Title: Slavery in the Ottoman Empire Content: thumb|Slave market Slavery in the Ottoman Empire was considered an important and big part of the empire's economy and society. In fact it was estimated that twenty percent of the residence during the 16th century were slaves. The Ottomans tied their economy tightly to owning slaves. Since it was a large country, the vast work they needed required more workers. For this reason they needed slaves to help them with different tasks.Miller, Joseph C., ed. Slavery and Slaving in World History: A Bibliography. 2 vols. Armonk, NY: Sharpe, 1999. To control their ownership of slaves, the Ottomans followed the Islamic view of human bondage. They saw themselves as the protectors of the religion while Mecca and Medina were under their protection. And the sultan was seen as a successor to the prophet. In this sense and according to Hanafi Islamic law, a person can have ownership of another, which entitles the owner to the slave' labor, property and sexuality while restricting his freedoms. However, a Muslim cannot be enslaved and if a slave follows Islam, he is to be freed. These rules were introduced in the empire’s laws. ==Tasks== Slaves had different tasks. Some of them were domestic slaves who helped raise children and do household chores. Others had menial jobs. Others enslaved were sex workers. Some of the empire's officials were purchased as slaves who grew up as free citizens. Then most of them bought slaves. But the sultan was the one who had the largest number of slaves whom he taught in the palace schools to learn how to serve the sultan and remain loyal to him and acquire the basics of government work. This has enabled a number of them to succeed in attaining a higher position in government work. ==History== The official prohibition of slavery took place in the second half of the 19th century, but the practice continued into the 20th century. === The start of the slavery === thumb|Turkish Woman and her slave Slavery began in the Ottoman Empire in the 14th century when Sultan Murad I built an army of slaves from prisoners of war called Kapıkulu. The sultan was in full control of them and trained them where necessary. Sultan Mehmed II established the first slave market in Constantinople in the 1460s, called Yessir. The markets then spread widely in most towns and cities of the empire. The empire followed the pencik method (pencik from Persian labor stylo means five and yek means one) in which the state takes a fifth of the raiding captives. It has also been linked to a tax system and title deed The footrest system has been changed for reasons that are unclear. They followed the devshirme system, which means collecting and fixing the children of Christian citizens from their ethnic, religious and cultural background and applying them in an Islamic Turkic system. This practice was also applied to citizens of Rumelia, especially Bosons and Albanians, even as Muslims and other non-Muslims in the empire. The Ottomans brought their slaves from within their borders. === End of slavery === The call for the end of slavery began in the 19th century with calls from European countries to end human rights abuses. The empire lost its power after World War I and was under pressure and influence from European powers. In an effort to restore itself, the empire went through the Tanzimat period during which it underwent many reforms. It was seen as a period of importing European and Western ideologies and models, and the ideas of equality for all citizens, regardless of race or religion, and freedom were stronger than ever. These concepts made the slavery system less powerful and more opposed by citizens. During this period, slaves also took the opportunity to escape from their owners and In order to escape from them in this sense, the Empire issued several edicts beginning with the liberation of groups of slaves. == Types of slavery == thumb The slaves in The Ottoman Empire had different works: * Domestic workers: in elite homes were the most common type of slave: they worked and lived alongside the family and served as wage servants. They had the responsibility of doing the housework, taking care of the family and raising their children, and they also had to take care of sexual activities for their masters. They can be considered a second wife. This was a problem for Christian and Jewish citizens, but not a major problem for Muslims.Zilfi, Madeline C. "Servants, Slaves, and the Domestic Order in the Ottoman Middle East." Hawwa 2 (1) (2004): 1-33. * Sexual slavery or also called "harem": It represents the residence of the Sultan, his wives, concubines and offspring. Marked by hierarchy. The two highest ranks were in the possession of the Sultan. The "valide sultan" was the sultan in reign's mother. then would follow his wife and then will be his favorite concubine. Concubines were served by domestic slaves in every occupation. * Elite Bondage: slaves were taken by the "Devshirme" exercise. Young men in the Balkan provinces, aged thirteen to fourteen, were educated, converted to Islam, and given elite positions in government and military. They were called koll (plural kollar). They were only obligated to the sultan. The beginning of the practice was the creation of the elite Infantry Corps "Janissary". * Menial jobs such as miners, pearl fishermen, ware makers or agriculture: At the beginning of the empire, these slaves were taken by landlords as part of their property. They have fulfilled all the duties to their masters. After farmland became state property, parcels of land were assigned to all owners and taxes owed to elite slave tax masters. These landlords did not profit from the surplus production and thus set their slaves free.