Faika Çelik, 2003 the OTTOMAN EXPERIENCE
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GYPSIES (ROMA) IN THE ORBIT OF ISLAM: THE OTTOMAN EXPERIENCE (1450-1600) by Faika Çelik A thesis submitted to the Faeulty of Graduate Studies and Researeh in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Institute of Islamie Studies MeGill University, Montreal August 2003 © Faika Çelik, 2003 Library and Bibliothèque et 1+1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 0-612-98422-2 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 0-612-98422-2 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l'Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans loan, distribute and sell th es es le monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non sur support microforme, papier, électronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. ln compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privée, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont été enlevés de cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. ••• Canada Absfracf The main premise of this thesis is to demonstrate how the Gypsies, (Roma) - both Muslim and Christian, both settled and nomadic- were marginalized by the Ottoman State and society in Rumelia (Rumili) and istanbul during the "Classical Age" of this tri-continental Islamic Empire. The Ottoman state and the society's attitudes towards this marginal group are analyzed through the examination of the Mühimme Registers of the second half the sixteenth century and four major Kanunnames concerning the Gypsies issued in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Travelers' accounts and Turkish oral traditions have also been used to explore the social status of the Gypsies in Ottoman society, as weil as their image in Ottoman popular culture. The history of people who were marginal and voiceless in their societies is not just important for its own sake but for what it reveals about the nature of the societies in which they lived. Thus, this present work not only sheds light upon the history of the Gypsies but also attempts to open new grounds for further discussions on the functioning of the "Plural Society" of the Ottoman Empire. Résumé L'objectif principal de ce mémoire est de démontrer comment les Tsiganes, (Roma) - aussi bien musulmans que chrétiens, sédentarisés et nomades - ont été marginalisés par l'état ottoman et la société en Roumélie (Rumili) et à Istanbul pendant «l'époque classique» de cet empire islamique tri-continental. L'analyse de l'attitude de l'état ottoman, ainsi que celle de la société envers ce group marginalisé est faite à travers une étude des registres mühimmes de la deuxième moitié du seizième siècle, et de quatre Kanunnames majeurs à propos des Tsiganes, ceux-ci lancés pendant le quinzième et le seizième siècles. Il a aussi été question d'utiliser les récits de voyageurs et la tradition orale turque afin d'examiner la situation ou standing des Tsiganes dans la société ottomane ainsi que leur image populaire. Une enquête historique sur un peuple marginalisé et sans voix dans sa société n'est pas seulement importante en soi, mais aussi pour ce qu'elle puisse révéler au sujet de la société qui englobe ce peuple. Par conséquent, le présent ouvrage tâche non seulement d'éclairer l'histoire des Tsiganes, mais aussi de préparer le terrain pour d'autres discussions sur l'état de la «société plurielle» de l'Empire ottoman. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract Resume Acknowledgements Note On Transcnption Introduction. O~jective, Literature Review, Sources, Termin%gy, Method%gy and Structure ................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1...................................................... ................................................................. 21 IN THE PATH OF THE GYPSIES: FROM INDIA TO THE BALKANS .................... 21 The Problem of Sources .................................................................................................................. 21 Origin of the Gypsies ...................................................................................................................... 23 Persia: G'ypsies in Print ................................................................................................................ 25 Af7llenia: the Next Stop ................................................................................................................ 27 G'ypsies in the Byzantine Empire ................................................................................................... 28 Gypsies in the Balkans .................................................................................................................. 32 Chapter II ..................................................................................................................... 35 THE STRUCTURE OF OTTOMAN SOCIETY ................................................................... 35 O,?jective ......................................................................................................................................... 35 The 0'lanization of Ottoman Sociery .............................................................................................. 36 The Millet System ........................................................................................................................... 42 Dhimmis in the Ottoman Empire .................................................................................................... 47 Millet System in Modern Historiograp~ ......................................................................................... 55 Chapter III .................................................................................................................... 59 THE GYPSIES: THE DESPISED "OTHER" ....................................................................... 59 a ,?jective ........................................................................................................................................ 59 The Ottoman State and the G.YPsies ............................................................................................... 61 The SocialStatus of the G'ypsies in the Ottoman Empire ................................................................ 69 111 }2f!$. Conclusion 78 Bibliography 81 Appendices........ ............................................................................................................. 93 I-KANUNS CONCERNING THE GYPSIES; F ACSIMILES, TRANSLITERATIONS AND TRANSLATIONS ............................................................................................................. 93 DUree on the number of the sheep ofRumelian Turks .................................................................... 98 The Law of the Poli tax ofthe Gypsies ......................................................................................... 104 The Law of the Gypsies ofRumelia .............................................................................................. 111 II-POPULATION FIGURES (1) ............................................................................................. 121 Religious Breakdown of Population in Mqjor European Cities (Based on 1520-30)* ................... 121 POPULATION FIGURES (I1) ................................................................................................ 122 Population breakdown of the Gypsies according to religious affiliation in the Province ofRumelia in the sixteenth century................................................... ........................................................................ 122 IV Acknowledgements 1 have accrued many debts in the process of working on this thesis. Professer A. Üner Turgay, my thesis advisor, has provided decisive academic and moral support. His persistent encouragement has been a safe haven for a fledgling graduate student. 1am also indebted to Professor Donald P. Little for transmitting his deep knowledge of Islamic history and Arabie, which definitely broadened my horizons. 1 also wish to thank Professor Nevra Necipoglu and Professor Nükhet Sirman of Bogaziçi University (istanbul) as weil as Dr. Anthony Greenwood of A.R.I.T (istanbul) for their valuable suggestions on aspects of the thesis. 1 shall always remain grateful to Salwa Ferahian, Stephen Miller, and Wayne