Turkey; Its History and Progress  

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Turkey; Its History and Progress (1854) is a book by James Porter.

TURKEY.

INTRODUCTION.

IN the preceding volume we have seen, from Sir James Porter's observations, that the Turks, during the last century, were still sunk in that state of apathy which, at the commencement of the present, threatened them with an utter dissolution of their empire. The old prejudices were still in full vigour ; Christians were regarded with aversion, or, even worse, with contempt ; and the Osmanli, in their selfconceit, refused any innovations which were offered them from such a suspicious quarter. The prestige of their former victories--of the age when the crescent was borne triumphantly through the fairest provinces of Europe, and the name of the Ottomans caused terror and despair-was clinging too closely to them ; they believed that they would still be able to punish B 2 4 INTRODUCTION. the infidel who dared to assail the honour or territory of their Great Padischah, and, consequently, they behaved with all the arrogance of which Sir James so naively complains. The repeated victories of the Russians, however, and their almost inevitable result, at length aroused the more enlightened of the Turkish nation to the necessity of taking some steps by which to arrest the downward progress of the empire. The spirit of independence, cherished by rulers of distant portions of the empire ; the elevation, by Imperial favour, of the sons of noble families to the highest dignities of the State ; the sale of public offices ; the confiscation of property in dismissal from office, had gradually placed the power in the hands of the Janissaries, who became the arbiters of the fate of the dynasty and of the empire, like the Prætorian guards of Rome, and dethroned or crowned the sovereign whom they opposed or favoured . Having lost all recollection of their ancient discipline, they usurped the highest appointments of the government, civil as well as military, conferring them on those whom they protected ; and their cruelty and lawlessness towards the population made them the objects of universal terror. General disorder and confusion of authority, therefore, pervaded every branch of the administration ; for even in the reign of Achmet III, this corps had usurped the whole power of the State, and the baneful effects of habitual corruption and venality had INTRODUCTION. 5 undermined the foundations of its national prosperity. * The reforms of Selim, therefore, although for the time unsuccessful, at any rate, paved the way for their introduction, whenever the people had become sufficiently civilized to feel that they were not the only arbiters of the destiny of Europe. The time had arrived when they were glad to seek advice and assistance from the Giaour, whom they hitherto spurned, and such a concession was the first breach made in the almost impassable barrier of Turkish prejudice. They were fortunate in obtaining disinterested advice, and the result was, an entire alteration in the existing state of things, by the introduction of the new political and administrative organization, of which Sultan Mahmud laid the foundation, and which his successor, the present Sultan, has applied to the whole empire, under the name of the Tanzimat. The subject of this division of our work will, therefore, be an analysis of the present administrative system of the Turkish empire, which will be found to be based, in a great measure, on European models. In those cases, however, where the reformers † found The Three Eras of Ottoman History . † Although we have used the word reform throughout this volume, we must beg to be understood that the Hatti- Sheriff of Gülhane was merely a return to the ancient legal order of administration, by the extirpation of all the irregularities and abuses of power, which two centuries of anarchy and disorder had substituted in place ofthe legitimate order ofGovernment, founded by Mussulman law, and by the original institutions of the empire. 6 INTRODUCTION. that the proposed alterations were too advanced to suit the old-world notions of the Osmanli, they have very cleverly modified them, trusting, doubtless, to time to admit their successful application . We think that a review of the whole system will shew that this difficult task could not have been intrusted to more skilful or competent hands. A glance at the results of their exertions will prove the justice of our remarks. On the death of Sultan Mahmud, the time when Reschid Pacha and his party undertook the task of reforming the condition of the Turkish empire, every ' branch of the administration was in the most terrible confusion. The army, demoralized by the defeats it had experienced from the Egyptians, ascribed them to the innovations which this branch of the service had already undergone. Popular tumults had broken out in several of the provinces ; the fleet had been betrayed by the Capudan Pacha, and an entire division of the army had deserted to the standard of Ibraham Pacha, in Asia Minor. Emissaries of Mehemet Ali were traversing the country in every direction, and inflaming the people by stirring up their prejudices and urging them to take up arms in defence of their old faith against the encroachment of the Infidel party at Constantinople. The Porte was iu a fearful state of embarrassment. It was, above all, necessary that a peace should be concluded on any terms with the Viceroy of Egypt, . and, on the other hand, the English and French demands must be INTRODUCTION. 7 listened to, backed up as they were by the presence ofthe fleets before Constantinople. In this dilemma, Russia, who ever seeks to derive her advantage from the embarrassment of her friends, disinterestedly offered her mediation, and, if necessary, armed assistance. The difficulties appeared almost overwhelming, for the interests of France and England were diametrically opposed as regarded the future condition of Egypt : and the chimæra of the Mediterranean being naturally a French lake was never more firmly believed by the French ministry than at a moment when it was fancied that the independence of Egypt, once guaranteed by France, would necessarily compel the Viceroy to close the overland route to India against England. In the midst of this confusion RESCHID PACHA, who had been absent from Constantinople on a diplomatic visit to Paris, re- appeared upon the scene. As a thorough statesman, he clearly perceived that the first condition for the future existence of Turkey was the restoration of that unity which had rendered the empire so strong during the earlier period of its career. In his opinion the only possibility of regeneration lay in the amelioration of the principles of government, and in their assimilation to an European and constitutional model. To carry this into effect the first step was to reconcile the Christian subjects of the Porte, by making such concessions as would insure them against the arbitrary proceedings of the 8 INTRODUCTION. Osmanli, and by giving them a guarantee that these concessions would be maintained. To Reschid Pacha the Ottoman empire is indebted for the organic law of equality, tolerance, and personal freedom and security, for the abolition of mercantile monopolies, for the establishment of sanitary regulations, for the submission of the provinces, for the concentration of political power, for the advantageous stipulations of 1840 with the great Cabinets of Europe, and for the commercial treaties which have been concluded with most of the foreign States. Under these circumstances he drew up the famous Hatti- Sheriff of Gülhanie, which in the most comprehensive manner attacked all the existing abuses. These were not restricted, unfortunately, to any branch of the administration-for all-Finances, Justice, and Government-were in an equally deplorable condition . It was fortunate for the young Sultan that he possessed a servant like Reschid Pacha, who was not only capable of recognising these defects, but of proposing measures which could insure their removal. This great idea did not remain a mere written law—a monument of good intentions unrealised—a barren expression of what was required : it was carried into practice with as much uncompromising determination as it had been conceived with rectitude, penetration, and patriotism. It is now the law INTRODUCTION. 9 of the land, virtually applied, and universally respected. The substance speaks for itself, and needs no comment. It may not, however, be generally known by those who are little acquainted with the state of Turkey, that it was not an increase of privilege granted by a sovereign to his subjects, in compliance with their assertion of right, more or less seditiously expressed, as is generally the case when power yields to numbers : but it was originated by the Government and in a manner it was forced upon the people, who were endowed with the best prerogatives of enlightened Government, as it were in spite of themselves. Not being a concession extorted-there was no danger of its realisation being evaded, as has so often been the case in other countries : and the change having been seriously undertaken, was conscientiously effected . * A As we have already said, the task was one of im mense difficulty, but we think it will be proved in the course of this volume, that it has been effected. mere comparison of the condition of Turkey in 1839 and in 1854, will shew how much has been already done. We do not pretend to deny that much is still left for quieter times : but we may accept the present amelioration as a very valuable instalment of the great work. If the Allied Powers only recognize the duties which have devolved upon them through their interference in the present war, we may fully antici.

• Three Æras of Ottoman History.

10 INTRODUCTION. pate that Turkey will eventually become a great and prosperous country. The raw material is ready to hand and, by skilful manipulation can be rendered most valuable ; but it will be a work of time. Many will turn back with disgust from the task : but whenever our Government once perceives the importance of Turkey-not merely as an European necessity, for the purpose of maintaining the balance of powerbut as a country, which presents the finest field for religious and commercial enterprize, we feel assured that the labour bestowed will be abundantly repaid. Those writers who have represented the Turks as utterly effete, and as only encamped in Europe, naturally ignore any hope of regeneration ; but such is not the case. Turkey was not a corpse, but a body paralysed : it revived as soon as the enlightenment of the present generation recalled it to life, and the rare and interesting spectacle is presented of a country having totally altered its political condition in the short space of sixteen years, through the spirited and patriotic exertions of a few individuals, while that salutary change promises to be permanent, because the system will be continued by the pupils and imitators of those few eminent Statesmen, each of whom is surrounded by a chosen band of disciples brought up in their principles. The most experienced of European politicians have been deceived in this issue of the adversities of INTRODUCTION. 11 the Ottoman empire ; the current predictions of its approaching and inevitable downfal have been belied, and no pride of intellect need to take umbrage at the failure of predictions in this respect, for it is not a common occurrence in the history of the world that a new power should arise on the ruins of an old one, without the loss of independence during that period of transition, which usually seals the fate of nations so situated, and overthrows them to make room for another domination . * On the same subject the Moniteur Ottoman' also wrote in the following glowing words : If, therefore, the Turks are only encamped in Europe, it cannot be asserted that it is their treatment of strangers that has given rise to this idea of precarious occupancy : the hospitality they offer their guests is not that of the tent, nor is it that of the laws ; for the Mussulman code, in its double civil and religious character, is inapplicable to those professing another religion ; but they have done more, they have granted to the stranger the safeguard of his own laws, exercised by functionaries of his own nation. In this privilege, so rich in benefits and in consequences, shines forth the admirable spirit of true and lofty hospitality. In Turkey, and there alone, does hospitality present itself; great, noble, and worthy of its honourable

• Three Eras of Ottoman History.

12 INTRODUCTION. name; not the shelter of a stormy day, but that shelter which, elevating itself from a simple movement of humanity, to the dignity of a political reception, combines the future with the present. When the stranger has placed his foot on the land of the Sultan, he is saluted guest ( Mussafir) ! To the children of the west, who have confided themselves to the care of the Mussulman, hospitality has been granted with these two companions-civil liberty according to the laws, commercial liberty, according to the laws of nature and of reason. The Turks only require an impulse ; naturally apathetic and prone to believe in the immutable decrees of their destiny, they have fostered such feelings by the strict isolation which they have preferred to maintain. Those barriers are now broken down; they are forced into communion with their European allies, and can only benefit by this contact. The desired impulse will be given, and we shall soon find the Turks as eager for reform as their best friends can desire . At the same time the progress of the war can only serve to fuse the nationalities ; Christians and Turks will join in one common bond of self-defence as soon as the great humbug of Russian civilization is exploded. The arbitrary treatment the inhabitants of the Principalities received at the hands of Gortschakoff and his myrmidons will have its best effect in dissipating those notions which Russian emissaries have so sedulously propagated, —that the INTRODUCTION. 13 White Tzar was anxious for the welfare of his coreligionists, and only commenced the war to secure them the immunities which they had already enjoyed since 1840. In short, the present war may be regarded as the most fortunate event that could have occurred for Turkey. That country has acquired friends among the Western Powers, who are inclined to act from disinterested motives, and, on the other hand, has been freed from the clutches of Russia. The future, however, must depend chiefly on herself: if she will go hand- in- hand with France and England, and act up to the spirit of the Hatti- Sheriff of Gülhanie, we can require no more. If, however, the Government is too blind to take warning by the past, and obstinately forgets that " union is strength, " no exertions on our part will be sufficient to prevent the dissolution of the Turkish Empire. The elements of destruction are known ; and it will entirely depend upon the degree of moderation evinced in the cure, whether this question be satisfactorily solved. For our own part, we are inclined to regard the matter in the most favourable point of view, and believe that Abd-ul- Medjid and his councillors will do all in their power to effect that union of the people of Turkey which will render the nation strong at home and abroad ; and we have reason to think that our readers will agree with us when they have perused the following pages, showing the very great 14 INTRODUCTION. progress that has already been made in the path of social reform. " On the chances of empire, I have one In conclusion, we will quote a passage from a work of great merit, * which will afford considerable encouragement to those who regard Turkey and its progress with a favourable glance. re-organization of the Turkish important remark to make. A man who would be considered in England perfectly ignorant, may be in Turkey, if he is only honest, an able and excellent administrator, because he has no general questions to grapple with no party opinions to follow-no letter of plan to consult ; because not only is he never called on to decide and interfere in questions of administration and finance, but his power is only honestly exercised when he prevents interference with the natural self-adjustment of interests. Therefore it is that Europeans form a false estimate or an erroneous standard of the administrative capacity of the Turks, and add to the real dangers which surround Turkey, others gratuitously suggested by their European prejudices. "A Turkish reformer requires no instruction in fund or bank mysteries - none in bankruptcy laws-none in the technicalities of conveyancing-none in corporate rights there are no laws of entail or of primogeniture to be discussed or amended. In fact, there are

• Turkey and its Resources.

INTRODUCTION. 15 no systematic evils : the reformer requires but honesty and firmness of purpose. Taking in all things the law as it is, he has to restore, or rather to fix the currency, to separate the judicial from the civil authority, to reduce the Pachas to their real functions of prefects of police ; he has to organize the army, and then all reforms ought to cease. " 16 THE TANZIMAT. THE TANZIMAT. ALTHOUGH the reforms proposed by the Tanzimat had long been the earnest desire of Sultan Mahmud, they were not carried into effect until the accession of his son Abd- ul- Medjid, on the 1st of July, 1839. Four months later, on the 3rd November, the Tanzimat was established by the celebrated Hatti- Sheriff of Gülhanie. On that day, so memorable in the history of Turkish regeneration, numerous tents were raised in the gardens of the imperial palace of Pop Kapu, known by the name of Gülhanie, and crowds of high dignitaries were assembled, including the representatives of the Foreign Courts, while troops were drawn up in the neighbouring streets and squares. On the arrival of the youthful Sultan, the Patriarchs of the Greek and Armenian Church, the Chief Rabbi of the Jews, and deputations of the different corporations, together with the members of the Government, followed by their employés, were admitted to his presence. The Chiefs of the Ulema THE TANZIMAT. 17 and the chief General Officers of the Empire took their places. The Grand Vizir presented the HattiSheriff to Reschid Pacha, who read the important document in a loud voice, which emanated from the imperial will, and laid the foundation of the new Constitution of Turkey. It is so interesting, that we have quoted it in extenso, for it will form the basis of all the details to which we shall henceforth have occasion to refer. " It is well known that during the early ages of the Ottoman monarchy the glorious precepts of the Koran and the laws of the empire were ever held in honour. In consequence of this the empire increased in strength and greatness, and all the population, without exception, acquired a high degree of welfare and prosperity. " For 150 years a succession of incidents and various causes have checked this obedience to the sacred code of the law, and to the regulations which emanate from it, and the previous internal strength and prosperity have been converted into weakness and poverty ; for in truth an empire loses all its stability when it ceases to observe its laws. " These considerations have been ever present to our mind, and since the day of our accession to the throne, the thought of the public good, of the amelioration of the condition of the provinces, and the alleviation of the national burthens, has not ceased to claim our entire attention . If we take into consiVOL. II. C 18 THE TANZIMAT. deration the geographical position of the Ottoman provinces, the fertility of the soil, and the aptness and intelligence of the inhabitants, we shall attain the conviction that, by applying ourselves to discover efficacious methods, the result which, with the aid of God, we hope to obtain, will be realized within a few years. " Thus, then, full of confidence in the help of the Most High, supported by the intercession of our Prophet, we consider it advisable to attempt by new institutions to obtain for the provinces composing the Ottoman Empire the benefits of a good administration. "These institutions will principally refer to these topics :- " 1. The guarantees, which will insure our subjects perfect security for their lives, their honour, and their fortune. "2. A regular method ofestablishing and collecting the taxes. " 3. An equally regular method of recruiting, levying the army, and fixing duration of the service. " In truth, are not life and honour the most precious blessings in existence ? What man, whatever may be his detestation of violence, could refrain from having recourse to it, and thereby injuring the government and his country, if his life and honour are exposed to danger ? If, on the contrary, he enjoys perfect security in this respect, he will not forget his loyalty, THE TANZIMAT. 19 and all his acts will conduce to the welfare of the government and his fellow subjects. "If there is no security for their fortune, all listen coldly to the voice of their Prince and country ; none attend to the progress of the common weal, absorbed as they are in their own troubles. If, on the other hand, the citizen possesses in confidence his property, of whatever kind it may be, then, full of ardour for his own affairs, the sphere of which he strives to extend, in order to increase that of his own enjoyments, he daily feels the love for his Prince and his country growing more fervent in his heart. These sentiments become within him the source of the most laudable actions. "It is of the highest importance to regulate the imposition of the taxes, as the State, which, in the defence of its territory, is forced into various expenses, cannot procure the money necessary for the army and the other branches of the service, save by contributions levied on its subjects. Although, thanks to God, our subjects have been for some time delivered from the scourge of monopolies, falsely regarded hitherto as a source of revenue, a fatal practice still exists, although it can only have the most disastrous consequences ; it is that of the venal concessions known by the name of Iltizam. " Under this system, the civil and financial adminstration of a province is entrusted to the arbitrary will of an individual, that is, at times to the iron hand C 2 20 THE TANZIMAT. of the most violent and covetous passions, for, if the administrator is not good, he cares for nothing but his own advantage. " It is therefore necessary that, in future, each member of the Ottoman society should be taxed in a ratio to his fortune and his faculties, and that nothing further should be demanded from him. "It is also necessary that special laws should fix and limit the expenses of our forces on land and sea. " Although, as we have said, the defence of the country is an important consideration, and that it is the duty of all the inhabitants to furnish soldiers for this end, it is necessary to establish laws to regulate the contingent which each district should furnish according to the requirements of the moment, and to reduce the time of active military service to four or five years. For it is both committing an injustice and inflicting a deadly blow on the agriculture and industry of the country, to take, without regard to the respective population of the districts, more from one and less from another than they are able to furnish ; at the same time, it is reducing the soldiers to despair, and contributing to the depopulation of the country, to retain them during their whole life in the service. "In fine, without the various laws whose necessity has been recognised, the Empire can neither possess strength, nor wealth, nor prosperity, nor tranquillity : THE TANZIMAT. 21 on the contrary, it will expect them all from the existence of these new laws. "For this reason, in future, the cause of every accused party will be tried publicly, in conformity with our divine law ; and until a regular sentence has been pronounced, no one can put another to death, secretly or publicly, by poison, or any other form of punishment. " No one will be permitted to assail the honour of any one, whosoever he may be. "Every person will enjoy the possession of his property of every nature, and dispose of it with the most perfect liberty, without anyone being able to impede him thus, for example, the innocent heirs of a criminal will not be deprived of their legal rights, and the property of the criminal will not be confiscated.

" These imperial concessions extend to all our subjects, whatever religion or sect they may belong to ; they will enjoy them without any exception. "Perfect security is, therefore, granted by us to the inhabitants of the empire, with regard to their life, their honour, and their fortune, as the sacred text of our law demands. "With reference to the other points, as they must be regulated by the concurrence of enlightened opinions, our Council of Justice ( augmented by as many new members as may be deemed necessary) , to whom will be adjoined, on certain days which we shall appoint, our Ministers and the notables of the

6:

Russian that the INTRODUCTION. 13 White Tzar was anxious for the welfare of his coreligionists, and only commenced the war to secure them the immunities which they had already enjoyed since 1840. In short, the present war may be regarded as the most fortunate event that could have occurred for Turkey. That country has acquired friends among the Western Powers, who are inclined to act from disinterested motives, and, on the other hand, has been freed from the clutches of Russia. The future, however, must depend chiefly on herself: if she will go hand- in-hand with France and England, and act up to the spirit of the Hatti- Sheriff of Gülhanie, we can require no more. If, however, the Government is too blind to take warning by the past, and obstinately forgets that " union is strength, " no exertions on our part will be sufficient to prevent the dissolution of the Turkish Empire. The elements of destruction are known ; and it will entirely depend upon the degree of moderation evinced in the cure, whether this question be satisfactorily solved . For our own part, we are inclined to regard the matter in the most favourable point of view, and believe that Abd-ul- Medjid and his councillors will do all in their power to effect that union of the people of Turkey which will render the nation strong at home and abroad ; and we have reason to think that our readers will agree with us when they have perused the following pages, showing the very great 22 THE TANZIMAT. Empire, will meet for the purpose of establishing the fundamental laws on those points relating to the security of life and property, and the imposition of the taxes. Every one in these assemblies will state his ideas freely, and give his opinion. " The laws relating to the regulations of the military service will be discussed by the Military Council, holding its meetings at the Palace of the Seraskier. As soon as a law is decided upon, it will be presented to us, and in order that it may be eternally valid and applicable, we will confirm it by our sanction , written above it with our Imperial hand. "As these present institutions are solely intended for the regeneration of religion, Government, the nation, and the Empire, we engage to do nothing which may be opposed to them. "As a pledge for our promise, we intend, after having deposited them in the hall which contains the glorious relies of the Prophet. in the presence of all the Ulema and Grandees of the Empire, to take an eath in the name of the Almighty, and cause the Ulema and Grandees also to swear to that effect. After that, any one of the Ulema or Grandees, or wy other person whatsoever who violates these instituations will undergo, without regard to rank, considestion, et credit, the punishment appointed for his guil when proven. A penal code will be drawn up As all the functionaries of the Empire will receive THE TANZIMAT. 23 from this day a suitable salary, and those whose functions are not at present sufficiently rewarded will be advanced, a rigorous law will be passed against the traffic in favours and appointments (richvet), which the divine laws reprove, and which is one of the principal causes of the decay of the Empire. "The enactments thus made, being a complete renovation and alteration in ancient usages, this Imperial rescript will be published at Constantinople and in all the towns of our Empire, and will be officially communicated to all the Ambassadors of friendly Powers residing in Constantinople, in order that they may be witnesses of the concession of these institutions, which, with the favour of the Almighty, will endure for ever. 66' May the All-powerful God have us all in His holy keeping ! "May those who commit any act contrary to the present institutions be the objects of the Divine malediction, and eternally deprived of every kind of happiness ! " Reschid Pacha then handed the Hatti- Sheriff to the Grand Vizir, who pressed it to his lips and forehead. The Sheikh-ul- Islam pronounced a prayer, and the artillery fired a salute from all the batteries of Constantinople. The cortége proceeded to the hall, where the oaths were taken, after an address, which the Sultan made, enjoining obedience, and the ceremony was concluded. 24 THE TANZIMAT. Although there appears something curious in the above document, which starts by imputing the decline of the state principally to the transgression of the old laws, and then proceeds to adopt new regulations in the state, and then ends by praising the restoration of old manners and customs, as the sole means of salvation : still we must bear in mind, that there were numerous parties to be pleased in Constantinople, and that it was necessary to satisfy the demands of the Reformers, without outraging the feelings of the old Turkish party, who saw in the disobedience to the Koran, the real cause of the decadence of the Empire. The principal objects of Reform, consequently, were : the security of life and property to all subjects of the Turkish Empire, without reference to their religion ; a regular mode of taxation ; and, lastly, an equally regular method of conscription. These three measures formed the basis and starting-point of the whole system of Reform. In fact, the Tanzimat, which was established soon afterwards, and which the Imperial Government from that time has followed with the most praiseworthy perseverance, is not merely confined to the amelioration of the political, civil, and administrative condition of the Empire ; but it has been even extended to the persons forming the Imperial suite, which it strives to reduce each year, by abolishing a multitude of functionaries, who are not merely useless but expensive. THE TANZIMAT. 25 The first innovations were made by Mahmud II, in his divan. It had been the usage for the Sultan to abstain from all personal contact with his subjects, as being too familiar, and weakening that awful and mysterious respect which a being so remote and invisible should possess. The Sultan, therefore, formerly sent in his opinion and dictation in writing, never condescending to a personal communication ; but Mahmud, by sitting in council with the members, and giving his opinion, encouraged the others to do the same, and thus approximated to a certain form of debate, and freedom of opinion and language. Another great change also took place in the system of the provincial Government. Formerly every Governor was a feudal Baron, who had absolute power of life and death over all in his Pachalic, and the wave of his hand was sufficient to decide the fate of any man. One of the first acts of Mahmud, when he found himself a free agent, was a firman directed to the Muzzelim, Aghas, and Pachas, that they should not presume to inflict themselves the punishment of death on any man, whether Raya or Turk, unless authorized by a legal sentence pronounced by the Cadi, and regularly signed by the Judge. Even then an appeal was allowed to the criminal to one of the Cazi-askers of Asia or Europe, and finally to the Sultan himself, if the criminal chose to persist in his appeal. The Tanzimat may, consequently, be divided into 26 THE TANZIMAT. four distinct parts : the Government or Councils of the Ottoman Empire ; the administration, or the financial and administrative division of the Empire ; the judicial offices ; and the military appointments. These we will proceed to examine in detail. THE GOVERNMENT. 27 THE GOVERNMENT. THE Government of Turkey is formally an absolute Monarchy, but in reality is restricted not only by the institutions and conditions of the sovereignty, but also by the manners of the people, which here, more than in any other country, modify and limit it to a certain extent. The Sovereign assumes the title of Padishah of the Osmanli. This title, derived from the Persian pad (protector) and Shah (King) , is the exclusive title of the Ottoman Sovereigns in the East. Francis I was the first and for a long time the sole Christian Monarch whom the Turks distinguished by the title of Padishah. The Emperor of Germany was only known by the Turks under the name of Nemtchi tchaçari ( Cæsar of Germany) : the Tzars of Russia, as Moskov tchari, or Rousia tchari. It was not till 1774, by the treaty of Kudjuk Kaïnardji, that the Empress Catharine II obtained the title of Vè Padishaki in addition to her other designations. In December, 1805, Napoleon was recognised with 18 THE TANZIMAT. deration the geographical position of the Ottoman provinces, the fertility of the soil, and the aptness and intelligence of the inhabitants, we shall attain the conviction that, by applying ourselves to discover efficacious methods, the result which, with the aid of God, we hope to obtain, will be realized within a few years. “ Thus, then, full of confidence in the help of the Most High, supported by the intercession of our Prophet, we consider it advisable to attempt by new institutions to obtain for the provinces composing the Ottoman Empire the benefits of a good administration. " These institutions will principally refer to these topics :- "1. The guarantees, which will insure our subjects perfect security for their lives, their honour, and their fortune. "2. A regular method ofestablishing and collecting the taxes. " 3. An equally regular method of recruiting, levying the army, and fixing duration of the service. " In truth, are not life and honour the most precious blessings in existence ? What man, whatever may be his detestation of violence, could refrain from having recourse to it, and thereby injuring the government and his country, if his life and honour are exposed to danger ? If, on the contrary, he enjoys perfect security in this respect, he will not forget his loyalty, THE TANZIMAT. 19 and all his acts will conduce to the welfare of the government and his fellow subjects. "If there is no security for their fortune, all listen coldly to the voice of their Prince and country ; none attend to the progress of the common weal, absorbed as they are in their own troubles. If, on the other hand, the citizen possesses in confidence his property, of whatever kind it may be, then, full of ardour for his own affairs, the sphere of which he strives to extend, in order to increase that of his own enjoyments, he daily feels the love for his Prince and his country growing more fervent in his heart. These sentiments become within him the source of the most laudable actions. "It is of the highest importance to regulate the imposition of the taxes, as the State, which, in the defence of its territory, is forced into various expenses, cannot procure the money necessary for the army and the other branches of the service, save by contributions levied on its subjects . 66 Although, thanks to God, our subjects have been for some time delivered from the scourge ofmonopolies, falsely regarded hitherto as a source of revenue, a fatal practice still exists, although it can only have the most disastrous consequences ; it is that of the venal concessions known by the name of Iltizam. " Under this system, the civil and financial adminstration of a province is entrusted to the arbitrary will of an individual, that is, at times to the iron hand C 2 20 THE TANZIMAT. of the most violent and covetous passions, for, if the administrator is not good, he cares for nothing but his own advantage. "It is therefore necessary that, in future, each member of the Ottoman society should be taxed in a ratio to his fortune and his faculties, and that nothing further should be demanded from him. "It is also necessary that special laws should fix and limit the expenses of our forces on land and sea. " Although, as we have said, the defence of the country is an important consideration, and that it is the duty of all the inhabitants to furnish soldiers for this end, it is necessary to establish laws to regulate the contingent which each district should furnish according to the requirements of the moment, and to reduce the time of active military service to four or five years. For it is both committing an injustice and inflicting a deadly blow on the agriculture and industry of the country, to take, without regard to the respective population of the districts, more from one and less from another than they are able to furnish ; at the same time, it is reducing the soldiers to despair, and contributing to the depopulation of the country, to retain them during their whole life in the service. " In fine, without the various laws whose necessity has been recognised, the Empire can neither possess strength, nor wealth, nor prosperity, nor tranquillity : THE TANZIMAT. 21 on the contrary, it will expect them all from the existence of these new laws. " For this reason, in future, the cause of every accused party will be tried publicly, in conformity with our divine law ; and until a regular sentence has been pronounced, no one can put another to death, secretly or publicly, by poison, or any other form of punishment. " No one will be permitted to assail the honour of any one, whosoever he may be. "Every person will enjoy the possession of his property of every nature, and dispose of it with the most perfect liberty, without anyone being able to impede him thus, for example, the innocent heirs of a criminal will not be deprived of their legal rights, and the property of the criminal will not be confiscated . "These imperial concessions extend to all our subjects, whatever religion or sect they may belong to ; they will enjoy them without any exception. "Perfect security is, therefore, granted by us to the inhabitants of the empire, with regard to their life, their honour, and their fortune, as the sacred text of our law demands. "With reference to the other points, as they must be regulated by the concurrence of enlightened opinions, our Council of Justice ( augmented by as many new members as may be deemed necessary ), to whom will be adjoined, on certain days which we shall appoint, our Ministers and the notables of the 22 THE TANZIMAT. Empire, will meet for the purpose of establishing the fundamental laws on those points relating to the security of life and property, and the imposition of the taxes. Every one in these assemblies will state his ideas freely, and give his opinion. " The laws relating to the regulations of the military service will be discussed by the Military Council, holding its meetings at the Palace of the Seraskier. As soon as a law is decided upon, it will be presented to us, and in order that it may be eternally valid and applicable, we will confirm it by our sanction, written above it with our Imperial hand. "As these present institutions are solely intended for the regeneration of religion, Government, the nation, and the Empire, we engage to do nothing which may be opposed to them. "As a pledge for our promise, we intend, after having deposited them in the hall which contains the glorious relics of the Prophet, in the presence of all the Ulema and Grandees of the Empire, to take an oath in the name of the Almighty, and cause the Ulema and Grandees also to swear to that effect. "After that, any one of the Ulema or Grandees, or any other person whatsoever who violates these institutions, will undergo, without regard to rank, consideration, or credit, the punishment appointed for his guilt when proven. A penal code will be drawn up to this effect. " As all the functionaries of the Empire will receive THE TANZIMAT. 23 from this day a suitable salary, and those whose functions are not at present sufficiently rewarded will be advanced, a rigorous law will be passed against the traffic in favours and appointments (richvet) , which the divine laws reprove, and which is one of the principal causes of the decay of the Empire. "The enactments thus made, being a complete renovation and alteration in ancient usages, this Imperial rescript will be published at Constantinople and in all the towns of our Empire, and will be officially communicated to all the Ambassadors of friendly Powers residing in Constantinople, in order that they may be witnesses of the concession of these institutions, which, with the favour of the Almighty, will endure for ever. "May the All-powerful God have us all in His holy keeping ! 66 May those who commit any act contrary to the present institutions be the objects of the Divine malediction, and eternally deprived of every kind of happiness ! " Reschid Pacha then handed the Hatti- Sheriff to the Grand Vizir, who pressed it to his lips and forehead. The Sheikh-ul- Islam pronounced a prayer, and the artillery fired a salute from all the batteries of Constantinople. The cortége proceeded to the hall, where the oaths were taken, after an address, which the Sultan made, enjoining obedience, and the ceremony was concluded. THE TANZIMAT. 24 Although there appears something curious in the above document, which starts by imputing the decline of the state principally to the transgression of the old laws, and then proceeds to adopt new regulations in the state, and then ends by praising the restoration of old manners and customs, as the sole means of salvation : still we must bear in mind, that there were numerous parties to be pleased in Constantinople, and that it was necessary to satisfy the demands of the Reformers, without outraging the feelings of the old Turkish party, who saw in the disobedience to the Koran, the real cause of the decadence of the Empire. The principal objects of Reform, consequently, were : the security of life and property to all subjects of the Turkish Empire, without reference to their religion ; a regular mode of taxation ; and, lastly, an equally regular method of conscription . These three measures formed the basis and starting- point of the whole system of Reform. In fact, the Tanzimat, which was established soon afterwards, and which the Imperial Government from that time has followed with the most praiseworthy perseverance, is not merely confined to the amelioration of the political, civil, and administrative condition of the Empire ; but it has been even extended to the persons forming the Imperial suite, which it strives to reduce each year, by abolishing a multitude of functionaries, who are not merely useless but expensive. THE TANZIMAT. 25 The first innovations were made by Mahmud II, in his divan. It had been the usage for the Sultan to abstain from all personal contact with his subjects, as being too familiar, and weakening that awful and mysterious respect which a being so remote and invisible should possess. The Sultan, therefore, formerly sent in his opinion and dictation in writing, never condescending to a personal communication ; but Mahmud, by sitting in council with the members, and giving his opinion, encouraged the others to do the same, and thus approximated to a certain form of debate, and freedom of opinion and language. Another great change also took place in the system of the provincial Government. Formerly every Governor was a feudal Baron, who had absolute power of life and death over all in his Pachalic, and the wave of his hand was sufficient to decide the fate of any man. One of the first acts of Mahmud, when he found himself a free agent, was a firman directed to the Muzzelim, Aghas, and Pachas, that they should not presume to inflict themselves the punishment of death on any man, whether Raya or Turk, unless authorized by a legal sentence pronounced by the Cadi, and regularly signed by the Judge. Even then an appeal was allowed to the criminal to one of the Cazi- askers of Asia or Europe, and finally to the Sultan himself, if the criminal chose to persist in his appeal. The Tanzimat may, consequently, be divided into 26 THE TANZIMAT. four distinct parts : the Government or Councils of the Ottoman Empire ; the administration, or the financial and administrative division of the Empire ; the judicial offices ; and the military appointments. These we will proceed to examine in detail. THE GOVERNMENT. 27 THE GOVERNMENT. THE Government of Turkey is formally an absolute Monarchy, but in reality is restricted not only by the institutions and conditions of the sovereignty, but also by the manners of the people, which here, more than in any other country, modify and limit it to a certain extent. The Sovereign assumes the title of Padishah of the Osmanli. This title, derived from the Persian pad (protector) and Shah (King) , is the exclusive title of the Ottoman Sovereigns in the East. Francis I was the first and for a long time the sole Christian Monarch whom the Turks distinguished by the title of Padishah. The Emperor of Germany was only known by the Turks under the name of Nemtchi tchaçari ( Cæsar of Germany) : the Tzars of Russia, as Moskov tchari, or Rousia tchari . It was not till 1774, by the treaty of Kudjuk Kaïnardji, that the Empress Catharine II obtained the title of Vè Padishaki in addition to her other designations. In December, 1805 , Napoleon was recognised with 28 THE GOVERNMENT. the double appellations of Imperathor Vè Padishah. Since that time the title has been extended to nearly all the European Sovereigns in alliance with the Porte. The coronation and consecration customary with the Western Monarchs, are represented with the Ottoman Sultans by the ceremony of the taklidi seif, or the investiture with the sabre, which takes place on the 5th or 6th day after the accession . The new Emperor, followed by all the grand dignitaries, and the body of Ulema, proceeds to the Mosque of Eyoub, revered on account of containing the tomb of Eyoub, the cherished disciple of the Prophet ; and it is there that the Sheikh of the Dervishes girds on him the sabre of Osman with the usual ceremonies. The Sultan is the representative and depository of the law, having the sole charge of its execution : he can even make modifications in certain parts, provided that he does not alter its essential and fundamental character. His decrees are called Hatti- Sheriffs, or Hatti-humaïoun, or simply hat. " In the most despotic Empire, " says d'Olivier* on this subject, " the will of the Sovereign is limited , circumscribed, or fettered by laws or customs, which he cannot call in question without danger ; such is the Ottoman Empire. As successor of the Chalifes, the Sultan unites in himself every power ; he is So-

• Voyage à Constantinople.

་ THE GOVERNMENT. 29 • vereign absolute, legislator, Pontiff, and supreme chiefof religion : he may create, change, and modify, according to his pleasure, the laws of the state ; he establishes the imposts and taxes which he judges necessary ; he disposes at his will of the eminent places , administrative and military, religious and judicial, of the Empire ; he is master of the life and fortune of his officers, and the agents he keeps in pay : however, he would find insurmountable obstacles, if he meddled with the fundamental laws deposited in the book of the Prophet, and even with most of those which custom immemorial has rendered, as it were, as sacred as the others. In establishing imposts, be takes care not to overburthen the people, ever ready to manifest their indignation, to rise, to demand the head of the Vizir, to depose the Sultan, and proceed to all sorts of excesses . In the appointment of lawyers, he generally respects rank and seniority of service, because he would be afraid to irritate and stir up to rebellion the august and formidable body of the Ulema in short, he neither can legally put to death a simple individual, nor usurp his property, without a previous trial, or a sentence of the lawyers."

The Sultan exercises his double authority in the legislature and the executive either directly or by means of two eminent persons, who form, as it were, the keystone of the Turkish Government ; these are, the Sadri-azam, or Grand Vizir, and the Mufti, or Sheikh-ul-Islam. 30 THE GOVERNMENT. The office of Grand Vizir was instituted in the year 132 of the Hegira ( 750 A.D. ), by the first Abasside Chalife. The word, borrowed from the Arabic, properly signifies Porter, in order to show that the person entrusted with this office bears the whole burthen of public affairs. In fact, the Grand Vizir is the supreme chief of the administration, and all the other Ministers are placed under his authority ' in their allotted functions. Nothing is presented for the sanction of the Sultan except through him ; nothing is decided which does not pass through his hands prior to execution. He presides over the Privy Council, appoints to a majority of the offices, commands the Army in person, or by means of substitutes in short, he is the head of the executive power, but only exercises it as the delegate and in the name of the Sultan. The functions of the Grand Vizir are conferred on him by virtue of a Hatti- Sheriff, which the Sultan sends him on his elevation to the Vizirial post. But the greater the power of the Grand Vizir, the greater is his responsibility . He is accountable both to the Sovereign and to the people, for the acts of injustice which he commits, for the unfortunate result of his administration, for the extortions which he does not repress ; he is accountable, above all, for the unexpected dearness of provisions, for too frequent fires, and for the defeats of the armies-all the misfortunes of the Sultan are attributed to him. THE GOVERNMENT. 31 The sword, continually suspended over his head, strikes him equally whether he displease the people, or disoblige the Sultan. Secretly attacked by those who are ambitious of his place, by those whom he has dissatisfied, or to whom he has done an ill office ; surrounded by snares, and exposed to every shaft, it is extremely rare for a Vizir to grow old in the dangerous post which he occupies, unless he possesses the difficult art of making the great tremble, of rendering himself beloved by the people, and necessary to the Sultan. The other Ministers, obliged to confer with the Grand Vizir and to take his orders, disburthen themselves on him of all the responsibilities attached to their administration, and the counsellors by whom he is surrounded cannot save him when his ruin is resolved on. At liberty to follow or reject their advice, there remain for him neither pretexts nor excuses : it is to him alone that the sovereign power is intrusted, and it is for him alone to give an account. By the side of the Grand Vizir, and in the same rank, is placed the Sheikh-ul- Islam (the Ancient of Islamism) , also called the Mufti. His principal functions are the interpretation of the law, which is a most important charge in a country where the law is all-in-all. The Chief of the Ulema, or a body both judicial and religious, but being himself neither priest nor magistrate, except in some exceptional cases, he is Keeper of the Seals, Grand Master of 32 THE GOVERNMENT. the University, and Dean of the Schools. He so far shares in the exercise of the legislative power, that his fetva is necessary to render every desire and every act emanating from the sovereign authority valid. But this fetva, formerly so formidable, is at present only a judicial formality rather than a legislative act. The Sheikh- ul - Islam occupies the same rank in the hierarchy as the Grand Vizir, and receives, like him, with the title of Highness, a monthly salary of 100,000 piastres ( £1,000) . The Grand Vizir and the Sheikh-ul -Islam form, with the Ministers of State and several high functionaries holding ministerial rank, the Privy Council. It is composed of the following members :- The Grand Vizir, President and Minister of the Interior, with the rank of Marshal. The Sheikh-ul- Islam, Principal of the Court of Cassation, Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs. The Seraskier, or Minister of War, Imperial Palace and Lord Marshal. The Capudan Pacha, Minister of Marine, Grand Admiral, and Inspector of Seas. The Grand Master of Artillery, and GovernorGeneral of all the Fortresses. The Minister for Foreign Affairs. *

• This is the ancient Reis Effendi, which office was suppressed

by Sultan Mahmud, and instead of it the Director of Foreign Affairs appointed. THE GOVERNMENT. 33 The Minister of Finance. The President of the Council of War. The Storekeeper- General. The Minister of Commerce and Public Works. The Mustechar or Councillor of the Grand Vizir, performing the duties of Minister of the Home Department. The ancient Kiaya- Beg, which office was abolished by Mahmud, and the Director of the Home Department appointed. The Intendant- General of Police. The President of the Council of State. The Master of the Mint. The Intendant of Vakufs. The name of " The Divan," or the Porte, or Sublime Porte, is also given to the Privy Council, nearly in the same sense as we talk in Europe of the Cabinet of St James, or the Cabinet of the Tuileries. The Sublime Porte is properly the Palace of the Grand Vizir, where the great Chancery of the State is held. The Privy Council meets twice a week, in ordinary cases, under the Presidency of the Grand Vizir, and deliberates on all the measures of general interest, principally those which have reference to foreign policy. Sometimes, in consequence of the urgency and gravity of the case, the Grand Vizir and Ministers form themselves into a separate Secret Council, in order to accelerate the action of the Executive. But it is very rare for the day or place of these conferences VOL. II. D 34 THE GOVERNMENT. to be known beforehand, at which the Sultan is present, and which are always kept most secret. To each of the different ministerial departments, with the exception of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, permanent Councils are attached which discuss propositions and prepare the projects of amelioration . They are ten in number. I. At the head of these Councils is the COUNCIL OF STATE AND OF JUSTICE, or SUPREME COUNCIL, instituted in 1840. It is composed of a President, ex officio member of the Privy Council, nine Councillors, and two Secretaries. The manner, as well as form of its deliberations, has been determined by special regulations, proposed by the Council of Ministers and approved of by the Sultan. The functions of the Supreme Council are, in certain respects, the same as those of our Council of State ; that is, they are appointed to prepare the laws, which are afterwards promulgated under the form of imperial decrees. Thus, for instance, in 1839 and following years, this Council was intrusted with the duty of regulating the taxes, as well as the organic laws which formed the basis of the Constitution of Gülhanie. The regulations relative to the military service formed the sole exception, for they were intrusted to the Council of War. All that regards the legislation and internal administration falls under this department. The Governor- Generals and Extraordinary Envoys sent into THE GOVERNMENT. 35 the provinces, receive their firman and their official and secret instructions from this body. It also gives its advice in the reports of the Governors, as well as the complaints of the subjects which are transmitted to it through the Grand Vizir. Once annually, on the first of Moharrem (the first day of the Mussulman year) the Sultan visits, either in private, or in state, the Council of State, and after receiving an accurate statement of the condition of affairs, as well as of the labours of the past year, he calls the attention of the Council to the various projects which will be submitted to it during the course of the present year, and ends by an address in which he expresses his admiration or his anger. As Court of Justice, the Supreme Council is cognizant of all crimes against the State, as well as abuses committed by high functionaries of the Empire, during the performance of their duties. It also revises all sentences in criminal cases, and no capital condemnation can be executed, through the whole Empire, until it has received the express sanction of the Sultan, given in the report of the Council, to which the local authorities transmit the evidence and the finding. II. THE COUNCIL OR COMMISSION OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, which is under the surveillance of the Council of State, and of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is composed of a President, eight members, and two secretaries. D 2 36 THE GOVERNMENT. III. THE COUNCIL OF WAR is divided into two sections : the Council of War, properly so called, and the Council of the Organization of the reserve ; and is composed in its entirety of fifteen members, among whom are a President and a secretary, selected from the General Officers of the Army and the functionaries of the first and second rank. IV. THE COUNCIL OF THE ORDNANCE is composed of a President, six members and a secretary. V. THE COUNCIL OF THE ADMIRALTY is composed of a President, seven members, and two secretaries. VI. THE AUDIT OFFICE is composed of a President, eleven members, functionaries of the first and second rank, and two secretaries. VII. THE COUNCIL OF AGRICULTURE AND PUBLIC WORKS is composed of the Minister of Commerce and Public Works, of six Councillors, and a secretary . VIII . THE MINT is composed of the Director of the Mint as President, of five members and a secretary. IX. THE COUNCIL OF POLICE is composed of the Sub- director of Police as President and twelve members. X. THE COUNCIL OF MILITARY MANUFACTURES has been only recently instituted. It is composed of only four members, under the Presidency of a General of Division. In addition to these Councils, attached to the different Ministries, in order to further the progress THE GOVERNMENT. 37 of the administration, and to prepare the questions which require solution, we must mention the State Chancery, comprising the majority of the superior and inferior employés, called by the title of Kalemiè, from the directors-general of the ministries, down to simple clerks. It is composed of five orders of functionaries, the highest of which is on the same level with thegrade of ferik (general of division ) in the military ranks, which are the basis of the Turkish hierarchy. The first and second ranks each contain two classes. To this category belongs the terdjuman odassi or staff of translators, one of the most beneficial creations of the reform. This office, which is under the superintendence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was established just after the Greek insurrection of 1821 , when the removal of the Fanariotes from public affairs rendered it necessary to create a College for the international relations of the Porte. This office has duced the most eminent men in Turkey, not only in diplomacy, but also in all the branches of the administration. proTHE FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT. Under the first three Sultans, the Ottoman possessions were divided into small Governments, called Livas or Sandjaks, that is to say, flags, whose Mir-livas or Sandjak Beys received a horse-tail, as a distinctive mark of command. They obeyed two GovernorsGeneral, the one for Roumelia, the other for Anatolia, 38 THE GOVERNMENT. the names by which, at that time, the countries under the Ottoman dominion in Europe and Asia were divided. They were distinguished by the title of Begler Bey or Mir-miran, and had two or three tails. At a later date, under Sultan Murad III, the Empire was divided into great Governments (Eyalets ) , each composed of several Livas. The Governors of these Eyalets were called Vizirs or Pashas, with three horse-tails, and the Governors of the Livas were raised to the rank of Mirmiran or Pashas of two tails . This division lasted till 1834, the date at which Sultan Mahmud established a new classification of the Imperial provinces, containing 28 Governments, 31 Sandjaks, and 54 independent Voivodies. At the present time the Ottoman Empire is divided into 36 General Governments, of which Turkey in Europe contains 15 Eyalets, Asia, 18, and Africa, 3. At the head of each Eyalet there is a Governorgeneral the supreme head of the administration . His powers are very extensive. He can suspend and remove, at his own responsibility, the Governors of the livas, the Mudirs of the districts, the members of the municipal Councils, the Chiefs of the Police, as well as all the civil functionaries of his Government. Governor- General is assisted by a permanent Council, sitting in the chief town of the Eyalet, and meeting each week on appointed days. This council is composed of a president, and two secretaries, The THE GOVERNMENT. 39 nominated by the Porte, and generally sent from Constantinople ; of the Defterdar, or receiver-general of the finances, of the Metropolitan, either Greek or Armenian, and the Grand Rabbi ; and of the Kodja Baschis, or delegates of the Turkish and Christian Municipalities. Each Liva, with the exception of the one under the direct superintendence of the Vali, is governed by a Kaimakam, who is in every respect subordinate to the Governor-General, whose lieutenant he in fact is. This functionary, assisted by the military Commandant, watches over the recruiting which takes place every five years. He performs, with the members of the civil tribunal and the Medjlis or provincial council, the magisterial duties of the province, and presides over the collectors of the Impost, which is entrusted to a separate commission annually nominated by the municipality. In addition to the military force which he can summon to his assistance, the Kaimakam has immediately under his orders a company ofgensdarmes, composed of 20 Kavas, 20 Seymens, and 20 Suvaris. The Cazas are governed by the Mudirs, assisted by a Council of Notables, and directing the financial administrative department of their district. The Mudirs were formerly appointed directly by the Porte, in all places where they received a salary above 1,000 piastres ; in the other case they were merely confirmed by it, and proposed by the Governor. At the present day they are all nominated without dis- 40 THE GOVERNMENT. tinction by the Governors, but the latter are personally responsible for their conduct. The Nahias are presided over by a Mukhtar, or Kodja Baschi, elected by the inhabitants, and performing simultaneously the duties of mayor and receiver. As regards the financial administration, each Eyalet has a Defterdar ( receiver- general) , and each Liva a Mal Mudiri (private receiver) , who has also under his charge the management of various special receipts, such as the customs, port, quarantine, capitation, passports, fisheries, &c. Each year he has his accounts examined by the Governor and the members of the Medjlis, and sends them to the Defterdar. latter transmits them to the Council of the Eyalet, who examine them in their turn, and draw up a report. This report, with the vouchers, is sent to the Minister of Finance, through the Vali. The The Mal Mudiri presides in the financial department over each Mudir of the district. All the payments made to the different exchequers of the province are rendered valid by a receipt to which his seal is attached ; they are useless without this condition . The Defterdars have the same functions as the Mal Mudiri in their peculiar departments. THE GOVERNMENT. 41 THE JUDICIAL OFFICES. TURKEY is divided, with reference to the administration of justice1. Into a SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE AND APPEAL , forming two Presidencies or chambers, one for Europe and one for Asia, which decide in the last instance. At the head of the former is the Cazi- asker (literally judge of the army) of Roumelia, assisted by ten grand honorary judges, or assessors, who hold the Presidency in turn for the period of a year. At the head of the second is the Cazi-asker of Anatolia, whose tribunal, also composed of ten assessors, is the second in the Empire. The two Cazi- askers are the chiefs of the magistracy, and, under the sanction of the Sheikh-ul- Islam, appoint to all the offices vacant in their respective departments. 2. Into twenty-four MEVLEVIETS, or Grand Judicial Councils, at the headofwhich isa Mullah (Grand Judge), and containing a certain number of Cazas or ordinary tribunals. Constantinople and its suburbs form three 42 THE GOVERNMENT. Mevleviets ; the other twenty- one are spread over the provinces. 3. Into CAZAS, or ordinary tribunals, 126 in number, including those which sit at the chief town of the Mevleviet. These tribunals are composed of the Judge (Mullah or Cadi) ; of the Mufti, a species of solicitor- general, elected by the province from several candidates ; of a Naïb or Assistant-Judge ; of an Ayak Naïb, or civil lieutenant ; and of a Bach Kiatib, or Notary. In civil cases they decide in the first instance, and form a correctional tribunal, in conjunction with the Governor of the Liva and the members of the Provincial Council. IV. THE INFERIOR TRIBUNALS, at the head of which are the Naïbs or Assistant- Judges, who perform the duties of Magistrates in the districts and parishes. THE GOVERNMENT. 43 THE MILITARY APPOINTMENTS. TURKEY is divided into six camps or corps d'armeé (ordu), each composed of two divisions and six brigades (not including the reserve), spread over ten garrison districts. Each brigade is commanded by a General of Brigade (Liva) , each division by a General of Division ( Ferik) . The whole order is under the command of a FieldMarshal ( Mushir). The following are the names of the orders, with their head-quarters Head Quarters . The Ordu of the Imperial Guard · "" "" Constantinople "" at Scutari. Constantinople. Roumelia · Monastir. 99 Anatolia · Karbrout. "" 99 Arabia 3 Damascus . "" 99 99 Izak · 99 "" Bagdhad. Besides the orders there are four detached corps ; the first in Crete, the second at Tripoli, the third 44 THE GOVERNMENT. at Tunis, the fourth, forming the central corps of Artillery, is spread over the various fortresses of the empire, in the Bosphorus, at the Dardanelles, in the Danube, in Servia, on the Adriatic, the Black Sea, &c. . ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT. 45 ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT. As THE Koran contains all the regulations referring to the religious and social life of the Mussulmans. the source of all justice, and principle of every duty, it is the guide and constant object of study for the faithful, the only rule they consult almost hourly. But, unfortunately, this rule is not always thoroughly intelligible. Omissions and contradictions of every description are found in the Koran ; to remedy and explain which is a body of men, known by the name of the Ulema or learned to distinguish them from the mass of the people, who were still grossly ignorant. They were originally men of great simplicity of life, who had embraced science through a sincere love for it ; and who, through the extent of their learning, and the purity of their lives, acquired great authority among the faithful, who gradually grew into the habit of consulting the Ulema in every doubtful circumstance of life. The importance of the Ulema was also increased 46 ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT. through the part they commenced to play in the ordinary ceremonies of marriages and funerals. Although every Mussulman had the power of performing these rites, still they required certain usages which compelled the intercession of the Ulema. This interference by degrees extended from purely religious acts to the different relations of civil life , as the religious and judicial codes were identical, and they soon commenced playing an important part in the State. The power thus acquired was confirmed to them bythe Chalifes formally intrusting in their hands the sacerdotal and judicial functions. The Ulema are divided into two branches the judicial, composed of the interpreters of the law and the judges, and the religious, to which the Ministers of public worship belong. Originally, these two functions were confounded in the Ulema, as they had formerly been in the person of the sovereign : the Cadi would perform the sacerdotal offices, in the same way as the Imam, on leaving the Mosques, would take on himself the office of judge. At length there was a distinction established : the Cadis formed a separate body, who claimed the enjoyment of the judicial offices to the exclusion of the Imams, whose duties were restricted to preaching and the service of the Mosque. The judicial branch being twofold, owing to the distinction originally established between the functions of the Mufti and those of the Cadi, the body of ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT. 47 Ulema contains three classes of functionaries . The administrators of justice, known by the generic name of Cadis : the doctors or interpreters of the law, called Muftis-the religious ministers, or Imams. The administration of justice contains the Naïbs, Mullahs, Cazi- askers, &c.—of whom a more detailed account will be afterwards given. The Muftis belong to the second grade of the Ulema, and rank immediately after the Mullahs, who form a part of the higher class . They constitute a body of about 200 members, all equal in rank, whose entire duties consist in delivering fetvas, to establish the right of parties who appear before the tribunals. This fetva is a species of opinion on the point in dispute, in which the difficulty and its solution are presented in the form of question and answer, written in small characters upon a piece of paper, about nine inches long and four wide, which the Mufti delivers to his client for the sum of 20 paras. This fetva does not in any way prejudge the cause ; it merely replies to a question of law, according to an invariable formula, which does away with any assimilation between the functions of Mufti and judge, which has been wrongly stated to exist. It happens at times that the two parties, after explaining their case to the Mufti, each obtain a favourable fetva. In such cases, the Cadi pronounces his decision according to his own judgment. But the Mufti is called upon to explain these contradictory fetvas : and 48 ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT. if he is convicted of having corrupted the spirit of the law, he is punished by the loss of his office, and by banishment. There is a Mufti to each district of the Caza, with the exception of the towns of Brusa and Nicomedia, which are adjoined to the capital. Their functions consist in interpreting the Koran and its commentaries, assisting at great assemblies, and giving their opinion on all the questions which are there agitated. These opinions frequently differ in matters of jurisprudence, but they are nearly the same in religious affairs ; which causes them all to be considered as orthodox. They are not judges of the town where they are placed, but only act in the capacity of lawyers. They are muderris and, as such, associated to the body of the Ulema ; but they have renounced magistracy, and can only obtain the advancement of being sent by favour to a more considerable town. They are appointed for life by the Mufti of the capital, and have fixed salaries. The ministers of religion are known by the generic name of Imams, who, however, do not form a distinct and separate caste from the rest of the nation. No sacred character is conferred on them by ordination : summoned to perform the functions of Imam by the authorities, if the founder of the Mosque has not provided specially for their support, there is nothing in their mode of life to distinguish them from the other inhabitants of the town. The Imams are divided into five classes, whose ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT. 49 number varies according to the wealth and extent of each Mosque. 1. The Sheikhs, whose duty it is to preach a sermon after midday prayer on Friday. The Sheikhs of the imperial Mosques at Constantinople rank the highest in the Empire, and are appointed by the Mufti ; those of the other Mosques are named by the magistrate of the place, or of the district. They are members of the superior ecclesiastical synod of the Council, with rank and privileges nearly similar to those of our Bishops. 2. The Khatibs who are employed in discharging, in imitation of the Prophet, and of the first Chalifes, and in the place of the Sultan who represents them, the functions of the Imameth or the priesthood, at the solemn prayer which takes place on the Friday, and of reciting the Khoutbè or public profession respecting the unity and the attributes of the Supreme Being, accompanied by a prayer for the preservation and prosperity of the Sultan, and for the success of his arms against the Infidels. They are appointed by a Hatti- Sheriff signed by the hand of the Sultan. 3. The Imams, who recite in a loud voice, in the Mosques, five times a day, except at the solemn Friday's prayer, the Namaz, which the persons present repeat in a low tone ; they at the same time perform the ceremonies which accompany that prayer ; assist VOL. II. E 50 ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT. at circumcisions and interments ; in a word, they discharge all the functions which worship requires. In the early ages of Muhammadanism, Imam signified and designated the Pontiff, or the supreme chief of Islamism ; the successors of the first four Chalifes took only the title of Imam-ul- Muslimin, Pontiff of the Mussulmans. The Doctors and Interpreters of the law were afterwards distinguished by it, but for some time past, it has only been given to the Ministers of religion . 4. The Muezzin, whose duties consist in ascending five times a day to the Minaret, there to proclaim aloud the profession of faith of Muhammad, invite the Mussulmans to prayer, and sing various hymns on occasions of religious festivals. For that purpose, young men, whose voice is clear, strong and sonorous, are chosen ; for the Turks take a great pleasure in hearing good singing on the Minarets. In the little Mosques, the Muezzin sweep and arrange the carpets, light the lamps, &c.; but this function in the great ones, is reserved for other young men called Kayim In the greater part of the villages, and even in some Mosques of the towns, whose revenue is too limited, the Imam discharges at the same time the functions of Sheikh, Khatib, Imam, Muezzin, and Kayim. The Mosques of the second order, have no need of a Khatib, because they do not possess the right of celebrating the solemn prayer on Friday. ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT. 51 The Mosques are divided into three classes ; the little Mosques, called Medjid or chapels, the larger Mosques, called Djamié ( places of assembly), built by mothers of Sultans during their husbands' lives, by Sultans' daughters or sisters, or by other great personages, and enjoying certain privileges. Of these Mosques there are about 227. Lastly, the Djamié-iSalatrim (Imperial places of assembly) , consisting of Mosques built by Sultans and Sultana Validè. The revenues of the Mosques vary of course according to the amount of property assigned by founders, or by subsequent benefactors, or according to the care and economy with which the funds are administered. It is difficult to obtain an account of these revenues, but according to the best accessible authority, those of the undermentioned Imperial Mosques were nearly as follows in 1842.* Aya Sofia, converted into a Mosque by Muhammad II, in 1453, the richest of all similar foundations in the Empire. 1,500,000 piastres. Eyub, erected by the same Prince in 1458, and entirely rebuilt by Selim III. 200,000 piastres . Muhammad II, terminated by that Prince in 1469. 5,000 piastres. Of the twenty-six Mosques erected by Sultans, Valide Sultanas, and Sultans' daughters, twelve were constructed by the founder of the above three.

• White's ' Three years in Constantinople .'

E 2 52 ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT. Bajazet II, completed in 1505. 520,000 piastres. Selim I, finished in 1526. 290,000 piastres. Shah Zadeh ( Prince's) , erected in 1549, by Solyman the Magnificent, in honour of his eldest favourite son, Muhammad, who, with his younger brother Mustapha, was buried in the adjoining Mausoleum. 230,000 piastres. Solyman I, founded in 1555, the most imposing and yet the most simple and chaste of all these stupendous edifices . 360,000 piastres. Achmet I, opened for Divine worship in 1614. From the convenience afforded by the contiguous AkMaidan, for the distribution of escorts, horses, and spectators, this Mosque has been selected for the great Imperial processions of the two Beirams and Mevlud, in preference to Aya Sofia or the Suleimanyé, both entitled to precedence. 710,000 piastres. Yeni (new) or Validè, between the Egyptian stairs and Baghtshi Kapussi stairs, erected in 1605, by Terhan Sultana, mother of Muhammad IV. 360,000 piastres. Yeni or Validè, erected in Galata, 1696, by Rabia Gulnush Sultana, mother of Mustapha II, and Achmet III. This Mosque, with only one Minaret, is principally constructed of wood, and is far inferior to that erected by the same Princess at Scutari. 115,000 piastres. Ayazma ( Holy Fountain), founded by the foregoing at Scutari in 1711. 200,000 piastres. ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT. 53 Noori Osmanya (Light of Osman) , finished by Osman III, in 1745, and fully described by Sir John Hobhouse, as the most graceful edifice in the city. 240,000 piastres. Laleli (Tulip), founded in 1760, by Mustapha III. The name is not derived, as asserted by some, from the tulip form of the Minaret Galleries, but from a celebrated Sheikh, named Lala, who lived hard by, and was held in greater respect than the founder. 135,000 piastres. Abd- ul- Hamid, at Stavros, on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus, founded by that Monarch in 1783 . 180,000 piastres. Selim III, erected in 1801, near the northern gate of the great Barracks of the Imperial Guard at Scutari. 150,000 piastres. Nusretya (The Victorious) , founded in 1835, by the late Sultan Mahmud II, at Tophana. It is distinguished for the admirable lightness and beauty of its Minarets, and their gilded pinnacles. 180,000 piastres. The Ulema, generally recruited from the lower classes, have to undergo a novitiate both long and painful, whose slowness would weary minds less indolent and less resigned than those of the Osmanli usually are. The Alim, on leaving the Mektib, or primary school where the poor children of each district receive gratuitous elementary instruction up to the age of eleven or twelve, is forced to enter one of 54 ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT. the Medressés attached to the great Mosques, and which form the seminaries of Islamism. Behind the Medressé there is a huge building composed of small cells exposed to the rays of the sun, and all the furniture consisting of a mat, and straw divan. There he has passed the ten or twelve first years of his youth, attending, as a softa, lectures on the different branches of education . The Mosque which undertook his instruction and his lodging, maintained him also, though modestly. Each morning he received from the adjacent Immaret a ration of bread and pillau for the remainder of the day. As to the expenses of his maintenance, he provided for them, either by becoming a public writer ( Kiatib) , by copying Turkish or Arabic MSS. for the Merchants of the Bazar, or by assisting the Kayim in cleaning and brushing the Mosque. At the expiration of this time, sometimes more, being sufficiently prepared for his examination, he received his diploma as Mulazim ( candidate), conferred by the Sheikh-ul- Islam in person, and which constitutes the first degree of the Ulema. As to this source, he could, had he so chosen, have contented himself with a situation as Naïb or Cadi of the province ; instead of this, he devoted seven more years to the study of jurisprudence, &c., and was then promoted, after a strict examination, to the degree of Muderris (professor ) , also conferred by the Sheikh-ul- Islam, and forming the second degree of the Ulema. ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT. 55 Henceforth, the two careers of the magistracy are open to him: he can demand a situation as a Mufti in a Mevleviet, but, in that case, he loses all claim to advancement; or, by keeping his name on the list of Muderris, he can go through the ten degrees of the professorship, till he attains that of the Suleimanyé, where he waits till his turn, his merit, or his interest procures him an appointment. Eight among them, under the name of Makredji, are appointed every year Mullahs of the towns of Jerusalem, Aleppo, Smyrna, Larissa, Salonichi, Scutari, Galata, and Eyub. Four among the latter are afterwards named to the cities of Brussa, Adrianople, and Damascus, and the following year two of these become Mullahs of Mecca and Medina ; from among these last is taken the Stamboul Effendi. For a Muderris to obtain the favour of passing to the Mosque of Suleimanyé, and entering on the career of high magistracy, he must be protected or show ardent zeal for religion, distinguished talent, great application to study, and very austere manners. The Mullahs, and others who are not employed, and who are waiting for their turn, formerly had appanages or benefices, called arpaliks, which have been since suppressed. Several obtained inferior tribunals, where they placed Naïbs who discharged their functions, and to whom they granted only a portion of the revenue. Thus placed in the first rank ofthe Ulema and the 56 ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT. magistracy, invested with the title of Mullah Makredji, he may eventually reach the exalted rank of Mullah of Stamboul, Cazi- asker of Rumelia, or even Sheikh-ulIslam. It is easy to understand, therefore, that a body endowed with this powerful organisation , is by its nature opposed to all ideas of reform, which would be the utter ruin of its power. Whenever the Tanzimat is thoroughly carried into effect, the monopoly will be destroyed which the Ulema now possess of the judicial functions. In all probability, too, the Vakufs will follow the general law of change, and then the Ulema will have to look to the State for their salary. Such is the real issue of the question with the Ulema. They are aware of it, and do all in their power to retain the authority they feel slipping from their grasp. The struggle at the present day is between the Government, which takes the initiative in the reforms, and the Ulema, who desire the maintenance of the old state of things. Let us hope that the former will emerge victorious from the struggle ; for, if such is the case, the regeneration of Turkey will progress with gigantic strides . THE POLITICAL POWER. 57 THE POLITICAL POWER. IN order to form an idea of the nature of the political power in Turkey, in accordance with the governing forms obtaining in the States of the West, we should have to go back to the middle ages, to a period when the social compact was not yet formed, or only badly acquired. Even then we should have but an imperfect idea of this Government, which has no resemblance in modern Europe, and which requires to be studied, not in relation to what exists among ourselves, but in its origin, in its past history, and in the apparent or real contradictions which it presents. Through neglecting this precaution, the majority of the authors who have written on the manners and institutions of the East, have expressed the most false and contradictory opinions, which, unfortunately, have been regarded as authorities. We will in thefirst place examine into this important question, by the aid of the Koran and of history, and see, firstly, how the Sunnis explain the transmission of 58 THE POLITICAL POWER. the Chalifate down to the present Sultan, Abd-ulMedjid. The Koran, which regulates with the most minute care the slightest details of civil and political life in Islamism, is utterly silent on the order of the succession to the throne. Muhammad died, like Alexander the Great, without appointing his successor, leaving to his disciples, that is, to the nation, the care of choosing the most worthy : " My disciples, met in conclave, will not be able to make a bad choice, " he is stated to have remarked. This speech of the Prophet, joined to the utter silence of the Koran on a subject of such importance, seems not to permit any doubt as to the idea of the founder of Islamism. We may presume that, if he had desired to establish the Chalifate as an hereditary form of government, he would have appointed as his successor, Ali, the husband of his daughter, Fatima, the first and most beloved of his apostles. But, although Muhammad only possessed an imperfect acquaintance with the anterior events of history, it had not escaped his naturalperspicuity, aided by his conversations with the foreign merchants whom he had known during his travels, that, during the successive development of the history of the world, nothing is permanent, all human institutions require modifying, and that it rarely happened that one age inherited the spirit of the preceding one. Spite of the general formula which is found nearly at every step in the Koran, that THE POLITICAL POWER. 59 the supreme power is in the hands of the Deity, who giveth and taketh away at His pleasure, Muhammad's conviction was, that the Government belongs to the wisest or the bravest, in successive ages, de jure, and doubtlessly, defacto, for he believed in fatalism as governing superior intellects, whose place was appointed before-hand. For this reason, in spite of his predilection for Ali, whom he had made the depositary of his most secret thoughts, he preferred leaving the choice of his successor to the suffrages of the nation, regarding the elective principle as the most adapted to assure the progress and development of Islamism, through the field it opens to valour and individual qualifications. If the talents and virtues of Ali destined him for the throne, he would surely ascend it as soon as the hour had arrived. name. The successor chosen by the nation was Ebu-Bekir, father-in-law of the Prophet, whom Muhammad, on his dying bed, had commissioned to recite prayers in his Ebu- Behir then assumed the title of Chalife (Vicar, or rather Successor) of the Prophet of God, Khalifi y reçoul Allah, which he had already borne on several occasions, even during the life of Muhammad, when the latter, on becoming master of Medina, the capital of his rising power and the first seat of the Chalifate, confided to him, during his absence, the government and charge of this metropolis. The title, as well as the functions of the Chalife, was nothing new in Islamism, and they remained, after 60 THE POLITICAL POWER. the death of Muhammad, what they had hitherto been, a species of Lieutenancy- General, which in no way implied the continuation of the authority of the Prophet. At a later date, Omar, in order to prevent any misunderstanding on this point, and to characterize in a still more formal manner the purely temporal authority of the Chalifate, substituted for this title that of Prince, or Commander of the Faithful, Emir-ul- Munimim, which all the other Chalifes after him bore. The accession of Omar, whom Ebu Bekir appointed to succeed him on his dying bed, without the election having been previously confirmed by the people, was the first blow struck at the principle of direct and universal suffrage. On the death of Omar, Osman was chosen ; his murder in 654 entailed the election of Ali, which was soon followed by the assassination of the latter, and the massacre of his two sons, Hassan and Hussein, in 661 . From the reign of the usurper, Moawie, who established the law of promogeniture in favour of his family, the dignity became hereditary in the two families of the Ommiades and Abassides, as well as under the Ottoman Sultans reputed the legitimate successor of the latter. But, from this very fact, the Chalifate does not possess, in the eyes of the Mussulman nation, the same authority as that of the four direct successors of Muhammad, who were raised to the sovereign diguity by the free and unanimous choice of all the Ashâbs, and hence originated the THE POLITICAL POWER. 61 distinction between the perfect and imperfect Chalifates. Such is the origin of the Chalifate. It will be evident that nothing is known of absolute sovereignty and Divine right, or of spiritual power. The latter does not exist in Islamism, before or after Muhammad. On the contrary, we see what is found in the cradle of all society, the voluntary and conditional obedience of the nation to the Sovereign whom itself chooses and appoints. The Sultan, Imam, or Chalife, whichever be the title he assumes, is consequently neither the successor nor representative of the Prophet, as is so frequently asserted . This idea did not even enter the minds of the first Chalifes, on the contrary, Ebu-Bekir, when he recited public prayers after the death of Muhammad, would not even mount into the pulpit, according to the custom of the Celestial Messenger, but stood a step lower. Omar and Osman did precisely the same. This truth is, however, plainly shown by the statement of the rights and attributes of the Sovereign power ; for instance : " The Imam has the right and the authority to watch over the observation of the precepts of the law, the execution of the legal punishments, the defence of the frontier, the raising of troops, the receipt of the public taxes, the repression of rebels and brigands, the celebration of public prayer on Fridays, and the feasts of Beïram, the settlement of differences which occur among the 62 THE POLITICAL POWER. subjects, the admission of proofs in law-suits, the marriage of minors of both sexes, who have no natural guardians, and the division of the booty. " The Imam must be visible ; he must not hide himselffrom the sight of the public. The Imam must be a descendant of the Koreïchites, but his birth need not be restricted to the branch of Haschem or that of Ali. It is sufficient if he is not of another race. The dignity of the Imamal does not absolutely require that the Imam should be just, virtuous, irreproachable, nor that he should be the most eminent and the most excellent of the beings of his time ; but rather that he should possess the requisite qualities for a perfect and absolute guardianship, with the necessary talents and capacity to compel the observation of the precepts of the law, to defend the Mussulman frontier, and sustain the oppressed against the oppressor." The law itself is only a commentary and explanation of the above passage. "The Supreme head of the Mussulmans must profess the doctrines of the Koran, have attained his majority, be sound in mind, of free condition, and of the masculine sex . He is the depository of the sacred code, and the keeper of the canonical laws. He presides over public prayers on Fridays, and at the two feasts of the Beïram. Entrusted with the general guardianship of the faithful, he alone has the right of appointing public officers, of administering the finances, commanding the armies, making peace and war, watching over the THE POLITICAL POWER. 63 safety of the State, and maintaining public order, -in a word, of governing the Empire. "The person of the Sultan is sacred and inviolable ; his supreme magistracy, his absolute superiority over the whole social body, place him above the penal laws, and, consequently, irresponsible for his actions . He must not, however, attempt the least innovation in any part of the canonical legislation, the less so if, by its nature or its object, it tends to alter the condition of the nation, of the servants of God confided to his care and protection. " In addition to this, the code contains the institution of the Salique law, in accordance with the very words of the Prophet :-"There is no felicity, no salvation for a people governed by a woman ; " with this distinction, that the sceptre, in lieu of descending in a direct line from father to son, has devolved on the last surviving male of the Imperial family. This law, instituted to prevent the dangers of a minority, has been faithfully followed up to the present time by the ruling Ottoman family, with only one or two exceptions. In default of heirs male of this line, the Sultan ought to be chosen from the family of the ancient Khans of the Crimea, who are descended from the same stock. But it is impossible to calculate the political consequences were such an event to happen, and it might be apprehended that the extinction of the dynasty of Osman would bring about the immediate dissolution of the empire. 64 THE POLITICAL POWER. The Sovereign, in Islamism, therefore, commands the armies, distributes justice, receives the imports, watches over the various branches of the administration-in short, he enjoys all the prerogatives attributed to the executive power in constitutional states. But this is all. It is true that he does alone all which it is his duty to do, and does not submit to the direct intervention of any foreign power in his administration, which is the only absolute, or, rather, exclusive view of his authority, and which may give rise to abuses of power. In addition, the law which he is bound to see executed, being reduced to a small number of the usual formulas, without any details relative to the form or mode of government, we must confess that he possesses a much greater latitude in this respect than the chief of a represented state acquires by virtue of a contract, in which the reciprocal privileges and duties of the governor and the governed, as well as the hierarchy of the various powers, have been regulated with the most minute care. But, apart from this, the Turkish Sovereign has not even the privilege of inviolability, which modern charters guarantee to the person of the Monarch. He is only inviolable and sacred in this sense, that no punishment can be inflicted upon him judicially, but his deposition would be consistent with law and religion . History will shew us that this is not a vain theory. Of seventy-two Chalifes, reputed legitimate and autocratic, from Ebu Bekir THE POLITICAL POWER. 65 to Muhammad II, a third perished by the dagger or by poison ; a few had their eyes put out, or perished in perpetual imprisonment. The Ottoman Sultans were more fortunate, for only two were put to death. But how many were deposed and imprisoned? It follows hence that the government in Turkey has more affinity in its nature to the monarchy, which Montesquieu defined " as the government of one man by virtue of fixed and settled laws, " instead of what is generally understood by despotism—that is to say, a government where one man, without law or rule, commands all according to his vanity and caprice. Not only does the law exist in Turkey, but it is the supreme and sole authority. The Sovereign governs through it and in its name ; and the power he has at his command was conferred, not that he should use it according to his caprice, but in order to guard the interests of the community of which he is the head. Thus the Sovereign in Turkey is only the first servant of the law, and all his attributes consist in preventing any one from assailing it, from himself downwards. Nor does this consist in any exclusive prerogative, or a right confined to the person of the Sultan : the celebrated axiom uttered by the Prophet himself— "Oppose any violation of the law, " confers the same right on the meanest of his subjects, and places the law, or, as we may term it, the constitution in Turkey, under the individual protection of all the citizens . VOL. II. F 66 THE POLITICAL POWER. At the present time the Sultan, who receives a fixed civil list of 13,000 purses ( 57,500l. ) per mensem, possesses nothing of his own. Even his private treasury, although quite distinct from that of the state, and composed of sums amassed and precious objects left by his predecessors, bears the name of Beitil mal ul Muslimim, or administration of the property of the Mussulmans. When called as witness before the Cadi, he must remain standing, or if he infringes the custom by seating himself, the other witnesses have also the right to seat themselves. The example of a Grand Mufti, Mevla Fanaci, is even quoted, who refused to receive the deposition of Sultan Murad I, because the law rejected the testimony of every Mussulman who was not present at the public prayers on Friday. But to quit the past and revert to the present, or rather the future, in which a new era for Turkey will arrive. If we remember that Turkey is the home of tradition ; that opinion rules with supreme power there ; that nothing can be established or offer a prospect of permanency, unless it has some affinity with what has preceded it ; that it is necessary to appeal to the law, even in modifying it ; we shall perceive that a study of the past is absolutely necessary for a proper comprehension of the present. In Turkey, political or social, the reform is only possible by its being based on the Koran and on tradition . At the first blush, the words, constitutional Monarchy and Repub- THE POLITICAL POWER. 67 lic, appear to the Osmanli devoid of sense, so deeply rooted in his mind is the idea of the unity of power. Even if you try to explain to him the maxim that the King reigns, but does not govern, he will indubitably regard this distinction as impious, and as injurious to his Padishah, for him whom he always terms the shadow of God. But go further ; -prove to him by quotations from the Koran, by the example of the four first Chalifes, and by the testimony derived from his own history, that the government established by Muhammad is, in reality, one in which the sovereign only reigns, while the law governs, and he will agree with you that this government is in reality the better one, that there is no need of any other, and he will willingly lend his hand to aid your attempts in substituting new institutions for those existing-not because they are new, but, on the contrary, because they approximate to the primitive institutions established by the founder. And he will do this the more willingly when he sees the initiative taken by the head of the State, and, above all, success , which Sultan Mahmud wanted, and which the Osmanli always regards as the judgment of God, legitimising the work of the reformers. F 2 68 THE MUHAMMADAN CREED. THE MUHAMMADAN CREED. IT has been often said that Turkey will perish. through the Koran. It will perish like every society which is based on an immutable principle ; for nothing human endures save that which is accessible to those modifications which are necessary to meet the spirit ofthe age. The imprint of divinity and eternity with which Islamism stamped all its institutions is that which is best adapted to accelerate its ruin. Every innovator in Turkey is an impious wretch who rises in rebellion to this Deity ; the Christian religion suffers for the essential requirements of civilization, because it allows the separation of religion and state, and because, in the religion itself, there is that external discipline of the church, which varies with the progress of mankind. In Islamism, on the contrary, where these two things are confounded, one cannot be touched without assailing the other. This is the fatal connexion, in ` consequence of which every attempt at reform in the THE MUHAMMADAN CREED. 69 political system is necessarily a failure, or results in a very different manner from what was anticipated. These objections deserve serious examination. Is this, in truth, the principle of the doctrines of the Koran? Does it repel all progress, all amelioration in the progress of society ? And again, allowing that the polygamy, intolerance, and fatalism for which the Turks have been so much blamed, exist as universally as is supposed, are they vital principles of the religion, in such wise that their maintenance is necessary for the preservation of the Faith, or are they simple prejudices, entirely independent of the creed, if not in direct opposition to it, and which will disappear simultaneously with the ignorance to which they owe their birth . In order to resolve this question, on which the future success of Turkish reform depends, it is requisite to refer to the principles of the Koran, and to examine the constitution of the religious society in Turkey. The Koran, regarded as a creed, after abstracting the political idea which governs it, constitutes a philosophy rather than a religion: In fact, the fiftyeight precepts enuciated in the abridgement of Omar Nessefi, which serves as a catechism in the public schools, and which are, as it were, the soul and essence of Islamism, may be reduced to one article of faith which contains all the others, namely-the unity of the Deity. The Mussulmans, it is true, add their belief in the 70 THE MUHAMMADAN CREED. mission of Muhammad as the prophet of God, in accordance with the usual formula proclaimed five times a day from the minarets, and which is justly regarded as the Mussulman profession of faith : "There is no God save God, and Muhammad is the Prophet of God. "* But the doctrine of inspiration may be diffused philosophically, while the revelation, on which the religion of Moses is based, or the incarnation, the keystone of Christianity, through their superiority over human reason, remain in the sphere of theology. " It is not given to man," says the Koran, "that God addresseth His words to ; if he doeth so, it is by inspiration ( Kavul Allah, the voice of God) , or from behind a veil. " As regards the Divine Mission of the Prophet, it is founded upon a text of Muhammad's. " To him who acts in accordance with what he knoweth, God giveth the inheritance of that which he knoweth not. " But this gift does not go so far as to confer on the Prophet any superhuman character, as he himself clearly explains in the following passage : " Though Muhammad was only the son of one of your Males, still, sent by God, seal of all the Prophets. " This expression " the seal " (Khalim) is worth notice. Muhammad is the seal which has closed the list of Prophets whom God sent upon the earth at

• La ilahe ill Allah vè Muhammad resoul Allah.

THE MUHAMMADAN CREED. 71 various times to maintain or re-establish the true Faith. In consequence of this he is the Prophet, greater than his predecessors, Moses, David, and our Saviour, just as the Koran is superior to the Pentateuch, the Psalms, and the Gospel. The Turks, indeed, recognise the fundamental truths and eminent persons of our Scriptures. They acknowledge two Prophets, Moses and Christ ; but the Comforter, promised by the latter, they suppose to be Muhammad. Nothwithstanding, therefore, the coincidences between them and the Jews in many particulars, they do not hold the Jewish proselytes to be sincere converts, unless, in acknowledging a faith in Muhammad, they believe in Jesus also. We may, therefore, assume that the Turks regard the Mosaic and Christian dispensations, not as different religions ( for just as there is only one God, so there has never been but one true doctrine upon the earth), but as successive transformations of the same religion, emanating one from the other, and each of which designates a new step in advance on the part of the world. There are, then, only two great rules of Faith among the Osmanli -namely, the unity of the Deity, and the Divine Mission of Muhammad ; to these we may add four others also of absolute importance, though not regarded as vital points. I. The observance of the feast of Ramazan. II. The practice of the five prayers and ablutions. 72 THE MUHAMMADAN CREED. III. The application of two and a half per cent. alms of property to the poor. IV. The performance of the pilgrimage to Mecca. Their posThe five prayers are to be repeated daily : one before sunrise, one at the dawn, one at noon, one at four in the afternoon, and one at sunset. ture during prayer is erect, with their arms folded over their breasts, and apparently in serious contemplation of the duty they are performing. Their faces are turned to the East ; nothing is heard but a short ejaculation, as they place themselves cross - legged on the ground, and then salute the ground with their foreheads ; this prostration occurs nine times. Next to prayer, fasting is a most important duty in Islamism. Their great fast is in the month of Ramazan, for it was then that Muhammad published the Koran, which he had received from heaven ; and hence it is always commemorated by a solemn fast, which lasts during the whole of its continuance ; and lest any part of it should be profaned, certain persons are set to watch the moment when it is to commence and terminate. The most important station for the purpose is the summit of the principal mosque at Brusa ; but as the Turks have not yet adopted telegraphic communications, others are placed in elevated situations at Constantinople and different towns. The Turkish months are lunar, and the commencement is ascertained by the appearance of the new THE MUHAMMADAN CREED. 73 moon. When, therefore, the moon Chaban disappears, the watchmen take their stand, and anxiously look out for a glimpse of the moon Ramazan, and the first who catches it runs off to the next mosque to announce it . It is then published through the city, and the period of abstinence commences. The sunset of the dayis announced by an explosion of cannon, at the sound of which a general illumination bursts from the minarets and the rigging of the shipping, so that the whole surface of land and sea, as far as the eye can reach, is one glow of artificial light. The restraint which a Turk imposes on himself is not like that of a Christian on such occasions, interdicting a particular kind of food, and indulging in others. It is a total abstinence from all refreshment of the body, even that of water, and this is sometimes a privation so severe that nature almost sinks under it. The Koran directs that the fast shall commence in the morning, as soon as a black thread can be distinguished from a white, and the fast is considered broken if they let anything enter their body, smell perfumes, inhale tobacco smoke, swallow their saliva, or even open their mouths to speak, and so inhale the air. The Turkish year consists of 354 days, divided into 12 lunar months, having alternately 29 and 30 days. Now, as this year is eleven days shorter than the solar, and their months have no connection with the seasons, they pass through them all in succession, and the same month sometimes falls 74 THE MUHAMMADAN CREED. in winter, and sometimes in summer. When the Ramazan occurs in the latter, it is extremely distressing. The fast is from sunrise to sunset, and porters are seen reeking under heavy burdens, beneath a burning sun, and abstaining even from a drop of water to moisten their parched lips . There is something exceedingly interesting and affecting in the silent and quiet endurance of a Turk, and an active benevolence is often mixed up with his passive piety. He thinks he may redeem a fast of three days by feeding during the same period six poor people. The next qualification required of a religious Turk is alms-giving, according to the Muhammadan precept, that " prayers conduct half-way to heaven, fasting brings him to the gate, but alms alone can procure entrance." The Koran says that what a man covetously reserves for himself shall be bound like a cord, or twisted like a serpent round his neck, at the great day of resurrection . The persons to whom they think themselves bound by their religion to give alms are the needy, those reconciled to Muhammadanism, the redeemers of captives, the insolvent debtor, and the traveller ; on all these they exercise their charity. A Turkish beggar is seldom met in the streets, but there are crowds of needy round the mosques, to whom the congregation, as they enter or come out after service, give liberal alms. The last ceremony which a Turk considers an incumbent religious duty is a journey to Mecca. This THE MUHAMMADAN CREED. 75 is enjoined by the Koran to every man whose means enable him, and even women are not exempt. They assemble from all parts at certain places near Mecca ; put on there the Ihrâm or sacred dress, and while clad in it they are enjoined not to deprive any animal of life. When the pilgrimage is performed, the person is called a Hadji, and looked up to with great respect. * The pilgrimage to Mecca was not only intended by Muhammad to collect the scattered members of the great Mussulman family, but was especially instituted to remind the faithful of the equality which must exist between the disciples of the same faith. A similar idea prevailed in the establishment of the Ramazan. This season of voluntary abstinence, observed so strictly by all Mussulmans, and which establishes a momentary equality between the rich and the poor, was solely instituted to keep in viewthe great principle on which Muhammad had based his code. In the same way, if we enter a mosque, we find no vain ornaments to distract the faithful from prayer ; a few verses of the Koran painted on the walls, two chairs and hassocks for the faithful—such are all the decorations. No pulpits, no seats of honour -nothing but the men praying, whose piety nothing

• For a portion of these details referring to the religious observances of the Turks, we are indebted to Walsh's Residence in

Constantinople. ' 76 THE MUHAMMADAN CREED. disturbs. If the Sultan accidentally enters the mosque, he takes the first vacant seat ; the beggar next to whom he stands does not even turn to regard him. No collections-no alms-boxes for the support of the poor, or the maintenance of the mosque. The mosque is the house of prayer and of God. It would be a profanation to attend to any human interest or earthly feeling within it. But charity does not lose its rights. On leaving the temple, there are the cells of the needy students, the alms- houses for the poor and travellers, the hospitals for the sick and infirm. The Mussulman gladly recals his thoughts from heaven to earth, and remembering the maxim of the Koran, that " the best man is he who renders himself useful to his fellow men, " he seeks everywhere for misfortunes to console and evils to cure. Poverty, physical or mental imperfections, never engender contempt in Turkey. Hence the weak, the insane, or the idiots are everywhere found the objects of the most touching care. It is in vain to seek in Turkey for a trace of those prejudices so common in European society. For instance, the punishment never outlives the expiation . The son of a culprit never blushes for his parent. On the contrary, he carves on his tomb the instrument by which he has been executed. Thus, in the great burial- ground at Pera, and the Turkish cemeteries at Stamboul and Scutari, tombs may be seen on which are depicted men THE MUHAMMADAN CREED. 77 hanging, others with their heads cut off, with an inscription recording the date and the cause of the accident. We think the above considerations are sufficient to show that the objections to which we referred at the commencement of this chapter are not borne out by the religious system of the Turks. A doctrine which, as Lamartine says, is only resignation to God, and charity towards man, cannot be regarded as hostile to civilisation and progress. It is not the Koran which is opposed to reform, but the religious body which has contrived to establish itself in Turkey, in contempt of the Koran.

TURKISH LEGISLATURE.

THE LEGISLATURE. 81 THE LEGISLATURE. THE Ottoman legislature is divided into two great branches : the theocratic ( Jariat) , and the political, law (Kanoun) . The name of Kanoun is pre- eminently given to the code promulgated by Suliman I. This code is composed of five parts or titles. The first, Kanoun defter, containing the laws referring to the finances ; the second, Kanoun djeraïm, to crimes and their punishment ; the third, Kanoun sefer, to military discipline ; the fourth, Kanoun timar, to the military fiefs ; and the fifth, Kanoun techrefat, to the ceremonial of the Ottoman Court. The different regulations of this code, which have formed in some measure the constitution of the empire, were maintained with more or less scrupulousness by the successors of Suliman, up to the time of the Tanzimat, which is destined to gradually take the place of the old administrative system. The Tanzimat is derived from the same principle as the Kanoun nami, that is, VOL. II. G 82 THE LEGISLATURE. from the right with which the Sovereign is invested of filling up, at his good pleasure, the omissions in the Jariat. The Jariat is derived from four sources : 1. The Koran, where may be found, by the side of important omissions, more or less precise arrangements on the subject of paternal authority, wills, contracts, &c. 2. The Sunna or tradition, formed by collecting the hadis, and referring to all the words, precepts, and oral laws of the Prophet, to his acts, his customs, even to the silence which he maintained on various subjects, which on that account became legitimate, or at least tacitly permitted, as the use of tobacco, opium, &c. Although considered to be the inspiration of the deity, the hadis are not obligatory like the Koran, from the fact that all not being equally proved, they do not possess the same theological value. They form six collections, or books, called the "six revered books. " The first is the collection of Bukhari, considered as the most important book after the Koran, and which is consequently called Bukhari the sacred. 3. The idjima y-ummet, which contains the explanations, glossaries, and legal decisions of the four first Khalifes. 4. The Kyas, or collection of the juridical decisions given by the four great Imams in the first three centuries of the Hegira up to the collection of the Fetvas. In case of a divergence of opinion the diploma of the Sultan, which invests the Mullahs and Kadis with their judicial powers, THE LEGISLATURE. 83 formally bids them to follow the opinion of EbuHanifi, as having been adopted by the majority of the Mussulman states under the Khalifate of the Abassides. The second compilation which, since the time of Suleiman, possesses entire authority through the empire under the emphatic title of the Multequa- ulUbhur (the junction of the two seas), is the work of the sage Ibrahim Halebi, a native of Aleppo, who died at Constantinople in 1549. The author collected in it all the decrees, since the foundation of Muhammadanism, on the different branches of jurisprudence and theology, emanating from the doctors of the law, his predecessors. Dogma, morality, civil and political law-were all regulated in an unchangeable manner, so as to render any future glossary or interpretation unnecessary. The Multequa was originally written in Arabic : afterwards translated into Turkish, in the reigns of Ibrahim I, and Muhammad IV, and was remodelled by order of the Porte in 1824, and formed an immense compilation, in two folio volumes. The matters discussed in the Multequa form altogether, eight codes, which may be arranged as follows : 1. The religious code contains a great number of books, in which the most essential customs and obligations of religion and morality are enumerated. These are, in the first instance, the five regulations, concerning propitiation, prayer, alms, fasting, and G 2 84 THE LEGISLATURE. pilgrimages. Then comes the moral portion, divided into four books, which discuss labour, the moral virtues, such as charity, honesty, modesty, abstinence from gambling, the observation of oaths, &c.: dress, food and beverages, whose nature and condition the law sedulously determines. The political code is divided into four books, which discuss the privileges and duties of the sovereign, as well as the conditions of the sovereignty, the fiscal laws, and those relative to tributary subjects and strangers. The military code forms a book called Sier, a word generally signifying, the path to be followed, and in jurisprudence more particularly, the path to be pursued by the Mussulmans in their relations with infidels and Muhammadan rebels.

The [[Koran[[ divides the earth into two great parts : the country or abode of Islamism; and the country or abode of War. The latter is the country subjected to the authority and laws of the infidels, either by birth or renegades. Both are known by the name of Harbi. Hence the continual and permanent state of war between the Mussulmans and the Harbis. This war is the Holy War (Djihad), founded on the text of the Koran: " Fight them until there is no unbelief left, and the true religion alone survives," and several others. It might be assumed from this, that the command given by the Koran to all Mussulmans of conbating the infidels until they profess the dogma of the unity of the Deity, would implicitly contain the principle of a war of aggression. Still, Mussulman doctors differ in their opinions on this subject. The djihad is obligatory to all Mussulmans, but this obligation is of two sorts. The djihad may be modified, suspended, or annulled by various circumstances, especially by treaties and by the Aman. The nations who have treaties with the Mussulmans do not, on that account, cease to be harbis ; still, as the war is suspended, the country they inhabit receives another name, that of daru-l-muvadea, that is, the country of the treaty or mutual engagements. The aman is the guarantee of safety granted to infidels both for their persons and their property . It effects the complete and immediate suspension of the djihad, and confers on the blood of the harbis, during the whole of its duration, an appreciable value, which it did not till then possess.

Independently of this djihad, there is another, a moral djihad, not less meritorious and commendable than the former, even superior, since it has received the name of the Great War : it is that which has recourse to persuasion rather than force, in effecting the conversion of the infidels . Every action, every word, having for object the confirmation or propagation of the true Faith, is Djihad. " Hence the two professions specially recommended and honoured among the Mussulman nation are those of arms and the law, both striving for the same object, but by different roads . 86 THE SLAVERY LAWS. THE SLAVERY LAWS. THE Civil code of the Ottomans forms seven books, which successively treat of slavery and liberations, of marriage, repudiation and divorce, of testaments and succession, and of property. Originally slaves were a portion of the legal booty (Ganimèt) obtained through the Djihad. The Ganimèt, in this sense, extended not only to prisoners taken on the field of battle, but to all the inhabitants of the district, as soon as the latter had refused to accept one or the other of the conditions offered them, conversion to Islamism, or the payment of the Kharadjh. Eventually commerce with foreign nations introduced a new class of slaves, whose sale was considered perfectly legal. Some were derived from Abyssinia, and the negro countries bordering the states of Barbary : the others came from Georgia and Armenia, and were renowned for their beauty and purity of race. In addition to these, all children THE SLAVERY LAWS. 87 born of slaves, white or black, whose parents have not been enfranchised, or who are the issue of female slaves by unknown fathers, or by men not entitled to manumit the mothers, that is by any other man than the proprietor, are unconditional slaves. In the event also of the female being the joint property of husband and wife, or mother and son, the power of manumission does not rest with the man alone : thus, unless the mother or wife consent, the child is regarded as a slave. But when the child's father is a freeman, having the right to liberate, or when he has received permission from his co- proprietor to hold commerce with the slave, then the child's freedom is absolute. The number of slaves is gradually diminishing in Turkey. In the first place, war provides none. As for those imported from foreign countries, they annually become rarer, either in consequence of a change in the manners of the Turks, or through the obstacles the government raises against the sale. Thus, for instance, an Imperial decree, issued at the close of 1847, ordered the slave- market to be closed, and this disgraceful traffic, which was formerly openly carried on, has now become a clandestine operation, only enjoying the tolerance of the law, and which is gradually dying away. The number of slaves entered on the lists of the Stamboul- Effendi does not exceed 52,000, of whom 47,000 are female slaves, white and black, which gives an average. of 88 THE SLAVERY LAWS. 12 per cent. on the population, after deducting the non-Mussulman subjects and strangers. The average price of strong newly- imported slaves is as low as 1,500 piastres, and never exceeds 2,500. The ordinary price for second- hand slaves, clean, healthy, and well-instructed, averages from 2,500 to 3,000 and never exceeds 5,000 . White women, when young and without defects, average from 10 to 15,000 piastres . The maximum was 45,000 ; but this is rare, and only in cases of great beauty and extraordinary accomplishments. Slaves brought from Egypt- that is, the blacks of Sennaar and the higher regions are not so valued as those imported via Tripoli. The duties of slaves are all within doors, and domestic. The master does not demand more from them than from the other servants of the house, with whom they are mixed up. Attached to his person, or to that of his wives, they usually live in the selamlek or the harem, and enjoy the same sedentary and lazy life as their patrons. As for the eunuchs, to whose charge the harem was formerly intrusted, they now only exist in the Royal Palace, where they are divided into four chambers ( odas) , under the supreme command ofthe Kislar Aghassi, or Chiefof the Maidens. This officer formerly ranked very high, and in his quality of inspector and administrator of the holy cities, took precedence after the Grand Vizir, Sheikh ul Islam, and Capudan Pacha. He was chief comp- THE SLAVERY LAWS. 89 All men, troller ofthe Imperial household, domains, and vakufs : the confidential counsellor of the Sultan, the keeper of his purse and almost of his person. from the Grand Vizir to the youngest clerk at the Porte, courted and feared him. In short, he may be said to have governed the empire. Thus, upon many occasions of revolt, the discontented Janissaries directed their principal fury against these men. When Muhammad II freed himself from the thraldom of the Janissaries, he also shook off the trammels of these functionaries. The Buyuk Agha was stripped of all political power, and, although he was permitted to retain the nominal inspectorship of the holy city and domains, he was shorn of all real influence and limited to the mere superintendence of the harem. By the code, which regulates the right of masters over slaves, it will be seen that the condition of slavery in Turkey is far superior to that which obtained in ancient Rome. The Mussulman law recognizes in the slave a human being, interposes at each moment of his existence to preserve and defend him, and considering him rather as belonging to a species than as private property, reserves for him the power of recovering his liberty by several methods, either by furnishing him means of purchasing himself, by his own labour, or by suggesting to his patron every imaginable method of enfranchisement. In this way it has established different conditions of slavery, which are so many steps leading from bondage to freedom. 90 THE SLAVERY LAWS. The Multequa distinguishes the state of absolute and unconditional slavery ( Kyoolelik), the mezoul, the mukiatèb, the mudebbir, the mudebberì-mukiatìb, and, lastly, the ummul velid. The first condition is rigorous slavery, and bears the greatest resemblance to that obtaining among the ancients. The slaves called Mezeoun, arethose who have received from their masters, permission to set up in business, or work on their own account. They may buy, sell, acquire and enjoy property. They may purchase slaves, and in dealing with their masters, may compel the latter to pay debts for goods furnished, or money lent. They are responsible for their own acts and debts, and may be seized and sold to repay one or the other. But they cannot realize either money or chattels without their master's consent, until they die. Even in that case, if they happen to die intestate, or without issue, the master is their legal heir. Their children are likewise their masters' property, supposing their father dies without being manumitted but as a set off, these children are also Meezoun. The Mukiatibs are slaves who have received a Kitabèt or contract. Their freedom is made to depend upon their performance of certain conditions agreed on with their masters, such as the payment of stipulated sums of money, the performance of some given task, the execution of any hazardous enter- THE SLAVERY LAWS. 91 prize, and so forth-always providing that such services are not contrary to law, in whieh case the contract becomes void. This is enacted in order to prevent masters from inciting their slaves to commit crimes under the promise of liberty. Until the stipulations are fulfilled by the holders of contracts, they enjoy its privileges, with the addition that they cannot be sold, lent, or let out to work. They likewise receive permission to travel for purposes of trade or pleasure. They can purchase slaves, and grant them the same advantages enjoyed by themselves, and, the moment the slaves accomplish their engagement, no matter how soon, they are unconditionally free. the other hand, should they fail in fulfilling the conditions within the appointed period, their contract becomes void, and they relapse into unconditional slavery. On The Mudebbirs are slaves whom their masters have freed by a deed called Tebbir, which represents some future period. For instance : if the master returns from a voyage, or, in case of his death, this tebbir, delivered to the slave, and registered at the office of the Judge of the quarter, cannot be cancelled even by mutual consent. When these contracts are made the slave thus declared " privileged to act conditionally," obtains no immediate advantages or civil rights ; he may be sold, hired out, or lent. But here the tebbir produces its effect, for the deed remains valid, and, consequently, although the slave be sold and 92 THE SLAVERY LAWS. become the property of another, his liberty is insured the moment the stipulated contingency takes place. The Mudebberì Mukiatìb are those slaves who have obtained both a kitabèt and a tebbir, and enjoy the advantages of both conditions. The Ummul Vèlid is a class composed entirely of females, whose children have been adopted or acknowledged by proprietors. The mothers are then called ummul vèlid (mothers of children) , and are divided into different sections, according to the degrees of paternal responsibility. For instance : if a slave becomes pregnant by the master's father she is the ummel vèlid of the former, who is held responsible for her maintenance. But if the master's son be the parent, the charge of maintenance rests with the former, that is, where father and son are joint proprietors. In the first case, the female becomes unconditionally free, and, at the death of the father, the child is the legitimate heir of the deceased. In the second, the child is equally legitimate, but the mother's de jure manumission is prospective, unless legally acknowledged by the survivor. Until this acknowledgment takes place the civil condition of the ummul vèlid differs little from that of unconditional slaves, save that they cannot be sold or alienated in any way. It may be laid down as a general rule that the moment a female slave becomes pregnant, she becomes entitled to all the privileges of an ummel vèlid, and should force, accident, or the visitation of THE SLAVERY LAWS. 93 Providence prevent maturity, her title is not vitiated. This class is, therefore, the most general in Constantinople, and though the law does not recognize the woman's freedom at once, social practice awards to her all the privileges. * The The law, which distinguishes these six conditions of slavery, has regulated with the most extreme care all the immunities attaching to each ; but, even in the first class, it does not go so far as to pronounce the master's absolute right over the slave. slave belongs to him ; he may dispose of him, sell or give him away, but he cannot put him to death. He cannot either ill-treat him, or beat him unjustly, or give him work above his strength, or refuse him food and necessary clothing : if he does so, the slave has a right to lodge a complaint with the Cadi. The deposition of a slave is received by the Courts : he may marry, even without his master's consent ; but the latter has the right to annul the marriage. The absolute enfranchisement ( Itk ) of the slave, is the result of different degrees in the social scale above described, or is spontaneously effected by the will of the master. The enfranchisement of a female pregnant slave naturally entails that of the infant she bears. Such are the principal arrangements of the Mul-

• For a portion of the above details on the condition of the slaves

in Turkey we are indebted to Mr White's excellent work, " Three Years in Constantinople. 94 THE SLAVERY LAWS. tequa, with reference to slaves. It will be seen from our sketch, that slavery as it exists in Turkey, loses almost all its severity. Slaves, generally speaking, are more happy, better treated, and less subject to the accidents and changes of life, than the free servants in Turkey, and superior in this regard to the general class of domestics in Europe. At any rate, they may be regarded as enjoying absolute felicity, if we compare their condition with that of the negroes in Christian countries. Male slaves are rarely retained in bondage more than seven or nine years, unless when purchased in infancy, or born in slavery. Exceptions occur, but are declared reprehensible in a religious sense. The great majority of masters liberate their slaves at the specified time. If they are well- conducted, they are recommended as in or out- door servants. If they have learned a trade, their master either employs them as shopmen or journeymen, or else places them with other masters, where their success depends upon their industry, but when liberated, they mostly prefer serving as domestics to working at sedentary trades, or those requiring strong exertion . Sometimes, indeed very frequently, the slave refuses the liberty which is offered as the recompense of his services. He then continues to reside in the house when aged, he is freed from any labour, and considered to form one of the family, while his sole

occupation consists in taking the children out for an THE SLAVERY LAWS. 95 airing, or playing with them under the endearing name of baba (father) . The slave who has thus refused the benefits of manumission, takes the name of Azadjiz-Keuli. The celebrated Hussein Pasha, who was raised to the rank of Grand Admiral by the friendship of his master Selim III, never called himself by any other title in his letters. These views of slavery in Turkey are fully borne out by an old writer* on that country, and we may be permitted to quote the following extract in confirmation of our opinion. "From the above details, it will be seen that we should have a false idea of slavery among the Turks and Persians, were we to judge of it from that which used to prevail in European colonies, and above all from the accounts we have received of the unfortunate captives on the coast of Barbary, who were subjected to cruel treatment, and even tormented in a thousand ways, in order to oblige them to embrace the Mussulman religion. In Turkey and in Persia, slaves of both sexes, commonly purchased before they are a at period of puberty, are brought up in the religion of Muhammad, and treated with the same kindness and almost with the same respect as the sons of the family. It seldom happens that the Turk sells a slave again with whom he is dissatisfied, he contents himself with threatening him, and even punishing him, as he would punish a son. After ser-

• Voyage en Turquie, par G. A. Olivier, Paris , 1800.

98 THE SLAVERY LAWS . повторі о подрипавет STATIO AMRO MON ) BIZJOJE T * SOURIS i Barvary : the ierived from parer Ano 3. ApprenIDAS minor some -out pront & MOL SSPE JO SPAMS TASOITAL SRA -ISUO ATIO AJPA Kharadjh. adapny are SE TODS SE pe past of to du suorme padajo Frang : MOISICARIO OF , insunES " at eye quamard to , ay THE civil code of the Ottomans forms seven books, which successively treat of slavery and liberations, or marriage, repudiation and livoree, of testaments and succession, and or property. Originally slaves were a portion or the legal booty (Ganimet) Stained through the Djihad. The Gataken in the field of battle, but to all the inhabitants si sua para go I THE SLAVERY LAWS. THE SLAVERY LAWS. 87 born of slaves, white or black, whose parents have not been enfranchised, or who are the issue of female slaves by unknown fathers, or by men not entitled to manumit the mothers, that is by any other man than the proprietor, are unconditional slaves. In the event also of the female being the joint property of husband and wife, or mother and son, the power of manumission does not rest with the man alone : thus, unless the mother or wife consent, the child is regarded as a slave. But when the child's father is a freeman, having the right to liberate, or when he has received permission from his co-proprietor to hold commerce with the slave, then the child's freedom is absolute. The number of slaves is gradually diminishing in Turkey. In the first place, war provides none. As for those imported from foreign countries, they annually become rarer, either in consequence of a change in the manners of the Turks, or through the obstacles the government raises against the sale. Thus, for instance, an Imperial decree, issued at the close of 1847, ordered the slave- market to be closed, and this disgraceful traffic, which was formerly openly carried on, has now become a clandestine operation, only enjoying the tolerance of the law, and which is gradually dying away. The number of slaves entered on the lists of the Stamboul- Effendi does not exceed 52,000, of whom 47,000 are female slaves, white and black, which gives an average of 96 THE SLAVERY LAWS. vitude more or less long, according as this Mussulman is a more or less exact observer of the precepts of Muhammad, who fixes the period of slavery at nine years, he gives him his liberty and marries him : almost always at the death of the master his slaves become free, when he may have been able to dictate a will, or because the heirs consider it a duty to follow his intention in this respect. "When a master is a man of weight, and attaches himself to any of his slaves, he neglects nothing for their education and advancement. For that purpose he employs his interest and his fortune in the same way as he would do for his own son : and it must be confessed that, in general, these slaves are more attached to their masters and serve them better, whether in their houses or in battle, than their own servants. " No one is ignorant that, in Turkey, the art of pleasing a master-intelligence, boldness, and lastly money, lead to everything, and carry a man rapidly to the first employments. Most of the Pashas and great men of the empire, raised by fortune and intrigue, from the rank of slave or that of a simple private person to the one they occupy, are for the Turks an ever active incentive, which animates and encourages them. In all administrative and military places talents are held in no estimation, they are almost always useless and even frequently dangerous. " The prejudices of Europe, in regard to birth, not being known in the Levant, most of the Turks THE LAWS OF SLAVERY. 97 VOL. II. marry without difficulty their slaves, or give them in marriage to their sons. In like manner they give without repugnance their daughters in marriage to the male slaves with whom they are pleased, they grant them their freedom, and procure them offices or employments, or else give them money to undertake a trade or exercise a profession." H 98 THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. THE Multequa code, in its regulations concerning marriage, is only the application and development of the precepts contained in the Koran. In fact, marriage is a divine precept : the care with which the sacred book regulates all relative to the contract, to the state of the married woman, to her dower, to the degrees of prohibition in marriage, proves that Muhammad took more care of the lot of females than we are generally disposed to attribute to him. The other portions of the law refer to THE CONDITIONS AND FORM OF MARRIAGE. These conditions are not numerous, and are reduced to the declaration of mutual consent in the presence of the magistrate, and the contracting parties being of sound mind and of age. The legal period of attaining majority is fixed at eighteen for men, and seventeen for women. II. THE EQUALITY OF THE veral wives by the husband. TREATMENT of the seThis equality, which THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. 99 allows no distinction of age, birth, fortune, or religion, must comprise everything, but particularly all that relates to food, lodging, dress, and conjugal duties. III. THE DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND towards his wives with reference to their maintenance. The husband is obliged to provide for the maintenance of his wives, in a manner proportioned to his condition, rank, and fortune. He must furnish them every month with the sum required for the expenses of the harem, and cannot compel any one of them to receive a child by another wife in the apartment reserved for her own use. The marital power of the husband over the wife only refers to the advantages and enjoyments resulting from his union with her, and constitutes a fictitious power, very different to the real power exercised over a slave by his master. Still, he has the right to forbid her going out without his express sanction, and of lodging her in such a house and district as he may think proper ; but he cannot force her to accompany him to another town, or on a journey, unless it be one of no longer duration than three days. He has the right to interdict any frequent communication. with her relatives of either sex, but he cannot refuse her permission to see her father and mother at least once a week, on Friday, and her other relations at least once a year, either at her own house, or at theirs, but only during the day. The law makes a distinction between repudiation H 2 100 THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. and divorce ; the former is an act reserved to the husband, who may break at his pleasure the conjugal bond. Buthe is bound only to make use of this prerogative from very grave motives. Even piety, or a desire to devote himself exclusively to a purely contemplative life, is not a sufficient excuse. The repudiation is not definitive until the expiration of the iddet, or term of three months, which the law has established, either to prove the physical condition of the wife, or to give the husband time for reflection . In this case he must return the dowry intact, or if he did not receive one, assure his wife an honourable maintenance. When the repudiation has been settled, the husband cannot take his wife back, until she has been married to another, and the latter has repudiated her in his turn. These institutions render instances of repudiation very rare in Turkey, and confine them also entirely to the single case of sterility on the part of the woman. A divorce (tefrik) takes place on the consent of both parties, or else upon the request of the wife for various causes ; among them apostacy on the part ofthe husband . On this subject we may be permitted to quote the very apposite remarks of one of our travellers in the East. * With respect to marriage, the Mussulman woman is especially favoured . The husband, instead of

• Spirit of the East,' by David Urquhart, Esq.

THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. 101 expecting a dowry, has to give one. She also receives a portion from her father, which goes to the husband, one-third being set aside for the use of the wife. Thus are husband and father mutually obliged to contribute to secure for the woman who becomes a wife an independence, over which neither are allowed to retain subsequent control ; although, by this co-partnership, the interest of both is kept alive, and combined in the object they are bound to cherish. The property of married women remains under their own control ; their husband cannot touch it, nor is it liable for their debts. The widow, in the partition at her husband's death, receives the third of the dowry given by her father, the whole of the dowry given by her husband, and from the fortune of her husband from a fourth to an eighth, according to the relationship of the remaining heirs. Any property that was hers before, or that may have fallen to her during her husband's lifetime, remains her own. As regards divorce, women have, by law, nearly equal facilities as their husbands in relieving themselves from ties which they do not cherish ; and practically, as regards the Turks, I should say that women (when of rank and fortune equal to their husbands ) do exercise that power more than the men, and hold it over their husbands as a check on polygamy. Men who are fearful of submitting themselves to this control, marry slaves, • 102 THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. or women much below themselves. Such cases are, of course, by no means common. n Barrenness, however, greatly changes the lot and position of women. The contempt in which it is held in public estimation, deprives of consideration a woman so situated . The Eastern's chief enjoyment is children ; a childless home is a curse ; a childless wife a disgrace ; a childless old age, a prospect of loneliness and contempt. A childless woman, therefore, loses her prerogatives ; and, however connected, she has to submit, without murmur, to the introduction of another wife into the harem, or makes a compromise with her husband, such as Sarah made with Abraham. Such is the general portion of women, as regards possessions and civil rights, in the eye of the Mussulman law. I have yet to notice that portion of the penal code which bears on the social position of women-the proof and punishment of infidelity. The basis of all Mussulman institutions, ideas, and customs, is the hearth, the home, that is, the harem— the one spot on earth which each man holds his own- secret and forbidden. It is his wife, in whose behalf this sanctuary is created, and exists only in her, and it is whithersoever she goeth. The honour of woman--the centre of this homestead, and constituting the chief element of Eastern society, must naturally be guarded by the severest penalties of the law, as of public opinion ; and it is so. The punish THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. 103 ment for adultery is death- not the death that is inflicted by a single and salaried executioner, but death at the hands of an indignant people- inflicted, not with the sword or the axe, instruments ennobled by association with national honour and glory, and with civil power and justice-but by a multitude, a rabble-her own sex-children-her relatives-her former playmates, who gather the stones from the wayside, to cast at the adultress. But while a doom, thus appalling, is pronounced, a doom, tragic and poetic-so illustrative of the scope and character of Eastern legislature, speaking to the imagination, rather than acting on the fears, of men, and effective by the character it creates, rather than by the restraint it imposes-while this doom is recorded against infidelity, it stands rather as the expression of public abhorrence, than as a law which is to be carried into execution. The testimony required is such as in scarcely any supposable case can be obtained ; and the punishment decreed against an unsuccessful accuser, such as effectually to deter from accusation. The annals of the Ottoman Empire record but a single instance of punishment for adultery, which occurred two centuries after the promulgation of the law; and whieh so aroused public indignation against the judge by whom it was pronounced, that he fell a victim himself to a similar fate to that he had awarded, inflicted upon him by popular vengeance ! 104 THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. In the East the women have not yet suspected that the method to preserve their bloom longer, and enjoy without interruption the fascinating pleasures of society, was to withdraw themselves from duties the most sacred, by delivering into the hands of a hireling the precious pledges of their marriage. They find the caresses of the infant that they nourish with their milk far more sweet, far more agreeable, than the smiles of a perfidious and corrupt world. If their mode of life is more simple, less tumultuous-if their pleasures are less costly, less striking, they are amply indemnified by the calm of the senses, by the peace of mind, by the health which they preserve, and by that which they transmit to their children. In the East, they are scarcely acquainted with the multitude of disorders occasioned by the dispersion of milk-those lacteous indurations and secretions which afflict so many European women, and carry them off in the flower of their age. If through any extraordinary cause a woman loses her milk, and finds herself obliged to have recourse to a strange nurse, she receives her into her house, and causes her to be treated with the same respect and the same attention as she herself receives. Whether Mussulman or Christian, it depends on this foster-mother never to abandon the infant she has fed with her milk, to continue towards it her maternal care, and to receive all her life, from it or from its parents, marks of the most lively gratitude . It depends on THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. 105 her, in a word, to be incorporated in the family, and to be then considered and respected as a second mother. Through a luxury advantageous to the indigent, from which, besides, no inconvenience results, most of the opulent mothers, in the intention of preserving their enbonpoint, of reposing more quietly during the night, and of giving a more abundant nourishment to their children, place about them a second nurse, charged with the more laborious functions ; for instance, to suckle them during the night, to amuse them and divert their attention during the day ; but the mother does not, on that account, think herself exempted from watching over the health of her child, from feeding it with her milk, providing for all the wants that it appears to have, and from bestowing on it all the care that its age and weakness require. The houses of the Mussulmans are arranged in such a way that the lodging of the women is always separated from that of the men ; the former is called harem, or sacred place, and the latter selamhek, or habitation of the man. At the houses of the great there are two piles of building, which communicate with each other by intermediate apartments, of which the husband alone possesses the key. Access to the harem is strictly forbidden to men ; the male servants and slaves never enter it, and the male relations themselves are never admitted, except it be on the two 106 THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. grand festivals of the year, and on the occasions of weddings, lyings- in, or circumcision. Commonly the harem has no windows towards the street, or if there be any, they are lofty, and grated in such a manner that it is impossible to see from without what is passing within. In the countries where every house has its terrace or flat roof, there are walls of separation which cannot be passed, and which prevent all communication, The wife of a certain rank when young goes very little from home, because it is not fashionable for her to appear in the streets, although veiled ; because the law exempts her from going to the mosque ; because she has in her own house baths which she uses at pleasure ; and because she is surrounded by female slaves who watch over her, and female relatives who counteract her inclinations for society if such exist. To please her husband, to detain him in the harem as long as his affairs permit, to take care of her children, to occupy herself with her dress and very little with her family, to pray at the hours prescribed by religion, and to pass a part of the day without doing anything, another in smoking, drinking coffee, receiving female friends, relations, or women under her protection such are the duties and pleasures of a Mussulman woman. She seldom can read, and scarcely ever write. She has learnt to sew and embroider, prepare comfits and dainties, and make sherbet ; but she finds it more pleasant to do nothing, THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. 107 to remain quiet on her sofa, and roll between her fingers a chaplet of coral or agate. She considers it a delightful enjoyment to hold from time to time a dish of coffee in one hand, a chibouque in the other, and to carry them alternately to her lips , at the same time inhaling the vapour of the one, and retaining as long as possible the aroma of the other. What afterwards gratifies her the most, is to have it in her power to display to the eyes of the women whom she receives some rich trinkets and a robe of great value. A Mussulman is very poor if he has not several slaves to wait on his wife, and the latter is very unskilful if she does not soon convert into trinkets the greater part of the husband's fortune. Besides, when a divorce takes place between a married couple, the wife keeps her jewels and her wardrobe, independently of the other effects stipulated in the contract of marriage. The wife takes her meals alone, or with the mother and the female relations of the husband, who are with her in the harem. He eats with his father and the male relations who live with him, and when he is alone, or causes himself to be served in the haremwhich frequently happens-even the wife does not eat with him: she waits on him, or sees that the slaves are attentive in waiting on him. The meal being finished, the hands and mouth washed and wiped, she herself presents him the pipe and coffee. When there are several wives, each has her household, her table, her apartments, and her slaves in the 108 THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. same pile of building. It is very uncommon for a second woman, or a slave, to be lodged in another house ; this scarcely happens except among the Chiefs of the Caravans, who, obliged to live half the year in one town, and the other half in another, wish to have a wife in each of these two towns. In Turkey the law allows three modes of living with women, and Tournefort said very justly, that a man married the first, hired the second, and purchased the third. The Mussulman women live in great retirement, and do not appear in public without a veil, and garments which conceal their figure, and disguise their whole body ; there is no one but the husband and the nearest relations, such as the fathers, brothers, and uncles, who sometimes have access to the harems, and can see a Mussulman woman with her face uncovered. The man who wishes to marry can only be acquainted with the personal charms, and mental attractions of his future wife from the accounts of some female relative or friend, or of some intermediatrix of an advanced age. Commonly the latter gives every information that is wanted, tries to smooth all difficulties which may arise, and prepares and arranges all matters. When the relations have come to a satisfactory agreement, they fix the sum which a husband shall give as a present to his wife. An inventory is taken of everything that belongs to the latter, in furniture, clothes , money, or property, for every thing is restored to her in the THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. 109 case of divorce or repudiation ; when she dies without issue, the husband keeps a part of what he has received, and returns the remainder to the relations, as the law regulates. The preliminaries being settled, the future husband, the father, or the nearest relation of the young lady, go with two witnesses to the house of the Cadi, in order for him to sign the articles of marriage, and obtain a permission for it in writing . The celebration of the marriage can only take place on the eve of the Friday. One or two days before, the young lady is conducted to the bath, where she is subjected to depilation for the first time. On the day of the wedding, she dresses herself in the richest clothes she can procure, and covers herself with jewels, pearls, and pieces of money, which her relations frequently borrow for the purpose. They try to embellish the young lady's face by colouring it with red, white, and blue, and by painting her eyebrows and eyelids black. In some districts, they next colour the arms and hands with black, paint the nails yellow, and the feet of an orange colour : lastly, they place on the headdress, and among the braids which hang behind, flowers, pearls, precious stones, and gold coin. Thus adjusted, and placed in a seat more elevated than the sofa, she is bound to compose her carriage, cast her eyes down, or keep them shut, while a troop of women, invited to the feast, give themselves up to joy, and various dances are performed, the company 110 THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. singing or playing on various instruments. At night the female relations of the husband, and some women invited by them, come with torches and a noisy band of music to the house of the young lady, in order to take her to that of her husband. She goes out accompanied by her female relations and friends ; the men do not follow her, but remain at their homes amusing themselves. Being arrived at the husband's house, she is perfumed, and placed on an elevated seat, prepared purposely for her. All the women not belonging to the family go out a moment after, and there is no longer any but the female relatives of the married couple left in the house. The bridegroom, during the time, is in another apartment, when his relations and some young men whom he has invited perfume him, dress him in his richest clothes, and sing songs analogous to the ceremony. A moment after, all the men, accompanied by their music, sally forth in order to proceed to the Mosque. They say their prayers with the greatest composure, after which they come to the door of the husband's house, when he enters accompanied only by his relations. While the husband is at the Mosque, the bride is led into the apartments that are intended for her. On returning from the Mosque, the father of the husband, or any other relative, the most advanced in years, leads the husband by the hand to his wife, presents him to her, and retires . No one remains but the midwife or a female relation, who THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. 111 serves up a supper to the husband, while the wife continues standing before him in a humble attitude. After supper, the latter presents to her husband a basin, water, and a towel, in order that he may perform his ablutions ; she then gives him a pipe and coffee, after which she herself sups. When she has concluded her repast, the midwife withdraws, and the married couple remain by themselves. The second manner of a man marrying one or several wives, distinguished by the name of Kapin, consists in presenting himself before the Cadi, and binding himself to feed and maintain till a certain time such woman whom he designates, and whose consent he has obtained ; which is attested by her father or nearest relation, and two witnesses ; to take care of the children that she shall bear, and to give up to her besides, at the time of repudiation, or at the expiration of the term agreed upon, a sum of money or clothes, effects and property, stipulated and expressed. The children who are the issue of these marriages enjoy the same rights as the others, and remain at the charge of the father, when he has repudiated or put away his wife. It seldom happens, however, that Mussulmans marry in this manner, because women of a certain rank would never submit to be united to a man on such conditions, and because the latter generally prefers to purchase slaves, rather than marry in the Kapin manner with Mussulman women born of poor parents. 112 THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. The law does not prohibit Mussulmans from marrying women of a different religion, provided the parties bind themselves to bring up their children in the religion of the father ; but it is expressly forbidden to women, unless the man embrace beforehand the religion of Muhammad. Although the law allows Mussulmans to have four wives, few among them have more than one, because they lead to considerable expense ; and, shut up in the same harem, they cannot live together in harmony ; they perplex the husband with their complaints, or plague him with their pretensions. Besides, almost every woman, on her marriage, requires an obligation from her husband not to wed another in her lifetime, or as long as she shall not have been separated by a divorce. But she cannot prevent him from purchasing white or black slaves, according to his taste and means ; and as long as he fulfils the law of Muhammad, and furnishes her with clothes and maintenance according to her condition, she cannot sue for a divorce. In no case, can the husband, however, require anything from the slaves that belong to his wife ; he has only a right over those whom he has himself purchased. It very seldom happens that he forgets himself in this respect, because the wife would not fail to prefer her complaint, and cause him to be punished. When a man wishes that peace and happiness should dwell under his roof, he confines himself solely to his wife ; or if he show any preference to the THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. 113 female slaves he has purchased to wait on her, he recommends them to preserve towards her the greatest respect and submission. He endeavours to persuade them that his wife is ignorant of the love which he has for them; and the wife, on her side, wishing to preserve peace in the family, pretends to be ignorant of the infidelity of the husband, and submits the more readily, as she is indemnified by the empire which she continues still to exercise over the slaves. But when a Turk marries several wives, who have all the same rights, and the same pretensions, it is very rare that preferences do not lead to jealousies and quarrels ; it is very rare that they see with coolness one of themselves receiving more frequent marks of attachment, without giving vent to their complaints . It is much worse if disgust keep the husband at a distance from his wives, and lead him entirely toward his female slaves ; and if the latter, abusing the weakness of the husband, take advantage and grow proud of the favours which they receive ; if they appear less submissive and respectful, then peace cannot be reestablished but by the dismissal of those slaves, and the secure return of the husband toward the wives. From this arrangement of Turkish families it is seen that the wife has an eye on the female slaves, because she would be very glad to find them in fault, in order to set the husband against them: and the slave who shares the bed of the husband is the most VOL. II. I 114 THE LAWS OF MATRIMONY. dangerous Argus for the wife : the latter never goes out without being accompanied by the other, a fact which renders infidelity rather uncommon. The influence which Turkish women have over public affairs in the nomination of the agents of the government, and in the distribution of favours and punishments, is much more considerable than might be presumed from their retired mode of living. The harems are the places of rendezvous inaccessible to the men, where the most interesting anecdotes of the town and of the provinces pass successively in review, the most curious news is spread, and plots and conspiracies are framed . Women ofof every age and rank come thither to solicit graces and favours for their husbands and relations, or in order to complain of a husband too jealous or severe, and demand protection against him. An affair often passes through the channel of several women before it reaches its destination. An emancipated female slave or woman of the lowest class of the people often obtains, through her patronesses, such interest that her protection is sought from all quarters. THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 115 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.' As we have already seen, Turkey is divided, for the administration of justice, into twenty-four mevleviets, each corresponding with one or more Eyalets. Each mevleviet contains several cazas, or tribunals of the first instance, in number nearly equal to that of the livas, and sitting, in general, at the same chief town-and inferior tribunals, at the head of which are the Naïbs , who perform the duties of magistrates in the districts. All these tribunals bear the name of Mekhemé, without distinction, but their composition differs according as they are competent to judge in civil or criminal matters. The tribunal of civil justice is composed of the judge, who is a Cadi or Mullah, according to the locality ; of a Mufti ; of a Naïb, or supplementary judge ; of an Ayak 'Naïb, or Lieutenant ; and of a Bach Kiatib, or registrar. The district tribunal is composed of only the judge and his clerk, but what ever may be the number of members composing the I 2 116 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE . tribunal, the decision of the cause is left to the judge alone, the Naïb and Ayak-Naïb, even if sitting, being considered his assessors, and the Mufti, exercising a peculiar character of duties, entirely exclusive of those of the tribunal, which is to deliver fetvas to the different parties. The competency of the tribunal, which is very ill defined, is neither regulated by the extent of the jurisdiction of the Mekhemé, nor by the degree of importance ofthe cause. Each tribunal is competent to decide on any cause, and its decision, in civil matters, is absolute. Still, the party summoned before the Judge can, if he pleases, carry the process before a superior tribunal, even before that of the Caziasker. This facility accorded to the defender, either for the purpose of remedying the corruption or the insufficiency of the judge, comprises at the same time, although not actually implied, the right of appeal obtaining in European legislature. In a country where the laws are simple, and by no means numerous, where the rights of all are traced in a book understood to be written by the hand of the messenger of God, trials must be far from complicated, rather rare, and easy to be avoided. Every one knows the extent of his duties and the limit of his rights. Every one can be his own judge when he does not give way to a vicious inclination, or when he is not misled by dishonesty. The almost entire absence of any process in the THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 117 Turkish tribunals, the rapidity with which civil causes are tried, even at the present day, contrast with the gravity and slowness generally peculiar to the Osmanli. Nothing is more simple or expeditious than the ordinary practice of the Mekhemés. The parties, without the aid of any barrister or solicitor, present themselves in court, after having provided themselves previously with a fetva from the Mufti. They make their statement in turn, and sustain their story by producing their documents or witnesses. No document is valid or admitted unless it bears the signature or the seal of two persons known and settled as housekeepers. The Ayah- Naïb briefly sums up the cause, and the judge pronounces the sentence, which is inscribed on the foot of the summons, and legalized by his signature. The only expense incurred is ten per cent. of the sum or the value in dispute. The judge appropriates to himself a fine, more or less heavy, when there is no question of an affair of interest, and, in order that he may not lose his fees, it is always the gainer of the cause who pays the costs. The Governor of the Liva, under whose orders a company of police is placed, and who can, in addition, require the assistance of an armed foree, is charged with the execution of the sentence. The judges (Mullahs, Cadis, or Naïbs ) , also perform the duties of notaries public, and legalize and 118 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. register contracts of marriage, wills, and agreements of every description. In D'Olivier's time, although the arbitrary nature of the legislature attracted his attention, still there was a system in existence which afforded some security to those individuals who were not attached to the military service, or did not occupy a place emanating from the Government. All the Mussulmans, from the merchant down to the lowest workman, belonged to an organized corporation, the chiefs of which were charged to watch over the rights of the communities and of individuals. If a butcher, or a fruiterer, for instance, was attacked by any man of weight, the affair was carried to the Mekhemé or Tribunal of Justice. The chiefs presented themselves to defend the individual oppressed ; they represented that from such a period this man had been settled in the neighbourhood ; that he had always led an exemplary life ; that he was a good Mussulman, a good father, a good husband. They also assisted at the hearing of witnesses, and if they discovered that the accused was really guilty, they retired, and gave him up to the rigour of the laws ; if they believed, on the contrary, that he was innocent, they defended him with courage, called in, if it was necessary, the whole corporation, and the oppressor was obliged to desist. But in the country places the people had not the same means ; they must, in that case, have recourse THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 119 to the Ayams or to the Kiayas of the village, a sort of municipal officer elected by the people, with whom rest all the affairs of the hamlet, all the demands of money, &c. generally the richest and most intelligent perform this office gratuitously. The greater part of the Kiayas were reproached, however, and perhaps with some show of reason, with having a secret understanding with the Pachas, with facilitating their extortions, and enriching themselves almost always at the expense of those whom they ought to protect and defend . Criminal justice is administered by the Tribunal of the First Instance, assisted by the governor of the Liva and the members of the Medjeis, or council of the province. The tribunal thus constituted judges arbitrarily in crimes and offences, without the distinction between larceny and felony being clearly established , and orders the execution of its own sentence . However, this sentence is only final in cases when the punishment of death is not inflicted. All trials which may entail a capital punishment must be submitted to the revision of the Supreme Council of Justice at Constantinople, and the final decision made known to the Sultan, whose signature is necessary to render every sentence of death pronounced in any portion of 120 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. the empire valid and executive. Other punishments, which may be pronounced by the ordinary tribunals, are the gallies, imprisonment, and banishment to some appointed place in the empire. All these punishments are not regarded as infamous, and the criminal is rather looked upon as an object of compassion than of disdain. The Supreme Council of Justice has also direct cognizance of crimes committed against the state, as well as malversation and abuse of power, committed by the principal agents of the Government in the exercise of their duties. The decisions of the different tribunals to which we have referred are only applicable, in civil matters, to processes between Mussulmans, or between Mussulmans and Raïahs ; and in criminal matters, to all the crimes and offences committed . by any subject of the empire, without distinction of race or religion, to the prejudice of any other subject. The processes between the non- Mussulman Ottoman subjects, as the Greeks, schismatic Armenians, united Armenians and Jews, are brought before the Patriarch, or before the Grand Rabbi, who are regarded as the religious and civil chiefs of their nation by the Government, to whom they are personally responsible, and as such invested with the power of deciding directly in all the disputes which arise between their co-religionists. Still, the parties have a right of appeal to their Turkish Judges ; but it is THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 121 usual to bind them beforehand, by oath or by means of a compromise, to be satisfied with the decision of the Patriarch or the Rabbi. If the parties belong to different nations, the cause is brought before the Mekhemé, unless they prefer to refer it to amicable arbitration. But, in addition to the Raïahs, subjects to the Porte, there are also strangers domiciled or carrying on commerce in the empire, and who, by being exempt from the common international law through capitulations guaranteeing them certain privileges and immunities, are subject to a special jurisdiction, in all connected with their relations to Ottoman subjects. Hence arise the mixed tribunals, which are of two sorts. The Mixed Tribunals of Commerce, which settle all differences in civil or commercial matters between natives and strangers, established or carrying on business in the empire ; and the Correctional Police, to whom is intrusted the punishment of all crimes and offences practised by foreigners against natives, and vice versa. The Mixed Tribunals of Commerce were first established in April, 1847. The experiment was tried in Constantinople by the re- organization of the ancient Chamber of Commerce, in conformity with the regulations of European tribunals. The memorandum, addressed on this occasion to the Legations at Constantinople, requested them to appoint ten merchants 122 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. to undertake in turn the functions of judge. The Porte also appointed ten persons selected from the Mussulman and Raïah subjects, so that this tribunal was composed of an equal number of Ottoman and European judges. As the latter are nominated by all the Legations in common, the foreign division, under whose protection it may chance to be, is bound to be chosen among the active merchants ; but the Dragoman of the Embassy to which it belongs is present at the process, and watches over the proceedings. It was not long ere the advantages of this institution were seen-and it was one of the most important with which the Reform party endowed Turkey—and which put a stop to the numerous abuses which had been thought for a length of time irremediable. Similar tribunals were successively established at Adrianople, Salonichi, Smyrna, Beyrout, &c.; and in 1850 the same measure was extended to Egypt. At the same period a Mixed Tribunal of Maritime Commerce was established at Constantinople, to decide the disputes which might arise between the subjects of the Porte and strangers, in matters relating to the sea trade. The mixed correctional tribunals, created with the same design as the tribunals of commerce, and to satisfy similar requirements, were instituted at the same date, and went through the same phases. Established, in the first instance, experimentally in Constantinople, with the co- operation of the Lega- THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 123 tions, and placed under the direction of the Central Council of the Ministry of Police, they were successively extended to a majority of the great cities of the empire, and in the last instance to Cairo and Alexandria, after time and practice had proved their utility. The mixed tribunals of police are formed of an equal number of native and foreign members, the first permanent, the others sitting alternately, according to the nationality of the accused, and chosen from the chief persons, by the assistance of the consulates. Each of them is exclusively attached to the tribunal, or the council, of which he forms a part. The duties and attributes of these tribunals, as well as the course of proceeding, are laid down with much care and clearness in the firman which instituted them. They consist in receiving the depositions of the witnesses with the greatest impartiality : in swearing the witnesses before receiving their testimony, according to the rite of the religion to which they belong-punishing severely those witnesses who perjure themselves by giving false testimony ; examining the witnesses in presence of the accused, one after the other and separately ; receiving the secondary evidence, if such there be, relating to the veracity and character of the principal witnesses ; hearing with the same attention and without the least distinction or partiality all the depositions against the accused, as well as those in his favour ; taking 124 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. every measure which may be considered adapted to prove the innocence or guilt of the accused ; receiving the evidence which may be useful in proving the facts alleged, without distinction of rank or nation ; compelling the persons summoned to give their evidence by the prosecution or the defence to appear before the tribunal ; rejecting all confessions which may have been obtained by violence or threats, or by promises, though admitting those which have been given voluntarily and without violence ; never employing, under any pretext, the bastinado, or any corporal punishment ; executing, after having obtained the approval of the governor of the district, the sentences pronounced in accordance with the laws and regulations obtaining in the empire ; not pronouncing a final sentence in cases which entail capital punishment ; remitting, in such cases, all the documents to the governor for transmission to the Supreme Council, who will pronounce the final sentence, if the accused is an Ottoman subject ; on the other hand, if he is a stranger, the Supreme Council will obtain the assistance of the consul or his interpreter, in order to obtain from him the necessary assistance for the execution of the sentence. In the same way the consul or his agent may be present at any trial, and cross-examine the witnesses, nor can the sentence be carried into execution without it has been approved and countersigned by him. In spite of the inconveniencies arising from this THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 125 latter regulation, which is owing to the former treaties, and which only serves in most instances to guarantee culprits the privileges of impunity, still, it is only necessary to compare these regulations and established forms with the usual practice of Turkish tribunals to be able to appreciate the value of these mixed tribunals, as well as the part they are destined to play in the definitive task of Turkish reformation. 126 THE DISPENSERS OF THE LAW. THE DISPENSERS OF THE LAW. 3 WE have already made a slight reference to the organisation of the judicial body in speaking of the Ulema. We saw that the whole body of the magistracy formed a species of pyramid with the Sheikh- ulIslam at the head, and at the base the Naïbs, who compose the fifth and lowest order of the magistracy. The Cadis, or ordinary judges, form the fourth order. The third order is composed of the Muffetichs, who have the charge of all matters referring to the Vakufs. The second and the first order of the magistracy are formed of the Mullahs of different classes, administering the Mevleviets, and contain the principal dignitaries of the law, as far as the Cazi- askers who preside over the two chambers of the Arzodaci. The Sheikh-ul-Islam, in his capacity as supreme head of the magistracy, proposes for the Sultan's nomination, and through the Vizir, all the judges of THE DISPENSERS OF THE LAW. 127 the first and second rank ; as, the Cazi-askers of Rumelia and Anatolia ; the Mullah of Mecca the ; Grand Judge of Constantinople ; the Mullahs of the four towns-Adrianople, Brusa, Beyrut and Cairo ; the Mullahs Makredji of Galata, Eyab, Jerusalem, Smyrna, Salonichi, and Aleppo ; the Mullahs Devryè of Phillipopel, Sophia, Bosna, Marach, Erzum, Aïntab, Baghdad, and Tripoli. He also nominates, without the intervention of the Vizir, or the assent of the Sultan, the Muffetichs or judges of the third class. The Cazi-askers nominate, subject to the Sultan's sanction, to all the vacancies in the office of the Cadis, which may occur in their respective departments. Lastly, the Naïbs, or Judges of the fifth class, are chosen by the Judges who employ them, and can therefore only be regarded as delegates or substitutes. All these offices are revocable and annual. When the year of office has expired, the judge, unless he is appointed assessor to the new functionary, reassumes his position in the class to which he belongs. As he is no longer an officer of the State, he is supported by the Vakuf, which provides for his subsistence and maintenance. It is, therefore, important not to confound the functions with the title, in the person of the Ulema provided with a judicial seat. There is no advancement for any except the Judges of the first class, who are invested with the title of 128 THE DISPENSERS OF THE LAW. Makredjis. The others are condemned to follow the same monotonous routine, and, by abridging the time of their service, have closed the admission to the higher offices of the magistracy. Their career is closed for the future ; after they have been once appointed, they know that they have nothing to expect ; and hence all emulation, all honest and legitimate ambition is taken from them. The Judges on active service are not paid by the State ; a fixed duty (resim) of a fortieth part, which they receive on the value of all the processes submitted to their decision, forms their salaries. This claim is the same for all the Judges, Cazi-askers, Mullahs, Cadis, Naïbs, whatever may be the extent of their jurisdiction. They have also to pay the salaries of their registrar, and the subordinate employés of the tribunal. The Cazi- askers receive, in addition, another amount, also a fortieth, on legacies, whose product, joined to that of the resim, gives an average of 1,000 to 1,200 purses annually ( 4,620l. to 5,5207. ) We have already mentioned that the Sheikh- ul- Islam receives from the State, like the Vizir, 100,000 piastres ( 1,0007. ) monthly. The Sheikh-ul- Islam is the only one who, with the Assessors of the Two Chambers of the Arzodaci, and the Tribunal of the Istambul Cadessi, receives a fixed salary from the State. The salaries of the latter are : for the Assessors of the first Chamber THE DISPENSERS OF THE LAW. 129 (of Rumelia) , 12,500-15,000 piastres per month (125-150% ) ; for the Assessors of the second Chamber (of Anatolia) , 9,000 piastres per month ( 907. ) ; for the Assessors of the Istambul Cadessi, 6,000 piastres per month ( 607. ) At the head of the Caziaskerate of Rumelia, is the Stamboul Effendi, the Mullah or Judge of the Capital. He more particularly takes cognizance of all the affairs and lawsuits which arise among persons who exercise the different arts and trades. He also repairs on each Wednesday to the Vizir's, in order to determine with the Mullahs of Galata, Scutari, and Eyub, all the affairs which there present themselves. The Stamboul Effendi has the general inspection of the grain and other provisions which arrive for the supply of the city. All the vessels laden with grain are obliged to come to the landing- place of the general depôt of flour, where a Naïb inspects, fixes the price of it, and distributes it to the bakers ; he keeps a register of the quantity of corn which arrives, of that which is distributed, and of the price at which it is delivered . There is likewise a Naïb at the depôt of tallow, for the distribution of that article to the corporation . The Stamboul Effendi must go from time to time into the different quarters of the city, in order to examine into the eatables which are sold by retail, and to verify whether the weights are everywhere just. He immediately punishes with the bastinado those who are found with false weights, or with VOL. II. K 130 THE DISPENSERS OF THE LAW. adulterated commodities, and sometimes he causes them to be nailed by the ear to the door of the shop. A second transgression frequently entails death . It is useless to urge the abuses resulting from such a system. One of them, and the most crying, was suppressed a short time back ; that of the Arpalyk. This was the name given to a privilege conceded to any Mullah, after leaving office, of disposing of a certain number of provincial cazas, for a settled sum, to the Naïbs who dispensed justice in his name and under his authority. These emoluments were only granted to Mullahs of the first class . The Arpalyks have been abolished, but other abuses still exist, and seriously menace even the future of Turkey, unless they are guarded against. The concentration of the judicial functions in the hands of the Ulema, who are generally hostile to reform : the want of fixed salaries, which has a tendency to increase the number and the duration of the processes, by establishing the riches of the judge on the public misery and ruin ; the certainty of his being removed at the expiration of a year, which furnishes an excuse for the necessity of providing himself with the means of existence for the future ; the absence of constant and legal control on the part of the State, which guarantees them impunity : all these reasons in conjunction have gradually produced the corruption of the magistracy, and daily give cause for those scan- THE DISPENSERS OF THE LAW. 131 dalous scenes, of which the enemies of Turkey boast so triumphantly. Thus abuses of every description have crept into the administration of justice, and the magistracy has been both corrupted and degraded, in a country where nothing equals the dignity with which the legislature has invested the functions of the judge, except the severity of the duties he has imposed on him. However, the results of the few last years may be regarded as highly satisfactory . The formation of the Penal code, although not yet completed, that of the Commercial code, the organization of the mixed tribunals, the suppression of the Arpalyks, the head of the magistracy assimilated with the other functionaries of the State, and paid by it ; and, more especially, that liberal measure which admits all the subjects of the Empire to bear testimony on oath, in accordance with the rite to which they belong, all this denotes considerable progress. Still, it is nothing if not continued. How much, in fact, remains to be done ! The civil code must be re-formed, the competency and jurisdiction of the tribunals regulated, and extended to all the Mekhemés of the Empire, the judicial functions assimilated to those of the other members of the State, with a fixed salary, and permanent appointments. And, when all this is effected, it will be necessary to search for other gaps to be filled up, and other ameliorations to be introduced, K 2 132 THE DISPENSERS OF THE LAW. for such is the necessity imposed on all nations that desire regeneration, and especially on Turkey, in the face of the hostility and doubts of which she is the object, that they must progress with a sure and incessant march on the path of reform. The Ottoman Government appears convinced of the necessity, but it stops at times before the greatness of the obstacle to be removed. It is but a trifle to overcome the resistance of the Ulema and triumph over internal embarrassments ; for the Turkish Government possesses the will, and will soon possess the power. But the great question will be how to settle external difficulties, resolve the questions of the Patriarchates and capitulations, which daily become matters of greater urgency ? It is in these that Turkey requires a helping hand from her allies. She may be left to cope with her own home difficulties, and we have no doubt that she will eventually overcome them by patience and perseverance. All that she requires is a firm and steady support against those external pretensions, founded on treaties which Russia alternately wheedled and bullied her into signing, and of which she is now beginning to feel the sinister effects. One of the most unhappy effects of the present war, in our opinion, is the unavoidable check which it will give to the progress of reform. On the other hand, we may reasonably hope that less restricted intercourse with foreign nations will induce the people THE DISPENSERS OF THE LAW. 133 at large to regard the blessings of civilization with a more favourable eye. If this takes place, the power of the Ulema* and the Mullahs will prove a very insufficient dam against the influx of European manners and customs.

• As a proof that the Ulema are still very dissatisfied with the

appearance of the Allies in Turkey, we may refer to a fact men tioned by the foreign correspondent of the Morning Chronicle of the 17th June, that, during a review, a Dervish rushed out and saluted the Sultan with the title of " Giaur Padishah. " Of course, he was dragged away at once, but the very fact of such an event taking place proves the enmity still existing among the old Turkish party.

THE PROGRESS OF EDUCATION.

PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. ISLAMISM has been frequently represented as opposed to the diffusion of light, and the Ottoman race in particular as devoted to systematic ignorance, -two assertions equally devoid of foundation . An attentive perusal of the Koran, the scientific and literary brilliancy which the Court of the Chalifes of Bagdhad diffused, when the west was still plunged in barbarism, the wonderful works with which the Arabs enriched Spain, are sufficient to prove the injustice of the first . The falsehood of the second is not the less evident to any one who has examined carefully into the state of Turkey. Nowhere is instruction held in higher honour nowhere is greater respect entertained for those who are entrusted with its diffusion. The title of Khodgea (preceptor) , is one of those which is never forgotten. However humble may be the position of a Khodgea, to whatever rank his pupil may rise, even if he become Grand Vizir, he never fails to • 138 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. show towards his old master, even in public, a tenderness mingled with respect. On the subject of education in Turkey we find the following remarks, in a work from which we have already quoted. * " The subject of Eastern education is one which certainly ought not to be lightly treated, and I by no means feel myself equal to deal with it ; but when a few philosophical inquirers have turned their attention to the study of the East, education will become the subject of a most interesting and valuable work. Important as education has latterly become among ourselves, and that importance, regarded as it is, at once as the sign and the means of the most advanced state of civilization, it cannot fail to strike an European with astonishment when he finds that education is considered by Eastern populations as of far greater importance than it is with us ; and that Eastern legislatures have provided for it a place among the fundamental institutions of the State. But while, with us even, education has become the subject of discord, and the cause of bitterness between religious and political opponents, it has produced, and can produce no such divisions, no such scandal, in the East. There each community regulates its own affairs, and it is the business of no set of men, under any designation, of executors or representatives, to interfere with its execution .

• Urquhart's Spirit of the East.

PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 139 Education is there invested with a solemn and religious character, pervading every class of the community, and extending back, by the proof of public record, for thousands of years. Public documents of Hindoo villages , of above 3,000 years, place the charge for the school and the school- master as the first obligation incurred by the community. No fee was paid, yet education had not the stigma of charity. By the institutes of Mecca and the code of Muhammad, the parent was obliged to place his child at school in his fourth year. Reading, writing, and a certain knowledge of religion and laws were considered an amount of instruction which the State was bound to see conferred on its members ; and Muhammad further imposed on the chief of every community the obligation of seeing orphans instructed in some handicraft, so as to enable them to gain their daily bread. Placing the child under the authority of his schoolmaster was an act to which was attached the character of a religious sacrament, and the school-master was rendered responsible for his conduct and behaviour. From the Hindoos and from other portions of the East, we have ourselves borrowed the system of mutual instruction, and many of the forms of that system are now to be found in every Turkish school- room . In Persia, the proportionate number of children instructed in reading and writing is supposed to exceed that of any country in Europe. In Turkey, there is not a Sultan who has not left behind him 140 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. his endowed college. What Sultan is there who has left behind him a palace ?" If, then, we reproach the Turks with their ignorance, we must understand beforehand what we mean to imply. It is true they are ignorant of what our children learn at schools, general history, geography, the natural sciences, &c.; but for all that, they possess a system of instruction, and most assuredly employ in study more time than even ourselves apply to it. If their knowledge is not extensive, it is because they conceive that there is nothing superior to the Koran. But there is not a Mussulman who is not acquainted with the requisite dogmas of his religion, the mystical traditions, the acts of the Prophet, the customs imposed by the duties of prayer, corporal purification, alms, and the pilgrimage to Mecca. Primary instruction is quite as much diffused in Anatolia as in several provinces of Europe. InIn every district there is a school, which the children attend for a longer or shorter period, according to the position of their family. The number of those able to read is considerable, still, the difficulties attending the elements of reading in Turkish, Arabic, and Persian are incomparably greater than is the case with European languages. It is the same with writing, which is divided into a multitude of branches, according as it concerns the transcription of the Koran, judicial acts, and commercial registers. It is in truth a branch of the pictorial art. It can be easily imagined, conse- PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 141 quently, that the title of Okumuch, given to any one who can read and write fluently , raises him to the rank of a savant in Turkish, Arabic, or Persian society. * Education, we see, then, has existed in Turkey since the earliest establishment of the Empire ; but the manner in which it was understood and generally practised caused some grave disadvantages, of which the Government undertook the removal in 1845 , at which period the firman was promulgated, decreeing the formation of an Ottoman university, and entirely reorganizing the system of public instruction . Up to this time education had been, with some rare exceptions, an utterly individual and domestic institution, a circumstance which had not a little contributed to the predominance of the family principle in Turkey, to the injury of the social. As for public instruction, in so far as it existed, it was, through its entire concentration in the hands of the Ulema, exclusively religious or literary, instead of being a noviciate and initiation into external and public life ; and hence, at the same time, as it created an internal obstacle to the Government, it tended to keep Turkey in a state of isolation towards other nations. It was, therefore, not only necessary to renew the system of study from the foundation, but, a far more difficult task, by secularizing it, to substituté the instruction

• Eugéne Boré. Correspondence et Memoire d'un Voyageur en

Orient. 142 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. of the State for that of the Mosque. We must confess that the latter, considered entirely on its own merits, without reference to any political idea, was most deplorable. It was divided into two sections : the elementary instruction provided by the Mektèbs, and the higher instruction furnished by the Medrèsses. There was but little that required reformation in the organisation of the Mektèbs. Established in every quarter of each city, and even in the smallest villages, in some measure gratuitous (for a moderate payment of two piastres per month may allow us to consider them as such) , confining, it is true, their instruction to the principles of religion and morality and reading the Koran, but attended by a large number of children,* they only required a few ameliorations which could be easily introduced, and the assistance of the State, in order to fully satisfy all the requirements of a good elementary education. The second section comprised the instruction of the higher schools, or Medrèsses. These were originally established by Muhammad II, who, after converting eight of the principal churches, after the fall of Constantinople, into djamias, endowed each of them with an academy, for the maintenance of which he assigned a portion of the revenues. At a later date, when he constructed the Mosque which bears his name, he established eight of these academies, whose professors

• Statistical tables prove that 95 per cent. of the Mussulman

children attend these schools. PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 143 (Muderris) received salaries of a higher amount than those which had been previously paid to the professors of the other colleges. The successors of Muhammad followed his example, and in the following reigns, in proportion as the number of mosques increased in an extraordinary manner, the number of the Medrèsses, like that of the hospitals, increased in a similar manner, in consequence of that remarkable arrangement of the law, which confounds, in one class, the notions of religion, science, and charity. In 1765, in the reign of Mustapha III, the number amounted to two hundred and seventy-five, within the limits of Constantinople alone. It now exceeds three hundred . Each town possesses at least one medrèsse ; the more important, as Adrianople, Bagdhad, Cairo, have as many as forty or fifty. The studies in the medrèsses are conducted with considerable order and method. They are divided into ten branches, under the common denomination of ylen of science, as follows : grammar, syntax, logic, metaphysics, philosophy, the art of metaphor,. style, rhetoric, geometry and astronomy. These ten correspond to the arts of the third and fourth class, in the division of the liberal arts among the Mussulmans. We must here remark that we have not included the study of the law, which forms the two first degrees, so that we may rather regard them as the first basis, than as an integral portion of the high school of instruction . This, which comprises the complete study of the law, under its four forms, 144 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. properly speaking, only commences after this process, and merely for the candidates for the degrees of Ulema. As, however, the various degrees require the sacrifice of nearly a whole lifetime, the number ofthese candidates is necessarily limited, and the majority of the young Mussulmans confine themselves to the preparatory study of the medresses ; even the number of the latter, compared with that of the children who do not go beyond the Mekteb, is extremely small. The proportion of the former is ninety- five per cent. , while of the latter, it is not more than four per cent . The first and principal of the disadvantages arising from the ancient system, was precisely this want of intermediate instruction , which, by forcing the youths, on quitting the Mekteb, either to prosecute a system of study, which would be useless, unless carried on for twenty-five to thirty years, or else content themselves with a purely elementary education, those who belonged to the higher classes, or were destined for the civil service, received lessons from private masters, who confined themselves to teaching oriental history, and a species of philosophy very fashionable in the Ottoman empire. Another disadvantage consisted in the nature of the education imparted by the medrèsses. This instruction without any solid substructure, and only suited to bewilder the intellect with a multitude of definitions, distinctions, texts, and proper names, beset by barbarous terms borrowed from a language of which PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 145 a knowledge could not be acquired without several years ' study, recalled all the controversies of the Lower Empire, and the puerilities of the schoolmen. Turkey, in its schools , as in its former policy, was a perfect type of the middle ages. Sophistry was the chief employment of the scholars, while the most elementary ideas of geography, history, and chronology were wanting. They were completely ignorant of the relations of nations to each other, as well as of the different forms of their govenments, and their knowledge in matters of policy and history were generally restricted to the affairs and frontiers of their own country. And how could it have been otherwise when a blind and selfish routine, admitting nothing beyond itself, neither the discoveries nor the improvements of modern science, regarded the majority of the mathematical or physical instruments as playthings, only adapted to satisfy vain curiosity, and proscribed their use in the schools just as the Janissaries preferred to perish rather than adopt the tactics and arms of the Europeans. *

• On this subject we may be allowed to quote the following

amusing anecdote from a work termed ' Russia, by a Manchester Manufacturer.' Lord Strangford sent the Porte a valuable present. He had brought with him a pair of very large globes from England : and, as the Turks had latterly shewn some disposition to learn languages, he thought it would be a good opportunity to teach them something else, and he determined to send them over to the Porte, and asked me to go with them to explain the object. -This important present was brought with becoming respect. A Cavass VOL. II. L 146 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. Such a state of things not only created almost insurmountable obstacles to the development of public went first with his baton of office : then followed two Janissaries like Atlases, bearing worlds upon their shoulders : then myself attended by our principal Dragoman in full costume, and finally, a train of Janissaries and attendants . When arrived at the Porte, we were introduced to the Reis Effendi, or Minister for Foreign Affairs, who, with other Ministers, were waiting for us. When I had the globes put together on their frames, they came round us with great interest, and the Reis Effendi, who thought, ex officio, he ought to know something of geography, put on his spectacles, and began to examine them. The first thing that struck them was the compass in the stand. When they observed the needle always kept the same position, they expressed great surprise, and thought it was done by some internal mechanism. It was mid- day, and the shadow of the frame of the window was on the floor. I endeavoured to explain to them that the needle was always found in that direction, pointing to the north. I could only make them understand that it was always turned towards the sun. The Reis Effendi then asked me to shew him England. When I pointed out the small comparative spot on the great globe, he turned to the rest, and said "Keetchuk" little and they repeated all round " Keetchuk" in various tones of contempt. But when I shewed them the dependencies of the Empire, and particularly the respectable size of India, they said " Beeyuk, " with some marks of respect. I also took occasion to shew them the only mode of coming thence to Constantinople by sea, and that a ship could not sail with a cargo of coffee from Mocha across the Isthmus of Suez. The newly appointed Dragoman of the Porte, who had been a Jew, and was imbued with a slighter tincture of information, was present : so, after explaining to him as much as I could make him comprehend, I left to him the task of further instructing the Ministers in this new science. Indeed, it appeared to me, as if none of them had ever seen an artificial globe before, or even a mariner's compass." We are bound to mention that Mr Urquhart denies the truth of this story, but si non è vero, è ben trovato . PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 147 instruction, but also tended, by giving up the youths to the hostile and pernicious influence of the Ulema, to maintain the nation in a state of enmity and defiance towards the executive, which rendered all other reforms impossible. At this stage the Government felt the necessity of seeking, by a prompt reorganisation of the system of education, to put an end to the attacks of the anti- reform party. A circular from the Porte, dated March, 1845, appointed a commission, charged with the duty of seeking the most fitting method to ameliorate the condition of public instruction in the Empire, and proposing to the Government a complete course of study agreeing with the growing wants of Turkey. This commission was selected purposely from among the men who had given Government strongest proofs either of their capability, or their attachment to reform . This commission presented its report in the course of August in the following year. In accordance with this report, the Ottoman university, declared an institution of the State, and having at its head a permanent council of public instruction, contained the different degrees of the educational course :-Primary instruction, of which the principal elements were to be found in the Mektèbs ; secondary instruction, which required creating ; and higher instruction, which was to be organised on a new basis, while the existing rights and privileges were respected . L 2 148 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 1 The presentation of this report was almost immediately followed by two new Imperial ordinances, one which converted the labours of the commission into a law of the State ; the other instituting the permanent Council of public instruction, which was intrusted with their application . This council, placed beneath the supreme direction of the President of the Council of State, and of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was composed almost entirely of members employed in the commission, to whom was joined the chief physician of the Empire, and director of the school of Galata Serai. A third ordinance decreed the erection of a building intended to be the seat of the new university, and the laying of the first stone took place with great pomp at Djeb Khanè, near St Sophia, at the same spot where the Janissary barracks formerly stood, as if to be a further proof, by the choice of the situation, of the intention of entirely banishing the old Mussulman spirit. The council speedily divided into several committees, which separately undertook the organisation of the various departments of instruction . The results of their labours may be best explained by adhering to the original division . PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 149 PUBLIC SCHOOLS. THE condition of the elementary schools and the ameliorations they were susceptible of receiving first claimed the attention of the Council. Here, as we have already mentioned, the reforms were simple. The Mektebs had been carrying on their duties there for many years with a certain degree of regularity. All that was necessary appeared to be to give them a common and uniform organisation ; to introduce some modifications in the matter and manner of the instruction ; and finally, to apply the principle of State intervention in its fullest extent. For this purpose the Council commenced by declaring instruction gratuitous and obligatory . The sum of two piastres per month, formerly paid to the master, was altered to a fixed salary, drawn from the revenues of the Mektèb. Indeed, the majority of the Mektèbs having been instituted many years back, by means of donations and private legacies, they possessed their proper revenue, distinct from that of the 150 PUBLIC SCHOOLS. mosque, from which a sum could be without difficulty drawn, to provide for the repairs and the maintenance of the school, and guarantee the salary ofthe instructor. In cases where this revenue is found to be insufficient, the Government makes up the supply. At the same time the law obliges all the fathers of Mussulman families, as soon as their children of either sex have attained the age of six years, to present themselves before the Mukhtar or Chief of the municipality of the district, to have them inscribed on the registers of the Mekteb, unless they prove their intention to give them a suitable education at home. Among the measures adopted to insure the execution of this measure, we may mention the law which forbids any master to take any boy as apprentice, who is not provided with a school certificate from the Mekteb. As to the method of instruction, it remains almost what it was, and is confined to reading, the elements of writing and arithmetic, and, more especially, a knowledge of the first principles of religion and morality. The sole important innovation has been the introduction of a new system, and the adoption of little elementary treatises in common Turkish, written expressly for children, and which the Council ordered to be used in the schools . Constantinople possessed two years ago 396 of these elementary schools, attended by 22,700 scholars of both sexes. These schools have been divided into PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 151 fourteen sections, corresponding with the fourteen principal quarters of the capital. In each section a central committee inspects the schools, receives monthly an exact and regular account of the number and progress of the pupils, controls the conduct and capability of the instructors, proposes any necessary improvements-in short, has the duty of watching that the idea of the government is fully and entirely carried out. The transformation of the Mektèbs into primary schools has been carried into effect nearly through the whole extent of the empire. It would be difficult to determine exactly the total number of the latter ; but it is very considerable : and as there is not a single village in Turkey, however small it is, which does not possess its mosque, so we may also say that there is not one without a school, more or less tolerably organized. After four years, or five at the most, passed in the Mekteb, the boy who wishes to extend his studies by following the course of public instruction enters the secondary schools, where he passes another period of four years. These schools, called Mektebi ruchdiè or adolescent schools, and which have only been in existence a very few years, amounted in 1851 to six, frequented by 870 pupils, a considerable result for such a short 152 PUBLIC SCHOOLS. space of time. At a later period, this number is intended to be raised to fourteen. The course of instruction is, grammar and Arabic syntax, orthography, composition and style, sacred history, Ottoman history, universal history, geography, arithmetic, the elements of geometry. The instruction is entirely gratuitous. The maintenance of the schools, the salary of the professors, the books and instruments of the pupils, are provided at the expense of the State. The higher course of education specially attracted the attention of the council. This was, in fact, the scene of contest with the Ulema, and the headquarters of reform. The Government, which undertook to overthrow the monopoly held for so many years by a privileged body, required to collect all its strength, in order to struggle with advantage against the Medressès. Fortunately, as the secondary schools were only recently established, and the students would have to remain there several years before being fitted for the higher course of university study, the council had some time before it . It profited by it to surround itself with all the lights which could assist its progress, and sent one of its members, Kemal Effendi, Inspector- General of Schools, to study the organization of the universities in Germany, France, and England . Kemal Effendi passed several months in Paris, where the Government placed at his disposal all that might facilitate the success of his mission. PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 153 In fact, if the development of public instruction in Turkey is closely connected with the regeneration and duration of the Ottoman Empire, the duration of that empire is of the highest importance for the maintenance of the European balance of power, and, on this account, were it for no other, the Porte would have a right to claim the sympathy and assistance of the Western Cabinets. *

• On the subject of thus borrowing examples from the French,

which may indeed be traced all through the Turkish reforms, Mr White writes as follows :-" It was unwise to found the edict of Gulhanie on the forms, or even the principles of administration established in France. * * * Had Reschid Pacha turned his eye to Prussia, or even to Austria, the chances of successful application would have been more probable. In the laws that govern those states, he might have found examples whereby to modify those of his own country, if indeed it were held requisite to look abroad for example or advice. * * * In France, the organization of every branch of civil service reposes upon one fundamental basis, that is, upon perfect equality. The whole population may be said to speak one language, to possess the same faith, origin, custom, and tendencies. Party or dynastic discussions in no wise interfere with the paramount spirit and action of the nation. The mass is bound together by one code and one purpose. All laws and regulations are therefore applied to the people, without distinction of classes or parties. * This mode of administration is admirably suited to a people completely homogeneous, but it may be safely affirmed that administrative institutions, in any way modelled upon similar foundations, would be totally opposed to the interests of the Ottoman Empire, and destructive of the most essential conditions of its existence. This could not have escaped the attention of those foreigners, almost exclusively Frenchmen, who assisted Reschid Pacha in framing his proposed reforms. There exist sufficient grounds, therefore, for suspecting that these advisers were actuated

154 PUBLIC SCHOOLS. In the meanwhile, the council devoted its labours , in conjunction with the various Ministries, in improving the condition of the special schools, of which some had been in existence from the earliest period of reform . THE SCHOOLS OF THE MOSQUES OF AHMED AND OF SULEÏMAN were founded by Sultan Mahmud for young persons intended for the civil service. The number of pupils was 370, in 1831 , of whom 250 were at the first, and 120 at the second. The subjects taught are Arabic and Persian grammar, geography, history, and caligraphy. The latter is one of the most important branches of study, through the whole of the east, both in consequence of the rarity of printed books, and the various descriptions of writing in general use, and of which each is differently employed. The COLLEGE OF THE VALIDE SULTANA, founded in 1830, by the Sultan's mother, expressly designed to fill up the gap at present existing in the higher course of education, and supported at her expense, is intended to provide Clerks for the administration. Endowed with excellent Professors, and a considerable staff, the school is divided into two sections, one containing 210, the other 90 pupils, from thirteen to by no very sincere after-thoughts, and that they were more disposed to implant the seeds of subsequent weakness and decline in the Ottoman Empire, than to aid in its regeneration and ultimate consolidation." PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 155 seventeen years of age, whose numbers are filled up from all the classes of the population, without any distinction of religion. The duration of the course is four years, at the end of which the pupils will be admitted into the various ministerial departments, unless they prefer to carry on their studies for several years longer, at the University, which will then be in full vigour. The NORMAL SCHOOL, or Establishment of Professors, contains sixty pupils, half of whom receive a gratuity from the State, for their maintenance and private expenses. Each province will in turn be provided with a school of similar character. The IMPERIAL SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, founded by the Sultan Mahmud at Galata Seraï, a short time after the destruction of the Janissaries, but which at that time was not nearly so extended as it now is, may be regarded as the first establishment for public instruction in Turkey, and which has produced the best results. It is divided into two sections : the preparatory section, and the medical. The number of pupils amounts to 410, of whom 241 belong to the first section, and 169 to the second. The pupils are selected indiscriminately from both the Mussulman and Christian subjects of the Empire. The course of instruction is partly in French, partly in Turkish. To the School the following institutions are annexed : a printing press used in publishing a special paper, the Gazette Medicale de Constantinople, which 1 156 PUBLIC SCHOOLS. appears monthly in French, and of which the editorial department is in the hands of the principal professors of the school. A lithographic press ; a cabinet of natural history and physics, and a dispensary. The building now employed as the Medical Academy, was originally erected by Achmet III, for the safe keeping and education of the Imperial pages. It was converted into a medical school in 1827, and Mahmud was so pleased with the innovation, that he traced with his own hand the following inscription, now painted in letters of gold over the entrance : " All who look upon the edifice will exclaim Aprin! (well done ! )" The school is intended for a nursery for naval and military surgeons. The tutorial establishment consists of fourteen Professors, thus divided medicine and pathology, six ; natural history, one ; chemistry, one ; languages, four ; drawing, one; history and mathematics, one. Latterly the foundation, which is entirely gratuitous, has been placed upon an enlarged and improved footing. A clinical ward for sixty patients, of all creeds, has been established. Two days are allotted to gratuitous consultations, when persons of all classes can profit by the advice of the chief director and professor of anatomy. A ward for pregnant women has been recently added, and is directed by a female professor from Vienna. This person, who has obtained considerable practice in the Imperial and other harems, gives lectures and instructions to PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 157 such of the Turkish Ebeh Radmin ( midwives) , who feel disposed to profit by her lessons. * There is also a vaccinating department, in which 12,000 vaccinations were performed last year. The Ottomans have also overcome their prejudices in other matters connected with the therapeutic and pathological science. Subjects are now freely furnished to the school of anatomy. The hospital was indebted for this progress to the enlightened and liberal sentiments of the chief physician. It was decided that the bodies of all convicts, dying in the bagnio, should be sent to Galata Serai for the purpose of dissection, and this without distinction of creeds. This point being carried, it remained to overcome the repugnance of students, and theopposition of some old hospital functionaries. The corpse of a Moslem convict was the first purposely selected. This caused some murmuring, but the presence of the chief physician allayed the compunctions of some, and the remainder being young men, desirous to acquire proficiency in their art, their scruples were soon overcome. The students therefore seized their instruments, and readily followed the example of the professor. At the present moment, the process of dissection is regularly introduced, and the supply of subjects is fully equal to the demand. This is a proof that strong minds and firm

• White's ' Three Years in Constantinople. '

158 PUBLIC SCHOOLS. hands are alone required in Turkey, to introduce practical innovations, and to destroy many prejudices. THE IMPERIAL MILITARY SCHOOL, founded in 1830 by Sultan Mahmud, on the model of the French school of St Cyr. The body of professors is composed in a large proportion of French officers, who have special leave to remain in Turkey, at the request of the Porte. The duration of the course of study is four years for the infantry, and five for the cavalry. The number of students during the last year was 120 : it will eventually be raised to 500, so as to be able to supply 100 young officers annually for the army. There are also Preparatory schools at Constantinople, Monastir, Brusa, Damascus, and Bagdhad, at which pupils are prepared for the higher school. THE ARTILLERY AND ENGINEERS' SCHOOL, at Cumbai Khanè, between Galata and the Sweet Waters, was originally founded by Selim III, and solely restricted to the education ofmilitary engineers. At present, it has been founded or re-organised on a new plan : it is destined to prepare officers for the engineers as well as the artillery, as well as civil engineers. number of pupils at the present time is 90. The THE IMPERIAL NAVAL SCHOOL was transferred during the last year to Khalki, one of the Prince's Islands. This is the name given to a small Archipelago in the Sea of Marmora, at the entrance of the Gulf of Nicomedia, composed of five rocks : Oxia, Plate, Pita, Niandro, and Anterovito, or PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 159 Rabbit Island, and of four inhabited islands, Proti, Antigone, Khalki, and Prinkipo. The latter gives its name to the group. They are inhabited exclusively by Greeks, and serve as a rendezvous, during the summer season, for the principal Greek and European merchants of Galata and Pera, who have their country-houses there. The SCHOOL OF KHALKI, which is under the management of a Vice-Admiral, contains 120 to 130 pupils. THE AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL, founded about three years ago at San Stefano near Constantinople, and established for instruction in practical and theoretic agriculture, botany, and veterinary science, the improvement of sheep, particularly the merinos, arithmetic, geography, contains at the present time 46 pupils : 23 Mussulmans, and 23 belonging to the various christian nationalities of the Empire. THE VETERINARY SCHOOL was founded in 1844, by a Prussian practitioner at the Scutari Cavalry Barracks, and a class for this branch has been introduced at Galata Serai Academy. Such, M. Ubicini tells us, was the condition of the Turkish schools in 1849. Remarkable results had been attained, and those expected from the future were still more considerable. When M. Ubicini revisited Turkey in 1852, the movement was considerably, if not entirely, checked. The Government, after having made a great noise about the re-orga- 160 PUBLIC SCHOOLS. nization of public institutions, had withdrawn its attention from it, as had been the case with many other useful projects . The building of the New University was suspended; the foundation of secondary schools in the principal towns of the Empire was given up. Still, an Academy of Science and the Belles Lettres had been established in the interval, for the purpose of improving the literature and language, and promoting public instruction in Turkey, by the publication or translation of works suited to raise the standard of education. But, although this Academy contained among its members all the distinguished men of the Empire, not only in politics, but in science, it has not yet effected anything, except the Ottoman Grammar of Fuad Effendi, of which M. Blanqui has given an account in the Asiatic Journal. Before quitting this subject, of which all must acknowledge the vital importance, it is only just to state that many writers do not agree entirely with this sanguine view of matters. They allow, it is true, that all M. Ubicini's statements are based on facts, and are perfectly true on paper : actually, however, they are very different. The young Turks who were sent to Paris, Vienna, and Berlin, to obtain a higher scientific education, upon their return, forgot nearly all they had learned, and fell back into their native indolence, however industrious they might have been in Germany and France. Who, then, will undertake the PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 161 duties of instructors in these new Institutions, especially as strangers are regarded with hostility, and both they and the Turks educated in foreign countries have to contend with prejudices of every description. It is no contradiction to this, that there are and have been men, who have distinguished themselves by their talent, and also through their statesmanlike knowledge ; but these Turks, provided with natural good sense, have acquired their information in a practical manner and in foreign lands. In Turkey this was not possible, and, therefore, we may fully assume that no credit is due to the Government for this, except in so far as the selection of the pupils was concerned. A glance at the books in general use in the schools will furnish a proof of our assertion. In the higher schools, in addition to the Koran, arithmetic, geography, geometry, history, the natural sciences, astronomy, and astrology, eloquence, poetry, jurisprudence, metaphysics, and philosophy are lectured upon. The pale faces and exhausted appearance of the pupils educated in these colleges or Medressès, who are called Softa (burned faces) , either intimate severe study or secret vices. Philosophy is taught them from an Arabic translation of Aristotle's, and from Mehmed's " Higher Morality," a standard work for moral philosophy, in which politeness is discussed in the first chapter. What we term metaphysics is called by the Turks Kelam or Ilmi Kelam, i. e . the science of words, because it is founded upon the VOL. II. M 162 PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Koran, and, according to Turkish ideas, is nothing but theoretical theology. Geography is taught in the Medressès after the Dzetian- Nouma (representation of the world) , which was published in the commencement of the last century, with Jacolaky Argyropulos' , geographical compilation, and this work is, at the same time, almost the only manual of geography which the Turks possess. * Astronomy is principally taught after Durandeli Mehmed, the editor of the ' Eternal Calendar' (Nuz Nameh ) . How old this book is may be seen from the fact, that Hieronymus Welsch brought out a translation of it at Augsburg in 1676. Besides, the Turks only regard astronomy as the handmaid of astrology, and the astronomer is the apprentice, and the astrologer the master of the science. In consequence, they regularly consult Kamel Jadjid Ben Aslam's Treatise of Algebra,' because it contains references to astrology and oneiromancy. Natural history is only taught after an Arabic translation of Pliny the elder, and Politics from Sufti Pacha's Mirror of the Vizirs .' If the mode of instruction at the higher Turkish schools is after this fashion ( which a German author, of known integrity, assures us) , we need not feel astonished at the ignorance prevailing among the Turks. เ 6 Still, thus much may be said that the Turkish

• Von Hammer, in his History of the Ottoman Empire, ' gives a

list of the works printed at the Imperial Press, in which he mentions eighteen as referring to history and geography. FUBLIC SCHOOLS. 163 Government has displayed the best will to improve the condition of education. Even if the progress had not yet been so great as M. Ubicini, in his sanguine expectations, has described it, we may hope that with time education will be placed on a firm and satisfactory footing through the whole of the Osmanli empire. By raising public education to the rank of a State institution ; by creating it, where it is not yet in existence ; by correcting allit possesses that is of a dangerous and exclusive character, and, more than all, by summoning females to participate in the benefits of an intellectual life, Turkey would be drawn from the isolation and individualism by which her strength is exhausted, and the way would be paved for her social regeneration, which is the crowning work of her political transformation. Education would effect the ruin of the old Mussulman fanaticism, which has lost its strength, but by substituting for it patriotism , hitherto unknown to the Mussulman peoples, accustomed as they are to form a collection of individuals rather than a people, a sect rather than a nation. In exchange for the faith which it destroys, it would give them a country. It would do more : bythe establishment of universities, where students of different faith and creed, collected from the most distant points of the empire, would live in the unity of discipline and instruction, it would cause a hearty amity between M 2 164 PUBLIC SCHOOLS. generations till now isolated by their enmity or their pride, and would thus prepare the reign of that great national unity, for which the Turkish administration, policy, and legislature are striving. PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 165 THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES. As a necessary portion of the Turkish system of instruction, we cannot omit giving an account of the Public Libraries of Constantinople, which have, as yet, been almost ignored by the majority of writers on Turkey. The reform party were not contented with the reorganization of the schools : they also increased the number of public libraries, gave a new impulse to the printing establishments, instituted a periodical press, and thus developed in the nation an intellectual movement which has already exercised a marked influence on the Turkish character, and disposes it to receive the impress of the ideas and spirit of the west. Without describing a considerable number of private libraries (which are said to amount to more than a thousand) , resulting from pious legacies formerly left to the mosques, where they remain locked up, without advantage for science and education, Con- 166 PUBLIC LIBRARIES. stantinople contains at the present moment forty public libraries (Kitab- Khanès). These libraries are generally placed in the imperial mosques, of which they are considered necessary appendages, in the same way as the medresses for the instruction of youth, and the imarets for the relief of the poor and weak. Some of them, however, formed by Vizirs, Muftis, and even by private persons, form separate establishments entirely independent of the mosques. The establishment of public libraries at Constantinople dates from the earliest years of the conquest. * The first Ottoman Sultans, eager to imitate the Chalifes of Bagdhad, sought to illustrate their reigns , not only by encouraging and rewarding learned men, but by founding establishments wherein their productions and those of their predecessors in the field of instruction and science might be preserved to posterity. The greater part of the treasures of Arabic literature collected by the Abasside monarchs, perished in the fires that ravaged Bagdhad at various periods, but principally in the great conflagration of 1060 , which destroyed the famous library of the Grand Vizir, Erdsher, containing nearly 10,000 volumes ; and in 1258, when Bagdhad was sacked and nearly destroyed by Heraklion, grandson of Jenghis Khan. Nevertheless, Muhammad II was enabled to collect a sufficient number of works, from Brusa, Adrianople, Damascus, 5 White's Three Years in Constantinople.' PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 167 and other cities, to form the libraries attached to Eyoub and Aya Sophia, and to the mosque erected by himself. During the conflagration which occurred in Constantinople in 1465 , the great library of the palace, containing 12,000 volumes, was, however, burnt. The example of Muhammad II was followed by his three immediate successors, Bajazet II, Selim I, and Solyman the Great : and subsequently by Osman II, Achmet III, Mustapha III, Mahmud I , Abd-ulHamid, and the present monarch. The regulations of all Imperial libraries, as well as those endowed by private individuals, are nearly similar. Those attached to mosques, are under the guardianship of the Church ; and those erected in isolated situations, are administered by the managers of the Vacuf. All possess special and ample funds for their preservation, and for the salaries of librarians and servants. But it does not appear that these funds are employed in adding to these collections, so that in point of numbers they remain nearly in the same state as when first founded. The officers of each library consist of one or more Hafizzy Katèb (Librarians), having small fixed salaries, and who, being generally expert calligraphers, add to their resources by transcribing the valuable manuscripts under their guardianship. Each library has its simple list of books ; and also a second catalogue, containing a summary or index of the general contents of each work, and forming what the French 168 PUBLIC LIBRARIES. term a Catalogue raisonné. The latter is advantageous to students, who are saved much trouble in consequence. The furniture is simple, and scrupulously clean. The books, invariably placed in bindings of dark morocco or calf, with a flap cover, in the form of a clasp pocket- book, rest on their sides. The titles are written upon the binding. Almost all works have a second cover, like a map case, as an additional protection against damp and insects . The greater part are transcribed upon vellum, or highly- glazed paper. The book- cases of some libraries, that, for instance, of Raghib Pacha, are in the centre of the apartment, and form a square protected by iron doors. The whole is surrounded and covered by an external wire fence, admitting ample space within for the librarian. The floors are matted, and upon one or more sides are low divans or cushions, upon which students seat themselves to read ; whilst a narrow form in front serves as a table or rest for the volumes they may require. Such persons as are engaged in transcribing works bring their own materials, and, seating themselves upon the mats or cushions, employ their knees as desks. Neither fire, candle, nor smoking is permitted. These libraries are for the most part open every day, from 9 a.m. till afternoon prayer, except during the two Beirams, Ramazan, and Fridays. Upon these occasions, librarians and students consider themselves entitled to enjoy repose. Those PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 169 who are present at mid-day prayer hour, quit their studies and perform their devotions in common, following the guidance of the oldest person present, who, in most cases, is a Priest. The greatest order and most perfect silence prevail. The studious are not interrupted even by the rustling of slippers, as these articles are always left at the entrance. Among the forty libraries we have mentioned, there are fifteen large and twenty-five small, of which we will describe the more important. The first is the LIBRARY OF THE SERAI, situated in the interior of the old Imperial Palace, and formed of two buildings erected at different periods. The first, which contains a number of MSS. and volumes which were locked up in the apartments of the Sultans from the period of the conquest, was built by Achmed III (1719) ; the second was constructed in 1767, in the reign of Mustapha III, who collected all the works acquired by his predecessors Mahmud I and Osman III, or by himself, from the commencement of his reign. It is this mysterious library which has been the object of so many fruitless attempts and inquiries, and has for such a length of time excited the curio sity of the learned, in consequence of the great number of Greek and Latin MSS. which it was supposed to contain. Through the positive assertions of Constantine Lascaris, confirmed by the testimony of a multitude of travellers, the whole of learned Europe 170 PUBLIC LIBRARIES. has frequently entertained the hope of recovering in their entirety the Decades of Livy, the great history of Tacitus, and that of Diodorus Siculus, and so many other treasures lost or mutilated, which it was supposed had migrated from the palace of the Byzan tine Emperors into that of the Ottoman. It was also known, from a sure authority, that after the capture of Buda in 1521 , a great portion of the splendid library of Matthias Corvinus fell into the hands of the Turks, and was carried to Constantinople, where it undoubtedly served to swell the bibliographical treasures amassed in the Seraglio. Still, these were only simple conjectures, devoid of any positive proof, for the entry to the library had been carefully closed against Europeans. In the year 1728 the Abbé Sevin arrived at Constantinople to collect Greek MSS. for the library of the King of France, but was assured that no Greek books were in existence, for they had all been destroyed by Murad II. Another traveller, however, gives a different account. Baudin describes the books of the library, and affirms that there were 120 immense folio volumes remaining of the old library of the Constantines which had escaped the sack of the city, and it was rumoured that the works of Livy were translated into Turkish, and that they were complete in all their parts. The Abbé Toderini, who resided at Constantinople from 1781 to 1786, was the first European who pro- PUBLIC LIBRARIES . 171 cured a copy of the catalogue of the Seraglio library from a young man engaged in it. This list of books was effected at great hazard in forty days, by noting twenty or thirty a day. The Abbé wished to verify the accuracy of this catalogue, by having another taken by a different hand, but he could not succeed, and was compelled to be contented with the first report. We discover from this catalogue, which Toderini inserted in his work " Letteratura Turchesca, " that the Seraglio certainly contained a number of Greek and Latin MSS. but among them neither Tacitus nor Livy was mentioned. He supposes, with great probability, that the greater number had been carried by the fugitive Greeks to the libraries of Vienna, Florence, and Rome. با It is true that the catalogue quoted by Toderini must have been very incomplete, for it only gives the titles of 1,150 works, while D'Ohsson estimates their number at more than 15,000. * In 1801 Dr Hunt and Mr Carlyle obtained permission to visit the library of Mustapha III, and counted 1,292 volumes, but noticed no Greek, Latin, or Hebrew MSS. About the same time Gregory

• This would seem to be an error, as, according to the list furnished to Mr White by the librarian, the original collection, when

he came into office, was 6,100 ; of these 1,600, taken from the library of Selim III, and from the small Seraglio library, had been removed by the present Sultan. The library had suffered no other diminu. tion than this since D'Ohsson wrote, and the books in the small library never exceeded 3,000. 172 PUBLIC LIBRARIES. Ghika, who was then secretary-interpreter to the Porte, and on very intimate terms with the Eunuch of the Imperial treasure, managed to procure admission into Achmet the Third's private library, which he examined thoroughly ; but his researches were not more successful than those of his predecessor, and the only valuable MSS. he found was a series of Commentators on the Old Testament, which he carried away, but afterwards restored when he had taken a copy of it. * When the houses of the Greek princes were ransacked at the commencement of the revolution , all the books found there were exposed for sale. Among about 30,000 volumes there was not found a single MS. or classical book that was not a recent imprint in either France or England. Dr Walsh tells us that the oldest he could meet with was an edition of Barnes's Homer, printed at Cambridge in 1711 . Still the existing opinion as to the valuable Greek and Latin classics buried in the Seraglio was kept up, until, in 1807, General Sebastiani having expressed a desire to visit the Seraglio library, the Sultan not only granted his request, but ordered the librarian to offer him as a present the volumes which most attracted his attention. The General examined with the greatest care all the volumes composing the library, but only found documents referring to eccle-

• Rizo Neroulos' Cours de Litterature Grecque Moderne.' Geneva,

1828. PUBLIC LIBRARIES . 173 siastical affairs, and was compelled to select, faute de mieux, a magnificent MS. copy of the New Testament. M. Ubicini adds, however, that he is strongly of opinion many valuable MSS. could still be discovered by a thorough examination of a Kiosque of the Seraglio called the Kiosque of Bagdhad, where the Inspector- General of Schools in Turkey informed him. that a great number of ancient MSS. had been left for ages, a prey to the worms. We trust this hint may be followed up at the present favourable opportunity. THE LIBRARY OF THE MUHAMMADYE was founded by Muhammad II, the Conqueror, about the termination of his reign, and is annexed to the mosque which bears his name. Above the door is this inscription in the Arabic language : " The study of the sciences is a divine precept to true believers. This splendid edifice was built in 1185." This date, corresponding to 1771 in our chronology, does not refer to the period of the erection of the library, but to that of its restoration under the Sultan Mustapha III, in consequence of the earthquake of 1761, which injured a great portion of the mosque, and principally the grand dome. Toderini counted 1,625 MSS. in it, among which he mentions a Koran in the Cufic character, which is valuable for its antiquity. Ubicini, however, states that from the semi-official information he was enabled to acquire the number must now be esti- 174 PUBLIC LIBRARIES. mated at more than 9,000, and the printed books at about 1,200. This library, as well as others attached to mosques, is principally frequented by students of the annexed colleges and schools . The library of Muhammad II is numerously attended, as there are eighteen distinct colleges belonging to his mosque. The LIBRARY OF ST SOPHIA, founded by Suleiman the Great, at the period of the promulgation of his Kanoun, and increased in 1754 by Mahmud I, has the inscription " There is no merit in me save from God " painted above the doorway. The same sentence is repeated in all the books and MSS, forming part of the library. It has eight librarians, and contains 1,527 works, among them a MS. Koran, written, or said to be written, by Osman, the third Chalife. This library fell into complete ruin through the neglect of successive administrations, and many of the most valuable works having been destroyed, the building was pulled down by Mahmud I, and then rebuilt and replenished within the mosque in 1744. It is esteemed the most important collection in the city, after the great Seraglio library. The LIBRARY OF THE SULEIMANYE, annexed to the mosque of the same name, was founded by the same monarch as the previous one. It is placed within an ornamented chamber or oratory, of which two sides are closed, and two others visible through a wroughtiron trellice. The bookcases, neatly ornamented, and PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 175 guarded with wire- work doors, are in the centre and two closed ends. The number of Turkish, Arabic, and Persian MSS. is estimated at 2,000- that of the volumes at about 1,750. The LIBRARY OF THE NOURI OSMANYE, founded in 1755 by the Sultan Osman III, is one of the handsomest in Constantinople. It has three chief and three deputy librarians, who also act as Imams in the mosque, and contains about 3,000 manuscript volumes, among which the most remarkable are a translation into Turkish of Cassini's Astronomical Tables, an Arabic version of the Pentateuch, Psalms, and Gospels, as well as two copies of the Koran, the first attributed to Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet ; the other to Osman I, the founder of the Empire. The LIBRARY OF THE SELIMYA was founded by Selim I in 1527. The greater portion of this collection, which amounts to 1,350 volumes, was brought from Egypt and Syria, when the founder returned from his conquest of those provinces. Some of the most valuable manuscripts belonged to the library of the Abasside Chalifes of the second branch. The LIBRARY OF ABD- UL HAMID was founded by that monarch in 1799, with six librarians and 1,600 printed and MS. works. It possesses several very precious Korans, among them three, written during the period of the immediate successors of the Prophet, if not, as it is stated, by Omar, Osman, and Ali themselves. 176 PUBLIC LIBRARIES. This collection is more familiar to European travellers than any other in the city, from its proximity to the landing-place of Baghtchy Kapussi. It is situated close to the Mausoleum of its founder. The LIBRARY OF RAGHIB PACHA was originally founded by Kiuprili Achmed, the second of the three celebrated Vizirs of that name, and the greatest statesman of whom Turkey can boast. Raghib Pacha, the worthy successor of the illustrious Kiuprili, added largely to it in 1762. Through his rare acquirements, and his love of study, he obtained the surname of Raghib (the Studious) . He wrote several philosophical and moral works, which were printed in 1837, under the title of Divani Raghib. On the inner door of the library the following inscription is painted : " Praise to God alone ! By the good pleasure of God, and in the hope of pleasing Him, Muhammad, Vizir, and surnamed Raghib, founded this establishment in the year 1176." The The roof The enclosed court in which the library is situated, also contains a free school, fountains, and the burialplace of the illustrious founder and his family. library itself is a lofty square chamber, lighted upon three sides by two windows in double rows. is surmounted by a central dome and four semi- domes, supported by marble columns. It only contains 2,000 volumes, MS. and printed, but all of great value ; and the convenience and elegance of the building render it one of the most charming edifices PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 177 in Constantinople. The walls are ornamented with Persian blue and white tiles, covered with inscriptions, vases, and flowers. The apartments are provided with sofas, and no sounds from without, save the murmur of the water falling into a marble basin , disturb the reader. Among the valuable contents are several Persian manuscripts, splendidly illustrated and illuminated, and many of the richest specimens of Turkish caligraphy. The following is the account given by Dr Walsh of his visit to this library : " We arrived about twelve. Beside the gateway was a school on the same foundation, containing about fifty scholars . They sate on cushions on the ground along the walls, with forms before them on which were their books. None were allowed but extracts from the Koran ; they were all therefore in MS. , as this book is yet considered too sacred to be subjected to the process of printing. The master was fast asleep when we entered. Opposite the school were the tombs of Raghib and his wife, the Sultan's sister, and his daughter. It is usual for a Turk to annex a library to his mausoleum. Halet Effendi did so afterwards at the tekè of dancing dervishes at Pera. "In the middle stood the library It was a large, . square edifice, with a dome in the centre, and four smaller at the angles. The book room was a spacious apartment, having in the centre four handsome VOL. II . N 178 PUBLIC LIBRARIES. columns, from whose capitals sprang the arches which supported the dome, with lateral ones forming a colonnade walk beneath. Within the square enclosure under the dome was wirework, inclosing cases fitted with books. They were ranged horizontally, presenting the end each way, inclosed in its own case, covered at the exposed end with a flap containing the title. When a volume was wanted, the case was taken out, and by means of a cord the book was made to issue from it. They were both printed and MS. , but the latter were much more numerous. I inquired particularly for Sydenham's works, translated into Arabic, which were said by Toderini to be in this library. A work was shown us, called the ' New Physician,' which was in such high repute, that the Hekim Bashy of the Seraglio came constantly to consult it. Though not entered in the catalogue under the name of Sydenham, they did not know but that it might have been the same work. There were at least 2,000 books in the cases, but none written in the European languages ; several were the works of Hafiz and other Persian poets, and they were highly ornamented and beautifully transcribed . Round the room were cushions, and forms before them, and we found ten or twelve persons reading or copying, and among others some dervishes. The room was lighted by windows opened below to admit the air, and others above of ground glass, which shed a pleasing subdued light, and lamps were suspended from the ceiling. PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 179 "We came here impressed with an idea that the Turks were exceedingly jealous and indisposed to suffer European Christians to inspect their books. Both Toderini and Sestini were compelled to take refuge in the house of an Armenian, for attempting to look into a Turkish book at a bazaar ; and Spon and Wheler complained of the same treatment. We found no such feelings here. The librarian was civil and attentive, showed every book we wished to see, and freely suffered us to examine them ; and finding I was an Imam attached to the Elchi Bey, he even invited me to come and read whenever I was disposed. " Great accessions have been made to the public libraries since the press has been revived, and, beside the periodicals, new works are continually announced. A most important one was published in Dr Walsh's time by Isaak Effendi, formerly Dragoman of the Porte, but afterwards first professor of the Academy of Engineers. It was a Cyclopædia of Mathematical Science, in four volumes, including arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, conic sections, mechanics, hydraulics, optics, electricity, astronomy, and chemistry. Another circumstance which formed an epoch in Turkish literature about the same time was a prospectus for publishing works by subscription . An announcement appeared in the newspapers of the capital of an intended publication, Ankudes Servakis, which signifies " blossoms of grapes.' It was a N 2 180 PUBLIC LIBRARIES. philological work, on which the publisher passed a high eulogium, and proved that the act of puffing had been introduced into the infant literature of the Turks as an early European improvement. A few years back the Porte intrusted to an employé of the Takvim- Khane the duty of drawing up a catalogue of all the volumes, both in MS. and printed, contained in the different libraries of Constantinople. This gave a result of about 40,000 volumes for the libraries we have described above. THE STATE OF LITERATURE. 181 THE STATE OF LITERATURE. BEFORE quitting the subject of education, and the branches connected with it, we will take a hurried glance at the present condition of Turkish literature, which is divided by the Turkish Hierarchy into five sections ; theology, jurisprudence, philosophy and science, poetry, history. The most considerable branch, through the number and extent of the works composed of it, comprises : 1. The dogma ; of which the fundamental work is the Minaroul enwar of the Sage Ebil Berekiat Abdullah, better known by the name of Nesefi, and who died in the year 710 of the Hejira : 2. The Exegesis, or commentaries, glosses, and interpretations of the Koran, at the head of which is the treatise of Beedhawi, entitled " the Light of Revelation, and the Mysteries of the Interpretation," which serves as the basis for the studies in the Medressè : 3. The oral traditions or hadis, of which we have already made mention. 182 THE STATE OF LITERATURE. The next most numerous collection is that of Jurisprudence, which contains : 1. Works on theoretical jurisprudence ; the most ancient treatise of this description is the Hedayet of Sheikh Bourhan-ed-din of Maragha, with its seven commentaries, which was composed about three centuries previous to the great Ottoman compilations of the Multequa. 2. Practical Jurisprudence, which is composed of collections of fetvas. The third class is that of Philosophy and the Sciences, comprising : metaphysics, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, physics, natural history, chemistry, medicine, astronomy, astrology, and music. The most important works referring to the three first branches, go back to the age of the Chalifes of Bagdhad, and form part of the Arabic literature. The others, more modern, and especially the treatises on jurisprudence, belong peculiarly to the Ottomans, who are justly considered the jurists and politicians of Islamism, while the Arabs were the Apostles and romance writers. Still the majority of these works, though by Ottoman authors, were originally written in Arabic, which is still regarded as the learned, and consequently official, language of the Mussulman countries, either because it forms the text of the Koran, or in consequence of the brilliancy which it attained under the Abassides. Poetry, which occupies the fourth place, is more THE STATE OF LITERATURE, 183 especially Persian. In fact, Persia was the cradle of Mussulman poetry. No other name equals those of Saadi, Hafiz, Djami, Ferdushi, not even those of the seven Arabic poets, who enjoyed the privilege of having their poems suspended in the Kaaba at Месса. At the same time, poetry flourished among the Ottomans, but rather like an exotic , less vigorous and fruitful, but still not entirely devoid of brilliancy and perfume. The seventeen Ottoman Anthologies, commencing with that of Sehi, who died in 1563, to that of Nazmi, which was posterior to the reign of Achmet III, and is the most complete of all, mentions the names of more than two thousand poets, among whom we find Sultans, Vizirs, Generals, even women. In fact, there are several celebrated Turkish poetesses ; among them the fair Mehri, the Ottoman Sappho, who sung her love for Iskander, during the reign of Bajazet II, and at a date much nearer our own, Leila Khatum, aunt of Fuad Effendi, ex- Minister of Foreign Affairs, who died some years ago at Constantinople. The Turks have a great predilection for publishing works in rhyme, that the precepts may be more easily recollected, proving that verse has been used in all ages and countries as aids to memory. The most remarkable book, however, in this style is called ' Lutfigi.' It is a mass of information on various scientific, moral, and occult subjects, including astro- 184 THE STATE OF LITERATURE. logy, sorcery, &c . , written in rhyme; and to show the power of his memory, as well as the extent of his knowledge, the author declares that he composed it in seven days, and while he was sick. But the Turks do not confine their poetry to the mere use of memoria technica, for they employ it for various other purposes, and are like Orientals in general-a people who think in metaphor and speak in song. Collections of poetry, called " divan, " including those also called " Kassida " and " Gazela, " are numerous in the bazaars. Indeed, it appears that the correspondence between Grand Vizirs and Sultans on important subjects was often carried on in rhyme. Ambassadors sent home their despatches in metre, and several officers of State have been as much distinguished for their poetical as their political talents. In the schools for the education of accomplished functionaries, the whole art of poetry forms a conspicuous part. Instructions are given for the use of metaphorical images, how to clothe them in metre, and in what manner to select poetic expressions. Among the models of composition are usually considered the poems of Galeb, who seems to have been the Hafiz of the Turks. Copies of his work are in every book bazaar, and passages from his fanciful poem of ' Love and Beauty ' are in everybody's mouth. *

• Dr Walsh's residence in Constantinople.

THE STATE OF LITERATURE. 185 The historians form a numerous class in Ottoman literature ; in fact, history and didactic works form the peculiar sphere of the Osmanli. Among the historians it is necessary to distinguish the biographers and the chroniclers. The first have composed, under various titles, a quantity of treatises, in which are described the lives and labours of all the celebrated personages of the East : princes, vizirs, muftis, sheikhs, poets, musicians, painters, physicians, &c . Among these works we may more especially mention the History of Men of Merit, ' by Ali ; the Biographies ofthe Vizirs,' by Osman Effendi ; those of the Reis Effendis by Resmi Ahmed Effendi, &c. 6 6 The first chronicles, as well as the first Ottoman poetry, were written in Persian. The most remarkable are The Description of the World, ' by Neschri, and the Eight Paradises, ' by Mevlana Idres, who both wrote during the reign of Bajazet II. But a still more valuable document is an uninterrupted series of Annals in Turkish, written by the historiographers of the Empire, and which comprises all the events that have occurred from the foundation of the Empire to the present day. 6 The first of these in importance is the Crown of Chronicles,' by Sa- ad- Eddin, who is also known by the name of Khodgea Effendi, and who is ranked in the first class of Ottoman historians, through the beauty and elegance of his style. Saad Eddin, Cazi Asker 186 THE STATE OF LITERATURE. and afterwards Mufti, under Murad III, was com missioned by that Prince to write the history of the Empire, from its foundation, in his official capacity of Imperial Historiographer, an official who thenceforth became permanent. He commenced his chronicle from the earliest era of the Empire, by the assistance of preceding works, and brought it down to the reign of Solyman. After an interval of seventy- two years, occupied by the works of Djelal Zadi and Selaniki, the series of printed annals commences, which are as follows : 1. Annals of the Historiographer Naïma, from 1592-1659. 2 vols. Translated into English by Charles Frazer, 1832. 2. Annals of the Historiographer Raschid, from 1660-1721 . 2 vols. 3. Annals of the Historiographer Tchelebi Zadê, from 1722-1728 . 1 vol. 4. Annals of the three Historiographers, Sami, Schahci, and Soubbi, 1728-1743. 1 vol. 5. Annals of the Historiographer Izzi, 1744-1752. 1 vol. 6. The Beauties of Historic Facts, and the Truths of Tradition, by the historiographer Vassif Effendi. 2 vols. Containing an abridgement of the annals of the five historiographers who followed Izzi, until the accession of Abd-ul-Hamid. 7. MS. Annals of the Four Historiographers, Enveri, Edib, Noury Bey, and Vassif, from 1774- THE STATE OF LITERATURE. 187 1802, or about the close of the reign of Sultan Selim . 8. Annals of the Four Historiographers, Pertev Effendi, Aassim, Chani Zadè, and Muhammad Esaad Effendi, from the close of Selim's reign to the present era. The most interesting portion of these Annals is the History of the Destruction of the Janissaries, printed at Constantinople, in 1828, under the title of Ussi Zafer (Basis of Victory) , by Esaad Effendi. The author, who was director of the State Gazette, in addition to his office of Historiographer, died in 1847 , and was succeeded in the first of these employments by Abd-ul- Hali Effendi, the present Historiographer and President of the Council of Public Instruction. Such are the principal sources of Ottoman history. It is impossible to appreciate the merit of their authors by any criterion derived from our western tastes . The style of the Ottoman writers, though less florid and pompous than that of the Arabic authors, is terribly deficient in soberness. Another peculiarity obtaining among the Ottoman chroniclers is the absolute want of historic criticism. Facts succeed each other in their recital in chronological order, but without any apparent connexion. The custom of referring every thing to a will superior to man saves them the trouble of seeking for the cause of events, or regarding their consequences ; or if, by chance, they propose any problem of this nature, especially relating to facts not within 188 THE STATE OF LITERATURE . their own history, their ignorance, conjoined with their contempt for other nations, causes them to make the most absurd statements. In conclusion, we may state that, in spite of the puerility of the details, the annals of the Ottomans, not only through the importance of the Turkish relations with the Western Powers, but also through the exactness with which the chronological order and arrangement are observed, and the scrupulous care which is devoted to the relation of the most minute facts, as well as the most important events, render it the most valuable portion of Turkish literature to us. Such are the five principal, divisions or branches of Ottoman literature. This account, however, would not be complete unless we mention two classes of works, which cannot be comprehended under any of the above heads. The first comprises that mass of treatises on points of ceremonial and etiquette, as voluminous as those on jurisprudence, which fill the shelves of the Ottoman libraries . The Turks are, in truth, utter formalists, and in this respect bear considerable resemblance to the Chinese, who have raised etiquette to the dignity of a science. Among the two hundred and sixteen works by poets and moralists counted by Toderini in the Seraglio library, about thirty refer exclusively to civility and its rules. Such, for instance, are : The Book of Civility,' The Explanation of Civility,' ' Marginal Notes on Civility,' The 6 6 THE STATE OF LITERATURE. 189 The rules Fragrant Garden of Civility, ' and sɔ on. they contain comprise all the relations and customs of life, the manner of dressing, of sitting upright, sitting, dining, of addressing superiors and equals, saluting, and conversing ; and as the majority adhere strictly to religion, their constant and universal application tends to endow the Ottoman physiognomy with that air of distinction and polished dignity which are found in all classes of society. The other class of which we have to speak is that of the books called medjouma, or collections, a generic term by which is meant every variety of albums, note-books, extracts from authors, poetical selections, &c. , filled with very curious and unexpected matter. The taste for these strange compilations, among which there are not two alike, is very much extended among the Turks. There is not a man of letters who has them not in his library, and composes them for his own use, according to his taste and the description of his studies .

THE TURKISH FINANCIAL SYSTEM.

THE FINANCIAL CONDITION OF TURKEY. BEFORE attempting to lay before our readers any statement as to the financial condition of Turkey, it is indispensably necessary to enter into some explanation as to the origin and nature of property, as it emanated from the conquest. At the time of the division we find the territory divided into three portions ; the one being given to the Mosques, to pay the expenses of the religious worship, the maintenance of schools, and hospitals ; the second shared among the conquerors, or left to the ancient inhabitants, upon certain conditions, which rendered it a species of private property ; the third remaining in the possession of the state. Hence originated three varieties of property-the ecclesiastical, patrimonial, and domain. The first, under the name of Vacufs, were subjected to an administrative system, and peculiar laws to which we shall presently refer. VOL. II. 0 194 THE FINANCIAL CONDITION As for the patrimonial division , a fundamental distinction was made therein from the outset, according as the lands were allotted to the Muhammadan conquerors, or remained in the hands of the ancient holders. The former were declared titheable or decimal estates, that is to say, burthened with a quit rent, equivalent to a tenth part of the produce : the others were called tributary estates, that is, subjected to the payment of tribute, or Kharadj. This consisted of a double tax ; the personal or capitation, and the manorial tax, which was laid either on the soil, or on the produce. The domain-lands were divided into nine classes. 1. The domains, whose revenues belong to the Miri, or public treasure. 2. The waste lands ( adiyèt ). 3. The private domains of the Sultan. 4. The Imperial perquisites, royalties, consisting in a great measure of the confiscations, or property which fell in to the Sultan in consequence of the decease of individuals who left no legitimate heirs. 5. The appanages of the Sultana Mother, the Princes and Princesses of the Imperial blood. 6. The fiefs attached to the offices occupied by the Vizirs. 7. The fiefs of the Pachas of two tails. 8. The Arpalyks, or fiefs assigned to the Mir-livas, and the Ministers and Officers of the Palace. 9. The military fiefs ( ziamèts and timars) , granted OF TURKEY. 195 to the Sipahis and civil officers, and even to private persons. The last formed the most numerous class, and the following is the account D'Ohsson gives of them. "Fiefs were established in nearly all the provinces of the empire, at the period of their conquest, for the double purpose of providing for their defence, and recompensing military services. The horseman ( Sipahi), who had such a grant made him, received for his own use the product of the public taxes raised on the land cultivated by the Muhammadan and Christian peasants, over whom he exercised at the same time. a seignieurial jurisdiction . Though the latter were the proprietors of the land, when they left it to any members of their family other than their own son, the legatees could not take possession without obtaining the Sipahi's leave, and paying him a quit-rent. If the proprietor left no heir, the estate was given by the Sipahi to the next neighbour of the defunct. "The fiefs, thus constituted, were divided into three classes, according to their extent ; the timars, the ziamèts, and the beyliks. Each fief was bound to furnish one horseman for every three thousand aspers of the revenue accruing from it. There were 50,000 fiefs of the third class, 300 of the second, and 210 of the first. The Timariotes marched under the command of the Zaims, the latter obeyed the Beys, and the Beys ranged themselves beneath the banners of the Pachas of provinces." 02 196 THE FINANCIAL CONDITION But this relative dependence among the possessors of the fiefs, as well as their obedience to the governors, was frequently only fictitious, and, on the accession of Sultan Mahmud, a great portion of these feudatories had succeeded in rendering themselves almost independent, by compelling the Porte to recognize the hereditary succession. On the death of a Ziamet, or a Timariote, the Sultan received a year's revenue from the lordship, and then gave it into the charge of the son of an Agha, Sipahi, or any other military man, especially to any one who, by a brilliant action, had distinguished himself in battle ; either by mounting the breach first, penetrating into the enemy's entrenchment, killing a great number of the infidels, or aiding in their rout. But when the Sultans resigned the fatigues of war and the dangers of battle for the tranquillity of their seraglio and the pleasures of the harem ; when cupidity caused a portion of the places formerly designed to reward valour and merit to be disposed of by auction, the lordships became the patrimony of the rich and of intriguers . The courage of the soldier was no longer rewarded, and thus the Ottoman armies, so formidable to their enemies, became an object of contempt or pity, and the vast empire was forced to seek foreign assistance to save it from utter destruction. The Agha obtained, during his lifetime, with tolerable facility, the grant of the lordship which he enjoyed, in favour of one or more of his sons, for a OF TURKEY. 197 sum of money inferior to that which it would produce by auction ; but if this precaution was neglected, his son was dispossessed at his death, unless he outbade the competitors, or if, powerfully protected, he did not at least pay the price offered by another. Most of the Aghas, little accustomed to the fatigues of war and the privations it entails, exempted themselves, under various pretexts, from military service ; they always found the Pachas and Sandjak-Beys disposed to receive a present from them, and grant the exemption they requested. They frequently had their place supplied by some volunteer ; if they themselves found their colours, they never wanted pretence for quitting them before the end of the campaign and returning to their home. The cultivators were free and independent, in consideration of the quit-rent to which they were subject ; they could establish whatever culture they thought the most suitable to their interests, without the Agha having a right to molest them ; but too frequently the latter abused his power, his riches, and, above all, the police authority which he exercised in the village. With the scourge in his hand, he exacted the gratuitous labour of the cultivators for those lands which he held in his own hands ; he caused provisions (with the exception of wine) to be sold to him at a price which he himself determined ; he made the advancement of the Kharadj at a fearfully exorbitant rate of interest ; in a word, he tormented, in every possible 198 THE FINANCIAL CONDITION way, the unfortunate Greeks, Armenians, and Jews, living in his village. Towards the Mussulmans he behaved, however, with a greater degree of reserve, because the complaints of the latter were always more favourably heard, and he would be infallibly removed from office and even severely punished, if all the Turks of the village, protected and supported by some powerful enemy of the Agha, rose at the same time and demanded justice. Although the State, or, more properly speaking, the Treasury, had only retained in its own hands the management of its own portion, still it was always considered as the sole proprietor of the soil. The cultivator, whether Mussulman or Raïah, the mosque itself only had a life-interest, only the usufruct, and not the possession, of the land, which remained undivided in the management of the Miri. Such is the principle which obtained with regard to the land under cultivation . As to the waste lands which had not been comprised in the division at the period of the conquest, or which the carelessness of their proprietors had left fallow, these became the property of every individual who cultivated them. In the same way, any man who plants a tree in a vacant spot becomes proprietor of that tree, as well as five feet of the ground which surrounds it. Even at the present day, one-half the eyalet of Bagdhad, Arabian Irak, as far as the gates of Bassorah, a portion of Anatolia, and several districts of Turkey in OF TURKEY. 199 Europe, contain immense tracts of uncultivated land, which only want agricultural skill to become covered with the finest crops. This organization endured until the reign of Sultan Mahmud, when, the basis of the administration and military system of Turkey being entirely changed, the fiefs of every description, arpalyks, appanages, &c. reverted to the Miri, which provided directly for the expenses of the civil list, as well as the pay and maintenance of the troops. Matters then returned to the same state as at the period of the division, except that the relation between the three classes was no longer the same. The domain had neither lost nor gained, but the number and extent of the patrimonial estates had suffered considerable diminution, while the property of the Mosque had, through the Vacuf system, increased in the same ratio. This will be a fitting place to discuss this system, to which we have repeatedly, though cursorily, referred . The Vakf or Vacuf is a peculiar description of property existing in Turkey, which is exclusively restricted to those estates consecrated to the use of the Mosques or other pious foundations. It is opposed to Mulk, a word by which is meant all personal property which is alienable and transmissible at will. Originally the name of Vacuf was given to that portion of the territory assigned.to the Mosques in the legal division of the booty. At a later date the same word indicated all the donations made to the Mosques, 200 THE FINANCIAL CONDITION for the purpose of defraying the expenses of their support or the public worship. All the Vacuf property was declared inalienable. By the same principle they were exempted from taxation, and protected from confiscation and all judicial proceedings-for no law could exist against that which is itself the foundation of all law. But this in no way altered the fundamental principle, that there is only one landholder in Turkey-the State ; for the Vacuf consisted not of the land itself, but of the rent paid by the holders. The financial administration of the Mosques, and of all other ecclesiastical properties throughout the empire, is confined to two functionaries, appointed for the purpose by founders and benefactors. The one is called Nazir ( inspector) , the other Mutavelly (accountant) . The latter are commanded by law to lay their books before the former every six months, that is, on the 1st of Moharrem and the 1st of Rejieb, the commencement and middle of the year. They are bound to render a minute account of all receipts and disbursements, and are divided into two classes. The first has charge ofproperty exclusively devoted to the service of the Church ; the second superintends all secular Vacufs. Amultitude of collectors, clerks , and sub-inspectors are placed under their orders. The deed or contract, constituting the abandonment of consignment of property, is entitled Vacufvia. It must be examined and inscribed, firstly, at the OF TURKEY. 201 tribunal of the Kadi, or principal judge of the quarter, and then registered in one of those offices devoted to this object, in the department of the Maelya-Nazery (Finance Minister) where many clerks are employed for this purpose. In the first of these offices are registered all vacufs, belonging to the mosques of the capital and European provinces, as well as those of the Holy Cities in the second, those of all similar institutions in Asia and Africa, and those of all public foundations for patriotic or benevolent purposes, except the immaret (almshouses and kitchens for the distribution of food ) which are registered in the third division. These registers are kept with great care and precision, and so far differ from the gonerality of public offices, where the archives are not preserved or classed with strict regard to dates or matter. The Defterdar Kapussi ( Treasury or Mint ) in which the Vacuf office is situated, is in the first or outer court of the Seraglio, a few yards beyond the old church of St Irene. The lucrative functions of Nagir and Mutavelly, lucrative only through malversation and misapplication of funds, as the office is supposed to be performed gratuitously, have always been, and still are, confided by founders to different individuals, holding high official functions for the time being, or to other persons for life, with power to nominate successors. Others again appointed themselves trustees of their 202 THE FINANCIAL CONDITION own donations or assignments, with reversion to heirs direct. Thus the property of some mosques is placed under the perpetual guardianship of the Grand Vizir and his intendant. Others are abandoned to the control of the Sheikh-ul-Islam and his intendant. Some have for Nazir the Director of Customs and for Mutavelly his deputy. But the greater part in former days were entrusted to the Kapu Aghassy (Chief White Eunuch) who held the office of Lord Steward and Comptroller of the Imperial household. The depredations and embezzlements of these white aghas were, however, carried to such extremes, that Murad III transferred their duties in 1391 to their black rivals, the Kislar Aghassy. Vizirs, Pachas, Sheikhs, Mullahs and other individuals who have built mosques, either with or without annexing schools, colleges, hospitals, or other benevolent institutions, all adopted the same plan, and placed their foundations under the inspection of the above- mentioned dignitaries, or of some other high civil functionaries : sometimes, but rarely, they nominated as trustees the sheikhs or imaums of the guardian Mosque. The annual revenues arising from the different imperial vacufs being more than triple the expenses required for each mosque, the increased property by accumulation is great, and would be still greater were OF TURKEY. 203 it not for malversation and peculation on one side, and the necessities of successive sovereigns on the other. There being no power higher than that of the Imperial Nazir, and the books and treasure being kept within the seraglio, both are at the disposal of the Sultan. The Nazir's accounts are supposed to be controlled by the Finance Minister, but it is almost needless to add that none of these Ministers were bold enough to oppose the abstraction of funds at the Sultan's will. In cases, therefore, of public emergency or individual necessity, the Sultan never scrupled to borrow from the Imperial Vacuf Treasury. At a later date, a second class of Vacufs was formed, whose revenues were applied to the foundation and maintenance of different establishments for charitable purposes and public utility, collected around the mosque and placed under its superintendencesuch as Medressés, libraries, baths, hospitals, minarets, &c. This class also includes pensions to superannuated priests and servants of the Church, and the maintenance of various orders of Dervishes. All these Vacufs are registered in the treasury ; but founders are at liberty to regulate the disposal of the funds in any manner they may think fit. No man can convert free property into Vacuf, if the whole or part is mortgaged, until creditors are satisfied . If there is any irregularity in the registration, heirs or collaterals are entitled to demand the liberation of the property. Although it is forbidden by 204 THE FINANCIAL CONDITION law to borrow upon interest, and usurers cannot recover before the tribunals, special exception is made in favour of such Vacuf administrations, as may desire to raise money for the purpose of repairs or for objects beneficial to the mosques or foundations under their charge. The two preceding classes of Vacufs are distinguished by the title of Shery or legal, their establishment being sanctioned by religious law. The third class, called Adiet or customary, was founded at a period when-no guarantee for private property existing in Turkey-repeated exactions of the Government and its agents introduced this lamentable custom. By this system, the owner of a free property yields it to a mosque, under the title of a Vacuf, for the sum of 10, 12, or 15 per cent of the estimated value, while he retained the full enjoyment of the property during life, on condition that he pays to the mosque a trifling rent, generally equal to the interest of the sum he has borrowed. However, if the owner happens to die without issue, the property falls into the mosque, which thus becomes possessed of an estate for about one-tenth of its real value. This system has gradually extended, so that at the present day nearly three-fourths of the territorial property in Turkey are mortgaged in this manner to the mosques. At the present time, those arbitrary spoliations having ceased, which were formerly the scourge of Turkey, the advantages which the subjects found in securing OF TURKEY. 205 themselves and immediate heirs from these sudden reverses of fortune, have become greatly diminished ; but this has not been the case with the number of persons who avail themselves of the fancied benefits it offers. * Sultan Mahmud put an end to the abuses resulting from this system by establishing a general direction of the Vacufs, the head of which, nominated immediately by the Sultan, had the rank of a Minister, and in that capacity was a member of the Imperial Council ; at one time, he was tempted to go further, by attaching the Vacufs to the public domains, in the same way as he had done with the Timars and other military feifs . A scruple or a fear of danger arrested him, and without assailing the revenues of the mosques, he satisfied himself with regulating and controlling their employment, by placing them under the direct administration of the State. By a Hatti- Scheriff, dated 30th June, 1826, or only fifteen days after the destruction of the Janissaries, he abolished the office of Confiscations, which tended to diminish the number of customary Vacufs for the future. The adoption of these measures, excellent in themselves, and whose only fault consisted in their being imperfect, abolished a portion of the abuses : but they did not enrich the treasury, which, on the contrary, found

• For a portion of these details we are indebted to White's 'Three

Yearsin Constantinople.' 206 THE FINANCIAL CONDITION OF TURKEY. itself saddled with a burthen of 125,000l. per annum, which the State pays to the Directors of the Vacufs, in order to re-establish the balance between the disbursements and the receipts. This deficit, which it is difficult to explain at the first blush, we will examine into, in our analysis of the Budget. THE REVENUE. 207 THE REVENUE. THE customary revenue of Turkey has varied during several years between six hundred and fifty and seven hundred millions of piastres ( six millions and a half to seven million pounds) . These may be divided as follows : Tithes Land taxes Capitation Piastres . 220,000,000 £ 2,200,000 200,000,000 2,000,000 40,000,000 400,000 Customs . 86,000,000 860,000 Indirect taxes · 150,000,000 • 1,500,000 Tribute of Egypt 30,000,000 300,000 Wallachia 99 2,000,000 • 20,000 Moldavia 1,000,000 : 10,000 Servia • 2,000,000 20,000 731,000,000 7,310,000 Of this budget of 7,310,000l. only a very insignificant portion ( 350,000l. ) is furnished by the tribu- 208 THE REVENUE. tary provinces. The remainder represents the whole amount of taxation in Turkey Proper. Legally speaking, the tithes or land tax are not a contribution, but a quit-rent received by the State, as landowner, from the tenant. This is of two sorts, in accordance with the two species of productions obtained by agricultural industry-the tithe of the different produce of the soil (uchin) , and that upon the animals (beylik). These are raised in kind ; the former on all the productions, either fruit or cereal ; the second on the beasts, with the exception of horses and horned cattle. This is peculiar to Rumelia and certain parts of Asiatic Turkey ; in the other, the inhabitants are subjected to a higher tax, which makes up for the indemnity. The Vergu corresponds to the income-tax among us. It is a tax raised upon the presumed fortune of all private persons. This tax is not uniform ; in Rumelia it does not amount to more than 10 per cent. , while in some districts of Anatolia it rises to 25 or 30 per cent. This inequality may be explained in the following manner : As the revenue may be composed of taxes raised on objects already subjected to the tithe, such as cereals, olives, flocks, &c. , it often happens that the same object is subject to both these taxes. For instance, on a crop representing a value of 1,000 piastres, the Government first takes 100 in the shape of tithes, and then 175 on an average in the shape of vergu ; while for a house representing a THE REVENUE. 209 similar value, only 175 piastres are paid in the shape of income tax. In addition, every house belonging to the Vacuf is exempt from contribution, through its being applied, or supposed to be applied, to religious purposes. The distribution of the vergu, the amount of which is fixed by the superior authorities of the empire, is effected by the municipalities everywhere existing in Turkey from time immemorial, and which pay the product into the hands of the financial agents of the Government. In the villages, this distribution is regulated by the number of ploughs ; public notoriety serves to estimate commercial fortunes. By virtue of privileges dating from a very ancient date, Constantinople and its suburbs are exempt from the income-tax. There are two varieties of the capitation tax ; the first is the tribute which a Christian country, at peace with the Porte, agreed to pay, while submitting voluntarily to its power. Such is the tribute paid by the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, and the distribution of which among the inhabitants was intrusted to the Princes or Hospodars, who annually paid to the Porte the sum agreed upon. The other is the capitation, which, in the immediate possessions of the Sultan, affects all the raïas or non- Mussulman subjects. Every male adult among the latter is subjected to a fixed kharadj, according to a firman of Sultan Mahmud, of the month of April, 1834, of VOL. II. Р 210 THE REVENUE. fifteen, thirty, and sixty piastres, proportionately to their fortunes. Women, children, aliens, sick persons, the poor, and priests of the different confessions, are exempt from it. The Kharadj, or poll tax, divided into three classes, ala, evsat, and edna, was first instituted by Suleyman, and fixed at ten, six, and three leonines or piastres on adult males not professing the Muhammadan religion. The mode of distribution and raising the Kharadj has undergone considerable variations. Formerly, it was raised by special agents, whose proceedings always presented something more or less arbitary ; as the Turkish authorities will not recognise the registers of the non- Mussulman municipalities, they hit upon a singular method to assure themselves, whether a raïa child had attained the age of puberty demanded by the law. They took the measure of his neck with a piece of string-then made him hold the two ends of this string between his teeth, and tried to make him pass his head through the circle formed by the thread thus bent ; if the head passed without difficulty, the child was declared obnoxious to the lowest tax, which was gradually increased until it reached the highest class, beyond which no augmentation was allowed. * In the Christian villages, when the municipal Bianchi's Dictionary-remark on the word Kharadj. THE REVENUE. 211 system was in full force, the collection of the Kharadj was entrusted to a body of elders, selected by the villagers, whose functions were numerous and important, the principal being the apportioning the tax imposed upon the whole community to each individual according to his property. They had, therefore, to be most accurately acquainted with the amount of the property of the whole community, and of the property of each member of it ; they must ascertain each man's means of livelihood, his profits, and his industry. It was their duty by timely counsel, admonition, or reproof, to prevent the negligence, inactivity, or misfortunes of one individual from adding to the burthens of the rest. They assessed and collected the poll tax, house tax, and land tax, and many others, which, in their mode of collection, and repartition, varied in almost every village, but which always depended on a scale of property. They managed the municipal funds, collected for the compensation of houses in which Turks had lodged, for the supply of provender and provisions to troops, cavasses, and Turks, passing through the place ; for the defraying all expenses connected with the local administration, such as presents to Governors, and to messengers bringing orders, expenses of envoys sent to different parts, and tribes for deliverance from forced labour, or from any other illegal impositions. The funds for these purposes, which often amounted to as much, or even more, than the Government taxes, were apportioned, P 2 212 THE REVENUE. when the accounts were made up, according to the estimate of property they had made for the distribution of the Government taxes. Purchases were Their civil functions are by no means so easily defined. They distributed lands left uncultivated, or which were left without an heir. In transactions between merchants and members of the community for any produce, the contract was legalised by the signature of one or more of the elders, who thus became caution for their townsmen. only legal when witnessed by them. the priests, they decided all disputes, settled disputed watercourses and successions, and maintained a species of government, which tended rather to prevent than to repress disorder, by exercising a paternal or patriarchal control over each member of the community. Together with They were those communities linked together by the strongest ties of interest, opinion, and mutual responsibility ; each man was a guarantee for his neighbour's obligations, and security for his person, and consequently a censor on his condition and morals. Man did not lose his individuality, for the character of the individual extended to the mass, while the prosperity of the whole, under the direct system of taxation, benefited each individual. rejoiced in each other's prosperity, bewailed each other's misfortunes ;. they reproved the idle, lest he should be a charge to the rest ; they watched the They THE REVENUE. 213 fugitive, less the debts should be thrown on the community ; they repressed the robber, not to suffer in his stead ; and were happy when the submissive were not punished for the rebellious, and when the living had not to pay for the dead. * The Firman of 1834, by entrusting the collection of the Kharadj to a commission composed of the authorities of each district, the Cadi, the Musellim, the Voivode, or their delegates, conjointly with the Papas and Khodjea Bashis, of the Christian communities, abolished many of the old abuses, though it did not entirely suppress them . In 1850, the present Sultan completed the measures of his predecessor by the publication of a new ordonnance, stating that, for the future, the heads of the different communities, both Jewish and Christian, would be the sole arbiters between their co-religionists and the exchequer, with regard to the payment of the Kharadj . Through this, the tribute has not only been lightened, but its character is becoming gradually modified. The Kharadj is no longer what it originally was—when it was imposed on the conquered, as a pecuniary penalty, substituted in lieu of captivity, or even of the death they had incurred in the sight of Islamism, either by refuting its doctrines or resisting it. Everything that was humiliating and odious for the people had disappeared, and it is no longer considered any-

• Urquhart's ' Turkey and its Resources. '

214 THE REVENUE. thing but a substitute for the blood tax to which the Mussulmans are alone liable. The revenue arising from the Customs is composed of the charges on the imported and exported goods, to which we have already referred in the division of our work entitled ' The Commerce of Turkey.' The indirect taxes, or ihtiçab, are subdivided into seven branches. I. The trade licence is raised upon the shops and stores, according to the value of the goods sold in them. The maximum of this charge is sixty piastres ; the minimun, ten piastres per month. II. The stamp duty (damgha) is not merely applicable to all legal documents, such as contracts, bills of sale and exchange, but to certain objects manufactured in Turkey ; skins, slippers, &c. III. The city tolls are collected at the entrance of the towns, on objects required for consumption, such as fruit, vegetables, and butcher's meat. The amount of this tax goes directly to the State. IV. There are certain tolls also collected for crossing bridges, passing through the town gates after the hour for closing, and through certain barriers defending the mountain passes. V. The salt mines, and certain very lucrative fisheries are farmed out ; but some of them are subject to a quit- rent received directly by the agents of the Treasury, on the lakes of Orchida and Scutari, and along some portion of the littoral. THE REVENUE. 215 VI. The mines, of which the principal are situated in eyalets of Trebizonde and Erzrum. Their annual value is estimated at about 160,000l. , of which fiveeighths revert to the Exchequer, in accordance with the laws regulating mining property in Turkey. According to these laws, all Ottoman subjects, without distinction of religion or race, are at liberty to work the mines ; but this right is formally refused to strangers. Every individual who discovers a metalliferous deposit and desires to work it, is bound to request a concession from Government, which grants it for a term of years-the minimum being ten, and the maximum, twenty. These concessions entail the obligation of paying the Government twenty per cent. of the proceeds of the mine-delivering to the constituted authorities the entire amount of ore obtained, as private persons are stringently forbidden melting it. The Government alone possesses the right of carrying on operations of this nature, of which it also pays all the expense. After the ore has been obtained, the Government first deducts its royalty of twenty per cent. , and then pays to the proprietors of the ore, the value of the mineral obtained, according to a tariff previously agreed on. VII. The regular organisation of the Turkish postal system dates from October, 1840. It comprises a double system of communication by land and sea. Such are the different contributions which com- 216 THE REVENUE. pose the revenue of Turkey. As the majority of these contributions are raised in kind, the Government was naturally led to have resource to the ruinous system of farming, in lieu of the direct method originally established. This system, however, has undergone numerous modifications since its introduction, in the reign of Muhammad II, up to the present time. These concessions, which were originally annual, were converted into life- interests by an edict of the Sultan, Mustapha II, of 1695, in order to induce the farmersgeneral to spare the contributions as far as possible for their own sake. The advantages resulting from this change caused its adoption in all branches of the revenue indiscriminately, income tax, capitation, customs, &c. Each of these branches formed a large number of tolls, which were separately raised, the most considerable of which soon constituted a species of monopoly for the benefit of the Pachas and higher functionaries of the state. In the time of D'Ohsson twenty- two Sandjaks were leased, for life, to Governors, who underlet them or had them managed by officers bearing the titles of Voivode, Najir, Muhazzil, Aga, &c. Three eyalets were also let to Pachas. At a period when the power of the Pachas was unlimited, and when the separation of the financial administration and military authorities was not even dreamt of, it may be presumed that the exercise of a monopoly of this nature engendered vexation and abuses, especially for the wretched Raïas. All the excesses of THE REVENUE. 217 the old system speedily reappeared, and were rendered still more terrible by the interference of the Sarrafs or Armenian bankers, in the allotment of the farms. In fact, as the farmers are bound to pay the amount beforehand into the Exchequer, or to find security, the majority of the Pachas were forced to have recourse to the Armenians, who advanced them the necessary funds, and then assisted them in grinding down the people. The Armenians have been, and still are, the richest and most commercial people of the empire. By their wealth they were the surest guarantee the Porte could obtain by their knowledge of the Turkish, by their intimate acquaintance with all commercial dealings, and by their condition of Raïa, they offered the Pacha every quality that could recommend them as active and able men of business, as bankers of solidity, and as docile creditors. The revenues being often collected in kind, their capacity of merchant, united to that of bankers, made them doubly useful, and gave them opportunities of rapidly acquiring wealth. The Sultan viewed their prosperity with no unfriendly eye, as their wealth, like that of the Pachas, was not squandered by extravagant habits or in rebellious enterprizes, but remained carefully hoarded in their strong boxes till some pretences or some necessity brought it into the miri. Considerable capital being required for carrying on 218 THE REVENUE. this branch of business, the number of the Sarrafs was under eighty, or nearly the number of the Pachas ; and, as by their refusal to become guarantee, they could reduce any Turkish Governor to the condition of a private individual, they, in fact, farmed out the provinces at their pleasure, and for their profit ; at last they even carried their authority so far that no banker would consent to become the Sarraf of a Pacha without a note of hand from his former Pacha, declaring that all his demands had been paid. The confidential agent who accompanied the Pacha to his province was generally a relative of the Sarraf. All money transactions passed through his hand, and the commission and other perquisites were very considerable. This agent received the revenue of the province, for which his principal had become responsible, and trafficked in its produce, which he managed to obtain at a reduced price, as tributary exaction, &c. Thus, to every Pacha a steward was attached, like a sucking-fish to a shark, from whom, let him writhe as he liked, he could not get rid-who watched his movements, commanded his resources, and, while urging him to repeated acts of violence and extortion, only left him a portion of the plunder. The Pacha could not throw him off because his office depended on the guaranteeship, and he could not possibly induce him to plot against the Porte, because the bulk of the Armenians' fortunes, and the principal of the THE REVENUE. 219 firm, were at Constantinople, where his own family was also retained as hostages, and whence they were suffered, under no pretence, to depart. It was, then, by this body of bankers, jobbers, and speculators, that Turkey secured the payment of her revenue, and surrounded her governors with a financial thraldom and espionage, through which the boldest arms never succeeded in breaking ; while, at the same time, the Pachas were driven to such excesses of extortion, that enmity was placed between the province and its Governor : and though he might amass treasure, levy troops, and assume a show of power and strength, he had no firm hold on his office, because the very means he had necessarily taken to maintain his authority, had rendered him the object of hatred. * Thus, the empire was given up to a body of plunderers, composed of the high Turkish functionaries and the Sarrafs, while only a small portion of the money raised flowed into the Imperial treasury. Sultan Selim was the first who attempted to remedy these abuses and augment the receipts of the treasury by subjecting the farmers to a new system of government control. After him, Sultan Mahmud issued an edict by which the Pachas were ordered to manage their Pachaliks on account of the State, and no longer on their own. This wise measure, which was Urquhart's ' Turkey and its Resources. ' 220 THE REVENUE. first applied to Armenia and several other provinces in Asia Minor, was only a few years prior to the Hatti-scheriff of Gülhane, which promised a revision of the system. The conclusion of the Hatti- scheriff announced that the Council of Justice would assemble without delay, in order to settle this question. In the meanwhile, however, the old system continued in force, and the principal functionaries of the government still had the leases granted to them, either in their own name, or in that of the Sarrafs. The fatal results of this system were attempted to be modified by the adoption of certain measures, by which the rights of the State and those of private persons should be maintained ; for instance, the restrictions placed upon the authority of the Pachas, by the separation of the administration, financial and military functions, formerly united under one head ; the creation of special agents to receive the revenue ; and, finally, by the extension of the municipal system, and the establishment of provincial councils, to whom was intrusted the administration and collection of the taxes. Spite of these wise measures, the State was continually plundered, the population oppressed and ground down, and the deficit in the miri was augmented, instead of being diminished. Two years ago, the committee which was appointed to examine into the different questions relating to finance, decided that no agent of the government THE REVENUE, 221 should for the future obtain leases, and that those who acquired them in the name of other parties, should be prosecuted. But the law is of no use if not applied, and in addition, this was not sufficient ; it was not enough merely to regulate and ensure the collection of the taxes, but their character must be entirely changed and modified. 222 THE EXPENDITURE. THE EXPENDITURE. THE budget is made up in the following manner : The Sultan's civil list Piastres. £ · 75,000,000 . 750,000 The civil list of the Sultana Dowagerand the married sisters of the Sultan The army • 8,400,000 .300,000,000 84,000 3,000,000 The navy · 37,500,000 375,000 Ordnance • 30,000,000 300,000 The civil service 195,000,000 1,950,000 Foreign affairs, embassies, &c. 10,000,000 100,000 Public works · 10,000,000 100,000 Subvention to the Vacuf 12,000,000 120,000 Compensation tothe holders of fiefs · 44,000,000 440,000 Subvention to the Ottoman Bank · 30,000,000 300,000 751,000,000 7,510,000 THE EXPENDITURE. 223 THE SULTAN'S CIVIL LIST. The Sultan formerly possessed a private source of income, distinct from the treasury, for the support of which certain branches of the public revenues were assigned the domains, the parks, and imperial gardens, the proceeds of the woods and forests, a portion of the Egyptian tribute, the fees for the investiture of pachas and judges, confiscations, the royalty of ten per cent. on all legacies, the hereditary right of the Sultan, not only with reference to the officers of his household, but also to all the public functionaries, by virtue of the principle, which assimilated both to the common slaves whose person and fortune belong to their master ; the taxes paid by several provinces for the Sultan's special use ; and lastly, the presents offered to the monarch by foreign sovereigns, as well as the grandees of the empire, at certain seasons of the year. It is very difficult to form a correct estimate of the amount of these revenues. It appears, however, that they generally exceeded the amount of the miri, and not only covered the enormous expenses of the seraglio, but even permitted the Sultans to save considerable sums annually, intended to swell the treasury chamber upon their death. In fact, whenever a Sultan dies, an exact inventory is made, not only of the sums found in his private chest, but also of the jewels and objects of value he had collected during 224 THE EXPENDITURE. his reign all these objects are enclosed in an iron chest, which is then deposited in the Khazinì odaci, by the side of the one containing the riches left by his predecessor. The Sultan pays from his civil list all the expenses and charges of his household. It may amuse the reader to have here a list of the principal offices, both military and civil, forming the Serai, or imperial palace. There are twenty- four grand officers, composing the household, and immediately attached to the Sultan's person, according to their official rank and right of precedence. One KHASSA MUSHIRY (private or Grand Marshal), who is the chief officer of the Mabain, and GovernorGeneral and Commander of the Imperial residences. Four MABAIN KHIATIBY (Secretaries of the antechamber), with the rank of ferik (Lieutenant- General). The first of these, who is in constant attendance upon the Sultan, has little to do but transmit and receive the Monarch's orders. The second writes the Sultan's letters to the Porte and his Ministers. The third waits upon the Sultan after the night prayer, when the bag containing despatches from the Porte, sealed with the Grand Vizir's signet, is opened, and the contents are laid before the Sovereign, who reads them himself: and, when answers are required, this Secretary endorses them under the Sultan's dictation, and seals them with the small Imperial signet, which his Highness always carries about his person. THE EXPENDITURE . 225 The fourth is charged with receiving all petitions presented to the Sultan, when going to mosque or elsewhere. If there be time, his Highness generally receives the petitions, as soon as he has concluded namaz, and the Secretary is directed to write replies. Six MABAINJI (Gentlemen of the Ante- chamber) , personal attendants upon the Sovereign. Each has his particular charge : the first is entrusted with all that concerns the wardrobe ; the second, pipes ; the third , the table ; the fourth, the kitchen ; the fifth, sabres and nishans ; and the sixth has the inspection of beds and linen, when the Sultan does not sleep in the Harem. One BASH UNKIAR IMAM (first Chaplain in Ordinary) . One KHAZNADAR AGHA, performing the functions of Ristar Aghassy. The last seven have the rank of liva (Major-General). Each has several subordinates, acpatris and secretaries paid by the civil list. One BUYUK MIRAKHOR (Master of Horse) , who has under his orders the Rutchuk Mirakhor ( deputy Master of Horse), and all the Capidji Bashi (Chamberlains) . One KAPU AGHASSY ( Chief of White Eunuchs) , having some few of this class under his orders. The present chief is an old man, and the greater part of his subordinates are equally aged. The office will be allowed to cease at his death. Vacancies are not filled up, unless by chance some Eastern potentate or VOL. II. 226 THE EXPENDITURE. obsequious Pacha thinks fit to present the Sultan with one of these unfortunate beings. One KHAZNI VAKILI (deputy Treasurer) , who is Governor of Yeni Serai , commonly called the New Seraglio . He is also inspector of the Imperial furniture and jewel office. Under his orders are twentyfour pages of the Khass oda (Privy Chamber) , and thirty-two other pages belonging to the Khazna odassi (Treasury Chamber) . One MATBAH EMINEII ( Intendant of Kitchens) , having under his orders nearly 500 persons, such as Vekilhardy (Purveyors or Stewards) , cooks, scullions, wood- cutters, charcoal-burners, confectioners, pastrycooks, sherbet-makers, lamplighters, water- carriers, and so forth . One TCHOKADAR AGHA (Chief Footman) . He always accompanies the Sultan on foot, stands by his stirrup, sits in the same boat, and is regarded as a most confidential personage. He has upwards of 100 footmen under his orders. One SER- HADEMA ( Captain of Body-guard) . This corps consists of 600 picked men, having the rank of Lieutenant. Two or more always attend the Monarch, armed with light muskets . One SER MUSSIKI ( Captain of Music) , a sinecure. The office of instructor and chief of the Sultan's band is entrusted to a brother of the Composer Donizetti, with the rank of Colonel. One MUEZZIN BASHY (first caller to prayer, and THE EXPENDITURE. 227 chorister) , having under him twenty-four subordinates. Their duties are to announce prayer- hour from the minarets of the Palace Temple, and to attend the Sultan to public mosques, where they aid in performing service. One BASH MOOSAIB (Jester or conversation- maker). This person attends when the Sultan dines, which meal he invariably takes alone, or on other occasions, and is prepared to tell stories, or to enliven the Monarch with gossip and witty repartees. He is allowed great freedom of speech, and is sometimes commissioned to introduce subjects which others dare not bring to the Imperial ear. such an office . Good and evil result from One KITABJI ( Librarian ), of the Sultan's private collection, and keeper of the Korans. One RHAVEGI BASHY ( intendant of coffee department) . He is responsible for the coffee presented to the Sultan, and is himself the bearer of the cup. The subordinates supply the whole household. One BERBER BASHY (chief Barber) , a confidential post ; but it has lost much of its importance in later times. The number of individuals subordinate to the above twenty-four functionaries are monstrous. Taken collectively, the whole male household cannot be estimated at fewer than 2,400 persons, including bodyguard, boatmen, and stable department. The Teshri Fadji (Master of Ceremonies ) , the HeQ 2 228 THE EXPENDITURE. kim Bashy ( Chief Physician), the Munidjim Bashy (Chief Surgeon), the Zedjria Eminèh (Inspector of wines) , Chief Astrologer, and the Imperial dwarf, who has also the rank of liva, might be added, as well as some others, but they are not included in the twenty-four principal Court charges. Some few mutes, born deaf and dumb, are also extant, but they are old men, relics of former times and usages. The titles of Selichtar Agha ( Sword- bearer) , and many others have been abolished. * By the ancient laws of the Empire, the Officers of the Seraglio were the slaves of the Sultan, and to whatever rank they attained, they were still considered to exist in that relation ; to be incapable of acquiring personal property ; and their wives, children, and fortune, as well as themselves, were at all times at the disposal of their master. Though the strict interpretation of this relative connexion was no longer recognized, and men undertook offices, who were not, and never had been slaves : still the origin of the notion continued to operate ; the functionary was put to death who displeased his master, and his property was taken possession of by the Sultan, as if the man was still his bondsman. Mahmud II was the first to relinquish these claims. He no longer declared himself the heir of executed men in office, and so was no longer influenced by a sordid motive

1. White's Three Years in Constantinople. '

THE EXPENDITURE. 229 to put them to death. He made a personal sacrifice both of power and interest, and voluntarily destroyed the foundation of that monstrous despotism, which supposed him the absolute master of the lives and property of all his subjects. THE CIVIL LIST OF THE SULTANA VALIDE. A fixed sum is now substituted for the appanages formerly given to the Sultana dowager, and the Princesses of the Imperial family. * The Sultana Validè is held by the Mussulmans in almost equal veneration with the Sultan, and is regarded by them as their mother. For this reason she alone enjoys the privilege of appearing in public with an unveiled face, like a mother who has no reason to blush at exposing herself to the sight of her children. The household of the Validè is composed of nearly 150 persons, the principal of whom is her kihaya (intendant, or manager of her finances) , aided by several secretaries, or sub- agents. As for the Princesses of the royal blood, they are married at a very youthful age to muchirs, or field -marshals, on whom this alliance confers the title of highness. By an ancient custom, the issue of these marriages was destroyed at

• D'Olivierrepeatedly mentions islands in the archipelago which

were assigned to these ladies for their revenue. 230 THE EXPENDITURE. the moment of birth. Of the four sisters of Abd-ulMedjid, one only now survives, who was married in 1845 to Muhammad Ali Pacha, formerly Grand Vizir. The expenses of the army, navy, and ordnance we shall have an opportunity of referring to, when treating of those branches. THE CIVIL LIST. The following statement will show the principal civil officers of the Turkish Government, as well as the salaries they receive. THE PRIVY COUNCIL- MONTHLY. Piastres. £ Grand Vizir 100,000 1,000 Sheikh-ul-Islam 100,000 1,000 Ministers holding the rank of Muchir 70,000 700 Dignitaries of the higher class 50,000 500 THE CHANCERY OF STATE. 62 officers of the 1st class, and Piastres. 1stdivision of from 15,500-7,500 2nd class £ 155-75 THE EXPENDITURE. 231 60 officers ofthe 2nd division of class 2 and Piastres. 7,500-5,000 £ 75-50 3rd class Officers of the 4th class 5,000 to 2,000 50-20 Officers ofthe 5th class 2,000 & under 20 & under ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROVINCES. Governors- General, Piastres. £ accordingto their 70,000-40,000 700-400 rank Kaimakams 30,000-15,000 300-150 Mudirs 10,000-5,000 100-50 Defterdars 15,000 150 Mal-Mudiris 5,000 50 LEGAL EMPLOYMENTS. The Sheikh-ul-Islam and the four grand judges of Rumelia and Anatolia, are the only officers salaried by the State. The remainder of the magistrates, cadis, and muftis, are paid by the suitors. FOREIGN AFFAIRS. The department of foreign affairs contains the diplomatic and consular service. For a length of time the Porte sent no ambassador to foreign courts, 232 THE EXPENDITURE. except on extraordinary occasions. The most magnificent embassies were those which proceeded to Persia. Several, however, were sent to European courts, principally to France and Austria. In 1793, the Porte decided on establishing permanent embassies at the courts of London, Paris, Vienna, and Berlin. It also intended to establish one at St. Petersburg ; but the latter cleverly evaded the proposition. According to the plan adopted, eight or ten young ottomans were attached to each of the embassies, and provided with the necessary means to instruct themselves in the languages, sciences, and arts of Europe. project, admirable in itself, failed through the prejudices it had to combat. This Forty years later, in 1834, Sultan Mahmud, perceiving the dangers that resulted to Turkey from the system of isolation carried on by his predecessors, returned to the idea of Selim III, of accrediting permanent Ministers to the principal European Courts. This political attempt having been perfectly successful, other representatives were accredited to Berlin, Vienna, &c. The number now amounts to seven ; namely two Ambassadors at Paris and Teheran, two Envoys Extraordinary at London and Vienna, three Chargés d'Affaires at Berlin, Athens, and Brussels . - The Consular system comprises thirteen ConsulatesGeneral, the majority of which are occupied by foreign merchants, usually belonging to the nation to which they are accredited. In such a case they THE EXPENDITURE. 233 rarely receive any salary from the Porte, and their emoluments are generally derived from the amount of business they perform. PUBLIC WORKS. The sum devoted to this branch comprises all the special disbursements for agriculture and public works ; nor had it been taken into account in the budget before the last two or three years. It is evidently insufficient, if we remember that everything relating to the improvement of agriculture is still in its infancy. Only a few experiments have yet been made, whose success, it is to be hoped, will induce the Government to substitute for this temporary vote, a regular and fixed item in the budget, proportionate to the demands of the service which it is intended to provide for. SUBVENTION TO THE VACUFS, ETC. We have already seen, that although the managing committee of the Vacufs is, at the present day, nominally possessed of three-fourths of the landed property in the Ottoman empire, its revenues did not amount to more than 20,000,000 of piastres. This apparent contradiction is explained by the usual frauds in the declaration of sale prices, by the precautions taken to avoid reversions, and so on ; and principally by the 234 THE EXPENDITURE. low amount of the quit-rents, which were arranged originally at a sum of money of which the name has not been changed, but which at that time possessed thirty to forty times its present value. This fact, though it appears strange to us, and which is caused by the depreciation of the currency, is not the least ruinous among those which deserve notice, as proving to what a scrupulous point legality is maintained in Turkey. However this may be, the revenues of the Vacuf not being sufficient to cover the expenses, the committee was compelled to demand a subvention from the State of 12,500,000 piastres. This subvention, added to the 20,000,000 arising from the Vacufs, represents the total disbursements for religious institutions, public instruction, and the establishments of public usefulness and charity in Turkey. LIFE ANNUITIES PAID BY THE TREASURY. The fiefs in lieu of which these annuities were paid were of two sorts -the military, and the Nurkatas and Malikianès, consisting of the privilege which certain families possessed of receiving directly and for their own benefit the taxes raised from a village or a district. The abolition of the former was decided on principle, from the day when Sultan Mahmud, after destroying the Janissaries, decreed the suppression of the Sipahis and other feudal militia, and substituted THE EXPENDITURE. 235 for them regular bodies of troops raised and paid directly by the State. Several causes, however, retarded the execution of this great measure. It was not till 1840, when the definitive organization of the army was commenced, that the Ottoman Government resolved to receive on its own account the revenues of these military gifts, and establish a regular system of recruiting, in lieu of the armed contingents they were bound to furnish. All the fiefs were thus abolished ; but the State indemnified the holders of the fiefs by giving them one-half of the revenue of the fief in the shape of an annuity. The whole of these pensions amounts at the present time to 40,000,000 of piastres. But this amount is being gradually diminished, and could be, strictly speaking, omitted from the budget. There is also another variety of annuities, the nature and origin of which M. Cor, in his La Reforme en Turquie, ' explains as follows :-" By the Sehim (portion of the booty) certain annuities are meant, transmissible much in the same way as the Vacuf property, and which lapsed to the treasury when the annuitant died without direct heirs. 1846 the State was paying on this account the sum of 6,000,000 of piastres, representing the interest at 12 per cent. of 50,000,000 of piastres." At the present time it cannot amount to more than 4,000,000. In 236 THE EXPENDITURE. SUBVENTION TO THE OTTOMAN BANK. An Ottoman bank, organised upon the same principle as the public banks of Europe, was established at Constantinople by an Imperial firman, dated April 5, 1853. The Government guarantees to this bank an annual subsidy of 30,000,000 of piastres for fifteen years. On the other hand, the Bank agrees to withdraw from currency the Ottoman coinage of a nominal value much inferior to its intrinsic value ; to repay the State, at the expiration of fifteen years, without interest, the caïmès (treasury bonds), and to maintain them till that time at par ; to maintain the exchange on Europe at a minimum of 110 piastres for the pound sterling in commercial transactions. It will be necessary to go back for a few years, in order more fully to comprehend the circumstances which rendered its establishment one of the most pressing necessities for Turkey. The Ottoman monarchs, whenever they found a deficit in their budget, or had to make head against any unforeseen necessity, adopted from an early date the fatal practice of diminishing the intrinsic value of the coinage, while maintaining its nominal value. The most prominent alteration was that made in 1774, a short time after the peace of Kainardji, when the Turkish piastre suddenly fell to 2s. 2d. Since that period this value was repeatedly diminished until the reign of Sultan Mahmud, when the THE EXPENDITURE. 237 title of value of the gold coinage was altered thirtyfour times, and the silver thirty- seven. In 1829, when the coin called bechlik, containing five piastres, was struck, to pay the indemnity to the Russians, the piastres had fallen to two-pence, and even that was more than its intrinsic value. About the same period the first issue of caïmès was made. These were treasury bonds, of the value of 50 to 1,000 piastres, without any fixed time of expiration, and constituting a species of paper money, with this distinction, that they bore interest. The first issue of this paper money took place in 1841 . The Government, through a just apprehension of the dangers which might arise from such a step, proceeded with considerable circumspection at first, and the quantity of caïmès introduced into circulation, and which bore an annual interest of 12 per cent. , payable half-yearly, did not exceed 60,000,000 piastres. This ruinous rate, although agreeing with the ordinary rate in Turkey, was not too high, if we bear in mind the risk to which the holders of the treasury bonds were exposed by the indefinite adjournment of the repayment, and the total absence of guarantee on the part of the State. However, in the following year, 1842, the Minister of the Finances reduced this interest to 6 per cent. , by repaying a portion of the bonds issued in the previous year. Since then new bonds, a ' part at the same rate of 6 per cent. , and the others bearing no 238 THE EXPENDITURE. interest, have raised the circulation of the caïmès to about 176 millions. Spite of the exactness with which the interest was paid half-yearly, the caïmès underwent a remarkable depreciation in a very short time ; still , it never exceeded 3 per cent. , as the Government promised to exchange them at sight at a loss of 3 per cent. The bechliks were multiplied with more rapidity than the caïmès. In a short time more than 500 millions of this money were in circulation, of which a quarter was supposed to be exported from Europe. The inconveniences resulting from such an abuse are self- evident. These inconveniences not only existed in Turkey, but also affected the European commerce at Constantinople and in the States. During the closing years of the reign of Sultan Mahmud, when the European ideas were beginning to gain strength in his councils, several attempts were made to attain a fixed rate of exchange by preventing the depreciation of the coinage. But these attempts, continually checked by adverse circumstances, were not brought to a successful issue until the following reign, when the Bank of Constantinople was established. The Government first ordered the withdrawal of the money then in circulation, at the rate of 7,500,000 piastres per annum. At the same time they commenced by issuing progressively a new coinage corresponding to that of the European States. The new THE EXPENDITURE. 239 coins, called Medjidiè, from the name of the reigning Sultan, were composed of ten varieties of pieces : GOLD : Pieces of 100 piastres. 9" 50 99 وو

• SILVER : "" 99 20 99

99 99 10 29པ་ +COPPER : 99 10 39 21 39 33 23 33 99 པ 10 5 99 وو 2 وو 39 39 20 paras. 5 99 1 99 The total value of the money struck since 1844 is estimated at about 200 millions piastres. An Imperial decree in the next instance interdicted the circulation, among the subjects of the Porte, of all foreign coins and ancient Ottoman money. Orders were given that they should be taken to be changed to the mint at Constantinople, or to its agents in the These coins are nominally of silver, but really of copper, thinly plated. There is also a nominal coin called an asper, of which five are equal to one para. This coin, Dr Walsh tells us, which is but the twelfth part of a farthing, exhibits an extraordinary instance of great events arising from little causes. The Janissaries were entitled by ancient prescription to a certain number of aspers ( called essames), in addition to their pay. Amongthe first reforms of Sultan Mahmud was one depriving them of this gratuity, of which they loudly complained, and their discontent on this account was among the principal causes of the events that followed. 240 THE EXPENDITURE. provinces. Spite of these interdicts, the old coinage, as well as the foreign money, continued in circulation, the quantity of new money issued not being sufficient to cover the value of the commercial exchanges. At the same time the latter, as well as the foreign coins, became, in consequence of the relative superiority of the old coinage, the object of an agio, which has lately risen to more than 10 per cent. The Porte having renewed, by a second decree, the former prohibitions, under the penalty that refractory persons should pay, as a fine, the fourth of the sum seized, it fancied that it would thus maintain the piastre at a nearly invariable rate. At the same time arrangements were entered into with the heads of two of the principal houses in Constantinople, by which the pound sterling was fixed at 110 piastres. Their engagement was to furnish, at this price, the merchants of Constantinople with the bills they required to carry on their foreign business. However, this was only a private speculation, and, as such, did not appear to furnish all the desired guarantees of stability. For this reason, the Ottoman Government, taught by several years' experience, and by the results of a system, the advantages of which they daily recognised more clearly, determined on consolidating and perpetuating its labours by taking the business into its own hands. This was the origin of the old Imperial Bank of Constantinople, founded in 1848, with a capital of 125,000 piastres. This THE EXPENDITURE. 241 bank, however, being an unsuccessful speculation , through various causes, which it is unnecessary to specify, the new Ottoman bank was founded in 1853. Such is a fair statement of the Turkish financial system, according to the accounts of writers certainly favourable to Turkey, but who will not sacrifice truth to their partiality. Many writers, however, of equally honourable repute, deny these statements in toto, and for the sake of maintaining our own character for impartiality, we have ventured to add a summary of the chief arguments employed by the Anti- Turkish party. Whilst this work is passing through the press, a loan for five millions sterling for the Turkish Government has been negotiated in London, and bears a premium. It has been brought forward under the auspices of two parties-one distinguished for great wealth, and the other for a high mercantile reputation, and, it is to be hoped, they possess better grounds for trusting to the resources of Turkey, than the preceding statements would seem to warrant. The loan has received the sanction, though not the guarantee, of the allied Governments ofEngland and France, and, having been freely taken by the public, spite of the disastrous results of the semi-political loans to Spain, Portugal, and Greece, to say nothing of those to the South American republics, will probably, for a time at least, be successful, and may prove of great importance towards carrying on the present war, and towards the regeneration of the Turkish finances. VOL. II. R 242 THE DEFECTS IN THE THE DEFECTS IN THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM. By an examination of our previous statements it will be seen that the receipts and disbursements of the Turkish budget are nearly balanced ; that is, the income amounts to 731,000,000, the payments to 751,000,000 piastres, leaving a deficit of only 20,000,000 piastres, or 200,000l. How is it, then, that Turkey can be in its present condition of irremediable bankruptcy ? If matters were really as M. Ubicini represents them, and we have no reason to doubt that they are so on paper, the Porte could not only feel perfectly well satisfied with its financial condition, but even be on a far better footing than several ofthe European Great Powers. There are two principal causes which lead to the unhappy state of the Turkish finances : the first and most important is, that not more than half the taxes wrung from the Raiahs reach the Imperial Treasury, but remain in the possession of the higher and lower tax- collectors and other officials. In short, it is FINANCIAL SYSTEM. 243 perfectly impossible to state with exactness the actual amount of the income and expenditure, and probably there is not a man in Turkey capable of furnishing a trustworthy account. There is also a second circumstance, which must be taken into calculation. Up to the present, in ordinary seasons, that is, if the year has been good, and the taxes regularly collected, the balance was maintained, although there might be many instances of crying reforms being neglected through the want of money. But if a year of bad crops supervenes, and the tithes, instead of the 220,000,000 they ought to bring in, only produce two-thirds or the half of this sum, and at the same time, some circumstance entails an augmentation of the army or navy, the State suddenly finds itself harassed with a deficit of 100 to 150,000,000, which it is not able to cover. In this way the armaments of the Porte, in 1849, the war in Bosnia during 1850 and 1851, the late expeditions to Montenegro, joined to other circumstances we shall presently enumerate, produced the present financial crisis, for which no satisfactory solution has yet been discovered. Under such circumstances it cannot be considered a matter of surprise that the Porte possesses no credit, and no capitalist will consent to lend it any considerable amount. The State, in fact, is deficient in all those guarantees, which can alone procure it credit. In September, 1853, the Porte certainly made an attempt to contract a loan of 40,000,000 R 2 244 THE DEFECTS IN THE piastres, but was compelled to give up the idea, as neither Rothschild nor any of the leading bankers displayed any inclination to take shares in it. Consequently, nothing was left to the Porte but to work off Caimès day and night. But if the Porte possesses no credit, what actual value can their bank notes have ? If the Turkish State collapses, it will be less through hostile attacks from without than through its own internal weakness, and the disorganised state of the financier. A regular administration , or a just, energetic, and cautious Government would convert the state of the Turkish finances into the most flourishing in the world ; for Turkey possesses abundant resources, both in the fertile soil (the greater part of which lies fallow) , in the cultivation of the vine and olive, in the silk manufacture, in the boundless forests, filled with the best building wood, and in the scarcely discovered mines, which yield an immense return for even the most superficial working. But the countless errors in the financial system of the Turks render all these resources valueless, and the fiscal principles of the Government are in utter variance with every regular and reasonable system of administration. As we have seen, the revenues of the Porte are chiefly derived from the land, capitation, and property tax, the royalties, imposts and amount paid by the tributary Princes. In addition to these, a number of indirect taxes were introduced by the last Sultan. FINANCIAL SYSTEM. 245 A species of meat- tax is raised in a very arbitrary manner in the Metropolis. The fishermen pay 20 per cent. of the produce of their fishing ; measures and weights are re- stamped every year, and the Sultan's seal is impressed on every industrial production, from jewellery and shawls down to shoes and shirts. But the proceeds of these taxes only enrich the persons who collect them. The riches disappear before the glance of a greedy administration, and the ruler of the fairest districts in three quarters of the world is doomed to employ the cask of the Danaides. In order to satisfy its necessities, the Government is forced to have recourse to confiscations, the sale of offices, presents, and the wretched method of debasing the currency-and now, when there is hardly any coined money existing-to the creation of worthless paper money. The last Sultan, it is true, declared that he would give up all claim to the property of deceased statesmen. But the principle was recognized rather than the alteration carried into effect. The confiscation of fortunes was formerly accompanied by the execution of the plundered man. At present milder measures are resorted to, in order to strip the richer classes of a portion of their property. The sale of offices , although ostensibly abolished, is still , a principal source of the revenue of the State. The applicant borrows the money at a high rate of interest from some commercial Armenian house, and the Turkish Govern . 246 THE DEFECTS IN THE ment is not able to prevent the extortions of these farmers-general. The debasement of the currency is a more grievous misfortune in Turkey than in any other European country, for very little money is invested in land, and the riches of the country consists principally in ready money. The high ratio of interest is far from being a proof of the extensive circulation of capital : it only shows the danger to which all lenders are exposed. The great portion of the riches of the country consist of objects which can be easily concealed. The Raiahs would sooner purchase an article of jewellery worth 100,000 piastres, than a factory, a mill, or objects of that nature. Nowhere is there such a love for ornaments as in this country, and the jewels which even young children wear in rich families, are a striking proof of the poverty of the country. We have already mentioned the general condition of agriculture in Turkey. If the Government would take the produce of one acre of land as the groundtithe, the peasant would cultivate eleven acres instead of ten, for there is plenty of land lying waste. But what would be the case, were the farmer to cultivate a double quantity of land in the Spring? He would have to pay a double tax in Autumn. Thus, then, every one keeps his hands in his lap, and confines himself to the cultivation of just so much land as will support him. As long as the taxes are raised in the present arbitrary fashion, agriculture will never take firm root, FINANCIAL SYSTEM. 247 or any industrial activity be apparent. And yet the latter would be so highly successful, and would impart to the soil its true value ! How many natural resources are here left unemployed ! How many brooks flow idly past, which would drive mills and works : what immeasurable forests remain uncleared through the want of roads ; how much building material lies uselessly strewn about ; what mineral treasures do the mountains contain- how much of it is visible on the surface and only requires working ! Late travellers obtained with a magnet above 50 per cent. of iron from the sand of the Tigris. Whole square miles of country are covered with mulberry trees, without an okka of silk being manufactured ; but what capitalist would enter into speculations of this nature ? What use is it, to prove that such undertakings would bring in a profit of from 50 to 100 per cent. as long as they are burdened with a tax of from 50 to 100 per cent. That is the reason why the traveller is distressed by seeing acres of uncultivated land close to the walls of the largest cities, and why the riches of the country lie buried in the money chests of the subjects, and the whole commerce of Turkey is in the hands of strangers. A just distribution or settlement of the taxes is , however, impossible, so long as the present mode of raising them lasts. The manner of collecting the customs furnishes an idea of the errors which exist. While other states favour the exportation of the productions of the country in every possible manner, the 248 THE DEFECTS IN THE Turkish government imposes an ad valorem export duty of twelve per cent. and an import duty of only three, as if desirous to ruin the internal trade. In a similar spirit it raises a duty of nearly forty per cent. on all home-made wines, a tithe on the grapes while still on the tree, then a high duty on the wine-which consequently highly favours the foreign vintages. But the wine trade is impeded in another manner as well. The peasant dare not pluck the grapes until the Tithe Commission has estimated the value of the fruit. The Commission, however, arrives very rarely at the proper time, and thus all the grapes, dried, unripe, and overripe, are gathered at the same moment : the peasant has no choice, and can consequently only produce a poor description of wine for local consumption. In consequence of this, no Turkish wine is worth exporting in any considerable quantity (with the exception of that grown in the Danubian Principalities and some of the islands) , and at the same time the Government system of taxation has not merely neglected, but actually ruined one of the finest sources of revenue. Another branch ofthe revenue has also unfortunately been lopped off, in consequence of the progress of administrative Reform. We refer to the industrial productions formerly peculiar to this country, which, although only suited to oriental customs and taste, furnished employment for a great portion of the population, found a ready sale in the most distant portions FINANCIAL SYSTEM. 249 of the empire, and even beyond the frontier. At any rate it augmented the revenue and occasioned a considerable inland trade, through which the smaller producers were enabled to dispose of those articles, which would not bear the expense of distant transport. Since the introduction of reform, however, this branch of industry has perished, and the country has been temporarily impoverished. Those who have lived any length of time in Turkey, are best able to judge what changes have taken place in the dress and expenditure of those persons who formerly took a pride in displaying the external signs of their country's industrial activity and prosperity. At that time, rich and varied costumes might be seen among the upper and middle classes ; embroidered turbans, scarfs, shawls, silks, and elegant webs of linen and cotton ; rich carpets, splendidly embroidered cushions, and velvet ottomans ; magnificent housings and saddles on their horses ; fire and side arms, most artistically finished and inlaid, and the servants in rich dresses. Art and industry were developed in all their branches, not only for the rich, but for the lower classes as well, so that even the poorest man could do homage to the oriental national vanity in personal pomp and luxury. The meanest villager was proud of the strings ofgold and silver coins which adorned the brows of his wife and children, and of the polished vessels of copper which glistened on his hearth. Now, however, the splendid colours and rich stuffs of the oriental costume have given place to the woollens and cottons of Europ 250 THE DEFECTS IN THE It must be confessed, that, in a poetical aspect, Turkey has not gained, but in the present practical age, such considerations cannot of course be entertained. The Turks are in a state of transition, and years must elapse before a thorough change is effected from oriental stagnation to European progress. We have in our duty as impartial examiner into the condition of Turkey, thought it the better plan to point out openly, not only the benefits, but the defects, accruing to the country from the new exertions from the propagation of reform. The only question that remains is, whether the good outweighs the bad ? We are of opinion that the system introduced is the one most adapted to the peculiar circumstances of the case. The first attempts at reform in Turkey failed, because the desire was entertained to introduce a series of vital alterations precipitately. The reformers anticipated that the utter alteration ofthe Turkish character would be effected at the mere will of the Sultan, and they found an opposition which they had not calculated upon. The result was that the work was suspended and deferred until the crisis arrived when Turkey must either perish or be regenerated . The Reform party once again reared its head, and, taught by the errors of the past, first set to work by propitiating the Mussulman population. Their concurrence once gained, the remainder will be an easy task, and we are justified in expressing a hope that Turkey may eventually become one of the best governed and finest countries in Europe. The last FINANCIAL SYSTEM. 251 barriers of Turkish prejudice are being gradually subverted by the presence of the allied troops, and the present Sultan, for his part, strives most sedulously to exalt the character of his nation. Let us hope that he will not fail in his noble mission . The mere fact of the Anglo- Gallic alliance, and the consequent retreat ofthe Russ from Constantinople, will be of the greatest importance for the great cause of Reform . The Russian agents will no longer be able to excite the animosity of the Raïahs against their masters, and the former, when clearly aware that their Lord in St Petersburg is not absolute as they hitherto fancied him, will feel inclined to give up their present system of hostility. They will perceive that the Moslems are sincere in their desire to improve the social condition of all the classes who form their empire, and will eventually join with heart and soul in the promotion of the cause of Reform, which can alone ensure them prosperity, security, and happiness. These arguments are indubitably well put, and appear to contain a considerable amount of truth ; but, for all that, they are based on a fallacy. No one has for a moment attempted to assert the Turkish reform system is perfect ; all the merit claimed for that party is that they have worked wonders in an extraordinarily short space of time. They are equally with their opponents aware that much must still be done ere Turkey can be assumed to be on a level with other European nations. But, having displayed such extraordinary energy in removing the most crying 252 THE DEFECTS IN THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM. abuses, is it reasonable to suppose that the reform party will now rest contented with watching the progress of events, instead of carrying out the reform through every branch of the administrative system ? For our own part, we must confess a strong faith in the vitality of Turkey. No thoroughly effete nation could have displayed such energy. Convinced of the necessity of entire and absolute reform, the new Turkish party will never cease its exertions, till it has carried out all the measures which many politicians regard as visionary. The encroachments of their hereditary enemy, and the necessity of proving to him that the sick man is rapidly regaining his strength, will impede the progress of reform for a time ; but as soon as the Czar has been compelled to give up his designs, and leave the Turkish empire to a period of tranquillity, we have no doubt that the great work will be carried on with redoubled speed. Till that auspicious season, we ought surely to feel satisfied with what the Turks have already done, and not try to dishearten them by picking out those macula, which are inherent in every constitution, whether old or new. Since the above was written , the admirable conduct of the Turkish army, under Omar Pacha, and the successful defence of Silistria, whilst on the one hand it may raise the Turkish character with Europeans, may, on the other hand, incline the old, or Mussulman party to overvalue their own power and resources, and to reject changes and reforms as unnecessary ; but which, we believe, are as much required to support the Turkish Empire and bring it within the pale of European civilization, as the assistance of the French and English armies and navies and the alliance with Austria. RESCHID PACHA. 253 RESCHID PACHA. OUR statement of the financial condition of Turkey would be incomplete, were we not to add a few details about the life-history of the extraordinary man who possesses such just claims to be regarded as the regenerator of Turkey. Reschid Pacha will be enrolled by posterity in the list of the great statesmen, to whom Europe owes its present pre-eminence. Through a career of almost unexampled difficulty, he has ever kept one object steadily in view—the welfare of his country, and his every exertion has been directed to that end. The wonderful ameliorations which have been introduced in the administration of Turkey are his handiwork, and had he been permitted full liberty of action, the condition of the empire would have been established on a still more satisfactory basis. Let us hope, however, that his recent retirement from official life will not necessarily entail his entire renegation of those great interests which it has ever been his study to 254 RESCHID PACHA. foster. Such a loss would be irremediable, at a moment when the Porte has even more to fear from the secret practices of their foe, than from his overt attacks. The truly barbarous condition in which Turkey was sunk, prior to the latest period of reform, is shown by nothing so clearly, as in the manner the former Sultans were wont to select their ministers . They took them haphazard from the crowd, gave them the most important duties, and were satisfied if they met with blind obedience from the persons they selected. It might be considered a piece of good fortune, if the new Vizir or Pacha did not owe his advancements to certain disgraceful indulgences, which are so frequently demanded and granted in the land of polygamy. The slave in the Seraglio suddenly became Private Secretary, employed in the most diplomatic duties, and, if he displayed any talent, he was not promoted to some high ministerial post, but given a command in the army. Nothing was more common than for an employé to go from the Home department to the Foreign, from the Foreign to the Admiralty. Statesmen, who had assumed their posts with a good preparatory education, were exceptions, even very recently. Among these exceptions we may place Reschid Pacha. He was born at Constantinople, at the close of 1802. His father, Mustapha Effendi, managed the rich property of the Mosque of Sultan Bajazet. The RESCHID PACHA. 255 office had been hereditary in the family, but when Mustapha died, Sultan Mahmud disposed of it in favour of one of the officers of his Harem. In 1817, Reschid's mother also died, after having given her four children, and, especially, Reschid, who was distinguished for his talents and proficiency, a most careful education. One of the daughters had been married to Ali Pacha, who was, at that time, viceroy of an Asiatic province, but she had died before her mother. Still Ali took charge of the youthful Reschid, and made him his Private Secretary. In this capacity he accompanied his patron to the Morea and Brusa, and afterwards to Constantinople, whither he was summoned in 1822, to undertake the duties of Grand Vizir. It was the season of the Greek insurrection, which Ali would have gladly suppressed by mild measures. As, however, the most severe measures were decided on in the Divan by the intrigues of Haleb Effendi , the Grand Vizir was deposed and banished to Gallipoli. But the defeats of the Turks in the Morea continued, and as Ali possessed the advantage of a thorough acquaintance with the country, if nothing else, he was nominated General of the army opposed to the Greeks. Reschid accompanied him, and shared in the privations and misfortunes of the army. Ali was not more successful than his predecessors, and was deposed. He died an utterly ruined man. Reschid had already gained such an excellent 256 RESCHID PACHA. On character through his talents and acquirements, that the fall of his patron did him no injury. He was appointed Private Secretary to the Grand Vizir Selim Pacha, and accompanied him, in 1829, during the campaign against the Russians. He continued his functions with Izet Pacha, Selim's successor, and was one of the negociators of the treaty of Adrianople, as Secretary to the Ottoman plenipotentiaries. account of the services he performed on this occasion, the Sultan raised him to the dignity of an Amedzi, or Grand Referendary. His next employment consisted of two diplomatic journeys, which he undertook to Egypt, the first with Pertev Pacha, the second with Halil Pacha. During the latter, which took place in 1833, his instructions were to induce Mehemet Ali, the victor of Konieh, to offer the most favourable terms to the Porte. The result of Reschid's exertions was the treaty of Kutahia, with which the Sultan could only be satisfied, under existing circumstances. Reschid's reward was the Ambassadorial post at Paris , for which he was thoroughly adapted by his perfect acquaintance with the French language, and literature. From Paris he proceeded, also in the capacity of Ambassador, to London, and remained for more than two years in the west of Europe. From the earliest years devoted through sincere conviction to the Sultan's scheme of reform, he was during his residence in Europe more thoroughly convinced of RESCHID PACHA. 257 + the immeasurable advantages of civilization over barbarism. A fearful event stamped this impression deeply on his mind. Recalled to Constantinople by Pertev Pacha, who was performing the duties of Prime Minister, in order to undertake the management of Foreign Affairs, he found, on his return, that this Minister was dead. Pertev Pacha had been strangled. His enemies had taken advantage of Mahmud's intoxication, and obtained a decree for his execution. Could the contrast between European and Asiatic manners be brought more convincingly and terribly before Reschid's eyes? Reschid was considered a lost man, for the executed minister had raised him to his new dignity. But he disappointed the prophecies and intrigues of his enemies, convinced the Sultan of Pertev's innocence, and obtained the punishment of his murderers. The favour which he acquired , rendered it possible for him to set his plan of reform in motion. The feverish impatience of the Sultan, which principally arose from the thought of revenge on Mehemet Ali, gave wings to his zeal in a manner which really grew alarming. Reschid clearly went too far, and did more harm than good by his reformations. Besides the old Turkish party, the more cautious friends of Reform grew angry, for matters assumed such an aspect, as if Turkey was to be converted into an European state in a single night. Conspiracies were formed, Mehemet Ali received the most pressing VOL. II. S 258 RESCHID PACHA. invitations to unsheath the sword in defence of the Faith, and commenced his preparations. It would have been far better policy to defer the inevitable conflict with the Egyptian Viceroy. Reschid Pacha, on the contrary, hurried on the outbreak of the war ; although even the Sultan, blinded by hate as he was, saw that precipitation is always an error, and Reschid consequently fell into disgrace. Still he had really only carried out his master's commands ; and this consideration was the cause of the mildest form of punishment being selected . His banishment was hidden under the veil of a second journey to London. The observations which Reschid Pacha had made during his first residence in London, led him to the conclusion, that the formation of a grand alliance against Russia was not an impossibility. He was aware that it was Russian policy which influenced Mehemet Ali against the Sultan, in order to weaken the countries of the East, and render them defenceless against their eventual occupation by Russia. But he failed in inoculating English statesmen with this conviction. It can scarcely be doubted, that if in reality an anti- Russian alliance had been effected, which would materially have been a confederation for the protection of the Porte, Mehemet Ali would never have drawn the sword. Reschid Pacha did not gain his his travels. He visited all the However, as we said, object, and went on places in which his country was interested, among them Rome, where he RESCHID PACHA. 259 obtained an audience from the Pope ; the first believer in the Koran who ever was so honoured. From Rome he proceeded to Paris, and it was while residing in that city, that the news reached himof the terrible reverses which had fallen upon Turkey with frightful velocity. No Sultan, no army, no fleet in existence ! The Sultan dead, the army annihilated in the course of a few hours at Nisib, the fleet carried into a hostile port by their own Capudan Pacha! In this crisis, Reschid proved himself to be a true statesman. He hurried instantly to London, and before he took ship for Constantinople, in obedience to the summons of the new Sultan, the quadruple alliance for the preservation of Turkey was signed. Russia figured among the contracting parties, who wished to support the tottering edifice of the Turkish State, lest Mehemet Ali might take the whole and form a vigorous State out of it. Naturally Reschid Pacha was not in a position to be able to decline this suspicious confederate's assistance. When he arrived at Constantinople, the most pressing danger was passed. A circumstance, which is much rarer in the East than in the West, namely, that the successor treats the servants of his predecessor with equal respect, and continues the former system of policy, had taken place here. Reschid Pacha was in higher favour with Abd-ul-Medjid than he had been with Mahmud, and received the welcome command $ 2 260 RESCHID PACHA. to continue the works of reform which had been interrupted. Under the prevailing circumstances, which had opened the eyes of every Turk, except a small body of incurably blind, his zeal was of the most decided benefit. There has been much discussion, whether the formal alteration in the relations of the State, which has now been carried out, had strengthened or weakened the power of Europe. To judge from the remarkable energy which Turkey has developed in its present struggle with Russia, it is superfluous to re- open the discussion. The important labours of internal reform occupied Reschid Pacha so entirely, that, for the first time in his life, he forgot to keep a watchful eye on his diplomatic opponents. He trusted in this respect too much to his friend Sir Stratford Canning, from whom he had every reason to expect support and assistance. This transitory carelessness was not unnoticed or unemployed. Russian diplomacy knows all the wires by which Constantinople is manœuvred, and cleverly sets them simultaneously in motion, by which an almost irresistible effect is produced. In this instance their main object was to interrupt the progress of these strengthening reforms, and this high end was well adapted to their diplomatic energies . Reschid Pacha at the decisive moment was the more careless, as he had just received from his master a rare proof of respect and gratitude, in an order expressly invented for him. He allowed himself to be taken by surprise. RESCHID PACHA. 261 On the 20th March, 1841 , the Turkish fleet returned from Alexandria, the war was at an end, and on the 29th of the same month, Reschid received his dismissal. But this disgrace was followed by honourable banishment to an embassy. It was the Paris one for which Reschid was selected, and the Sultan could give his fallen minister no greater proof of his confidence than by sending him to a country which had to be converted from an enemy into a friend, just after its susceptible vanity had suffered the deepest humiliation by its exclusion from the Councils of the European Powers. Reschid had this advantage in his Embassy, that it was known in Paris he had advised the Porte to make Mehemet Ali certain concessions upon which the Cabinet of the Tuileries laid weight, in order not to lose the support of so old and so powerful an ally. As this was known, it provided him a good reception in Paris, and rendered his task lighter. This was no other than to procure recognition for the well-known doctrine of the European balance of power which declares the integrity of Turkey to be an affair of European interest. Reschid Pacha's stay in Europe on this occasion, which continued from 1841 to 1847 , was long enough to give him time for his task. But was the result so successful, did Reschid really gain the Powers, and more especially France, to make common cause with Turkey against Russia ? We will answer 262 RESCHID PACHA. this question, as soon as we are enabled by the perusal of the necessary diplomatic documents of the most secret nature to decide whether the much-discussed alliance of the Emperor Nicholas with Louis Philippe, which is stated to have been formed in 1846, is one of the thousand myths with which persons have so sedulously striven to destroy the character of the citizen- King, or whether it is an actual fact. If the latter is the case, then the Revolution of February saved Europe for the third time-the first was effected by Napoleon's arrogancethe second, by the Revolution of July-from a GalloRussian alliance, or, in other words, from a barbarous war of conquest. Since 1847 Reschid Pacha has been again residing in Constantinople, and during this time has been continually in office, first as Grand Vizir, afterwards as Minister of Foreign Affairs. In this last capacity he had to carry on the negociations with the arrogant Mentschikoff. In the former he had to defend his plans of reform against obstinate hostile parties. As Reform Minister he is distinguished by the HattiSheriff of the Sultan, dated 28th of September, 1846, through which he was appointed Grand Vizir. We will add the introduction of this interesting document, as it will prove to us the good opinion which his master entertains of Reschid Pacha. The Sultan writes : "My faithful Vizir ! Although Rauf Pasha, who for a lengthened time has performed the functions of RESCHID PACHA. 263 our deputy in the Empire, has distinguished himself among our Ministers by the purity and honesty of his views, and although I, in consequence, am in every respect satisfied with him ; still, in spite of the exhortations which I have incessantly addressed to him, as well as the other Ministers, I have not found in him the requisite attention and perseverance requisite to carry out measures which have been decided on with the most favourable designs, and are intended to allow all our subjects to enjoy impartial justice, and to secure the prosperity of our States, by the maintenance of good order and peace. That care and zeal was not displayed which the execution of these measures demands, in order to obtain such satisfactory results as I require. As the execution of these important measures, and of those which may in consequence be deemed necessary, demand great attention and the most intense care, it is absolutely necessary to intrust this post to a man who fully recognises its entire importance, perfectly understands the position of matters, possesses the highest degree of talent and intelligence, which he requires in order to settle with the other Ministers the management of the affairs entrusted to them in common, and is capable of inciting and encouraging the zeal of the officials and employés in the true fulfilment of their duties. To thee, my faithful Vizir, who most perfectly unite these capabilities of all the faithful Vizirs of our Empire, these high functions are intrusted as a reward for thy zeal and thy talent. 264 RESCHID PACHA. cannon. Reschid Pacha affords us the rare sight of a Turk who despises the use of weapons as brutal, and believes diplomacy to be destined to decide the future fate of the world without any appeal to soldiers and For the preservation of Turkey he attaches the greatest, we might almost call it exaggerated, importance to the " good offices " of his diplomatic friends, among whom none possesses his entire esteem like the English Ambassador. Lord Stratford and Reschid Pasha are entirely agreed in all their views and convictions, just as they are repeatedly seen in public together. That the diplomatic Turk is not specially loved by his countrymen for this contempt of war, is natural. He has the most embittered enemies in the old Turks, with whom he is continually engaged in a struggle. In truth he is as prominent among those who promote Reform on the path of peace, as Omar Pasha is among those who fight for it with the sword. He is wedded to it, its victory his victory, its destruction his destruction. The old Turks have brought a third insulting accusation against Reschid Pasha. He is a poet ! A man of peace, a Reformer, and a poet in one person, form an union which is not suited to their taste. As regards the truth of the charge, Reschid Pasha is said in his youth to have written some poems, and, with a poet's vanity, to have circulated them among his friends. Fortunately, his education is not confined to versification . The Turkish savans in- RESCHID PACHA. 265 voluntarily assume a respectful tone when they speak of Reschid's acquaintance with Arabic, Persian, and Turkish literature. The literature and science of the West he formed the acquaintance of during his residence in Western Europe. He is well versed in history, and is very partial to logic. These studies may be seen in his state documents, which may serve as models. He knows this, and probably, on that account, makes too liberal a use of his pen. He writes and speaks French with equal correctness. His knowledge of the Turkish Empire and its condition is profound. On his travels with his brother-in-law, Ali Pacha, and on his diplomatic journeys, he saw many provinces of the Empire with his own eyes, the whole of Turkey in Europe, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt, which latter may now again be considered as part of Turkey. How practised he is in the art of pleasing the great is shown by his repeated return to office. This circumstance procures him the involuntary respect of his countrymen, for any one who raises himself again to power after a fall is, in the eyes of the Turks, a perfect statesman. Reschid has raised himself in this way several times. Cleverness, love of regularity, talent, and inflexible industry, are qualities which no one gainsays in Reschid Pasha, the man of business . In his character there is an unmistakeable mildness, even gentleness of heart, which are not so entirely suited to his position and task. Before imitating the example 266 RESCHID PACHA, of his predecessor in 1826, and killing a party hostile to reform by thousands on the Atmeidan, and pursuing them to utter destruction through all the provinces of the Empire, he would sooner give up every idea of reform. Truly Turkish is the unalterable, almost marble, calmness which is displayed in his demeanour and features . Were it not for the sudden flash of intelligence which every now and then animates his countenance, he might be taken for a lazy, unsympathetic Turk. His person would not gainsay this opinion, for he is of middle height, rather short than tall, powerfully built, though rather clumsy. His features, on the other hand, are regular, his brown eyes are of an almond shape, his complexion dark-all Turkish traits . In Paris these qualities, united to the most amiable politeness, rendered him the lion of society, especially among the female sex. Still more thoughtful men admired him for his nobler qualities. Guizot, who rarely praises, and never flatters, said of him: " Reschid is a great man, the only one whom the East possesses. " Reschid Pasha loves the Europeans, seeks their society, and opens his house to them at Constantinople. He lives himself very much on the European style, sits on a chair, and uses knives and forks in eating ; as a Minister of Reform, he believes he must give his countrymen a good example in the avoidance of the custom which more than all the rest checks the progress of cultivation . He has only one wife, RESCHID PACHA, 267 who is now past her youth, and who has borne him several children. One of his sons is betrothed to a daughter of the Sultan, and if the marriage takes place, will undertake the duty of murdering all male children who are born to him. Still, Reschid Pasha has not entirely given up all Turkish fashions, and there are two serious instances in which he has remained a Turk. It is confidently asserted that he shares the preference of Turkish Grandees for money to such a degree, that he gives a more favourable hearing to those petitions which are recommended by a bribe. Secondly, it is said to be certain, that he permits his wife to carry on a traffic which is dishonourable according to European ideas. The lady busies herself in the purchase of young female slaves, gives her fair protégées the usual harem education, and sells them for high prices to Turkish noblemen. Travellers who visit Reschid's house, in order to see the great Reformer face to face, are made to feel in a very perceptible manner that in one respect, at least, his household is managed after the Turkish fashion. In no house at Constantinople do the servants demand backshish so boldly as at Reschid Pasha's. The sums thus extorted cannot be inconsiderable, if it be true that Lord Stratford estimates every visit to Reschid Pasha at 500 piastres. Reschid Pasha possesses many valuable orders. Besides the decorations which his master expressly created for him, he has the star of the great Turkish 268 RESCHID PACHA. order, is Grand Cross of the French Legion of Honour, Knight of the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, of the Spanish Order of Charles III, and Isabella the Catholic, of the Dutch Order of the Lion of the Netherlands, of the Order of Leopold of Belgium, of the Swedish Order of the Sword, &c. THE MILITARY AND NAVAL STRENGTH OF TURKEY.

THE TURKISH ARMY, ALTHOUGH the new organization of the Ottoman army was only established in the year 1843, the first attempts which were made date from an anterior time, and evidence the first progressive steps taken by Turkey in the path of reform. In truth, when the Ottoman empire commenced to sink, after the treaty of Carlowitz, the first symptom by which its decline was manifested was the inferiority of its armies in the presence of the regular and disciplined troops of the West. The Turks were unable to carry on the contest longer, and the moment arrived when the choice was left them, either to perish, or to obtain from Europe lessons in that art in which they had been themselves her first masters. When Sultan Selim undertook, in 1796, the task of creating a corps of troops exercised and disciplined in the European fashion, the old organization was still in existence, although in principle it had undergone numerous modifications. The military forces of 272 THE TURKISH ARMY. Turkey consisted, as in the time of Montecuculi, of imperial soldiers and auxiliary troops ; the former receiving regular pay, or maintained by the timars and other military tenures ; the others subsisting on the booty captured from the enemy. We have already seen that the Sipahis, who formed the principal strength of the Ottoman cavalry, were bound to reside on their fiefs, and to proceed to the campaign when required with a body of cavalry proportioned to the size of the fief, at the rate of one horseman for every three thousand aspres of revenue. The fiefs could only be conferred on the sons of Sipahis, and on each vacancy the candidates were bound to prove their descent by the testimony of two Zaïms and two Timariotes. The promotion of the feudatories was regulated by the service they performed on the battle-field ; whoever brought in the head of an enemy received an augmentation of his revenue of nearly 10 per cent. ; fifteen heads established a claim to a more exclusive fief. This powerful body existed in full vigour till the time of Soliman, when the fiefs furnished at least 200,000 horsemen. But from this date, which was the culminating point of the Ottoman power, and, consequently, the commencement of its decline, this number gradually decreased. The majority of the fiefs were sold, the holders no longer marched in person, and purchased their discharge from furnishing their contingents by paying the treasury an indemnity of 50 THE TURKISH ARMY. 273 piastres per head. Still, in the time of Selim, these contingents amounted to 132,000 men. The infantry consisted almost entirely of the Janissaries, who were instituted by the Sultan Orkhan in 1328.* Sir James Porter gives us the following account of the condition of the Turkish forces in his time :- " The Janissaries are said to amount to 200,000, some swell them to 300,000, and the muster- rolls may contain very great numbers ; but it should be taken into consideration that, not only at Constantinople, but in all the frontier garrisons, there are multitudes who give money to get their names enrolled , in order to enjoy the privileges and immunities of that respectable corps, to be free of that city, to work at manual trades, to have a right to open shops, to keep stalls, or engage in commerce : these, however, receive no pay, and are at liberty to withdraw their names whenever they think proper ; thus circumstanced, they are volunteers. It is not, therefore, possible to ascertain the precise number of Janissaries which can be denominated a standing army ; in this respect, neither Solyman the lawgiver's Kanoun, nor

• In the year 1828, M. Borè states in his valuable work Correspondance et Memoires d'un Voyageur en Orient, ' from the information of an old Janissary, that this number had been greatly

diminished. Only 20,000 holders of military tenures assembled under the banner of the Turkish General. This was owing to the fact, that these fiefs had been in later years given to civilians, who farmed them out or enjoyed their revenues, without in any way thinking of the fulfilment ofthe obligations they imposed on them. VOL. II. T 274 THE TURKISH ARMY. the rolls can be of any service to us. The only way to form a just estimate of this affair is to take into consideration the pay distributed to the Janissaries throughout the whole empire in the course of six months—it amounts to 2,400 purses, or 150,0007. With regard to the sum there can be no mistake, because we see it told out and paid to each chamber at the Divan . Now, if we suppose that the pay of the staff, and all other officers and private men, may be estimated upon an average at 3d. per day, we shall not find above 60,000 Janissaries in constant pay throughout the vast extent of the empire. But even this pay is often greatly reduced by abuses and concessions, as it appeared at the execution of the Kislar- Agha or Chief of the Black Eunuchs in the year 1752. "The young slave, Solyman Agha, availing himself of the usurped credit of his master, appropriated to his own use the pay of 8,000 Janissaries, and it is notorious that several great men obtain it for their servants who, in time of war, never join the army. Add to this, that amongst the whole numbers who, in time of peace, receive their pay, nearly one-fourth are invalids, incapable of military service. "But the numerous armies attributed to the Turks are by no means made up entirely of Janissaries ; the latter constitute but an inconsiderable number of them in comparison. Upon a declaration of war, the inhabitants of each district, between the ages of all THE TURKISH ARMY. 275 sixteen and sixty, are summoned to join the standard of the Pacha, and to rendezvous at a certain place. Those who approve of the war, or who like their commanders, join the army, but are not obliged to serve out the campaign ; they stay or return as their fancy or inclination directs. The very Janissaries themselves act on the same principle. I was told by a bairaktar, or ensign of the Janissaries, that, after the defeat of Choczim by the Russians in the last war, he fled from his colours and returned to his own habitation, and that this was their constant practice . " The real army of the Grand Signior is therefore to be considered as composed of the people, who constitute four or five to one of the corps that is kept upon the establishment. Nor can any of those Janissaries in pay be distinguished from the people ; they are not in the course of the longest peace either disciplined or reviewed ; nay, it cannot be said that they are even embodied. "The Turkish horse, consisting of the sipahis, who are regularly paid, and the zayms, and the timars, who are possessed of military sciences, are not under a discipline more strict ; for when they are called upon to serve, they can have recourse to evasions as easily as the others ; they repair to the camp, just make their appearance, are enrolled, and, a few days after, return to their own homes. "The Turkish cavalry consists in a regular body of about 13,000 sipahis ; these are divided under six T 2 276 THE TURKISH ARMY. standards. The pay of these two corps of infantry and cavalry, as it is distributed every six months at Constantinople, amounts to about 2,400 purses, of 500 dollars each. Besides these, there are the Zaims or Timariotes, who hold feudal tenures, and are obliged, according to the value of the fief, to appear in the field, each with three or four horsemen, or more, well mounted and accoutred. These are good troops, and exceedingly numerous. "We might add many other bodies of militia. There are the Gebegis, who have the care of the powder, ball, and all the ammunition for war ; when they are complete, they should amount to 4,000 men. The Tobegis are the cannoneers, and have nothing else under their care but the casting of cannon, mortars, &c. , and charging and levelling them; they form a body of about 2,000 men. The bombardeers are also a separate corps, entirely employed in the practice of throwing bombs. " This sketch of the military force of the Ottoman Empire must suffice for the present. I just mention these different corps to give some idea of the Turkish power, and show that in the military department, as in every other branch of Government, the Turks observe established regulations. " By the Kanoun of Solyman the Janissaries were divided into four battalions, each composed of a certain number of odas or chambers. They formed in the aggregate 229 odas, of which seventy- seven remained THE TURKISH ARMY. 277 in garrison at Constantinople, and the others were spread over the provinces. Each oda had its veterans, its invalids, its children, and its adjutants . The Janissaries only obeyed their Agha or General, and a special divan formed of the principal officers of the corps. In order to flatter their vanity, Sultans themselves were inscribed in the rolls as privates of one of the cohorts in garrison at Stamboul, and invariably appeared in person at the Et Maidany Barracks on the last day of each quarter. Here they answered at roll- call to their simple names of Muhammad, Mustapha, &c. , and received their three months' pay and allowance of cloth and candles. The Janissaries were recruited, according to annual custom, by means of the children whom the tributary provinces were bound to furnish for the purpose. This serves to explain how it was that the Turks had nearly 100,000 regular infantry at the close of the last century, while, at the present day, when the troops are recruited from the Mussulmans solely, their army hardly amounts to two- thirds that number. After having been visited and inspected by the Sublime Porte, these children were distributed through. the different Seraïs established for that purpose. They were instructed in the principles of Islamism. Their education occupied four or five years, after which they were attached to the various corps. Every seven years the vacancies caused by deaths were filled up. Any man convicted of cowardice was dismissed, and 278 THE TURKISH ARMY. never permitted thenceforth to lay claim to the title of Janissary. A history of the revolts of the Janissaries would fill more than one interesting volume. Osman III, in 1622, Mustapha, in 1623, Ibrahim, in 1648, Achmet, in 1730, Selim, in 1807, Mustapha II, in 1808, were either murdered or deposed by the agency of these corps. At last, they became a species of Prætorian Guard through their excesses, and filled the Empire with trouble and seditions through their violence and insubordination. Selim's attempts at reformation ended with his deposition, but the lessons he had taught Mahmud while imprisoned with him at length bore their fruit in the sanguinary tragedy of the At-Meidan. On the 14th June, 1826, Mahmud issued a proclamation, obliging all his troops to submit anew to the discipline which they had cast off for more than a century and a half. The Janissaries refused obedience. The Sultan unfolded the sacred banner of the Empire, and placing himself, with his only son and heir, beside it, appealed to the patriotism of those around him. He drew his dagger, and said in a loud voice, " Do my subjects wish to save the Empire from the humiliation of yielding to a band of seditious miscreants, or do they prefer that I should put an end to that Empire by stabbing my son and myself on this spot, in order to rescue our sacred banner from the disgrace of being trampled on by traitors ?" THE TURKISH ARMY. 279 He then ordered that the standard should be planted on the At- Meidan or Hippodrome. Crowds of people, from the highest to the lowest classes, headed by the Ulema or Magistrates, and the Softa or Students, assembled round the standard, and having heard what the Sultan had said from those whom he had addressed, the mob, excited by enthusiasm, hurried away to carry the alarm through the town. All who possessed or could procure arms prepared them, and rushed to attack the barracks of the Janissaries . The corps of artillery, having torn off the badges which were also worn by those abhorred regiments, that all appearance of fellowship with them might at once be destroyed, commenced the attack. Three hours, with 4,000 artillerymen and students, incited by that resolute will which had foreseen and provided for every casualty during eighteen years of apparent submission to the tyranny of a caste, sufficed to annihilate the military ascendancy which had once made the Sovereigns of Europe tremble abroad, as it had the Sultan at home. The attack, however, was directed against only one side of the square, and the other three, as well as the neighbouring gate of the town, were purposely left open, with the view that those of the Janissaries who did not wish to resist the Sultan's order, might escape unharmed, and quarter was given to all who chose to submit. Similar orders having been simultaneously sent to every part of the Empire where Janissaries were stationed, the same 280 THE TURKISH ARMY. conditions were offered to 150,000 individuals belonging to the corps. Of these only 3,600 refused them, and they were the most incorrigible of the chiefs. Having been made prisoners, they were tried by a regular court of justice, and it was only necessary to prove their identity in order to condemn them, as the Sultan had carefully compiled the proofs of their respective crimes during many years ; 1,800 of them were executed in Constantinople, 1,200 were put to death in the provinces, and the remainder were exiled. Although it must have been an appalling sight to behold those 600 corpses lying on the At- Meidan, we cannot help admiring the patriotism elicited on that occasion ; when the Janissaries perceived it, they were stupified by the unexpected excitement of the people, and many fled , fully convinced of the impossibility of resisting those over whom they had hitherto domineered with impunity. Their dispersion was an essential condition of the very existence of the Ottoman empire ; the example was necessary to save it from contempt, and to raise it out of that state of prostration into which it had fallen ; legal forms were rigidly adhered to, and in no case was sentence arbitrarily passed ; and being, therefore, a necessary measure, legally executed, it is impossible to admit the justice which has been lavished on it by detractors of Turkey, or to refuse the admiration due to the long foresight, steady preparation, THE TURKISH ARMY. 281 and vigorous energy with which the act of retribution was consummated. * On the following day a manifesto of the Porte, addressed to the Ottoman nation, announced the perpetual abolition of the corps of Janissaries, and the substitution of a new body of troops, who bore the name of the regular Mussulman troops. " A few days later a new decree suppressed the Sipahis, and incorporated the Timars and other military tenures with the Crown lands. The other troops were not disbanded, but simply re- organized and instructed in the European manner. General Guilleminot, Ambassador of France, being an active co- operator, the work of military reform was sedulously carried on, and the resistance the new troops offered the Russians in the campaign of 1828 proved that it only required time to render the Turkish army a very imposing force. Sultan Mahmud, having thus carried out his plans in Turkey Proper, desired their adoption in Tripoli and Tunis, and the Barbary states. The Dey of Algiers obstinately refused submission to the nizam-djedid, which appeared to him a violation of ancient customs, and this refusal of obedience ruptured the weak bond still subsisting between the Porte and the Dey of Algiers. When the French attacked Algiers in 1830 they had to contend against the remnant of the Janissaries, who " Three Eras of Ottoman History.' 282 THE TURKISH ARMY. sought refuge at that Court from the vengeful arm of Mahmud. The death of the latter was, as we have already stated, followed within four months by the HattiSheriff of Gülhanè, in which a regular system for recruiting the army was established . It was not, however, till 1843, during the Seraskerate of Riza Pacha, that the decree appeared, which entirely altered the Turkish military system, and remodelled it on the plan of the French army. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. 283 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. THE Turkish Army is divided into two distinct branches : the active service or Nizam, and the reserve or Redif. The active Ottoman Army is composed of six corps d'armée, or camps, called Ordu, and placed under the command of a Muchir ( Field Marshal) . Each Ordu consists of two corps or divisions, under the command of a Ferik (General of division) . Each division is composed of three brigades, commanded by Livas (Generals of Brigade) . The Seraskier Pacha, or Commander- in- Chief of the Turkish Army, resides principally at Constantinople. He is a Vizir of the Empire. On extraordinary occasions, when the Standard of the Prophet is unfurled, the Grand Vizir in person assumes the command of the army, but accompanies it only a few miles beyond the gates of the capital. The whole Ordu is made up of eleven regiments, six of Infantry, four of Cavalry, and one of Artillery. 284 THE ORGANIZATION Each Infantry Regiment is formed of four Battalions of eight Companies. The regulation strength of each battalion is 815 men, thus made up : 1 Commandant (Bin- Bashy) . 1 Wing Agha or Major (Kol- aghassy) . 8 Captains (Yuz- Bashy) . 16 Lieutenants (Mulazim) . 8 Sergeant- Majors (Tchaoush Bashy) . 32 Sergeants (Tchaoush) . 8 Clerks or Fouriers (Beuluk Eminè) . 64 Corporals ( On- Bashy ) . 640 Rank and File ( Nefer) . 24 Musicians (Mehter) . 8 Water-carriers ( Sakkas) . 2 Surgeons ( Djerrah) . 1 Apothecary ( Edjadji) . 2 Chaplains ( Imâm) . 815 Adding the Colonel ( Mir Alaï) , the LieutenantColonel ( Kaimakan) , and the Alaï Eminè, or officer who takes charge of the regimental accounts, the entire regiment of four battalions has an effective strength of 3,263 men. Rank in the Turkish army is distinguished by a Shemshei, or decoration worn suspended from the neck, and by the swords, which are perfectly distinct for every grade, from the Seraskier to the Corporal. Both are given by the Government on the first ap- OF THE ARMY. 285 pointment of the individual officer or soldier, and, on promotion, are exchanged for others corresponding to the higher grade. The Shemshei worn by officers of the higher ranks are composed of brilliants , which, on quitting the service, they restore to the Government. The full dress of the superior officers of the Turkish service, which is seldom worn excepting during the two great festivals of the Beiram, and the anniversary of the Prophet's birth, is extremely handsome. It consists of a short blue tunic, similar to that adopted in the Prussian service, richly embroidered in gold, with two large bullion epaulettes. As no regulation exists on this point, the richness of the costume varies according to the taste and caprice of the owners. The Colonelcies of Regiments are not conferred, as is the case in Great Britain, on old soldiers as a species of retiring allowance, but the officers of this rank in Turkey assume the active commands of their regiments. There is no brevet rank, and every step has its corresponding duties. Colonels are assisted by their Lieutenant- Colonels, and battalions are commanded by Majors, who are aided by Adjutants. In this latter rank there is a decided improvement on the practice of old armies, like those of England, in which the difficult and responsible duties of the Adjutant are performed by subalterns, often very young officers, and in the absence of the Lieutenant

• Three Eras of Ottoman History.'

286 THE ORGANIZATION Colonel and the Major, the command of the Battalion is taken by the senior Captains, who cannot possess the general experience in the regiment which an Adjutant has the means of acquiring. In the Turkish army the rank of Adjutant is higher than that of Captain, and most military men will probably admit that this is an excellent arrangement. All the Officers rise from the ranks, excepting those who have come from the military schools. Each Ordu of the Turkish forces has a preparatory school, and there are thus six military schools for the whole army, besides two superior schools, and one for the Navy. The former are directed by a LieutenantGeneral. Nearly all the private soldiers have learned to read and write. Each regiment of Cavalry is formed of six squadrons made up as follows1 First Captain. 1 Second Captain. 2 First Lieutenants. 2 Second Lieutenants. 1 Farrier. 6 Sergeants. 18 Corporals. 2 Trumpeters. 110 Mounted men. 10 Dismounted men, 153 OF THE ARMY. 287 Adding the regimental staff : 1 Colonel ; 1 Lieutenant- Colonel ; 2 Chefs d'Escadron ; 1 Adjutant Major ; 1 Major ; 2 Surgeons ; 2 Saddlers ; 4 Farriers ; 2 Imâms ; the whole amounts to 934 men in each regiment, who must be reduced to 736, or 120 to each squadron. In the Turkish army the scale of command is graduated as in the different European armies, to which its formation is closely assimilated ; thus every 10 privates are commanded by an On- Bashy or Corporal ; literally chief of ten or Decurion ; 20 men form a section under a Tchaoush or Sergeant ; 2 sections form a sub-division under a Mulazim or Lieutenant ; 2 sub-divisions form a company under a Captain or Centurion, styled chief of 100, Yuz- Bashy ; 8 companies form a Yabour or Battalion, each wing of which is commanded by a Kol Agha; the Chef de Bataillon is styled Bin- Bashy, Chief of 1,000. There is no Quartermaster in a Turkish Battalion ; the duty is performed by any Officer whom the BinBashy may appoint for that purpose. To each Battalion there is generally 1 Djerah ( Apothecary) , 1 Physician (Hakim) , and 1 Imâm or Priest. Four Battalions form a regiment or Alai, commanded by a Mir Alaï, with a Kaimakan or Lieutenant- Colonel under him. Between the Kaimakan and the Bin-Bashy, there is an officer styled the Alaï Eminèh, who takes charge of the regimental accounts. 288 THE ORGANIZATION The Artillery regiments are composed of 1,300 men and 12 batteries, 3 horse artillery and 9 foot, having sixty-six field guns, and four howitzers. The effective strength of each Ordu is consequently : Infantry, 6 Regiments of 2,800 men, 16,800 Cavalry, 4 Artillery, 1 99 "" "" 720 1,300 " "" 2,880 1,300 20,980 men The first Ordu, or the Guards ( Khassa Ordussi) , has its permanent head-quarters at Scutari and Smyrna. The second Ordu, or division of Constantinople (Der- I- Skadet- Ordussi) , has its head-quarters at Constantinople and Angora. The third Ordu, or division of Rumelia (Rumili Ordussi), has its head-quarters at Monastir. The fourth, or division of Anatolia ( Andolu Ordussi) , head-quarters, Charprut. The fifth, or division of Arabistan (Arabistan Ordussi) , head-quarters, Damascus and Aleppo. The sixth, or division of Irak (Irak Ordussi) , head-quarters, Bagdad and El Hedjaz. In addition to the six Ordus, there are three detached corps ; a brigade in the Island of Crete, of 4,000 men with 3,000 to 3,500 irregulars, and 600 artillery militia-altogether, about 8,000 men ; a brigade in the Eyalet of Tripoli, composed of one OF THE ARMY. 289 regiment of infantry, and one of cavalry of about 4,000 men, and another of the same strength at Tunis-altogether amounting to about 16,000 men, infantry and cavalry. The special corps, under the command of the Grand Master of the Ordnance, must also be taken into account, exclusively of the Ordus. They are composed of:- The central corps of artillery, consisting of four regiments -one of reserve, and three distributed through the various fortresses in the Dardanelles, Servia, on the banks of the Danube, in the Archipelago, and on the littoral of Asia Minor and the Black Sea ; and, secondly, the brigade of engineers, formed of two regiments, each 800 strong. The Ottoman Army, therefore, is made up as follows :.. Effective Regiments. Men. strength. Infantry Cavalry Field- Artillery 36 117,360 100,800 24 22,416 17,280 6 7,800 7,800 Ordnance · 4 5,200 · 5,200 Engineers 2 1,600 1,600 Detached Corps, Crete 4 8,000 8,000 99 Tripoli 2 4,000 4,000 Tunis 2 99 4,000 4,000 188 80 170,376 148,680 VOL. II. U 290 THE ORGANIZATION THE REDIF. The decree of 1843 fixed the duration of active service at five years, at the expiration of which time. the soldiers are sent home to be incorporated in the redif, in which they remain for seven years longer. The redif is, in fact, a second army, and contains an equivalent number of regiments with those in active service, in all the branches. These regiments are locally divided into squadrons or battalions and companies, with the complete staff of officers and subalterns. The latter receive a regular and permanent pay from the State ; they are bound to reside in the towns or villages, in the centre of the soldiers on furlough, and to exercise them once a week. During a month of each year, the redifs assemble at the headquarters of the Ordu to which they belong, for a general inspection. During the whole time the redifs are called out, they receive garrison pay and rations. Each Ordu has its own redifs, who, in peace, are under the command of a Liva, residing at the headquarters of the Ordu. The redif of the four first Ordus is composed of eleven regiments, on the same establishment as those of the active army, that is— six regiments of infantry, four of cavalry, and one of artillery, having their distinct canton. The redifs of the first Ordu are quartered : Infantry, at Izmid, Brussa, Smyrna, Aidin, Kutayèh, Isparta ; Cavalry, at Isnik, Tyre, Kara Hissar, Is OF THE ARMY. 291 parta ; Artillery, in detachments in all these provinces. The redifs of the second Ordu are quartered : Infantry, Adrianople, Schumla, Boli, Anjora, Koniah, Kaisarièh ; Cavalry, Babadagh, Juzgat, Angora, Koniah ; Artillery, Tshorum. The redifs of the third Ordu : Infantry, Monastir, Tirhala, Salonichi, Uskup, Sophia, Widdin ; Cavalry, Yanina, Prezrina, Sophia ; Artillery, Monastir. The redifs of the fourth Ordu : Infantry, Siwas, Tokat, Kharbrut, Erzrum, Kars, Diarbekr ; Cavalry, Tokat, Van, Mardin ; Artillery, Kharbrut. The redifs of the fifth and sixth Ordus have not yet been formed. It is, however, estimated that, in case of war, they could furnish two corps, each of 20,000 to 25,000 men. In each place of cantonment there are depôts of arms, used in the manœuvres, and ready, if necessary, for immediate service . By means of these arrangements, the government has always at its command a military force through the whole extent of its territory, equal to the active army, and capable of being directed, with an interval of a few weeks, either on the Balkan line, or any other point of the country. The following tabular statement, which has been compiled principally from Mr Skene's valuable little work, will enable the reader to see, at a glance, at what places the different active and reserve regiments, composing the Turkish arms, are recruited. U 2 TABULAR STATEMENT OF THE TURKISH ACTIVE AND RESERVE TROOPS. THE FIRST ORDU ( KHASS- SSA) , OR THE GUARDS. ACTIVE SERVICE . 1st Reg. of Foot 2nd 3rd 1999 1st Dragoons 2nd 99 RESERVE . Reg. ofSsmid ( Nicomedia) of Brusa 19 9999 ofSmyrna 29 of Isnik (Neicei ) 99 of Tyra Artillery Brigade 4th Reg. of Foot 5th 6th 99 29 19 99 3rd Dragoons Artillery Regiment Reg • . of Aïdyn ofKutayiè RECRUITED AT Khodjaile and Sultan Euni. Khodavendjar & Karass- ssi. Sarukhan, Sighala &Aïvalik

}

• In all these provinces. In all the prov. of the Ordu. Aïdyn and Meutecha, Kutayiè and Kara-hissar. of Sparta (in Pisidia ) Denigli, Hamid, and Telshé. of Karahissar 99 • 4th 99 • "" of Sparta . In all these provinces. THE SECOND ORDU ( DER-I - SKADET), OR ARMY OF THE CAPITAL. RESERVE. 2nd 99 29 99 99 Schumla 3rd 19 99 99 99 Boli ACTIVE SERVICE. 1st Reg. of Foot Regiment of Adrianople RECRUITED AT Adrianople and Philippopoli. Silistria and Varna. Boli, Castamouni. 1st Dragoons 19 ,, Babadagh • 2nd 19 99 99 Yezdagh In all these provinces. Artillery Brigade 4th Reg. of Foot 99 99 Tshorum · 19 99 Angora 5th 99 99 6th 99 21 Konia A Kaisarièh 3rd Dragoons 4th "" ACTIVE SERVICE. ,, Angora . 99 99 Konia In all the prov. of the Ordu. Angora, and Amasia. Itshal, Tarsus, Adana. Kaisarièh and Nigda. In all these provinces. THE THIRD ORDU OF RUMELIA. RESERVE . RECRUITED AT In the provinces ofEpirus 9919 Thessaly the Eyalet of Selanik 1st Reg. of Foot 2nd Regiment of Monastir · Tirhala 19 "" 99 3rd 19 19 Selanik 99 29 1st Dragoons 2nd "" Artillery Brigade 4th Reg. of Foot 99 29 Yanina 99 Yanina 29 "" Prezrin "" Prezrin & Bosnian provs. 33 99 Monastir 29 Monastir 99 5th 6th 19 99 Uskup . ,, Sophia . 9927 99 19 19 29 Widdin the Eyalet of Uskup the provinces of Nish the Eyalet of Widdin 3rd Dragoons 4th (Not yet formed) 19 30 ,, Sophia . · In these provinces THE FOURTH ORDU OF ANATOLIA. ACTIVE SERVICE. RESERVE. 1st Reg. of Foot Regiment of Siwas . 2nd 3rd 19 Tokat ,, Kharprut 99 "" "" "" 190 1st Dragoons 2nd Artillery Brigade 4th Reg. of Foot 5th 6th 99 Tokat Van · 9933 ,, Kharprut Erzrum Kars 19 99 19 "" 99 99 29 99 19 99 Diarbekir 3rd 19 ,, Mardyn Dragoons 4th ,, (Not yet formed . ) RECRUITED AT Devriki, Karahissar In the provinces of Siwas Kharprut In the above provinces • Kharprut In the provinces of Erzrum 99 99 In the provs. of Kurdistan 99 Mardyn THE FIFTH ORDU OF ARABISTAN. ACTIVE SERVICE. RESERVE. 1st Reg. of Foot Not yet formed 2nd 19 29 "" · 3rd "" 29 · 29 1st Dragoons 2nd 99 • Artillery Brigade 4th Reg. of Foot 99 • "" 99 · 34 19 99 "" 5th 6th 99 "" 99 · 99 29 "" • 3rd Dragoons • "9 29 4th • a 99 RECRUITED AT Damascus Baalbec Acre Havran Tripoli Laodicea Sidon Beyrut Aleppo • Deir-ul- kamar Hama ACTIVE SERVICE. RECRUITED AT 1st Reg. of Foot 2nd 99 "" 3rd ,, 21 THE SIXTH ORDU OF IRAK. RESERVE. Not yet formed 99 • 99 · · • • Kerkuk 1st Dragoons 2nd 99 · Artillery Brigade 4th Reg. of Foot 99 99 99 99 "" 5th 22 29 "9 99 • 6th 27 "" 99 91 . 3rd Dragoons "" "" • 4th 22 · " Bagdhad Suleymaniè Bagdhad and Bassora Mossul [Ordu In all the provinces of the Mossul Djedda and Mecca Mokha and Massu Derie and Nedjid Djedda 294 MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. Army is conThis Council, THE general administration of the fided to the supreme Council of War. which meets at the Seraskerate, is presided over by a Mullah, of the order of the Cazi- askers, who has to watch the application of the law in all criminal matters brought before the Council, and is at the same time invested with the right of opposing every measure not in accordance with the spirit of Mussulman jurisprudence. The Council is composed in addition of eight general officers, four Fériks and four Livas, and five civil functionaries of the first and second class. Its duties are two-fold : in the first place, it revises all the sentences pronounced by the Councils of the Ordus ; in the second place, it has to provide all the necessaries of the service in the different arms, with the exception of the Artillery and Engineers, which are managed by a special committee under the Ordus of the Ordnance Department. The armament, equipment, accoutrements of every description are entrusted to this Council. It MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. 295 examines the disbursements, passes the accounts, decides on the movements of the troops, discusses the projects of organization, and submits to the approval of the Sultan the Brevet promotion for the general officers, above a major. Each Ordu has its distinct administration, a Commissary-General, and a Military Council, sitting at the head- quarters of the Ordu , and composed of a Lieutenant-General, the head of the Staff, the senior Major- General, two senior Colonels, a Paymaster, and a civil functionary performing the duties of Secretary with Major's rank. The Councils of the two first Ordus are, moreover, attended by a Mufti. duties of this Council are to receive all the demands of the Managing Councils of the regiments, and hand them to the Supreme Council with their opinion attached. The members also verify the accounts of the Ordu, inspect the hospitals, and have the distribution of all promotion below the rank of Major. The In addition to this, each regiment has an Administrative Council, composed of the Major, Commissary, and an officer of every rank, under the Presidency of the Colonel, and whose duty it is to draw up the lists of candidates for grades, and to submit them to the approval of the general officers . The Council also takes cognizance of all military affairs, though without inflicting punishment, which is reserved for the Supreme Council. It only hears the witnesses, gives its opinion as to the degree of culpability of the accused, and hands in its report to head-quarters, 296 MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. thus performing the duties of a jury-rather than of a judge. The usual punishment is imprisonment. Corporal punishments are extremely rare, and are only inflicted in extreme cases. We have seen that the Budget for the Army amounted to about 3,000,000l. , which sum is entirely expended in the pay and maintenance of the troops ; as the other expenses, for matériel, artillery, fortresses, &c. , form a separate item in the general Budget of the state. As the state in Turkey provides directly for all the wants of the soldiers, each man receives, in addition to the different objects necessary for his equipment, clothing, &c. , rations (taïm) composed of: 300 dirhems =24lbs. bread. 80 =8 oz. meat. 19 15 1= 99 11 ,, butter. 25 - 99 2 ,, 6 99 9 = rice. 14 salt. "" 1lb. vegetables. The kit of a Turkish soldier is thus composed : 1 fez, 4 shirts, 4 pair drawers, 1 jacket, 1 vest, 1 yelek, 1 pair black overalls, 2 white ditto, 3 pair of shoes ; issued once a year. One blanket and 1 great coat ; issued once in three years. The cavalry ration of forage is 12lbs. barley and 15lbs. chopped straw. The non-commissioned and commissioned officers, up to a Lieutenant (inclusive ) have also a right to one daily ration ; that of the Captains is double, of Majors MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. 297 four-fold, and so on, up to the Mushir, who receives 128 rations. The officers ' taïm, however, instead of being furnished in kind, is paid in money, the amount varying according to the prices of provisions in the places where they are quartered, about 52 paras or 34 being the average per diem. The officers, up to the rank of Major, also receive from the state, once a year, the following articles free of expense : 1 fez, 1 pair of overalls, 1 capote, and three pairs of shoes . At the end of each month each officer receives from the Mustechar a compensation in money for the rations they have not drawn. When on the war establishment officers receive double rations. Taking into consideration the relative value of money in the different countries of Europe, no army is better paid , nor better fed or clothed, than the Turkish. The pay is thus regulated according to the different grades : RANKS. MonthlyPay. MonthlyPay Infantry. Cavalry. Taïm per Day. Piastres. Piastres. Piastres. Nefer (Private) On- Bashy (Corporal) Buluk Eminèh (Quartermaster) 20 24 1 40 50 1 50 60 1 Tshaush (Serjeant) 60 70 1 Bash Tshaush ( Sergeant-Major) 80 100 1 Mulazim Sani ( 2nd Lieutenant) 180 200 1 Mulazim (Lieutenant) 250 275 1 Juz Bashy (Captain) 500 540 2 Kol Aghassy (Aide-de- Camp) 700 750 4 Alai Eminèh (Major) 1,200 1,300 8 Bim Bashy ( Chef- de- Bataillon) 1,500 10 Kaimakam (Lieutenant- Colonel) 2,000 12 Mir Alaï (Colonel) 3,000 16 Liva (Brigade- General) 10,000 32 Ferik ( Division- General) 25,000 64 Mushir (Field- Marshal) 100,000 128 298 MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. No regular Commissariat exists in the Turkish service, nor does the Government contract for the supplies of the troops. The Government stores at Constantinople are chiefly filled by taxation, which is taken in kind, and the issues to the troops are made by storekeepers. When in the field, or on the march, a Mudir is appointed to each Brigade, whose office is to purchase provisions. An officer appointed by the Colonel of each regiment, accompanied by the officer of the day, the Buluk Eminèh, one serjeant, one corporal, and the requisite number of privates from each company, are sent to draw the rations. Bread alone is issued to the soldier individually-the rest of the provisions is sent en masse to the Battalion kitchen, whence they are issued ready cooked to the different messes, under the inspection of the officer of the day. It has been already observed that there are no regimental paymasters in the Turkish service. To each brigade is attached an officer called Yoklamazi-from the Turkish verb " Yoklamek, " to muster--who, once a month, pays the troops mustered before him. To every corps d'armée commanded by a Seraskin, there is a Mustechar, or Intendant- General, who collects the requisite supplies for the army. The clothing of the Turkish troops is excellent : but the head- dress, consisting of a red fez, with a blue tassel, is most inconvenient, as it does not afford the slightest protection against the rays of the sun. The uniform of the Cavalry and Artillery varies according MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. 299 to the Ordus : the second is red ; the third, purple ; the fourth, brown ; the fifth, fawn ; the sixth, light blue. The uniform of the line consists of blue trowsers and a single-breasted round jacket of coarse cloth. The only relief to this is a red front to the collar, with the regimental number on a small brass plate, and red edges to the cuffs ; white cross-belts and red fez, with blue tassel, a knapsack, and slip-shod shoes, complete the dress. Foot-straps have been unwisely added. Those articles, always embarrassing to soldiers, are utterly inappropriate to men who are compelled to take off their shoes four times daily for prayer, and can only enter their guard and barrackrooms barefoot. Accustomed from childhood to ease of limbs, and to be clothed in a manner suitable to local tastes, faith, and climate ; having no good models before them, and no esprit de corps -which perished with the Janissaries -the Turkish soldiers always appear stiff and suffering when strictly accoutred, and deplorably slovenly when abandoned to themselves, which is generally the case ; for, provided the regulation uniform appear outside, no trouble is taken to ascertain the quantity of clothing underneath. Thus they commonly wear two or more waistcoats, and often a quilted coatee, with wide drawers, thick waist girdles, and various other portions of ordinary attire under the jacket and trowsers. * " * White. Three Years in Constantinople." 300 MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. Nor is the condition of some of the officers much better, if we may credit Lieutenant von Boehm, who has given a report of the condition of the Turkish army in his ' Zustand der Türkei im Jahre der Prophezeihung, 1853.' He had been present at a review in the vicinity of Constantinople, and at its termination expressed his surprise to one of the higher Turkish officers. The latter, who had studied at Berlin, replied, " "Tis true, sir, that such absurdities. take place here, but what is to be done? it is not as with you there is no order among us-here the Colonel is as ignorant as the private, and we must do all that he pleases ." Herr von Boehm here remarked to the officer, that he, as an educated man, would have power to check the evil. The reply was, " Do you believe that they will listen to us, who have been abroad ? No one listens to us, no one believes us, that is the shameful fact. The Turks will learn nothing in the next two hundred years. In Germany I was industrious and tried to learn-and now look at me !" With these words he pointed to his uniform. It was not only dirty and shabby, but the gold lace hung about him in shreds, and he had large holes in his elbows and beneath his arms. Still it cannot be denied that the Turkish Government provides liberally for all the wants of the soldier. But this is not the case with the officers of inferior grades, whose pay is evidently insufficient, especially when compared to the large amounts received by the higher officers. This extraordinary disproportion MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. 301 must indubitably act with a most prejudicial effect upon the esprit de corps. Since the year 1844, recruiting has been carried on by voluntary enrolment and by a system of conscription among the young men of the age of twenty and upwards, or those who are assumed to have reached that age. The ordinary annual contingent is 25,000 men. On extraordinary occasions a levée en masse can be carried into effect by means of a firman , backed up by a fetva of the Sheikh-ul- Islam. The amount of the contingent is not spread over the whole superficies of the country, but the regiments composing each Ordu are recruited in one or several districts, which are never altered. Thus, for instance, the third cavalry regiment of the guard is recruited in the province of Kara Hissar, the second infantry regiment of the corps of Anatolia, in the province of Servas, and so on. This system greatly facilitates the formation and organization of the redif ; the custom of recruiting the regiments in the same districts, and in the very province where they are to pass the period of their active service, has the advantage, in the first place, that when this period is expired the soldiers have but a short distance to reach their home ; and, secondly, the officers, subalterns, and privates of a regiment remain together when they are . transferred from the Nizam into the Redif. The recruiting system is, in other respects, very simple. Every man pronounced of good health is summoned to form part of the contingent. However, 302 MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. . only one male member of each family can be enrolled. Only sons are exempt. The introduction of this mode of recruiting, although infinitely more just and less burthensome for the nation than the former system, has been carried into effect with great difficulty among the Turks, whose prejudices it shocks, and the authorities have repeatedly been compelled to have recourse to force in order to carry it out. In its practical operation, the conscription law falls almost exclusively upon the lower orders. The rich are invariably allowed to escape, which will account for the ignorance that prevails in the ranks of the army, both officers and men being drawn from an identical class of society. Voluntary enlistment is of rare occurrence. When it does take place it is among the rich and powerful, whose influence insures rapid promotion. The Turkish soldier takes no oath, is dragged to his standard by force, and is destitute consequently of that esprit de corps which animates the soldiers of the West. But there is another measure, recently adopted by the Porte, the application of which has raised very great difficulties. Up to the present time the Turkish army was exclusively recruited from among the Mussulman population. The Raiahs, although considered as forming part of the dar-ul-islam, were liberated, or, more properly speaking, excluded from military service, and paid as an indemnity the Kharadj or capitation tax. The maintenance of this exclusive system caused a double inconvenience ; in MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. 303 the first place it kept up the stigma of the conquest, which was incompatible with the principle of equality between the races proclaimed by the reform : and, secondly, by leaving nearly half the population unaffected by the recruiting system, the other moiety was gradually weakened, and the ordinary contingent was reduced to a number evidently below the demands of the service, if the immense extent of territory is taken into consideration. anomalous state of things, the Council of State, in the course of 1830, introduced a law by which all the 1830 Christian subjects of the Empire were summoned to enrol themselves under the Turkish banners, and the Kharadj was abolished. To guard against this Still, this decision, which immediately received the sanction of the Porte, was received with but slight favour by the Christian population of Turkey. In consequence, the Porte felt itself compelled to defer the introduction of this measure, which was referred to the Council of War, who were ordered to discover some modification by which this measure could be carried into effect, without attacking the prejudices either of the Turks or the Christians. * From recent information it would appear as if this measure were being silently introduced, for the Porte has given its sanction to the formation of a Christian legion, and many non-Mussulmans are not only serving in the Turkish army, but several of the European Generals have been allowed to retain their religion. 304 MILITARY ESTABLISHMENTS. MILITARY ESTABLISHMENTS. As we have already stated, the artillery and engineers form a separate department under the orders of Grand Master of the Ordnance. This high officer, whose official residence is at the Arsenal of Topkhanè (the storehouse of cannons) , has also under his administration the fortresses, the matériel of the army, and the principal military establishments, arsenals, powder manufactories, &c. He has at his disposal a vote of 50,000,000 of piastres, and is assisted by a special council, composed of two feriks , one of whom is President, a liva, two Colonels, a Lieutenant- Colonel, and a secretary. The department of Topkhanè includes twelve special branches of the service :-the fortresses-the matériel of war-the powder manufactories-the cannon foundry at Topkhanè-the manufactory of small arms at Dolma Bagtji—the factory at Zeitoun Bournouthe coal mines at Herakli-the cannon foundries at Samakov and Praoutcha-the stud and remount stables at Enos-the artillery and engineers' schools. MILITARY ESTABTISHMENTS. 305 . The other establishments connected with the service, the Polytechnic school, the preparatory military schools, the hospitals, the cloth factory at Ismed, the tan-pits at Beïcos, are in the department of the Seraskerate. LHE FORTRESSES. -The Grand Master of the Ordnance is Inspector- General of the fortresses. A Ferik, who is at the same time a member of the Topkhanè Council, is intrusted with the duty of inspecting them regularly. The three regiments of artillery, distinct from the Ordus, perform garrison duty. The reserve artillery regiment is quartered at Topkhanè. Each fortress is, in addition, garrisoned by a body of militia artillery, under the command of Nizam officers, who exercise them twice a week in firing and serving the guns. The effective strength of this body may be estimated at 2,400 to 2,500 men. The principal fortresses are those of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, formed by a double row of castles, well armed and provided . Still these fortresses, in their present condition, could hardly prevent the passage of a well- armed fleet. The fortresses on the Black Sea and the Danube are in a still worse condition : the majority of them, dismantled after the last Russian war, have not been refitted, and consequently the Turks in the present war have been obliged to give up the defence of the line of the Danube, and to concentrate all their efforts on the Balkan. VOL. II. X 306 MILITARY ESTABLISHMENTS. THE MATERIEL of the Turkish army is in very good condition . Each Ordu has, besides its tents and stores, a triple supply of ammunition, &c. in the stores . This branch of the service is managed by a ferik, who, at the same time, has charge of the powder magazines. The tents in use for the army are of uniform size, bell-shaped, and painted green for soldiers and company officers . Marquees are issued to field and superior officers . Those of the Pachas are commodious, and divided into three or more compartments, with double linings and ventilating corridors, which temper heat, ward off moisture, and serve as dormitories for attendants. Some of those marquees are thirty feet in length, and proportionately wide. The difficulty of striking and transporting such cumbrous equipage with an army, accounts for the slow progress of the Turkish masses, and for the losses they sustain if defeated. The camp equipage of the Sultan and army forms a heavy item of expenditure both for the civil list and war department. The latter is under the direction of the Storekeeper- General and the Tent Inspector (tchadir eminèh) . It being an invariable custom to place troops of all arms under canvas during the hot months, the camp equipage is constantly kept complete. THE POWDER MILLS are situated at San Stefano and Azatli, on the Sea of Marmora, at about a league distant from the seven towers. These two MILITARY ESTABLISHMENTS. 307 establishments, the former of which has a steam, the second a hydraulic, machine, produce a service powder equal in quality to the best European sorts the quantity stored in the magazines is estimated at 4,000,000 pounds. THE CANNON FOUNDRY at Topkhanè is a magnificent establishment, dating from the time of the great Solyman. It is managed by a Lieutenant- Colonel of artillery, assisted by a Chef de Bataillon and six Majors. It contains two furnaces of about 24,000 pounds a piece, and about 300 guns of all calibres are made annually. The boring and finishing are done by a steam- engine of 25- horse power. The number of guns in stock was 1,200 in 1848, and is now supposed to be considerably larger. THE MANUFACTORY OF SMALL ARMS at Dolma Bagtji, a village on the Bosphorus, near Topkhanè, turns out about 30,000 muskets annually, without taking repairs into account. About 300 workmen are employed. They are enabled, by their division into classes, each class producing a distinct article, to arrive at greater uniformity, while at the same time the component parts are made with increased rapidity. A steam-boring engine of 50-horse power is attached to the manufactory, and was, till recently, superintended by Englishmen, who have, however, been replaced by Turks. In the chambers above the northern wing is the armoury, tolerably well kept, but not containing more than 500 stand. x 2 308 MILITARY ESTABLISHMENTS. THE WORKS AT ZEITOUN BOURNOU, for the manufacture of steam- engines, and situated on the banks of the Sea of Marmora, not far from the seven towers, were established about twelve years ago. In addition to the manufacture of Birmingham and Sheffield wares, an " Ecole des Arts et Métiers" was established here, where mathematics, chemistry, geology, mineralogy, &c. , are taught to the Armenian natives and young Turks on the most approved principles. THE COAL MINES AT HERACLIA have been largely worked during the last few years. A tramway has been laid down from the mine to the quay, and the ships are loaded on the north country system. A machine of 50-horse power has been set up to ventilate the mine, pump out the water, and saw wood. The Ottoman Government has great expectations of eventually driving English coal out of the Levantine market, but this will be a work of time. By the investigation carried on by a committee sent out from England in 1841 to Heraclia, it was found that these coal-beds were of vast extent and diversified qualities ; that the produce of existing mines might be quadrupled, if properly worked ; and that if a grant could be obtained for a fixed period, Turkey would thereby establish a constant source of revenue and prosperity. All attempts to carry on the negotiation failed, principally through the intrigues of Austria and Russia. These fine fields, therefore, are MILITARY ESTABLISHMENTS. 309 still very negligently worked, and are comparatively unproductive, although very considerable improvements have recently taken place. THE FOUNDRY OF SAMAKOV, situated about ninety miles from Constantinople, on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, possesses twelve furnaces, and annually supplies twenty million pounds of lead for bullets, and twelve million pounds of iron for edge tools, horse-shoes, &c . Another foundry has been recently established at Praoutcha, on the Archipelago. Turkey possesses three large HORSE- BREEDING ESTABLISHMENTS, and remount depots, of which one belongs to the Artillery and two to the Cavalry. The former, recently established in the vicinity of the mouths of the Maritza at Enos, has received 200 Mecklenburgh fillies, and 400 Arab mares, obtained from Bagdhad, for the purpose of crossing and improving the breed. The Cavalry remount studs are, one in Anatolia, in the Government of the Muchir of the Guard ; the other in Rumelia. The Cavalry and Artillery remounts are principally furnished by the provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia. The average price allowed for the former is about 81. , and for the latter 107. Horses for the Guards, somewhat larger and better bred, are purchased in Thessaly and Albania, where more attention is paid to improving the breed ; 127. is allowed for them. Some superior animals may here and there be seen, especially in the squadron of Negros 310 MILITARY ESTABLISHMENTS. attached to the 1st Lancers. On the whole, both Cavalry and Artillery are under- horsed ; nevertheless, these weak and ill-conditioned animals often endure extreme fatigue, and perform marches that would destroy the finest European Cavalry. Kits and arms, however, are light, and the men small and spare ; thus Turkish troopers rarely ride above fifteen stone. * Among the establishments under the charge of the Seraskier we may specially mention the HOSPITALS, which are very numerous, and excessively well managed. In Constantinople alone there are nine : IMPERIAL GUARD. Top Kapou, to the south of Seraglio point, 200 beds. Top Tash, Scutari • 400 Therapia 100 99 Top Khane Pera ARTILLERY. 200 99 · 500 99

• The prevalent diseases in Cavalry and Artillery stables are

glanders and farcy, which formerly committed great ravages ; for it was but lately that officers could be induced to allow glandered horses to be separated from others in a healthy state, or removed when in the last stage . They were left to die in their places, or were merely dragged forth at the last gasp, to the adjacent cemetery or rubbish ground, where they were torn to pieces by the countless dogs, sometimes before life was completely extinct. At present diseased horses are immediately removed to the infirmary, where a soldier from each troop attends to learn farriery. -WHITE. MILITARY ESTABLISHMENTS. 311 Maltape Serasker Kapussi LINE AND REDIF. Iplik Khana, beyond Eyoub MARINE AND NAVY. Height between Dimitri and Prali Pacha . 1,000 beds. • 400 "" • 150 "" 500 Total, 2,450 beds. The Hospital of the Imperial Guard at Topkhanè is possibly one of the finest of this character in the whole of Europe. The majority of the physicians and surgeons have studied at European Universities, aud several are foreigners. The other hospitals, however, are not in such good condition, and are deficient in many essential respects. Great exertions have been made by the German directors to put things on a better footing. The whole medical department is under the superintendence of the Hekim Bashy, who is said to be profoundly ignorant of all appertaining to the art of healing. Fortunately, however, cases of sickness are extremely rare in the Ottoman army. THE TANPITS of Beycos, situated on the Asiatic shores of the Bosphorus, not far from Unkiar Skelessi, supply all the leather and oil- cloth necessary for the army. Two companies of workmen, each consisting of ninety men, under the orders of two captains, are daily employed in the factory. THE IMPERIAL CLOTH FACTORY, situated at Ismid, in Nicomedia, barely supplies sufficient cloth for the 312 MILITARY ESTABLISHMENTS. purposes of the army, and it is, in fact, one of the most unsuccessful establishments in Turkey. As a compensation for this, however, the Imperial Fez factory is much more successful ; it employs 300 hands, under an Armenian sub- director, and produces a sufficient supply for the army. The surplus are sold in the bazaars without tassels, for thirty piastres a piece. THE AUXILIARY AND IRREGULAR TROOPS. 313 THE AUXILIARY AND IRREGULAR TROOPS. WE have already seen that the Ottoman active army has an effective strength of about 150,000 men, which can be momentarily doubled by summoning the reserve under arms. To this body we must also add the irregular troops who could be collected within a given time, and the contingents furnished by the tributary provinces and certain territories not yet subjected to the law of recruiting, but bound to furnish the Porte assistance in the event of war. The provinces bound to furnish contingents are Servia, Bosnia and the Herzegovina, Upper Albania, and Egypt. It is difficult to estimate their exact numbers, for it would depend greatly upon the political circumstances of the moment, and the enemy against whom the contingents would be called upon to act. At the present time we may, at the most moderate calculation, calculate their united forces at 105-110,000 men, in the following proportions :- 314 THE AUXILIARY AND Wallachia . • • 6,000 men. Bosnia and the Herzegovina Upper Albania 40,000 99 20,000 ", Servia 30,000 ", Egypt 25,000 99 121,000 men. In consequence of the occupation of the Danubian Principalities by the Russians at the very outset of the war, the Porte cannot expect much assistance from that quarter. However, it may be presumed that as the feelings of the inhabitants are generally in favour of the Turks, the guerilla bands which have been formed will prove of some value. These may be estimated at about 8,500 men. Bosnia, the Herzegovina, and Upper Albania, almost exclusively inhabited by Mussulmans, would furnish from 53 to 60,000 men, and if Servia eventually gives up her neutral policy, she could send a detachment of at least 30,000 men to the aid of the Porte. Egypt, according to the terms of the treaty of the 15th of July, 1840, is bound to furnish assistance to the Porte both by land and sea, and has hitherto most chivalrously held to her engagements. Her contingent has already fought most bravely, and has taken a great part in the victories over the Russians. The whole amount of the contingent she can furnish, after IRREGULAR TROOPS. 315 deducting the troops she requires for her own defence, may be estimated at 24 or 25,000 men. The IRREGULAR TROOPS are composed of: The kavass (gendarmerie on foot), seymens (mounted gendarmerie) , and soubachis (rural police soldiers), forming an efficient strength of The Tartars of the Dobrudja and Asia Minor may be estimated at Hungarian and Polish volunteers Mussulman volunteers, who may be calculated, at least, at . 30,000 men. • 5,000 2,000 99 99 50,000 " 87,000 men The police force is a very valuable institution, for, in its present state of organisation, the regular troops may be taken away without danger from provinces in which they have been stationed on account of an appearance of disaffection . Although unfit to enter the ranks of the army, they will thus enable the Government to make use of the whole military force for the purpose of defence against foreign enemies, while the constabulary will suffice to restrain those at home, if any such there be. The Police department has its agents divided into brigades ; each eyalet having one, under the command of a superior officer, and Constantinople having three. In each brigade there are as many companies as there 316 THE AUXILIARY AND IRREGULAR TROOPS. are provinces in the respective eyalet, and they are commanded by Captains. Each company has a number of serjeants, equal to that of the departments in the province, and the serjeants have charge of detachments, varying from ten to thirty constables, according to the amount of the population. They are mounted, and well armed. Besides these, there are forty horsemen attached to every considerable town, for the general service of the surrounding country, amounting in all to 10,000 men. The regular constabulary is about 20,000 strong ; and a body of 30,000 men, organised as a military force, is thus at the command of the Government, for the internal security of the country, when the army is concentrated by war on any one point. RECAPITULATION. The whole of the military forces of Turkey would, consequently, by these data, amount to: Men. Regular army, active · 148,680 reserve 99 99 • 148,680 Auxiliary contingents 121,000 Irregular troops · 87,000 Total - 505,360*

• It need hardly be added that the above statements can only

be regarded as assumed under the most favourable circumstances, RECAPITULATION. 317 Such is the condition of the Turkish army, according to writers who appear to have examined carefully into the matter. Unfortunately, in this, as in other questions referring to Turkish reform, the greatest uncertainty prevails. Authors who, from their antecedents, are equally entitled to respect, give a very different account. In fact, so great is the margin in Turkey, between the official reports and the actual state of things, that it is almost impossible to form a correct opinion. So much, however, appears to be certain . The Turkish government does all in its power to place the army on an effective footing, and any short-comings are the fault of the Turks themselves, and not of the administration. It may be very true that the Turkish troops are slovenly, careless, and guilty of gross insubordination, but these are defects which time will gradually remove. Old prejudices have still to be eradicated-much that is faulty has to be improved-but, for all that, there is much deserving praise in the attempts already made at military reform . The condition of the Turkish army, at the introduction of the reforms, was most exceptional. The Janissaries, who had been the terror of Europe during the middle ages, through their organization and esprit and, more especially, that such a body could not be brought into the field at the commencement of the campaign. Nor would the condition of the finances allow the Turkish government to maintain such an army for any length of time. 318 RECAPITULATION. de corps, had gradually found themselves surpassed in tactics by soldiers who were their equals in bravery and superior to them in discipline. It was impossible that, in the progress of civilization, the Osmanli should maintain their barbarous system of warfare, and the natural consequence was the re- organization of the army on the European model. The Janissaries refused obedience, and the choice was left between the downfal of the State or the extermination of the rebels . The latter succumbed, and the road was left free for the introduction of those measures which could alone secure the existence of the Empire. Nothing could be more evident than the advantages this change brought about. In every instance when the Turks have been engaged since the Tanzimat, they have behaved most bravely. In the campaigns of Albania, Montenegro, and Bosnia, they proved that they had not forgotten their old renown. During the campaigns of 1853 and 1854, they have shown that they are superior to the Russians in every respect, and the very fact that they have been able to cope successfully with such a tremendous force, speaks volumes for the advantages derived from the present system. Still there is much to be done, and we may confidently anticipate that the presence of the allied forces in Turkey will induce the Ottoman government to use every endeavour to render their forces worthy in every respect of their fellow-combatants. RECAPITULATION. 319 Before concluding this survey of the Turkish army, we may be permitted to make reference to one of the arguments employed to prove that the Turkish army cannot possibly amount to the numbers we have given above. It is well known that the Turks only allow Mussulmans to serve in their armies, and even if the Porte has recently allowed Christians to assume commands, these are only exceptional cases, and need hardly be taken into consideration . We have already seen that, even according to Turkish statements, the number of Mussulmans in European Turkey does not amount to more than 4,000,000. In this calculation, old men, women, and children, are included . How many are left for conscription ? The number of Muhammadans in Asiatic Turkey is certainly much larger, and is said to amount to 12,000,000. But even, assuming this to be the case, how would this amount allow a body of nearly 500,000 men to be raised ? In a well-regulated State, containing 10,000,000 inhabitants, the greatest number of disciplined troops that can be collected is 250,000 ; how, then, could Turkey, which is notoriously not a well- disciplined State, raise double the number ? The answer appears to us very simple. In the calculation we have made, bringing the Turkish army up to 500,000 men, we have a large number of irregular troops, and, secondly, we do not for a moment attempt to assert that Turkey has such a body at its immediate disposal. The writer of the above 320 RECAPITULATION. now, - remarks goes upon a false principle, in assuming that the Turkish army is estimated at half a million regular and disciplined troops, such as the 250,000 to which he refers ; we have taken every available resource into our calculation, and we believe that our estimate is not at all exaggerated. We know what England was enabled to do during the threatened French invasion of the first empire-when every man was willing to shed his blood, pro aris et focis, and when the Osmanli are imbued with even a stronger feeling that of religion-we may feel confident that every man capable of bearing arms may be counted a soldier. Such being the case, there is no reason for believing that Turkey cannot furnish such an army as we have given above, which is in perfect accordance with the views of all impartial writers on the subject. It is an easy task for the 'Kreutz Zeitung ' and other Russian organs to employ all their weapons of sarcasm and invective in depreciating the Turks. Fortunately, facts speak for themselves, and lead to the conviction that the Turks are also, for their part, prepared to expend their last man and their last piastre in defence of their faith and their country.

Believing as we do that the chief credit of the successful changes in the Turkish military system are pre-eminently due to OMAR PACHA and GUYON,

• See the Russian reply to the Austrian summons, in the ' Times '

of July 4, 1854. RECAPITULATION. 321 the respective Commanders-in-Chief of Rumelia and Anatolia, we have ventured to conclude our resumé of the Turkish army with a short biography of these generals, which we feel sure will be perused with extreme interest, as the details have been collected from the most authentic sources. VOL. II Y 322 OMAR PACHA. OMAR PACHA. CONVERSIONS at the present day are not at all among the objects of general admiration. The very name does not sound pleasantly ; and how harshly does the name of renegade strike upon the ear. We think, on hearing it, of the most odious things, of the mercenary motives of the adventurer, and the hopes of the sensualist, but never refer it to an honourable motive. How could it be possible, we are wont to say, that a man who has been attached to a purer faith, to a higher state of cultivation, can sacrifice both, if he has not unworthy objects in view? And still it is possible that such motives are not felt. Is Omar Pacha, the valiant Murschid of the army ofthe Danube, one of these beings ? Or is he an adventurous mercenary, who has bidden adieu to Christianity and to cultivation, in order to gain better fare, with the external dignities and advantages attached to it, under the crescent ? We shall see. Perchance, he is something of both. But for the OMAR PACHA. 323 present we will remember, that Omar Pacha, as the sword of Reform, is one of the most effectual instruments by whose assistance Turkey is striving to limp after Christian Europe on the path of cultivation. At any rate, therefore, Omar Pacha is no renegade who furiously attacks his old faith and old sympathies. About forty miles from Fiume, in the frontier district of Ogulin, there is a little village called Plaski. At the commencement of this century two brothers resided there, one of whom was a soldier, the other a priest of the schismatic Greek Church. The ecclesiastic must have been the better citizen of the two, at least he received, for the services he had done the State, the gold medal, while the breast of the soldier remained undecorated. In fact, the latter belonged to that class of soldiers whom their comrades look somewhat coldly on, and who never find any opportunity for distinguishing themselves. He was employed as a " civil lieutenant," as they are called on the frontier, or assistant in the chancellerie, first in the Ogulin, then in the Licia, district. After spoiling great quantities of paper, according to regulation, in both places, and wearing himself out with the eternal writing, he resigned his commission and disappeared from the same. The two brothers bore the name of Lattas, and belonged to a poor family, which had a modest farm in the village of Plaski. The present Mushir, Y 2 324 OMAR PACHA. Omar Pacha, is the son of the soldier and civil lieutenant. He received the usual education of soldiers' children, first at the military normal school in his own village, and then at the higher school at Thurm, near Carlstadt. In both of these schools he gained acquirements which were of material service for his future advancement. In Plaski he was distinguished for his splendid handwriting ; in Thurm, by his proficiency in mathematics. Both qualifications recommended him to his superiors, and were the cause of his not long remaining in his first grade as cadet in the Ogulin frontier regiment. He was attached to Major Korczi, of the engineer corps, and employed by him partly as secretary and partly in road-making. A real soldier cannot be happy with such occupations. Young Lattas neglected the duties, which were repugnant to him, thence had many quarrels with his superior officer who had procured his promotion, and who accused him of ingratitude. He put an end to this by sending in his resignation. Whether it was accepted, or whether he left without permission, is the subject of various rumours. The first is the more probable of the two, as Lattas went, after turning his back on the road-making, to Zara, and remained for a considerable time in this capital of Austrian Dalmatia. If he had been a deserter he would not have chosen this place for his abode. As Zara did not offer him what he was seeking, he bent his steps toward Turkish Bosnia. There is OMAR PACHA. 325 nothing more common than for talented Franks to see in Turkey an arena in which talent must gain the day at the very outset of their career, and there is nothing more certain than for such hopes to be disappointed. Lattas found, as a compensation for what he had given up, nothing but a situation with a Turkish tradesman, and a very subordinate one it must have been, as is evinced by the fact that he embraced Islamism, in order to be adapted for the office of a tutor. He was now called Omar, learned the language, manners, and customs of the Turks, and was clever enough to cause his new co-religionists to forget that he had so recently been a Giaur. After a considerable lapse of time, the Turkish merchant, in whose service Omar was, sent his children to Constantinople in the charge of the tutor. Thus the ambitious renegade arrived at Stamboul. As a soldier, he sought acquaintances and patrons in military circles, received encouragement, gave up his situation with the merchant, and became teacher at one of the new military schools. His handwriting, one of the slightest of his qualifications, was his principal recommendation. But it was the year 1833 ; the reforms were pressed on more hastily than ever, and thus it was inevitable that Omar must find scope to display his brilliant abilities. From the moment when the old Seraskir, Chosrew Pacha, became acquainted with him and made him his Adjutant, he rapidly advanced. Through Chosrew, 326 OMAR PACHA. Omar was introduced to the Sultan, and appointed by the latter writing-master to his son, the present Abd-ul- Medjid. Chosrew was the guardian of one of the richest ladies in Constantinople, the daughter of an Agha of the Janissaries, whom he had himself ordered to be executed after the sanguinary rebellion of those troops. This lady he gave to Omar as a wife, and if report is not false, the latter presented her spouse with two companions of her own selection. In the next year he was promoted to a Majority, and took the most active part in the labours by which the reorganisation of the army was effected. At first he served under the immediate orders of the Polish General Chrzanowski; who had at that time the direction of military affairs at Constantinople. Then he was employed in topographical studies for a couple of years, on the Danubian Principalities and in Bulgaria. The knowledge of the terrain, which he acquired in this manner, is of very great service to him in the present war. There is not through the whole of the seat of war on the Danube a single forest, stream, morass, or valuable position, with which Omar Pacha is not intimately acquainted . He received a more important command for the first time by occasion of the Syrian disturbances. Both in that country, as well as in Albania, and Kurdistan, he distinguished himself greatly. Whether it was merely new opposition and attempts at re- OMAR PACHA. 327 bellion on the part of the old Turkish party, or of disobedient tribes, which occasioned the interference of the Porte, the ultimate design was always their protection, and it was this last part of his commission which Omar Pacha attended to with the utmost zeal. We have already said, and must thus repeat it, that Omar Pacha is no common renegade. Such an one would, at the most, have betrayed great lukewarmness in protecting the Christians, in order not to attract the suspicions of his new co-religionists, and Omar Pacha, on the other hand, treated with the utmost severity every act of oppression with which he became acquainted. For the sake of all that he has done for the Christians of Europe and Asia, with great personal sacrifice, and even danger, we should regard more indulgently his own desertion of our faith. In the revolutionary year, 1848, he first formed the acquaintance of the Russians. An insurrection in Wallachia rendered it necessary for the country to be held simultaneously by the Emperor and the Sultan, and Omar Pacha commanded the Turkish division, while General Lüders was at the head of the Russian troops. Through the position of the country, there was much that raised the Turks higher than the Russians in the estimation of the people, but a great share of the popularity which the Turkish Government then enjoyed, was due to Omar Pacha. He secured for the Wallachians all the liberty which 328 OMAR PACHA. could possibly be saved, and certainly obtained by it the reputation of being imbued with revolutionary sentiments, which, however, is not of much consequence in Turkey. This reputation he chiefly acquired by a circumstance, which only interested Omar Pacha so far, that he was enabled to show that the Sultan, and not the Tzar, was the master of the country. A band of gypsies had played the Marseillaise and other national melodies, and had been summarily punished by the Russians for it. As soon as Omar Pacha heard of it, he ordered all the bands to learn these tunes. Whenever the Turkish troops marched out to exercise before Bucharest, and passed the palace occupied by General Luders, he had an opportunity of hearing these odious revolutionary sounds. The effect was soon visible ; when the Russian representations, at first clothed in very rough language, and then pitched in a milder key, remained ineffectual, they comprehended the lesson which Omar Pacha read them, and placed some limits to the exercise of their supremacy in police matters . The two years 1848 and 1849 passed without anything remarkable being effected by Omar Pacha. The negociations relative to the fugitives, in which his name was repeatedly mentioned, only affected him very remotely. To make up for this, the year 1851 was all the more brilliant. Once again the daring Bosniaks of the Muhammadan faith, who had always OMAR PACHA. 329 felt outraged by the reforms of the two last Sultans, and the alleviation of the burthens of their christian countrymen, took up arms, and effected what they strove for in 1846 under the " Emperor with the green arm, " the independent position of Bosnia, somewhat after the fashion of Servia. The indolent Tahir Pacha took such unskilful measures, as if he were purposely playing into the hands of the insurgents, and consequently matters attained to such a pitch, that Bihacz and the whole of Carnia were persuaded to rebel. At this climax of the insurrection, Omar Pacha appeared with unlimited authority and fresh troops. From this moment the cause of the insurgents began to pine away. Marching with great rapidity on all the strategically important points, Omar led his columns through the bands of his opponents, beat them in detail, and suppressed the rebellion in a very short time. The oppressed christians breathed again, for Omar Pacha kept his troops in strict discipline, and sought to establish a more settled state of things. The address which the Franciscan Fathers offered him in gratitude, was the expression of the general opinion. The campaign against Montenegro, which took place in 1852, has caused many unfair opinions to be formed about Omar Pacha, but not justly so. It was not his fault that he was compelled to commence the war in the worst possible season, in December, that 330 OMAR PACHA. his troops were badly fed, and that he made but slow progress against a brave nation, fighting in the very best position. In all that he personally arranged and did, we perceive fresh proofs of his distinguished talents. The three points from which he caused his troops to advance, were so happily chosen, that, at the very outset, he cut off several districts of Montenegro from the main land ; and forced the enemy to divide their troops, which was most unfavourable for them. It was perhaps fortunate for him that the Austrian insurrection interrupted the war just at the moment when Omar Pacha was approaching the celebrated defiles which lead into the heart of the country. It is very possible that he would have experienced no better fortune within them than several Russian generals had done before him. In the war which at this moment is being carried on on the banks of the Danube, Omar Pasha has most brilliantly refuted the croaking predictions of the friends of Russia. His position from the Black Sea to the Austrian frontier has gained the approbation of all military men. How correctly he judged, when he selected Little Wallachia as the point of attack, and made Kalafat the tête du pont of Widdin, is proved by the desperate exertions made by the Russians to regain this position . There is a certain touchstone, by which it can be discovered which of two commanders is superior in talent. It is the one, who through his operations undertakes the manage- OMAR PACHA. 331 ment of the war, and forces his opponent to follow his movements. Omar Pacha has undoubtedly acted this part. In another point he has also shown his superiority. He has never suffered himself to be deceived by pretended attacks, which was frequently the case on the Russian side, more especially when Omar Pacha intended to take up his permanent position at Kalafat, and crossed the Danube and attacked the Russians at other points, so that they neglected the position which it was so important to their clever opponent to obtain. In addition to this, his management of the war is based on a very correct estimate of what the troops on either side are able to do. He chooses those modes of fighting in which the Turks are superior to the Russians. The Turkish soldier is a good tirailleur, which the Russian never learns, for he is nothing but a machine. The Turkish soldier defends walls and entrenchments with a love of the sport, in which he is only probably surpassed by the Spaniards, while the Russian is perfectly helpless in an attack on strong places. In accordance with these qualities of the opposed troops, Omar Pacha regulates his plan of campaign, carries on an uninterrupted little war, and entrenches himself when larger bodies are marched against him. We are well aware what he has effected by this. The constant skirmishes fatigue the Russians, and 332 OMAR PACHA. cause them to lose many soldiers, as they are unsuccessful in their attacks upon Omar Pacha's entrenched positions. They were defeated at Oltenitza, and were obliged to give up the investment of Kalafat. What can we think of the boasted superiority of the Russian troops , when we see that their generals are obliged to open a regular siege against common earth redoubts, and hurriedly- entrenched villages ! Omar Pacha's personal appearance is very striking. He is not tall, but well-knit and powerful, and possesses that true martial exterior, which is so attractive to soldiers and women. He is no admirer of European fashions, and in his behaviour to Franks allows it to be seen, that when he employs strangers, necessity, and not his will, forces him to do it. The good qualities of the Turks, honesty, disinterestedness, and liberality, are perfectly represented in him. His military talents, which are united to an innate instinct for the trade of war, are indubitably of a very high character. Of all the armies which the Turks have marched into the field during the last few years, those commanded by him were the only ones in which discipline was kept up, and the want of a sufficient number of good officers and subalterns was not so perceptible. His troops adore him, and obey his commands with the most unbounded confidence. The fact of his displaying the most chivalrous bravery on all occasions has naturally done much in gaining him this affection . OMAR PACHA. 333 He speaks several languages besides Turkish, Servian, German, and Italian with equal fluency. In his mode of life he has retained much peculiar to Europeans. His house is furnished entirely after the German fashion, and he drinks wine publicly and without any scruple. Very recently, too, he abolished his harem, and lives with only one wife, a native of Transylvania, whom he allows the liberty of European women. 334 GUYON. CURSCHID PACHA (GUYON) . GUYON is an Englishman . His father served in the Royal Navy, and had risen to the rank of Post Captain when his son was born in 1815. In his early youth, for he had hardly attained his 15th year, Guyon went to solicit a commission in the Austrian army. We can only conjecture that the prospect of being able to take part in the war, which was so imminent in 1830, summoned up this resolution ; but we fancy that is the truth. The Austrian army has many educated foreigners among its officers, and until the time in which the political differences with England took place, Englishmen of respectable family were sure of a most cordial reception. The English volunteers were accustomed to give the preference to those regiments whose uniform was most tasteful and richly ornamented, and this Guyon proved by entering an Hungarian regiment. His time of service did not last long. In the house GUYON. 335 • of Field- Marshal Baron Spleny he formed the acquaintance of his host's amiable daughter, married her, and left the service. He purchased an estate in Hungary, managed it himself, and lived exclusively with his family and his friends. He formed an accurate acquaintance with the country through this practical employment, and through the connection into which it brought him with all classes of people ; but the language he spoke very poorly. He was a perfect master of German, on the other hand, but the difficult Magyar he terribly garbled even in 1849 . His friends belonged to the ultra-liberal party, and Guyon entertained the same views. The Hungarian papers, previously to 1849, repeatedly mentioned him as one of those who simultaneously promoted the national economical plans of Pulszky, and the political schemes of Kossuth. He entered into the unsettled war of parties in 1848 with perfect consciousness. As soon as it was evident that the army would have to decide, he joined the militia, and as a former Austrian officer, received the command of a battalion of honveds. With these he made the ill- considered and worse- effected march to the relief of Vienna. The far greater part of the troops selected for the purpose consisted of volunteers, honveds and landsturm. It was expected that the "glowing enthusiasm" of the strangely- composed mob, who knew neither their companions nor their leaders, would make up for everything. This ex- 336 GUYON. pectation was naturally found to be deceptive. The excellent-schooled and excellently-officered Austrian troops treated the Hungarians unmercifully in the engagement of Schwechat ; landsturm, volunteers, and honveds poured themselves in hurried flight over this district, which was not accustomed to regard the Hungarian prowess in this light, and the regular troops were intrusted with the duty of covering this disgraceful flight. Görgey, who, according to his own narrative, did everything in his power to keep his honveds firm before the hostile batteries, was hurried off in the flight of his troops, and breathlessly arrived, like the rest, behind the Leytha. Only one honved battalion formed an exception, and even surpassed the regular Hungarian troops in bravery. This was the battalion commanded by Guyon. Although it occupied a most difficult position opposite to the village of Mannswörth, still it not only kept its ground, but gained some advantages. The heroic bravery with which Guyon led them to the attack, was the sole reason why this solitary battalion withstood the enemy's fire. In the most violent cross-fire of the Austrian batteries he fought on foot at the head of his troops, when his horse had been shot, with a pistol in each hand, and contested every inch of ground. After the retreat had been ordered, he kept his troops in good order ; at favourable places held the enemy at bay, and in this way did much to protect the irregular fugitives. GUYON. 337 The battle of Schwichat was decisive of the future relations between Guyon and Görgey. The latter felt himself mortally insulted that a simple Major of Honveds should have distinguished himself in a manner that contrasted so strongly with his own conduct. This feeling is evinced in a hundred passages in Görgey's so- termed defence ( My Life and Actions in Hungary' ) . Wherever Guyon is mentioned, it is sure to be accompanied by the remark, that if his heart was in the right place, his head was not so ; or with an addition of a similar nature. With great industry Görgey tries to propagate the opinion that Guyon was in every respect as incapable as he was brave. The history of the Hungarian insurrection , however, tells another story about the heroic Major of Honveds. We will not make extracts from it here, but merely state that Guyon, during the operations of the first campaign, which ended with Prince Windischgrätz's retreat from Pesth, distinguished himself in several engagements, and more especially by his victory on the Tarega, when Count Schlich was opposed to him. A soldier who measures his strength against a Schlich and gains the victory, must necessarily possess a very large share of strategic talent. His courage was also of the highest value to Hungary on another occasion, when he defended for a whole day the unprotected town of Tyrnan with only 1,800 men, on the 18th December, 1848, against the Imperial General Simunich, who was at the head of 10,000 men. VOL. II. Z 338 GUYON. During the advance of the Hungarians from Debreczyn against Pesth, Guyon was appointed Commander of Comorn. But the fortress was closely invested by the Austrians, and his attempt to cut his way through the lines of the besiegers was a most desperate undertaking. Accompanied by only twenty hussars, Guyon approached the enemy's works, and , after a series of most extraordinary adventures, reached the interior of the fortress in safety. His appearance re- animated the courage of the garrison, and Comorn held out till relieved by the Magyari army. On the second approach of the Imperialists, under Field- Martial Baron Haynau, Guyon lost his command, which was given to Klapka. Görgey managed to have Guyon removed from the active army and commissioned with the formation of a reserve. During the last struggles of the revolution, he again appeared on the battle- field. Immediately after the battle of Temesvar, Kossuth asserted that Dembinski had gained the victory ; while, on the other hand, Görgey declared that he had received information of the contrary. According as this turned out, Görgey would lay down his arms or continue the struggle. An official letter arrived, in which Guyon reported, with the strictest adherence to truth, that Dembinski's army had been utterly annihilated befere Temesvar, long after Bem's Transylvanian army had ceased to exist . This letter was immediately followed by the truce of Villagos. GUYON. 339 Guyon retired to Turkey with the remnants of the Hungarian army. He was one of the officers whose extradition the Austrian Government, supported by the Russians, demanded, and, had he been delivered. up to the Imperial Authorities, his fate would have been but too certain. When the Turkish Government, in order to gain valuable officers for their own army, pretended that they could only afford protection to those who would be converted to Islamism, the same message was sent to Guyon. From this moment he appears in the newspaper reports as a Turkish Pacha, and is called Curschid . Must we not conclude from this that he has really become a Turk ? Appearances speak very strongly against him. And there is another reason for the supposition that he has renounced his old faith. During his last appearance in Hungary, and the time of exile, he indubitably played the part of a political ultra, and we may believe that, like Bem, he assumed the turban in the prospect of a speedy war with Russia, in order to be able to vent his rage on the Emperor of the North. But, in justice to Guyon, we must add, that the impartial and usually well- informed men positively assert that heis the only fugitive who has been incorporated in the Turkish army, without the stipulation of a conversion to Islamism. In accordance with the promises which Turkey had made, Guyon could only be employed in Asia. He z 2 340 GUYON. was Commander- in- Chief for a time at Damascus ; then at Aleppo. In 1850 there were disturbances in Syria, which were promoted by the old Turkish party, and were directed not only against the reformers but against the Christians as well. Damascus was chosen as the centre of the insurrection, but Guyon kept the conspirators in such a state of terror that not a single man rose. In the meanwhile the insurrection had commenced in Aleppo, and the city was in the hands of the fanatics. On receiving information of these events Guyon proceeded, with 3,000 men, by forced marches, to Aleppo, took possession of it after a most obstinate contest, which lasted two days, and restored order with an armed hand. At this moment he is engaged at the Asiatic seat of war, whither he was sent to do away with the irregularities there existing, and which are chiefly to be ascribed to the repeated defeats of the Turks. Guyon was very much beloved in the Hungarian army for his heroism, and because he cheerfully shared in all the privations and fatigues of his comrades. Aleppo has caused the Turks to entertain a great respect for him. THE TURKISH NAVY. 341 THE TURKISH NAVY. THE regeneration of the Ottoman marine was the work of three Capudan- Pachas, who must be considered as worthy of being classed with the most distinguished men of their age. The first was that famous Hassan, surnamed Ghazi, whose life and actions appear rather to appertain to myth than to history . He commanded the Kapudana or Admiral's ship on that fatal day which witnessed the annihilation of the Turkish fleet in the Gulf of Tchesme, on the 7th July, 1770. * Almost the sole survivor of the fire on board his own vessel, and the shipwreck of his companions, Hassan returned to Constantinople, where he was appointed CapudanPacha by Sultan Mustapha, and commenced that series of exploits through which his name became so renowned. At the same time he undertook the reorganization of the fleet. Up to this period the

• In this engagement the Russian fleet was commanded by

Admiral Elphinstone, a Scotchman. 342 THE TURKISH NAVY. Turkish squadrons, which only quitted the port of Constantinople in summer, to collect the tribute from the islands, or to cruise against the pilots in the Archipelago or on the coast of Syria, were composed of vessels of the line (alaï guemiheri ) , and heavy frigates called caravels, which were impeded in their movements by an immense poop. This circumstance had been the chief cause of the catastrophe at Tchesmè, for, had the Turkish vessels been lighter, they could have escaped through the Russian fleet. From this period, therefore, the building of caravels was abandoned, and the Ottoman ships of war assumed a shape resembling that of European vessels, but the armament, matériel, and crews remained the same. Hassan was raised to the rank of Vizir, but continual wars kept him away from Constantinople, and his work of reform remained incomplete. Hassan Pacha was born in Persia ; in his infancy he was carried off by the Ottomans, and sold to an inhabitant of Rodosto, a town on the Propontis. Too proud to endure slavery, Hassan, as soon as he arrived at the age of puberty, escaped from his master, and went in a Greek vessel to Smyrna, where he entered the service of the Emperor of Algiers. Soon admitted into the Dey's body-guard, where his courage rendered him remarkable, he quitted it in order to command a province. The riches he amassed rendered him an object of suspicion to the Chiefs of the Odjak, and Hassan was compelled to fly to Spain, THE TURKISH NAVY. 343 whence he proceeded to Naples. By the recommendation of the Comte de Ludolf, Ambassador from the King of the two Sicilies to the Porte, the Grand Vizir Rajib Pacha summoned Hassan to Constantinople, and gave him the command of a vessel. From that period, he displayed such proofs of talent and courage, that he attained by degrees the rank of Capudan Pacha, and finally the highest post of the Empire, in which this old soldier, whose life had been a series of glorious actions, expiated by the bowstring the reverses which Mussulmans only owed to their want of discipline. It is said, that Hassan always kept a tame lion near him ; this ferocious, but generous and faithful animal, whose appearance struck a chill to the heart of all those who approached the terrible warrior, was the living emblem of his master. The work of reform was recommenced two years after his death by Kutchuk Hussein Pacha, whose life was not less extraordinary than that of his predecessor. Born in Georgia, he was given to Sultan Selim almost when an infant, as a slave. They grew up together in the same captivity, and in mutual attachment, until the day when Selim, on ascending the throne, appointed Hussein, Capudan Pacha, and soon after gave him his sister in marriage. Hardy, indefatigable, and of a firm character, but at the same time just and generous, sure of the favour of his master, whose ideas and plans of reform he shared in, Hussein deter- 344 THE TURKISH NAVY. mined on effecting an entire reform in the department entrusted to him, and he was successful. He commenced by sending for skilful builders from France and Sweden. In less than six years, nearly twenty vessels of the line had been launched from the yards at Constantinople, Sinope, and Rhodes. The Ottomans adopted the terms used by the French Naval service ; the Mathematical school ( Muhendis Khane) , established about the year 1770, by the Baron de Tott, was completely re- organised, and received 200 pupils intended to supply Officers and Engineers for the service. The crews as well as the Levends ( Marine), were exercised incessantly, and subjected to the most rigid discipline. Lastly, quantities of timber were felled in the splendid forests of the Southern chain of the Taurus, and more than 20,000 quintals of copper were annually raised from the mines of Tokat, for the purpose of the fleet. D'Olivier, who visited Constantinople during the reign of Sultan Selim, gives some interesting details relative to the Turkish Navy of those days. The Turkish Navy amounted to twenty sail of the line , one of which was a three- decker ; upwards of twenty frigates or sloops, some of which were of forty guns, and various other small vessels. On his departure in 1798, ship-building was pushed on with the greatest activity, at the head of the Black Sea, at Sinope, in the Gulf of Mundania, in the Dardanelles, at Mitylene, and at Rhodes. A mathematical school had THE TURKISH NAVY. 345 long existed in the Arsenal ; under Baron de Tott, another school was formed for navigation ; but they did not receive the encouragement which they required, and the knowledge of the Professors was too limited for these schools to be of any great utility. About the sailors he has the following remarks : " The Turks in general are not fond of the sea ; they cannot conform to the active life which a seaman is obliged to lead ; they cannot accustom themselves to the privations which that profession requires ; they commonly prefer making use of the Greeks, who display in this line, as in every other, an intelligence and an activity of which the Turks are incapable. The Greeks manœuvre tolerably well, and conduct their little vessels with much skill in the seas with which they are acquainted ; but they have not the smallest theory of navigation ; almost all of them navigate without a compass, steer only by the knowledge of the mountains and coasts, bear up for every wind that blows somewhat strongly, and go and wait for fine weather in the nearest port. " The sailors and marines of the Navy were formerly called levens or leventis ; they are at this day distinguished by the name of Galiondgis ; the former are Turks of the maritime villages, or Greeks of the Archipelago ; they are permanent, constantly receive their pay, and have to embark at the first order. The Galiondgi marines are all Mussulmans, and receive pay only when employed ; after the ship is put 346 THE TURKISH NAVY. out of commission, they obtain leave to retire to their own country, and to resume their usual avocations. The Greeks are employed in a ship- of-war only for working her ; her defence being reserved for the Mussulmans . Prudence does not allow the latter, under these circumstances, to give arms to men whom they oppress ; they know, besides, that the Greeks would be little disposed to fight and get themselves killed for them. " When the exigencies of the State require it , recourse is had to the Merchant service, and, if necessary, a firman of the Grand Seignior appears, by which the Primates of every island of the Archipelago, and the Governor of every maritime town of any consequence, are enjoined to send to Constantinople a certain number of sailors. The Galiondgi marines are very undisciplined, very mutinous, and generally very licentious. Before their departure, they almost always give themselves up to excesses, which the Government tolerates, or dare not punish, for fear of displeasing them all. " A ship-of-war was not long since fitted up in such a manner, that each Turk had his berth, and everything necessary for his cooking and other arrangements. The between-decks were so encumbered, that it was frequently very difficult to make use of the great guns, and the Mussulmans had constantly received several broadsides from the enemy before they were in a condition to repel an attack. The THE TURKISH NAVY. 347 guns themselves were of different calibres, and served without order or preparation ; the shot which were brought for loading the cannon, were frequently either too large or too small ; which rendered a ship of the greatest force unequal to cope with a single frigate ; but, within these few years, the Turks have introduced much order into their ships, the duty is carried on with much more intelligence, the betweendecks are no longer so encumbered, and the artillery is better served than it was before." The death of Hussein Pacha, soon followed by the deposition of Selim, checked this movement, and the condition of the Turkish Navy gradually declined, until the moment Sultan Mahmud summoned Tahir Pacha to the post of Grand Admiral. The circumstances were most critical. It was but a short time after Russia had declared war against the Porte, which was still suffering from the heavy blow of Navarino. The naval strength of Turkey which, in 1827, had amounted to twenty vessels of the line, fifteen frigates, and thirty-two smaller vessels, had been reduced to some thirty, terribly disabled, which Tahir Pacha, who commanded an Ottoman division on that fatal day, had led back to Constantinople. Soon after this, the formation of the new Kingdom of Greece, by depriving Turkey of the Islands of Hydra, Ipsara, and Spezzia, which furnished the greater part of the sailors, seemed to be the deathblow given to the Ottoman Marine. What could be- 348 THE TURKISH NAVY. come of it without the Greeks ? could it ever be possible to make sailors and pilots of the Turks, who were so essentially a military nation. The skill and energy of Tahir Pacha satisfactorily answered the question ; a perfect sailor, a sincere patriot, although opposed to the Reform, he appealed to all the resources of the Empire, and, powerfully seconded by England and France, he succeeded during the ten years of his administration not only in repairing the loss incurred at Navarino, but in organizing such a fleet as raised Turkey to an honourable rank among the second-rate Maritime Powers. The Ottoman squadron given up to Mehemet Ali by the treachery of Achmet Fezvi Pasha* in 1840, consisted of no less than 22 vessels, of which 18 were ships- of- the- line. The years 1840 to 1850 were remarkable for a very considerable increase in the effective strength ofthe marine, and principally in the steam department, of which the first foundation " The fate of this traitor was fortunately a fit reward for his villany. Degraded and neglected, he continued to reside during four years in Egypt, a prisoner of the man to whom his treachery brought no other results than subsequent disaster, and the destruction of his dreams of conquest-fit recompense for him who prompted the treachery, but insufficient chastisement for him by whom it was consummated. Attempts were made by Muhemet Ali to obtain his prisoner's pardon, but the Sultan firmly resisted ; and upon the 3rd January, 1843, a fit of apoplexy, or, as many believed, a cup of poisoned coffee, put an end to Achmet Fezvi's existence, and to the necessity felt by Mehemet Ali to support him in exile. " -White's Three Years in Constantinople.' THE TURKISH NAVY. 349 had been laid in 1837. A steam-vessel of one hundred-horse power, constructed by Mr Rhodes, an American engineer, was launched during that year from the Imperial docks, in the presence of the Sultan and all the dignitaries of the Empire. In 1849, the effective strength of the Ottoman Navy amounted to 74 vessels, among which there were 16 of the first and second class, ranging from 74 to 130 guns. But the majority of these vessels must be considered at the present day as being unserviceable, since some are in a state of repair, and others are dismantled. The Ottoman Navy is at present composed of: 2 Three-deckers of 120 to 130 guns. 4 Two "" 10 Sailing frigates 6 Corvettes 14 Brigs 74 99 90 99 40 60 "" 22 26 12 99 20 99 4 12 99 99 16 Schooners, cutters, &c. 6 Steam Frigates of 450 to 800 - horse power, 12 Corvettes and smaller vessels. 79 The Naval department is managed by the Capudan Pacha, assisted by the Admiralty Board ( Medjlissi Baryeh). The commissioned officers consist of : 5 Admirals (feriki Baryeh) , of whom three are in active service : the Commander-in- Chief of the Fleet ; the Capoudana or Commodore, and the Port- Admiral (liman 350 THE TURKISH NAVY. reissi ) ; of the other two one is President of the Admiralty board, and the other a member ; 3 Vice-Admirals (baryeh livassi) : theVice- admiral of the Fleet (patrona), the director of the New Docks (iplokanè Mudiri ) , and the director of the Naval School ; 7 Rear- Admirals, of whom three, bearing the ancient title of riala, command the stations of the Danube and the Black Sea, the Archipelago, and the Persian Gulf ; the four others are attached to the Admiralty board. Among them is the Mimar-bashy, or Surveyor- General of the Navy. These General Officers rank as follows with the Officers of the Army : the Admirals with the feriks, the Vice- Admirals with the livas, and the Rear- Admirals with the Mir-alaïs. The Flag Captain (Sandjak bey) of the Admiral's ship also has the rank of Colonel. The crew of a vessel- of- the- line is composed of: The Captain ( Suvari) , having the title of Bey, and the rank of Lieutenant- Colonel. The 1st Lieutenant ( Ikindji suvari) . The Khodja, corresponding in rank to the Alaï eminèh in the Army. The officers, 16 in number, who have various duties to perform, and corresponding in rank to the captains and lieutenants of the army. A physician (hekim) . Two surgeons (djerrah) . One chaplain (Imam). The crew of 800 to 900 sailors (ghemidji) . THE TURKISH NAVY. 351 The sailors on board Ottoman vessels are divided into companies, whose organization is exactly the same as that of the companies of a line regiment. Each of them has its captain (jus - bashy) , lieutenant (mulazim), sergeants (tchaous) , corporals (onbashys), and marines. same as in the line. The pay and taïm are the The number of companies varies according to the class of vessels. eight in a ship- of- the-line. There are The whole number of sailors amounts to 34,000, who are principally raised at the following places :- Rodosto, Gallipoli, the seven provinces of the islands. in the Archipelago, exclusive of Candia, Sinope, Batum, Trebizonde, Ordu on the Black Sea, and Erdek and Begha on the Sea of Marmora. In addition to these 34,000 sailors there is a regiment of marines (baryèh alaï) of 4,000 men, under the supreme command of a General of Brigade, and garrisoned in the arsenal when not on board ship. The crews, we thus see, are numerous, too numerous at times, and in a very fair state of discipline. As regards maritime instruction, the reports furnished by our officers unanimously prove that it has been gradually improving during the last years. The manœuvres, artillery practice, &c . , are performed with great precision . As for the personal bravery, it may be presumed that the Turks would act at the present day in the same way as they did at Navarino, when they fought with incredible obstinacy, and only succumbed to the superiority of European tactics. 352 THE TURKISH NAVY. The construction of the Ottoman vessels is excellent, according to the testimony of British officers, whose veracity cannot be suspected . The engines of the steam-vessels are constructed in England, and generally after the best models. The artillery is in a good condition, although it has not yet received all the modifications recently introduced in our service. Great attention has been recently paid to the gunnery. The marine arsenal (tersanè ) at Constantinople , the residence of the Capudan Pacha, built in the year 1576, is situated about a mile from the mouth of the Golden Horn, and is one of the finest in the world. Fronted by a magnificent quay, about a mile and a half in length, with a sufficient depth of water for ships-of- the - line, it contains, in addition to a prison and two barracks for the marines, two caulking-sheds, four building-slips, forges, a rope-walk, and every necessary for repairing, building, and sending to sea a fleet. A newmanufactory (demir khanè), provided with a steam-engine of 40 - horse power, which sets in motion two hammers and five flattingmills, was established in 1852, near the Aïnali Kavak docks. The annual consumption of iron is estimated at 20,000 quintals, obtained from England, Russia, and Samakov, and 12,000 quintals of copper from the mines of Tokat. The wood for building is procured from the mountains of Asia Minor, whence it is carried to Ismid ( Nicomedia). The masts THE TURKISH NAVY. 353 obtained from Bulgaria and Wallachia are formed into rafts, and floated down the Danube into the Black Sea during the fine season. The ropes and canvas were in great measure obtained from Russia, which annually furnished from 12,000 to 15,000 quintals . Turkey also possesses other building docks, though not of such extent, at Sinope and Heraclia, on the Black Sea, and in the islands of Rhodes and Mytilene. The condition of the Turkish navy does not seem to have made commensurate progress with that of the other branches of the service. There are several reasons which may be assigned for this, but the principal one is the aversion existing among the Turks for the sea. Through this many abuses have crept in. The sailors are not regularly exercised, and the fleet is almost entirely kept in the waters of Constantinople. During the winter the vessels are snugly moored in the inner harbour : during the summer they make a magnificent excursion as far as the outer one. Once a year a vessel of war sails to the Archipelago, to collect the taxes, and the " Journal de Constantinople " announces this event as a most important State affair. In addition to this, the crews are not particularly inclined for any lengthened voyage, for, as soon as the ship has left port their usually abundant rations are very greatly diminished, from which the officers and Naval Board derive no inconsiderable profit. VOL. II. A A 354 THE TURKISH NAVY. Fortunately, the Allied Powers are of themselves sufficiently strong by sea to be able to dispense with any assistance from the Osmanli, whose navy has in addition been fearfully crippled by the massacre at Sinope. Still, as a praiseworthy sign of the activity at present prevailing in all branches of the administration, it is a noteworthy fact that the Turks have already collected the débris of their fleet, and are employed in the Black Sea, in carrying troops and stores to the Circassian coast. With this summary of the military and naval strength of the Turks our task may be said to be ended. We have examined in detail into every branch say that the Let us hope of the service, and we may venture to result has been highly satisfactory. that the Turks, encouraged by their past success, may not cease their exertions, until all their reforms are settled on a firm and satisfactory basis, such as no partizan cry or covert insinuation can overthrow. In the concluding section of our work we propose briefly to touch upon those points which are regarded as the great stumbling- blocks of Turkey, and in the eyes ofmany writers render all hope of future permanent regeneration futile . We allude to polygamy and predestination, two fearful obstacles we must confess, but we trust we shall be able to show that they are not absolutely incurable, but that we have rather been accustomed to regard them too much from an European standpoint, instead of making those allowances which the spirit of Islamism seems to demand. THE SOCIAL CONDITION OF THE TURKS. AA 2

PREDESTINATION. WHEN a nation is engaged in the path of regeneration it is not sufficient, in order to anticipate the issue of the crisis, to estimate the amount of its soldiers and vassals, the value of its commerce, and the resources of its budget ; the advantages and vices of its social condition, the degree of morality it displays, the manner in which it regards and applies the fundamental principles of all society, are subjects which must also be taken into consideration. If it were true, as many writers have asserted, that in Turkey there is neither property, law of succession, nor a civil code ; if polygamy had destroyed all family life, if slavery, which corrupts both master and slave, had destroyed the feeling of human dignity ; if despotism had so brutalized the minds of the nation that all desire of a change in the system had died away ; then, not only could nothing be explained as to the future of Turkey, but we should feel astonished that 358 PREDESTINATION. such a country has contrived to exist for such a length of time. If, on the contrary, there is not any European nation in which the sentiment of family ties is more developed than among the Osmanli, society organized on a more solid basis, or the idea of human dignity more firmly and universally stamped on the manners of the people ; there then would be no reason to despair of Turkey, and the same vitality which had maintained it with so much brilliancy during several centuries, could raise it again at present from its humiliation. The principal arguments employed by the enemies of Turkey may be briefly summed up under the heads of predestination, polygamy, privileged castes, and the social hierarchy. We will proceed to examine into them in detail, and attempt to prove that this party has suffered itself to be guided by its sympathies or prejudices, and cannot have regarded the matter with that spirit of impartiality, so essentially necessary when the character of a nation is at stake. The dogma of predestination is not only expressed most clearly in this hadi of the Prophet :-"The elect, as well as the rejected, are predestined to happiness or to eternal misery, even when they are in their mother's womb "-but is also contained in a multitude of other passages of the hadis and the Koran itself, especially in that terrible chapter which Muhammad stated to have turned his hair grey before the PREDESTINATION. 359 natural period : " Among men, the one will be condemned, the other blessed. " "At the day of the resurrection there will be white faces and black faces. " Man only dies by the will of God, in accordance with the book which fixes the duration of his life . " occurrence. It was on predestination that Muhammad principally founded the success of his military undertakings. It was one of those timely revelations to the Prophet which were almost miraculous from their opportune It took place immediately after the battle of Ohod, in which many of his followers, and among them his uncle Hamza, were slain. Then it was, in a moment of gloom and despondency, when his followers around him were disheartened, that he promulgated this law, telling them that every man must die at the appointed hour, whether in bed or on the field of battle. He declared, moreover, that the Angel Gabriel had announced to him the reception of Hamza into the seventh heaven, with the title of Lion of God and of the Prophet. He added, as he contemplated the dead bodies, " I am witness for these, and for all who have been slain for the cause of God, that they shall appear in glory at the resurrection, with their wounds brilliant as vermillion, and ordoriferous as musk. "* The Islamite theologians tried in vain to bring the

• The Life of Mahomet, ' by Washington Irving.

360 PREDESTINATION. decree of the Divine will in accordance with human liberty. Muhammad Bahir Medjlissy wrote a celebrated book to prove that the passages of the Koran we have quoted in no measure imply the negation of liberty. He quotes in support of his views a hadi selected from those called mutevatirè or authentic, by which the Prophet classes fatalists with idolaters, and rejects predestination as incompatible with the justice of God. " What would you say of a man who, possessing a slave, would tie him hand and foot, and then, commanding him to fetch some water, would punish him for disobedience. But such is the God of the Fatalists." There is also a fetva written by Bekhja- Abdullah Effendi, Sheikh-ul- Islam under Mahmud I, in 1729, to the following effect : FETVA, RELATIVE TO FREE WILL IN MAN. Question.-Should Achmet, a Mussulman, deny the free will of man, by declaring God the Creator to be the cause of all his creatures' actions, to what punishment shall he be condemned by the religious code ? Answer. To renew his profession of faith, and the ceremony of his marriage ; and if he still persists in his error, he merits death. Thus, according to the religious code, any man believing in immutable predestination is regarded as an incorrigible traducer of Divine benevolence, and a disbeliever in the free will of thought and action bestowed by the Almighty on all his creatures. But PREDESTINATION. 361 the difficulty appears to be, not to prove the Divine foreknowledge, or human free will, but to discover a possible harmony between them. The accredited opinion among the Turkish Ulema at the present day is that the doctrine of predestination only refers to the spiritual state and future life, and that in no way does it affect the other relations of human life. As this entails an evident contradiction, an eminent author tries to do away with it by the same arguments which the Calvinists employed to those who reproached them with destroying free will. " Our liberty," he says, " resembles the bridle which the horseman holds in his hand, and uses to guide the horse right or left, as he pleases ; but as soon as it escapes from his hand, the horse runs away with him. Thus it is, that after having made a bad use of our liberty, we have no longer the power to do the good deeds which we wished to do. " Still, in spite of the wise decisions of the mosque, and the express declaration of the mufti, based on the authority of the fetva we have quoted, the doctrine of predestination has not ceased to possess a great practical influence among the Mussulmans. It is that fatalism which is known by the name of takdèr or kismet, and which is so great an expedient in Turkish bravery. This instinctive, innate belief in predestination, endows the Osmanli in the ordinary circumstances of life with a singular dignity. No accident causes them emotion ; no misfortune can 362 PREDESTINATION. murmur. draw a murmur from them. If a Mussulman suffer a severe loss-if a fire destroys his house, or a fraudulent banker carries off a part of his fortune, he says tranquilly, " It was written," and with this consolation he passes from opulence to misery without a If he is on his death- bed, nothing alters his serenity ; he performs his ablutions, and recites his homage ; he trusts in God and the Prophet. He says calmly to his son, " Turn my face towards Mecca," and dies. There is in such a man all the strength of mind of the stoic, without the insensibility. He rises above his terrestrial affections, without ceasing to remember that he is a man. But as this absolute submission to the Divine decrees does not go so far as to free a man from responsibility for his actions, the consequences of such a doctrine are not otherwise dangerous to morality ; but it is different in politics and the Government, where it creates prejudices, which prevent or delay a multitude of ameliorations. The Porte, for instance, was compelled to display immense perseverance before vaccination and the quarantine system could be introduced into the country, by means of which, however, they have succeeded in checking the ravages of two terrible scourges which annually decimated the population. They at one time quite despaired of success, not knowing what considerations could form the basis of a decree which so openly attacked all recognised notions, when one of Sultan Mahmud's counsellors PREDESTINATION. 363 fortunately found in religion itself a method of combating scruples derived from that same religion. In the time of the Prophet, a village in the Hedjaz had been attacked by the plague. The Ambassador of God, on being consulted as to what should be done, replied, " None of those without must enter the town-none of those within must leave it. The safety of one human being must not be risked unnecessarily." This hadi, opportunely remembered, removed all the scruples, and the fetva authorising the quarantine measures was issued . It was the same with the formation of the new military, and we could quote other instances to prove that popular prejudices, however deeply rooted and apparently opposed to every attempt at reform they may be, cannot create any real obstacle for the Government, as they can always be combated in the name of that religion upon which they are founded. 364 POLYGAMY . POLYGAMY. It is certain that polygamy has existed from the earliest times in the East, where it appears to be a consequence of the idea of moral inferiority on the part of the woman through her dependence on man, which was admitted by all ancient legislation from Persia, the cradle of despotism, down to the Grecian republics. Von Hammer remarks that the majority of Asiatic languages have no expression serving to indicate the mistress of the house ; the Persian word Ketkhoda, of which the Turks have made Kiahia or Kiaia, is applied exclusively to the husband, or head of the family. The terms employed to characterize the relations of the wife to the husband, fully represent the idea of absolute separation or of an inviolable sanctuary, reserved solely for the husband, and which must not be profaned by the glance or even the thought of a stranger. Such is the meaning of the word " harem," which is used both to indicate the apartment of the women, and the two sacred POLYGAMY. 365 cities of Mecca and Medina ; harémi mekkè, the sanctuary of Mecca ; harémi nebevi, the sanctuary of the Prophet ( Medina) . Thus the orientals never mention their wives in the presence of a third person. Even at the present day to ask an old Osmanli about the health of his wife and daughters, is regarded a mortal offence, and in the very rare instances, when they are obliged to mention them, they designate them by the comprehensive title of "the house, " evincing the greatest care to avoid the proper term. Thus, too, when a father comes to announce the birth of a daughter, he will say, a veiled one, a hidden one ; a stranger ( Mussafir ) has been given me. A whole chapter in the Koran is devoted to women, and discusses with the most minute care all that relates to their condition, whether married or single. After recommending that honour be generally paid to the sex, the sacred text adds : "Men are superior to women in consequence of the qualities by which God has raised the former above the latter, and because men employ their property to give women their dower. Virtuous women are obedient and submissive ; they carefully preserve, during the absence of their husband, what God has ordered to be preserved untouched ; ye will reprimand those whose disobedience ye have to complain of; you will order them separate beds ; you will beat them, but as soon as they obey you, do not seek a quarrel with them. God is great ! " 366 POLYGAMY. Such are the terms in which Muhammad pronounces the moral inferiority of the wife, and the husband's rights over her. If women are enjoined in the Koran to be submissive to their husbands, the latter are equally enjoined to honour their wives, though in a lesser degree. " They (the women) are your garments, and you are theirs, that is, you are necessary to each other, and you should give your mutual aid and support. " As for the pretended belief of the Muhammadans, that women possess no souls, or if they do possess one, that it must perish like that of the brutes, and that they will receive no reward in the other world— it is one of the countless myths current about the East. The principle of female responsibility is everywhere admitted in the Koran, which expressly declares that, in the future distribution of rewards and punishments, there will not be any distinction between the sexes. "The men and women who devote themselves entirely to God, the men and women who believe, pious persons of both sexes-all will obtain a divine recompense and an eternal reward. " Still, it is not stated absolutely where the same place is set apart for men and women, and it even intimates that the happiness of the latter will be less exquisite, because their actions in this life cannot have been either so important or so meritorious. The Multequa, following the example of the Koran, POLYGAMY. 367 has laid down the civil inferiority of woman ; but as in Turkey, even more than elsewhere, the manners of the people serve as a corrective to their institutions, this inferiority disappears in ordinary life. In the first place, instances of polygamy are extremely rare in Turkey. Mr White tells us-and he speaks from practical knowledge of the subject that polygamy in the capital does not amount to five per cent. It is rarely met with save among the richest and most powerful functionaries ; and even then plurality of wives is an exception. In Constantinople, the Ulema, the employés of the Government, the higher officers of the army and navy, those persons in the service of grandees, workmen, and artizans of the different guilds, have generally only one wife. In the provinces this number is still higher. The proof is furnished by examining the number of male and female inhabitants of the town, when it will be found, that in Constantinople, the latter are only one seventh more than the former, while in the provinces the difference is only about one thirty-fifth. On one hand, the express recommendations of the Koran, which states that though it is permissible to marry several women, it is meritorious to marry only one ; on the other, the obligation which the law imposes on the husband of giving his wife a dowry and to provide for her support, have greatly contributed to restrain the instances of polygamy among private persons. Again, the Ministers and principal officers of the 368 POLYGAMY.. Government, whose personal fortune and salaries would enable them to maintain several wives, have, - either through contact with Europeans, or through a desire to promote the regeneration of their country, recently displayed a species of affectation in only marrying one ; and some go so far as to remain unmarried if the first wife happens to die. As regards her domestic life, the wife is not merely personally free, but is absolute sovereign in the harem , or in that portion of it, which she inhabits with her children and her slaves ; she educates the former, commands the latter, receives such female visitors as she pleases, and all her own and her husband's male relations who are within the prohibited degree ; nor does she undergo the interference of any strange power in any of the dealings of her domestic life ; her husband even is obliged to remain without the harem, on hearing that any ladies are paying a visit to his wife. She goes out at any hour of the day, either for exercise, or to return visits she has received, but veiled and accompanied by her servants and slaves. Her husband consults her in all his affairs, and, if he occupies any exalted post, she will frequently make her influence felt in matters of State. On this subject of harem life, Mr Urquhart writes as follows :— " The life of the woman is not, however, confined to the harem ; they go regularly to the bath, which, like the Thermo of the Romans, is a place of recreation and merriment, of public meeting, and of family POLYGAMY. 369 mirth. The Khanum is accompanied by her slaves and children ; she there meets her friends, similarly attended. Their gorgeous apparel is laid aside, and , wrapped in easy and statue-like drapery, they assemble in a middle chamber, where the marble floor is gently heated, and into which is suffered to enter a portion of the steam from the warm apartment of the bath beyond it. Here they sit, chatting about their children, their sons, their husbands, and perchance, at times, approach and even opine on, the graver matters of ministerial changes, and European policy. While pipes and coffee are served by their attendants, and girls, sitting at their back, or at their feet, knead them with their little hands, and gently perform a complicated service of slight shampooing, patting and dressing the hair. All this time the children and attendants, rejoicing in the habitual liberty of the place, are within, washing, chatting, singing, and throwing water about. When the multiplied operations of the bath are over, and when they are again attired as before, and previous to their customary dresses being put on, a repast is not uncommonly served : and this recreation, which lasts nearly the whole day, occurs once a week. " Visiting and shopping are no less the delight of the East than of the West; and to these out-door occupations have to be added excursions on the water, and driving, which lately have become the vogue, since the stately pace of the gilded Araba, drawn by VOL. II. B B 370 POLYGAMY. buffalos or oxen, has been superseded by light carriages on springs, like the cars of whirligigs for children at fairs, drawn by one or two horses, and dashing along the new roads that have been lately made on all sides of the Capital . * Although it is a matter of extreme rarity for Europeans to be admitted into the harems of the Turks, some travellers have gained access in the character of physicians, and have given us more or less detailed accounts of the mode of life to be found there. Usually they have preferred giving us the gloomy side of the picture, and have been full of compassion for the poor creatures, whose hapless fate has consigned them to the tyranny of a gaoler. Such sympathy is in a great measure wasted ; the Circassian and Georgian women, a majority of whom constitute the female slaves, are only too glad to profit by the chance of being able to exchange their filthy homes for the gor geous splendour of a Turkish harem, and the prospect of giving birth to a child, which immediately elevates them in the social scale. But of all the pictures of harem life, which, during the progress of this work, it has been our fortune to read, nonę surpasses in vividness and vraisemblance the description given by M. Eugéne Flandin † of a visit he paid at Tabriz to the private residence of

• Spirit of the East, ' by D. Urquhart, Esq.

Voyage en Perse de M. M. Eugéne Flandin, Peintre, et Pascal Coste, Architecte. POLYGAMY. 371 Prince Malek-Khassim Mirza, of which he gives the following account : " I received a message from the Prince, inviting me to come and sup with him. His physician, an old Frengui with a white beard, whose success was an object of as great mystery to us as his origin, but a good sort of fellow, and confidential ally of the Shahzadeh, offered to be my guide. The night was very gloomy ; we walked on, preceded by a fellow bearing a lamp, in which an enormous candle burned. By the uncertain gleam of this illumination , which denounced us at a distance to the fury of the dogs wandering through all the streets, we avoided as well as we could the piles of snow formed in the streets by the inhabitants, in clearing their terraced roofs. We thus traversed deserted and gloomy lanes, and followed the walls of what is called the Ark, or that portion of the city containing the Seraglios of the Princes, and the barracks. Then, instead of approaching the great gate of the Palace, we stooped down to pass under an archway opening on a little dark courtyard in the rear. " Our guide put out his lamp, and the Doctor, after making us a sign to follow, knocked gently at a little door, which was cautiously opened. All this looked mysterious, and was possibly not unattended by danger ; but, enchanted by the originality of an adventure which assumed a very piquant aspect, I went on at the hazard of anything that might happen to BB 2 372 POLYGAMY. me. By the door we had so mysteriously passed through, we penetrated into an obscure room, opening in a dark corridor, which we followed . We mounted some steps, crossed a second hall gloomily lighted , but in which I could still notice a great number of pictures representing women dancing or playing, subjects I had not hitherto seen. I concluded from this, that I was in that part of the house which was never open to strangers, that is, in the Khan- Zadeh, or women's apartments. "I followed the Hekim, who appeared perfectly acquainted with the place, and soon arrived in front of one of those huge doors called Perdeh, which suddenly opened before me. I was quite dazzled by a brilliant light filling a large room all brilliant with bright gold, paintings, and mirrors. In the centre, some twenty women, surprised by my apparition, uttered cries of terror while trying to hide their faces. The Prince, whom I did not notice at the end of the room, where he was lying on a pile of carpets and cushions, burst into a loud laugh on noticing my stupefaction, which, to speak the truth, was not less extreme than that of the ladies. The Shah Zadeh invited me to draw near, and told me, that, in his desire to satisfy the desire I had revealed to him, and not being able to dispose of the property of others, he could not do better than receive me in his own Anderoum. I thanked him in the most fitting terms, to prove to him my gratitude for the manner, as POLYGAMY. 373 amiable and flattering to my discretion, in which he had replied to the requests I had hazarded. " I had already lived sufficiently long among Easterns, to understand the generous and obliging nature of the service rendered me by the Prince ; for, if, by any indiscretion, it had been discovered that he had admitted a Christian into his harem, he would certainly have incurred the disgrace of the Shah ; and, Prince though he was, the population of Tabriz would have murmured loudly at such a violation of Mussulman manners, and such open defiance of their recognised prejudices. They " In the meanwhile the ladies, whom my appearance had disturbed in the midst of their pleasures and dances, soon recovered from their terror. began to let some of the folds fall off the veils, which they had hastened to assume ; these veils gradually sank, and ended by entirely disappearing. Alarmed at first, the ladies of the house regained their assurance, and grew tame by degrees. They soon honoured me with glances not a whit inferior to the curiosity of mine ; they re-assumed their natural attitude, which surprise had suddenly deranged, and, accustoming themselves to my presence, they returned to the nonchalant position, in which their idle and careless harem-life passes away. Those who had thrown their instruments on the carpet, made up their minds to raise them again. A few chords accicidentally struck mechanically, attracted their fingers, 374 POLYGAMY. and dance music soon re- enlivened these women, for whom the interruption of their pleasure was time lost. " In the centre of these Houris of the terrestrial Paradise which the Prince had created for himself, we seated ourselves at a little table, on which an elegant supper was served. During the repast, which was served with a research and gallantry quite harmonizing with our entourage, the dancing was not discontinued . Usually, only one lady danced ; from time to time, a second joined her, but there were never more than two. They held in their hands small cymbals, like castagnettes, of a sonorous metal, with which they marked the measure, and accompanied the instruments. One of the latter was a species of spherical bass viol, made of whalebone ; it was provided with a very long handle, had only three chords, and rested on a foot. Sounds of a rather shrill nature were produced from it by means of a silken bow. The one figuring in the Prince's orchestra, was in the hands of the only man who was with us, and who owed this exception in his favour to the fact of his being blind. At his side a woman was scratching the metallic strings of a mandoline, with a tortoiseshell quill ; another was beating with both hands a small tambourine which was held under her left arm ; while a third accompanied her on another tambourine, precisely resembling those in use among Europeans. POLYGAMY. 375 "Theintervals between these dances werevery short, and these women, who had at first appeared only to dance to amuse their master, ended by taking such pleasure in it and to become so animated that the vivacity and strangeness of their movements made them appear mad. In these moments of excitement the orchestra played with unceasing speed and energy, so that the dancers reached the paroxysm of excitement, and fell back exhausted in the strangest nervous agitation. "These dances possessed such novelty for me that they attracted my entire attention, but I must confess that they were far from satisfying me. They were hurried and irregular movements, imprinted with a certain originality, but not possessing the slightest grace or lightness. I much preferred seeing these women in a state of repose, and in the attitude they assumed with that nonchalance so natural to them, than, when excited by this barbarous music, making these eccentric bounds which verged on frenzy. "When the dance had continued so long that the ladies felt inclined to rest, I was enabled to examine at my leisure the manner in which they were attired. Their dresses were all cut after the same pattern, which appeared to me remarkably simple. The Prince, by his explanations, had the goodness to supply that which I was not able to see. The Persian women do not wear chemises, they only have a tight fitting corsage, which confines the bust, and falls a 376 POLYGAMY. little below it so as to fall on the petticoat. On the bosom the two sides of the corsage do not meet, there is a gap left somewhat larger than a hand, which is covered by a piece of stuff independent of the rest, and which is fastened with studs. A large petticoat, fastened upon the hips, descends upon the feet. Their hair is dragged up from the forehead, and falls in large plaits behind. They add flowers, ribbons, and other ornaments. A great beauty much in vogue among the Persians is to have the eye-brows very long, and meeting above the nose. When nature is not bountiful, art is invoked to play its part.

• *

"It was growing late ; the physician who had introduced me made me a sign that it was time to go, and we took leave of the Prince as well as of the ladies, who were more gracious on our departure than they had been at our first appearance among them. " After this digression, let us return to the Turkish ladies. In the character of a mother the Turkish woman has the exclusive right of keeping, supporting, and educating her children, boys or girls, the latter up to the time of their marriage, the former up to the day of their admission into the public schools, though these only quit the harem during the hours when they attend the mekteb. The caresses of her children, the most tender affection, the love of the husband, are the recompense for these duties, which she never omits. From the Sultan down to the lowest of his POLYGAMY. 377 subjects, we may say that there is not a man in Turkey who does not pronounce with a tenderness, mingled with respect, the name of mother (validè) on this subject. Mr Urquhart makes the following remark :* " In every Eastern family the great object of respect and devotion is the mother. The children, whatever their affection for the father, never admit of a comparison between the duty they owe to the two parents : witness the familiar expression-' Pull my father's beard, but do not speak ill of my mother.' The mothers of the Sultans and of the great men in Turkey have exercised greater influence over its destinies than the Ninons de l'Enclos, the Maintenons, or the Nell Gwynnes of Europe, and may that influence never be less ! Even in the house of Othman, that house wholly exceptional in its position, and where the fratricidal horrors of that of Atreus have been for centuries renewed—in that house, where the sacred tie of matrimony has been forbidden by the jealous policy of its nominal slaves, but real masters, still, there has the Turkish tie of son and mother retained its power, and benignly displayed, on many an occasion, its signal influence. " There is no loss which a Turk can suffer equal to that of his mother. If his wife dies, he says, ' I can get another.' If his child is cut off, Others ' he

• Spirit of the East. '

เ 378 POLYGAMY. says, ' may be born to me, but I can be born but once, and can have but one mother. ' This family affection, coupled as it is with dignity, forms the character of the people, and is the education of the youth. Education can never be anything save the impressing on the young generation the stamp of the old. " In conclusion, we may say that woman, in Turkey, is, in the eye of the law and of religion, a moral and responsible being, possessing her rights and duties, civil rights and duties, as we have just seen, and religious at the same time, for she may perform the functions of Imam : that is to say, in a company composed of females alone, one among them may be selected, and is indeed chosen, to recite, in a loud voice, the prayer, which her companions repeat after her, and which is the duty of the Imam. We may here remark, that women, too, are, generally, far more observant than the men of religious practices, but, among the former, there is none of that religious pride and exclusiveness which is perceptible among the latter. With the men religion has been mixed up with political differences, and thus political causes have imparted a species of stubbornness to their intercourse with Christians, and thus a strange opposition has arisen between their personal and national character. Among the women, the former class of feeling comes less into play ; they have no pride and little vanity, and although strictly observant of the POLYGAMY. 379 practises of religion, they do not display their piety by contempt for others . * Dr Brayer, who spent several years in Constantinople, and whose profession enabled him to enter the harems, thus sums up his observations of the state of Turkish female society. " The Mussulman thinks with the law, and conforms to it. He believes himself superior to woman. The Koran has said it, and nature proves it. He is good and affectionate towards her, but his kindness is grave and protecting, that of a superior to a feeble being, who is necessary for his happiness. Man regarding woman as the greatest blessing the Deity grants him, prefers her to every other possession. Instead of demanding a dowry with her, he gives her one. He make presents to the relations of his wife, instead of receiving them. His duties are laid down by nature herself. He has the management of external matters . He is bound to support, dress, and maintain his family in a manner according with his rank in society and his means. If he cannot do so, the wife demands a divorce, and obtains it. If he can and will not, he is compelled to do so by the law. If he ill-treats her, he is severely punished. The wife presides over the home. owes, in the first place, obedience to her husband ; then she is entrusted with the details of the houseShe

• On this subject we cannot do better than refer our readers to Mr

Urquhart's Spirit of the East,' from which we have already borrowed such valuable materials. 380 POLYGAMY. keeping, with the preparation of food, and the care of her children. If the narrowness of her husband's means renders it necessary, she employs her leisure hours in making the clothes required by the family. " It must not be supposed, however, that in the foregoing remarks we have had the slightest intention to defend the practice of polygamy, which is one of the greatest obstacles, in our opinion, to social progress. It offers inconveniences without number, and so striking, that every one must feel astonished that legislators should have sanctioned or tolerated it. The first of these, and the greatest, is, that it is prejudicial to the population of a state. Notwithstanding the great number of slaves of both sexes who were introduced into Turkey from Europe, Asia, and Africa, in M. d'Ollivier's time, it struck him as a noticeable fact that the empire was becoming considerably depopulated. From what does this gradual extinction of the Muhammadan population originate ? There are no instances of emigration on the part of the Mussulmans ; for a series of years wars have been by no means frequent and destructive, and still it is notorious that the Osmanli are annually becoming fewer in number. Among the suggestions which have been made to elucidate this fact, that offered by Mr White is ingenious. It is evident that polygamy is not the cause, instances of this being so rare at present, and the progressive strength of populations depends on the POLYGAMY. 381 multiplication of the middle and lower classes, among whom polygamy is most unusual. It suits neither their inclination nor their means. The deplorable custom of counteracting the generous efforts of nature, by swallowing deleterious drugs calculated to destroy infant life in the germ, the over-frequent use of debilitating baths, unwholesome food, the ravages of contagious maladies, and, above all, the system of dragging so large a portion of the male population to serve in the ranks ; to these, and not the abuse, or even practice, of polygamy, the limited increase of the Turkish families may be chiefly ascribed. It is difficult to decide what were the motives which determined Muhammad on allowing four wives to the followers of his religion, independently of such a number of female slaves as they can support. Was his intention to obtain a greater population, or merely a wish to sanction a custom which has existed in Arabia from time immemorial? But he appeared to have omitted one ingredient in his calculation-namely, that the number of males and females is nearly equal, and that it could only be at the expense of the poor that the rich took several of them ; one man could not have four wives without depriving three others of them ; nor, indeed, could it be presumed that four women, shut up in a harem with a single man, sometimes old and infirm, could have the same number of children as when each has a separate husband. 382 POLYGAMY. It appears, therefore, from these premises, that polygamy, as a fact, does not exist in Turkey to such a degree as would in any way account for the decrease in the purely Osmanli population . Whether Mr White's suggestion is the correct one, we cannot decide, but will leave it to be taken at its full value. It may, however, be justly assumed that polygamy is one of those faults in the social hierarchy of the Turks which will be speedily numbered among the things that were. The Turk is indubitably undergoing a great moral as well as political metamorphosis. With the spread of education the feeling of living only for coarse sensuality is gradually dying away, and the Osmanli feels that he has better things to live for. The feeling of self- esteem, one of the most valuable elements in re- establishing the national character, is being awakened ; the only adherents to the system, which is as brutalizing as it is degraded, are becoming restricted to those officials whose interest it is to maintain the old condition, and who regard with horror every forward step in social amelioration, as it saps the foundation of their own power. With the fall of the Ulema, which must inevitably come about, as soon as education has converted the Turks into inquirers, and liberated them from those trammels in which superstition and ignorance have so long held them those dark spots which now obscure the national character will be effaced, and the people, perceiving the blessings enjoyed by those who follow a POLYGAMY. 383 purer culture, will inevitably overthrow the mouldering edifice of priestcraft which now keeps them in subjection. But the Turks are not entirely to blame for the pertinacity with which they have adhered to their old faith, the examples furnished them by those Christians with whom they have come in contact, the Greeks of the lower empire, have not in any way served for their edification. We may almost say that their present condition is preferable, at any rate in a material point of view, than if they had been gradually converted to that form of Christian worship which has hitherto been their only prospect. The Greek faith, as exercised in Turkey, is only an amalgamation of the grossest superstition, and the most absurd ceremonial, which could only excite contempt among the more educated Turks, and hatred among the lower classes. At the present time, however, it will not be a rash assertion to predict that the intervention of England and France will be of vital importance in effecting the conversion of the Turks. The purer doctrines of Christianity will be made known to them, divested of those formalities which are so dissonant to their feelings, and we may anticipate with confidence that reflection, once aroused, will not be satisfied until it has examined into the salient features of a faith which is so attractive through its simplicity and fervour. Need we have any misapprehension as to the result, 384 POLYGAMY. more especially if we bear in mind the character Dr Walsh gives of the Turks, after several years' intercourse with them . " Have the Turks, " the learned author says, 66 no redeeming qualities among those fierce and brutal ones which, for so many years, I saw them displaying ? However, they have many which might serve as models to more enlightened people. Their unfeigned and ardent piety ; their strict but unaffected regard to the laws which their religion imposes ; their devoted submission to the will of their sovereign, as the descendant of their Prophet, and holding his crown by divine right ; the respect they pay to their superiors who are set in authority, though raised from the same rank as themselves ; their noble pride in only estimating personal merit, and retaining, as a matter to boast of, the name of the humble trade to which they were born ; their charity to all who are distressed ; their exceeding sobriety and moderation in all their appetites ; their immovable integrity, and their being the carriers of untold gold to our merchants, who trust them with the most implicit confidence, and never yet had occasion to withdraw it the gravity of their deportment, and the general solidity of their character, are qualities in which few Turks, of whatever rank they may be, are found deficient. I know nothing more grateful or pleasing than the simple and unaffected kindness of a Turk. There is a natural courtesy about him, which is always independent of factitious manners. He POLYGAMY. 385 addresses his equals by the name of brother, his elder he calls master, and his junior, son, and in general regulates his deportment towards them by the feelings that would arise from such relations. Such qualities must make the people in whom they are found, and their transition from ignorance to knowledge, highly interesting. "The destiny of Turkey remains in the womb of time—whether, enlightened by that literature and civilization which have dawned upon it, it will finally adopt the religion and free institutions of the West, and so become a member of the great European family, or, falling under the power of a neighbour, it will merge into a province of a state half Asiatic, add other millions to the slaves already in bondage, and improvement end in engrafting European vices on Oriental ignorance. " The reverend writer's anticipations have been so far fulfilled, that the free institutions of the West have been willingly accepted by Turkey; whether religion will follow, remains a question still to be solved. To the latter alternative, we may, thank God, at once give a denial, for the combined strength of France and England will for ever prevent it. VOL. II. сс 386 THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. On the first establishment of the Ottoman Empire, democracy formed the basis of Mussulman society. Eventually, when Islamism had converted a sect into a state, the dogma of absolute equality, established by Muhammad and scrupulously maintained by the four first Chalifes, necessarily underwent some modifications ; the words of the Koran were relied upon- " Oh, Mussulmans ! subject yourselves to God, the Prophets, and those among you who are invested with authority," in order to establish, not the principle of Divine right (for the responsibility of the sovereign towards his subjects has constantly been admitted by all the sunnite nations) , but the principle of authority, without which no government is possible. However, the former equality did not cease to exist, even, in fact ; and each of the subjects, at the same time as it was allowed him, and even enforced, to call the Chief of the State to account for any transgressions of the laws, continued to exercise certain ex- THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. 387 orbitant rights inherent in his simple quality of Mussulman. Hence it follows that, contrary to the opinion received in Europe, there never existed in Turkey a nobility, or privileged classes. On one hand, the ecclesiastical society was not distinct from the religious ; on the other, the generally admitted view of the constant intervention of Deity in the slightest circumstances of life, not only among nations, but with individuals, rendered it impossible to establish an aristocracy enjoying hereditary rights or privileges. Among a people where a man was only regarded as an instrument in the hands of the Supreme Judge, there could only be slight social differences, and honours were only bestowed for life, and were strictly personal. All commenced and ended, consequently, with the individual. The Empire alone was hereditary, State reasons authorizing this departure from the precepts of religion, and from common law. For this reason, the Imperial House is the only one in Turkey which has a name, and a direct and recognized dissent. No other family is designated by a peculiar name. Each individual receives, at the moment of his birth, a name which descends to the grave with him. This name, either formed from an Arabic epithet, as Muhammad (praised), Mustapha (chosen ), Abd- ul-lah (servant of God) , Abd-ul-Hamid ( servant of the revered God) , Salyh (honest) , Khalil ( friend ) ; at C C 2 388 THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. other times derived from the Old or New Testament, as, Ibrahim ( Abraham), Yussul (Joseph) , Jakoub (Jacob), Ismaïl ( Ishmael) , Daoud ( David) , Suleïman (Solomon) , Isa (Jesus) . These are ordinarily ac companied by a sobriquet, derived from some physical defect or quality, in order to distinguish him from others bearing the same name: Rutchuk (the little), Guenglu (the squinter) , Thopal ( the hunchback) . At Rome, the names of Lentulus, Cicero, &c. , had an analogous origin. Sometimes, also, these names are derived from the parentage, place of birth, or profession Reschid Kutayi ( Reschid of Kutahia), Mehemed Oglu Hassan (Mehemed, son of Hassan), &c. On other occasions, the profession of the father serves as a patronymic to his children, as, Ibrahim Papoutchee Oglou ( Ibrahim, son of the slipper-maker) , or simply Papoutchou Oglu. This paucity of surnames, however, may lead at times to most unpleasant confusions, as the following anecdote we quote from Capt. Slade will sufficiently prove. The gallant captain is describing the scenes which occurred in the streets of Constantinople during the reign of Mahmud, and the process by which the anti - reformers were converted. The accused, without warning or trial, wherever they were found (if in a public place, if not, in the nearest) , were instantly beheaded. The procésverbal was simple :-Are you so- and- so, Hassan, or Travels in Turkey.' THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. 389 Achmet, or Zadik ?-True, I am Achmet ; what do you want? We want your head; kneel down without disturbance. -Oh ! this is a mistake ; you mean that Achmet, or that : I am not the man. -You are the man ; we are looking for a certain Achmet with a long nose and large eyes ; you have a long nose and large eyes, and are called Achmet, therefore must be the man who is convicted of treason against our Lord. -I protest this is a calumnious falsehood ; I pray you go elsewhere ; I am not the man ! -Hear the blasphemer ! not content with conspiring against our Lord, he denies his guilt, instead of bowing at once to our Lord's clemency ; kneel, wretch !-By the Prophet, by my Father's beard, by my soul I swear I am innocent ; this is a mistake. Thus saying, falls his head. This exposure to an unpleasant equivoke, renders it fortunate, rather than otherwise, for an Osmanli to have a personal defect which may obtain for him a surname ; as, for example, Selim One- eye, or Mustapha Crook-back, or Avni Club- foot, is not liable to become a head shorter through a mistake. However, towards the close of the last century, some families were in existence among the Ulema who had retained patronymics, contrary to custom. Such were the three families, Dareh Zadè, Pèri Zadè, and Damat Zadè, whose descendants enjoyed the additional and hereditary privilege of being admitted into the body of the Ulema, without having taken their degrees in the Medressés. The Kiuprili, who 390 THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. handed down their name to their descendants, also form an exception to the rule. There were also some exceptions to these rules in the Asiatic portion of the Empire. Here there were certain privileged noblemen, called Derebeys, which literally means " Lords of the Valleys. " They had submitted to Turkish rule on terms, and held their districts by feudal tenure. One or two of these lords of the valleys were estimable men, and continued by inheritance a kind of hereditary excellence from father to son. The family of Kara Osman Oglu was long known in Asia Minor, and all travellers speak of them as improvers of the country, and conferring a blessing on the district over which they presided. The rest were, like all the offspring of such a system, petty despots, abusing the power conferred upon them by the most cruel and arbitrary acts, which human nature always indulges in when it has perfect impunity, and is not responsible to any tribunal but its own will. Sultan Mahmud limited the authority of these independent vassals in a great measure. rendered them innoxious, by inviting the most distinguished to Stamboul, and appointed them to places of honour and profit. He This forms nearly the whole of the aristocratic element which makes its appearance in the Ottoman society ; or, whenever it made its appearance, the Nation and the Imams immediately united to combat it, the former in the name of the equality written in the THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. 391 Koran, the Imams in the name of the integrity ofthe political power. This circumstance must not be. omitted in the enumeration of the causes of the greatness and decadence of Turkey. If, on the one hand, it contributed, by the free course it opens for merit and personal qualifications, to produce that series of remarkable men of every description with whom the Ottoman history abounds-on the other, by depriving the state vessel of the necessary balance, it gave it those rough and frequent shocks, whose violence menaced more than once to overwhelm it. In fact, as the power was based on nothing fixed or solid beyond itself, whenever its own strength failed it, or the traditionary feeling gave way, it knew not whither to turn. On every change in the Government, the whole edifice began to totter. There was only one thing among those forming the ancient system of Turkey, which could have furnished the idea of a nobility like that which the middle ages produced in Europe ; those were the Governors and Derebèys who had succeeded, in proportion as the Empire grew weaker, in usurping the hereditary Government of their Pachaliks or tenures, and whom Sultan Mahmud in a great measure destroyed. Even at the present day, the remnants of this feudality try to incite insurrections in certain distant provinces, such as Bosnia and Lebanon, and carry on a desperate contest against the reforms of the Porte. 392 THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. Thus then, the old division into clergy, nobility, and the third estate, which is still in vogue through a great portion of Europe, cannot be applied, either to Turkey past or present. Politically, and civilly, Turkish society is an unity, and admits neither ranks nor distinctions beyond the official hierarchy of the functionaries of State. In fact, these, as in Russia, form an immense body, whose degrees, as well as the prerogatives attached to them, have been regulated with the most minute care by the canons of the . Ottoman Sultans, those rigid observers of ceremonial and etiquette. These ranks, each of which corresponds with a step in the army, were thus fixed in the Official Annual for the year 1266 of the hegira (1850) . .SWORD THE SEIFIE ).( THE LAW YLMIE ).( GOVERNMENTS ).ADMINISTRATION ( MINISTERS UL- -SHEIKH VIZIR ,GRAND THE ISLAM . Chambers the Two Supreme of Court . (Emir ofrs ) Field Marshal -Mu- (. chir ) MEMBERS AND of,Presidents -Askers Cazi two The PRIVY THE OF With COUNCIL . the Vizir . General Division of (Ferik ) title ofPacha . Class of1st Judges Grand )-Constantinople ( Mirimri General Brigade of )-Liva ( of2nd Class Grand Judges )Cities Holy The ( Miri Ulumera . With the title of Mullah . Colonel Mir (Alai )- With Class 3rd ofJuges Grand (The Four Cities ) Bashy Capudji Chamberlains )( thetitle of Lieutenant -Colonel Kaunakam )( Bey . Class 4th ofJudges Grand )Makredji ( Bashy )Chef deBataillon (Bin - Major (Kholassy ).Adjutant - Captain (Yuz -Bashy ). · of5th Class (Devruè )Grand Judges Judges of1st Ordinary Class · of2nd Judges Orinary Class · Cadis . THE PEN KALEMIE ).( Functionaries ofthe highest rank (Rutbei Bala ). Functionaries of1st Class . Functionaries of2nd Class . Functionaries 3rd Class .of Functionaries Class .of4th Functionaries of5th Clsss . Khodjiguian . The Masters . THE PALACE . (MABEIN ). Mas- Grand The Palace the ofer Cham- Te Grand .berlain The Grand Slabli (Equerry ).Amirè 394 THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. Independently of the official titles attached, either to their person or their office, etiquette has established for each class of functionaries, from the Vizir down to the lowest employé of the Kalemie, certain formulas, employed either in addressing or writing to them, which vary in the most extraordinary manner, but to which the Ottoman ceremonial attaches the utmost importance. These formulas, however, have become greatly simplified during the reign of the last Sultan, with reference to the great officers of the Crown, and the other dignitaries of the Empire. As to the latter, although distinguished from the mass of the population by the title of ridjal, * they cannot be regarded as forming an aristocracy in the State, as they do not possess any hereditary, or indeed other privileges. More than this, whatever may be the authority they may exercise, there is not an Osmanli, who lives on his property, or by the fruits of his labour, that does not affect towards them a species of disdain, that of the free man towards the slave ; slave not by his birth, or his evil fortune, for then he might be pitied, but through his free will, and a desire to satisfy his ambition. This word is sometimes translated " noble : " but it more properly designates aristocracy of place, and is only given to such individuals as have held office, and still retain either titular rank, or court privileges—such, for instance, as ex-Vizirs, Ministers, Judges, and Mufti, who are entitled to appear before the Sultan on certain solemn occasions. -White's ' Three Years in Constantinople. ' THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. 395 In fact, the time is not very remote, when the fusion of the law which placed all the functionaries of the Empire in absolute dependence on the Sultan was in full force, and when the Sultan, who did not dare to injure the meanest of his subjects, could with impunity strangle or decapitate the first dignitaries of the Empire. By the ancient laws of the Empire, the officers of the Seraglio were the slaves of the Sultan, and to whatever rank they attained they were still considered to exist in that relation ; to be incapable of acquiring personal property ; and their wives, children, and fortune, as well as themselves, were at all times at the disposal of their master. Though the strict interpretation of this relative connexion was no longer now prized, and men undertook office who were not and never had been slaves, yet the origin of the notion still continued to operate : the functionary was put to death the moment he displeased his master, and his property was taken possession of by the Sultan, as if the man was still his bondman. This state of things was the most effective of all in sapping the foundations of the Turkish Empire. By ranking all those who were invested with a Government office with slaves, it furnished them in reality with the vices of slaves, perfidiousness, baseness, covetousness, and love of money. It was not surprizing that the Governors of provinces neglected no 396 THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. means of plundering the people, when they were obliged to purchase that right dearly ; when they knew that they could not maintain themselves in the place, or occupy others without making just pecuniary sacrifices ; when, in a word, the Sovereign sold all the eminent places, and, after his example, the ministers and the men who disposed of any employment only gave it to the highest bidder. Through a very ancient custom which mistrust doubtlessly introduced, every important place was granted only for a year ; a new firman was necessary for a person to be retained in it. The Pachas, above all, whose extensive power afforded the means of securing themselves from the Sovereign authority, were regularly changed every year, and the Sultan seldom deviated from the custom, when he had it in his power ; but the Pacha, on his side, knowing that gold could absolve a man from the worst crimes, hastened to amass it, and if to his criminal ambition he found courage, boldness, and talents, he obtained, with the three tails, an eminent Pachalik. He then endeavoured to maintain himself in his post by preventing, on the one hand, the complaints respecting his conduct reaching the throne, and, on the other, by performing scrupulously the engagements he had contracted toward the Imperial treasury. After a while the vassal would grow bold, and the Sultan suspicious, and the end of the turbulent Pacha would be his death by the bowstring, and THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. 397 the production of the Imperial firman, which all the spectators in turn kissed with respect, and placed on their heads in token of submission. Thus, then, if we desire to find the pure type of the Osmanli, we must seek him without the official regions in the social classes, who live isolated from the Government. These again may be divided into two categories : the artizans and the proprietary. The artizans are divided into guilds, under the name of Esnafs, each having its kiaiya (inspector) , and placed under the jurisdiction of the Stamboul Effendi ; these guilds are very numerous. An historical document quoted by Von Hammer, on the occasion of the fêtes given by Sultan Mahmud III, at the circumcision of his son in 1582, contains a list of one hundred and forty- eight guilds which took part in the procession. The same writer, who has taken his description of the corporations from the elaborate work of the celebrated Turkish traveller and historian Evlia, observes that the establishment of guilds dates from the most flourishing epoch of the Bagdhad Chalifes. The example of Christian religious fraternities and monkish congregations suggested the idea of these associations to the Commanders of the Faithful. According to popular belief, however, the first Esnaf was instituted by Muhammad and his immediate successors. Each company or craft reverenced and still acknowledges a patron Saint, as is the case with some guilds in Europe. 398 THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. The guilds or corporations of Constantinople consisted of forty-six, subdivided into five hundred and fifty-four minor crafts, at the period of the grand last muster under Mustapha III in 1769. These subdivisions comprised every calling gaining a livelihood by science, art, commerce, or handiwork, including the Church and liberal professions. Although eighty years and more have elapsed since the guilds were assembled, or any official investigation of their classification or numbers has taken place, there are grounds for affirming that the institutions remain unchanged, and, in case of need, would be prepared to assemble in the same pomp, and probably in greater numbers, than in former days. * The officers of the different companies or trades were, and still continue, limited to seven, a number founded upon the seven lamps and seals of Holy Writ, and typical of the seven divisions of the Muhammadan paradise. These officers are :-I. The Sheikh ( councillor or preacher) ; II. The Kiaya (steward and treasurer) ; III. The Vekil ( deputy president) ; IV. The Agha (master) ; V. The Nakib (foreman) ; VI. The Pesh- Kadim (senior apprentice) ; and VII. The Tchaush (messenger) . These and other minor functionaries are elected by the company and craft, and all matters touching the administration and pecuniary affairs are entrusted to their guidance,

• White's 'Three Years in Constantinople. '

THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. 399 subject to the approbation of general delegates. The property of the company, whether in land, buildings, or capital, is invariably made vacuf ; this secures it from all risks, save that of fire, from which there is no security. Saddlers, jewellers, engravers, and booksellers, are placed in the first rank among those corporations whose business is confined to the bezestans and tcharchis, when they each occupy a separate quarter. The beyestans originally consisted of isolated buildings, each with four gates, and opening nearly at cardinal points. These gates were, and still are , designated after the principal trades carried on in booths immediately around or beneath their respective porches. By degrees, new shops, alleys, and inclosures clustered around the original depots, until the whole were enclosed within walls, arched, roofed , and provided with gates, of which there are twelve large, and about twenty small. They are closed entirely upon Fridays, and shut during the remainder of the week at mid-day. The outside, or general tcharchi, is accessible every day in the week, from sunrise to sunset, although most dealers withdraw at the hour of afternoon prayer, which takes place, at all seasons of the year, between mid-day and sunset. The general inclosure, called bazaar, by Perotes and strangers, is termed tcharchi, by the Turks. With the exception of the two bezestans, the bazaars are not surmounted by 400 THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. domes, the distinctive ornament of almost all public edifices. The beyestans and central tcharchis are further distinguished from almost all other bazaars and markets by being completely arched, and lighted from above by glazed windows ; whereas the latter are either open and uncovered spaces, or mere rows of shops. The guardianship of all the central bazaars is entrusted to the bekji bashy (chief watchman) , who has a numerous troop of bekjis under his orders, who commence their duties about sunset, and continue to patrol until day-light. Each shopkeeper pays fifteen paras monthly to the chief, who settles with his subordinates, and is responsible to the police and the vacuf administration for the security of the whole range of buildings. Smoking, fires and lights, are forbidden within the precincts, nor is any one allowed to sleep within the enclosure, or to remain after the sunset prayer. The rent of the shops varies according to size and situation. * The other trades-for instance, the grocers, bakers, pipe- stick sellers, &c. , are scattered through the different quarters of the city. And, finally, there are ambulatory trades and professions, such as the porters, water- carriers, boatmen, sweet- stuff- sellers, cat'smeat purveyors, and so on. Among the latter, the corporation of the boatmen is one of the most numerous and interesting. The number registered upon the

• White's ' Three Years in Constantinople.'

THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. 401 books of the Kaikji Bashy of the city, including Galata and the immediate suburbs, as far as Dolma Baghtshy, amount to about 19,000 men, and the number of boats to 160,000 . If we add to these the men and boats belonging the Bosphorus villages, from Dolma Baghtshy, and Scutari, on the Black Sea, the whole number of boats may be estimated at 19,000, and the Kaikji at 24,000. As their vocation brings them into continual contact with Europeans, they are well known, and Mr Slade has given an amusing account of one of them in his ' Travels in Turkey.' They nearly all come from the provinces of the interior, and chiefly from Anatolia, to seek their fortune in Constantinople. Their object being to save all they can, they generally club together, and five or six hire, for from fifteen to twenty piastres a month, a large room, in which each has his carpet and cushions. They give a similar sum to some old man (generally a relative of one of the members) to take care of the room and prepare supper. This veteran is rather councillor or judge than servant, and as age is nowhere so respected as in the East, he passes his life very happily and serenely. All his expenses are paid, and the young men who employ him furnish him the assistance he might expect from relations or servants. At the end of five or six years the Kaikji has generally amassed what he considers a sufficient sum, with which to return to his native country. VOL. II. DD 402 THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. The whole body are subject to severe police and corporate regulations. Transgressions are punished by fine, confiscation, or corporal punishment. The officers consist of the Kaikji Bashy and two Vekils, one for the city and one for the suburbs, and of several inspectors, overseers, and foremen . Boys entering as apprentices must work until they receive a certificate for fitness from the foreman and chief civil functionary of their quarter. Each Kaikji is compelled to register his name in the books of the Kaikji Bashy, and pay a monthly tax of eight piastres if married, and sixteen if single, for a licence. It is a beautiful sight to watch the continual movement of the countless kaïks, generally manned by two or three rowers, incessantly darting across the harbour of Constantinople in every direction, and proceeding to all the villages of the Bosphorus, to Scutari, and to every place in the environs. The kaiks are long narrow boats, composed of light oaken spars projecting from a keel not exceeding an inch in depth . They are coated over inside and out with their beechen planks, adjusted so nicely as to present a perfectly smooth surface. Single pairs are generally painted black outside ; the others are merely varnished and oiled. The interior is not painted. The after-part is decked over, and serves as a locker, and also as a seat for attendants. The boats are usually equipped with one, two, or three oars . They carry sails, which are only set in fine weather, or THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. 403 when the wind is not too strong. These boats are not provided with ballast, and are so buoyant that a stiff breeze would overturn them, if the boatman did not take care to let go the sheet on the smallest danger, and throw the boat up in the wind by shifting the helm. The number of these kaïks is so considerable, and they divide the water with such velocity, that sometimes all the skill of the rowers cannot prevent them from running foul of each other, and one of the two from being overset, especially when the weather is bad, for then the rowers do not form a sufficiently correct judgment of the effect of the wind on so light a boat, and which presents so large a surface above the water. In such cases it is fortunate if the passenger knows how to swim, and so be able to gain the shore : assistance is seldom rendered to those whom such a misfortune befals, because there would be too much danger for the person who might wish to save one of the unfortunates, for he would run the risk of being overturned himself in wishing to take another into his boat. The kaïks belonging to the Sultan are remarkable for their size, gilding, elegance, and the number and dexterity of the rowers : they are distinguished from all others by their sterns being shaded by a goldfringed crimson canopy, surmounted by crescents, and supported by gilded poles. The privilege of a dais or canopy is reserved for the Monarch. The Imperial kaïks are rowed by twenty-four men, two DD 2 404 THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. abreast. They are painted white within and without, under which runs a broad external green border, ornamented with gilded arabesques. The oars are painted white, with gold scrolls ; the stern is adorned with massive gilt carvings, and the long projecting prow with a richly gilded ornament, representingapalm branch curling upwards. The rowers are all attired in loose white dresses, and blue tasseled red caps. Before the abolition of the Janissaries, and the general alteration that took place in the organization of the Imperial household, the Sultan's boats were rowed by bostanjis, whose chief, the Bostanji Bashy, held the helm of the barge occupied by the Monarch. At present the Sultan's Kaikjis are chosen from the common boatmen, without distinction of creed, by the principal Reis, who steers, and is himself selected by the Grand Marshal from among the most experienced, wellconducted, and athletic of the Hamlaji. Their number amounts to 300, and they are lodged in barracks adjoining the Imperial residence. * The Sultan seldom goes on the water in winter ; but in summer he frequently repairs to the dif ferent palaces which he has on the channel of the Black Sea, or to the Palace of the Fresh Waters, situated two leagues from the city, in the narrow valley watered by the little river which empties itself into the head of the harbour, and whose

• White's ' Three Years in Constantinople.'

THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. 405 peaceful stream permits the kaïks to ascend it to that distance. The cannon never fail to announce the departure and arrival of the Sultan, and any one may therefore easily enjoy the gratification of seeing his Highness pass. The procession consists of six kaïks, two of the largest class and four smaller ; the latter being rowed by only fourteen oars, two abreast. Upon state occasions, two of the second- class boats precede abreast, about fifty yards, to clear the way ; next follows the kaïk in which the Sultan is seated , attended by the Grand Marshal and two others of the household. A second canopied boat follows close astern, containing four other officers, sitting in front of the dais ; and the rear is brought up by two other boats, similar in every respect to the two first mentioned, and occupied by persons belonging to the Imperial suite. A seventh boat, of a large size, but painted black, follows at a distance, to carry confidential servants. Many of these Kaikjis have risen to great eminence, and one to everlasting infamy, in Turkish history. Among the former we may mention the celebrated sea captain and hero, Khairuddin ( Barbarossa) , and his brother Urush, both natives of the island of Calymos. The other was Achmet Fevzy, the traitor Capudan Pacha, who betrayed his benefactor, Mahmud II, in 1839, and delivered the Ottoman fleet into the hands of Mehemet Ali . In fact, examples of the sudden elevation of a Kaikji to the highest offices of state 406 THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. were so frequent, that if you happen to say to a hamal on giving him a backshish, " May God make thee Grand Vizir ! " he will not take your remark as a joke, but reply with a bow, " Allah Kerim ! -' tis very possible." As there are no liberal professions in Turkey, except the public functions, the class of proprietors is the only one which represents our middle classes, and this is gradually dying away. The Turkish gentleman who lives on his property either resides on his farm in the country or in a town house. In the first, he manages his estate, attends to his house, and exercises hospitality ; in the other, the education of his children, prayers, alms, and the enjoyment of the kef employs all his time. But he unites with this native indolence a reserve, a dignity, a nobility of feeling, an affection for his children, kindness to his servants and slaves, and a delicacy in his treatment of the harem, which are truly admirable. He is proud, though without the slightest admixture of vanity, more especially of his religion. He believes that the Empire is hurriedly approaching to its end, and if he be rich, he desires that he may be buried in Asia, in the great cemetery of Scutari, in order that the presence of the infidels may not sully the asylum where his bones rest, whenever the Turks have lost Stamboul. He believes in the impossibility of any THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY . 407 regeneration of Turkey, and is consequently, as far as his apathy will permit him, a bigoted opponent of reform . This spirit, however, is gradually dying out in the face of progressive reform ; but whether the feelings of which it was the expression are not based on truth, it is a difficult task to decide. Is it immutably decreed that Turkey must fall, in spite of all the ameliorations of every description which have taken place during the last few years ? or will she eventually emerge from her difficulties, and reassume that position which her past history and her present exertions on the path of reform justify her in claiming ? To a consideration of this most important question we propose to devote our concluding chapter. 408 CONCLUSION. CONCLUSION. WE have, we trust in a fair spirit, examined into every branch which possesses the slightest interest in connection with the all- engrossing subject of Turkish regeneration. During the progress of our labour we have found much that is cheering, and much, on the other hand, which must be deplored ; but we think that we are justified in our assertion that there is still hope of Turkey eventually becoming an independent nation, though it will never re- assume its former predominant rank. But to effect this, the most strenuous exertions will be required on the part of England and France, nor will the task be ended by the utter defeat of the Russian schemes. Unless these nations interfere, Turkey, and eventually Persia, will perish like the other Moslem empires in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Africa, Spain, and the East Indies. The Muhammadan religion, which was based on sensuality, and carried out on the same principle, maintains partly, because it gainsays nothing that CONCLUSION. 409 can satisfy this craving for enjoyment-partly because it places its believers under the influence of destiny-a species of indifference in the nation, and prevents the exercise of the innate energies. So long as religious fanaticism was kept up among the Turks ; so long as they proceeded from one victory to another ; the national strength was kept up, and raised even above the natural level. But while this Empire remained stationary, when other nations were progressing, these victories, and the influence they exercised upon the national character, gradually ceased ; Turkey relapsed into its natural stoicism and indolence, while despotism developed its full growth, and the rulers confined their sole activity to weakening themselves, not the less through what they did, but also through what they left undone ; and when they at length set about supporting the sinking edifice of their authority and dignity by new props, they found it impossible to carry out their designs to their full extent, by the opposition they met with from their hereditary foe. But if, as the partizans of Russia say, the ruin of the Turkish Empire is inevitable, what use will there be in rendering assistance ? We may reply by another question-what should we say, if the man who was killing a sick man, were to cry to us-keep quiet, and do not disturb me-the man is sure to die. All men must die, and, on the same principle, we should kill 410 CONCLUSION. even the healthiest man, for he must die at some time or other, and when he is once dead , it can be of little consequence whether his decease takes place fifty years sooner or later. And still cases continually happen, that the sick man, whom all the physicians have given up, recovers again. On the other hand, even assuming that the fate of Turkey is inevitable, when the Sultan sees that no power on earth is able to prevent its ruin- why should he not raise his eyes to the God of the Christians, to the same God whom the pagan Clovis implored—why should not the Sultan follow the example of the man who built his present Capital ? The better Roman Emperors in vain attempted to check the downfal of the Roman Empire ; one, by seeking salvation in the restoration of the old Roman virtue and justice -another in reanimating and promoting the pagan worship-while a third and fourth believed they had found it in the Stoic philosophy. If, then, Constantine the Great recognised the only mode of salvation in Christianity, was the task he had to perform a more difficult one than that which the Sultan would have to execute at the present day ? The number, the power, the dignity, and liberty of the Christians in Turkey, are fully equal to those enjoyed by the Christians of the Roman Empire at the period of Constantine, and strengthened immeasurably by the foreign relations of the Turkish CONCLUSION. 411 Empire. But who can say whether Turkey will have her Constantine, her Clovis ? but, on the other hand, who can prove the impossibility ? Russia and the Ottoman Porte are proceeding on utterly diverging routes ; Russia, by continually restricting the liberty of the Christian confession, and exerting herself to annihilate it ; the Porte by continually making greater concessions. By the HattiSheriff of Gulhanie, the Sultan made concessions to the Christian population, by which their civil position and religious liberty were naturally promoted ; by a firman of the 10th of March, 1846, he gave the Protestants permission to exercise their religious rites ; and finally, by the Hatti- Sheriff of Balta Liman of the 6th of June, 1853, he stated, " that all the subjects of the Sultan enjoy perfect immunity, and without exception possess entire security in the exercise of their worship, and in their ecclesiastical affairs. " The Christian Powers will obtain fresh concessions from the Ottoman Porte in favour of the Christians ; the Missionaries, before whom an immense field will be opened, will bear in mind their vocation of teaching and baptizing all the Gentiles ; nor will the Christian Princes forget the immense truth contained in the words : Justitia regnorum fundamentum. They will comprehend, that their Empires also rest on this foundation, and that it is immaterial from which side this universal basis is assailed ; and 412 CONCLUSION. in preventing this, they will carry into effect the wise words of a Roman poet: Justitia utilibus rectum præponere suadit, Communes que sequi leges, injustaque nunquam Largiri sociis. * In the present war, the Turks desire no augmentation of territory ; they only wish to protect their own existence, to retain the countries which have been secured to them by treaties, and which they hold on as good a tenure as many Christian Princes do theirs. The two nations have entirely changed their character ; if formerly the Turks strove to propagate the Mussulman Faith by the sword, in the present instance Russia is pursuing the same end, and striving to extend her power simultaneously with her creed, and to subjugate the whole world. No less than two millions of Catholics have been forced to desert their faith in Russia in a very short space of time, by stratagems and deception of every description ; in vain did the Pope lift up his voice to prevent such injustice ; but Russia pursues her ends uninterruptedly. We know by what measures 15,600 Livonian peasants in 1845, and 10,000 more in 1846, were converted from Protestantism to the Russian Church. The Tzar is making every exertion to give the pre-

• Claudianus de laudibus Stiliconis, lib. II, V. 103 ss.

CONCLUSION. 413 sent war a religious character ; proclamations are flying through the whole country, to enkindle the Russian peasantry, and make them believe that their religion is at stake. And what is more certain, that Russia, after conquering Turkey, would proceed on the same route to which she always so doggedly adhered, that she would compel the Catholics, the Greeks, and .the Armenians, to become converts by the same method she employed towards the Greeks in her own Empire ? And is it not equally certain, that the Tzar, when once he has planted the Greek Cross on the San Sophia in Constantinople, would direct his glances to Italy, in order to perform the same process at St Peter's ? Ambition, thirst for conquest, when promoted and fostered on principle, when once favoured by circumstances and fortune, know no limits. After the publication of the confidential correspondence, which the Cabinet of St Petersburg carried on with the English Court on the subject of the ' sick man,' no impartial person can longer doubt the plans which the former pursues in the war with the Turks, and had the slightest particle of doubt existed about this question it would have been removed by the perfectly unsuccessful and untenable manner in which the Court of St Petersburg sought to remove the unfavourable impression this correspondence had produced in Europe. But allowing that the Emperor of Russia had no 414 CONCLUSION, เ other views than to alleviate the situation of the Greek Christians in Turkey, he had no wish to make conquests or claim the inheritance of the sick man ' before he was dead, and not fetch the keys away before his decease, what follows then ? If the Emperor of Russia has the right to attack a foreign State, because he believes his co-religionists are oppressed thus, then we must concede a similar right to other nations. Are not the Catholics and Protestants who live under the sceptre of the Tzar, in a far more hopeless condition than the Christians in Turkey ? Has not the Russian Government forced millions, by every description of cruelty and treachery, to give up the belief of their fathers ? If these are notorious facts, it necessarily follows, from the premises ofthe Russian Court, that all the Catholic States of Europe have the right to invade the Russian territory, and to regain for their co- religionists those liberties of which they have been robbed, in contradiction to morality and in the face of the most solemn compacts. Russia will not grant such a right to the Catholic and Protestant States, and for that very reason she ought to refrain from such injustice herself. The Greek Church appears, after its separation from the Roman, to have assumed the character of a branch, which has been lopped off from the parent stem, and withers away. It did not put forth fresh blossoms, bear fruit, or extend, but remained in a CONCLUSION. 415 state of atrophy. This religion was incorporated with the Russian State under Peter the Great, and became a purely Governmental institution. " Peter the Great," writes John von Müller, " suppressed the Patriarchate, dared to convert the ceremonial of the Church into mountebank tricks, and united the highest clerical and secular authority in his own person. He sang at the altar as the first of the bishops, and entrusted the administration of the Church to a synod, which was appointed by himself, and was a mere implement of his will. " * The Russian synod receives an annual report as to the conduct of the clergy of the Greek Church in the Russian Empire. In 1853, 260 clergymen were stripped of their functions for dishonouring crimes, and 4,986 punished for lesser offences. In the year 1839, there was one criminal to every twenty clergymen, and from 1836 to 1839 no less than 15,443 were found guilty. Of the Church itself we will quote a passage from the Marquis de Custine's Russie en 1839.' " I would wish to send Christians to Russia, to show them what can become of Christianity, when taught by a State Church, and when carried out under the inspection of a clergy selected by such a Church. The sight of the humiliation, into which the clergy fall, when merely dependant from the State, would make every consistent Protestant shudder. "

• Buch allgemeiner Geschichten von Joh. v. Müller.

416 CONCLUSION. Every Protestant in Russia, of whom it can be proved that he has received the Holy Sacrament from the hand of a Greek priest, must join the Russian Church, whether he will or not. This, however, frequently occurs, for the thousands of Lutheran Finns, Letthonians, Germans, &c. , who serve in the Russian army are often in the dilemma of not having any clergyman of their own confession near them. For years they are unable to receive the Sacrament, and are, in addition, compelled to attend the Russian military service. The working classes run away from their Lutheran masters, and, if they join the Greek Church, are sure to obtain protection. If a Lutheran receive extreme unction from the hands of a Greek Pope, in the event of his recovery he is bound to become a convert. If a father is converted to the Russian religion, all his children under the age of seventeen must follow his example. The Protestant clergy are forbidden to point out the difference between the Russian Church and the Protestant confession, and a still heavier punishment is inflicted on those clergy who try to keep their parishioners from apostacy. Nor can any Protestant land-holder dare to make such an attempt without exposing himself to heavy penalties . "It is certainly true, " says an anonymous writer, " that the Esthonian peasants have not been driven by sword and bayonet from the simple Lutheran God's house into the five- pinnacled Greek Church. But CONCLUSION. 417 how they were tormented and bullied , terrified and menaced, seduced and blinded - how their whole existence was embittered, and their teachers and preachers prevented from telling them the truth ; all this is worse than force and overt oppression. It is not necessary to lay bare the several instances how the Popes were urged on from St Petersburg to their fanatic crusades, while it was publicly announced that the clerical ambition of the Bishop of Riga was disapproved of. We know that, spite of all this, every hundred converts were paid for with an order. We know that even the accidental deficiency of the announcement of their religion on the passports was employed, in order to stamp the Littomans and Esthonians as belonging to the orthodox church. We know that in the hunger years of 1845 and 1846, the helpless wretches were entrapped into the Greek Church by presents of corn . " *

-

This conduct on the part of the Russian Government, is explained by the following remarks of the Marquis de Custine "It is difficult to form a correct idea of the decided intolerance of the Russians ; the educated classes and those who are in communication with western Europe, employ the utmost artifice to conceal their ruling idea, which is no other than the victory of Greek orthodoxy, which to them is equivalent with the Russian policy. Without this

• Russland und die Gegenwart ; Leipzig, 1851.

VOL. II. EE 418 CONCLUSION. idea, we can neither comprehend Russian morality nor Russian policy. They do not believe, for example, that the persecution of the Poles is the effect of the personal displeasure of the Emperor ; it is the result of a cold and perfect calculation. These acts of barbarity are, in the eyes of the true believer, meritorious : it is the Holy Spirit which enlightens the sovereign to such a point, that it raises his mind above every human feeling, and God blesses the man who executes his decrees ; through this way of regarding the matter, judges and their myrmidons are the more saintly, the less human they are." So far the Marquis. "Hence it is explicable, and we can quote instances of it, that Catholic Christians must weep and tremble if they quit the authority of the Turkish Crescent for that of the conquering Russian Eagle. " We believe that these words, quoted from an influential German paper,* receive their full confirmation from the reports that have already reached us from the seat of war: If we compare the behaviour of Russia towards Christians with that of Turkey, the latter appears in by far the most favourable light. While in Russia, heavy fines, or exile to Siberia, await the Catholic who receives a Russian into his church ; while the Catholic clergy are forbidden to baptize Pagans

• Münchener historisch-politische Blätter, von Philipps und

Görres. ] CONCLUSION. 419 even, and convert them, Catholic and Protestant missionaries go about perfectly at liberty in Turkey, without the Government placing any obstacles in their way. While the number of Christians in Turkey is increasing —while the Catholics are erecting monasteries and the Protestants have founded a new bishopric in Jerusalem, the co-religionists of the latter in the Russian empire are driven to join the Russian church ; nor do the Catholics fare any better. Every incident has been carefully collected of recent oppression on the part of Turks towards Christians, but one point, and that the very one on which all depends, has been overlooked . In Turkey they are individuals, a few Turkish officials, who take advantage of their position , to ill- treat a few Christians, or, more properly speaking, to cause them annoyance ; but Turkey as such, the Turkish Government as such, does not persecute the Christians. She is continually making them concessions, guarantees them further liberty : while in Russia the persecution emanates from the highest quarters, and is carried out with all the resources which are possessed by a despotic State and a barbarous nation. In Turkey, the foreign consuls, the foreign ambassadors, exercise justice and authority over their countrymen, and can punish those Turks who cause them any annoyance ; but in Russia, the voice of a consul or an envoy is neglected, and even the appeal of the head of the Catholic church is treated with contempt. EE 2 420 CONCLUSION. Russia has always exerted herself to obtain credit as the supporter of legitimacy in Europe, and it is indubitable that the friends whom Russia counts on the Continent allow this idea an immense influence in their estimate of the Eastern question. Ifthe Russian cannon are once silenced, and her power broken, and her influence over Germany destroyed, then France and the Revolution will have an easy task in subjugating that country. So at least they maintain. If the truth of this assertion were settled, was Russia in verity the unshaken bulwark of legitimacy, as she is here assumed to be, there is the more reason to feel regret that Russia, vis-à- vis to Turkey, has left this royal road of justice and legitimacy, and has assumed a position towards the sick man which does not agree with the principles of the law of nations, and thus gives the enemies of order and legitimacy a very bad example. For Russia has no right to demand from the Sultan the protectorate over his Greek subjects, or even if Russia possessed that right for we have the right to ask what we please -still, when the Sultan refused Russia's demand, she had no right to seize upon the Principalities in order to enforce compliance-she had no right to strip the Sultan of his seigneurial rights over a portion of his subjects . Would France or Prussia be praised as the mainstay of legitimacy, if the Emperor of the French were to demand the protectorate of the CONCLUSION. 421 Catholics in Prussia, or the King of Prussia over the Protestants in France, because in either country the gravamina religionis may be found to justify this demand? And even then the cases would not be parallel . The Tzar naturally renders the idea of the Greek religion subordinate to that which he entertains of this religion as a Russian. In Russia, however, the Pope is no longer a servant of the Church, but of the State, just as the Holy Synod and the whole Greek Church are State institutions. In Turkey the clergyman of the Greek Church has many functions of a civil nature, and thus the Greek clergy in Turkey de facto would be brought entirely under Russian authority, and the ukase which ordains that Russian confessors should inform the authorities of all serious matters confessed by their parishioners, would soon render the Greek clergy in Turkey mere policemen of the empire. He who possesses the Greek clergy has a portion of the Greek nation. If the Russian Imperator et Pontifex Maximus has the right to demand such a protectorate over the Greek Christians in Turkey, he possesses an equal right to lay claim to it wherever Greek Christians exist, and consequently could extend his authority deep into the heart of Austria. If, in fact, Russia were the Protector of European legitimacy, she would naturally maintain this prerogative first of all in her own Empire. Let us turn a cursory glance upon the history of the Russian 422 CONCLUSION. Empire during the last two centuries . The Tzar Fedor nominated his youngest brother Peter (the Great) in 1682 as his successor. Sophia, his sister, however, enkindled a rebellion, mounted the throne, and Peter only saved his life by flight. Afterwards he hurled his sister from the throne, and had his own son Alexis Petrovitch beheaded. Peter the Great himself died, as John von Müller states, at the age of 58, of violent pains, which were ascribed to gravel. Menschikoff, first a baker's apprentice, then prince, made Peter's wife Catharine, Empress, by the assistance of the Preobrachenzki Guards. The same Guards, by the persuasion of Elizabeth, dragged the Regent and her husband from their beds, the young Emperor Ivan III from his cradle : Elizabeth was proclaimed Empress, and Ivan murdered in his prison, in 1764. Elizabeth was followed by Peter III. In consequence of a revolution, Peter was hurled from the throne, and although he voluntarily abdicated, he was murdered in a barbarous manner on the 14th of July, 1762. The Empress Catharine was followed by Paul I, the father of the Emperor Alexander : he was strangled in his bed in 1801. On the accession of the present Emperor to the throne, events occurred which are universally known : 200 persons were banished to Siberia. It will be seen from this resumé that Russia has been far from proving herself the protector of legitimacy at home ; the less so, as these crimes, these CONCLUSION. 423 murders, were not committed by the populace, but by persons of the highest rank. In her relations with other countries, Russia has been equally renegade to this principle. We need only refer to the treaties made with reference to Poland, Finland, Esthonia, Livonia, Courland, Georgia, &c. , in order to prove the truth of a remark made by a celebrated author, " that Russian history is rich in examples of broken treaties ;" or to understand Custine's assurance, " your legitimist journals do not know what they ask for, when they seek allies in Russia." We have dwelt the more upon the religious element of the present contest, as we are aware that many worthy men consider it a disgrace that England and France should send their armies to protect the faith of the false Prophet, and this religion of arrogant pride and unbridled sensuality. We will allow that, if such were the case, it would be a crying sin ; but fortunately it is not so. The English and French fleets have sailed to defend the Turkish Empire, and not her religion, and they had perfect right to do so-the more so as they were bound by treaties to assist the Turkish Emperor, because the European equilibrium was endangered and destroyed, and they had to regard their own safety. But while protecting the Sultan, by preventing his empire from being unjustly overthrown, they do not defend Islamism. Let us revert to the old parable of the ' Sick Man.' The sick man is attacked by another in 424 CONCLUSION. you rude health, who wishes to assume the inheritance before he is dead-the plans for the division of his property are all drawn up, but the sick man calls for help, and it is afforded him. This sick man is a Turk. But then a Christian rises and exclaims, Shame on you, Christians, you have done wrong in helping the Turks ; have caused a stumbling-block and a rock of offence by protecting the religion of this Turk, by not permitting him to be overwhelmed by his stronger foe. Christians will be apt to reply to this tirade, that the man who speaks thus is either ignorant of the first principles of the Christian doctrine and of logic , or that his argument is worthy the most bigoted Pharisee . But turning from the religious to the political point of view, it was necessary that the allied Powers should put a check upon the aspirations of the Russian Tzar. The collision was inevitable ; and the most that could have been effected would have been procrastination for a few years. The Turks have shown themselves worthy of our support and assistance ; they have striven hard during the last few years to improve the internal condition of their Empire, and in the present contest it does not appear that the progress of civilisation has in any way damped their courage. They are allies of whom we have not the slightest cause to feel ashamed, and are, at any rate, far superior to those for whom we have heretofore expended both men and money. When once this war CONCLUSION. 425 is satisfactorily terminated, it will be our duty to furnish the Turks with assistance of a different nature, and, with God's blessing, we may still hope to render the whole nation conscious of the blessings of civilization. It is our duty, as well as our interest, to furnish them all the assistance we can bestow in rendering their Empire stable and strong ; we must, at any expense, keep this barbarous foe from invading or holding any portion of their territory, unless, indeed, we wish to realize the awful picture which a celebrated French writer* draws. "Quand le Colosse Russe aura un pied aux Dardanelles, un autre sur le Sund, le vieux Monde sera esclave, la liberté aura fui en Amerique : chimére aujourdhui pour les esprits bornés, ces tristes prévisions seront un jour cruellement réaliseés : car l'Europe, maladroitement divisée, comme les villes de la Gréce devant les rois de Macédoine, aura probablement le même sort. " 6

• Thiers' Hist. du Consul. et de l'Empire. '

APPENDIX.

THE PROGRESS OF THE WAR. As a proof of what the Turkish soldiers are capable of effecting when commanded by good officers, and, in truth, only Europeans appear to possess the peculiar talent for keeping the Osmanli in due subordination, we have thought it advisable to give a short summary of the progress of the war with Russia since the commencement of the campaign up to the siege of Silistria. * Among the first operations of the Turks was the occupation of the island opposite Widdin, which they effected on the 17th October, 1853, and which they fortified in despite of the efforts of Lieut.- General Liprandi, commanding a strong detachment pushed on to Little Wallachia, and consisting of the 12th division of infantry, and a brigade of hussars of

• These details are principally taken from a letter which appeared

in the Morning Chronicle, ' a paper which has pre- eminently distinguished itself by the early and accurate news it has always been able to obtain, 430 APPENDIX . the 4th corps, two regiments of Cossacks, and fortyeight field - pieces, in all about 24,000 effectives. This operation was followed by the occupation, on the 23rd, and fortification of Kalafat, which was soon placed in a situation to defy a coup de main on the part of Liprandi's division , whose outposts were compelled to withdraw beyond cannon range of the entrenchments. Meantime, that is, on the 25th October, a small Russian flotilla, laden with stores and ammunition, succeeded on pushing on, by the badly-armed and worse-constructed fort of Isaktcha, and, after the loss of about seventy men, in reaching Galatz. But the energy with which the Turks had operated at Kalafat, and the skill and resolution they had shown in converting this open village into a stronghold of vast strategical importance, convinced Prince Gortschakoff that the force under his orders was utterly inadequate to show front to the enemy upon a line of battle extending from above Kalafat to the Pruth. This force consisted at that time of the 4th corps d'armée, Lieut. - General Dannenberg, composed of three divisions of infantry (Soimonoff, Pauloff, and Liprandi) , a division of light cavalry (Nierod) , and 140 field- pieces, with two or three regiments of Cossacks, in all about 38,000 effectives. Further, a division of infantry ( 15th) , a light cavalry brigade of the 5th corps (Lüders) , with one regiment of Cossacks, and sixty field - pieces, giving about 19,000 APPENDIX. 431 effectives, or a general total of 75,000 men and 200 field- pieces. Prince Gorstchakoff therefore demanded and received reinforcements, consisting of the 7th, 8th, aud 9th infantry divisions (Uschakoff III, Selwan, and Samarin), the third light cavalry division (Grotenhjelm) , forming the 3rd corps ( OstenSacken I) , with 140 field-pieces and two or three regiments of Cossacks, in all about 56,000 effectives, and further, the 14th division of infantry, and lance brigade of the 5th corps, with 32 field-pieces, about 18,000 effectives, giving a total of reinforcements to the amount of 74 to 75,000 men, with a batteringtrain of 100 pieces, parked at Ibraila, and another of 50 pieces at Krajova. By these means the total force under Prince Gorstchakoff amounted, before the close of the year, to eight divisions of infantry, three of light cavalry, or about 116,000 bayonets, 24,000 sabres and lances, including Cossacks, 372 field-pieces, 4,000 sappers, two battering-trains, or a general total of 160,000 combatants, exclusive of train and pontoon equipages. Having received these reinforcements, Prince Gortschakoff augmented the forces in Little Wallachia to two strong divisions of infantry, and two of cavalry, forming a force of 31,000 bayonets and 10,000 sabres, with 130 field - pieces, 3,800 sappers, a siegetrain, and a powerful reserve, so that, in point of fact, the whole army in Little Wallachia placed under 432 APPENDIX. the command of General Anrep- Elmpt, aid- de- camp to the Emperor, did not fall far short of 58,000 combatants, and a reserve at Krajova of 8,000 . This force was expected to carry Kalafat, pass the Danube, mask or take Widdin, and menace the two contiguous westernmost Balkan passes of Porta Trajana, on the Sophia- Philippopolis route, and that named Trajan Basardjik, which lies along the river Osuna. At this period the position of the Russian forces was somewhat thus : General Anrep, afterwards superseded for his bad success at Csitate, held little Wallachia, with his right flank above Kalafat, and his left on the Danube, somewhat west of the Schyl. General Gortschakoff, with 40,000 men, stood with his head-quarters and centres at and around Bucharest, his advances at Giurgevo and Oltenitza, his right at Turnul, and his left in front of Slobodzie : whilst Lüders, with about 35,000 men, occupied Braila and Galatz. A siege- park was also established at Giurgevo. To oppose these forces, in case of need, the Turks divided their forces into three corps : the right , under Abd-ul- Halib Pacha, had its head-quarters at Karassu, and was supposed to consist of 34,000 men of all arms, with their advances occupying various places on the right Danube bank, between Hirsova and Tultcha ; the centre, under Mustapha Pacha, also about 35,000, had its head-quarters at Sistova, and the left wing, under Sami Pacha, about 60,000 APPENDIX. 433 strong, held Turtukai, Nicopolis, and Widdin, with 16,000 men, under the gallant Achmet Pacha. Omar Pacha had his head-quarters at Schumla, the reserves were at Sophia, and Said Pacha, a lineal descendant of Jenghis Khan, and thence of the same blood as the Rostopchins, commanded the garrison of Rustchuk. Nothing occurred of any importance until toward the middle of Autumn, when, Achmet Pacha having with the most praiseworthy activity succeeded in placing Kalafat in a position to resist ordinary assault, Omar Pacha resolved to feel the enemy's posi tion at divers points upon the left bank. He therefore moved down from Schumla with seven strong battalions, eight field- pieces, and three or four squadrons, and on the 30th of October joined Mustapha Pacha, who held Turtukai with 3,500 men. On the 31st Selim Pacha threw himself upon the island nearly opposite the village of the same name as the fortress , whilst Omar Pacha ordered strong batteries to be erected on the right bank to protect his further operations. This being done, three battalions, six fieldpieces, and about 150 horses, favoured by a dense fog, passed the Danube, landed on the right bank of the Argys, crossed that stream, and took up an entrenched position in the angle formed by that river and the Danube, in front of Oltenitza. Preparations were immediately made by the Russian Commander for attack. For this purpose, twenty battalions, VOL. II. F F 434 APPENDIX. forming the 11th Division ( 4th corps), under Lieutenant- General Pauloff, with twenty field- pieces and sixteen squadrons, advanced upon Oltenitza in five columns, but the Turks, admirably supported by their batteries on the right bank, resisted steadfastly, and, after three assaults, drove back and pursued their adversaries to a certain distance, whose loss was estimated at 430 killed, and 1,470 wounded, while the casualties on the Turkish side did not exceed 118 killed, and 214 wounded. The Russians on this occasion may have shown great valour and steadiness, but little tactical skill, since it is evident that, if in lieu of rushing at the well- entrenched Turkish front, covered and flanked by batteries on the right bank, they had crossed the Argys and menaced their rear, Selim Pacha must have retreated to his boats, or risked being positively cut off. However, after holding the position for a few days, the Turks again crossed the water without molestation or further conflict. They had proved their metal, and the moral effect was great, not only upon the Turkish army, but upon Europe. Although daily skirmishes took place between the advanced posts and detachments of irregulars, sent to fret and harass the enemy's outlying pickets in various directions, nothing serious occurred until after the new year. But Achmet Pacha having received intelligence that General Anrep's advanced guard was commencing to entrench itself strongly APPENDIX. 435 upon the high ground overlooking the Danube, near Csitate, with the intention either of making an assault or passing the river, he determined to frustrate this project. On the 5th, therefore, he assembled thirteen strong battalions, eighteen squadrons, and twenty-four field- pieces, and at nightfall quitted his entrenchments, and moved through Golentza upon Muglavitza, where he halted for the night. After leaving two battalions at each of these places to keep up communications with his rear, and forming a reserve of seven battalions, he threw Ismail Pacha forward with three battalions and six field-pieces on Csitate, This operation was conducted with remarkable rapidity and success at first. The village was carried by the bayonet, and the Russians driven back into a redoubt erected by them to cover their troops in the village in case of need. But the Turkish troops, in lieu of pursuing the enemy at once into the redoubt, wasted time in destroying the village. The Russians had time therefore to rally, and, subsequently, not only to repulse two assaults on their entrenchments, but, after receiving a reinforcement of nine battalions and sixteen squadrons from Matzagoy, to assume the offensive . These attempts, however, were totally unsuccessful, and they were driven back with the reported loss of 400 killed and double that number wounded, while the Turkish loss was not estimated at more than 325 killed and 750 wounded. The Turks on this occasion held their FF 2 436 APPENDIX. ground for a short time, but withdrew to Kalafat, after proving that they were equally ardent and steadfast in assault as in defence. The disgrace of General Anrep, hitherto regarded as a skilful soldier and favourite of the Emperor, was one of the most convincing proofs of the affair being regarded as a decided check to Russian arms. Prince Gortschakoff, finding that this project of crossing the Danube, so as to approach Servia and foment a revolutionary diversion in that Principality, could not be carried into effect unless the Turks were expelled from Kalafat, reconnoitred the entrenchments in person upon the 22nd of January, and determined, first to inspect them closely, and then to adopt measures for assault. For this purpose he ordered up the whole of the 4th corps, under Liprandi, consisting of three divisions of infantry ( twelve regiments or forty-nine battalions, including one of rifles) , whilst the battering-train of fifty pieces and pontoon equipage were brought up to Bolitza in front of Radovan, when they were guarded by the greater portion of 4th division of light cavalry. But this formidable demonstration produced no other result than daily skirmishes, until at length this corps, reduced first by the necessity of detaching one and then a second division to assist the operations in the centre, was totally withdrawn behind the Aluta. This was not, however, effected without affording the Turkish cavalry an opportunity of distinguishing APPENDIX. 437 themselves, by totally routing six squadrons of the Prince of Warsaw's ( Paulograd) hussars, and taking from them four field- pieces. The above are the most salient features of the campaign, which has ended by the defence of Silistria, perhaps unequalled, certainly not surpassed for vigour and indefatigable valour, by any siege ever yet recorded, and by the abandonment, with enormous loss by the invaders, of the whole advanced line which they had intended to establish as bases and pivots for future operations. In fact, the defence of Silistria will be of the greatest possible advantage in every point of viewmore especially by dispelling that nimbus which authors of every calibre have sought to collect around the Russian arms. The allied forces now enter the field with a perfect knowledge of what they may have to expect, and while giving the Russian troops due credit for bravery and obedience, they need. only be regarded as in any way dangerous, as long as they are properly led . They are mere machines, whom brutality has taught to look on an engagement as the lesser of two evils, and as long as their fanaticism can be maintained, they will fight well, if not successfully. Such repulses as they have met with during the Turkish campaign must cause the most bigoted to doubt the infallibility of their Emperor, and short will be the progress from such doubt to despondency. 438 APPENDIX . As regards the Turkish troops, their behaviour has fully contradicted the croaking vaticinations with which many of our daily papers were filled at the commencement of the campaign. They have now acquired all that they still needed- confidence in their European leaders -and we may feel convinced, that the longer the war lasts, the greater will be the amelioration in the Turkish ranks. COMPARATIVE CHRONOLOGY OFTHEURKISH EMPIRE . 439 TURKISH EMPIRE . LATIN EMPRE . BirthAccession OSMAN I.-Sultan Ghazi .Hegira .A.D. 657 (1259 ) 699 (1300 ) Death 726 (1326 ) Reigned years 26. foundation The the ofTurkish Empire .-Conquest ofaportion Paphlagonia of. Contemporary Rodolph of Habsburg founder ,ofImpe- the rial House Austria of. Sultan IL-ORCHAN Ghazi . Birth Andronicus IIPa- ,læologus the Elder , 1283-1328 ,and his Michael son IX, Palæologus 1295- , 1320 . GERMANY . Albert son I,R- ofdolph ofHabsburg , 1298-1308 . Henry VII ,of Luxemburg , 1308-1313 . Louis ofBavaria , 1314-1346 . Frederick III of, Austria , 1314-1330 . FRANCE . ENGLAND . SPAIN Castille (). Philippe IVBel ,l 1286-1314 . 1314-1316 . Edward I,1272-1307 .Edward II,1307-1327 . Ferdinand IV, 1295-1322 . Alphonso XI, 1312-1350 . Louis Xle,Hutin Philippe V,Long le 1316-1322 . Charles IV,leBel 1322-1328 . Andronicus III , Charles IV, - 687 1288 )( Accession 726 1326 () 761 (1360 ) Death Reigned years 35. Conquest ofBrusa which ,be-came the seat ofEmpire 726 (Formation ).-ofthe Janis- saries Schools .-and useful in- stitutions . 1341-1391 . John VICantacu- , .1341 ,zeneCo-regent till 1355 . Palæologus ,the Younger son ,of Michael IX, 1328-1341 . John Palæologus V, 1346-1378 . Philippe IV,of Valois , Edward III ,1327-1377 . Peter the Cruel , 1350-1366 . 1328-1350 . John the Good , 1350-1364 . 44040 .EMPIRE TURKISH MURAD Khan ,III .-Ghazi Sultan Khodavendjiar called ,son of .Orchan Sultan BirthAccession Death Hegira .A.D. 726 1326 () 761 (1360 ) 791 (1389 ) Reigned years 31. the ,Adrianople ofConquest second capital ofthe Empire Khoda- name ,Gv his 761 ).-( ofprovince the ,ovendjiar still athere iswhich inBrusa ,monuments ofnumber great founded bythis Prince ,onef ofhis dy- the most illustrious Empire ofnasty -Union tohe and Caramania oftheerritories Hamid . ,Khan BAJAZET Sultan .-IV .Ilderim called BirthAccession Death 761 (1360 )791 1389 ()1403 () 805Reigned years 14. from Philadelphia ofConquest the Greks .First sege ofCon- stantinople ,lasting seven yars .byTamerlane -Made prisoner 1402 lin . .EMPIRE LATN .GERMANY FRANCE . ENGLAND . SPAIN Castille (). Palæologus John V, Charles IV, Charles Wise V,the Richard II,1377-1399 . Trans- ofHenry 1341-1391 . Emmanuel III , Palæologus , .1391-1425 Palæo- Emmanuel logus , 1391-1425 . 1346-1378 . Wencezlaus , 1378-1419 . Wencezlaus , 1378-1419 . Robert Bavaia of, 1400-1410 . 1364-1380 .Charles VI, .1380-1422 Charles VI, .1380-1422 Richard II,1377-1399 . Lan- ofIV,Henry caster , 1399-1413 . tamare ,1366 . ,the Bastard Henry 1366-1379 . John I, 1379-1390 . ,III Henry .1390-1406 Sigismund ,1410-1437 . Charles VI,1380-1422 . Henry V, 1413-1422 . John II, 1406-1454 . Palæo- Emmanuel I,Khan MUHAMMAD .-Sultan IV son ofBajazet . · A.D. .Hegira Birth 781 1379 )( ,occu- years of11Interregnum this during incivil wars :pied interval three sons ofBajazet , ,Isa and Muza are Suliman Sultans bytheir par-roclaimed tisans ,and carry onwar . Accession - 816 1413 () Death 824 (1421 ) Wallachia rendered tributary . Reigned 8years . logus , 1391-1425 . John VII Palæo- MURAD Khan II,VI.-Sultan I.Muhammad ofson 1425-1448 . logus , 1449-1453 . logus , Birth· 806 1403 () Constantine Palæo- Accession824 1421 () 844 1440 () 849 1445 )( - - 855 (1451 ) Sigismund , 1410-1437 . Albert Austria of, 1437-1439 . Frederick III , 1439-1493 . Abdication Accession 2nd Death Reigned years 26. Thes- and Phrygia ofConquest theatre ofsalonia .-Albania the between war sanguinary aIskander the famous Sultan and bythe known generally Bey ,ofPrince ,Skander -beg name of Albania . Charles VII , 1422-1461 .] ,VIHenry .1422-1461 John II, 1406-1454 . 441 EMPIRE .TURKISH LATIN EMPRE . GERMANY . FRANCE . ENGLAND . SPAIN Castille (). John VII ,Palæ- ologus , Frederick III , 1439-1493 . Charles VII , Henry VI, 1422-1461 . Louis XI, 1422-1461 .Edward IV, 1461-1483 . 1461-1483 . John II, 1406-1454 . ,IVHenry 1454-1474 . VII .-Sultan MUHAMMAD Khan 11,ElFatyeh (the Conqueror ), .Murad Sultan son of Adria- (1429 )at,833 Birth .nople Accession ,844 (10 ). Deposed ,849 (145 ). First reign ,five years . Sultan Murad regains the throne in849 ;hedies ,covered Adrianople with renown ,atin 855 (141 ). Sultan Muhmmad for the second time .Here-ascends the throne ,853 (1451 ). Death ,886 (1481 ). Second reign thrty ,-years one .Conquest ofConstantinople in Trebizonde 857 (1453 ),of864 in (1460 )ofSinope ,Castammouni &c.,Amasia The Morea ,Bsnia and the Crimea subjugated . 1425-1448 . Palæ- Constantine ologus , 1449-1453 . Destruction ofthe Greek Empire . Isabella and Ferdi- nand ,the Catholic 1474-1504 . 442 TURKISH EMPIRE . VIII .-Sultan BAJAZET Khan ofSultan II,son Muhammad Fatyeh el. Birth 851 1447 )( GERMANY . FRANCE . ENGLAND . SPAIN Castille (). Frederick III , Louis XI, 1439-1493 . 1461-1483 . Edward IV,1461-1483 . Isabella Ferdi- and Catholic nand the . Maximilian I, 1493-1519 . Charles VIII , 1483-1498 .Louis XII ,1498-1515 . Edward V, 1474-1504 . 1483 . Johanna and Philip Richard III , 1483-1485 . I, 1504-1506 . Henry VII , Charles I(V) 1506-1556 . Accession 886 1481 )( Death 918 (1512 )Reigned thirtywo -years . known Sulta Djinè ,bythe brother name ofPrince Zizim , Bajazet ,withhom hecon- tended for thronee con- ,isquered and retires toRome ,where heispoisoned ,after being Bour- twer atinmprisoned ganeuf . Truce ofseven yars with all the Christian powers . Sultan IX.-SELIM Khan I,son Sultan Bajazet ofII. Birth Amasia 872 (1467 )at Accession 918 1512 () Death 926 1520 () - Reigned eight years and months . Conquest ofSyria ,Egypt and ,Mesopotamia Armenia .Celebrated battle ofTchalderan , inwhich te Shah Ismail Sefevi defeated is.The Empire attains extraordinary andegree ofpower . Maximilian I, 1493-1519 . Charles V, 1519-1536 . Louis XII ,1498-1515 . Francis I,1515-1547 . 1485-1509 . Henry VIII , 1509-1547 . Henry VIII , Charles I(V) 1509-1547 . 1506-1556 . 443 TURKISH EMPIRE . GERMANY . FRANCE . ENGLAND . SPAIN Castille (). - SOLYMAN X.-Sultan Khan I,elKanouni ,the Grat Soli- man ,the Legislator son of Sultaneim I. BirthAccession 926 Death Charles V, 1519-1536 . Francis I,1515-1547 . Henry VIII , Charles I(V) 1509-1547 . Ferdinand I, Henry II, 1536-1564 . 1547-1559 . 900 (1494-5 ) 1520 )( Maximilian II, 156-1-1576 . Francis II,1559-1560 . Edward VI,1547-1553 . Mary , 1553-1558 . 1506-1556 . Philip II, 1556-1598 . 974 1566 )( Charles XI, Elizabeth , 1560-1574 . 1558-1603 . Maximilian II, 1564-1576 . Charles IX,1560-1574 . Elizabeth , 1518-1603 , Philip II,1556-1588 . Reigned forty eight -years . Conquest Belgrade of(1522 ); ofRhodes taken ,from Knights StofJohn 1523 (of);Schirvan , Georgia ,&c.lays The Sultan the foundation ofsplendid aofnew laws nvy Promulgation . Sultan XI.-SELIM Khan II, surnamed Mest the (Drunkard ) Sultan son ofSlyman . BirthAccession Death - 929 )1524 ( · 974 (1566 )982 (1574 ) Reigned eight years . Conquest Cyprus of.Battle ofLepanto Aïnè (Bakhti -the ), October 7th 1571 ,. XII Sultan .-MURAD Khan ,III Maximilian II, Sultan son ofKhan Selim . 1564-1576 . Henry III ,1574-1589 . Elizabeth ,1558-1603 . Philip II,1556-1598 . Birth · 953 (1546 ) 444 445 9T Accession 982 · (1574 ) Death 1003 1595 )( eight and years 20Reigned with Persia War .months Sultan MUHAMMAD XIII .Murad Sultan III ,son ofKhan Khan .Birth - 974 1566 )( Death · 1012 1603 )( Accession 1003 1595 )( Reigned nine years . his brothers ofnineteen had He strangled . Rodolph II, 1576-1612 . Henry IV, 1589-1610 . Rodolph II, Henry IV, 1576-1612 . 1589-1610 . Elizabeth , 1558-1603 . АHMED Khan I,XIV .-Sultan Rodolph II, ,IVHenry III .Muhammad Sultan ofson 1576-1612 . 1589-1610 . James I, 1603-1625 . Birth 998 (159 ) Accession 1012 (1603 ) Matthias ,1612-1619 . Louis XIII , 1610-1643 . 1026 1617 (Death ) Reigned years 14. with Austria .Truce of20years Khan I,Sultan MUSTAPHA .-XVIII .Muhammad Sultan ofson Birth- · 1000591 () Accession 1026 (1617 ) )1617027 (Deposition months and days Reigned 3 .coronation his after Matthias ,1612-1619 . Louis XIII , 1610-1643 . James I, 1603-1625 . ,IIPhilip 1556-1598 .Philip III ,1598-1621 . ,III Philip 1598-1621 . Philip III ,1598-1621 . .EMPIRE TURKISH THE OSMAN Khan II,XVI .-Sultan I.Ahmed ofSultan son Birth - 1013 (604 ) Accession 1027 (1617 ) Death 1031 (1622 ) ofarevolt during Strangled reign the Janissaries ,after .some mnths years and offour .and Poland with Persia -Peace Sultan MUSTAPHA Khan ,for the .time second 2nd Accession 1031 (622 ) Death · 1032623 () ignominy ,and Deposed with then strangled .-Reigned 1year and 4months . .GERMANY FRANCE . ENGLAND . SPAIN Castille (). Matthias , 1612-1619 . Louis XIII , 1610-1643 . James I, 1603-1625 . Ferdinand II, 1619-1637 . Philip III ,1598-1621 . Philip IV, 1621-1665 . Ferdinand II, 1619-1637 . Louis XIII , 1610-1643 . James I, 1603-1625 . I.Ahmed ofSultan ,son Ghazi XVII .-Sultan MURAD Khan IV, Birth - 1020 (611 ) Ferdinand II, 1619-1637 . Ferdinand III , 1637-1657 . - 1640049 () 1032623 Accession () Death Reigned 17years . and ofBagdhad Conquest Erivan bythe Shah Abbas ,Persian the ofprince geatest Sefys .dynasty of Philip IV, 1621-1665 . Louis XIII , 1610-1643 . James I, 1603-1625 .Charles ·I,1625-1649 . Philip IV, 1621-1665 . 446 .THEURKISH EMPIRE .GERMANY FRANCE . ENGLAND . SPAIN . XVIII .-Sultan IBRAHIM KHAN ,son ofSultan Ahmed I,and brother ofMurad IV. - Birth 1024 1615 () 1049 1639 (Accession )Deposition Death and 1058 (64 ) .months years and Reigned 9-Commencement the of24years ' .Venice withar Ferdinand III , 1637-1657 . Louis XIII , 1610-1643 . Charles I,.1625-1649 . Philip IV, 1621-1665 . Louis XIV ,1643-1715 . XIX .-Sultan MUHAMMAD Khan IV,son ofSultan Ibrahim . Ferdinand III , 1637-1657 . Louis XIV ,1643-1715 . Birth - - 1051 (641 ) Leopold I,1658-1705 . Accession Deposition 1099 (687 )1058 (1648 ) 1104 (1693 Death- ) Reigned 41years . Candia ,after beConquest of 1644-1669 ing besieged for Kaminiek and Podolia .

of

XX.-SultanOLYMAN Khan II, .Sultan Ibrahim son of Accession 1099687 () Birth 1052 (1642 ) - 1102691 () Death .months and 9years 3Rigned Conquest ofBelgrade . Charles I,1625-1649 .Cromwell ,1649-1658 .Interregnum ,1658-1660 .Charles II, 1660-1685 .James II,1685-1689 . RUSSIA . Michael III ,Feo- | dorovitch of the Romanoff ofHouse 1613-1645 . Alexis Michael- .1645-1676 ,ovitch Philip IV, Alexis Michael1621-1665 . ovitch ,1645-1676 . Charles II,1665-1700 . III Alexi- Feodor ,1676-1682 .vitch Ivan V,and Peter ,1€82.I Peter IGreat ,th 1682-1725 . William III , 1689-1702 . Charles II,1655-1700 . Leopold I,1658-1705 . Louis XIV ,1643-1715 . James II,1685-1689 . Great Peter I,the 1682-1725 . 447 TURKISH EMPIRE THE . GERMANY . FRANCE . ENGLAND . SPAIN . XXI Sultan .-АHMED Khan II, son ofSultan Ibrahim . Leopold I,1658-1705 . Louis XIV ,1643-1715 . William III , 1689-1702 . Charles II,1655-1700 . Birth 1062 (March 1643 ,)Accession 1102 1691 (,June ) Death- 1695106 (,Jan. ) Reigned 3years and 8months . Defeat Selankelun ofwhere , Moustapha Kiupreli Vizir ,Grand lost hi 19th life August ,1691 . XXII Sultan .-MUSTAPHA Khan II,son ofSultan Muhmmad IV. Birth 1074664 (July ,) Accession 1106 (1695 ) Deposition 1115 (703 ,Sept. 20th ) Death- 1116 1704 () Reigned 8years and 9months .Conquest ofthe Island Chio .Flight ofthe Venetian Fleet . Treaty ofCarlowitz ,1699 . Leopold I,1658-1705 . Louis XIV ,1643-1715 . William III , 1689-1702 . Anne , 1702-1714 . XXIII Sultan .-AHMED Khan Muhammad III ,son ofSultan IV. Leopold I, 1658-1705 . Joseph I, Louis XIV , 1643-1715 . Birth 1084 ,673 Dec. () 1705-1711 . Louis XV,1715-1774 . Ann , 1702-1714 .George I, 1714-1727 . RUSSIA . Peter the Great , 1682-1725 . Charles II, Peter the Great , 1682-1725 . 1655-1700 . Philip V, 1701-1746 . Philip V, 1701-1746 . Peter the Grat , 1682-1725 .Catherine I, 1725-1727 . 448 Charles VI( III ofSpain ), Accession ,1115 (703 Sept. ). Deposition ,1143 (730 Oct. 16). Death ,1149 (736 June 23). Reigned twenty -eight years . Venetian the ofConquest Islands inthe Archipelago and Morea .the wole of Peace ofPassarovitz ,onthe War with 1718. -July ,21st of Persia . VOL. II. 1711-1740 . George II, 1727-1760 . Peter II, 1727-1730 . Anne Ivanoffna , 1730-1740 . Charles VI, Louis XV,1715-1774 . George II,1727-1760 . Philip V, Anne Ivanoffna , 1701-1746 . Ferdinand VI, 1746-1759 . 1730-1740 . Ivan , 1740-1741 . Elizabeth Petroffna , 1741-1762 . Khan MAHMUD Sultan .-XXIV Mus- Sultan son of,eldest I .IItapha 1696 ).,1108 (Birth ).Oct. 16730 ,143 (Accession Dec. 13).754 ,1163 (Death .five years -twenty Reigned atestablished -press printing ABel- ofPeace .-- Constantinople torestored city that ,and grade .Turks ,in1740 the 1711-1740 . Maria -Theresa , 1740-1742 .Charles VII ,1742-1745 . Francis I, 1745-1765 . G G 449 XXV .-Sultan OSMAN Khan III , Francis I, secondon ofSultan Mustapha 1745-1765 . Louis XV,1715-1774 . George II, 1727-1760 . Ferdinand VI, 1746-1759 . Elizabeth Petroffna , .1741-1762 II. Birth ,1112 (700 ). 13).Dec. (1754168 ,Accession Death ,1171 (757 Oct. 29). Reigned three years ,during which preserved hepeace . TURKISH THE EMPIRE . GERMANY . FRANCE . ENGLAND . SPAIN . RUSSIA . XXVI Sultan .-MUSTAPHA Khan ofIII ,eldest son Sultan Ah- med III . Francis I,1745-1765 . Louis XV,1715-1774 . George II,1727-1760 . Ferdinand VI, Elizabeth Petroffna , 1746-1759 . Joseph II, Birth ,1129 ?(717 ) 1765-1790 . George III ,1760-1820 . Charles III , 1759-1788 . Accession ,1171 (757 ). Death ,1187 Jan. (1774 21). Reigned about seventeen years .Empire The rapidly sinks dur- ing the reign ofthis Prince.- War declared against in1768 the Russians . XXVII .-Sultan ABD ULHA1741-1762 .Peter III , 1762 . Catherine II, Alexievna , 1762 . ,IIJoseph Louis XVI , George III , Sultan MID Khan ,brother of .III Mustapha 1765-1790 . 1774-1793 . 1760-1820 . 1725 Birth ,1137 (May 20). Charles III , 1759-1788 .Charles IV,1788-1808 . Catherine the II, Great , 1762-1796 . 450 Catherine II, 1762-1796 . Paul Petrovitch I, 1796-1801 . Alexander I, Paulovitch , 1801-1825 . Accession ,1187 (774 Jan. 21). Death ,1203 (789 April 7). Reigned about sixteen years . Treaty ofKudjuk Kainardji ,1774. -Čession ofthe Crimea to 1784 .Russia , XXVIII .-SultanELIM Khan III ,son ofSultan Mustapha Khan III . Dec. 18).Birth ,1175 (761 Accession ,1203 (789 April 7). Deposition ,1222 (807 July ). Death ,1223 (808 July 28). Reigned about nineteen years .-War with Russians the and Joseph II, Louis XVI , 1765-1790 . 1774-1793 . George III ,1760-1820 . Charles IV,1788-1808 . Louis XVII , Leopold II, 1790-1792 .Francis II,1792-1806 .Francis II1806 in abdicates theitle Emperor ofGer- 1795 . French Republic , 1792-1804 . First Bonaparte Consul , 1799-1804 . 451451 Austrians . Jassy ,Treaty ofEgypt bythe 1791. -Invasion of French ,1798 . MUSTAPHA Khan XXIX .-Sultan Bonaparte Napoleon assumes many ,and that ofHereditary Aus- ofEmperor tria ,under the name ofFrancis I, 1806-1835 . the ofEmperor French , 1804-1814 . Francis I, Napoleon , George III , 1806-1835 . 1804-1814 . 1760-1820 . Charles IV,1788-1808 . Ha- -ulAbd Sultan ofson ,IV .mid July ).Accession ,1222 (807 Birth ,1193 (779 ). ).(1808 ,223 &death Deposition Reigned one year . .Russians the with Truce Khan MAHMUD Sultan .-XXX Mustapha ,brother ofSultan II -ul- Abd Sultan ofson and ,IV .Hamid 20).July 1758 (199 ,BirthJuly 28).Accession ,1223 (808 July 1).255 (1839 Death , Reigned thirty -one years . Janissa- the ofDestruction Na- ofBattle -1826. June ries , with -War 1827. Oct. ,varino of.Treaty ,1828-1829 Russia Algiers 1829. -Sept. ,Adrianople July 1830 .French ,theaken by Khan ,ULMEDJID XXXI .-ABD II.Mahmud Sultan ofson 23).1823 April 1238 (Birth , July 1).839 ,1255 (Accession Francis I, 1806-1835 .Ferdinand I, 1835- Napoleon , 1804-1814 . Louis XVIII , 1814-1824 . Charles X, 1824-1830 . Louis Philippe , 1830 . ,III George Charles IV, 1760-1820 . 1788-1808 . George IV, 1820-1830 .William IV, Ferdinand VII , 1808-1833 .Isabella ,II 1833 . 1830-1837 . Victoria , 1837- Alexander I,Paulovitch ,1801-1825 . Alexander I, Paulovitch ,1801-1825 .Nicholas I, 1825- INTERESTING NEW HISTORICAL WORK. Now ready, 2 vols. , with fine portraits, engraved by HEATH, 21s. bound, THE LIFE OF MARGUERITE D'ANGOULEME, QUEEN OF NAVARRE, SISTER OF FRANCIS I, FROM NUMEROUS ORIGINAL SOURCES, INCLUDING MS. DOCUMENTS IN THE BIBLIOTHEQUE IMPERIALE, AND THE ARCHIVES DU ROYAUME DE FRANCE, AND THE PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF QUEEN MARGUERITE WITH FRANCIS I, ETC. BY MISS FREER. • "This is a very complete and cleverly-written life of the illustrious sister of Francis I, and it may be said of her that the varied and interesting stores of French history offer no theme more worthy of research and study than the career of this great princess, who exercised so potent an influence over the politics and manners of the age of which she was herself the brightest orna- ment. The published and manuscript documents and letters relating to the life of Marguerite of Navarre, and which are indispensable to a correct biography of this queen, are widely dispersed. The author has spared no cost or trouble in endeavouring to obtain all that were likely to elucidate her character and conduct. She has furnished us with a very interesting and graphic sketch of the singular events and the important personages who took part in them during this stormy and remarkable period of French and English history. "— Observer. " This is a very useful and amusing book. It is a good work, very well done. The authoress is quite equal in power and grace to Miss Strickland. She must have spent great time and labour in collecting the information, which she imparts in an easy and agreeable manner. It is difficult to lay down her book after having once begun it . This is owing partly to the interesting nature of the subject, partly to the skilful manner in which it has been treated. No other life of Marguerite has yet been published, even in France. Indeed, till Louis Philippe ordered the collection and publication of manuscripts relating to the history of France, no such work could be published. It is difficult to con- ceive how, under any circumstances, it could have been done better. " - Standard. "There are few names more distinguished than that of Marguerite D'Angou- leme in the range of female biography, and the writer of this work has done well in taking up a subject so copious and attractive. It is altogether an interesting and well-written biography." -Literary Gazette. "A work of high literary and historic merit. It is full of absorbing and constantly sustained interest. In these volumes will be found not alone an in- calculable amount of historical information, but a store of reading of charming and entrancing character, and we heartily commend them as deserving general popularity."-Sunday Times. "A work which is most acceptable as an addition to our historical stores, and which will place the author in a foremost rank among our female writers of the royal biography of their own sex. " -John Bull. HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS, SUCCESSORS TO HENRY COLBURN, 13 GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET.

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