Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nda Gayrimüslimlerin Kıyafet Düzenlemeleri (XVI –XVII. Yüzyıllar)

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the legal codes for clothing that were imposed on non-Muslims in the Ottoman Empire between 16th and 17th centuries. Revolving around several questions, the thesis analyses the motivations behind the implementation of clothing codes; probes the pre-Ottoman origins of these codes and discusses their reflections on the daily life of Ottoman non-Muslims. Departing from the fact that modern studies have certain flaws about some of the historical data about the clothing codes, such as the issues of periodization, the thesis puts special emphasis on historical facts about this topic. Finally, in spite of approaching the codes as a matter of tolerance intolerance which has long been employed by historians, the thesis attempts to offer a different approach towards analyzing the Ottoman sartorial regime: a model to see clothing codes as a tool in dealing with communal diversity.