Day of Empire_ How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance--And Why They Fall - Amy Chua [93]
The power and splendor of the Ottoman Empire reached its zenith under Suleyman the Magnificent, who ruled from 1520 to 1566, a period often referred to as the golden age of Ottoman history. A brilliant military commander who insisted on leading his armies in person, Suleyman conquered Hungary, Iraq, and North Africa, established Ottoman supremacy over the Mediterranean, and extended the borders of the empire to their farthest limit. Suleyman was also a legendary administrator. Described by the Venetian ambassador in 1525 as “the most just of all Emperors,” Suleyman was famous the world over for his wisdom, fairness, and remarkable tolerance. (These attributes are usually not ascribed to Suleyman's father, Selim the Grim, who consolidated power by executing his brothers, six of his nephews, and three of his own sons.)
Suleyman continued the Ottoman policy of permitting Jews and Christians extensive freedom to worship their own religions and run their own communities. In exchange, non-Muslims paid special taxes, which, although an important source of imperial revenue, were based on ability to pay and not especially onerous. Under Suleyman, there were very few restrictions on where Jews and Christians could live and work, and at least in the cities, Muslims and non-Muslims casually intermingled on a daily basis. Jews and Christians participated in Muslim trade guilds and could even bring lawsuits against Muslims in Muslim courts.
Friendships across religious lines were possible; political and commercial alliances between families of different faiths were common. During religious holidays, Muslims and non-Muslims often made friendly gestures to each other. On Easter, for example, Christians might give red-dyed eggs to their Muslim neighbors, who later reciprocated by sharing meats prepared for the Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice. Perhaps most tellingly, Jews and Christians pursued whatever livelihoods they chose, and many flourished economically. Indeed, some of the wealthiest people in the Ottoman major cities were non-Muslims.3
Of course, even under the beneficent Suleyman the Ottoman Empire was a pre-Enlightenment power—no subjects had any political rights—and it would be misleading to suggest that Muslims, Jews, and Christians mutually respected one another. People of different faiths generally kept to their own communities, which frowned upon or even prohibited intermarriage. Because Jews, Christians, and Muslims used different calendars, “the demarcation of months and the very numbering of the years varied, with each community marking the passage of a shared time differently.” More fundamentally, the Ottomans maintained a clear hierarchy based on religion, and it went without saying that Islam was supreme. No matter how wealthy or successful a Christian or Jew became, his social status was always below a Muslim, just as the social status of women was always below men.4
To underscore their social subordination, non-Muslims were officially subject to numerous, largely symbolic restrictions. Non-Muslims were in principle required to wear attire of designated colors, such as blue-dyed tunics or red shoes, and they could not wear green, the Prophet's color, or white turbans. In addition, at least on the books, Ottoman law prohibited Christians and Jews from carrying swords, riding horses or camels (they could ride only donkeys or mules), buying land, building new houses of worship (they could only repair existing ones), having a house taller than that of Muslim houses, and holding positions that exercised authority over Muslims.
In practice, however, most of these restrictions were ignored or laxly enforced. Many non-Muslims came to wield enormous power and influence. The career of Joseph Nasi provides a vivid example. Nasi was born in Portugal to a wealthy converso banking family with clients all over western Europe,