This course offers to examine the history and condition
of Christians -- a majority of whom were the Greek
Orthodox people (Rum) -- in Anatolia and the Balkans under
the Ottoman Empire. From some basic
concepts of non-Muslim historiography (such as zımmi
or millet), the course will move to the various
ways in which historians have interpreted the Christian
presence under Ottoman rule. Byzantium as a state was
very closely associated with Orthodox
Christianity and the Greek language. What did its
demise mean for Orthodox Christians and
their institutions ? How did Ottoman social, economic
and administrative structures absorb and influence
Christians; in turn, how did they participate in producing
and re-producing the imperial framework ?
Special attention will be paid to : communal life and
institutions, the place of Christians in
Ottoman administration and imperial networks, the
Phanariots, the rise of the Greek bourgeoisie,
the emergence of the Greek nation-state,
Greek education, and the contribution
of Christians to Ottoman urban space
and architecture.
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