Amy Singer. Constructing Ottoman Benefcence: An Imperial Soup Kitchen in . Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002. xv + 240 pp. ISBN 978-0-7914-5351-3.

Reviewed by Gottfried Hagen

Published on H-Turk (May, 2003)

An Imperial Soup Kitchen Provides Food for to Mamluk times, known as the House of Sitt Tun‐ Thought shuq. It was repaired and enlarged, and an impe‐ In the still growing stream of research on Ot‐ rial food kitchen ('imaret) was established there toman social history, pious foundations stand out which continues to serve food to needy people of as a relatively well researched phenomenon, Jerusalem to this day. which has received attention from several of the As it turns out, this particular waqf is extraor‐ greatest scholars in the feld. Attempts of stocktak‐ dinarily well documented. Preserved are the ing in waqf studies towards the end of the last building itself (albeit not without alterations), the century have turned up numerous promising tra‐ foundation deed (waqfye) in several versions in jectories of research.[1] Yet, Amy Singer's study of Turkish and Arabic, and the title deeds (temlik‐ the Hasseki waqf in Jerusalem is novel in several names) for the property which the founder then aspects. It will be a major landmark in this feld, turned over to the foundation. In addition, the and in the social history of the at functioning of the waqfin the next few decades large. Its clear and concise style will help to make can be traced through reports sent by the admin‐ it a standard assignment for undergraduate and istrators to the central authorities in , and graduate courses. account books of the endowment. Thus building The Hasseki waqf was established by Hurrem activities, day-to-day procedures, and the expan‐ Sultan (d. 1558), the powerful concubine and then sion of the economic basis can be traced in illumi‐ wife of Suleyman the Lawgiver, in order to pro‐ nating detail. Finally, fhe perspective of the out‐ vide food for the poor and needy in Jerusalem, at sider is provided by a number of travel reports. that time a remote provincial town which mostly Extraordinary documentary wealth is not the lived of its importance as a pilgrimage site. For only asset of Singer's book. It is structured along the waqf's location, chose a (desti‐ two main axes of investigation. On the one hand, tute?) house in downtown Jerusalem, dating back she demonstrates the process of founding and H-Net Reviews running a waqf; on the other hand, she seeks to fered from other concepts in history, and thus explain the notion of benefcence, and the social also poses a question about how the waqf actually practice based on it in the Ottoman Empire. served the purpose for which it was designated in Singer claims that the institution of waqf can only the foundation document. be understood properly if one moves away from Singer's fndings about the practice of waqf- normative texts and bases the study on actual making are particularly important for a larger un‐ practices. Her study of waqf should help to under‐ derstanding of Ottoman legal and administrative stand how "philanthropy is used to achieve vari‐ thought, as she demonstrates the deep gap be‐ ous aims," how benefcence works as interaction tween the normative construct of waqf as found between the donor and the needy, "need being de‐ in the legal tradition of Islam, and the practice in fned by the donor" (pp. 5f.). The concentration on the Ottoman Empire. In the Ottoman context, only one instance enables the author to trace all "waqf was one form of property, of capital invest‐ those ties, and to reconsider the prevailing histo‐ ment, of patronage, of benefcence," and Singer riographical myths about waqf (p. 7). The di‐ insists that these aspects have to be considered to‐ achronic scope is limited to the mid-sixteenth cen‐ gether. She shows that, against all legal norms, Ot‐ tury, to the process of founding and frmly estab‐ toman waqf goods were traded and exchanged lishing the waqf, with very few glimpses past frequently. She could have added that waqfs were 1600. Chapters on general and theoretical issues occasionally transferred from one benefciary to frame the empirical part on the Hasseki waqf the other (for example, from one sheykh to anoth‐ proper. er), just like timars were transferred from one The frst chapter presents a survey of the de‐ sipahi to another.[2] Singer rejects the age-old velopment of waqf in Islam in order to situate the criticism, which depicts family waqfs as an abuse Hasseki 'imaret in the "historical stream of waqf- of the system, arguing that family waqf and benef‐ making" (p. 37). Chapter 2 analyses the waqfyes icent waqf (ehli or dhurri versus hayri) should not in order to understand the founder's intentions in be construed as two mutually exclusive cate‐ imperial and local politics and society (p. 9), and gories, as has often been done by legalist writers, the whole process of setting up the waqf. Chapter starting from Qo=i Beg. Instead, most waqf com‐ 3 discusses the aspect of gender in the business of bine both family and charitable aspects in one benefcence, setting the founder of the Hasseki way or another.[3] 'imaret in the context of Ottoman social struc‐ Imperial waqf-making is a special form of pi‐ tures, in particular the imperial household. Singer ous foundations, since the family aspect is exclud‐ ponders possible connections to earlier examples ed by defnition. Singer emphasizes the function of benefcent women in Islam, and speculates of waqf as part of an imperial project, and even about the potential continuity between women claims that the competition in waqf-making was benefactresses in the location of the Hasseki part of the dynastic succession. Though the con‐ 'imaret. In chapter 4, she narrows the focus down cept of waqf is setting up a permanent institution, to Jerusalem, studying the day-by-day and year- Singer shows that the very act of founding itself by-year management of the waqf. Chapter 5 was a long-term process, and the endowment re‐ broadens the perspective again, putting the mained more fexible than previously thought. preparation and distribution of food into a com‐ The time from the transfer of the frst landhold‐ parative perspective across the empire. The fnal ings to Hurrem Sultan to the second of the two chapter on "practicing benefcence" investigates foundation deeds spans seven years, and the how the Jerusalem waqf was part of a specifcally soup-kitchen was active even before the ofcial Ottoman concept of benefcence, and how this dif‐

2 H-Net Reviews foundation deed was issued. Modifcations of the of sultanic power, an administrator was able to endowed property continued, as new sources forge particular ties to the villages allotted to the were added, or more suitable sources were ex‐ waqf, so that peasants felt a direct loyalty to it. changed for more remote ones. This linkage is an important example of how insti‐ This book does not fully spell out the conse‐ tutional bonds were conceptualized through per‐ quences of some of its fndings. The kinds of rev‐ sonal connections in pre-modern Ottoman society. enue sources--that is, taxes and tithes from land The reports by and about these administrators do that had been miri land, the supervision of all im‐ not easily add up to a coherent picture, as collec‐ perial waqfs by the dar= s-sa'ade agasi, and the tors boasted of their own successes in collecting appointment of military personnel to collect rev‐ revenue, and accused their predecessors (who in enues--demonstrate the overlap of "state" func‐ turn had claimed to have done outstanding ser‐ tions with the endowment. Singer argues that vice) of neglect. Distinctions between a truthful benefcent works of the sultan "were not only report, opportunism, and rhetorical topoi of loyal‐ those of individuals, but also the work of their of‐ ty towards the central supervisor at the Porte are fces" (p. 166). The ease with which state land and almost impossible to distinguish (see pp. 100, 116, state sources of income are assigned to a waqf and passim). Such contradictions call for height‐ which is set up in the name of an individual mem‐ ened care in the use of seemingly objective ber of the dynasty calls into question the notion of archival sources. a state as an institution distinct from the persons Due to the detailed documentation, Singer who embody it. can give the reader a colorful picture of the day- This link becomes clear also in the discussion to-day problems encountered in running a waqf. of the business of the administrators, as Singer These range from obtaining supplies for the traces the career and performance of the fve ad‐ kitchen, including expensive frewood, to the wa‐ ministrators of the endowment in the years ter supply for the public bath which was sup‐ 1550-58. Each administrator had his independent posed to yield income for the 'imaret, to collection income from a ze'amet, which, at least in one of revenues from peasants and bedouins. Despite case, was carved out of the waqf properties. He the precise specifcations in the waqfye, adminis‐ had to take care of collecting revenues, expanding trators often had to act on their own, which gave the sources of income, overseeing new construc‐ greater importance to their local and personal tions, ordering repairs, and allocating resources. ties. One of these administrators was a local notable, Starting from the logistic problems of the who invested some of his personal funds in the 'imaret, Singer turns to the broader issue of provi‐ Hasseki 'imaret. Nor did economic wisdom guide sioning. Ottomans did not understand their econ‐ all administrative decisions. It is important to omy as a free-market system. It was heavily regu‐ note that the income for the waqf was not only lated, as is evident from the sophisticated ar‐ generated by extracting surplus from agricultural rangements established to provide major cities production, but also by engagement in other eco‐ and institutions, such as the palace, with supplies. nomic felds, including the bath (though there Equally, the provision of the army on campaign or seems to have been little demand for one in of the pilgrimage caravan required organizational Jerusalem), soap factories (which turned out to be skills. These examples illustrate some cases paral‐ less proftable than expected), or long-distance lel to the needs of an 'imaret, and constitute a trade in grains (probably in order to evade export handy sample, but do not much illuminate the restrictions) (p. 123). Purportedly a representative problems of running a waqf. Though the founda‐

3 H-Net Reviews tion deed sets standards for the amount and qual‐ only mean the economically poor, but includes re‐ ity of food, it is hard to know what was actually spectable personalities as well.[4] served, since here we are left with only the nor‐ The distribution of food as a means to gain mative regulations of the endowment deed, with‐ followers is another of Singer's central ideas. The out documentation about how these stipulations most pertinent example mentioned is the janis‐ were put into practice. saries, for whom the cauldron is a symbol of alle‐ This detailed picture of the establishment and giance to their ruler. To turn the cauldron over, to administration of a pious endowment is a major reject the ruler's food, was the symbolic act with accomplishment of the book. Nevertheless, it which mutinies began. Examples from "mirrors- makes larger claims as it seeks to locate the Has‐ for-princes" (Qutadgu Bilig, Siyasat-name) and seki 'imaret also in the mental and intellectual Ot‐ epics (Kitab-i Dede Qorqud) illustrate further cas‐ toman world. The larger ideas of benefcence and es of rulers' distribution of food. Singer is aware gender are the key concepts used by Singer to this of the disparate character of this body of sources, end. yet claims they are related. Nevertheless, these The starting point for the analysis of the un‐ sources show a king feasting with his nobleman derlying ideas is the assumption that waqf is a as a primus inter pares, whereas Mehmed II abol‐ "chief vehicle of philanthropy" (p. 16). This close ished the time-honored custom of eating with his link between waqf and philanthropy derives from retinue, thus signifying a major transformation of the normative idea of waqf, and is partly dis‐ the Ottoman idea of sovereignty.[5] proved by the practice especially among the Ot‐ These examples bear witness to a norm of tomans. Nevertheless, it certainly holds true for generosity which may go back far into pre-Islamic the case of the Hasseki 'imaret. In the footsteps of political thought. It seems to me, however, that it Marcel Mauss's anthropological classic "The Gift," is fundamentally diferent from charity or philan‐ Singer makes it clear that benefcence is never an thropy as manifested in an 'imaret. Generosity is expression of pure altruism, but is always prac‐ an important symbolic capital in a legitimating ticed with some sort of beneft in mind: "Non-ma‐ discourse which involves the ruler and his vassals terial ways: qurba, prestige, legitimacy, and pa‐ or followers. The poor and needy fed by an impe‐ tronage were their reward" (p. 35). The order of rial soup kitchen do not qualify as addressees of serving and the specifed size of portions speak such a discourse. Benefcence towards the poor for an elaborate hierarchy among the benefcia‐ provides gains for the benefactor not in this ries of the 'imaret, with its personnel as well as world but in the hereafter. Singer spends much the inhabitants of a nearby tekke at the top, and time arguing that the waqf was a tool of power, the "400 poor and needy" mentioned in the foun‐ especially since the founder retained control over dation deed at the lower end, so that rank instead it, while charity through the alms tax () was of need determines access. In other words, benef‐ controlled by state agents. The point she misses is cence does not compensate for social inequalities, that waqfs were set up for eternity, and the but reafrms them, which reveals a fundamental founder's control lasted only until her or his diference from contemporary ideas of charity. death. There were even cases when a waqf was Unfortunately, about those 400 "poor and needy" founded by the heirs, after the death of the bene‐ next to nothing is known. Therefore, statements factor.[6] about the social efect of the 'imaret are hard to The religious context of benefcence would make. Singer points out that the term "poor" also have deserved a more thorough discussion. There includes pilgrims and travelers, so that it cannot is no reason to believe that concerns about salva‐

4 H-Net Reviews tion are a less compelling argument for benef‐ realm (p. 152). That element is akhiliq, the ideolo‐ cence than gains of patronage and power. The gy of the guild-cum-fraternities which fourished problem can be phrased as one of mentality: in, and actually ruled over, several Anatolian Jacques Le Gof once argued that economic igno‐ towns in the late Middle Ages. Self-sacrifcing gen‐ rance was insufcient as an explanation for the erosity and hospitality were part and parcel of economically absurd abolishment of the hearth akhi ethics, and travellers like Ibn Battuta experi‐ tax by the French king Charles V on his deathbed enced these in practice. Although some of its tra‐ in 1380. Rather, the king's Christian mentalit=-- ditions can be traced back to Iranian origins, the that is, his anxiety not to be confronted with the Anatolian manifestation of akhiliq seems to be complaints of his subjects on judgment day--pre‐ quite unique. On the other hand, akhiliq is a dis‐ vailed over political and economic reason.[7] Sim‐ tinctly male phenomenon. Its consideration ilarly, the fact that ofcials established more than would probably demand a re-assessment of the 90 percent of Ottoman waqfs might have to do gendered aspects of Singer's study. with the fact that worldly power was deeply sus‐ The connection of charity to women in Ot‐ picious to the pious, and that one incentive for toman culture is largely unsubstantiated in piety was redemption from sin in the service of Singer's study. She does not clearly state whether this world. Even though the rhetoric of the waq‐ Hurrem Sultan's engagement was actually part of fye might have provided a starting point for clos‐ her exceptional status in the house of Osman, or er analysis, Singer limits her comments to a brief more or less representative. In the same vein, the reference to qurba, closeness to God, as a motiva‐ signifcance of her choosing a site which was tion of benefcence, before returning to her exam‐ named after a Mamluk woman is far from clear. ination of social practice. There seems to have been some charitable activi‐ Religious studies might also have provided ty in Mamluk times, but it is not possible to estab‐ deeper insight into the conceptualization of chari‐ lish a link to the Hasseki 'imaret. Even more spec‐ ty. If the practice of gift-giving is based on an idea ulative is the connection to the Byzantine Em‐ of "do ut des" in the social realm, so is the idea of press Helena, who is mentioned as a benefactress sacrifce in the religious sphere. Recent studies by several Western travelers, but not in domestic have emphasized the tension between the eco‐ sources. The fragility of this evidence makes nomic and the uneconomic way of the sacrifce Singer's speculations about possible local tradi‐ (and, by extension, the gift), that is, the contradic‐ tions appear rather daring. Although she makes tion between the concept of barter and the delib‐ the fascinating observation that those wives of erately incurred loss, the giving away.[8] In Islam, sultans who are known as waqf-makers were all the sacrifce has largely lost the original notion of of non-Muslim origin (p. 85), on the whole her compelling God through gift, but instead is in a fndings on women and benefcence lack cohe‐ conspicuous way linked to charity, since one third sion. While she frst states that a survey of foun‐ of the sacrifced animals is to be distributed dations reveals "no dramatically gendered divi‐ among the poor. This aspect is completely absent sion of choices in the types of endowments creat‐ from the book. ed" (p. 93), she later insists that "Ottoman imperial Singer rightly points to the dervish lodge as benefcence was clearly gendered" (p. 96). another important venue of hospitality and distri‐ These remarks are not meant to detract from bution of food, yet misses the one element which the merits of this book. In its attempt to bring to‐ would nicely explain why this charitable tradition gether the historiography of social and political took on a particular dimension in the Ottoman life in the Ottoman Empire, and that of ideas and

5 H-Net Reviews mentalities in order to understand the function tions of waqfs would have been of interest in this and impact of one institution like the Hasseki context as well. 'imaret, it breaks important new ground. I believe [3]. Nevertheless, a brief look at a few pub‐ that the lack of symmetry between those two as‐ lished waqfyes casts some doubt on her claim pects which I noted is symptomatic of Ottoman that, diferently from imperial waqfs, dignitaries studies in the last decades. It is striking to see that "generally assigned the management of their practical and administrative aspects of the Ot‐ waqfs to their family members" (p. 35). See Klaus toman world are studied through a close reading Schwarz and Hars Kurio, Die Stiftungen des os‐ of frst-hand archival sources, while much of the manischen Grosswesirs Koga Sinan Pascha (gest. analysis of Ottoman ideas rests on a somewhat 1596) in Uzungaova/Bulgarien (Berlin: Klaus eclectic combination of anthropological theory, a Schwarz, Islamkundliche Untersuchungen, 1980); few incidentally available primary sources, and Gerd Winkelhane and Klaus Schwarz, Der osman‐ secondary literature referring to other periods ische Statthalter Iskender Pascha (gest. 1571) und (such as Mottahedeh). Ottoman literature of ethics seine Stiftungen in =gypten und am Bosporus, Is‐ and piety exists, but remains to be employed. My lamwissenschaftliche Quellen und Texte aus comments should be understood as an indication deutschen Bibliotheken, 1 (Bamberg: AKU, 1985); of how engaging Ottoman benefcence is, and as and Klaus Schwarz and Gerd Winkelhane, Hoga an encouragement to develop this approach fur‐ Sa'deddin, Staatsmann und Gelehrter (gest. 1599), ther. und seine Stiftung aus dem Jahr 1614, Islamwis‐ Finally, a note for the publisher: This book in‐ senschaftliche Quellen und Texte aus deutschen cludes more than 30 pages of notes. Page headers Bibliotheken, 5 (Bamberg: AKU, 1986). in the text give titles of chapters, but the notes are [4]. It should also be mentioned that fuqara, arranged according to the number of the chapter. literally "the poor," is often used to denote So a reader who wants to fnd note 68 referred to dervishes. on page 92 of the text must frst fnd the number [5]. See most recently Michael Meeker, A Na‐ of the chapter in the table of contents in the be‐ tion of Empire: The Ottoman Legacy of Turkish ginning, and then fnd the note in the back of the Modernity (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: Uni‐ book. This treasure hunt is needlessly time-con‐ versity of California Press, 2002), pp. 126 f., fol‐ suming. After all, what is wrong with footnotes? lowing G=lru Necipoglu, Architecture, Ceremoni‐ [9] al, and Power: The Topkapi Palace in the Fifteenth Notes and Sixteenth Centuries (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT [1]. Miriam Hoexter, "Waqf Studies in the Press, 1992). Twentieth Century: The State of the Art," The Jour‐ [6]. Klaus Schwarz and Gerd Winkelhane, nal of the Economic and Social History of the Ori‐ Hoga Sa'deddin, Staatsmann und Gelehrter (gest. ent 41 (1998): 474-95; Faruk Bilici, "Bilan des 1599), und seine Stiftung aus dem Jahr 1614, Is‐ =tudes sur les waqfs ottomans et perspectives = la lamwissenschaftliche Quellen und Texte aus fn du XXe si=cle," Archivum Ottomanicum 18 deutschen Bibliotheken, 5 (Bamberg: AKU, 1986). (2000): 105-26. [7]. Jacques Le Gof, "Les mentalit=s: Une his‐ [2]. Vera P. Moutafchieva, Agrarian Relations toire ambigue," in Faire de l'histoire, ed. Jacques in the Ottoman Empire in the 15th and 16th Cen‐ Le Gof, Pierre Nora (Paris: Gallimard, 1974). turies (Boulder, Colo.: East European Mono‐ [8]. See, for example, Jill Robbins, "Sacrifce," graphs, CCLI, 1988), pp. 94 f. The policies of in Critical Terms for Religious Studies, ed. Mark C. Bayezid I and Mehmed II on large-scale confsca‐

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Taylor (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998), p. 289. [9]. Anthony Grafton, The Footnote: A Curious History (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1997).

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Citation: Gottfried Hagen. Review of Singer, Amy. Constructing Ottoman Benefcence: An Imperial Soup Kitchen in Jerusalem. H-Turk, H-Net Reviews. May, 2003.

URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=7578

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