CHAPTER VIII

COMPARISON OF THE TWO GREAT INSTITUTIONS

The Ottoman Ruling Institution, and the Moslem Institution of the Ottoman Empire might be compared, contrasted, and reflected upon at great length. In this discussion, however, it must suffice to select and comment upon a few of their salient likenesses, differences, and interactions, without attempting to separate such features sharply.

LIKENESSES

Both institutions were constructed out of old and well-seasoned materials. Many of the ideas in each can be followed back until their origin is lost in prehistoric obscurity; hardly a feature in either but had a clear derivation from, relationship to, or suggestion in, some prototype of pre-Ottoman days. Only the final structure of each, the proportion and composition of its parts, and the effect of the completed whole was worked out in the Ottoman Empire. If an attempt be made, in a very general way, to distinguish the main lines of influence which led up to the two institutions, it may be said that the Ruling Institution had its nucleus of ideas from the Turks of the steppe lands. Influenced by old Persian neighbors and Chinese rulers, the original group of ideas was brought into the Moslem Empire and Asia Minor by the predecessors of the Seljuk Turks and by the Seljuk Turks themselves. Coming into contact in Asia Minor with the ideas of the Byzantine Empire, and to some extent with those of the crusaders from the West, the system took on a large number of new features; and the Ottomans continued the process in Asia Minor and Southeastern Europe until the time of Suleiman. The Moslem Institution began with the ideas of the Arabs as combined by Mohammed with Jewish, Middle Persian, and Christian influences. Political notions were rapidly incorporated from those prevailing in Byzantine Syria and Egypt, and perhaps to a greater extent from those in the Sassanian Persian Empire. A compact system of ideas began early to be developed, and in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries it reached final scholastic shape. Together with its institutional embodiments, it began to pass to the Ottomans in their earliest days; and, as the nation grew, it grew into the Moslem Institution of the Ottoman Empire, fresh power being given to it by Selim’s conquest of the old Moslem lands, and especially by his acquisition of the over-lordship of the Holy Cities. The two lines of tendency which led to the two great Ottoman institutions were first brought into contact when, in the seventh century, the Arab conquest of Persia advanced the Moslem frontier into Central Asia. From that time to the reign of Suleiman reciprocal influence was exerted, although the Moslem ideas affected the Turkish much more than the Turkish did the Moslem.

Both of the great Ottoman institutions were founded upon groups of ideas and not upon racial descent. This subject, discussed above in the Introduction, has been shown to be true to an extreme in the Ruling Institution, which drew its members from every direction except from the existing stock of the nation. The Moslem Institution embodied a religion of universal claim. Though originally given to the Arabs, the Moslem faith was intrinsically independent of race, as its subsequent history revealed. Belief, and not blood, became the sole test of membership. This common hospitality of its two great institutions to all who might wish to join them laid firmly the foundation of the Ottoman nation, and made possible the greatness and the permanence of its dominion.

Both Ottoman institutions were self-perpetuating through education. Each had a great educational system which was adapted to its special character, and which was life-long in extent. The Ruling Institution trained its pupils physically as well as mentally, whereas the Moslem Institution neglected physical education in favor of a greater amount of intellectual training. Otherwise their work was largely parallel. One institution took its pupils from the children of Christian subjects and neighbors, and trained them to conquer and to rule. The other took its pupils from the children of Moslems and trained them to know, practise, teach, and enforce the Moslem rules of law and life. The one system raised the ablest Christian-born individuals to the highest positions, and the other raised the ablest Moslem-born individuals similarly. Both continually brought in new material at the bottom, and continually worked upon all their material to increase its value. Each offered such rewards and promotions as to induce its members to put forth their most strenuous exertions, that they might develop their own powers and visibly help their institution. Whatever faults of plan and structure the institutions may have had, they were able to survive all dangers and disasters largely through the trained ability of the individuals whom their educational systems had brought to the front.

Both institutions rose to an apex, through the Divan and the grand vizier, in the sultan, who was the head and center of each. Yet the ideas by which the two institutions were joined to their head were in striking contrast. The sultan was master and owner of the Ruling Institution; he was the divinely-appointed chief of the Moslem Institution. The members of the former obeyed him as slaves; the members of the latter obeyed him as free Moslems commanded by the Sacred Law to render allegiance to the chief interpreter and defender of that law. The former knew no power greater than the sultan’s; the latter relied upon the Sacred Law as above the sultan. The Ruling Institution was extended downward in each of its parts from the sultan’s authority, and in organization and membership depended for existence upon his will. The Moslem Institution rose upward from the people, and was attached almost artificially to the sultan’s authority. Suleiman regulated the grades of higher advancement in it, but the sultans who came after him touched the organization of the institution scarcely at all. Very seldom, moreover, by comparison, did the sultans punish the members of this institution; for the most part its work went on quite independently of them. But the sultan was the head of both institutions: every member of each looked upward along converging lines which met at the foot of his throne. The highest promotions in each were made by him directly, the honored men being put into positions near their sovereign.

DIFFERENCES

The fact that the Ruling Institution was recruited from Christian slaves and the Moslem Institution from Moslem freemen led to a profound difference of spirit. The Christian slaves, newly converted to Mohammedanism, were not as a body so closely attached to the Sacred Law as were the Moslem freemen. Their loyalty being rather to one man, their master and benefactor, they felt a servile devotion which was very different from the reasoned allegiance of those who had always been free. A _Mufti_, fortified by the Sacred Law, would firmly oppose the will of the sovereign in a case where a grand vizier would scarcely dare venture a mildly contrary suggestion. The Sacred Law, despite the introduction of all later influences, still breathed forth something of the freedom of the Arabian desert: in one or two generations, as has been seen, it could render its followers unfit to be slaves. Thus the spirit of the Ruling Institution was far less independent of personal authority than that of the Moslem Institution.

As to the authority of old ideas the contrary was true. The fundamental distinction of parties in modern states seems to rest upon a greater or less relative inclination to follow old paths or to enter upon new ones. Both institutions of the Ottoman state would in modern times be classed as strongly conservative, but of the two the Moslem Institution was by far the more so. Conservatism, in fact, was of the very essence of the Sacred Law. The early Turks had also loved their _Adet_, but not so much as to be unwilling quickly to adopt the new if they saw in it distinct advantage; the rise of the Ottoman power was, indeed, marked by the constant incorporation of new ideas, devices, and methods.[708] As the Moslem influence grew, however, changes became increasingly more difficult to make; and when they were made it was by the activity of the Ruling Institution, usually against the resistance or the inert passivity of the Moslem Institution.

The fact that the Ruling Institution fought and governed while the Moslem Institution thought and judged was, of course, highly significant: the former embodied the active, the latter the contemplative, principle of the nation. Here again is involved a difference of Turk and Saracen. In the steppe lands the Turk fought, obeyed, and gave orders; after the fever of conquest was abated, the Saracen, under Islam, thought, preserved intellectual independence, and worshipped. With the two characters placed side by side, it was in the nature of things that in the long run muscle would be controlled by mind.

By comparison with the Moslem Institution, the Ruling Institution possessed a great structural disadvantage, in that it was much more artificial and therefore much less stable. It admitted its members as slaves, but they were not hereditary slaves; most of them were free-born subjects of the empire or of the neighboring Christian states. A class of hereditary slaves would not have possessed the requisite mettle. Now, the acquisition of a large number of free-born children who can be made into slaves is hardly a process that can be continued indefinitely. Conquest had its limits for the Ottoman Empire, for boundaries were reached beyond which lay states whose powers of self-defense developed increasingly; accordingly, recruiting by capture became increasingly difficult. But the levying of children as tribute was strongly against human nature; and in the long run it, too, must lead to decline, for under its operation the best were taken and inferiors were left. Furthermore, not only were children separated from their parents against the wishes of the parents, but the recruits, when they grew up, were not encouraged to form family ties. Even when they did so, they were unable to advance their children as they had been advanced themselves, and they could not be sure of conveying their property to their descendants. Thus in several respects the Ruling Institution ran counter to the idea of the family. On the other hand, the advantages given to the sultan’s _kullar_ became too great not to be coveted; and it was not natural that the free-born Moslems should continue to let outsiders be the only recipients of so much wealth, power, and privilege. The Moslem population forced its way in, and the plan of the Ruling Institution was upset. The Moslem Institution, on the contrary, was recruited voluntarily from an increasing population; hence, as its advantages became attractive, it was benefited rather than harmed by pressure for admission. Its able men, while they must labor if they would advance, were free, unhindered in their family relationships, and under little fear of being deprived of property or life.

INTERACTIONS

The two institutions, running everywhere parallel, with their members in constant association one with the other, could not fail to act reciprocally upon each other. It is not easy, however, to discriminate likenesses that were due to mutual influence from those that were caused by common circumstances; nor is it easy to distinguish pre-Ottoman interactions from those which operated after the beginning of the fourteenth century. A few probabilities may be expressed, however.

It is a matter of frequent remark that men, institutions, and peoples are apt to impart to each other their faults and vices more readily than their good qualities. Whether or not this be true, the two Ottoman institutions certainly seem to have taught each other some evil qualities. Luxury, venality, and unnatural vices were all strongly discountenanced by the Sacred Law; but all were fostered in the members of the Ruling Institution by the very conditions of the system, and by the sixteenth century all had come to be charged against the members of the Moslem Institution as well. On the other hand, the conservatism of the Moslem Institution and its resistance to progress came more and more to characterize the Ruling Institution. Members of the _Ulema_ taught even the pages of the palace and the princes on the intellectual side of their training, thereby exerting a constant influence which in the course of time operated powerfully on the Ruling Institution from top to bottom, till it, too, began to acquire a changelessness which resisted improvement and progress. With such a character once established, the end of the empire’s greatness was at hand. In a rapidly progressing world, a stationary position means a relative decline.

The two institutions contributed strongly to each other’s power and permanence. The Ruling Institution defended the Moslem Institution by the sword, and carried out among the people the decisions of its wise men. It also protected the latter’s sources of regular revenue, and thus enabled the _Ulema_, secure of a living, to devote themselves to the study and teaching of the Sacred Law. The Moslem Institution, on the other hand, kept the Moslem population obedient and submissive to the sultan’s authority as expressed in the Ruling Institution. It taught that the Sultan was divinely appointed and therefore always to be obeyed, no matter what his character was or how oppressive his rule might become, so long as he did not transgress the Sacred Law; and that it was for the _Ulema_ alone to decide when he had made such a transgression. Accordingly the two institutions, so long as they acted in harmony, were absolutely impregnable in their position among the Moslems of the empire.

THE RELATIVE POWER OF THE INSTITUTIONS

These two institutions constituted, as it were, the two great parties in the Ottoman state.[709] The Moslem Institution was always strongly Islamic, and extremely conservative in all respects. The Ruling Institution was originally liberal both religiously and in its receptivity of new ideas, but it departed from its liberal tendency in much the same proportion that the Moslem Institution increased in power.

To trace the ups and downs of the influence of the two institutions from the beginnings of Ottoman history would be an interesting problem. Much depended of course, as must always be the case in a despotic state, on the character of the sultan. With an active conquering sultan like Mohammed II or Selim I, the Ruling Institution would gain upon its rival; with a pious or mild sultan like Murad II or Bayezid II, the Moslem Influence would increase in importance. Selim I’s vast conquests in Moslem territories, and his acquisition of the protectorate of the Holy Cities and of the title of caliph, prepared the way for a later advance in the power of the Moslem Institution which was not in harmony with his own personal influence. Suleiman had a fiery active period of youth when the liberal policy was stronger in his mind, and a quieter old age when the Moslem influence became predominant; it is not unlikely that a consciousness of his position as caliph grew upon him with advancing years. But in general, through all the reigns, the power of the Moslem Institution grew; the only difference from reign to reign was in the rate of speed. The Ruling Institution also grew in power before the world and the Ottoman nation as long as the empire continued to expand rapidly; but it did not grow relatively so fast as did the Moslem Institution.

The reasons for the more rapid growth of Moslem influence lay chiefly in the fact that that influence was cumulative. As to its financial basis, the Moslem Institution, like the Christian church in the West, gained lands and wealth continually, and never lost any; for sultans took great pride, and high officials vied with each other, in founding mosques, schools, colleges, and other charitable and semi-public institutions supported by _vakfs_.[710] In general moral and political influence, also, the institution gained rapidly through its system of education; for, like the medieval Christian church again, it held in its hands all the means and methods of intellectual development. Every new primary school, college, and law school,—and they were many in the days of glory,—strengthened the influence of this institution. In this field, indeed, its power acted constantly upon its rival. Old _Hojas_ taught the pages in the palace, advised the sultan’s mother, and trained the young princes and the sons of high officials. Thus within the nation the external show of the Moslem Institution, and its sway over the minds of men, grew without ceasing.

The Ruling Institution, on the other hand, lost relatively. In the early days, when recent converts were exceedingly numerous and the religious spirit of the young nation was weak, the Turkish-Aryan organization was far stronger than the Semitic influence. Sultans, however, were constantly giving away state lands as endowment for new mosques and colleges; and, worse still, so much of the educational system of this institution as was not controlled by its rival was directed only toward its own membership and not toward the nation at large. Accordingly, although the Ruling Institution grew in wealth and power, it did not keep pace with the Moslem Institution, which, after two and a half centuries of gain, was able to overtake it about the time of Suleiman’s reign. His gifts of great mosques, numerous colleges, and vast endowment,[711] his arrangement in final perfection of the _cursus honorum_ which led up from the primary schools to the office of _Mufti_, and the personal leaning of his later years toward the influence of the _Ulema_, settled permanently the preponderance of the Moslem Institution.

At the same time, the Moslem Institution could never destroy its rival. Theoretically it had no need of such a counterpart. Mohammed and the early caliphs had no such institution. The Sacred Law developed with no mention of a secular government, and with no hint of any deficiency in its own provisions that would make it inadequate to guide a nation by its own strength; but, within thirty years from the death of Mohammed, Muavia had set up a secular government at Damascus, and since then every Moslem state had had one. Many a Moslem state, also, had had a ruler who was not of lawful blood; for the Sacred Law affirmed that the _Imâm_, or divinely appointed ruler, must be of the tribe of the Koreish.[712] According to that unenforced provision, Suleiman himself had no right to the throne. The fact is that the Moslem Institution very early became too unworldly to live unsupported by a secular power. It was a strong but tender hand, which must always wear a glove. After it had acquired a permanent ascendency in the state, therefore, the Moslem Institution was compelled to keep its rival in place, and to allow it always strength enough to defend and support the empire which nourished both.

Bound together closely in an alliance which neither enjoyed, but which was necessary for the preservation of both, the Ruling Institution and the Moslem Institution constituted the twofold inner framework of the Ottoman Empire, to which it owed all its might and energy, its grandeur and repute, its continuity and durability.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I

THE SECOND BOOK OF THE AFFAIRS OF THE TURKS

Written in 1534, supposedly by Benedetto Ramberti

Translated from the Italian

[From _Libri Tre delle Cose de Turchi_, as printed in _Viaggi ... alla tana_, Venice, 1543, pp. 131-146.]

As from a laborious and very dangerous sea into a safe and very quiet port, one enters the city of Constantinople, after the great trouble and inconvenience of the ride which he has endured over the long road.[713] This city (to continue until I have here made an end of particular description) was anciently called Byzantium, and afterwards was called New Rome, and then Constantinople from the first Constantine. Byzantium, as it is reported, was in the region where Pera is now, and was so named from the river Byzantium, which afterward, by reason of an earthquake such as are frequent in that region, changed its course elsewhere. But I do not believe this, nor does it seem to me to agree with the description of Polybius and other writers, who call those here Chalcedonians; these, when they might themselves in ancient times have built upon this site, did not care for it, but built in Asia, not having discerned the convenience and beauty they were leaving to others; who might deprive them even of their own site, as indeed happened.

The city is 18 miles in circuit. It has seven little hills, not very high. It is surrounded by wretched walls, and is full of houses, not many of which are good, being made of clay and wood and only a few of stone. It is full of groves, that is, of places wild and uninhabited, where cypresses grow, and other such trees.[714] In Constantinople, then, is the palace of the Turkish Signor, which is a singular structure and very large, as will be told later.

There is the palace of the ladies of the Signor, the palace of the Janissaries, the Patriarcate, the palace of the Emperor Constantine, which is in part ruined, the church of St. Sophia, which is a structure most beautiful and divine; this was built by the Emperor Justinian from the oldest and finest columns and marbles, as one can see now; in part of it the Turkish Signor has made stalls for his horses. There is the mosque of Sultan Mohammed, which has an _Imaret_ attached to it that is like a hostel; in which they lodge any one, of any nation or law, who may wish to enter, and they give him food for three days,—honey, rice, meat, bread, and water, and a room in which to sleep. They say that from day to day there are more than a thousand guests from various nations. Near this they have baths and some fountains, most beautiful and delightful to behold. There are the mosques of Sultan Bayezid, Sultan Selim, and other Signors, which are very beautiful and exceedingly well-built. This makes it clear that, when they wish, they know also how to build houses and palaces that are magnificent and sumptuous.

There is the Hippodrome, that is, the place where in ancient times horses were made to run as in a theater and circus: in the center of this Hippodrome there stands a needle, which is a column made in the form of a needle, very beautiful and wrought very well and without mortar, made of living rocks joined together in such a manner that they rise through more than fifty cubits, tapering in the shape of a needle, which rests on four marble balls.[715] There is a column of bronze in the shape of a serpent with three heads.[716] There is a bronze Hercules brought from Hungary,[717] and in the center there is a colossal structure made of different beautiful marbles, in which is engraved the history of all the above-mentioned objects, and of other things which used to stand in the Theater and Hippodrome. There are throughout the city many vestiges of antiquities, such as aqueducts, arches, porphyry columns, fountains brought from the Danube and other near-by rivers.[718] Many gardens about the houses of the great. Many mosques of private lords, and baths which are attached to the mosques of private men and of public magistrates.

On the other side of the sea from the Seraglio Point are the hills of Asia, and the journey is of a little more or less than two miles; this Asia is today called by a single name Anatolia; and there are on the shore there some fortresses called Scutari. Then Kadikeui, situated on a bay of the Hellespont,[719] where one can see many vestiges of antiquities; and I, when I went there, saw underground where men were working, a well of the finest marble with an aqueduct which came to the center of the well, and a canopy of fine marble supported by four beautiful columns. And in other places there appear many vestiges of old churches, both of Christians and of heathen, places indeed most beautiful, most pleasant, most fruitful. The situation of Constantinople is such that not only can it not be described adequately, but it can hardly be grasped in thought because of its loveliness. Certainly it is rather to be considered divine than otherwise. Nor is there any one who has seen it who has not judged it worthy to be ranked above all other situations in the world.

There are in the city besides the Turks, countless Jews, or Marrani expelled from Spain;[720] these are they who have taught and who are teaching every useful art to the Turks;[721] and the greater part of the shops and arts are kept and exercised by these Marrani. There is a place which is called _Bezestan_, where they sell and buy all sorts of cloth and Turkish wares, silks, stuffs, linens, silver, wrought gold, bows, slaves, and horses; and in short all the things that are to be found in Constantinople are brought there to market: this, except for Friday, is open every day.

Constantinople is in Thrace: this has as its boundaries on the east the Propontis and the mouths of the greater sea, on the west part of Bulgaria and part of Macedonia, on the north Bosnia, on the south the Aegean Sea with part of Macedonia which lies toward the river Nishava, called in ancient times the Nesus.[722]

This most noble city is inhabited by Turks: these as the more reliable authors have written, and as many of the Turks themselves have confirmed to me, had their origin in Scythia, which now is a part of Tartary, a northern region divided into two parts by the river Don: one of these parts is in Europe, and one in Asia.[723] The European part is bounded on one side by Pontus, and on the other by the Riphean Mountains, and at the back by Asia proper and the river Taspus. In Ptolemy these two Scythias are called the one _intra Imaum montem_, and the other _extra Imaum_. They departed then from Scythia (as is said above) and began to make invasions and raids into their present confines: then proceeding farther, in a short time they became lords of a good part of Asia, but because they did not know how to keep only one chief among them, they had no foundation or firmness. This circumstance having been considered by one who was called Othman, a man of low rank among them, but of lofty and valorous mind, he thought that, by having the arm and the favor of some men of intelligence and authority, he could easily rule all this people and the conquered territory, and increase it further upon good opportunity: then having revealed this his thought to three persons, who seemed more suitable than others for this business, he promised that those by means of whom he might acquire the dominion to which he aspired, he would always maintain, both themselves and their descendants, in great state and dignity, and suitably to the great benefit which he had received from them: besides this that he would never harm their blood nor that of their posterity through laws that would lay hands upon them even if they should transgress grievously.[724] They accepted the condition and conspired together for the sovereignty; which they obtained by astuteness, artfulness, threats, and the slaughter of many. These three were called, the one Michael, a Greek who had turned Turk; from him the Marcalogli[725] are descended; one of them is now Sanjak in Bosnia. The second was Malco, a Greek renegade; from him have come the Malcozogli, and there is now only one, who is Sanjak in Greece. The third was Aurami, a native Turk; his descendants were called the Eurcasli; it is not now known that any of these remain. In case the Ottoman family should fail, these would pretend to the sovereignty, and therefore they are highly respected.

This Othman came to power about the year 1300, and lived in lordship twenty-eight years:[726] Orchan succeeded him and lived twenty-two years in the kingship. Then Murad who reigned twenty-three years. Then Bayezid. Then Chiris Celeby, or, as others wish, Calepino, who lived about six years. Then Mohammed, who reigned fourteen years.[727] Then Murad II who reigned 31 years. Then Mohammed II who reigned 32 years and was the first Emperor of Constantinople. Then Bayezid II who reigned 31 years. Then Selim eight years: to him succeeded Sultan Suleiman, his only son, who reigns at present. Of this succession it is written otherwise in some histories, where they treat of wars and peaces, which have been made by our republic in times past with this family: but since I have recounted these in other places, it now suffices to have noticed the common opinion of those who have written of the affairs of the Turks up to this time. And so I will go on to describe the court of this Signor: it is arranged in the following manner.[728]

SULTAN SULEIMAN has a palace in the angle of Constantinople by the two seas:[729] this is in circuit about three miles: and in it are his residence and his court, which is called the PORTE. This palace, because it was begun to be built by Sultan Mohammed, he willed when dying that it should be rent-paying property of his mosque, and that it should pay a thousand aspers a day, which are twenty ducats; and this has been observed to the present.[730]

He has in the aforesaid palace countless highly ornamented chambers, but one among the others is set apart for himself: in this he sleeps, and he has there six youths who serve his person.[731] Of these six, two are deputed for the service of the chamber and the Signor during the day, and then in the night the same ones come to keep guard when he sleeps: these stand ever vigilant, the one at his head and the other at his feet, with two lighted torches in their hands: these two then in the morning when they clothe the aforesaid Signor, put into one of the pocket-purses of his caftan a thousand aspers, and into the other twenty golden ducats; whatever of this money is not given away by the Signor during the day, remains to those who undress him at night; they never find much in the garments, according to report. And always when he goes forth to enjoy the chase or for some other purpose, besides the aforesaid money which he carries, he is accustomed always to have behind him the _Khazinehdar-bashi_, or chief treasurer; this man carries with him a great sum of money to be given away.

The duty of the aforesaid six youths, who are changed according to the will of the Signor, is: of one to be _Papuji_,[732] or him who bears the shoes, of another _Silihdar_, who bears the bow and arrows, of another _Chokadar_, who bears the garments, of another _Sharabdar_, who bears the pitcher of water, of another _Iskemleji_, who carries the stool, and then of the sixth to be _Oda-bashi_, or chief of the Chamber. These have a fixed salary of 15 to 20, and the _Oda-bashi_ of 30 aspers per day.

Next comes

The eunuch _Kapu Aghasi_,[734] or chief of the gate, who has 60 aspers per day.

The _Khazinehdar-bashi_, a eunuch, chief treasurer, 60 aspers.[733]

The _Kilerji-bashi_, chief of the butlers, 40 aspers.

The _Seraidar-bashi_,[734] a eunuch, chief of the palace when the Signor is away; he has 50 aspers. Twelve eunuchs subject to the aforesaid, with 10 to 15 aspers each.

There are next about five hundred youths aged from eight to twenty years, who reside in the palace and are the delight of the Signor: they have each from ten to twelve aspers per day; they are instructed in various arts according to their genius, but especially in reading, writing, and in the doctrine of their laws, and in riding. The masters are old _Danishmends_,[735] called _Hojas_, or doctors of the laws. These boys at the season of Bairam, which is like our Easter day, are clothed by the Signor, some with silk and some with cloth, without any uniformity; and each has a golden bonnet, a scimitar, and a bow: they never leave the aforesaid palace until they have reached the age when the Signor thinks them fit for offices: and then he makes them _Spahi-oghlans_, or _Silihdars_, or of higher degrees according to their worth and the favor which they have gained with the Signor. Each ten of them are guarded by a eunuch called _Kapu-oghlan_, or chief of youths,[736] and each has a slave’s frock, in which he sleeps rolled up in such a manner that he does not touch another who may be near him. They reside in a large hall, full of great lights and spacious, and their eunuchs sleep in the middle of this hall. They have a garden in the palace, which extends more than a mile, in which reside about thirty-five gardeners, called _Bostanjis_, who are _Ajem-oghlans_:[737] these gardeners have from three to five aspers each per day; they are clothed in blue cloth, and given a shirt. Then when they leave the palace, they become Janissaries, or _Solaks_, or _Kapujis_, or something else according to their quality.

The _Bostanji-bashi_, or chief gardener, has fifty aspers a day and many perquisites.

The _Kiaya_,[738] who is, as it were, a lieutenant for the gardeners, has 20 aspers per day; and each ten [gardeners] have a chief called _Boluk-bashi_. From this garden, which is very large and well-tended, full of excellent fruit-trees of every sort, they obtain so much every year that from the product of it alone they make the living expenses of the Signor, and also get something more. Near the garden are always stationed two small galleys; these are rowed by the gardeners when the Signor goes on a pleasure-trip, and the _Boluk-bashi_ holds the helm.[739]

The _Ashji-bashi_, chief cook, with fifty cooks under him. He has 40 aspers per day, the cooks under him four, six, or eight aspers each.

The _Helvaji-bashi_, or chief confectioner, with 40 aspers, and he has thirty companions with five to six aspers per day each.

The _Chasnijir-bashi_,[740] chief of the cupboards, with eighty aspers: morning and evening he brings with his own hand the dish of the Signor, and he has under him a hundred _Chasnijirs_ with from three to seventy aspers each.[741]

The _Mutbakh-emini_,[742] or steward, with 40 aspers. He has a secretary with 20 aspers a day.

A hundred _Ajem-oghlans_, who transport on carts the wood of the palace. They have three to five aspers, and are provided with clothing.

Ten _Sakkas_, who carry water on horseback in leathern sacks, with three to five aspers each.

The expenses for the table of the Signor, and of the youths with their eunuchs and others to about a thousand, amount to five thousand aspers a day.

Three _Kapuji-bashis_, or captains of the gate, who have a hundred aspers a day and are clothed every year: and they have under them two hundred and fifty _Kapujis_, who have five to six aspers each; and each _Kapuji-bashi_ with a third of the _Kapujis_ is obliged to keep guard at the gate of the Signor, changing from day to day. And when any ambassador or other person goes to kiss the hand of the Grand Signor, all these are given presents of clothes or of money according to the degree of him who is introduced.

A _Kapuji-kiaya_, who is, as it were, a lieutenant of the _Kapujis_, has forty aspers a day.

Four Vizier Pashas, or chief counsellors: the greatest has ordinarily twenty-four thousand ducats a year and the others sixteen to eighteen thousand; but they have also so much feudal income that they receive three times as much as the provision in money.[743] To this should be added the garments which the Signor gives them, the presents of ambassadors and of others, the perquisites of the office they hold, which are unlimited. At present they are only three. The first is Ibrahim, born a Christian at Parga. The second Aias of Khimara. The third Kassim of Croatia, a kidnapped Christian. To these there is added a fourth at present,[744] who is Khaireddin Bey Barbarossa of the Albanian nation, formerly a corsair and now king of Algiers in Barbary. These Pashas live and dress very superbly. They have: Ibrahim six thousand and more slaves, Aias two thousand, Kassim fifteen hundred, and Barbarossa about four thousand. To all these slaves they give pay, horses, garments, golden bonnets and silver chains,[745] according to their offices and degrees. And these serve their Pashas under the same arrangements by which the Signor is served by his [slaves]. They have also twenty-five or thirty chancery secretaries to the Signor, men of great repute, with twenty-five to thirty aspers per day each: they keep more or fewer slaves as they can. These Pashas have entry to the Signor for affairs of state; and it is in fact they who govern the whole after their own fashion.

There is next the _Mufti_, or the interpreter and chief of the laws; they do not trouble him about anything except the affairs of religion and their faith, and he has the position which our Pope had in ancient times.[746]

Two _Kaziasker Danishmends_, or doctors of the laws for the army, one for Greece, the other for Anatolia. Their position is of great importance. They sit at the Porte and have precedence of the Vizier Pashas: on this account they are much esteemed. They are executors of the laws, and with the consent of the Pashas they appoint and remove the _Kazis_, who are like podestas for the whole country. They have feudal income of about six thousand ducats a year each. They keep two hundred to three hundred slaves each, and they are accompanied by ten secretaries appointed by the Signor and two _Mochtur-bashis_, who hold the office of ushers:[747] these live from perquisites, of which they have a great many.

Two _Defterdars_, or treasurers, or rather, as we would say, governors of the revenues. One of these has the receipt and the care of those revenues which come from a third of Greece, or from that part which is toward the Danube, and besides, from Asia, from Syria, and from Egypt, with feudal income of ten thousand ducats a year, although with the perquisites he gets twice as much. The other has the care of the other two-thirds of Greece: but when the Signor takes the field this man remains in Constantinople as his vicar and lieutenant; and he has six thousand ducats of feudal income, but gets three times as much; and their position is of great dignity. They have under them fifty clerks with many helpers: these keep the accounts of the _Khazineh_, or treasury of the Signor; and these clerks are appointed by the Signor with pay of fifteen to fifty aspers per day each. The _Defterdars_ have, the first a thousand slaves and the second five hundred, and the clerks from two to twenty slaves each.[748]

Two _Rusnamehjis_, chief clerks, who receive the money and disburse it as needed, with twenty-five companions besides themselves.

The two have forty aspers each, and the twenty-five have eight to ten aspers a day.

Two _Veznedars_, or weighers of aspers and ducats, with twenty-five to thirty aspers each.

Six _Sarrafs_, or bankers, who know gold and silver [coins], and they have ten to fifteen aspers each.

One _Nishanji-bashi_, who signs the ordinances and public writings with the monogram of the Signor. His position is like that of grand chancellor and is of great repute. He sits at the Porte below the _Beylerbeys_. He has eight thousand ducats of feudal income, and travels in great honor with more than three hundred slaves.

An outside _Khazinehdar-bashi_, or household treasurer, with ten _Khazinehdars_ under him. He has fifty aspers, and they ten to fifteen per day.

A _Defter-emini_, who has charge of the feudal grants: he keeps the register of those who receive feudal grants. He has forty aspers a day, and under him are ten clerks with ten to fifteen aspers per day each.

Eighty _Muteferrika_, or lancers of the body-guard[749] of the Signor, these always carry lances when he takes the field; they recognize no other head than the Signor himself. And when by artifice or merit they acquire favor, they are made _Aghas_, or generals. The least has ten, the greatest eighty, aspers per day.

A _Chaush-bashi_, or chief sergeant of the army. He is of so great credit with every one, that when he is sent by the Signor to some Pasha, _Sanjak_, or _Kazi_, with the order to have the head of such and such a one cut off, he is obeyed without their requiring a letter from him, or a command in writing; not otherwise than if the Signor himself were there, and gave command. He has a hundred aspers a day, and under him he keeps a hundred slaves,[750] with twenty-five to forty aspers each.

The _Mihter-bashi_, or chief of those who pitch the tents and spread the rugs, who sweep the court-yards and attend to other similar duties; he has forty aspers, a _Kiaya_ with twenty-five aspers, sixty _Mihters_ with five to eight aspers each; and they are clothed every year by the Signor.

An _Agha_, or general of the Janissaries. He has for pay a thousand aspers and over per day, and six thousand ducats of feudal grant per year. When this _Agha_ holds court, which is two or three times per week, he is obliged to give the Janissaries to eat, a meal of bread, rice, mutton, honey, and water. He has under him a _Kiaya_ or Secretary of the Janissaries, who is, as it were, a vicegerent; he has two hundred aspers per day of pay in cash, and thirty thousand of feudal grant per year.[751] And there is a clerk of these Janissaries, called the _Yaziji_ of the Janissaries,[752] with a hundred aspers a day.

A _Seymen-bashi_, chief of the harriers.[753] He has a hundred aspers and has from the number of the Janissaries about two thousand under him.

A _Zagarji-bashi_, head of the hounds.[754] He has fifty aspers a day, and has under him about seven hundred of the Janissaries.

The Janissaries number about twelve thousand: they have each from three to eight aspers of pay per day. Each ten has its _Oda-bashi_, and each hundred has its _Boluk-bashi_. And these heads of ten or of a hundred go on horseback. And the _Oda-bashis_ have forty, and the _Boluk-bashis_ sixty aspers a day. The remainder of the Janissaries go on foot. They are clothed once a year by the Signor with coarse blue cloth. They have their residence in two barracks in Constantinople given by the Signor. Those who have no wives reside in these. Those who are married reside at various places in the city. For their living expenses each contributes so much a day, and they have a steward and a cook, who provide their necessary living: and those who have less pay than the others are obliged to serve those who have more pay than they. Every hundred of them when they take the field transport a tent. They go on foot, and part of them are musketeers, and part halbardiers, and part use the scimetar alone. Every three lead a horse which carries their clothing. And when they come to old age, or when for some other reason the service of one of them does not please the Signor, they are stricken from the book of the Janissaries, and are sent as _Hissarlis_[755] or castle guards; and those of their officers who are deposed for such a reason, are sent as castellans with a feudal grant equivalent to the pay which they had previously, in such a way that none of them suffers hardship. Such of them as succeed in war are made _Voivodes_,[756] and raised to high positions. They come as boys to this soldiery and are taught by the experienced ones. They choose healthy ones, well-built, but nimble and dextrous, lively above all, and more often cruel than compassionate. In them rests the force and all the firmness of the army of the Turk; they, because they are always exercising and living together, all become as it were a single body, and of a truth they are terrible.[757]

From the Janissaries are chosen a hundred and fifty _Solaks_, who are footmen of the Signor, with fifteen to twenty aspers a day each: they march surrounding the person of the Signor every time he goes forth.

Two _Solak-bashis_, chief officers of the _Solaks_, who go on horseback, with thirty aspers per day. And these and the _Solaks_ are in obedience to the _Agha_ of the Janissaries.

An _Agha_ of the _Spahi-oghlans_, an office of great honor. He has from feudal grant and pay ten ducats a day, and he has a large number of slaves, with a _Kiaya_ under him, or lieutenant: this man has from feudal grant and pay a hundred aspers a day. And also a _Yaziji_, or secretary, with thirty aspers, and with large perquisites.

The _Spahi-oghlans_, or youths on horseback, who may be called _Spahi-oghlan_, are more than three thousand; and they have twenty to forty aspers each; and every twenty have a _Boluk-bashi_. These serve on horseback, each with five or six slaves and a like number of horses. And they always journey, and also encamp, at the right hand of the Signor. They are great people. From them the Signor is wont to choose his chief men. They are first put as boys into the palace, and when they grow up they succeed well if they attain this grade: it is like a ladder to mount to higher positions.

An _Agha_ of the _Silihdars_, who has thirty thousand aspers a day,[758] and under him a lieutenant, a secretary, a _Kiaya_,[759] with thirty aspers and more each.

There are three thousand _Silihdars_. They moreover ride and encamp at the left hand of the Signor. They have twenty to twenty-five aspers per day each, and they have four or five slaves and a like number of horses, with feudal income for their living. They are trained by the same education with which the _Spahis_ are brought up: nor is there any difference between them, except that the _Spahis_ go on the right, and these on the left, of the Signor.

Two _Ulufaji-bashis_, or chief officers of soldiers, with two thousand _Ulufajis_, who go on the right hand and the left of the Signor. The chief officers have a hundred and twenty aspers, and the others eight to sixteen aspers; then under them[760] they have a _Kiaya_, a secretary, and a lieutenant,[761] with slaves and with horses, some more and some fewer.

Two _Aghas_, chief officers of the _Ghureba-oghlans_, or poor youths[762] with eighty aspers each. _Kiayas_, thirty aspers. Secretaries, twenty-five. And they have under them about two thousand _Ghureba-oghlans_ with seven to fourteen aspers per day: these have slaves and horses.

Two _Emir-al-Akhors_,[763] or masters of the stable, a greater and a lesser. The greater has five hundred aspers, the lesser two hundred, with lieutenant and _Kiaya_[764] and others, who have thirty to forty aspers each.

Sixteen thousand altogether of _Serraj_, who have charge of bridles[765] and saddles; _Ceyssi_, or stable servants; _Carmandari_, who take care of the mules; _Deveji_, who take care of the camels, and _Cavriliji_, who herd the cattle and horses in various places. These have two to twenty aspers per day each.

Thirty to forty _Peiks_, or runners on foot, men who when boys have had their spleens removed:[766] and they run post on foot with great speed. These when the Signor goes forth remain continually near, so that he may employ them according to his needs.

Select horses about four thousand for the person of the Signor; on these the pages of the palace and the eunuchs ride for exercise in their turns.

A _Chakirji-bashi_, chief Vulturer, and a _Shahinji-bashi_, chief Falconer. The first has a hundred and fifty aspers, and the other has eighty; with _Kiayas_, lieutenants,[767] and others, with ten to twenty-five aspers each per day. Under these are about two hundred _Zanijiler_,[768] only a hundred of whom have ten aspers a day, and the others have feudal income, or exemption from taxation. And they take the field when the Signor has need.

A _Jebeji-bashi_, chief armorer. He has sixty aspers, a _Kiaya_ and a secretary with twenty aspers each. He has under him about one thousand five hundred _jebejis_, with seven to twelve aspers. These all go on foot when the Signor takes the field.

A _Topji-bashi_, chief of artillery. He has seventy aspers, a _Kiaya_ [and] secretary with twenty aspers: and under him are two thousand _Topjis_ with six to ten aspers, and they go on foot.

An _Arabaji-bashi_, chief wagoner. He has forty aspers, a _Kiaya_ [and] secretary with twenty aspers: and under him three thousand _Arabajis_ with three to six aspers each.

A _Mihter-bashi_, or chief of trumpeters and drummers. He has thirty [aspers] per day, and under him two hundred _Mihters_, part of them on foot and part on horseback with three to five aspers per day.

An _Emir-Alem Agha_, who carries the standard of the Signor. He has two hundred aspers a day, and is captain of all the musicians.

An _Arpa-emini_, who is Provider of the grain, with a Lieutenant and a Chancellor.[769] He has sixty aspers, the Lieutenant thirty and the Chancellor twenty: this _Arpa-emini_ has under him twenty persons who receive among them all about eight hundred aspers.

A _Shehr-emini_,[770] or Commissioner of public works, who takes care of the streets of Constantinople, and also of the road when the Signor goes forth to war: and he has charge also of public buildings, fountains, and aqueducts. He has fifty aspers, and keeps under him four hundred men: among all of these is given a thousand aspers. He has also a _Kiaya_ and secretary with about thirty-eight aspers each.[771]

A _Berat-emini_, who is deputed to distribute the ordinances of the Signor in writing and who receives the fees; and he has forty aspers, with two secretaries, and two superintendents with twenty aspers each.

A _Terjuman_,[772] or interpreter of all the languages. This position is highly reputed in proportion to the worth and intelligence of him who holds it. He has five hundred ducats of fixed income each year, and has also a like sum from feudal grant, and more than four times as much of extraordinary income; and he is wont to be highly respected.

Proceeding now further as I have begun, I shall leave it for another time and eye to reduce this Porte to better order and put everything in its proper place. I find that to all the above-mentioned things should be added a PALACE of the ladies of the Signor.[773] This is very large, with a circuit of about a mile and a half; and it is provided with different chambers and other rooms, where the sons of the Signor reside separately with their mothers, and with a great number of eunuchs for their guard and service. There also reside the Sultanas, that is the mothers and the wives of the Signors; and there are three hundred damsels, placed there virgins, and given to the government of many matrons. To all of these damsels the Signor has it taught to embroider different designs, to each he gives pay of ten to twenty aspers per day; and twice every year at the two Bairams he has them clothed in stuffs of silk. And when one of these pleases him he does what he wishes with her, and when he has lain with her he gives her a golden bonnet and ten thousand aspers, and has her placed in a separate apartment from the others, increasing her ordinary pay.[774] In the aforesaid Palace there is an _Agha_ of the Eunuchs: to these are given a hundred and twenty aspers for all. Three _Kapuji-bashis_, and with them a hundred _Kapujis_ and Janissaries at the gate: among all these is given six hundred aspers a day. Ten _Sakkas_, who carry water, forty aspers in all. And the damsels are served and educated up to the age of twenty-five years. The teachers are the matrons, the servants are the youngest among them; and when they have arrived at twenty-five years, if it does not please the Signor to keep them for his own use, he marries them to _Spahi-oghlans_, and to others of the slaves of the Porte according to the degree and condition of both parties; and in their place he substitutes others.

There is also a palace near Pera for about four hundred boys, who have pay of six to ten aspers, and are clothed with silk twice a year. These have an _Agha_ and eunuchs, as have those in the great palace, [and] _Kapujis_, _Ajem-oghlans_ and a hundred teachers of various arts. Among all these is distributed eight hundred aspers a day. They are not so noble, or of so beautiful appearance or show of intelligence as are those who reside with the Signor; but from these also many become great, and some of them are taken into the great palace. And similarly in Adrianople there is a palace of three hundred boys under pay, an _Agha_, eunuchs, _Kapujis_, Janissaries, and teachers, about two hundred in all, who have all together two thousand eight hundred aspers a day. These are of third grade, but they are carefully taught and well kept like all the others, and from them according to the spirit and worth which they show promotions are made. There is also in that region another palace, recently built, with a large and beautiful garden: this is located on the river Maritza, and in it reside about three hundred _Ajem-oghlans_; on these [palaces] they spend every year two hundred thousand aspers for each, and they have an _Agha_ with forty aspers and a lieutenant and secretaries with thirty aspers each per day. In various other places in Adrianople there are gardens: in these reside continually as on deposit one thousand five hundred _Ajem-oghlans_ with _Agha_ and secretaries, and on these they spend six thousand aspers a year[775] or a little more.

There is also an _Agha_ of the _Ajem-oghlans_, or Janissary recruits, who resides in Constantinople; he has sixty aspers per day, and under him are about five thousand _Ajem-oghlans_: these they clothe twice a year, and on their teachers and chiefs they spend ten thousand aspers[776] a year. They put them on ships and buildings to carry wood and perform other tasks. They become cooks or servants of the Janissaries, and finally they become Janissaries.

And every four years the Turkish Signor sends into Greece and into Anatolia to seize boys, sons of Christians, ten or twelve thousand each time: these he sends into Anatolia in the region of Brusa or Caramania to dig the earth, so that they will become accustomed to hard labor, and so that there they may learn the Turkish language. These boys remain in such a place and occupation three or four years: then they are ordered to be gathered again, and are given to the government and discipline of the _Agha_ of the _Ajem-oghlans_. For these the Signor does not have any expenses so long as they reside in Anatolia, because they are clothed and have their living from those whom they serve by plowing the ground and doing other work for them.

It seemed best to me to make mention in this place of all the palaces, because they are as it were of the same body as that of the Signor, and all the expenses of these are computed in the book of the expense of the great palace, or that of the Signor. To these expenses are added those, which are incurred in clothing twice each year the Pashas, the _Kaziaskers_, the _Defterdars_, the _Beylerbeys_, and the _Nishanji_, and the expenses which are incurred for the extraordinary presents of the Signor. These in all amount to and go beyond a million aspers a year.

There is also an Arsenal in the region of Pera, small and of short circuit: this has on the sea-front ninety-two vaults, and so little area and ground within that not merely no galleys but not even materials and timbers can be contained there. In it usually work each day about two hundred men; although there are under pay two hundred patrons with two thousand aspers per day for all.[777] A thousand _Azabs_, who have among them four thousand aspers. Foremen, or masters fifty in number, who have in leisure, that is, when not working, six aspers, and when working, twelve aspers each. An Intendant, forty aspers. A Secretary, twenty-five aspers, with ten clerks under him, who have a hundred aspers. All these fulfil their duties when there is great need; but they understand ill the trade and art of building galleys. For this reason they do not turn out good and ready ones like ours; and what few there are are overseen by Christians, who are well paid.

Over this Arsenal and all these persons, there is one who is called the _Beylerbey_ of the sea; that is to say, Lord of lords, an office created at the time when I was in Constantinople; since in the past he who was _Sanjak_ of Gallipoli was wont to be called Captain of the Sea. And Khaireddin Bey called Barbarossa was the first who had this title; he was then made fourth Pasha. To him is given the government of all the fleets, and he has for income every year a feudal grant of fourteen thousand ducats, besides that from Rhodes, Euboea, and Mytilene; so that he receives twice as much more.

I find nothing else that pertains to arrangements for the rule and watch of the sea which are worthy of note: wherefore I will now come to those of the land; these are in truth well and usefully ordered.

There is first one called the _Beylerbey_ of Greece: in this are included all the lands which the Turkish Signor possesses in Europe: this _Beylerbey_ is greater than all the others. He has from feudal grant sixteen thousand ducats a year, and gets more than double this. He sits at the Porte after the Pashas,[778] and is of great repute with everybody. He has under him besides his slaves, who number more than a thousand, a _Defterdar_ with feudal income of three thousand ducats a year; a hundred clerks who keep the books and accounts of the feudal grants assigned to _Subashis_, _Kazis_, _Spahis_, and others; among all of whom are distributed ten thousand ducats a year.

Thirty-six _Sanjaks_: these are in obedience to him, and have for feudal income from five to twelve thousand ducats a year each. They are distributed through the provinces: in these they reside only so long as pleases the Signor: he changes them, as seems best to him, from one province to another. Their duty is to rule the _Spahis_, and to have them trained in arms, and to keep them in obedience.

Four hundred _Subashis_, who have among them all from feudal income four hundred thousand ducats, and have about five hundred slaves each.[779]

Thirty thousand _Spahis_: these are horse soldiery set apart some to the service of the _Beylerbey_, and some to that of all the _Sanjaks_ of Greece. They have from feudal grant two hundred ducats each, and each of them, for every hundred ducats of feudal income, is obliged to maintain an armed man, with horse and lance. And then they have besides the armed man two or four or five servants and horses. These _Spahis_ are all slaves of the Signor, and sons of slaves, and of _Spahis_.

Twenty thousand _Timarjis_ who have ten to forty ducats of feudal income each year, and because they do not reach a hundred ducats, they are not called _Spahis_. These have each a horse and two or three servants, and they serve distributed through all the _Sanjaks_ of Greece. The feudal grants are by assignment of land; the income of this assignment they get partly from rent, but the greater part from the tithes of all the income, which Turks as well as Christians pay, and from the poll-tax, which is twenty-five aspers per head from Christians alone, and from the imposts laid on animals, fruit-trees, and other things. These imposts, moreover, are in addition to those which they pay ordinarily to the Signor.

Sixty thousand _Akinji_, or mounted adventurers, inscribed for the lands of Greece and obliged to go to war without payment. But they are exempt from any burden, and cities and villages are bound to give them, when they pass through, living expenses only.

There are in all Greece, that is, in all the countries which the Turkish Signor possesses in Europe, sixty-eight thousand villages of Turkish and Christian people, subject to public burdens.[780]

There follow next six _Beylerbeys_ of Asia, and a separate one of Egypt. The first of these is called the _Beylerbey_ of Anatolia which was anciently Asia Minor: he has from feudal income fourteen thousand ducats, but gets a great deal more. This man has under him and in his government Pontus, Bithynia, Asia proper, Lydia, Caria, and Lycia: these provinces under a single name are called at present Anatolia. This man’s place at the Porte is after the _Beylerbey_ of Greece. And he has under him, besides his own slaves, who are more than a thousand, twelve _Sanjaks_ with feudal income of from four to six thousand ducats each. Ten thousand _Spahis_, with five to ten aspers a day, and also more or less feudal income according to their degree. Next after these follows

The _Beylerbey_ of Caramania, which was anciently Cilicia and Pamphylia, with feudal income of ten thousand ducats. This man has under him seven _Sanjaks_ with four to six thousand ducats of feudal income each, and five thousand _Spahis_, with five to ten aspers a day each and feudal income besides.

The _Beylerbey_ of Amasia and Tokat, which was Cappadocia and Galatia, with feudal income of eight thousand ducats. Four _Sanjaks_ with four to six thousand ducats of feudal income each. Four thousand _Spahis_ with five to ten aspers a day each and feudal income.

The _Beylerbey_ of Anadole, which is a region between Syria, Caramania, and Tokat, which was anciently Paphlagonia, and is the half of Armenia Minor. He has ten thousand ducats of feudal income, and under him seven _Sanjaks_ with four to five thousand ducats of feudal income. Seven thousand _Spahis_, with five to ten aspers per day and feudal income. In this province of Anadole, they say that when the Signor is there, besides the paid troops thirty thousand persons are obliged to ride without any pay, but only with expenses from the villages.

The _Beylerbey_ of Mesopotamia, under whom is the remainder of Armenia Minor and part of the Major, the other parts belonging to the Persians and the Kurds. This borders with Bagdad, or Baldach, which was anciently Babylonia. He has of feudal income thirty thousand ducats: and besides his own slaves, who number two thousand, he has under him twelve _Sanjaks_ with feudal income of four to six thousand ducats a year, and ten[781] _Spahis_ with ten to fifteen aspers per day each, and with large feudal income because of being at the confines of the Persians: with these they are continually in conflict.

A _Beylerbey_ of Damascus and Syria and Judea, with feudal income of twenty-four thousand ducats; he has more than two thousand slaves, and under him twelve _Sanjaks_ with feudal income of five to seven thousand ducats, and twenty thousand _Spahis_ with ten to fifteen aspers per day each and with good feudal income.

A _Beylerbey_ of Cairo: he holds jurisdiction as far as Mecca, or as far as into Arabia: this Arabia is possessed by the Turkish Signor in the way in which he possesses Albania, where he is not yielded such obedience as he is accustomed to receive from all his other states and countries. But [Arabia] Felix stands in somewhat greater obedience than the rest. He has for feudal income thirty thousand ducats, with numerous slaves: these amount to more than four thousand; sixteen _Sanjaks_ with feudal income of six to eight thousand ducats each; and sixteen thousand _Spahis_ with fifteen to twenty aspers each per day.

Near Mecca, and the countries of the Persians, are some Arabic lords who do not obey any one. The rest[782] then borders the Persians as far as Mesopotamia, in which is Bagdad.[783] Passing Mesopotamia it borders the Persians again to the plain of Naximan, then touches Erzinjan[784] and Erzerum, which are the chief places of Armenia Major. This Armenia borders with the Iberians and Georgians. In these Armenias, Major and Minor, are many Kurds, people of the mountains and warlike, those of [Armenia] Major obedient partly to the Turkish Signor, and partly to the Persian; those of [Armenia] Minor to no one. Next Trebizond borders with the Georgians and Mingrelians, and with part of the Iberians, which people were anciently called Colchians. And Ajemia,[785] which anciently was Assyria, belongs to the Persian: he is absolute master of it.

There are in all Anatolia, or in all the countries which the Turkish Signor possesses in Asia, villages of Turks and Christians to the number of more than seventy-two thousand, not counting those which are in Egypt, which are many.

The _Sanjaks_ truly [set forth]: these (as I said above) have under government the provinces entrusted to the _Beylerbeys_; they are men of much and very great reputation and esteem, especially in the affairs of war; they are named as below by the names of the places which are given to their government. And first the _Beylerbey_ of Greece holds as his sanjakate the places about Salonika. Then follow the others of Kaffa, Silistria, Nicopolis, Vidin, Semendria, Servia and Belgrade,[786] Zvornick, Bosnia, Hersek, which is the Servia called the Duchy,[787] Scutari, Avlona, Yanina, Karli Ili, Lepanto, Morea, Negropont, Trikkala, Gallipoli, Kirk-Kilisse or Forty Churches, Viza, Chirmen, Kostendil, Vishidrina, Prisrend, Okhrida, Alaja Hissar, Elbassan, Voinuch, Chiuchene, Zaiza. These are usually counted thirty-five, but five are regions united to neighboring places, namely Philippopolis, Sofia, Durazzo, Albania, and Uskup.

ANATOLIA, or Asia Minor: Pontus, Bithynia, Lydia, Caria, and Lycia. The sanjakate of the _Beylerbey_ is at Kutaia. And the others are in Hoja-ili, Boli, Kastamuni, Angora, Kanghri,[788] Tekke-ili, Menteshe-ili, Aidin-ili, Alayeh,[789] Bigha, and Manissa,[790] which is that of Sultan Mustapha, the oldest son of the Signor. This place is opposite the middle of Chios near the sea.

AMASIA, and Tokat, which is Paphlagonia, Galatia, and Cappadocia. The sanjakate of the _Beylerbey_ is in Amasia, of the others in Chorum, Janik, Kara-hissar, Samsun, Trebizond.

CARAMANIA, which is Cilicia opposite Cyprus and Pamphylia. The sanjakate of the _Beylerbey_ is in Konia. The others have theirs in Naranda, Hissar, Eski-hissar, Versag-ili, Sivri-hissar.

ANADOLE, or Armenia Minor. The sanjakate of the _Beylerbey_ is in Marash. Those of the others in Sarmussacli, Albistan-ovassi,[791] Adana, Tarsus.

DIARBEKIR, or Mesopotamia, and part of Armenia Major, of which the remainder belongs to the Persians and the Kurds. The sanjakate of the _Beylerbey_ is in Diarbekir. And the others have theirs in Kara Amid, Arghana, Toljik, Hassan-Kief, Mardin, Kharput, Mosul, Erzerum, Baiburt, Bitlis, and Naximan-ovassi.

SYRIA, and Judea. The sanjakate of the _Beylerbey_ is in Damascus. Of the others in Malatia, Divirigi, Aintab, Antioch, Aleppo, Tripoli, Hama, Homs, Safita, Jerusalem, Gaza.

EGYPT, with part of Arabia Deserta as far as Jeddah;[792] Mecca, with all of Arabia Felix, where are many Arab lordlings, who are partly in devotion to the Turkish Signor, partly to no one. The sanjakate of the _Beylerbey_ is in Cairo, and of the others....[793]

All the aforesaid _Sanjaks_, _Beylerbeys_, Pashas, and other officials have salary or feudal income, as I have said above, by fixed arrangement, that is, regularly: but they obtain from extraordinary sources about as much more. And they live with very great expenses for slaves: these they are accustomed to clothe and they give them also wages besides, so that they will not steal.

How great the revenues of this Signor are, may be estimated from the expenses. These revenues are obtained from the Kharâj, which is paid by the non-Turkish subjects; this gives a million and a half ducats: from the tax on animals, which gives eight hundred thousand ducats: from mines, which give six hundred thousand ducats: from countless other duties, salt-taxes, commendations, inheritances, gifts, the revenues of Egypt over and above the expenses, rents, and tributes. And they are so great that they not only meet the expenses, which amount besides the feudal income in ready money drawn from the Treasury to more than twelve thousand ducats a day;[794] but there remains over a great sum of money from the surplus of each year. And it is believed that all the revenues amount to fifteen millions in gold: five of which enter the Treasury, and the other ten remain for the servants of war.[795]

APPENDIX II

PAMPHLET OF JUNIS BEY AND ALVISE GRITTI

Printed in 1537. Presented in the original Italian.

OPERA NOUA LA QUALE DECHIARA

tutto il gouerno del gran Turcho & tutta la Spesa che il gran Turcho ha sotto di lui cosi in pace