Ottoman Empire Free Essay Example, 1000 words

The main non-Muslim population entailed Christians, Assyrians, Armenians and Jews. Christianity was the major religion up until up until late15th century, when numbers decline due to widespread migration and the secession of the empire (Ochsenwald & Fisher, 2010). Each subject was judged as per the faith they practiced, i.e. sharia law for Muslims, canon law for Christians and Halakha for the Jewish subjects. Non-Muslims were required to pay higher taxes than the Muslim subjects did and were not eligible to hold government office. They were also unauthorized to possess weapons, ride horses or build houses that looked down on those of Muslims. This system of self-governance for each religion is referred to as the millet system. It allowed each religious group to carry out its own practices, hence reducing conflict in the larger population. Another widely practiced, but commonly resisted ritual was Devsirme whereby young Christian boys were seized from their families, and converted to Islam with the objective of training, and recruiting the most able to the military and other administrative positions. Bureaucracy At the helm of the government was the Sultan, who had the absolute decision-making power of political and state wealth matters. We will write a custom essay sample on Ottoman Empire or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page The Imperial Harem, which comprised of the wives, concubines, slaves and female relatives of also exercised political authority in the society, led by Valide Sultan who was the queen mother.