Worksheet

Merit or Favor? Two Views of Ottoman Rule

Grade 7 civics: how the Ottoman Empire was governed through kanun laws, the devshirme, timars and religious communities, with two accounts to corroborate.

Grade 7Social StudiesInteractive · Printable

Aligned toCIV.7.3

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12 questions
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Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 7
Subject: Social Studies
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students explain how the Ottoman sultans governed a large empire with laws, trained officials and land grants.
Students corroborate two accounts and explain why their writers disagree.
Students argue a claim about Ottoman government using evidence from sources.

How to use

Read the passage together, then have partners compare the two accounts and the sourcing table before writing the final claim on their own.

Curriculum

C3 Framework standard covered

CIV.7.3

Explain how large empires were governed, such as Justinian's Code, China's civil service exams and the Inca road and messenger system.

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Merit or Favor? Two Views of Ottoman Rule

Corroborate two accounts of how the Ottoman sultans chose the people who ran their empire.

Governing three continents

Read the passage. Then answer the questions.

How the Sultans Ruled

1In 1453 the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople, the old Byzantine capital, and made it their own capital, later known as Istanbul. Under Sultan Suleiman, who ruled from 1520 to 1566, the empire reached across parts of three continents: southeastern Europe, western Asia and North Africa. Its people spoke Turkish, Arabic, Greek, Armenian, Serbian and many other languages, and they followed several religions. Holding such an empire together took more than an army.

2Suleiman issued many kanun, laws made by the sultan, on matters such as taxes, land and crime. Judges called kadis applied both these laws and Islamic law in courts across the provinces. In Turkish, Suleiman is remembered as Kanuni, "the Lawgiver." Christian and Jewish communities kept their own religious leaders, who ran their schools and handled matters such as marriage. In return, these communities paid a special tax and accepted the sultan's rule. Historians later called such communities millets.

3To staff the army and the government, the sultans relied on the devshirme, a system of recruiting boys. Every few years, officials took boys, mostly from Christian farming families in the Balkans, away from their homes. The boys were converted to Islam and trained. Most became Janissaries, the sultan's foot soldiers. The most promising studied at the palace school in Istanbul, learning languages, law, writing and horsemanship, and some later became provincial governors or even grand vizier, the sultan's chief minister. Because these men had been cut off from their families and were legally the sultan's servants, they owed their rank to him alone. For many families, losing a son was a heavy burden, though some hoped he might rise to power.

4In the provinces, the sultan gave cavalry soldiers the right to collect taxes from a piece of land, called a timar, in return for fighting in his campaigns. A timar did not automatically pass to a soldier's son, and the government could take it back and grant it to someone else. Over the next century the system changed. By the 1600s, the devshirme was used less often, and Janissaries began to marry and enroll their own sons in the corps. The government also relied more on tax farmers, who paid in advance for the right to collect taxes in an area.

A Jewish family in the port of Salonica and a Greek Orthodox family in Istanbul each need a marriage recorded. Based on paragraph 2, who would most likely handle it?

A. The leaders of each family's own religious community
B. A Janissary officer sent from the palace
C. The grand vizier in a hearing at the palace
D. A cavalry soldier who holds a timar nearby

Circle the sentence from paragraph 3 that best explains why devshirme officials were loyal to the sultan.

Every few years, officials took boys, mostly from Christian farming families in the Balkans, away from their homes.Most became Janissaries, the sultan's foot soldiers.Because these men had been cut off from their families and were legally the sultan's servants, they owed their rank to him alone.For many families, losing a son was a heavy burden, though some hoped he might rise to power.

A cavalryman holding a timar in Anatolia stays home when the sultan calls his army to a campaign. Based on paragraph 4, what could the government most likely do?

A. Let his eldest son take over the timar at once
B. Take back his timar and grant it to another soldier
C. Ask his religious community's leaders to collect his taxes
D. Send him to the palace school to be retrained

Draw a line from each Ottoman tool of government to the problem it helped the sultan solve.

Kanun
Devshirme
Timar
Millet

A. Setting rules on taxes and crime for the provinces
B. Paying horsemen with land taxes instead of treasury coins
C. Finding soldiers and officials with no ties to rival families
D. Ruling peoples of several faiths without constant conflict

Two accounts that disagree

Read the sourcing table and both accounts. Then answer the questions.

Who Wrote the Two Accounts
Account	Writer	Written	Writer's position	Written for
A	Ogier de Busbecq	1550s	Habsburg ambassador	European readers
B	Koçi Bey	About 1631	Ottoman palace official	Sultan Murad IV

Account A: adapted from a letter by Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, a nobleman from Flanders who served as ambassador of the Habsburg ruler Ferdinand I at Suleiman's court. The Habsburgs were often at war with the Ottomans. His letters were published in Latin in the 1580s.
"In making appointments, the sultan pays no attention to wealth or to claims of noble birth. He considers each man's character and ability, and each man's rank depends on his own merit. Many of those who hold the highest offices are the sons of shepherds and herdsmen, and they are not ashamed of it. Among the Turks, honors, high posts and judgeships are the rewards of ability and good service. With us, things are different: there is no room for merit, and everything depends on birth."

Account B: adapted and shortened from a report by Koçi Bey, an official at the Ottoman palace, written for Sultan Murad IV, who wanted to restore order after years of revolts. Like many writers of his time, Koçi Bey looked back on Suleiman's reign as a golden age.
"In the days of Sultan Suleiman, offices were given to those who deserved them, and the old laws were obeyed. Now high posts go to favorites of the palace and to those who pay bribes. Outsiders of every kind have entered the Janissaries, so their numbers have swollen and their discipline is gone. The timars that should feed brave horsemen have been handed to servants and courtiers who never go to war. If the old laws are restored, order will return."

On which point do the two accounts disagree?

A. Whether merit won high posts in the writer's day
B. Whether timars were meant for horsemen who fought
C. Whether Suleiman's government rewarded ability
D. Whether birth decided rank in Habsburg Europe

Use only the two accounts. Sort each idea: is it in both accounts, only Account A, or only Account B?

In Suleiman's day, offices went to men who deserved themSons of shepherds held the highest officesPeople paid bribes to gain high postsIn Europe, everything depends on birthCourtiers who never fight were given timars

Both accounts	Only Account A	Only Account B

Use the sourcing table and paragraph 1.

Koçi Bey wrote about years after Suleiman's reign ended.

Which is the best explanation for why the two accounts disagree?

A. Busbecq lived in Flanders and wrote from rumors.
B. They describe the empire at times decades apart.
C. Koçi Bey wrote before Suleiman came to power.
D. Both writers worked for the Habsburg ruler.

Busbecq wrote for European readers. Why might he have praised the Ottoman system so strongly?

A. He hoped to persuade Murad IV to bring back the old laws.
B. He was paid by the sultan to write for Ottoman readers.
C. He had trained at the palace school as a boy.
D. He wanted to contrast it with nobles in Europe who rose by birth.

10.

Koçi Bey wanted Murad IV to restore the old laws. How might this purpose shape his account?

A. He probably wrote mainly to praise the palace favorites.
B. He would praise the bribes to please the new sultan.
C. He may have made Suleiman's time sound better than it was.
D. He likely guessed, since he worked far from the palace.

11.

Circle the sentence from paragraph 4 that best corroborates Koçi Bey's complaint that outsiders had entered the Janissaries.

A timar did not automatically pass to a soldier's son, and the government could take it back and grant it to someone else.By the 1600s, the devshirme was used less often, and Janissaries began to marry and enroll their own sons in the corps.The government also relied more on tax farmers, who paid in advance for the right to collect taxes in an area.

12.

Claim: In Suleiman's time, the Ottoman Empire chose its officials mainly by merit. Do you agree? Use evidence from both accounts and the passage, and explain how the writers' positions affect how much you trust them.