Editing Ottoman Empire (section)

==== Christianity and Judaism ====
{{Main|Christianity in the Ottoman Empire|History of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire}}
[[File:Gennadios II and Mehmed II.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Mehmed II|Mehmed the Conqueror]] and Patriarch [[Gennadius Scholarius|Gennadius II]]]]

In accordance with the Muslim ''[[dhimmi]]'' system, the Ottoman Empire guaranteed limited freedoms to Christians, Jews, and other "[[People of the Book|people of the book]]", such as the right to worship, own property, and be exempt from the obligatory alms (''[[zakat]]'') required of Muslims. However, non-Muslims (or {{Lang|ota|dhimmi}}) were subject to various legal restrictions, including being forbidden to carry weapons, ride on horseback, or have their homes overlook those of Muslims; likewise, they were required to pay higher taxes than Muslim subjects, including the ''[[jizya]],'' which was a key source of state revenue.<ref>Peri, Oded (1990). "The Muslim waqf and the collection of jizya in late eighteenth-century Jerusalem". In Gilbar, Gad (ed.). ''Ottoman Palestine, 1800–1914 : Studies in economic and social history''. Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 287. {{ISBN|978-90-04-07785-0}}. <q>the ''jizya'' was one of the main sources of revenue accruing to the Ottoman state treasury as a whole.</q></ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Akçam |first=Taner |title=A shameful act: the Armenian genocide and the question of Turkish responsibility |title-link=A shameful act: the Armenian genocide and the question of Turkish responsibility |publisher=Metropolitan Books |date=2006 |isbn=978-0-8050-7932-6 |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/shamefulactarmen00ak/page/24 24] |author-link=Taner Akçam}}</ref> Many Christians and Jews converted to Islam to secure full social and legal status, though most continued to practice their faith without restriction.

The Ottomans developed a unique sociopolitical system known as the [[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|millet]], which granted non-Muslim communities a large degree of political, legal, and religious autonomy; in essence, members of a millet were subjects of the empire but not subject to the Muslim faith or Islamic law. A millet could govern its own affairs, such as raising taxes and resolving internal legal disputes, with little or no interference from Ottoman authorities, so long as its members were loyal to the sultan and adhered to the rules concerning ''dhimmi.'' A quintessential example is the ancient Orthodox community of [[Mount Athos]], which was permitted to retain its autonomy and was never subject to occupation or forced conversion; even special laws were enacted to protect it from outsiders.<ref>{{Cite news |agency=Associated Press |date=21 October 2022 |title=Greek monastery manuscripts tell new story of Ottoman rule |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/10/21/1130424515/greek-monastery-manuscripts-tell-new-story-of-ottoman-rule |access-date=24 October 2022 |archive-date=24 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024010806/https://www.npr.org/2022/10/21/1130424515/greek-monastery-manuscripts-tell-new-story-of-ottoman-rule |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Rum Millet|''Rum'' Millet]], which encompassed most Eastern Orthodox Christians, was governed by the Byzantine-era {{Lang|la|[[Corpus Juris Civilis]]}} (Code of Justinian), with the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarch]] designated the highest religious and political authority (''millet-bashi'', or [[ethnarch]]). Likewise, [[History of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Jews]] came under the authority of the ''[[Hakham Bashi|Haham Başı]],'' or Ottoman [[Chief Rabbi]], while [[Armenians]] were under the authority of the [[Catholicos of All Armenians|chief bishop]] of the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]].<ref name="Syed-2011">{{Cite book |last=Syed |first=Muzaffar Husain |title=A Concise History of Islam |date=2011 |publisher=Vij Books India |isbn=978-93-81411-09-4 |location=New Delhi |page=97}}</ref> As the largest group of non-Muslim subjects, the Rum Millet enjoyed several special privileges in politics and commerce; however, Jews and Armenians were also well represented among the wealthy merchant class, as well as in public administration.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Krummerich |first=Sean |date=1998–1999 |title=The Divinely-Protected, Well-Flourishing Domain: The Establishment of the Ottoman System in the Balkan Peninsula |url=http://www.loyno.edu/history/journal/1998-9/Krummerich.htm |url-status=dead |journal=The Student Historical Journal |publisher=Loyola University New Orleans |volume=30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610014150/http://www.loyno.edu/history/journal/1998-9/Krummerich.htm |archive-date=10 June 2009 |access-date=11 February 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Turkish Toleration |url=http://www.globaled.org/nyworld/materials/ottoman/turkish.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010320091629/http://globaled.org/nyworld/materials/ottoman/turkish.html |archive-date=20 March 2001 |access-date=11 February 2013 |publisher=The American Forum for Global Education}}</ref>

Some modern scholars consider the millet system to be an early example of [[religious pluralism]], as it accorded minority religious groups official recognition and tolerance.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sachedina |first=Abdulaziz Abdulhussein |url=https://archive.org/details/islamic_sac_2001_00_4172/page/96 |title=The Islamic Roots of Democratic Pluralism |date=2001 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-513991-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/islamic_sac_2001_00_4172/page/96 96–97] |quote=The millet system in the Muslim world provided the pre-modern paradigm of a religiously pluralistic society by granting each religious community an official status and a substantial measure of self-government.}}</ref>