ABSTRACT

Doç. Dr. MELEK DEL~LBA~I

The Establishment of Ottoman Sovereignty in Thessaloniki (Selanik)

and Ioannina (Yanya)

In the present study we dwell upon the circumstances under which

Thessaloniki and Ioannina came under Ottoman sovereignty. These two

towns were conquered by Murad II within an interval of seven months. This

study is based upon Byzantine, Ottoman and Latin sources; we have also

studied the information gleaned from Byzantine sources about Ottoman poli-

cies of conquest. As Thessaloniki became part of the Ottoman realm by con-

quest, while Ioannina did so by conforming to the Sultan to surrender, diffe-

rent policies were applied to the two cities. The conquests of Murad II have

been studied not with the present value judgements in mind, but considering

the conditions and necessities of the fifteenh century. The conquest is viewed

within the framework of Ottoman conquest policies based upon on F~k~h (the

Muslim religious and legal Code).

An eye witness account of the conquest of Thessaloniki by Murad II is

J o han nis Ana gno sti s' Chronicle nEpf tfis TEXE~rra(as

cAktooms tip Occroakovikns. This text gives detailed information about

Murad II's attempt to secure the peaceful surrender of the city before moun-

ting a full-scale attack, and the events that happened when the city was taken

by force (Anveten). On the other hand, the amannâmes granted to the people

of Ioannina written in Greek by Murad II and the Beylerbeyi (Govener Gene-

ral) Sinan Pa~a, is of value with respect to the privileges granted by the Otto-

mans to their non-Muslim subjects, provided that the latter had surrendered.

No evaluation of these Nâmes concerning the conquest policies of the Otto-

mans has as yet been undertaken. Neither has the Nâme of Murad II been

mentioned anywhere in secondary works on Ottoman history.

The Capture of Thessalon~ki

Thessaloniki under the Ottoman suzerainty during the reigns of Murad

I (1387) and Bayezid I (1391) again passed into the hands of Byzantium fol-

lowing the battle of Ankara in 1402. Following the accession of Sultan Murad

SELANIK VE YANYA'DA OSMANLI EGEMENLI~I

103

II in 1421, while Turkish raids extended up to Morea, Thessaloniki also was

subjected to continual Turkish attacks. According to the information provi-

ded by Symeon Archbishop of Thessaloniki in his work known as the "Disco-

urse on St. Dimitrius", the people of Thessaloniki were divided into two sepera-

te camps: One group favourite the Turks, and the other the Venetians. The

nobles of the city preferred Venetian rule while the common people favoured

the Turks. As can be understood from the Chronicle of Anagnostis the majo-

rity were on the Turkish side .

Due to incessant n~ rkish attack and the famine that ensued in the city,

the Despot Andronikos of Thessaloniki had previously surrendered the city

to the Venetians upon certain terms. Sultan Murad II considered the surren-

der of Thessaloniki to the Venetians as an agression against Turkish territori-

es, since the city had previously been under Turkish rule. By intensifying the

Turkish raids on the city, the Sultan declared war against Venice. As unders-

tood from Venetian chronicles as well as from decisions of the Senate, during

the Ottoman-Venetian war 1423-1430 Venetian governer of Thessaloniki did

not conform to the terms of the treaty of surrender, and increased their acts

of tyranny over the people.

After Sultan Murad II had strengthened his position in Anatolia and the

Balkans, on 26 March 1430 he arrived with his army at the gates of the city.

The Sultan was accompanied by Hamza Pa~a, beyberbeyi of Anatolia and

Sinan Pa~a beylerbeyi of Rumelia. As we learn from the Chronicle of

Anagnostis, Murad ilin conformity with the principles of Filah invited

the city authorities to surrender three times, he even tried to persuade them

to do so by sending Christian envoys. On the other hand the Greek people

even though their sympathies were with the Turks, had to fight the Sultan

under the pressure of their Venetian rulers. Following a four-day siege of the

city both by land the sea, Thessaloniki was conquered by Turks. According

to Fik:h as a city was captured by force (anveten) the people were considered

captives while their lands and property were deemed as state property. We le-

am from Anagnostis' chronicle that about 7000 Thessalonicians inclu-

ding the author himself, were taken as captives. Altough a certain amount of

looting and destr~~ction occured in the city, this did not last long. The Sultan

intervened to stop the looting, he himself paid the ransom of a number of

dignitaries and set them free. Moreover, he issued the order that those who

had deserted the city should come back and their properties wold be retur-

ned to them. According to the chronicler while everybody began to entertain

104

MELEK DELILBA~ I

high hopes for the future, the Sultan returned to the city two or three years

later (1432-33) and disappointed the expectations of the people by the measu-

res he took. These included application of the policy of tahrir (survey) and

sürgün (deportation) in conformity with Ottoman policies in conquered ter-

ritories. Turkish settlers were brought into the city from Yenice of Vardar.

The chronicler stated that the churches and the monastiries were taken from

the Christian and that the original inhabitants were deprived of their proper-

ties and real estates. At this point two possibilities must be considered. The

first one is that following a conquest, mülk (full properties) or properties of

Vak~f (religious foundation) had been converted into miri (state property).

The second possibility is that the chronicler may have exaggerated the num-

ber of confiscations. From Anagnostis we know that Ahiropietos and the

monastery of Prodromos were transformed into mosques while all the rest

were left in the hands of Christians. Since the fact is established, the second

possibility appears more probable. Altough a number of churches and mo-

nasteries were not looked after properly following the conquest, there are

Greek and Ottoman document testifying that the monks of Vlatadon monas-

tery obtained certain exemptions and priviledges as from the time of Murad

II, and that they had sided with Turks during the conquest.

The tahrir defter (tax registers) compiled in Thessaloniki in 1432-1433 and

which was mentioned by Anagnostis, has not been discovered. The first ex-

tant tahrir defter on nefs-i Selanik (the city itselI) is dated 1478 It has been

used by H. Lowry in his article "Portrait of a According to author's

conclusion, during the first five decades following the conquest the city pre-

served its Byzantine characteristics. As from the last years of 15 th century

Jews deported from various parts of Europe found secure refuge in Ottoman

territories and settled in Thessaloniki. By the beginning of the Sixteenth cen-

tury, they formed the overwhelming majority of the population.

According to the unpublished mufassal (detailed) tahrir defter dated H.

975 (1567/1568) now preserved in the Archives of Tapu Kadastro (Land Re-

gistry Office) in ankara, Jews constitud 61 % of the population while Mus-

lims made up 26 % and Christians only 13 %.

The Capture of loann~na

When Carlo Tocco died in 1429 without leaving an heir, his nephew

Carlo Tocco Il was involved in a civil war between himself and Carlo's illegi-

timate children. Memnon, who was one of the five brothers, asked Sultan

Melek Del~lba~z

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Rumeli Beylerbeyi Sinan Pa~a'n~n Yanya yöneticilerine verdi~i

amannâme * ( 43o)

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Ek. 4

SEIANIK VE YANYA'DA OSMANLI EGEMENLI~I

105

Murad, for help. Following the capture of Thessaloniki, a part of the

Ottoman army was directed against certain Albanian chiefs who had

reyolted, while the other part continued to Ioannina under the command

of Sinan Pa~a. There is detailed information on the conquest of Ioannina

in the Epirus Chronicle( in Greek). According to the Chronicle, when Sul-

tan Murad II twice, sent armies to Ioannina the citizens held narrow

passes of Epirus.

Sultan Murad and the Beylerbeyi of Rumelia Sinan Pa~a had sent propo-

sals written in Greek to the people of Ioannina, offering them amân. These

amânnames are the oldest documents showing the rights and priyileges gran-

ted to to non-Muslims accepting the Ottoman suzerainty. On the docu-

ment the nâme (Orismos) of Sinan Pa~a figures more prominently than that of

Murad II. According the document, ancestral rights, the properties and

possessions of the people of Ioannina would be guaranteed without guesti-

on. Fief holders were to continue in their holdings, now considered as t~-

mar and the people were permitted the free exercises of their religion.

The Metropolitan of Ioannina was to retain his judicial prerogatiyes and

all other ecclesiastical rights. Furthermore, a guarantee was giyen that the

city would not be looted, that the people would not be taken captive, and

that boys would not be drafted for service in the army. Any other request

of the Ioanninans were to be granted. If the people of the Ioannina had

not surrendered, the same fate that befell Thessaloniki could easily have

befallen Ioannina and the town might have been looted and destroyed.

After receiving assurances concerning their future position The People of

loannina sent envoys to the Sultan, and surrendered the keys of the city.

In return obtained a decree assuring them of the priyiledges that had pre-

viously been promised. Thus on 9 October 1430 Ioannina was annexed to

the Ottoman territories; in particular, it is understood that the autonomous ad-

ministration of the people of Ioannina, which had been obtained from

Byzantine Emperors, was maintained over a long period under the Ottoman

rule.

So far, not the least research has been made on the history of Ioannina

under the Ottoman rule. The present study introduces demographic data on

the city, according to the first tahrir defter. The mufassal tahrir defter on

nefs-i Yar~ya, (the city itself) is kept in Istanbul Ba~bakanl~k Ar~ivi (the

Prime Minister's Archives), the call number is: 350, H. 972 (1564). Accor-

ding to this defter, Ioannina was a mirliva hass~, there were 35 Christian

~ o6 MELEK DEL~ LBA~I

quarters, and only I Moslem quarter. The Muslim population consisted of 250

inhabitants (50 households -I- 8 bachelors) while there were 5935 Chiristi-

ans (118i households -I- 134 bachelors) living in the city. As to the jewish

population, they were not recorded in the register of 1564, but they are

mentioned as 35 nefer (tax payers) (175 inhabitants)in the mufassal tahrir

defter belonging to the year 1579. Thus by surrending and asking for

amân, Ioannina avoided the fate of Thessaloniki. No deportations occured

in the area, perhaps in part due to the isolated geographical position of

the town. Even more than one hundred years after the conquest, the

overwhelming majority of the population was stili made up of Christians.