THE ADMINISTRATIVE AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS OF CONVERSION TO ISLAM AND THE PRACTICE OF KİSVE BAHASI IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE DURING THE 17TH AND 18TH CENTURIES

Gülcan Avşin Güneş

Article Details

THE ADMINISTRATIVE AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS OF CONVERSION TO ISLAM AND THE PRACTICE OF KİSVE BAHASI IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE DURING THE 17TH AND 18TH CENTURIES

Authors:

Gülcan Avşin Güneş

Publisher:

Ayla KAŞOĞLU

Main Topics:

Osmanlı Azınlıklar Tarihi | Osmanlı Merkez Teşkilatı | Osmanlı Sosyoekonomik Tarihi | Osmanlı Toplumu

Journal:

Avrasya Uluslararası Araştırmalar Dergisi Vol.13 Issue 44, pp.425-455

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

8/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001358127

pISSN:

2147-2610

Keywords:

Abstract:

 This article examines the Ottoman practice of kisve bahasıa form of material support provided to individuals who converted to Islam in the 17th and 18th centuriesnot merely as a reflection of personal faith, but as a multifaceted governance tool situated within the broader relationship between the state and its non-Muslim subjects. The central question of the study is to identify the social and administrative functions of kisve bahası and its role in shaping state-individual relations. Often interpreted in the literature as either a personal religious choice, an expression of Ottoman administrative success, or a survival strategy by non-Muslim communities, kisve bahası is reassessed heredrawing on archival sources such as petitions, ilâms, and mühimme registersas an instrument of layered administrative logic. Particularly in a period marked by the recalibration of central authority, kisve bahası emerged as one of the rewarding and constitutive practices of conversion. The findings demonstrate that the practice functioned structurally to facilitate the integration of converts into Ottoman society by legitimizing their new identities and enhancing social belonging and status. The article thus reconceptualizes kisve bahası as a refined administrative practice embedded within the Ottoman Empires religious, social, and bureaucratic rationality.

 This article examines the Ottoman practice of kisve bahasıa form of material support provided to individuals who converted to Islam in the 17th and 18th centuriesnot merely as a reflection of personal faith, but as a multifaceted governance tool situated within the broader relationship between the state and its non-Muslim subjects. The central question of the study is to identify the social and administrative functions of kisve bahası and its role in shaping state-individual relations. Often interpreted in the literature as either a personal religious choice, an expression of Ottoman administrative success, or a survival strategy by non-Muslim communities, kisve bahası is reassessed heredrawing on archival sources such as petitions, ilâms, and mühimme registersas an instrument of layered administrative logic. Particularly in a period marked by the recalibration of central authority, kisve bahası emerged as one of the rewarding and constitutive practices of conversion. The findings demonstrate that the practice functioned structurally to facilitate the integration of converts into Ottoman society by legitimizing their new identities and enhancing social belonging and status. The article thus reconceptualizes kisve bahası as a refined administrative practice embedded within the Ottoman Empires religious, social, and bureaucratic rationality.

 This article examines the Ottoman practice of kisve bahasıa form of material support provided to individuals who converted to Islam in the 17th and 18th centuriesnot merely as a reflection of personal faith, but as a multifaceted governance tool situated within the broader relationship between the state and its non-Muslim subjects. The central question of the study is to identify the social and administrative functions of kisve bahası and its role in shaping state-individual relations. Often interpreted in the literature as either a personal religious choice, an expression of Ottoman administrative success, or a survival strategy by non-Muslim communities, kisve bahası is reassessed heredrawing on archival sources such as petitions, ilâms, and mühimme registersas an instrument of layered administrative logic. Particularly in a period marked by the recalibration of central authority, kisve bahası emerged as one of the rewarding and constitutive practices of conversion. The findings demonstrate that the practice functioned structurally to facilitate the integration of converts into Ottoman society by legitimizing their new identities and enhancing social belonging and status. The article thus reconceptualizes kisve bahası as a refined administrative practice embedded within the Ottoman Empires religious, social, and bureaucratic rationality.

 Bu makale, 17. ve 18. yüzyıllarda Osmanlı İmparatorluğunda mühtedilere yönelik kisve bahası uygulamasını, salt bir inanç değişimi değil, devletin gayrimüslim tebaayla kurduğu ilişkiler ağı içerisinde çok boyutlu bir yönetim aracı olarak ele almaktadır Çalışmanın temel sorunsalı, kisve bahasının hangi toplumsal ve idari işlevleri üstlendiği ve bu uygulamanın birey-devlet ilişkilerinde nasıl bir rol oynadığıdır. Literatürde çoğu zaman bireysel inanç tercihi, Osmanlı sultanlarının yönetim başarısı veya gayrimüslim halklara yönelik baskısı çerçevesinde yorumlanan kisve bahası, bu çalışmada arşiv belgeleri özellikle arzuhaller, ilâmlar ve mühimme kayıtları ışığında incelenerek çok yönlü bir yönetim stratejisi olarak analiz edilmiştir. Özellikle merkeziyetçiliğin yeniden kurgulandığı 17. ve 18. yüzyıllarda, dönemin gereklerine uygun yönetim, denetim ve meşruiyet araçlarının benimsenmesiyle gündeme alınan kisve bahası ihtidanın ödüllendirici ve kurucu pratiklerinden olmuştur. Bulgular, kisve bahasının mühtedilerin Osmanlı toplumuna kabulünü hızlandıran, yeni kimliklerini görünür ve meşru kılan, sosyal aidiyet ve statü dönüşümünü destekleyen yapısal bir işlevi olduğunu göstermektedir. Makale, ihtida süreçlerinin kurumsal işleyişini ortaya koyarken, bu uygulamanın Osmanlı İmparatorluğunun dini ve sosyal çeşitliliği bağlamında istikrar, sadakat ve meşruiyet üretme stratejilerinin bir parçası olduğunu savunmaktadır. Bu çalışma, Osmanlı kaynaklarını kullanarak mevcut literatürdeki yaklaşımları kavramsal ve ampirik biçimde yeniden tartışmakta, kisve bahasını Osmanlı İmparatorluğunun dini, toplumsal ve bürokratik mantığıyla uyumlu rafine bir yönetim pratiği olarak konumlandırmaktadır.

Article Details

THE ADMINISTRATIVE AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS OF CONVERSION TO ISLAM AND THE PRACTICE OF KİSVE BAHASI IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE DURING THE 17TH AND 18TH CENTURIES

Authors:

Gülcan Avşin Güneş

Publisher:

Ayla KAŞOĞLU

Main Topics:

Osmanlı Azınlıklar Tarihi | Osmanlı Merkez Teşkilatı | Osmanlı Sosyoekonomik Tarihi | Osmanlı Toplumu

Journal:

Avrasya Uluslararası Araştırmalar Dergisi Vol.13 Issue 44, pp.425-455

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

8/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001358127

pISSN:

2147-2610

Kisve Bahası

Conversion to Islam

Nonmuslims

Ottoman Administration

Ottoman Society.İhtida

Kisve Bahası

Gayrimüslimler

Osmanlı Yönetimi

Osmanlı Toplumu.

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Gülcan Avşin Güneş

Publisher: Ayla KAŞOĞLU

Main Topics: Osmanlı Azınlıklar Tarihi | Osmanlı Merkez Teşkilatı | Osmanlı Sosyoekonomik Tarihi | Osmanlı Toplumu

Journal: Avrasya Uluslararası Araştırmalar Dergisi Vol.13 Issue 44, pp.425-455

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 8/2025

Document Language: Turkish

Document ID (Org No.): 2001358127

pISSN: 2147-2610

Issues

Authors:

Gülcan Avşin Güneş

Publisher:

Ayla KAŞOĞLU

Main Topics:

Osmanlı Azınlıklar Tarihi | Osmanlı Merkez Teşkilatı | Osmanlı Sosyoekonomik Tarihi | Osmanlı Toplumu

Journal:

Avrasya Uluslararası Araştırmalar Dergisi Vol.13 Issue 44, pp.425-455

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

8/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001358127

pISSN:

2147-2610