Some of slaves would later achieve high status and later contributed a lot in the politics and military of the empire which was based on training. They included the Harem guards and Janissaries. Slavery mostly was on military rather than domestic basis. This could be seen from its start where young Christian boys from the Anatolia and Balkans were taken from their families, converted to Islam and enrolled into the soldier class known as the (janissaries). Later slaves were obtained in different ways through slave trade. Ottoman Empire also got it slaves from the following ways: African slaves (were mostly pagans making them advantageous and were employed in Turkish households and also in the empire’s army). Barbary slaves (were captured by Barbary pirates and later sold to the empire) and lastly the slaves of the imperial harem who were concubines of the Ottoman Sultan and were obtained through sex slavery. The Ottoman society was its cosmopolitan nature and its subjects came from many different ethnic and religious groups. However there was some social discrimination. Women did not have as much access to public power as men. However, women in elite households also known as the higher class, for example the sultan’s household and the imperial harem, could easily join politics and become make decisions as political actors would do.. The imperial harems were royal women making them custodians of sovereign power, and at times trained their sons. To some extent they used the power themselves since they argued that the power was not sexually distributed among the society and that men occupied most of the positions. They could also present their issues in the Islamic courts.
Women:
Women of the harem used their wealth to patronize important public building projects and charitable works. Because of their proximity to and influence on the sultans, they also played an active role in important political matters. Women from the imperial elite and upper-class families enjoyed most of the freedom and rights. Lower class women had some freedom to move and participate in economic activities. However, it depended on the time and place where the occasion would . Some of the restrictions against women were banned for example those of preventing them to be seen in public. Artisans in urban areas had a big role in the society were organized in guilds, which regulated membership and standards of production. They also took care of sick or injured members take part in grand processions which would demonstrate their mastery of their craft. In the empire, leisure time was taken very seriously and Coffeehouses were frequented by men and seen as places for political gossip as they drank coffee. Women took this time to visit bathhouses since they were more restricted in their public life. This was an important social occasion. Ottoman women were considered subjects of the empire upon reaching puberty, and Islamic law and tradition granted them specific legal rights. They had the right to control property, and neither fathers nor husbands could make use of this property without their consent. They also created numerous charitable institutions (schools, baths and hospitals) whereas Royal women or the imperial harem active in establishing charitable foundations throughout the empire which were financed using their own personal resources. This played a significant role in the Ottoman economy.
Patrimonial system
Politically, the state controlled everything and the ruler was personally responsible for the welfare of his subjects. The leaders used a system of rule based on administrative and military personnel, who were responsible only to the ruler. They included the sultans, the janissaries corps and the imperial harem. Women were given special treatment since they were seen to be the mothers of the sultans and at time contributed decisions and ideas on who future Sultans would be. The empire was also based ideology of Ottomanism which depended on the power and might and the sultans (leaders) played important role in making decisions on state political matters. However the Janissaries soon became a liability to the empire. They became powerbrokers and selfishly used power for their own benefit rather than for the whole society. Since they were Strong and independent decision makers, they became dictators and were soon dictating Ottoman policy, firing the Sultans at will, planning to overcome power through coups, and acting as the owners of the vast agricultural lands. They also at the same time became losers in battles and were not effective in their military prowess. They became corrupt and could even make wages higher on their own benefit rather than benefit of the and this made it very difficult for the sultans to successfully lead the empire. Economically, Ottoman Empire was an agricultural economy based on tenant small scale farming and tax farmers. Due to the legality of slave trade in the Ottoman Empire there was presence of slaves for domestic tasks, the harem and for the forced labor in most Ottoman lands up to the time of the decline of the empire. However even with presence of vast natural resources and raw materials, the industrial sector was undeveloped, this was due to lack of schools and institutions to teach and provide farmers with skills and theoretical backup to help in the industrial revolution which was eminent in Europe at the time. Presence of financial institutions like banks was not evident since those interested in those filed were no backed up by the government then most of them being Muslims.
Decline
The decline of the Ottoman Empire was caused by a number of factors including corruption of its trademark institutions, like the janissary corps, fratricide of the ruler’s brothers, the timar tax system and also the abolishment of slave trade. Reform made to its advantage was a main cause of its destruction. However, their decline was more a relative shift in power than an absolute decay.
Conclusion
Having lasted 6 centuries The Ottoman Empire, had both a negative and positive impact to the world surrounding it. It had led to the embracement of the ideology of Ottomanism before its decline. The empire had been at a disadvantage since the sixteenth century when it fell behind in technology and trade. The empire failed to adapt to the times. Not only was its military outdated, the brutal autocratic regime stood in stark contrast to the democratic governments and the rights afforded to its citizens.
