Orthodox Christians in Ottoman Southeastern Europe: Political, Social, and Legal Contexts

Identifications of Orthodox Christians in Ottoman Southeastern Europe (c. 1450–c. 1750), 2026,  [pp. 29-44]

 

AUTHOR(S) / AUTOR(I): Ognjen Krešić

 
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.46793/7179.132.8.029K

ABSTRACT / SAŽETAK:

This paper analyses the policies of the Ottoman bureaucracy toward the non-Muslim subjects of the sultans, with particular attention to their legal status. It further examines the various modes of (self-)identification among Orthodox Christians within the framework of the Ottoman administrative system. Frequent interactions with representatives of the state apparatus played a pivotal role in shaping social life, while the attitudes of officials toward different population groups and their representatives were subject to continual adjustment. Within this context, the role of Church hierarchies in the administrative and fiscal systems is explored. Finally, the paper addresses the concept of the “millet system,” a frequently invoked term in scholarship concerning communal structures and modes of identification in the Ottoman Empire.

KEYWORDS / KLJUČNE REČI:

Ottoman Empire / Orthodox Christians / Balkans / Southeastern Europe / Identity / Identifications

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT / PROJEKAT:

(Trans-)Formation of Identities: Orthodox Christians in Ottoman Balkans (c.1450–c.1750) -FORMIDOX

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