THE DYNAMICS OF ECONOMIC STRUCTURE IN THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SYSTEMS OF THE OTTOMAN STATE: THE EXAMPLE OF AHİLİK (CONFRATERNITY) AND GUILDS

Authors : Oğuzhan GÖKSEL, Müjdat AVCI

Pages : 136-150

Doi:10.47525/ulasbid.1228080

View : 15 | Download : 21

Publication Date : 2023-03-25

Article Type : Review Paper

Abstract :The Ottoman political tradition is a system composed of Islam, old Turkish, Byzantinian and Iranian traditions. At the center of the political arena is the sultan, who is to ensure social justice. The Ottoman society consisted of four elements that were expected to complement each other; military group, men of science and the pen, traders, manufacturers. The tax system is the basis of Ottoman social classification. The tax payer is called the flock insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(reaya);. Ahilik insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(Brotherhood); and guilds are located at the intersection of the social and economic system. Ahilik was established with the principles and understandings of futuwwa. The first ahi in Anatolia was Ahi Evran. Ahilik gradually lost its influence due to the conditions of the age and left its place to guilds. The guilds, operating within the framework of the Ottoman\`s economic and political understanding, succumbed to European capitalism with industrialization. The aim of this study is to determine the emergence of the Ahilik and guilds, which used to be one of the important dynamics of the socio-economic structure of the Ottoman Empire, and reveal for what socio-economic and political reasons they lost their function.
Keywords : Osmanlı Devleti, Siyasal Yapı, Sosyal Yapı, Ahilik, Lonca Teşkilatı, Ottoman State, Political Structure, Social Structure, Guilds