Religion in the Ottoman Empire was a weird melting pot. The empire itself was a bit of a mixed bag. While not the place for Muslims and Christians to sing kumbaya around a campfire together, it was an empire that allowed for both faiths to exist in relative harmony. Mind you, they were not equals. Rather, they were two different houses in the same neighborhood. Each faith was a part of a “millet” system in which the Sultan “protected” Christians as his subjects. He allowed them to exist so long as they refrained from challenging his authority. As long as they did that he would protect their “house” from Islamic encroachment. It was a system that was far from equal but by the standards of the 1400s-1600s it was as good a system as a religious minority could ask for.
Religious minorities within the Ottoman empire reacted differently to their Ottoman overlords. For Jewish minorities it was a godsend. Jews fleeing Spain preferred life in the Ottoman Empire. For them being labelled a second-class citizen was comparatively better than life in Spain because in Spain they were fourth-class citizens behind Christians, Muslims, house-cats and dogs(I’m joking but only slightly). The Ottomans welcomed them happily because they needed immigrants who would work for a cheap price and be willing to accept life as a 2nd class citizen. In the 1490s Bayezid II even wrote a letter to the King of Spain mocking him for his antisemitic beliefs, essentially writing “If you’re so wise then why do you send me such good subjects?”
For Christians however it was a more mixed reception. Some Christian minorities saw the Ottoman conquest as business-as-usual. Coptics didn’t see much of a difference between Ottoman and Byzantine overlordship. Armenians didn’t either (ironically considering what would happen to them around the early 1900s). For the Greek Orthodox Church it was one hell of a downgrade. In their prime the Orthodox were the most powerful Christians in the east. After the Ottoman conquest they were mitigated to mere protectorates under the Ottoman banner. By “protecting them” the Ottoman Sultan had a claim to the Roman empire or at least a claim as its conqueror.
Out of all the Christians the Ottomans enjoyed having Orthodox in their empire the most. For one thing, being the protector of the Orthodox Church gave the Ottomans a high degree of cultural and religious prestige. As mentioned earlier, it also gave them a claim to Roman fame. Catholics however were a different animal altogether. While the Orthodox were comparatively isolated and therefore easier for the Ottomans to control the Catholics could always look westward for aid. When the Orthodox would go to western Europe for Christian aid they often fell upon deaf ears. Catholics however could stir up more trouble providing they catch the Vatican on a good day.
Despite this some Catholics did find life in the Ottoman Empire rather profitable. Namely, the Italians. Italy was not yet united as we know it. City-states like Venice and Genoa were independent states who fought for political and economic control in the Mediterranean. Religion played second-fiddle in their foreign relations. Their real god was money. This meant that unlike their more western neighbors Italian city-states were not afraid to form rather amicable relationships with the Ottomans. Despite various wars fought between the Venetians and Ottomans there were still many Italian merchants who made a great living in Constantinopolitan markets. And the Ottomans (at first) welcomed Italians due to a need for translators, foreign diplomats, foreign merchants, western trade goods, and middle-men for their eastern trade goods destined for European markets.
It’s in this backdrop that we find Alvise Gritti. Alvise was born out of wedlock in Constantinople/Istanbul. His father, Andrea Gritti, would later become the Doge of Venice between 1523 to 1538. Andrea was serving as a Venetian ambassador in the Ottoman court upon Alvise’s conception. His mother was a Greek Christian from Constantinople. Alvise later went with his father to Italy where he received a rather pedigreed education. Andrea partially raised Alvise in Venice but due to the laws against bastard kids getting into office in Venice Alvise later went back to Constantinople/Istanbul to seek law and politics among the Ottomans. Politically speaking this would be like if a sitting U.S. President knocked up a girl in Canada and then that child became a lawyer in Canada.
The Ottomans didn’t really care about the legitimacy of one’s birth. The vast majority of their Sultans came form concubine mothers so it made no difference to them if an immigrant came from a similar union. It helped that Alvise had been born there and had a local mother. Despite his being Catholic Alvise was instantly competitive on the job market due to his ability to speak Italian and Turkish. Alvise found work in banking as well as in the foreign trade market. Italian goods were popular in the Ottoman Empire but they needed an intermediary in order to ensure that they’d get a fair deal. Alvise, being homegrown yet bilingual, fit the bill nicely.
It was his tenacity and ingenuity that caught the eye of one Pargali Ibrahim Pasha. Pargali was born a Christian, like Alvise, but was enslaved as a youth and given to the Ottoman court. Forcefully converted to Islam as a youth and given an education in the Ottoman court, Pargali later become an Ottoman courtier himself. He became close friends with Suleiman the Magnificent in his adult years and was even made a vizier in Suleiman’s court. Pargali used his influence to introduce Alvise as well as give him connections to the Ottoman court. (Pargali was later killed by that same Sultan but more about that another day).
Just like that Alvise’s career took off. Alvise became a key intermediary between the Ottomans and the rest of Europe. He formed connections with high ranking viziers in Suleiman’s court. He once even threw a party at his own home which had the great Suleiman as a houseguest. Having the Sultan at your house was a hell of a bragging right at the time. Especially for someone who wasn’t even a Muslim.
Alvise’s connections and usefulness in court allowed him to keep his faith. The Ottomans saw no reason to force him to convert. Especially since he wasn’t really running for any court offices. While the Ottomans weren’t afraid of the occasional jihad they were relatively prone to allowing the conquered to keep their faith so long as they submitted to the Sultan’s authority. That being said it was rare that a Christian became as influential as Alvise. Rarer still that one had a sitting Sultan as a houseguest.
His father became the Doge of Venice within Alvise’s lifetime. This family promotion trickled down to Alvise in that it was likely a deciding factor in promoting goodwill between Venice and the Ottomans at the time. A rare friendship between the two considering the many wars fought between Venice and the Ottomans. Alvise was a key intermediary between the two countries of his childhood, Turkey and Venice.
The Ottomans recognized Alvise’s adaptability and tried to use it to alleviate the disparity between the crown and some of their more rebellious vassals. He was sent to Hungary in the 1520s to facilitate goodwill between Hungary and the Ottomans as well as encourage Hungary’s feuding with the Habsburgs. His career in Hungary evolved from being a mere advisor to the Hungarian crown to becoming an intermediary between the Hungarian court and Ottoman court. He later became a treasurer.
It was in Hungary that he died however. A failed siege caused the death of Gritti and his two sons. Ottoman attempts to pacify the region had largely failed, with Gritti’s death as one of the consequences. Despite his death he had still lived a relatively long life in the Ottoman Empire. He left a legacy of import for the Gritti name despite being an illegitimate son. He also had the bragging rights of having kept his Christian faith and Italian name in an empire that typically asked one to trade in both if one wanted political influence. Despite his violent death Gritti can hold his head up high for being a minority who thrived in an empire. Not bad for a Italian/Greek Christian in a Sunni Turkish nation.
Hope you guys enjoyed the article!
Some questions;
- The Ottomans had a motley mix of religious beliefs in their empire. Some Muslim, some Jewish, some Christian (from various churches). How well do you think each faith was treated in the empire?
- Do you think that it reflects kindly on the Ottomans that they allowed other faiths to exist in the empire, or do they still deserve flack for their subjugation of them?
- Alvise managed to thrive as a Christian in an Islamic empire. Would you consider this a success story for religion or a failure considering how he died?
R&I ~ MJM
Dollarmenu Jesus
Article URL : https://breakingnewsandreligion.online/discuss/