Non-Muslims in Sivas at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries

Abstract

The intensilication of the lise of Ottoman archival documents, mainly the court records, in studies dealing with the non-Muslim communities of the empire paved the way for the re-consideration of the paradigms of the millet system. This present study follows, in a way, the path that was opened by such studies. Considering that most of these studies were carried on the Arab provinces of the empire, the significance of a study that focuses on a certain locality in Ottoman Anatolia becomes apparent. While it contributes to the general picture concerning the non-Muslims of the empire, it also draws attention to the local differences. This study deals with the non-Muslim communities of Sivas in comparison to their Muslim counterparts at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. It was based mainly on archival documents, six volumes of court records being the basic ones. After introducing the non-Muslim communities of the city in terms of their population, ethnicity and language, the study analyzes the role of religion as a dividing line between the members of different religions as far as the physical environment, material culture, and the social relations are concerned. On the macro level, the paradigms of the millet system are re-considered for the case of Sivas. Keywords: Ottoman Empire, Sivas, non-Muslims, Muslims, court records, millet system.|Keywords: Ottoman Empire; Sivas; non-Muslim; Muslims; court records;millet system