Jelali Revolts
Encyclopedia
Jelali revolts were a series of rebellion
s in Anatolia
of irregular troops led by provincial administrations known as celalî, against the authority of the Ottoman Empire
in the 16th and 17th centuries. They arose partly as an effort to attain tax privileges. The first revolt termed as such occurred in 1519, during sultan Selim I
's reign, near Tokat
under the leadership of Celâl, an Alevi
preacher, and the name of the chief rebel was later used by Ottoman histories to define other uprisings of similar nature. Major Celali revolts occurred in 1526-28, 1595-1610, 1654-55, and 1658-59. Although the ethnic factor in these rebellions comply with the general Ottoman pattern of intermixtures, they can be safely described as having a largely Turkic
base, especially in relation to the semi-nomadic or nomadic Turkmen
clans that had taken part in the building of the empire with their Ottoman kinsmen, and saw themselves increasingly distanced from the power base, the central authority relying more on the devşirme system and corps. They were brought to an end during the reign of Murad IV
. These rebellions are the largest and longest lasting in the history of the Ottoman Empire, had a serious impact on the levying and collecting of the taxes and taken a heavy toll for its Turkmen inhabitants.
The distinguishing characteristic of the revolts was that although they initially started out as a civil unrest in reaction against deteriorating living conditions, in time rebellious groups turned out against the people to be oppressors claiming land from common people, and such caused the continuation of the revolts to be against them. The major uprisings involved the sekbans (irregular troops of musketeers) and sipahis (cavalry
men maintained by land grants). The rebellions were not attempts to overthrow the Ottoman government but were reactions to a social and economic crisis stemming from a number of factors: a depreciation
of the currency, heavy taxation, a decline in the devşirme system by admission of Muslims into the army, and an increase in the number and dominance of the janissaries
(sultan's household troops) both in the capital Istanbul
and in the provinces.
The Jelali unrests, however, continued under the leadership of Janbuladoglu in Aleppo
and Yusuf Pasha and Kalenderoğlu in western Anatolia. They were finally suppressed by the grand vizier Kuyucu Murad Pasha
, who by 1610 had eliminated a large number of Jelalis.
During the rest of the 17th and the 18th century, Jelalis continued to cause intermittent unrest in Anatolia, representing the provincial reaction against the increasing power of the Janissaries.
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
s in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
of irregular troops led by provincial administrations known as celalî, against the authority of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in the 16th and 17th centuries. They arose partly as an effort to attain tax privileges. The first revolt termed as such occurred in 1519, during sultan Selim I
Selim I
Selim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...
's reign, near Tokat
Tokat Province
Tokat Province is a province in northern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Amasya to the northwest, Yozgat to the southwest, Sivas to the southeast, and Ordu to the northeast...
under the leadership of Celâl, an Alevi
Alevi
The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....
preacher, and the name of the chief rebel was later used by Ottoman histories to define other uprisings of similar nature. Major Celali revolts occurred in 1526-28, 1595-1610, 1654-55, and 1658-59. Although the ethnic factor in these rebellions comply with the general Ottoman pattern of intermixtures, they can be safely described as having a largely Turkic
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
base, especially in relation to the semi-nomadic or nomadic Turkmen
Yörük
The Yorouks, also Yuruks or Yörüks are immigrants, ultimately of Thracian descent,some of whom are still nomadic, primarily inhabiting the mountains of Anatolia and partly Balkan peninsula...
clans that had taken part in the building of the empire with their Ottoman kinsmen, and saw themselves increasingly distanced from the power base, the central authority relying more on the devşirme system and corps. They were brought to an end during the reign of Murad IV
Murad IV
Murad IV Ghazi was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods...
. These rebellions are the largest and longest lasting in the history of the Ottoman Empire, had a serious impact on the levying and collecting of the taxes and taken a heavy toll for its Turkmen inhabitants.
The distinguishing characteristic of the revolts was that although they initially started out as a civil unrest in reaction against deteriorating living conditions, in time rebellious groups turned out against the people to be oppressors claiming land from common people, and such caused the continuation of the revolts to be against them. The major uprisings involved the sekbans (irregular troops of musketeers) and sipahis (cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
men maintained by land grants). The rebellions were not attempts to overthrow the Ottoman government but were reactions to a social and economic crisis stemming from a number of factors: a depreciation
Depreciation
Depreciation refers to two very different but related concepts:# the decrease in value of assets , and# the allocation of the cost of assets to periods in which the assets are used ....
of the currency, heavy taxation, a decline in the devşirme system by admission of Muslims into the army, and an increase in the number and dominance of the janissaries
Janissary
The Janissaries were infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguards...
(sultan's household troops) both in the capital Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
and in the provinces.
Causes
- Oppressed peasants and declining timariot system. The Ottoman taxation system was based on agricultureAgricultureAgriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and the major share was collected off from peasantPeasantA peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
s toiling for the local feudal lords who were in turn taxed by the local government to pay the muqata'ahMuqata'ahOne of the most important topics of the Ottoman financial history is the institution of muqata'ah which functioned as an instrument in financing state expenses...
. When tax rates were raised for the local governors due to devaluation of the currency and enormous expenses of the state caused by newly conquered lands and military campaignMilitary campaignIn the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...
s, the feudal agricultural lords illegally increased the amount of tax they demanded from the peasants. In the meanwhile, land evaluators started to demand bribes to refrain from assessing higher values for land value taxLand value taxA land value tax is a levy on the unimproved value of land. It is an ad valorem tax on land that disregards the value of buildings, personal property and other improvements...
es. Consequently, many peasants started to quit being laborers for feudal lords, emigratingEmigrationEmigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
to larger provinces either to join governors' forces as sekbans or to become vagabonds (levends). These numerous peasants were required to pay even further taxes for disrupting the system, but still, the population increased in large cities and unemploymentUnemploymentUnemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
rate increased sharply.
- During wartime the sekbans served the governors and drew regular pay. In peacetime, however, they were not paid, and they resorted to banditry. The first rebellions were, in nature, merely raids by sekbans commanded by their governors and joined by levends to extort more money from the public. They were later joined by sipahis, who had lost their land grants, levends, and Turkmen/Yörük and Kurdish nomads.
- Degenerate officials. With the decline of the devshirme governor system, and high taxes, the governors and local officials increased their unofficial tax rates and started to exploit the workforce of the peasants. In parallel to these developments, bribery increased.
- OppressedOttoman persecution of AlevisThe Ottoman persecution of Alevis is best known in connection with the Ottoman sultan Selim I's reign and his war against the Safavids in 1514...
Alevis and increasing non-Turkic influences in the royal courtRoyal courtRoyal court, as distinguished from a court of law, may refer to:* The Royal Court , Timbaland's production company*Court , the household and entourage of a monarch or other ruler, the princely court...
. When Selim ISelim ISelim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...
conquered EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, he was invested the caliphateCaliphateThe term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
and became the holy ruler of the Sunni world. He was resolved on putting down the Safavid ruler Shah Ismail I who he viewed as the leader of the "heretic" Shiites, and thus Selim cooperated with feudal lords in violently suppressing the Alevi population in Anatolia, at the same time started a war against Ismail. Many Alawites and those who felt close to Shah Ismail for his TurkicTurkic peoplesThe Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
origins consequently joined the rebellious groups.
Major revolts
- Celalî (1519). While Selim I was on his Egyptian campaign, an Alevi preacher named Celal gathered about 20,000 people near Bozok (current day YozgatYozgat ProvinceYozgat Province is a province in central Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Çorum to the northwest, Kırıkkale to the west, Kırşehir to the southwest, Nevşehir to the south, Kayseri to the southeast, Sivas to the east, Tokat to the northeast, and Amasya to the north...
) and marched to TokatTokatTokat is the capital city of Tokat Province of Turkey, at the mid Black Sea region of Anatolia. According to the 2009 census, the city of Tokat has a population of 129,879.-History:Tokat was established in the Hittite era....
to foment riots. He also had restless Turkmen groups joining his forces. Sekbans, sipahis who had lost their timarTimarTimar is a land granted by the Ottoman sultans between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, with a tax revenue annual value of less than 20 000 akçes. The revenues produced from land acted as compensation for military service. A Timar holder was known as a Timariot...
(fief), highly taxed peasants and discontented townspeople also marched to Tokat.
- Selim I sent the Grand Governor (Beylerbeyi) of RumeliaRumeliaRumelia was an historical region comprising the territories of the Ottoman Empire in Europe...
Ferhad Pasha and the bey of Dulkadirids, Şehsuvaroğlu Ali over to quell the rebels, and Celal was killed. However unrest did not subside, especially within the Turkmen community, the sekbans and the sipahis.
- Baba Zünnun (1525). In the region corresponding to today's Mersin ProvinceMersin ProvinceThe Mersin Province is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital is the city of Mersin and the other major town is Tarsus, birthplace of St Paul...
, the increase of land taxes by the local clerk, and the harsh attitude of decadent tax collectors caused Baba Zünnun and some other local religious leaders start a revolt against the feudal lord, the beyBeyBey is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. Accoding to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word...
of Bozok. The local clerk and the leaders of the rebellion were killed and the clashes subsided.
- Kalender Çelebi (1528). During the reign of Sultan Suleiman the MagnificentSuleiman the MagnificentSuleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...
, at a time when the empire suffered financial hardships due to military campaigns, an inventory of the taxed lands was ordered to increase state resources. Many of the evaluators assessed much higher values for the lands to levy more tax and to keep a part for themselves.
- While Suleiman was campaigning in HungaryHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, disgruntled masses near AnkaraAnkaraAnkara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
and KırşehirKirsehirKırşehir, formerly Macissus and Justinianopolis, is a city in Turkey. It is the capital district of the Kırşehir Province. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 121,947 of which 105,826 live in the city of Kırşehir.-History:The history of Kırşehir dates back to the Hittites...
revolted under the leadership of a former sipahi called Kalender Çelebi. Their number rapidly grew to 30,000. With the news of the large scale of the rebellion, Suleiman sent the Grand VizierGrand VizierGrand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...
Ibrahim PashaPargali Ibrahim PashaPargali Ibrahim Pasha , also known as Frenk Ibrahim Pasha , Makbul Ibrahim Pasha , and referred to him as Maktul Ibrahim Pasha after his murder in the Topkapı Palace, was the first Grand Vizier in the Ottoman Empire appointed by Suleiman the Magnificent...
with the kapikulu forces mostly composed of Janissaries. A big battle took place on May 27, 1528 and the revolt was bloodily suppressed.
- Karayazıcı (1598). Especially after 1550s, with the increase of oppression by local governors and levying of new and high taxes, minor incidents started to occur with increasing frequency. After the beginning of the wars with Persia, especially after 1584, Janissaries began seizing the lands of the peasants to extort money, and also to lend with high interest rates, thus causing the tax revenues of the state to drop seriously.
- In 1598 a sekban leader, Karayazıcı Abdülhalim united the dissatisfied groups in AnatoliaAnatoliaAnatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, forcing the towns to pay tribute and took up to be the governor of a small district. However, he denied to overturn the district to his successor, he rebelled and killed the new officer with the help of rebellious levends and peasants. He was offered the governorship of ÇorumÇorum ProvinceÇorum Province is a province in the Black Sea Region of Turkey, but lying inland and having more characteristics of Central Anatolia than the Black Sea coast....
, but he did not agree and when Ottoman forces were sent against them, instead he retreated with his forces to Urfa, seeking refuge in a fortified castle, making it the center of resistance for 18 months. Out of fright that his forces would plot a mutinyMutinyMutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
against him, he left the castle, was defeated by government forces, and died some time later in 1602 of natural causes. His brother Deli Hasan then seized KutahyaKütahyaKütahya is a city in western Turkey with 212,444 inhabitants , lying on the Porsuk river, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the capital of Kütahya Province, inhabited by some 517 804 people...
, in western Anatolia, but later he and his followers were won over by grants of governorships.
The Jelali unrests, however, continued under the leadership of Janbuladoglu in Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
and Yusuf Pasha and Kalenderoğlu in western Anatolia. They were finally suppressed by the grand vizier Kuyucu Murad Pasha
Kuyucu Murad Pasha
Kuyucu Murat Pasha was a Croatian who became Ottoman grand vizier during the reign of Ahmed I between December 9, 1606 and August 5, 1611...
, who by 1610 had eliminated a large number of Jelalis.
During the rest of the 17th and the 18th century, Jelalis continued to cause intermittent unrest in Anatolia, representing the provincial reaction against the increasing power of the Janissaries.
See also
- State organisation of the Ottoman EmpireState organisation of the Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire developed a highly advanced organisation of state over the centuries. Even though it had a very centralized government with the Sultan as the supreme ruler, it had an effective control of its provinces and inhabitants, as well as its officials. Wealth and rank wasn't necessarily...
- The janissary revolts
- Ottoman persecution of AlevisOttoman persecution of AlevisThe Ottoman persecution of Alevis is best known in connection with the Ottoman sultan Selim I's reign and his war against the Safavids in 1514...
- Devşirme
- Military of the Ottoman EmpireMilitary of the Ottoman EmpireThe history of military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years between 1300 and 1453 , the classical period covers the years between 1451 and 1606 , the reformation period covers the years between 1606 and 1826 ,...