkishrulerof Smyrna,Tzacha,
set out to conquer the Ionian coast and isles he relied upon Smyrniotesto
build his fleet,and other emirs utilized the Byzantine shipyardsof Cius.53
Morespecificinformation has been discoveredin a TurkishtahrirforGallipoli
dated 1474. It recordsthat therewerethreedjemaat'sof Greeksat this impor-
tant Ottomannaval base: one of rowers,one of arbaletiers,and one of ninety-
five Greeks for the repair and buildingof ships.54Christiansand renegades
remainedimportantto Ottomannaval enterprisethroughoutits long history.
The old Byzantine and Balkan scribal classes, both on the local level and
in the capital, continuedto functionin an officialcapacity as part of the Mus-
lim state apparatus, a phenomenonwhich recalls the Persian, Greek, and
Copt scribesin the Umayyadadministration.Underthe Seljuks these scribes
constitutedthe notaranand a limitednumberof theirdocumentssurvive.As
a resultof the numbersof Christiansubjects over whomthe beyliksand Otto-
man Empire ruled and because of the importanceof Byzantine and Slavic
tax practicesthe Christianscribalclass remainedan importantelementin the
Ottoman administration.55 The contemporaryobserverBartholomaeusGeur-
geuiz describesthe Ottomanscribalclass as follows:
51 H. and R. Kahane and A. Tietze, The Lingua Franca in the Levant (Urbana, 1958). For the
Byzantinebackground,see Koukoules, op. cit. (supra, note 5), V, 331-386, and H. Ahrweiler,Byzance
et la mer(Paris, 1966).
r3Anna Comnena
(as in note 17 supra), II, 68-69, 110-114. The Seljuk chronicler,Ibn Bibi-Duda
(as in note note 32 supra), 283, uses the Byzantine termkatirgato denote a ship.
54Inalclk, "Gelibolu," EI2.
65 Ibn Bibi-Duda (as in note 32 supra), 67. The thirteenth-centurytetrevangelionin the Gennadius
Library,MS. Gr. 1.5, is signed by a protonotariusof Caesareia. Lampros, op. cit. (supra, note 33),
passim. Turan, Tiirkiye Selcuklularzhakkhndaresmi vesikalar (Ankara, 1958), 109-114. Bombaci,
"Nuovi firmanigreci di Maometi II," BZ, 47 (1954), 298-313; idem,
"I1 liber graecus, un cartolario
veneziane comprendenteinediti documentiottomani in grece (1481-1504)," West6stliche Abhandlun-
gen (Wiesbaden, 1954), 301-302; Chalcocondyles, 501; E. Zachariadou, Mia
Alv6yAooaonOvvefIK
Tro X1Sip 'AiSivoyAov, BZ, 55 (1962), 245-265. X,
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276 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
"IAZITI. Iaziti are diversscribesin thecourtsof turkischeprinces,howbeit
theyuse sondryelanguagesand letters.For in Turkiyetheyspeake and write
withe their proprespech and letters.In Grece and Italye with the tounge
and lettersof the Grecians.But in Pannonia and Moldavia are accustomedin
writingand language and lettersof the Rascians."56
These Christiansecretariescontinuedin the palace service of the sultans
and in the provincesplayed a prominentrolein dressingthe cadastralsurveys
forthe fisc.57During the early Turkishperiodin Anatolia the Turks adopted
the Byzantine practice of sealing their documentswith lead seals, some of
which continuedto employ Christianiconongraphy.58 The Islamic style of
composing financialregisters(siyaqat) was not introducedinto Seljuk Anato-
lian domains until the thirteenthcentury,59 and there are indicationsthat
Byzantine practices may have been employedin the precedinginterval (a
point to whichI shall returnin discussingTurkishtaxation).6o
The fiscalpolicies of the Seljuk and Ottoman sultans in newly conquered
lands were largelymotivatedby the desireto restoreorderto these lands so
that the conquerorscould enjoy their economic exploitation.Inasmuch as
both Anatolia and the Balkans had possessedsocio-economicstructureswhich
were convenientforsuch exploitation,the conservativesultansadapted these
to theirown needs. The tax formswhichevolved in Anatolia and the Balkans
were extremelyvaried and complex,includingas they did elementsfromthe
Islamic, Mongol,Byzantine,Armenian,and Slavic tax systems.61 The Seljuks
and Ottomans oftenpreservedand continuedthe tax practicesof the lands
which they conquered; so the Ottoman empirehad no detailed uniformtax
structure.This conservativefiscal policy is revealed in an incident which
Nicetas Choniatesrelatesin the late twelfthcentury.At that time the sultan
56 Bartholomaeus
Georgieuiz-Goughe(as in note 12 supra), s.v.
57 Inalclk, "Conquest" (as in note 16 supra), 111.
58 P. Casanova, "Numismatique des Danichmendites,"Revue numismatique, XIV (1896), 309-310.
59Ibn Bibi-Duda (as in note 32 supra), 345.
60 Nicetas
Choniates,656-657; Cahen, "Le r6gimede la terreet l'occupation turque en Anatolie,"
Cahiersd'histoiremondiale,II (1955), 95.
61 The best and most
detailed treatmentof this bewilderingsubject is Inalcik, "Osmanhlar'da
raiyyetriisfimu,"Belleten,Tiirk Tarih Kurumu XXIII, 92 (1959) (hereafter"Riisfimu"), 575-610.
See also Barkan, XV ve XVI aszrlarda osmanhtimparatorlugunda zirai ekonomininhukukive mali
esaslarzI, Kanunlar (Istanbul, 1945) (hereafterKanunlar); Cvetkova, "L'evolution du r6gimef6odal
turcde la findu XVIe jusqu'au milieudu XVIIIe sibcle," Etudes historiques, I (1960), 171-206; Mutaf-
'ieva, Agrarniteotnosheniiav osmanskataimperila prezXV-XVI v. (Sofia, 1962); idem,"Kategoriite
feodalno zavisimo naselenie v nashte zemi pod turska vlast prez XV-XVI v.," Izvestiia na instituta
za istoriia,VIII (1960), 57-93; Djurdjev, "Die Kanunname der Osmanen und ihre Bedeutung
fiirdie
Wirtschaftsgeschichte der Balkanlander," Godishnjak istoriskogdrustva Bosne i Hercegovina,VII
(1965), 5-15; H. Hadjibegi6, "D izja ili harac," Prilozi za orientalnufilologijui istorijujugoslovenskhih
naroda pod turksomvladavinom,V (1954-55), 46-102; Barkan, "894 (1488-1489) yili cizyesinintahsi-
latina Aitmuhasebe bilingolari," Belgeler,I (1964), 1-120.
For Ottoman taxes in Greek lands, see J. Kabrda, 'O (kanunname) -Hij Aap~its,
"roUpKK6S
'ET1rvtiKd, XVII (1962), 202-218, and Vakalopoulos, op. cit. (supra, KicilKca
note 14), III, 21-39. In Bulgaria:
Mutaffieva,"De l'exploitationf6odaledans les terresde populationbulgaresous la dominationturque
au XVe et XVIe s.," Etudes historiques,I (1960), 145-170; Cvetkova, "Contribution' 1'6tude des
imp6ts extraordinaires(avariz-i divaniye ve tekalif-i6rfiye)en Bulgarie sous la dominationturque.
L'imp6t nuzul," Rocznik orientalistyczny, XXIII (1959), 57-65; idem, "Recherches sur le systdme
d'affermage(iltizam) dans 1'Empire Ottoman au cours du XVIe-XVIIIe siecles par rapport aux
contr6esbulgares," ibid., XXVII (1964), 111-132.
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 277
raided the two Greekcomopoleisof Tantalus and Caria located on tributaries
oftheMaeander,kidnappedtheirpopulation(ca. 5,000 souls) and resettledthem
in the depopulatedregionsof Philomelium.He had themcarefullyguardeden
route so that none mightescape, then had a detailed registerdrawn up re-
cordingtheirnumber,possessions,livestock,and finallygave them land and
seed to plant. He grantedthem a five-yeartax immunitywith the provision
that afterwardthey should pay exactly those taxes which they had been
accustomedto pay to the Byzantine emperorsin theirByzantine habitat.62
We find the same policy, centurieslater, in an incidentwhich Critobulus
describes.When MehmedII firstappeared beforethe importantSerbian city
of Novobrdo he offeredtermsto the inhabitantswhichincludedthe provision
that "...they should pay those same taxes which they (had paid) to their
own king.'"63
Studies of the early Ottomantahrirdefters demonstratethe generallycon-
servative Ottoman stance vis-a-vis the older tax structureand practices
(adet-i kadimiyye)and illustratea Turkishsystemriddledwithtaxes of non-
Turkishorigin.When, afterthe conquestof a given area an economicsurvey
or tahrirwas drawn up, the Turkish emir who supervised this important
survey had the scribes (frequentlyChristiansor renegades) note local tax
practicesand differences in tax rates. Then, afterapproval and adjustment
by the sultan,these were included on the frontpage of the defter
as the kanun-
nameor fiscallaw of the province.64
The Ottoman absorptionof Christianspahis and askers,as well as of the
peasant communitiessubjectto theirexploitation,resultedin the simultaneous
absorptionof many of theirtax practices.Inalcik,in a daringstudy,has sug-
gested that the basic agrarian structureof the Ottomans in westernAsia
Minorand much of the Balkans was directlymodeledon that of Byzantium.
The basic land tax in speciescenteredabout the chiftor yoke (variouslydefined
as the yoke of oxen whichpulled the plow, a farmof the size whicha yoke of
oxen could service,or a plot of land which could be sown by four mud of
seed). This basic tax was the chiftresmi(ispendje).The nim chiftwas a half
yoke or the equivalentland, a chiftliibennakwas less than half; the category
miicerred includedwidowsand agriculturalworkers.These Ottomancategories
conformto the Byzantinezeugarion,boidaton,aktemon, and, Inalcik continues,
the cash paymentof each category(Byzantineand Ottoman)was the same.
The feudal rent also included paymentsin kind and
corv"es which are fre-
quently identical with their Byzantineequivalents and less frequentlybear
non-Turkishnames. Particularlystrongwas the Byzantine influencein the
domainof theOttomantaxes knownunderthe collectivetitleavariz-idivaniye
taxes which the subjects paid to the state ratherthan to
ve tekalif-ioirfiye,
62Nicetas Choniates, 655-657. Inasmuch as the
siyaqat system of Muslim fiscal administration
was not introducedat the Seljuk court until the thirteenthcentury,it may be that the Rum
Seljuks
adopted some formof the Byzantine cadastral system.
" CritobuliImbriotaede rebus
per annos 1451-1467 a MechemeteII gestis,ed. B. Grecu (Bucharest,
1963), 185.
64
Inalclk, "Conquest" (as in note 16 supra), 110-111.
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278 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
the feudal spahis. A fleetingglance at the terminitechniciwhich passed into
Ottomanfiscalparlancefromthevarioussubjectpeoples reinforces theseother
sources: Angarya,irgadiyya,sinir, parik (Greek); bashtina,gornina,pogaca
(Slavic); bennak,trngir(Armenian).65
The iconographyand metrologyof Turkish coinage, alternately,reflect
numismaticinfluenceof Byzantiumor the Latin Levant. This calls to mind
the Arabs who took as models forthe dinar,fols,and dirhemthe Byzantine
aureus denarius,folles,and the Sassanid dirhem.66 The earliestTurkishdy-
nasties to strike coins in Anatolia, the Danishmendids,imitated the broad
flannedbronze anonymouscoinage of the Byzantines,employingGreek as
well as Arab inscriptionsand such Byzantine iconographicfeaturesas St.
George, the Virgin,and Christ.The coinage of the Ortokids,Zengids, and
Saltukids went even furtherin imitatingthe iconographyof Hellenisticand
Roman coins. When Seljuk coins beginto appear theyconformedmuch more
to the Islamic calligraphicstyle,thoughtherewere rare exceptions.The gold
and silver coinage of the fullydeveloped Ottoman empire,like that of the
caliphate,has obscuredits Christianoriginsbehindthe calligraphicstyle,for
metrologicallythe akche seems to derivefromthe Byzantineaspron and the
altun fromthe Venetian ducat. Like the Arabs, the Turks went througha
periodof iconographicimitationof Christiancoinage beforeIslamicizingtheir
coins. The emirsof westernAnatolia struckimitationsof Italian gigliatiwith
Latin inscriptions, and the OttomansstruckimitationsofVenetiangold ducats
beforeMehmedII firstmintedthe epigraphicaltun.67
Inextricablyrelated to the political and commercialorderis the question
of law. Legal relationswere extremelyvaried and complex because of the
existenceofByzantine,Armenian,Syrian,and Slavic legal codes and customs,
all of whichhad interactedupon one anotherpriorto the Turkishinvasions.
The Turkishlegal structurewas not subject to such fundamentalinfluence
fromoutside as had been early Islamic law underthe Umayyads. For by the
Turkishperiod Islamic law had undergonelong developmentwith the result
that the sharia provideda comprehensivesystemof law throughwhich the
lifeof the Muslimcould be regulated.Mattersof contracts,marriage,inheri-
65 Inalcik, "Taxation" (as in note 28 supra), 237-242; idem, "Riisfimu," 589; idem, "9iftlik,"
EI,; idem, "Djizya," ibid.; Hinz, "Das Steuerwesen Ostanatoliens im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert,"
Zeitschrift derdeutschen morgenldndische C (1950), 199-201; Barkan, Kanunlar, pp. LXIII-
Gesellschaft,
LXXII; Cvetkova, "Influence" (as in note 50 supra), 243-257; idem,Izvunrednidanutsi i durzhavin
povinnostiv bulgarskite zemi pod turskavlast(Sofia, 1958).
66 J. Walker, A
Catalogueof theArab-Byzantineand Post-ReformUmaiyad Coins (London, 1956);
P. Grierson,"The MonetaryReformsof 'Abd al-Malik. TheirMethodologicalBasis and theirFinancial
Repercussions,"Journalof theEconomicand Social Historyof theOrient,III (1960), 241-264.
67 Casanova, op. cit. (supra, note 58), XII (1894), 307-312, 433-460; XIII
(1895), 389-402; XIV
(1896), 210-230; I. Ghalib Edhem, Cataloguedes monnaiesturcomanes,Beni Ortok,Beni Zengui,Frou'
Atabeqyehet Meliks ayoubitesde Maiyafarikin (Constantinople,1894), 7, 30, 31, pls. I, no. 6, II,
no. 32; A. Tevhid, Meskukat-ikadime islamiye katalogu (Islambol, 1321), IV,
pls. I, no. 92, III, no.
120, VII, no. 90; J. Karabacek, "Gigliate des jonischen Turkomanenfiirsten Omar-beg,"Numismati-
sche Zeitschrift, 2 (1870), 525-538; idem, "Gigliate des karischen Turkomanenfiirsten
Urchin-bej,"
ibid., 9 (1877), 200-215; W. Hinz, "Hyperper und Asper. Zur vorosmanischenWahrungskunde,"Der
Islam, 39 (1964), 79-89; F. Babinger, Reliquienschacher am Osmanenhof imnXV. Jahrhundert. Zugleich
ein Beitragzur Geschichte derosmanischenGoldprdgung unterMehmedII demEroberer.Sitzungsberichte,
Jahrgang1964, BayerischeAkademieder Wissenschaften, Philos.-hist.Klasse. Heft 2 (Munich,1956).
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 279
tance, presentationof evidence in court,etc. were intricatelyworked out.
Though we know little of Byzantineinfluenceon Turkishlaw, thereis some
evidenceof the existenceof such influenceson a limitedscale, particularlyin
Ottoman penal law, where double penalties and certaintypes of mutilation,
so commonin Armenian,Byzantine,and Slavic law, seem to have been adop-
ted.68 Payment of blood money in case of murderis also in evidence,but
whetherthis is a survival of the Slavic vrazda-ByzantinecovmKov or simplya
legal practicewhichthe Turksbroughtwiththemis not clear.69In the realm
of what one might describe as commerciallaw the Ottomans adopted the
mininglaw which they foundregulatingthe Serbian miningindustry.This
code was primarilySaxon in origin,the so-called kanun-i-sas,with a small
admixtureofByzantino-Serbianelements.70 Continuedresearchon commercial,
agricultural,and craft regulationswill undoubtedlyreveal furtherinfluences
of pre-Turkishlegal codes, forthe economicdomainwas moresubject to local
influencethan was the domain of private lifewhichwas so closelygoverned
by religious codes. Communitylife was almost hermeticallysealed offin
religiouszones, whereaseconomiclifecut across sectarianlines.
The economic life of the Seljuks and Ottomans,except for the nomadic
sector,was very heavily indebted to the economic forcesand formsof the
Christianpopulations.The influenceof these Christiansis everywhereobvious
in agriculture,crafts,commerce,and maritimelife. The importanceof these
Christiansin the agriculturaldomain arises fromthe very obvious fact that
the bulk of the Turks who came to Anatolia in the early years were nomads
and as such theypracticedmarginalagricultureor in some cases no agriculture
whatsoever.The basic farmingstock of Seljuk Anatolia up to the mid-thir-
teenthcenturyconsistedof Greek,Armenian,Georgian,and Syrianpeasants.
Afterthe thirteenthcenturythe majorityof these farmerswere convertedto
Islam and these converts,along with the sedentarizednomads, came to con-
stitute the Turkishfarmingpopulation of most of Anatolia. The policies of
colonizationwhichthe sultanspursuedin the twelfthcenturyclearlyindicate
the almost exclusive predominanceof Christiansin the categoryof peasant
farmers.Without going into all the details of this colonizationone sees the
various Seljuk and Danishmendidrulerskidnappinglarge masses of Christian
farmersnot only fromthe Byzantineand Armenianheld Anatoliandomains,
but even fromeach other'skingdoms.Therewerenumerousmilitarycampaigns
betweenthe Seljuks and Danishmendidsin whichthe one attemptedto coerce
68 M. Begovi6, "Tragovi nasheg srednievekovnogkrivichnog
prava u turskimzakonskim spome-
nitsima," Istoriskicasopis, VI (1956), 1-21. Bertrandonde la Broquibre-Schefer (as in note 39 supra),
115, the fifteenth-century prince of Karaman (born of a Christian mother and baptized) applied
mutilationof hands, feet,and,nose as penalties.
69 G. Rouillard and A. Soloviev, "T'6 poVlK6v:Une influenceslave sur le droit p6nal byzantin," in
MvlY6oavva fTa,-rro'Aa(Athens,1934), 221-232; A. Mirambel,"Blood Vengeance (Maina) in Southern
Greece and among the Slavs," Byzantion, XVI (1944), 381-392; M. Tourtoglou, T6bqOVKbVKa i h
ro -rraO6vwroS
(Athens,1960); P. Charanis, "The Phonikon and other Byzantine taxes,"
db1rorlClkioat
Speculum,XX (1945), 331-333.
70N. Beldiceanu, Les actesdes premierssultansconservds dans les manuscritsturcsde la Bibliotheque
Nationale d Paris II., Reglementsminiers1390-1512 (Paris, 1964); N. Radoji6i6, lus metallicumdespo-
tae StephaniLazarevi6 (Belgrade, 1962).
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280 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
the otherto relinquishthese kidnappedChristianfarmingpopulations.I have
already referredto one specificinstancein whichthe sultan took away 5,000
Greekfarmersand broughtthemto Philomelium.But frequently the numbers
involved were much larger.71The importanceof the more highlydeveloped
Byzantine agricultureis obvious in the occasional relianceof the thirteenth-
centurySeljuks upon grainimportsfromthe kingdomof Nicaea.72In a series
of remarkablephilologicalstudiesAndreasTietze uncovereda veryimportant
lexicographicalstratumof Greek loan wordsin the Turkishkaba dil of Ana-
tolia which deals with agriculturaland rural life. This philologicalevidence,
whichindicatesa strongByzantineinfluenceon Turkishrural life and which
consequentlycorrectsthe earlierassumptionof the philologistGustave Meyer
that Byzantineinfluenceon the Turks was restrictedto the urban and com-
merciallife,reinforces the evidenceofthe historicaltexts.73
We may,therefore,
conclude that Byzantine agrarian practices and techniques stronglydeter-
mined Turkishagriculturallifein Anatolia. The case in the Balkans is much
moreobvious. Here the majorityof the agrarianpopulationwas always Chris-
tian, and the Muslimfarmerswho settledin the Balkans were alreadythem-
selves the productsof a Byzantineagriculturalenvironmentin Anatolia.
Movingfromagricultureto craftsand industry,two distinctquestionsare
raised: Did local craft traditionsand techniques continue alongside those
broughtby Islamic craftsmenwho emigratedfromthe Near East to Anatolia
and the Balkans? Did local elementsin the organizationof the guildssurvive
in the guildsof the Seljuks and Ottomans?
Pre-TurkishAnatolia possessedan urban populace whichwas highlyskilled
in the exerciseof the crafts,a traditionwhichexistedin the Roman periodas
well. These Anatolian craftsmenwere proficientparchmentmakers,painters,
masons, shipbuilders,potters,makers of glass and incense makers,makers
of bows, arrows,swords,shields,naval supplies,renownedjewellers,metal-
workers,miners,plasterers,woodworkers,textile and carpet weavers.74The
11 Michael the Syrian (as in note 21 supra), III, 206, 245, 246, 346, 388; Bar Hebraeus (as in note
21 supra), I, 264, 296; Nicetas Choniates, 163, 481, 523, 655-657; Cinnamus,198.
72 Nicephoras Gregoras,I, 42-43; Theodore Scutariotes-Sathas
73 A.
(as in note 26 supra), 507.
Tietze, "Griechischen Lehnw6rterim anatolischen Tiirkisch," Oriens, 8 (1955) (hereafter
"Lehnw6rter"),204-257; ibid., Actes du X Congrysinternationald'dtudesbyzantins,1955 (Istanbul,
1957), 295ff.; idem, "Einige weitere griechischeLehnw6rterim anatolischen Tiirkish," NemethAr-
magani (Ankara, 1962), 373-388; see also Theodoridis, op. cit. (supra, note 11), passim. The strong
elementof continuityin Byzantine agriculturaltechnologyis to be seen in the present-dayAnatolian
threshingsledge, the diigen-8ovKd(vxl. The digen consists of long wooden boards with teeth of flint
or ironon the underside,and the farmerusually rides on the topside as the animal drags it over the
harvested grain. It is attested in antiquityas the Trpf3ohos; see K. D. White, AgriculturalImplements
of theRoman World(Cambridge,1967), 152-156, 191; T. Mommsenand H. Blumner,Der Maximal-
tarifdes Diocletian (Berlin, 1958), 33, 141. For a detailed descriptionof this threshingsledge in six-
teenth-century Anatolia, see Hans Dernschwam'sTagebucheinerReise nach Konstantinopelund Klein-
asien (1553/55),ed. F. Babinger (Munich-Leipzig,1923) (hereafterHans Dernschwam),27, 182-183,
184, 198, 253. For a photographof the diigen employedin present-dayAnatolia, see X. de Planhol,
De la plaine pamphylienneaux lacs pisidiens. Nomadismeet vie paysanne (Paris, 1958), pl.
xxiII;
H. Kogay, "Tiirkiye halkinin maddi kiiltiiriinedair arastirmalar," Tiirketnografya dergisi,I (1956),
25-26, and pls. Iv-v.
74 T. R. S. Broughton,Roman Asia Minor, in An EconomicSurveyof AncientRome,ed. T. Frank
(Baltimore, 1938), 419-918, is a rich source of factual informationon Anatolian economiclife during
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 281
technicalskills of these Rum were highlypraised by Arab geographers,and
the tenth-century travellerIbn Fadlan foundthe court of one of the central
AsiaticTurkicrulersfurnished withArmeniancarpetsand Byzantinetextiles.75
If one examinesthe sparse sourcesforSeljuk and earlyOttomanAnatolia,it
becomes obvious that the Christianscontinuedto cultivate their economic
specializations.Let us begin with the Anatolian textile industry.I have al-
ready had occasion to mentionthe taste whichthe AnatolianTurks displayed
for Byzantine textiles. Marco Polo, who travelledthroughAnatolia, noted,
withthe keen perceptivenessof the merchant:
"In Turcomaniathereare threeclasses of people. Firstthereare the Turco-
mans; these are the worshippersof Mahomet, a people with an uncouth
language of theirown. They dwell among mountainsand downs wherethey
find good pastures, for their occupation is cattlekeeping.Excellent horses,
knownas Turquans,are rearedin theircountry,and also veryvaluable mules.
The othertwo classes are the Armeniansand Greeks,who live mixedwiththe
formerin the townsand villages,occupyingthemselveswithtrade and handi-
crafts.They weave the finestand handsomestcarpetsin the world,and also
greatquantitiesof fineand richsilksof cramoisyand othercolors,and plenty
of otherstuffs."76
Othertravellersin Anatolia also testifyto the continuedpresenceof Chris-
tian weaversin the Anatoliantextileindustry.Ibn Battuta observedthe Greek
weavers of Laodiceia, in whose shops "...are manufacturedcotton fabrics
edged with gold embroidery,unequalled in this kind, and long-livedon ac-
count of the excellenceof theircotton and the strengthof theirspun thread
.... Most of the artisansthereare Greekwomenwho are subject to the Mus-
lims and who pay dues to the sultan,includingthejizya, and othertaxes.""77
This Arab travelleralso mentionsthe makingof fabricsin Erzinjian, a city
inhabitedprimarilyby Armenians.Christianweaverswereactivein thirteenth-
centuryMelitene,and, duringthe ceremoniescelebratingthe marriagealliance
of the Germiyanidsand Ottomans,linenswere sent fromLaodiceia and cloth
fromthe still Byzantine city of Philadelphia.78The famousOttomansilk in-
the Roman and early Byzantine periods. See also Vryonis,"Problems" (as in note 6 supra), 130-131.
V. Minorsky,"Marvazi and the Byzantines," Annuaire de l'institutde philologieet d'histoireorientales
et slaves,X (1950), 458, writesthat the Byzantines are "...gifted in craftsand skillfulin the fabrica-
tion of (various) articles, textiles,carpets." They are second only to the Chinese in these skills
(a
theme which reappearsin the Mathnawi of Djelal ed-Din Rumi).
15Ibn Fadlan-To'an (as in note 11 supra), 64; R. Ettinghausen,"Kali," EI, Supplement, 106-
111; I. Manandian, O torgovlei gorodakhv sviazi s mirovoitorgovleidrevnikhvremen(Erevan, 1954),
228-229; Minorsky,Hudiid al-'A lam. The 'Regions of theWorld'; a Persian Geography,372 A.H.-982
A.D. (London, 1937), 156.
7s The Book of Ser Marco Polo the VenetianconcerningtheKingdomsand Marvels of theEast, tr.
and ed. H. Yule, 3rd ed. (New York, 1903), I, 43; A. C. Moule and P. Pelliot, Marco Polo, theDe-
scriptionof the World (London, 1938), I, 95; F. Sarre and H. Trenkwald,AltorientalischeTeppiche
(Vienna-Leipzig,1928), II, 17, no. 17.
77 Ibn Battuta-Gibb (as in note 25 supra), II, 425. The textilesof the city werealready well known
in antiquity,Broughton,op. cit. (supra, note 74), 819-820.
78 Ibn Battuta-Gibb (as in note 25 supra), II, 437; Bar Hebraeus
(as in note 21 supra), I, 408.
Tevarih-iAl-i OsmandanAshikpashazadetarihi,ed. 'Ali Bey (Istanbul, 1332) (hereafter
zade-'Ali Bey), 56. Ashzkpasha-
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282 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
79 Inalclk, "Harir," EI,; Nicephorus Gregoras,I, 43; M. Schneider,Die rdmischen und byzantini-
schenDenkmdlervon Iznik-Nicaea (Berlin, 1943), 5.
80 Hans Dernschwam (as in note 73 supra), 186, "Die zamlet, wie obstat, seindt von obstandeten
gaisheren gespunnen. Haben nur krichn (Greeks) gesehen, die sie wyrkhen,waschen, syeden und
wasser (?) drikhenunderainer pres."
81 Rdpertoirechronologique d'dpigraphiearabe, eds. E. Combe, J. Sauvaget and G. Wiet (Cairo,
1943) (hereafterRCEA), XII, 164-165; A. Gabriel,Monumentsturcsd'Anatolie(Paris, 1934) (hereafter
Monuments),II, 155-161; K. Erdmann, Das anatolischeKaravansaray des 13. Jahrhunderts (Berlin,
1961) (hereafterKaravansaray), I, 199; M. F. Grenard, "Note sur les monumentsseldjoukides de
Siwas," Journalasiatique,9th Ser., XVI (1900), 456-458.
82 L. A. Mayer, Islamic Architects and theirWorks (Geneva, 1956), 119; RCEA (as in note 81
supra), X, 116; N. Bees, Die Inschriftenau/zeichnung des Kodex Sinaiticus Graecus508 (976) und die
Maria Spildotissa Klosterkirche bei Sille (Lykaonien).Mit Exkursenzur Geschichte der Seldschukiden-
Tiirken(Berlin, 1922) (hereafterSpildotissa),53-54; I. H. Konyall, NasreddinHocanin ehriAkqehir
(Istanbul, 1945), 549.
83 Eflaki,Les saintsdes dervichestourneurs, tr. C. Huart (Paris, 1918-1922) (hereafterEflaki-Huart),
II, 2, 275-276; E. Gross, Das Vilayet-namedes Haggi Bektash. Ein tirkischesDerwischevangelium
(Leipzig, 1927) (hereafterVilayetname-Gross),151-152; H. J. Kissling, "Sa'ban Velt und die Ga'ba-
nijje," Serta Monacensia (Leiden, 1952), 91.
" Erdmann.
Karavansaray (as in note 81 supra), I, passim. Many of these markingsare identical
withlettersin the Greekalphabet and mightpossiblysuggestthat Greekstonemasons wereemployed
in constructionwork along with Muslim masons. Such seem to be the following:M TT A E A N KX
I BY Z A . Gabriel, Monuments(as in note 81 supra), passim; R. Nour, "Tamga ou tag, marque
au ferchaud sur les chevaux a Sinope," Journalasiatique,CCXII, No. 2 (Jan.-June 1928), 148-151,
compares some of the markingsto horse brands, and suggeststhat the masons' markingsare partly
Turkish,partly Greek in origin.On the Christianmasons in the nineteenthcentury,see W. Ramsay,
The Cities and Bishopricsof Phrygia (Oxford,1895), I, 302. On the famous architectKeluk ibn Ab-
dulla, a convertto Islam and possibly of Armenianorigin,see RCEA (as in note 81 supra), XII, 22-
24; Mayer, op. cit. (supra, note 82), 77. The question of Christianinfluenceon Turkish architecture
is a vast topic which awaits investigation.Gabriel generallytook a negative view on this question:
"Bursa'da Murad I camii ve osmanli mimarisininmengeimeselesi," VakzflarDergisi, II (1942), 37-
43; idem,Monuments,I-II. Erdmann, "Zur tiirkischenBaukunst seldschukischerund osmanischer
Zeit," IstanbulerMitteilungen,8 (1958), 6-7, takes the view that the Rum Seljuks abandoned many
of the traditionalarchitecturalformsand created new types. This was due, he says, to the Byzantine
milieu. See also Taeschner,"Beitrige zur friihosmanischen Epigraphik und Archeologie,"Der Islam,
20 (1932), 117. On specificexamples of Byzantine architecturalinfluence,see: J. M. Rogers, "The
CifteMinare Medrese at Erzerum and the G6k Medrese at Sivas. A Contributionto the History of
Style in the Seljuk Architectureof Thirteenth-Century Turkey," Anatolian Studies,British Institute
of Archaeologyat Ankara, XV (1965), 76; "Annual Report," ibid., XV (1965), 12, on the Byzantine
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 283
Greek painters are also in evidence in thirteenth-century Anatolia. Their
workscan be seen in the rupestrianchurchesof the thirteenth century,and in
miniatures, but more interestingis theirpresencein the Seljuk court and in
Muslimdervishcircles.85
Christianpottersand tile workersparticipatedin the famousceramicin-
dustry of Kutahya and Bithynia;86 Greeks and Armenianswere especially
prominentin mining,metalwork,and jewelry.The Armeniansof Erzinjian
made metal vesselsof the copperwhichtheymined,and the Greeksof Pontus
were active in the Ottomanminingindustryforcenturies.87 The Greekgold-
smithsof Trebizondwere especiallyfamous and Selim I learned theircraft
froma Greekmastercraftsmanof Trebizondwhilehe was servinghis political
apprenticeshipas governorof the district.88
Timurtransplantedmanyof these
Greek and Armeniangold- and silversmithsand craftsmento Samarkand
afterthe battle of Angorain 1402.89The most sensationalobject of this Chris-
tian metalworkin MuslimAnatolia is, of course,the famousOrtokidenamel
bowl.90
round arch, masonry,and constructionto be found in Ottoman architectureof Iznik and Bursa.
Diez, "Kubba," EI, Supplement. See the interestinganecdote in Eflaki-Huart(as in note 83 supra),
II, 208, on the preferabilityof Greek to Turkish masons.
85 Eflaki-Huart(as in note 83 supra), I, 333-334; II, 69. The two Greek painters Kaloyani and
Ain ed-Daula Rumi were intimates of the Seljuk court and of the dervish circles. See R. Etting-
hausen, TurkishMiniatures (New York, 1965), 8-9, on the Byzantine affiliationsof miniatures,in
Bibliotheque Nationale MS. 174, executed in Aksaray in 1271 and dedicated to the Seljuk sultan;
also, E. Blochet, Les enluminuresdes manuscritsorientauxde la BibliothdqueNationale (Paris, 1926),
pls. 18, 19; idem, Musulman Painting XIIth-XVIIth Century(London, 1929), pl. xxxiv. Plates
LV and LVI,fromthe mansucriptof Rashid ed-Din's history,depict angels in the Byzantine manner.
See also F. Babinger, "Mehmed's II. Heirat mit Sitt-Chatun(1449)", Der Islam, 29, 2 (1949), 230-
231, and plate 7 which reproducesa portraitof Sitt Hatun done by a Greek painter.
86
Ashzkpashazade-AliBey (as in note 78 supra), 12, wherewe learn that the Christiansof Bilecik
specialized in the manufactureof cups which they sold at the weekly fairsof Eskishehir.There is a
referenceto a lively commercein potteryin this area already duringByzantine times; see Nicholas
Mesarites' travel reportaddressed to the monks of the Evergetis Monasteryin Constantinople(A.
Heisenberg,Neue Quellenzur Geschichte des lateinischenKaisertumsund der Kirchenunion,Sitzungs-
berichte der bayerischenAkademie der Wissenschaften,Philos.-hist. und philol. Klasse [Munich,
1923], II, 44). Evliya Chelebi mentionsthat therewas a special quarter of Christiantile workersin
the city of Kutahya duringthe seventeenthcentury,Seyahatnamesi,IX, (Istanbul, 1935), 19,
"Cinici
keferlermahallesi...." For examples of specificallyChristiantiles, see C. Nomikos,
XptartaVlK&KEpa-
povpyipacra(Alexandria, 1922); idem,'H AEyopvr1'Po8iaKil (yyEOTrrXaOT-iK1y(Alexandria, 1919). There
are examples in the ArmenianPatriarchate of Jerusalem,the Benaki Museum in Athens, and the
Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Though the style of Ottoman tiles does not
betray any
Christianstylisticinfluence,thereseems to have been some continuityoftechniquein
Seljuk Anatolia;
see H. H. van Osten, The AlzharHiiyiikSeason of 1930-32, Part III (Chicago, 1937), 205. On Turkish
pottery,see K. Otto-Dorn,Tiarkische Keramik(Ankara,1961). For Islamic influenceon Byzantine pot-
tery,see D. Talbot Rice, "Late Byzantine Pottery at Dumbarton Oaks," DumbartonOaks Papers,
20 (1966),207-219.
87 Vryonis,"The Questionofthe ByzantineMines," Speculum,XXXVII
(1962) (hereafter"Mines,")
10; R. M. Dawkins, Modern Greekin Asia Minor (Cambridge, 1916), 6-8; Ibn Battuta-Gibb (as in
note 25 supra), II, 437.
88 L. A. Mayer, Islamic Metalworkersand their Works (Geneva, 1959), 16. On the fame of the
Trapezuntinejewelers,see Evliya op. cit. (supra, note 86), II (1896-97), 91.
89 Gonzales de Clavijo, tr. Le Strange, Embassy to Tamerlane 1403-1406
(London, 1928) (here-
afterClavijo-Le Strange),288.
90 R. Ettinghausen,E. Akurgal,and C. Mango, Treasuresof Turkey(1966), 167-168; M. von Ber-
chem and J. Stryzgowski,Amida (Heidelberg, 1910), 120-128, 348-354; H. Buchthal, "A Note on
Islamic Enameled Metalworkand its Influenceon the Latin West," Ars Islamica,
XI-XIII (1946),
198; O. von Valke, "Kupferzellenschmelzim Orient und in Byzanz," MonatsheftefiirKunstwissen-
schaft.II (1909), 32ff.;L. A. Mayer,Saracenic Heraldry(Oxford,1933), 102.
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284 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
In the Balkans the pre-Ottomantraditionsof the craftsand industryhad
undergoneextensivedevelopment,especiallyin Byzantium proper,but also
in Serbia and Bulgaria. Constantinople,Thessaloniki,Thebes, and Corinth
were renownedfor the products of their craftsmenand the admixtureof
Italian skills must have added to this richness.As a consequence of the
Ottoman conquest Muslim craftsmensettled in the Balkan towns where
they joined the Christiancraftsmen,with the consequence that there was
the same ethno-religious varietyin the artisan classes here that we saw in
Anatolia.
Throughtheircraftsand occupationsconcernedwiththe sea the Christians
made a major contributionto the formationof Ottoman maritimelife. The
shipbuilders,oarsmen,fishermen, and artisansin the naval arsenals were fre-
quently Greeks, Italians, or renegades.The associationof Greekspongefisher-
men fromthe Dodecanese, whichEvliya Chelebidescribesin the processionof
seventeenth-century Istanbul guilds, was of a traditionalready grown old
when Pliny describedthese sponge fishermenin the years of the Roman
Empire.91
The minesof Serbia and Byzantiumcontinuedto operatein Ottomantimes,
accordingto the old pre-Ottomanregulations,and the minerswere largely
Christians.92The Greekjewelersand goldsmithsof Istanbul enjoyeda consider-
able reputation,while Christianarchitectsand masons also remainedactive
and, because of this, Ottomanmosques, hammams,and especiallydomestic
architecture(of the solarium type) betray Byzantine influences.Christian
textile workers,furriers,and physicians were similarlyprominent.93 The
stronginfluenceof the Byzantinecraft-industrial legacy on the Seljuks and
Ottomancrafttechniquesseemsundeniable,thoughone is facedwitha further
and yet unansweredquestion: To what extent did the Christiancraftsman
preservein theircreationsthe Byzantinestyleand, conversely,to what degree
did they employtheirskillsand techniquesto create objects in Islamic style.
In addition,one must ask, were elementsof the Byzantinestyletherebyin-
corporatedinto what emergedas an Ottomanstyle?
We have not yet consideredthe relationof the Byzantineto the Turkish
guilds. The guild system of fourteenth-century Anatolia and of the later
period in the Balkans included those which were exclusivelyMuslim,those
91Natural History,ed. XXXI, 131; Kahane and Tietze, op. cit. (supra, note 52), passim; R. Man-
tran, Istanbuldans la secondemoitiddu XVIIe sikcle(Paris, 1962), 386, 416-417. Inalclk, "Gelibolu,"
EI2. S. Papageorgiou, "'"8ooTroptKV I'IXKCOUv Mlot-rl," TTapvaca6s(1882), 636, quotes the following
interestingcommentby the sixteenth-century travellerJacob Meloiteson the sponge industryof Simi
in the Dodecannese, ... .E0pifKxoEpia
v'ijcoS lt KciEXEtiva K-rTpO Kci KaTOlKOlOI TrrWES"EXAA1vES
6v6pa1rt
KYCii -riXv1i
caOrrvOrrd6pXovo pov-roZt EiS -r&P6011 -S
rr&dIrEs rs OCaails coS 25 watrrrE 6pytcTS,KCl
apydvovuot 1T
r& oaoyypcpia, Kc d(rrKEiViS EPXov-ract
&goyydptCa
cda BEve~iav. EfKOCI
a-riv
92 Beldiceanu, op. cit. (supra,note -rc
70); R. Anhegger,BeitrdgezurGeschichte des Bergbausim osmani-
schen Reich, I: Europdische Tiirkei (Istanbul, 1943); V. Gordlevsky,"Eksploatatsiia nedr zemli v
Turtsii," SovetskoeVostokovedenie, III (1945), 109-145; A. Refik,Osmanli devrineTi&rkiyemadenleri
967-1200 (Istanbul, 1931); Vryonis,"Mines" (as in note 87 supra), 11-17; C. Jire6ek,Die Handels-
strassenund Bergwerke vonSerbienund Bosnien wdhrend des Mittelalters(Prague, 1879); D. Kovacevi6,
"Dans la Serbie et la Bosnie m6di6vales: Les mines d'or et d'argent," Annales: Economies,Socie'tds,
Civilisations,15, No. 2 (1960), 248-258.
9SMantran,op. cit. (supra, note 91), 419, 449, 497-498; J. Sourdel-Thomine,";Iammam," EI2.
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 285
whichwereexclusivelyChristian,and guildswhichwereinterdenominational.94
To what degreeChristianguild regulationswere preservedand passed on to
the Turkishsystemit is difficult to say, but the existenceof purelyChristian
and mixed guilds,as well as of guilds the chiefsof whichwere Christiansor
converts,was stronglyfavorabletoward continuityin guild regulationand
organization.The problemhas a somewhatsimplersolutionif one can accept
the recentconclusionof one scholar,who declaresthat the Islamic worldhad
no guildspriorto the establishmentofthe Turksin Anatolia and the Balkans.
This would implya ByzantineoriginforOttomanand Seljuk guilds.95How-
ever,it is difficult
to believe that the highlydevelopedurban life and crafts
of the Islamic towns were devoid of such formalorganizationaccordingto
associations. In the Anatolian towns, duringthe thirteenthand fourteenth
centuries,the craftsmenhad associationswhichwere,in addition,penetrated
by the Islamic ideologyoffutuwwa.These futuwwagroupswere probablyan
Islamic elaborationand versionofthe olderByzantinefaction--neaniai,which
had dominatedurbanlifein the sixth-century Levantinetowns.Consequently,
the Anatolian guild-futuwwa complexpossibly reflectsboth a directand in-
direct Byzantine influence.96 All this points to strongsimilaritiesbetween
Byzantine and Seljuk-Ottomanurban life and towns. Many Byzantine and
some Balkan townsretainedtheirold forms,othersweredestroyed,and some
were heavily recolonizedby Turks and converts.But the Byzantineand the
Turkishtown (the so-called orientaltown) were virtuallyidentical,each pos-
sessing a central agora, or charshiya,with the guildsmen'sshops and ware-
houses, groupsof administrativebuildingsand palaces, separate quartersfor
religiousand ethnicgroups,and, of course,religiousbuildings.The organiza-
tion of public order and economiclife under the controlof the eparch and
muhtesibwere strikinglyparallel and possiblyof commonorigin,as was also
the systemof nocturnalpolice patrols.97
" Mantran,ibid., 349-394. On election of a convertas
guild kethudain Sofia, see G. Galabov and
H. Duda, Die Protokollbiicher des Kadiamtes Sofia (Munich, 1960), 134, for converts in guilds, 158,
and esp. 215; Ibn Battuta-Gibb (as in note 25 supra), II, 425, 427, 437-438; Eflalki-Huart(as in note
83 supra), II, 14, 317-320.
95 For a specificexample of Ottoman adoption of Byzantine regulations,see Taeschner, "Das
bosnische Zunftwesenzur Tiirkenzeit(1463 bis 1878)," BZ, 44 (1951), 557-559. Taeschner points
to two basic differences between Ottoman and Byzantine guilds: The Byzantine guilds, in contrast
to the Ottoman, were under the strongcentral control of the government.Though this
may have
been the case in the tenth centuryfor Byzantium, one could hardly say that in the eleventh and
twelfthcenturiesthe Byzantineguildswereresponsiveto centralizedcontrol;see Vryonis,
"Byzantine
ArlploKpoCrla and the Guilds in the Eleventh Century,"DumbartonOaks Papers, 17 (1963), 287-314.
With the decline of the empire it may be that the control of the central governmentcontinued to
relax. For the second point of difference-thefutuwwainfluenceon Anatolian Turkish
guilds-see
note 96 infra; S. Goitein, A MediterranianSociety. The JewishCommunitiesof theArab World as
Portrayed in theDocuments of the Cairo Geniza (Berkeley-LosAngeles, 1967), 82-83.
98 Taeschner, "Akhi," EI,; "Futuwwa, eine gemeinschaftsbildendeIdee im mittelalterlichen
Orient und ihre verschiedenen Erscheinungformen,"SchweizerischesArchiv
fir Volkskunde,LII
(1956), 144-151; Cahen, "Sur les traces des premiersachis," Fuad Kdpridi Armagani (Istanbul,
1953), 81-91; Vryonis, "Byzantine Circus Factions and Islamic Futuwwa Organizations (neaniai,
fityan,ahdath)," BZ, 58 (1965), 46-59.
97 See Cviji6, op. cit. (supra, note 7), 191-206, for a descriptionof the
"Turco-byzantine" town,
as in contrastto otherBalkan types.H. Gr6goire,"Les veilleursde nuit&Tr6bizonde,"BZ, 18
(1909),
G.
490ff.; Margais,"Consid6rationssur les villes musulmaneset notammentsur le r81edu Mohtasib,"
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286 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
La ville,pt. 1, Institutionsadministratives
etjudicaires, Recueils de la soci6t6 Jean Bodin, VI (1954),
260-261; Gaudefroy-Demombynes, "Un magistrat: le mohtesib," Journaldes savants (1947), 36-40.
98 Nicetas Choniates,50, 653-654; Bar Hebraeus (as in note 21
supra), I, 454; Erdmann,Karavan-
saray (as in note 81 supra), I, 63-67.
0 T. Stoianovich, "The
Conquering Balkan Orthodox Merchant,"Journal of Economic History,
XX (1960), 234-313; N. Iorga, Byzance aprksByzance (Bucarest, 1935), 114, 121, 223.
100M. Nilsson,GreekPopular Religion(New York, 1947), 97-101; Koukoules, op. cit. (supra,note 5),
III, 270-283.
101The Turkishconquests disruptedthe panegyrisof St. Eugenius in Trebizond and of St. Phocas
in Sinope for extensive periods of time; see Papadopoulos-Kerameus, Sbornikistochnikov po istorii
trapezundskoiimperii (St. Petersburg,1897). I, 59; C. Van de Vorst, "Saint Phocas," Analecta Bol-
landiana, XXX (1911), 289.
102 On restorationof the
Trapezuntine panegyris, see Papadopoulos-Kerameus, op. cit. (supra,
note 101), I, 65; also S. Lampros,
MtXa;f 'AKoplIVTOVr -r& oL6pEva (Athens, 1879), I,
To0 Xcov-rtrrov
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 287
It is clear that Byzantine (Armeno-Syro-Byzantine and Slavo-Byzantine)
agricultural, industrial, and commercial life were fundamental in the forma-
tion, techniques, and the of
very personnel Seljuk and Ottomaninstitutions.
The economicimpact of Byzantiumin the Ottoman period furtheremerges
fromthe fact that the influxof Persian and Arab craftsmenevidentin the
Seljuk period was renewedonly afterthe conquest of the Mamelukeand a
portionof the Safavi domains in the sixteenthcenturyand, therefore,con-
siderably afterthe initial consolidationof Ottoman institutionallife under
MehmedII. It is true,however,that the laterinfluxofthe Muslimcraftsmen,
as well as of the Sephardic Jews,broughtnew traditionsinto this economic
life.
All of the Byzantine influencesdescribedabove were transmittednot as
abstractideas or by unmannedinstitutions,but by people, and at this point
we must considerthe demographicand ethnographicaspect of this impact.
Anatolia on the eve of the Seljuk invasions was a comparativelycompact
demographicregioninhabitedprimarily, thoughnot exclusively,by Greekand
Armenianspeakingpopulations. Some scholars,arguing,ex post facto,from
the predominantly Islamic characterof sixteenth-century Anatolia,have sug-
gested that Byzantine Anatolia in the eleventh centurywas demographically
semidesolate,and that the Arab razias had largely destroyedthe peasant
stock. But this Islamic characterof sixteenth-century Anatolia has obscured
the fact that eleventh-century Anatolia had for some time developed free
fromand unhinderedby massive Arab raids. The expansion of the notitia
episcopatum,the land hungerof the magnates,the earlierseparationof the
caput fromthe iugum in the tax structureall reflectdemographicgrowth.
Finally, the sources speak of substantialand numeroustowns with compact
village clusters.The demographyof the Balkans on the eve of the conquest
is more difficultto assess, and certainlylarge areas of the Balkans in such
regionsas Bosnia werestillunderdeveloped.However,Bulgaria,and especially
Serbia, began to experiencea livelyurban development.Whateverthe demo-
graphicsituationpriorto the conquest,in Ottomantimes the Christiansfar
outnumberedthe conquerersin the Balkans.103
In Anatolia the Greekand Armenianspeakerswereto constitutea substan-
tial and importantelementin the rise and formationof the AnatolianTurkish
population.Intermarriageat all levels of societywas very frequentfromthe
eleventh to the fifteenthcentury,a fact reflectedin both the Greek and
Turkishcontemporarysources.Anna Comnena,writingtwo generationsafter
the invasions,refersto the numerousoffspring ofthesemixed marriagesas the
56, on the revival of the panegyrisof the ArchangelMichael at Chonae in the twelfthcentury."EAKEt
&' &
ydp, OOplya EITrETv,rS rrEplO1KiSac&Tr Tr6vi6AstX 7t1yE 8 Kai TroCI OvTrEpopicov
AvUoOrTE Kai
oarSS
"IcvaS Kai Kpas Kat lalpj)OovU KacAVuKovS,
Trp6 6 Kai pap&cpovs iKOVIETS
EVEK&
YErTOv
d&w0OOVaI KCaTrpiaTati.
R. Brunschvig,"Coup d'oeil sur l'histoiredes foiresa traversl'Islam," La loire,Recueils de la
soci6t6
Jean Bodin, V (1953), 65-72. See I. K. Vasdravelles, Ilo-roplKa
'ApXEIaMaKEBoviaS. B' 'ApXEiov BEpofaS-
NaooiolS 1598-1886 (Thessaloniki,1954) (hereafter,'APXeTaB), 86, on the annual fairsin the towns of
seventeenth-century Macedonia.
103 See notes 157-160
infra.
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288 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
mixovarvaroi.They figureprominently in the armiesof both the Byzantines
and Seljuks in the twelfthcentury,and Balsamon notestheircuriousreligious
practices.104NicephorusGregorasnoted that the inhabitantsof fourteenth-
centuryBithynia consistedof threecategories: Greeks,Turks, and mixovar-
varoi.105The Seljuk sourcesreferto the mixovarvaroi as igdish,and once more
theyare frequently mentionedin the Seljuk armies.106 Mass conversions,to be
discussedat a later point,led to the same result.Whenin the last centurythe
anthropologistvon Luschan studied the cranial index and skeletal measure-
mentofthepeopleofsouthwestAnatolia,he foundthatMuslimsand Christians
in the townshad identicalphysicalmeasurements, whereasthe anthropometry
of the Turkishtribal groupsdifferedconsiderably.Though one must be cau-
tious about physical anthrolopogybecause of the many inconstantfactors,
thisis a piece of evidencewhichseemsto corroboratethe sources; to wit,that
the Christiansby conversionand intermarriage affectedthe physicalcharacter
of significantportionsof the Anatolianpopulace, particularlyin the towns.107
The Turksin theBalkans wereaffectedby thesame conditions,i.e., conversions
and intermarriage. In thisrespectit is interestingto note a practicewhichwas
observed in both peninsulas.The Turks were accustomedto take Christian
women they desiredin a relationshiplater authorstermedkabin. According
to differentversionsof thispracticethe male offspring became Muslim,where-
as the daughterscould exercise a choice of religion.In one versionof this
practice,the childrenborn of this union were retainedby the fatherand the
motherwas returnedto the Christiancommunitywhereshe remarried.The
Greekpatriarchsmade strongefforts to halt this widespreadpracticeof kabin
in the seventeenthcentury.108 Slavery and the devshirme contributedfurther
to the growthof the Muslimsat the expense of the Christians.An Ottoman
historianwritingtwo and one-halfcenturiesaftertheinceptionofthedevshirme
estimatedthat over 200,000 ChristiansweretherebyIslamized. As the youths
constitutedthe flowerof Christianyoung manhood their incorporationinto
the Turkishnation may have had somewhatthe effectof selectivebreeding
(to the degreethat theyproducedoffspring).109 The overalleffectof Byzantine
demography and ethnography was to make of the Turks a people withorigins
Anna Comnena
(as in note 17
supra), III, 205:
icravy&pKacirVES 'v aOrroiS
10' piropo&pIapot X7aTiviLov-
G. Rhalles and M. Potles, Xlwraypa TrCvOEicv Ka
"rES. O KIEpcov Kav6vcov(Athens, 1852), II, 498.
105 NicephorusGregoras,I, 379; III, 509.
10oV. M6nage, "Some Notes on the Devshirme," Bulletin of the School of Orientaland African
Studies, UniversityofLondon, XXIX (1966), 64-78.
107 E. Petersen and F. von Luschan, Reisen in
Lykien Milyas und Kibyratis (Vienna, 1889), II,
198-266. Von Luschan had reprintedthe study,withoutthe fascinatingplates, in "Die Tachtadschy
und andere Ueberresteder alten BevolkerungLykiens," ArchivfurAnthropologie, XIX (1891), 31-53.
108 For details, see N. J. Pantazopoulos, Churchand Law in theBalkan Peninsula duringtheOttoman
Rule (Thessaloniki,1967), 94-102. The Catalan chroniclerRamon Muntaner,Chroniquedu
trvsmagni-
fiqueseigneurRamon Muntaner,tr. J. A. C. Buchon, in Chroniquesdtrang#res relatils aux expdditions
franpaises,pendantle Xlle sizcle (Paris, 1841), 418, remarksthat if a Turk wishes to take forwifea
Christian,even if she be of a noble family,her relatives must give her to the Turk. If a son is born
of this union he must be circumcizedand raised as a Muslim,whereas a girl may choose her
religion.
Vasradvelles, 'ApXETa B', 2-3. Ludolphus de Sudheim, De itinereterresancte,ed. G. A. Neumann, in
Archivesde l'Orientlatin, II (1884), Documents(hereafterLudolph of
Sudheim-Neumann),375-376.
o10M6nage, "Sidelights on the devshirme fromIdris and Sa'duddin," op. cit. (supra, note 106),
XVIII(1956),
183.
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 289
110
F. Hasluck, Christianityand Islam undertheSultans (Oxford,1929), I, 17, 48-53; II, 363-367,
432-433, 568-586; Gordlevsky,op. cit. (supra, note 11), I, 321-361; John Cantacuzene, PG, 154,
col. 512. Hans Dernschwam (as in note 73 supra), 205.
"I Rhalles and Potles
(as in note 104 supra), II, 498. This is repeated by Armenopoulos,PG, 50,
col. 512.
112Pachymeres,I, 131, 263-268;
Nicephorus Gregoras,I, 95; Bertrandonde la Broquibre-Schefer
(as in note 39 supra), 90; "Ramadan..... avoit est6 filzd'une femmecrestiennelaquelle l'avoit fait
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290 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
Muslimscontinuedto baptize theirchildren,113and the practicewas so com-
mon that in the seventeenthcenturythe Greekchurchforbadepriests,under
pain of being defrocked,to baptize Turkish children.114 A curiousadaptation
and with an inversionof its originalsignificancesurvivedamong the inhabi-
tants of Ladik (Laodiceia Combusta) in the early twentiethcentury.These
Muslims,who, accordingto their own traditions,were descendantsof the
originalChristianpopulation,immersedtheirchildrenin an ayasma just out-
side the town. They did this to preventtheiroffspring frombecomingChris-
tians.115
No less strikingis the survivalof animal sacrificewhichthe Christianshad
practicedin an unbrokenfashionsince pagan antiquityand the remnantsof
which are still visible today. The descriptions(forboth the Byzantine and
Turkish periods) of this evala, or kurban (in Turkish), are very numerous
indeed, and indicateyet one morepopular elementwhichthe Turks adopted
fromByzantium. The most detailed descriptionis given by the sixteenth-
centuryTurkishslave BartholomaeusGourgieuiz.
"The Mannerof their(the Turks') sacrifice.
In the timeof anye disease or peril,theypromisein certaineplaces to sacri-
ficeeithera Shepe or Oxe; afterthat the vowed offering is not burned,like
unto a beast killedand layed on the aulter,as the customewas among the
Jewes,but afterthat the beast is slaine,the skinne,head, feete,and fourthe
parte of the fleshare gene unto the prest,an otherpart to poore people,
and the thirdeunto theirneighbours.The killersof the sacrificedoo make
readye the otherfragmentes forthe sleves and theircompaynionsto feede
on. Neytherare they bound to performethe vow, if they have not bene
deliveredfromthe possessed disease or peril. For all thingswith them are
done condytionallye I willgeve ifthouwilltegraunt.The lykeworshyppinge
of God is observed among the Gretians,Armenians,and otherrealmesin
Asia imitatingyet y Christianreligio."'116
Strikingis the apportioningof the parts of the sacrificedbeast, a division
which is similarto the practiceof pagan Greek sacrifice.The priest'sshare,
as describedby Bartholomaeus,adheres very closely to the so-called sep-
as it is describedin Greeksacrificialinscriptions
of the fourthand third
la'T'K6v
baptisera la loy gregiesquepour luy enleverle flairet le senteurqu'ont ceulx qui ne sont point bap-
tisiez."; p. 115, of the Karamanid, "C'estoit un tresbeau prince de trentedeux ans, et estoit bien
obey en son pays. Il avoit est6 baptisi6 en la loy grequesque pour oster le flair,aussy duquel la mere
avoit est6 crestienne,comme on me dist."
11 Bartholomaeus Georgieuiz (sixteenthcentury)recountsthat among the blandishmentswhich
his Turkishmasterproferred to induce him to convertwas the similarityofreligiouspracticesbetween
Islam and Christianity.This included baptism among the Turks; see F. Kidri6, BartholomaeusGjor-
gevic: Biographischeund bibliographische Zusammenfassung(Vienna-Prague-Leipzig,1920), 15, Turn
ille, nos saepius baptizamur,haec verbarecitanates,bisem allah alrah man elrahim: id est, in nomine
Dei et misericordiaeet misericordiarum. My colleague, Andreas Tietze, has suggested that this may
actually referto the practiceof Muslimablutionsratherthan to actual baptism.
114Koukoules, op. cit. (supra, note 5), IV, 55. The Turks baptized theirchildren:
St&va&Ipnv YEt-
pt~Lovv KcxIv& prln6v KKKo-rcrXoJVEt Kcai St prIv
-rEprplTOpV V& pcOP l KoplpiarrV.
c
"-riv Tr6
115 W. M. Calder, "A Journeyround the Proseilemmene,"Klio, 10 (1910), 233ff.
116Bartholomaeus
Georgieuiz-Goughe(as in note 12 supra), under"The Mannerof theirSacrifice."
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 291
centuriesof the pre-Christian era."7 I brieflycall attentionhere to a variety
of Byzantineelementsin popular Islam which are relatedto marriage,infant
care, the beliefin the efficacyof icons and healingearth,and all ceremonies
closely connectedwith the agriculturalcalendar and the changesin seasons.
By way of example, De Busbecq writesthat no Turks put to sea until after
the ChristianEpiphany and the blessingof the waters.The list of such prac-
tices is long, but the few examples which I have given will perhaps produce
some idea as to theirvarietyand deeplyrootedcharacter.
Christianfolklore,cuisine,entertainment, and possiblythe folk epic exer-
cized varyingdegreesof influenceon Turkishpopular society.This is an even
vastertopic than that of religionsince it deals withthe most detailedaspects
of daily life.Tiirkmencuisine,as describedby Brocquiere,was a verysimple
affairconsistinglargelyof the produceof theirflocks,i.e., meat, milk,yogurt,
butter,cheese,supplementedby milletor othergrains,fruit,honey,and eggs,
and a typeofunleavenedwafer(preparedon a portablehot ironin the manner
of our own pancakes) in place of bread. The preparationof the unleavened
cake was quite different fromthe bakingofbread,and indeedthe oven (furnus)
of the Armeniansand Greeks was conspicuouslyabsent.'18It is significant
that the AnatolianTurkishterminology forbread and its preparationincludes
manywordsofByzantineorigin.'19 Muchoftheso-calledand elaborateTurkish
cuisine was foreignto the Tiirkmennomads and belonged to a sedentary
cuisinecommonto the easternMediterraneanworldsince Roman timesif not
earlier.A briefperusalof the pages of Athenaeus'Deipnosophistae will confirm
this assertion,forhere the gastronomerwill findnot only stuffedleaves, but
also various oriental sweets.'2?Christianmusicians and entertainerscontri-
buted to Turkishmusic and recreationboth in Konya and Istanbul.21 We
should not abandon the fieldof folklorewithoutat least mentioning the prob-
able Byzantine origin of the Turkish Kizil Elma so intimatelyassociated
with the great equestrianstatue of Justinianand the propheciesand legends
attachingto the goldenglobe whichthe statue held in its hand.122
"~ See the fourth-century
inscription(pre-Christianera) fromChios in E. Schwyzer,Dialectorum
graecorumexemplaepigraphicapotiora(Leipzig, 1923), no. 695, also nos. 168, 366, 721, 729, 808, and
the articles"Dermatikon," and "Opfer,"in Pauly-Wissowa. For an example of animal sacrificein the
Byzantine era sanctionedby the church,see F. Cumont,"L'archevech6 de Pedachthoe et le sacrifice
du faon," Byzantion,VI (1931), 521-533; S. Kyriakides, "evuaatipoi 9v vEoo~rlvtKoiKOT
ovvagapfot0,"
VI (1917), 189-215. P. Ricaut, The PresentStateoftheGreekand ArmenianChurches,Anno
Aaoypagpia,
Christi, 1678 (London, 1679), 371-372, observed this evola among the Greeks living in the Ottoman
empire. D. Loucopoulos and D. Petropoulos, 'H Aahkdi t-r v Oapdacaov(Athens, 1949), 21, 44-
ha-rpEfa
49, furnishdetailed descriptionsof animal sacrificeby the Greek Christiansof Cappadocia in the
early twentiethcentury,completewith the 8EppaOraTIKv, or portionof the priest.
118 Bertrandonde la BroquiBre-Schefer in note 39
(as supra), 91-92; Ibn Battuta-Gibb (as in note
25 supra), II, 474; Z. Oral, "Selcuk devriyemeklerive ekmekleri,"Tiirketnografya dergisi,I (1956), 74.
119Tietze, "Lehnwarter"
(as in note 123 infra),passim.
120 Koukoules, op. cit. (supra, note 5), V, passim.
121
Pachymeres,I, 129; Mantran,op. cit. (supra, note 91), p. 500.
122 W.
Heffening,Die turkischenTranskriptionstexte des BartholomaeusGeorgievits aus den Jahren
1544-1548. Ein Beitrag zur historischen Grammatikdes Osmanisch-tiirkischen, in Abhandlungenfiir
die Kunde des Morgenlandes,XXVII, 2 (Leipzig, 1942), 27-37; Dawkins, "The Red Apple," 'ApXeTov
TOv 0paKCKO0XaoypaCtpKO-
Kai 0r)I1Jpoj, IT' T6Apov(1941), 401-406; J. Deny, "Les
y7OCOartlKOaj hTrEiTpoV
pseudo-proph6tiesconcernant les Turcs au XVIe sidcle," Revue des dtudesislamiques(1936), 201-220;
E. Rossi, "La leggendaturco-bizantinadel Pomo Rosso," Studi bizantinie neoellenici,
V (1937), 542-553.
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292 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
The incorporationof so many ethnicgroups,the conversionof many, the
economicimportanceand specializationof these peoples, all were conditions
whichfavoredthe absorptionof extensivelexicographicalmaterialfromArme-
nian, Greek,Slavic, Italian, Magyar,and Rumanian.23The numberof these
loan-wordsmay have been greaterduringthe time of initial contact forwith
the passage of time many no doubt fellout of use. However,the Persian ad-
ministrativeand Arab religious influences,plus the Islamic character of
Turkishliteraturepredetermined that the loan-wordsin Turkishwould come
primarily from those two tongues.There was little or no directChristianin-
fluenceon Turkishliterature.Though therewere a fewtranslationsof Greek
texts on the archaeologicalmemorabiliaof Constantinople,on the Christian
faith,Ptolemy,and some chroniclermaterial,most of the Greektexts which
were available to the Turks were those already absorbedinto the mainstream
of Muslimintellectuallifeby the Arabs and Persiansat an earlierperiod.The
case historyof MehmedII is illustrativein thisrespect.Because ofhis interest
in the geographyof Ptolemyhe orderedAmiroutzesto unifyand simplifyit
and then to translateit. But in studyingthe Greekphilosophers,Critobulus
relates: "He studied,exceedingly,all the wisdomof the Arabs and Persians
and all that of the Greekswhichhad been translatedinto Arabic and Persian;
I mean the writingsof the Peripatusand Stoa, utilizing(forthis purpose)the
best and wise teachersof the Arabs and Persiansin thesematters."'24
Thus, the foreignloan-wordswhichpassed into Turkishfromthe languages
of the Christiansubjects dealt largelywith agrarian,maritime,artisan,com-
mercial,and otheritemsof everydaylife.They did not extendinto the realms
of formalMuslimreligiousand intellectuallife.
PART THREE
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 293
not only lost to Byzantine society,but this cultureatrophied.Ibn Khaldun
remarked: "A nation that has been defeated and comes under the rule of
anothernation will quicklyperish."
"The reason forthis may possiblylie in the apathy that comes over people
whentheylose controlof theirown affairsand, throughenslavement,become
the instrumentof othersand dependentupon them."125
The originalgoal of the Turks,as we saw, was to amass the manpowerand
resourcesnecessaryto conquerand hold theirvast empire.Thus, in destroying
the Christiandynastiesand politicalstructurestheyneverthelessutilizedthe
lower portion of the Christianpolitical and social structureto help secure
their enormousholdings.Consequently,a portionof the Byzantineadminis-
trative-military apparatus survivedon the lowerlevel,but, and this is impor-
tant forthe nature of the later Byzantinelegacy, it served a political force
whichbelongedto an alien civilization,Islam. The Christianspahis,who con-
stitutedthe survivorsof the decimated Christianmilitaryaristocracy(pro-
noiarioi), were eventuallyalienated fromByzantine society by the Turkish
systemthroughreligiousconversion.Thus, the partialsurvivalofthe Christian
militaryaristocracyimmediatelyfollowingthe conquestswas only temporary
and by the sixteenthcenturythe Christianspahis had disappeared and the
Turks did not permitthemto be replenishedby new Christianrecruits.Con-
sequently,both the rulingdynastiesand the high aristocracies(militaryand
bureaucratic)were extinguishedby the Turks, and only the more modest of
the secularrepresentatives of Byzantineculturesurvived.
On the militarylevel these includedthe chieftainsand leaders of the local
Christianmilitarybodies; the martolos,voynuks,Eflaks,and derbentdjis. Many
of these groups survived until the wars of independencein the nineteenth
century,but theirsocial and culturalaffiliation was with the Christianfolk
cultureratherthan withthe old and morerefinedByzantineformalculture.
As the Turks utilized the local institutionsin the towns, especially the
demogeronteia of the twelve,or the Italian versionof it in the isles, and the
systemof the kodjabashas tax instruments, Byzantinetraditionssurvivedin
the middle and rural classes.126The Turks thus reducedthe Byzantinlegacy
to one whichresidedprimarilyin the peasant lowerand urban middleclasses.
There were, of course,two great exceptions: the Phanariot aristocracyand
the Church.These were the receptaclesof whateverformalByzantineculture
survivedwithinthe OttomanEmpire. Zygomalaswroteto MartinCrusiusin
the sixteenthcenturythat membersof the old aristocracywere still around
Istanbul, but that they no longerenjoyed the economicand political power
of the good old days.27"'They were involved in the systemof Ottoman tax
farmingwith seeminglyindifferent economic success. This is borne out by
Ottomandocumentsand othersourcesof the fifteenth and sixteenthcenturies
which mention,as recipientsof mukataas or as merchants,Comnenusbin
125 Ibn Khaldun, The Muqaddimah. An Introductionto History, tr. F. Rosenthal (New York,
1958) (hereafterIbn Khaldun-Rosenthal),I, 130.
126 Vakalopoulos, op. cit. (supra, note 14), III, 279-307.
127 Ibid., 356.
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294 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 295
of the fact that the State and Churchhad applied it. So long as a centralized
ChristianState and Church directedsociety they supported this Byzantine
law, or a law stronglyaffectedby it, whichin turnsupportedthe established
authorityof the State. But customarylaw of the various peoples and even of
various localitieshad existedside by side withByzantinelaw, and was often
in conflictwithit. With the Turkishconquestsand the collapse oftheseChris-
tian states,the Byzantineand Byzantino-Slaviccodes no longerenjoyed the
officialsupportof a ChristianState (the RoumanianPrincipalitieswere an ex-
ception),and conditionswerecreatedwhichwould allow a vigorousreassertion
of various customarylaws. This customarylaw, however,would alreadyhave
interactedwithByzantinelaw fora considerabletimeso that one can assume
that it was not completelyforeignto it. And the Church,whichdid survive
these Christianstates,possesseda legal systemwhichwas stronglyByzantine.
Consequentlythe law or laws of the dhimmisprobablyrepresenteda mixed
systemof customarylaw, partiallyByzantinizedin the pre-Turkishperiod,
and of ecclesiasticallaw whichwas Byzantine.The re-unification of the Ortho-
dox churchesafter1454underthepatriarchofConstantinople wouldstrengthen
this Byzantine ecclesiasticallaw in the life of the Balkan Christians.It is
significantthat the text of Armenopoulosenjoyed a considerablehistoryin
the Balkans untilmoderntimes.131
What happened to Christianlegal practiceswhen they confrontedor were
in conflictwith Ottomanlegal institutions?Obviouslywheretherewas open
conflictthe Turkishlaw prevailed,especiallywhenChristianswereinvolvedin
litigationwith Muslims.The basis of this was the inacceptabilityof Christian
testimonyin the cadi's court. The invalidityof dhimmitestimonywas con-
sideredsuch a self-evident truththat Turkishjuristsfeltno need to justifyit
in theirlegal treatises.The greatestof the Ottomanmuftis,Ebu Su'ud, for-
mulated this as follows:"The testimonyof an infidelagainst a Muslimis not
acceptable unless it occursin one of the followingcases: in mattersof wills,
degreeofrelationship,or ifan heirreclaimsfroman opponenta rightaccuring
to him froma deceased."'32
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296 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
Christiantestimonyin all othermatters,in a courtofthe cadi, is completely
valueless. A second fetva states this principlemuch more dramatically:"A
village is inhabited exclusivelyby infidelsand no Muslimlives there. If in
[such a village] the MuslimZeyid killsthe dhimmiAmer,is the depositionof
the population of that village against Zeyid receivable?" Answer: "No, if
Zeyid is a Muslim." (Ebu Su'ud)133
A furtherinsightinto this complex but weightyissue is affordedby the
fetvaof Yahya Dhakaryazade who declaresthe following.If a dhimmi,in the
presence of other dhimmis,buys an item, refusesto pay, and then turns
Muslim,he cannot be convictedin the cadi's court on the basis of dhimmi
testimony.'34
Turkishlaw not onlyreducedthe jurisdictionof the Christianlaw courtsin
certainareas of Christianlife,but markedlyaffectedcertainChristianinstitu-
tions,especiallymarriage,divorce,and inheritance.135 The Turkishlaw gave
legal recognition to a form of marriageknownas kabin; this was a marriage
betweenan Ottomanmale and Christianfemalein whichthe formermade a
matrimonialgiftto the womanforthe periodof cohabitationin returnforthe
lease ofthe "fieldof the woman." Both the childrenbornofthe unionand the
womanherselfreceivedtheprotectionofTurkishlaw and thechildrenwerethus
legitimate.Afterthe contractedperiod had elapsed the woman was legally
freeto leave. This formof marriagebetween Muslim and Christianbecame
extremelywidespread,much to the discomfortof the Church. Numerous
Christianwomen,whose parents could not secure the moneyforher dowry
and trachoma, foundthisa solutionto the maritalproblem.On the otherhand,
thereis evidence that Turkishmen used the kabin forviolentseizureof and
marriagewithChristianwomen.
This type of temporarymarriagesoon came to be employedby large num-
bers of Christianswho appeared beforethe cadis for the ceremony,thereby
enjoyingthe protectionof Turkishlaw againsttheirown Churchlaw and also
obtaininglegal recognitionof the legitimacyof their children.Thus, these
Turkishlaws on marriagehad considerableeffecton the marriagecustomsof
the Christians, probablycontributing to thesubstantialincreasein concubinage
whichwas also legallyrecognizedby Turkishlaw. Christiansfrequently secured
divorces fromthe cadis and the Churchwas forcedto acknowledgethese
formally.
The single most importantsurvival of Byzantine formalinstitutionallife
was the Church.The verytraditionsofIslamic doctrineand statecraftprovided
the legal basis forits survival,and thiswas further
enhancedby the anti-Latin
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 297
13s Vakalopoulos, op. cit. (supra, note 14), II1, 134-219; T. H. Papadopoullos, Studies and Docu-
mentsRelating to the History of the GreekChurchand People under TurkishDomination (Brussels,
1952); G. Hering "Das islamischeRecht und die Investiturdes Genadius Scholarios (1454)," Balkan
Studies,2 (1961), 231-256; F. Giese, "Die geschichtlichenGrundlagen die Stellungder christlichen
Untertanenim osmanischenRecht," Der Islam, 19 (1931), 264-277; ftir J. H. Mordtmann,"Die Kapi-
tulationvon Konstantinopelim Jahre1453," BZ, 21 (1912), 129-144; M. Gedeon,
'ErriarTIc
yp&pca-ra
roupKKIK&&vaGEp6pEvaEISTr&iKK latYIOKcX j'i$V 8fKata (Constantinople, 1910).
18 Antoniades-Bibicou,"Un A1aspet des relations
byzantino-turquesen 1073-1074," Actes du XIIe
congrdsinternationald'dtudesbyzantines(Belgrade, 1964), II, 15-25; Matthewof Edessa (as in note 29
supra), 201; Brosset,Gdorgie,I, 348-349.
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298 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
cisely this pattern is discernible in Thrace between 1354 and 1464.13s Conse-
quently,by the time MehmedII unifiedthe Balkans and Anatolia and stabi-
lized conditions,the Churchhad sufferedan unparalleleddisasterfromthe
Turkish invasions,particularlyin Asia Minorbut to a lesser degree in the
Balkans. In spite of the morefavorablepositionof the Churchafter1454 the
churchcontinuedto sufferfromits own defects(primarilysimony),Turkish
fiscalpolicy, and occasional outbreaksof Muslimfanaticism.These resulted
in generalconfiscation ofproperty(onlyone ofthe originalByzantinechurches
remainsin the hands of the Greeksof Constaninople)and conversions.Though
the stabilizationof 1454 saved the Churchand regulatedits life, the very
natureof Islamic societymade it impossibleforthe patriarchateto regainthe
hosts of lost Christiansand properties:The principle"once Muslim always
Muslim" was rigidlyobserved,and reversionto ChristianityfromIslam was
punishableby death.
Thus, the effectof the Turkishformson thisthe mostimportantByzantine
legacywas fatalin Anatoliabut less seriousin the Balkans. Thereit continued
to radiate a type of Byzantineculturethroughits religiouspreaching,the old
law whichit applied in the episcopal courts,its patronageof Byzantineart-
especiallypainting-and religiousliterature.139 But of courseall thisproceeded
on a modestscale, as the economicresourcesformerly available werenowgone.
It manifestedconsiderablevigoron the folklevel wherethe itinerantmonks
went about the countrysidepreachingto the Christiansand foundingmonas-
teriesand religiousschools.140These manifestationsofpopularChristianity were
parallel to the activitiesof the Muslimdervisheswho also had a powerfulin-
fluenceon the Muslimmasess.
The most seriouseffectof the Turkishconquest on the Churchwas in the
realmof religiousconversion.This questionhas usually been discussedwithin
the theoreticalframework of Islamic law, accordingto whichdhimmisare not
to be forciblyconverted.This has been coupledwithan argumentfromhistor-
ical example,that in the early Arab conquests the Arabs did not desirethe
conversionofChristiansas it wouldhave meantthe loss ofrevenues.Similarly,
138The synodal decisions, edited by F. Miklosich and I. Miiller,in Acta et diplomatagraeca medii
aevi sacra et profana (Vienna, 1860-62), I-II, are emphatic and decisive on these points. Balsamon's
commentariesreveal the same conditionsin eleventh-and twelfth-century Anatolia. See also A. H.
Wichter,Der VerfalldesGriechentums in Kleinasien in XI V Jahrhundert (Leipzig, 1903); K. I. Amantos,
"Zu den Bischofslistenals historischenQuellen," Aktendes XI. internationalen Byzantinistenkon-
gresses,Miinchen1958 (Munich,1960), 21-23; Ostrogorsky,"La prise de Serrbspar les Turcs," Byzan-
tion,XXXV (1965), 309-310.
139K. Kourkoulas, 'H ecopia Tro
KrpiqpylcTroSKrT& Tro*5Xp6vouv (Athens, 1957);
A. Tachiaos, 'O litatoso Trs TroupKoKpaTiaS
BEXITcrx6poKIKG
=1 K oXoA rov(Thessaloniki, 1964); A. Xyn-
gopoulos, XESfaava to-ropfaS d(1T1KTtIKOlOAOytKi
rTi
OpTi oKErtIK'S "AhcoaQ(Athens, 1957); M. Chatzi-
VET&rT-rv
&
dakis, "Contribution l'6tude de la peinture &LcypaqntK'5
post Byzantine," in Le
cinq-centidme anniversairede la
prise de Constantinople(Athens,1953), 193-216; Papadopoulos-Kerameus,Denys de Phourna,manuel
d'iconographiechrdtienne accompagndde ses sourcesprincipalesindditeset publidesavec prdface,pour la
premierefois en entier d'aprds son texteoriginal (St. Petersburg,1909); V. Grecu, "Byzantinische
Handbiicherder Kirchenmalerei,"Byzantion,IX (1934), 675-701.
140Ph. Michalopoulos, Koo~is 6 Atrco&6s (Athens, 1940); Deliales, '"H 6t1aO KT)
TO6 boiov N1Kdvopos
TOO
caa;kOVtKiCOS," McKE8OViK&, IV (1960), 416-425; K. Mertzios, '"H 'Oafa Othoefio.'Av4KSoTa lyypa-
XIII
cpa," 'EArlTVK6d, (1954), 122-128.
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 299
141 Rhalles and Potles (as in note 104 supra), III, 27-28: Kai C&ko01 TroAoiKcTr& f3av irmptpTg0neVTrS
-rrap&'AyapilvwSv,Kai ?Xa nrvy& K F KaC rra06vT-S d&mapj..., 247,&,?& Kac al'IEpov roXXoi-raTfs
-rErottK6lTF
-rcvdOcov Xppoav&Abjllot ylv6vapot, Kai r7i piV,TrV 6p6805oov
'Ayaptv6v
*rri5, T-rv60 ov OpnomEiav WrI-rtv6p1vuvTal,
TOO
Mco&apEO &XAot8b Kai KOVri &acUTOUSETrrlpiTTOUt1VSEts -r
aaav[t.L6Evot,
t616~VuVTrwa
drritoriaSp6pov; Eflaki-Huart (as in note 83 supra), I, 111-112, 190, 206, 244-247, 325, 333, 365, TO
II,
2-3, 13-14, 69-70, 96-97, 410; F. Giese, Die altosmanischen anonymenChroniken(Breslau, 1922), II,
18-19, 23; Miklosichand Miiller (as in note 138 supra), I, 69, 103, 143, 183-184; II, 491; G6kbilgin,
"XVI. yiizyil baglarinda Trabzon livasi ve do'u Karadeniz b6lgesi," Belleten,Tiirk Tarih Kurumu,
XXVI, 102 (1962), 321-324, 331-332; Vakalopoulos, op. cit. (supra, note 14), III, 44-49.
142 Inalclk, "Gelibolu," El,; idem, "Dusan'dan," passim; Mantran, op. cit., 374; Galabov-Duda,
op. cit. (supra, note 94), 40.
143Vakalopoulos, op. cit. (supra, note 14), II,, 44-45; Kissling, "Das MenaqybnAmeScheich Bedr
ed-Din's des Sohnes des Richtersvon SamAvna,"Zeitschrift derdeutschen Gesellschaft,
morgendiindischen
C (1950), 114-116, 140-164.
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300 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
14 P. Petrov,
Asimilatorskatapolitikana turskitezavoevateli.Sbornikot dokumentiza pomokhame-
danchvaniiai poturchvaniia(XV-XIX v) (Sofia, 1964), 48-106, and passim. S. N. Siikov, Bulgaromo-
khamedanite(Pomatsi). Istoriko-zemepisenu i narodouchenu pregledus obrazi (Plovdiv, 1936); C. Vaka-
relski, "AltertiimlicheElemente in Lebensweise und Kultur der bulgarischen Mohammedaner,"
Zeitschrift fiirBalkanologie,IV (1966), 149-172; Cvetkova, "O religiozno-natsionalnoi diskriminatsii
v Bulgariivo vremiaturetskovovladychestva," Sovetskoevostokovedenie (1957), No. 2. Galabov-Duda,
op. cit. (supra, note 94), passim, whereconvertsare reportedinvolved in 284 cases appearing before
the cadi court of Sofia.
145 B. Djurdjev, "Bosna," EI2; M. Hand'i6, Izlamizacija Bosni i Hercegovinii posijetlobosansho-
hercegovaekih Muslimana (1940).
146 S. Skendi, "Religion in Albania
during the Ottoman Rule," Siidost-Forschungen, XV (1956),
311-327; Hasluck, op. cit. (supra, note 110), I, 155, II, 474.
147 P. Hidiroglu,Das religioseLeben auf Kreta nach Ewlija Celebi (Bonn, 1967), 31-92; Vakalopou-
los, op. cit. (supra,note 14), II, 44-49; Vasdravelles, 'ApXEa (as in note 102 supra), A', 182-184, 237-
238, 260-262, 302-303, 323, 341-345, 349-351, 355-356, 381-385, 389-390, 414-415, 421-423, 430-
431, 436, 447, 453, 465, 473, 479-480, 497, 500, 505, 507, 509, 524-529, 541-559, 567; also, ibid., B',
passim; Hasluck, op. cit. (supra, note 110), I, 8, II, 526-528, 474; I. Martinianos, 'H Moox6TroAs
1330-1930 (Thessaloniki, 1957), 19; Vakalopoulos, op. cit. (supra, note 14), III, 531, on Cretan con-
verts, the so-called Burmades (burmak-twist); I. Kondylakis, "Of EKEovKovAcoTrot," IV
(1887), no. 36, 12; T. Papadopoullos, "VTp6apa-rottEtAaptapotdypOTrlKO irhBleOvapoo 'EpSo&s,
Iv KirrpcO,"KvTrpia-
XXIX (1965), 27-48; I. Voyiatzides,
Ka
ITrovuai "'EKtroVpKIs165 Kca t~?IAptha6I6TV 'Eif'ivcov,"in
'lo-roplKac MEAiEat (Thessaloniki, 1933), 3-60.
S148Dawkins, "The Crypto-Christiansof Turkey," Byzantion, VIII (1933), 247-275; R. Janin,
"Musulmans malgr6eux: les Stavriotes," Echos d'Orient,XV (1912), 495-504. Miklosich and Miiller
(as in note 138 supra), I, 183-184, 197-198; Hasluck, "The Crypto-Christians of Trebizond," Journal
ofHellenicStudies,XLI (1921), 199-202; Gordlevsky,op. cit. (supra,note 11), III, 37-44; A. D. Mordt-
mann, Skizzenund Reisebriefeaus Kleinasien (1850-1859), ed. F. Babinger (Hannover, 1925), passim.
M. Defner, "TTIvrE A?Pop&US rap" -rols&pfloitpiKoxoI~ v O(pt," 'Eoarfa,no. 87 (1877), 547ff.; S. Anto-
d (Athens,
nopoulos, MIKp& 'AQai 1907), 57-72; M. Perlmann,"D6nme," EI,.
149 Manuel
Palaeologus in Lampros, ITaatoXbyEta Kac (Athens,1926), III, 46-49.
See also the interestingremarksof Ricoldo-Cydones,PG, 'ITEoTrovvrjata<&d
154, col. 1105, and JohnCantacuzene,PG,
154, col. 552.
150 The role of the dervishes was decisive, for which one must consult the numerousstudies of
Kissling; also Gordlevsky,op. cit. (supra, note 11), I, 197-214, 219-225; A. G6rpinarh,Mevlana'dan
sonra Mevlevilik(Istanbul, 1953); J. Birge, The BektashiOrderof Dervishes(London, 1937); Barkan,
"Osmanli imparatorlu'unda bir iskan ve kolonizasyonmetodu olarak vakflar ve temlikler.I
devirlerininkolonizat6rtiirkderviglerive zAviyeleri," Istila
151 Nicodemus Agiorites,
VakzflarDergisi, II (1942), 279-386.
NWov Mapr-poA6ytov, ifrot paprptla -r$vvEopavcv Ipaprnpcov Trv PrET&riv
a riS Kcovo-ravrvouvr67Ec
&AcOv KTar& itaqC6poVu Kaltpo6sKcXT-r6wTOuS ap-rUpfqdVTcov,3rd ed. (Athens,
1961); L. Arnaud, "N6o-martyresorthodoxes: Michel d'Athenes et Angelus d'Argos," EchOr, XVI
(1913), 396-408, 517-525; idem,"Les quatres n6o-martyresd'Agrinion,"ibid., XIV (1911), 288-292;
H. Delehaye, "Le martyrede Saint Nicetas le Jeune," Mdlanges oflertsd M. Gustave
Schlumberger
(Paris, 1924), I, 205-211; idem, "Greek Neo-Martyrs," The ConstructiveQuarterly,IX (1921),
701-712; Papadopoulos-Kerameus, Erihv ia-ropiavTpacELoivros. I. Oe68coposrappa-s,"
ElS
VizVrem,XII (1906), 132-137; P. Karlin-Hayter,
"uvppoXal "La politique religieusedes conquerantsottomans
dans un texte hagiographique(c. 1437)," Byzantion,XXXV (1965), 353-358.
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 301
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302 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
on the Trapezuntineborders,on the Taurus bordersof CilicianArmenia,and
also in easternAnatolia. In the thirteenthcenturythe entranceof new tribal
groupsswelledthis mass. Thus, whensubstantialareas became settledby the
nomads, the Turkishlanguage spread fartherafield (as is indicated by the
Turkificationof Anatolianruraltoponymy).156Smallernumbersof the immi-
grants representedsedentary Turks, Arabs, and Persians. But the urban
populace of Anatolia, as well as a substantial sedentaryvillage element,
representedthe old ChristianByzantine populace. Throughoutthe twelfth
centuryand the beginningsof the thirteenththe Christiansprobably out-
numberedthe Turks. But by the late fifteenth and early sixteenthcenturies
the Muslimpopulationof Asia Minorrepresentedapproximately92 per cent
and the Christiansonly about 8 per cent of the total.5'
In the Balkans the demographicmovementsare a littleclearer,since they
occurredlater. The Turks began to bringin settlers,both nomad and seden-
tary,soon aftertheyestablisheda footholdin Gallipoli.MuradI and Bayazid I
broughtin Turkishcolonists,especiallynomads, and establishedthem along
the key routesand in the major centersof Thrace,Madeconia,Thessaly,and
Bulgaria.158 HenceforthAdrianople,Philopopolis,Sofia,Thessaloniki,Tirhala,
Larissa, and Skopia became major centersof Turkishcontroland administra-
tion,and the Christiansgradually,but not completely,withdrewto the moun-
tains. The sixteenth-century tax registersrecord the followingnumber of
taxable hearths in the Balkans. 194,958 Muslim, 832,707 Christian,4,134
Jewish.The Muslimpopulationrepresentsless than 20 per cent of the total
and the Christiansmore than 80 per cent. Of the 194,958 Muslimhearths,
37,435 are those of Yiiriiks,or nomads, slightlyless than 20 per cent of the
Muslim Balkan population.s59 What were the originsof the Balkan Muslim
population at this point? Though the Turks transplantedsedentaryMuslim
elementswhentheyconqueredtheBalkans,it is highlyprobablethat the most
substantialnumberof Turks consistedof tribalgroupswhom the sultans re-
settledas such and organizedinto militaryodjaks. The threelargestof these
werethe Nald6ken,Tanridagi,and Selaniki,followedby the lesserOfchabolu,
Vize, and Kodjadjik.160There were also smaller groups of Tatars. These
166 Turan, Selpuklular(as in note 11 supra), 215.
157 Barkan, "Essai," (as in note 13 supra), 20. There were 1,067,355Muslim and 78,783 Christian
taxable hearths. Read the lament of the fifteenth-century ecclesiastic in Gelzer, Ungedruckte und
ungenugendveriifentliche Texte der Notitiae Episcopatum. Ein Beitrag zur byzantinischen Kirchen-
und Verwaltungsgeschichte. Abhandlungender philos.-philolog.Classe der k6nig.bayerischenAkademie
der Wissenschaften,XXI (1901), Abt. III, 630-631.
18sChaclocondyles,60, 99-101, 177, 218; M. Aktepe, "XIV ve XV asirlarda Rumeli'nin tiirkler
tarafindanisknina dair," TiirkiyatMecmuasi, X (1953), 299-312; Vakalopoulos, "La retraitedes
populations grecques vers des r6gionsbloign6eset montagneusespendant la domination turque,"
Balkan Studies,4 (1963), 265-276; N. Todorov, "Za demografskotosustoianie na balkanskiia poluo-
strov prez XV-XVI v," Godishnikna Sof. Univ. Fil.-Ist. Fakul., LIII, 2 (1960), 193-226.
169 Barkan, "Essai" (as in note 13 supra), 31-36.
160 G6kbilgin,Rumeli'de Yiiriikler,Tatarlar ve Evlad -t
Fdtihidn(Istanbul, 1957). They included
the followingodjaks:
Nald6ken (1603) 243 The numberof an odjakvaried from24 to 25 to
Tanrida" (1591) 428 30 (G6kbilgin,30). This numbermustthen be
Selanik (1543) 500 multipliedby 4 or 5 to get the total approxi-
Ofchabolu (1566) 97 mate population in each Yiirik group.
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 303
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304 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
which played such a prominentrole in the national revolutionsagainst the
Ottomans.
This folk culturenot only reacted to these stimuliof Turkishrule in its
development,but borrowed,directly,elementsfromthe cultureof the con-
querors.The mostreadilyidentifiableof such popularelementsare, of course,
the so-calledChineseshadow plays of Karag6z and the figureand exploits of
the Turkish Till Eulenspiegel,Nasr ed-Din Hodja. The popularityenjoyed
by these two figuresamongthe Balkan peoplesgrewto the point wherethey
became an integralpart of the popular culture of each ethnic group with
attributeswhich were independentof their Turkish origin.Thus, at some
point of developmentof the Greek versionof Karag6z, Alexanderthe Great
became a standard character in the repertoire.161 Furthermore,Turkish
influencewas undoubtedlyreflectedin music,dance, and cuisine,but herethe
problemof differentiating the Byzantinefromthe Turkishis complicated.
A particularlyobvious influenceon popular cultureis foundin the effect
that Turkishhad on the various spoken (not literary)languagesof the Chris-
tians. In Asia Minor, where Turkish settlerswere most numerous,condi-
tions most disturbed,and Turkishrule most enduring,the numbersof Arme-
nian and Greekspeakersweremostdrasticallyreduced.The retreatof Greek,
Armenian,and Persian beforeTurkishrecalls the older linguisticstrugglein
which the Anatolian languages (Phrygian,Luwian, Isaurian, Gothic, and
Celtic) disappeared beforethe advance of Greek.162Even that minorityof
Anatolian Greeksand Armenianswho did not convertto Islam largelysuc-
cumbed to linguisticTurkification.The region of Trebizond constituteda
major exceptionto this phenomenonand the continuityof the Greektongue
thereis to be soughtin the historyof Trebizond,whichremaineda compact
political and culturalentityfromthe eleventhto the fifteenth centuries,at
the verytimewhenthe remainderof Anatolia was conquered,settled,Islami-
zed, and Turkified.Whenthe Turkishconquestcame to Trebizondit was quick
and the area was soon regularized.The Greekspeakersof westernAsia Minor
represent,basically,Greekswho immigratedrelativelylate fromthe isles and
elsewhere.The TurkophoneGreek Christiansof Anatolia with a Christian
literature,which,thoughin Turkish,utilized the Greek alphabet, constitute
only one of a host of examples whicharose fromthe culturalchangesin the
historyof the Mediterraneanbasin. The Arab speaking Syriac Christiansand
Copts who wrotetheirChristianliteraturein Arabicbut withtheirown alpha-
bets, the Mozarabs and Moriscosof Spain, and finallythe Greekpopulations
of southernItaly, are all reminiscentof these Karamanlides in Asia Minor.
The process of Turkificationof these Anatolian Greek Christianswas still
181Gh.
Constantin,"'Nasr-ed-Din Khodja' chez les Turcs, les peuples balkaniques et les Rou-
mains," Der Islam, 43 (1967), 90-133; H. Ritter, "Karag6z," EI,; W. Barthold, "Karag6z," Islam
Ansiklopedisi,6 (Istanbul, 1955), pp. 246-51.
I1a K. Holl, "Das Fortleben der Volksprachen in Kleinasien in nachchristlicherZeit," Hermes,
XLIII (1908), 240-254; Vryonis,"Problems" (as in note 6 supra), 115-116; Strabo,
XII. 8. 3; XIII.
4. 17; XIV. 2. 28, commentson this earlierprocess by which Greek began to replace the earlierlan-
guages spoken in Anatolia.
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 305
visiblein the nineteenthand twentiethcenturies:and scholarshave observed
its various stages: The penetration,first,of the Turkishvocabulary,then of
its syntacticalforms,stages of bilingualism,the recessionand finaleclipse of
Greek.163
163The earliest referenceto these
TurkophoneChristiansin Asia Minor seems to be the fifteenth-
century text which Lampros edited, '"Y6Tvrl6pvawepit-rv 'EQ)VIlK"V Kal KKAT)OiC"VKaT& -r6v
VII (1910),366: notandumest, Xop"V in
8KcGtovW-rrrTpovalc$va,"NWos'EMvopvipcov, quod multispartibusTurcie
reperiunterclerici, et
episcopi arciepiscopi,qui portant vestimenta infidelium etlocunturlinguamipsorum
etnihilaliud sciuntin grecoproferre nisi missamcantareetevangeliumetepistolas.Alias autemorationes
multidicuntin lingua Turcorum.Hans Dernschwam (as in note 73 supra), 52, is the firstto mention
theirpresencein Istanbul (1553-55): "Nich weit von abstander burg,so Giedicula genant,en einen
oeden orth der stadt, wont ein cristenvolkh, nent man Caramanos, aus dem landt Caramania, an
Persia gelegen,seind cristen,haben den krichischenglauben. Und ire mes haltten sy auffkrikisch
und vorstehendoch nicht krikisch.Ir sprach ist turkisch.Nit weiss ich, ab sy anfenglischturkisch
sprach gehapt haben. Das jeczigen turkischenkaysersvatter Selinus sol dis volkh her gen Constan-
tinapol gefurthaben, als er die selbigenlenderbekriegt.Scheintein gros starkvolkh sein. Die weyber
haben lange, spiczige,weyse und auch von farbenhuthe auff,also ungerarlichgestalttwie ein bapts-
kron. Und wan sy ausgehen,so decken sy ein dunn durchsichtigzthuch daruberbis uber die bruste."
For their literatureand dialect, see J. Eckmann, "Die karamanische Literatur," in Philologiae
Turcicae Fundamente,II (Wiesbaden, 1964), 819-834; idem, "Anadolu Karamanli aglzlarina ait
arastirmalarlI. Phonetica," Dil ve tarih-cografya fakiiltesidergisi,VIII (1950), 165-200; idem,"Yunan
harflhKaramanli imlAsihakkinda," Tiurkdili ve tarihihakkindaaraqthrmalari, eds. H. Eren and T.
Halasi Kun (Ankara, 1950), I, 27-31; S. Salaville and E. Dalleggio, Karamanlidika: Bibliographie
analytique d'ouvragesen langue turqueimprimdsen caracitres grecs (Athens, 1958); J. Deny, "Le
g6rondifen - (y)ilin, d'apres les 6crits du moine Ioanni Hieroth6os,en turc des Grecs-orthodoxes
turcophonesd'Anatolie," Kdrdsi Csoma Archivium,III (1941), 119-128.
The originsof the Karamanlides have long been disputed, there being two basic theories on the
subject. Accordingto one, theyare the remnantsof the Greekspeaking Byzantine populationwhich,
though it remained Orthodox,was linguisticallyTurkified.The second theoryholds that they were
originallyTurkish soldiers which the Byzantine emperorshad settled in Anatolia in large numbers
and who retainedtheirlanguage and Christianreligionafterthe Turkish conquests; see J. Eckmann,
"Einige gerundiale Konstruktionenim Karamanischen," Jean Deny Armagani (Ankara, 1958), 77.
For bibliographyon these theories,see G. Jaschke,"Die Tiirkische-OrthodoxeKirche," Der Islam,
39 (1964), 95-129. Cami Baykurt, secretaryof the Turkish League forthe Defence of Izmir against
GreekClaims (afterWorld War I), firstproposed the second theoryin his
OsmanihidkesindeHsristiyan
Tiirkler,2nd ed. (Istanbul, 1932). Hamdullah Subhi asserted this theoryon the basis of the allegedly
"purer" characterof the Turkish spoken by the Karamanlides, and claims to have discoveredmany
old Turkishwords fromthe TurkophoneOrthodoxof Antalya in 1923.
Evliya Chelebi came across the Karamanlides in the seventeenthcenturyand made the following
interestingcomments:
In Antalya the Greek Christiansspoke only Turkish. "...and there are four quarters of Greek
infidels.But the infidelsknow essentiallyno Greek. They speak erroneousTurkish." ("...ve d6rdii
Urum keferesimahallesidir Amma keferesiasla urumca bilmezler Batll Tiirk
lisanl tizre kelimat
iderler.",Seyahatnamesi,IX, 288.)
In Alaiyya the Greek Christianssimilarlyspoke only Turkish. "There was, fromolden times, an
infidelGreekquarter.There are altogether300 (who pay) the haradj. They know essentiallyno Greek
but know an erroneousTurkish." ("Amma kadim eyyamdan beru Urum keferesibir mahalledir.
CiAmleiiU yiiz haradcir Amma asla Urum lisani bilmiyiibbatil Tiirk lisani biliirler.",Seyahatnamesi,
IX, 297.)
To Evliya these TurkophoneChristiansappeared as Greeks who spoke no Greek but a corrupt
Turkish. The sixteenth-centuryJacob Miloites also considered the Turkophone Orthodox to be
Greeks, Papageorgiou, op. cit. (supra, note 91), 635, 636: Kai Eis -rv XcbpaA-lv'A-r&Aia-o-rt
worroi
Xpiartiavol"EMavEs, dAde&oOi y\oa AA p6vov-roOpKIKr E I-r&
ywvcboKouval QVTlK1'V" yO'aaaC.....Ka.K
'AT6 0(pao sels KoOAa. iHoot Trap-r&
wooot Xptoariavol o0i
"EMTlvEs; yWlv6cOKOval yhcaOca t1VIKI ...... Xpto-rtavol
o0
"EAATsiw" ylvCivKOVV
yA)k'caaRMT)V1KAl.
More importantis the historical considerationthat the sources do not indicate any substantial
settlementof Turkishtroopsin ByzantineAsia Minorpriorto the Turkishinvasions. The morelikely
explanation of their originswould seem to be that the Karamanlides representTurkifiedByzantine
populations, the process of linguistic Turkificationstill being in evidence in the nineteenthand
twentiethcenturies;see Dawkins, op. cit. (supra, note 87), 197-204, and passim. The same phenome-
non is to be observed among the Armenianpopulations of Ottoman Anatolia; see Die Pilgerfahrt des
RittersArnold von Harf von C6ln durchItalien, Syrien,Aegypten,Arabien,Aethiopien,Nubien, Pa-
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306 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
In the Balkans the conquests were shorter,the Turks fewerin number,
conversionsnot as extensive,and linguisticTurkificationdid not, therefore,
proceedon so granda scale as in Anatolia. Indicativeof thisfailureof massive
linguisticTurkificationis the fact that many of the convertedgroups,i.e.,
Greeksof Crete,Bulgars of the Rhodope, Albanians,and Bosnians, retained
theirnative tonguesand were providedwith an aljamiah literature(written
in theirnative tonguesbut with the Arab script).64The centersof Turkish
were Thrace, easternBulgaria, Macedonia,the townsand areas all along the
main routesof communicationand transportation.165 Nevertheless,the length
of Turkishrule,the presenceof Turkishadministrative, feudal,and commer-
cial classes, and the use of Turkishas the officiallanguage by Christiansand
Turks resultedin the impositionof a new lexicographicalOberschichtover all
the Balkan languages.Turkishloan-wordsand expressionsenteredthe Balkan
tonguesby the thousandsand remaintodayas one of thesecondarycharacter-
istics of the Balkan languages. Oftenthese wordsrepresentculturalborrow-
ings, but in many cases they simplyreflectthe political dominanceof the
Turks and the use of theirlanguage as the officialone foradministrationand
commerce.
CONCLUSIONS
ldstina,die Tiirhkei,Frankreichund Spanien, wie er sie in denJahren1496bis 1499 vollendet, ed. E. von
Groote (Cologne, 1860), 201: "Item deser Armenianispraichengemeynlichsarrascheynischespraich.
dan in yerengotlichenampten bruychesy eyne eygen spraiche." The phenomenonis to be observed
among the Syriac and Coptic Christiansof mediaeval Syria and Egypt, among the Mozarabs and
Moriscosof Spain, and among the Greeksof southernItaly.
164 D. Theodoridis,"Ein unbekanntesgriechisch-aljamiadisches Werk aus dem 18. Jh.," ler Con-
grksinternationaldes dtudesbalkaniqueset sud-esteuropdenes.Resumdsdes communications. Histoire
(XVe-XlXe s.) (Sofia, 1966), 88-91; idem,"Ein griechischeraljamiadischer Zweizeilerim Diwan von
Ahmed Paga," ZeitschritfriiBalkanologie,III (1965), 180-183.
165 J. Nemeth, Zur Einteilungder MundartenBulgariens (Sofia, 1956); idem, "Traces
tiirkischen
of the Turkish Language in Albania," Acta Orientalia,XIII (1961), 9-29; G. Hazai, "Beitrage zur
Kenntnis der tiirkischenMundartenMazedoniens," Rocznikorientalistyczny, XXIII, (1960), 83-100;
idem, "Les dialects turcs du Rhodope," ActaO, IX (1959), 205-229; O. Blau, Bosnisch-tiirkische
Sprachdenkmdler (Leipzig, 1868); P. Skok, "Restes de la langue turque dans les Balkans," Revue
internationale des dtudesbalkaniques,I (1935), 247-260 (585-598).
For the influenceofTurkishon the languagesofsoutheasternEurope,see F. Miklosich,Die tiirkischen
Elementein den siidost-und osteuropdiischen Sprachen(Griechisch, Albanisch,Rumdnisch,Bulgarisch,
Serbisch,Kleinrussisch,Grossrussisch, Polnisch),Denkschriftender kaiserlichenAkademie der Wissen-
schaften,Philos.-Hist. Klasse (Vienna, 1884), XXXIV, 239-338; 1885, XXXV, 105-192; Nachtrag
in 1889,XXXVII, 1-88, and in 1890,XXXVIII, 1-194; K. Sandfeld,Linguistiquebalkanique.Probljmes
et rdsultats(Paris, 1930), 89-92, 159-162; I. Popovi6, Geschichteder Serbo-kroatischen Sprache (Wies-
baden, 1960), 582-584, 608-612; Kissling, "Zu den Turzismenin den siidslavischen Sprachen," Zeit-
schri/t fiirBalkanologie,II (1964), 77-87; A. Knelevi6, Die Turzismenin den Spracheder Kroate und
Serben(Meisenheimam Glan, 1962); A. Skalji6, Turcizmiu narodnomgovorui narodnojknjilevnosti
Bosne i Hercegovina(Sarajevo, 1957), I-II; H. F. Wendt, Die tiirkischen Elementeim Rumdinischen
(Berlin, 1960); A. Krajni, "Brief apergu des empruntsa 1'Albanais," Studia Albanica, II (1966),
85-96; S. Kakuk, "Les mots d'empruntsturcs-osmanlisdans le hongroiset les recherchesd'histoire
phon6tique de la langue turque-osmanli,"ActaO, V (1955), 181-194; Dawkins, op. cit. (supra, note
87), passim; A. Meidhoff, "Riickwandereraus den islamitischenSprachenim Neugriechischen,"Glotta,
10 (1920); B. Tsonev, Istoriia na bulgarskiieziku, I-III (Sofia, 1919-1937), II, 177-191.
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BYZANTINE LEGACY AND OTTOMAN FORMS 307
The inseparableunion of Churchand State, and their determinationof all
formalaspects of society,resultedin a State structureand culturallifewhich
were Muslim.The sultanate,bureaucracy,Church,literature,and much of art
were Islamic. Byzantine formalsociety,on the other hand, was intimately
connectedwith the basileia and Orthodoxy,and the large-scaleadoption of
Byzantineformalinstitutionscould onlyfollowthe adoptionof the Byzantine
styleof theocracy,as was the case in Bulgaria and Serbia; or it mightoccur
whenthe neighboring societywas stillunformedand not affiliated withanother
developed Church-State apparatus. Whatever elements of this Byzantine
formalcultureappear in Ottoman society enteredindirectlyvia the culture
of Islamic civilization.
Nevertheless,this Turkishsociety,thoughMuslimin its formalexpression,
or Hochkultur,was stronglyByzantinein its folkculture,or Tiefkultur.This
was the resultof the fact that in the beginningthe conqueredsubjects of the
Turks were Christiansof the Byzantine and semi-Byzantinizedareas. The
economiclife of the Seljuks and Ottomanswas greatlydeterminedby these
Christianpeasants and city dwellers.Byzantine influencewas particularly
strongin agriculturaland villagelife,but also in the citieswiththeircraftand
commercialtraditions.In theselatter,however,therewas a significant admix-
ture of Islamic urban elements.The economiccontinuityof Byzantiumhad
importantrepercussionsas well in the Turkish tax structureand adminis-
tration. Finally, this widespreadabsorptionand survival of Christianpop-
ulations had a marked effectin the spheres of Turkishfamilylife,popular
beliefs,and practices. The period of Turkish flexibilityvis-a-vis Byzantine
institutionssubsided and finallyended in the late fifteenthand early six-
teenthcenturies.With the conquests complete,many Byzantineinstitutions
ceased to exist. More importantly,MehmedII and Sulayman I consolidated
Ottoman institutionallife in what came to be its classic form,and the con-
quests ofArab and Persianlands in the sixteenthcenturyfurther strengthened
the Islamic characterof the empire.
What was the effectof the Turkishconquestand institutions on thisByzan-
tine societyand culture?The demandsof Turkishpolitical,fiscal,feudal,and
religiousinstitutionsdestroyedthe economicas well as the politicaland social
bases of ByzantineHochkulturin the Balkans and Anatolia, and in so doing
reduced this cultureto an almost exclusivelyVolkskultur.Thus, in contrast
to the OttomanTurkswho developeda richformalliterature,a classicalmusic,
and an impressivearchitecture,the formalliteraryproductionof theirChris-
tian subjects was penuriousby comparison,and theirsecular music largely
folkin character,as was muchoftheirart. The survivalofthegreatlyweakened
Churchand rise of the Phanariot class provideda diluted versionof the old
Byzantine Hochkulturon a limitedscale, but more importantlythe Church
was a strongcrutchupon whichthe Christianfolkculturespartlydepended.
These folk cultures,however,now severed fromthe directionof a Christian
theocraticState and preventedby stringentreligiousand social lines from
participationin the formalculturallifeof the MuslimOttomans,developed a
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308 SPEROS VRYONIS, JR.
vigorouslife of theirown in consonancewith that part of the Byzantinecul-
tural heritagewhich they had already absorbed and with their own purely
folktraditions.This isolationof the Balkan folkculturesfromthe formalBy-
zantine and Ottoman cultureswas compoundedby the politicalisolation of
Christiansfromthe West. Though the isolation was never complete,it was
neverthelessa realitywhich a comparisonof the Turkishheld Balkans with
the Venetian-Hapsburgheld lands nicelyillumines.The Balkan and Anatolian
ChristiansubjectsoftheTurksgenerallydid notparticipatein the Renaissance,
Reformation,and Counter-Reformation. On the otherhand, Greeksand Slavs
of the Aegean, Ionian, and Adriaticcoasts, as well as Slavs of the northwest
Balkans did participatein these dynamicperiodsof westerncultureand were
greatlyinfluencedby them.The literature,painting,and architectureof Crete,
Corfu,Dalmatia, as well as of parts of the northwestern Balkans, reflectthis
influence.Wheneverand whereverChristianpolitical rule was replaced by
that of the Ottomansin these regions,the social classes and artistsusually
fled,or, in any case, lost the economicaffluencewhich had made it possible
forthemto functionand produce.166 The Ottomansthus reinforcedthe isola-
tion of the Balkan peoples fromthe West at a time when contactshad been
increasingbecause of westernexpansionand Byzantinedecline,
Hence, the effectof Turkishformson the Byzantine legacy was decapita-
tion on the formallevel and isolationon the folklevel.
188
cit.
J. Matl, op. (supra,note 8), 85ff., and
passim; M. Chatzidakis, '"H KplrK' LCOypaptlKwKCdf
i-raXtKhl
XahKoypagcia," XpovtK&,
Kpyl-rtKd I (1947), 27-46; idem, Icdnes de Saint-Georgesdes Grecs et de
la collectionde l'institut(Venice, 1962); A. Embiricos, L'dcole crdtoise,dernibrephase de la peinture
byzantine(Paris, 1967); idem,La renaissancecrdtoiseXVIe et XVIIe siecles (Paris, 1960).
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