Özet:

The subject of this article is related to conditions of the chief rabbinate between 1847 and 1918 in Ottoman State. I referenced to the Ottoman State Annuals (Salname-i Devlet-i Aliye-i Osmaniye) appeared in 68 issues. The aim is to draw a picture of the jews and their chief rabbinate in Ottoman official publications and to contribute to the understanding of the Ottoman jews, regarded as a seperate ‘nation (millet)’. As a result, the Chief Rabbinate is recorded in whole issues recording non-muslims from the first to the last issue. Ottoman jews were administrated in accordance with the principle “keeping the pre-conquest structure”. They were admitted a different nation in the period of Fatih Mehmet II to Kanuni (1453-1525) with two chief rabbis. But there hadn’t been a chief rabbi until the appointment in 1835, which was according to jews’s application. Thus, Ottoman jews were consisting of many communities and each had a seperate chief rabbi. Because of that, they did not want the administration of uni-chief rabbi, responsible to Ottoman, or else their own rabbi to be the chief rabbi.

Anahtar Kelimeler: