Salonica City Of Ghosts

The Ottoman Empire was one of the greatest, far- reaching and longest lasting empire the world had ever seen. It is widely accepted as the most influential of the Islamic empires of the modern period whose cultural and political expansion is considered responsible for shaping a significant portion of Central Asian and European history. In “Salonica City of Ghosts” Mazower recreates the cultural, ethnic, economical and religious history of Salonica, one of the most important cities of the Ottoman Empire. His meticulous descriptions about the fortunes and misfortunes of Salonica lend glorious life to this diverse city which makes the reader empathize with its turbulent history. Mazowers’s thorough research over the course of twenty years supplanted …show more content…
The Ottomans followed the Hanafi school of Sunni law which was the most tolerant and flexible in relation to non-Muslims and they adopted a surprisingly open attitude towards Christianity. After the Ottoman conquest of Byzantine in 1430 by Sultan Murad, his initial thought was to return Salonica to its inhabitants and to restore it just as it had been before. Illustrating the ambivalent nature of the Ottomans towards the existing inhabitants, Mazower states that “In fact, only when Murad released the extent of depopulation, he changed his mind and decided to bring in Muslim settlers as well.” The Sultan had no intention of eradicating Christianity from Salonica because he believed it would have been economically harmful and contrary to his own religious beliefs. In order to restore Salonica economically and structurally, the Ottomans welcomed the inflow of foreigners such as the Jews in 1478 from the Mediterranean into the Balkan land. Sultan Murad’s openness proved rewarding as the political and cultural influence of the Jews along with their revolutionary business acumen helped revitalize the economy in …show more content…
The main objective of religion under the Ottoman Empire was to provide the divisions according to which the residents of Salonica were classified or in order to distinguish between the Muslims and non-Muslim. The non- Muslim community was divided into millets, which were administrative units organized on the basis of religion. The dhimmis or the subjects under the millets in Salonica were supposed to pay a tax to the Ottomans in return for autonomy in managing their internal disputes and agreements. This system enabled the Ottomans to create a tolerant minority status among the Christians and Jews while controlling the different communities through their religious institutions. Thus, the dhimmis could live independently to an extent as long as they believed and respected the supremacy of Islam and the Sultan. It was a pretty effective system, since Jews (cite) could live and practice their religion freely in the Ottoman Empire. It was also effective for the Christian communities, as some of these