The religious tolerance in the South-Eastern Europe in the XVth–XVIIIth centuries

Abstract

The article concerns the problem of religious tolerance in Southeastern Europe under Ottoman rule from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century. The author analyzes the policy of the Ottoman Empire toward Christians and Jews and the functioning of the millet system. The aim of the article is to present the mechanisms organizing the religious life of the non-Muslim population in the Ottoman state and to assess the degree of religious tolerance. The author employs a historical analysis of sources concerning Ottoman policy toward Orthodox, Armenian, and Jewish communities. The study demonstrates that after the conquest of the Balkans the Ottomans created a system of religious communities that granted non-Muslims considerable autonomy in religious and civil matters. A particularly important role was played by the recognition of the Patriarch of Constantinople as the leader of Orthodox Christians and by the privileges granted to Armenian and Jewish communities. The author also emphasizes the significance of the famous fermān of Mehmed II guaranteeing protection to Bosnian Catholics. The article concludes that religious tolerance constituted one of the foundations of the stability of the multinational Ottoman Empire.