OSMANLI KAMUSAL ALANINDA RUMLAR'IN SOSYOEKONOMİK KONUMU

In this study, the question concerning why the Byzantine Greeks (Rum) achieved a considerable performance in economic activities while the Ottomans failed in this field, has been considered. After the Ottoman Empire assumed control of Constantinopolis, the heart of the Byzantine Empire, a need to take some administrative precautions arose. In that era, the subjects of different creeds were dispersed over vast territory of the Ottoman Empire. The points that Fatih (Mehmet II, the Conqueror) based on during his reign were administrative obligations and social ethics of Islam. In that social and economic structure most of the Byzantine Greeks in Asia Minor managed to get involved in economic activities and formed the middle class of the society they were living in. This study is mainly about their social and economic positions and activities as the subjects of the Ottoman Empire.