preface
After the Ottoman Empire captured Constantinople, it became the capital of the empire and was renamed Istanbul. In order to rebuild the post-war decay
Defeated city, the Ottoman Empire moved a large number of people from other parts of the territory to Istanbul, and Jews from the previous Byzantine Empire were greatly transferred to Istanbul.
In the mid-15th century, some Ashkenazi Jews also came to Istanbul to earn a living. In 1492 the Spanish Jews were expelled and a large number of Sephardic refugees arrived in Istanbul. The Ottoman Empire adopted a more tolerant attitude towards Jews, and almost all areas of economic activity in Istanbul were open to Jews, and Jews played an important role in imperial trade, handicrafts, commerce, and other fields. Jews formed communities in Istanbul, had their own religion and laws, and enjoyed a high degree of autonomy. Jewish culture has also flourished like never before in Istanbul.
The origin of Istanbul Jews
Roman Jews refer to Jews within the territory of the original Byzantine Empire. After Sultan Mahmed II conquered Constantinople,
The entrance of urban residents has dropped from about 300,000 to about 80,000, and it has been in a state of depression and decay. Mahmed II decided to rebuild the city, and the first thing he did was to increase the city's population in every possible way. The most effective way to increase the population was the forced transfer of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish families from different parts of the empire.
These forced migrants are considered "sagan" or, in Turkish, "exiles". They had people from all religions and social classes, and they also had the economic power to revive the city. Jews forcibly relocated to Istanbul were mostly from Greece, Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria and Turkey. The migration process lasted more than 20 years, and most of these immigrants were Roman Jews, Greek-speaking Jews, shared a common cultural heritage, and their names were derived from their place of origin, Rome, and they had the self-identification of fellow Byzantines.
Sephardic refers to the Jews and their descendants who lived in Spain and Portugal before the end of the 15th century, and is derived from the Hebrew word meaning "island of wealth," and is the Hebrew biblical reference to Spain located on the rich Iberian Peninsula. In the 90s of the 15th century, Christians overthrew Islamic regimes in the Iberian Peninsula, followed by anti-Jewish movements, and Sephardic Jews were expelled from Spain (1492) and Portugal (1497).
In 1492, all the Jews in Spain were expelled, many Jews went to the Ottoman Empire, and about 12,000 people went to Portugal. The first Spanish Jewish refugees arrived in Istanbul in the summer of 1492, and others arrived in Istanbul after a short stay in Italy and North Africa.
In 1497, Portugal forced Jews to convert, Jews who had migrated from Spain five years earlier refused to convert, and some of them tried to escape, which led to the second climax of the migration of Iberian Jews to the Ottoman Empire (2). Those Jews who remained in Portugal were forced to convert to Christianity and form new Christian communities, hoping for the opportunity to move to a place where they could maintain their faith.
In 1506, due to a riot against the New Christians in Lisbon, the Jews were allowed to move. They took advantage of this opportunity to leave the Christian-controlled lands one after another, and Istanbul was their best option, so another group moved from the Iberian Peninsula to Istanbul.
Between 1536 and 1560, another migration boom occurred. Their hopes were dashed by the persecution of new Christians by the Portuguese Inquisition in 1536, and they left Portugal for a short stay elsewhere before coming to Istanbul, a popular destination.
The Ashkenazi Jews of Istanbul are mostly Jews who migrated from Germany in the mid-15th century and speak Yiddish language. Before the arrival of the Sephardi Jews in Istanbul, the Ashkenazi Jews had settled in Istanbul. The Ottoman authorities treated the Ashkenazi Jews like Roman Jews, treating them as Sagan. Later, more Ashkenazi Jews migrated to Istanbul.
All Jews who migrated to Istanbul from Christian territory were classified as Kendigoron, including Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardic Jews, Italian Jews, etc.
Economic prosperity
The predominance of Jews in the field of commerce depended on the following factors:
First, the Turks were a people who liked to fight and farm, they were mostly soldiers, administrators, peasants, and generally did not engage in commercial activities, and the Ottoman Empire handed over this industry to Jews, Greeks, and Arabs. In the Ottoman Empire, basically all areas of the economy were opened to Jews, which created favorable conditions for Jews,
Second, Jews' strong sense of the market gave them a significant advantage in business. "The Jewish market consciousness has a strong religious element, and the early business story of barter and silver barter of the Jewish people is recorded in the Bible, which has left its mark on the hearts of Jews for many years. As long as there is a chance, the Jews want to make money. The function of money for Jews was twofold: not only to satisfy material needs, but also to indicate the degree of religious belief, and Jews regarded the money earned as a gift to God.
In this way, the Jewish market consciousness has a strong religious element, and this motivation for making money is more than the simple pursuit of wealth
Deeper, more durable. ”
Third, Jewish commercial networks throughout the world created favorable conditions for foreign trade. "The diaspora drove Jews into the world market in the truest sense of the word, and the diaspora made them no longer too closely connected to fixed markets anywhere, and determined them to become bearers of international trade. They played an extremely active role in Mediterranean and intercontinental trade, with their own "representatives" in the major ports, forming a vast commercial network that excluded dissidents and established their own system, ensuring the smooth progress of long-distance trade. ”
epilogue
After the Ottoman Empire captured Istanbul, they tried to rebuild the decaying city, so they moved from various places to fill Istanbul, and in the mid-15th century, many Jews from the original Byzantine Empire were forcibly transferred to Istanbul for Roman Jews. At the end of the 15th century, the Iberian Peninsula expelled Jews, only the Ottoman government took them in, and these deported Jews came to Istanbul with a lot of money and advanced technology for Sephardic Jews. Roman Jews and Sephardic Jews were the main constituent part of Istanbul's Jews.
In Istanbul, the Ottoman Empire adopted a tolerant and pragmatic attitude towards Jews, treating them as jimmas and giving to him
They have certain rights, allowing them to form communities and exercise a certain degree of autonomy. Jewish communities are established in many parts of Istanbul, and the Jewish population is growing in Istanbul, which in a short period of time has a population of 30,000, making it the largest Jewish community in Europe.
The Jewish community lived around the synagogue and was ruled by its own leadership. At first, the chief rabbi was the sole authority and was solely responsible for the affairs of the Jewish community, and with the arrival of Sephardic Jews, the Ottoman government realized that the Jews were divided and it was difficult for them to submit to the sole authority, and eventually, the Ottoman government abandoned the practice of appointing a general religious-judicial leader in Istanbul and instead delegated power to a few people, instead of a chief rabbi who was only responsible for the Roman Jews, not the Jewish community as a whole, In this way, Kaya gradually became an official representing the entire community, and secular officials gradually replaced religious officials as the de facto leaders of the Jewish community. Cultural differences between Roman Jews and Sephardic Jews led to constant conflict, and eventually other Jews in the Jewish community were gradually assimilated by Sephardic Jews.