1. What were the economic roles of Jews within the Byzantine Empire?
2. Immediately after the conquest of Constantinople what were the economic opportunities for the Jewish community?
3. After law and order was established in Constantinople what were the impact on the economic sector for Jews
4. Over time how did the influx of Sephardic Jews from Europe influence the roles of Jews within the Empire?
5. In what ways were the conditions of Jews within the Ottoman Empire similar or different to Jews living in the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth?
Introduction: (Old)
Within any empire there are bound to be an assimilation of varying people and cultures. Historically empires had been relatively small and were able to direct control …show more content…
Note how the siege lasted for over 50 days and provide some context illustrating the violence of the battle. The casualties that were inflicted over the city extend into the tens of thousands- the point that I am trying to illustrate is that after the three days of “plunder” by the Ottomans much of the city’s infrastructure and bureaucracy was destroyed allowing them to freshly implement their institutions.
2. Changes Brought by the ottomans:
a. Social Structure- The social structure of the byzantine empire was replaced by that of the Ottoman empire which introduced a new bureaucracy and social hierarchy in which the Jews were now a minority along with other Christians.
b. Religion- The religion of the ottoman empire was Sunni Islam, which differed greatly from the orthodox Christianity of the Byzantine Empire
c. Infrastructure- Many of Constantinople’s buildings and churches were converted into mosques and other Ottoman structures. This in combination with the decision to make Constantinople the seat of ottoman power brought much development to the city.
d. Law- Islamic law was brought to the city- this while not explicitly being forced upon the Jewish population. I will discuss “Millet” and how the decision of whether or not the Jewish population actually chose to apply the law affected their economic