Editing Bursa (section)

=== Jewish community ===
Bursa, initially home to a small [[Romaniote Jews|Romaniote Jewish]] community, underwent a demographic shift with the arrival of [[Sephardic Jews]] who were [[Expulsion of Jews from Spain|expelled from the Iberian Peninsula]] in the late 15th century. The Sephardic majority quickly absorbed the Romaniotes, leading to a cultural and numerical dominance. [[Judaeo-Spanish]] became the daily language, and the community paid its [[Jizya|poll tax]] through the representative, the ''kahya''.<ref name=":03222">{{Cite book |last=Bornstein-Makovetsky |first=Leah |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/*-SIM_0007390 |title=Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World |publisher=Brill Reference Online |editor-last=Stillman |editor-first=Norman A. |chapter=Bursa}}</ref>

Throughout the Ottoman period, most Jews resided in Kuruçeşme, Bursa's Jewish quarter, home to three [[synagogue]]s. Etz Chaim (Eṣ Ḥayyim), the oldest, predated [[Siege of Bursa|Ottoman conquest]], while the Gerush and Mayor synagogues were established by Sephardic newcomers. Despite the 1851 fire destroying Etz Chaim, the other two remain, along with the Berut synagogue. Bursa also had a Jewish cemetery until recently.<ref name=":03222"/>

Though never a major center, Bursa's Jewish population fluctuated. Dubious data suggests 683 families in 1571/72, dropping to 141 by 1696/97. By 1883, there were 2,179 Jews, with an influx of 400 from [[Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi|Akkerman]] in 1887. Pre-[[World War I]], the population reached 3,500, but emigration reduced it to 140 by the early 21st century.<ref name=":03222"/>

Engaged in the local economy, Bursa's Jews were shop owners and involved in guilds. In the 16th and 17th centuries, they excelled in textile manufacturing, silk trade, [[goldsmith]]ing, and finance. Despite economic struggles in the 18th and 19th centuries, a 1886 report highlighted poverty.<ref name=":03222"/>

Bursa faced blood libels in 1592 and 1865. Despite its size, the community produced renowned [[Halakha|halakhic]] scholars across centuries. Modern schooling arrived in 1886 with [[Alliance Israélite Universelle]], but it closed in 1923 during the secularization program. Jewish children then attended Turkish schools for a modern education.<ref name=":03222" />