Turkish Society
A brief exploration of the societies and social structures of Turkish cultures and civilization.
Traditional Turkish Societies
Turkish societies varied widely by time, place, and local culture. Their most powerful state, the Ottoman Empire, was home to people of many different religions and lifestyles. Holding its citizens together while expanding proved to be one of the major challenges of Ottoman rule. Alongside its center of authority in Istanbul, the empire built small cities along its trade routes and inherited others through conquest. These urban centers were often divided into religious quarters, effectively segregating Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities, among others. Muslim citizens generally held a higher social status and greater legal protections. People of each faith, however, were allowed to be judged according to their own laws and priests.
Social Classes of the Ottoman Empire
Turkish social classes operated along lines familiar to most monarchies. A small, wealthy nobility tied to the sultan ruled over cities and their territories. The sultan could have many heirs. Each male child, raised and protected singly by his mother, was eventually given command over a province. Once the sultan died, these half-brothers fought among themselves until a clear leader emerged. The system, while flexible, led to significant familial infighting and fratricide. By the 18th century, heirs possessed much less power and grew more reliant on their brothers. This diminished and eventually ended the practice of fratricide. A small class of civil servants, military officers, scholars, judges, governors, and artists served the royal family in prestigious roles. These positions were in most cases held by Turkish Muslims, but not always.
Social distinctions continued among the lower classes. Merchants occupied a respected role in society, facing few taxes or restrictions. They worked closely with artisanal guilds, both selling raw materials and buying finished items. A large peasant class worked as laborers within the cities or as farmers outside them. At the outskirts of society lived the pastoral nomads. These tribes followed older Turkish customs, but they remained vassals of the Ottoman state. Religious authority rested with the sultan, who also held the title of caliph. While women and slaves possessed few rights, free men could rise or fall through the ranks by merit, either as warriors or administrators.
Modern Social Structures of Turkey
The complex blend of cultures, religions, and social organizations that made up the Ottoman state homogenized somewhat over time, particularly as nations like Greece broke away. By the later stages of its decline, the empire was majority Muslim. The Ottoman sultanate formally ended in 1922 as part of the reforms led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Mustafa Kemal established a secular society drawing influence from Western ideas of education and modernization. He moved Turkish script away from an Arabic base to a Roman one. His philosophy is known as Kemalism, encompassed by the ‘six arrows’ of republicanism, populism, nationalism, secularism, statism, and reformism.
Under Kemal, even the dress of Turkish society changed; fez hats are still illegal in the country, though the law is rarely enforced. Until recently, women could not wear a headscarf while performing official duties or in certain facilities. Modern Turkey has in some ways moved away from its earlier secular reforms, encouraging the role of Islamic values in society. This transition has been met with acclaim from its conservative factions and condemnation by liberal groups.
References
Faroqhi, Suraiya. Subjects of the Sultan: Culture and Daily Life in the Ottoman Empire. I.B. Tauris. 2005.
Finkel, Caroline. Osman’s Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire. Basic Books. 2005.
Howard, Douglas Arthur. The History of Turkey. Greenwood Press. 2001.
Kandiyoti, Deniz and Ayşe Saktanber, eds. Fragments of Culture: The Everyday of Modern Turkey. I.B. Tauris. 2002.
“The World Factbook: TURKEY.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 20 June 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tu.html.
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