How many ethnic groups made up the Ottoman Empire?
The empire was dominated by the Turks but also included Arabs, Kurds, Greeks, Armenians and other ethnic minorities. Officially the Ottoman Empire was an Islamic Caliphate ruled by a Sultan, Mehmed V, although it also contained Christians, Jews and other religious minorities.
Was the Ottoman Empire multiethnic?
The Ottoman Empire was organized into a very complicated social structure because it was a large, multi-ethnic and multi-religious empire. Ottoman society was divided between Muslims and non-Muslims, with Muslims theoretically having a higher standing than Christians or Jews.
How accurate is demographic data for the Ottoman Empire?
Demographic data for most of the history of the Ottoman Empire is not quite precise. For most of the five centuries of its existence, the empire did not have easily computable valid data except figures for the number of employed citizens.
What was the religion of the Ottoman Empire?
The Ottoman Empire was a Turkish empire that lasted from 1299 to 1922. Under its founder, Osman I, the nomadic Ottoman beylik expanded along the Sakarya River and westward towards the Sea of Marmara. Thus, the population of western Asia Minor had largely become Turkish -speaking and Muslim in religion.
What are the different types of Turkish people?
Other Turkish groups include the Rumelian Turks in the Balkans; Turkish Cypriots on the island of Cyprus (in addition to recent “mainland Turks”); Turkish Meskhetians originally based in Meskheti, Georgia; and ethnic Turkish people across the Middle East, where they are also called ” Turkmen ” or “Turkoman” in the Levant.
Who said the population of Turkey was so heterogeneous?
Lucy Mary Jane Garnett stated in the 1904 book Turkish Life in Town and Country, published in 1904, that “No country in the world, perhaps, contains a population so heterogeneous as that of Turkey.” Demographic data for most of the history of the Ottoman Empire is not quite precise.