SOME REMARKS ON THE ORGANIZATION Of OTTOMAN SOCIETy IN THE EARLy MODERN PERIOD: THE QUESTION Of “LEGAL DUALISM” AND SOCIETAL STRUCTURES Vjeran Kursar Department of History, faculty of Philosophy University of Zagreb As a typical Muslim state, the Ottoman Empire adopted a fundamental sharî‘a di- vision of mankind into believers and unbelievers, i.e. Muslims and non-Muslims. However, legal developments in the Ottoman Empire introduced certain changes. Apart from the sharî‘a, Ottoman legislation included the sultanic law (kânûn or ‘örf), which was serving the pragmatic interests of the state. The sultanic law int- roduced a signiicantly different division of society into the ruling class - ‘askerî (literally “military class”), and the ruled – re‘âyâ (literally “lock”). Members of the ‘askerî class were performing certain public services for the state as the sultan’s representatives and in exchange were exempted from taxes and rece- ived salaries. The ‘askerî class consisted of the royal household (sarây halkı), army (seyiye), scholars (‘ilmiye), and administration (kalemiye). Members of the re‘âyâ were tax-paying subjects (merchants, artisans, peasants and herdsmen) engaged in production of goods and wealth. However, some groups among the re‘âyâ received tax exemptions for the performance of certain special services for the state and formed a sub-class known as mu‘âf ve müsellem. On the top of the social pyramid was the sultan, portrayed by oficial ideology as the shepherd who is protecting his lock, the re‘âyâ, from the external enemy and internal abu- ses and injustice. 1 The most important aspect of this division is that it did not depend on the sharî‘a division of people into Muslims and non-Muslims; rather, a decisive fac- tor of differentiation was participation in the state service. Thus, disregarding the insistence of the sharî‘a to ensure the public predominance of Muslims, the sul- tanic legislation made it possible for non-Muslims to become state oficials and members of the ruling ‘askerî class. Non-Muslims serving in Ottoman army as the sipahîs (members of provincial cavalry), soldiers in fortresses, and someti- mes members of some paramilitary orders such as the voynuks or martoloses, the I would like to thank Margaret Venzke, Marinos Sariyannis, and Eric B. Ederer for their sug- gestions and help. 1 İnalcık (1994), 16-17; İnalcık (1973), 68-69; Faroqhi (1999); Imber (2002), 244-245; Yediyıldız (2004), 597-637 (for English version see:Yediyıldız (2001), 491-557).