Ottoman Empire Slave Systems and Labor Economy (1453–1856)

1. Devshirme levy supplies the sultan’s kul workforce

   Jan 1, 1438Labels: Devshirme, Janissaries, Ottoman bureaucracy

   • Devshirme
   • Devshirme

2. Ottomans capture Constantinople and take captives

   May 29, 1453Labels: Mehmed II, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire

   • Britannica

3. Ottoman conquest of Caffa expands Black Sea slaving

   Jun 1, 1475Labels: Caffa, Crimea, Black Sea

   • Caffa Siege
   • Black Sea

4. Crimean slave trade routes feed Ottoman markets

   Jan 1, 1500Labels: Crimean Tatars, Caffa, Ottoman traders

   • Black Sea

5. Devshirme recruitment fades and formally ends

   Jan 1, 1648Labels: Devshirme, Ottoman recruitment

   • Devshirme

6. Auspicious Incident disbands the Janissaries

   Jun 15, 1826Labels: Auspicious Incident, Janissaries, Mahmud II

   • Auspicious
   • Erdem ch

7. Tanzimat begins with the Edict of Gülhane

   Nov 3, 1839Labels: Tanzimat, G lhane, Ottoman reforms

   • Britannica
   • Tanzimat

8. Istanbul’s public slave market is ordered closed

   Jan 1, 1847Labels: Istanbul, public slave

   • Istanbul market
   • Erdem ch

9. Firman targets African slave imports via Persian Gulf

   Jan 1, 1847Labels: Firman 1847, Persian Gulf, Ottoman Iraq

   • Persian Gulf
   • Erdem ch

10. Firman bans Circassian and Georgian slave trade

    Oct 1, 1854Labels: Firman 1854, Abd lmecid, Caucasus trade

    • Caucasus ban

11. Reform Edict promises equal rights across religions

    Feb 18, 1856Labels: Hatt- H, Islahat Ferman, Ottoman equality

    • Hatt i H
    • Text 1856

12. Tanzimat-era restrictions reshape slave economy by 1856

    Dec 31, 1856Labels: Tanzimat, slave economy, Ottoman regulation

    • Erdem ch
    • Istanbul market