Chapter 14 Interactions in the early Ottoman period (1299-1518)

Tom Papademetriou

Introduction

To understand the nature of Christian-Muslim interactions in the early Ottoman era, it is important first to understand the background and his- torical development of the Ottomans in Asia Minor and, more impor- tantly, their advancement into the Balkans. The Ottomans were not only shaped by their Turkmen cultural milieu, which dominated Asia Minor in the 13th century, but also by their rapid expansion in the Balkans. These experiences determined the way in which the Ottomans interacted with Christians they encountered. The ultimate success of the Ottomans was not based upon sheer military force, or the singular religious ideology of holy war, but rather upon a practical approach to conquest and gov- ernance that integrated the local populations into their emerging state. As a result, local populations were both victims and agents of the great transformation that took place. In this chapter, we explore the interaction of Muslims and Christians in the early Ottoman period, that is, the two centuries or so from 1299 to 1518. We begin with brief contextualising discussions of Asia Minor in the 13th century and the origins of the Ottomans in Anatolia. We turn then to the role of Christian Timariots, the competing motifs of gaza (holy war) and istimalet (accommodation through dhimmī regulations), the phenomenon of Christians boys taken into Ottoman service through the Devshirme, cultural transformations, and the ‘holy man’ motif. The case of Gregory Palamas, the topics of bishops and the emirs, Byzantine observers of Ottoman conquest and the 1453 conquest of Constantinople are also discussed, leading into a concluding section on the new empha- sis on Islamic principles. 332 interactions in the early ottoman period

Asia Minor in the 13th century

Interactions between Byzantines and Ottomans were shaped by a series of events that weakened the Byzantine Empire and Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, the two significant 13th-century states in Asia Minor. The result- ing power vacuum allowed for the Osman tribal group to emerge with dynamism and tremendous force. In 1204, the European crusader forces sacked the city of Constantinople in what is known as the Fourth Cru- sade. Byzantine imperial families fled to Nicaea, where they established an exiled government of the Empire of Nicaea. For the period between 1204 and 1261, Nicaea and the surrounding region in north-west Asia Minor remained in Byzantine control. In 1261, Michael VIII Palaeologus (r. 1261-82) retook Constantinople and established himself as the emperor in the historic capital. But the devastating sack of Constantinople in 1204 was so serious that the Byzantines never recovered. Realising their great weakness, the Palaeologan dynasty renewed its focus on the imperial capital, along with calls for rapprochement with the West, and appeals for assistance from that quarter. This Western focus arguably led to the Byzantines losing sight of the importance of their holdings in Asia Minor and the region of Nicaea. It was at the end of the 13th century, in the region of Bithynia in the Sakarya River valley, that Ertoghrul, a Turkmen tribesman and father of the founder of the Ottoman dynasty, served as a border-lord. The Turkmen had entered Asia Minor as early as 1071, when the Seljuk leader Alp Arslen (r. 1063-72) defeated the Byzantine Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes (r. 1068- 71) in the battle of Manzikert. The Seljuk Sultanate of Rum then set up its capital in Konya (Iconium) and remained in control of the greater part of Asia Minor until the late 13th century. Around the same time, nomadic Turkmen tribes migrated into Asia Minor from Central Asia and Khorasan as a result of pressure from Mongol invasions led by Jengiz Khan. It is likely that Ertoghrul first served the Seljuks and later became a vassal to the Ilkhanid Mongols when the Mongols defeated the Seljuks in 1255. By the end of the 13th century, Seljuk power had been destroyed and Byzantine imperial power was all but erased from the landscape. What remained was a series of small but significant Turkmen tribes or emir- ates led by tribal leaders, emirs, and some Byzantine cities and fortresses still maintained by Byzantine military commanders who functioned as semi-independent warlords. It is out of these historical circumstances that the tribe of Osman originated. Certainly, there were other Turkmen nomadic groups that formed independent emirates throughout Anatolia,