Gypsies in ottoman empire according to the 16th–17th centuries Bursa and Balıkesir shari’a court records

Abstract

Various ethnical groups such as Armenians, Greeks, Jews and Assyrians who lived within the borders of the Ottoman Empire have been subjects to several researches. Unfortunately, the available researches done about the ethnical group called Gypsies are so few that they cannot even be compared to the researches available for other ethnical groups. The expression "Half Nation", which is frequently used to identify the Gypsies who had been carted away from the society because of their life styles, is maybe the most important expression used to describe gypsies' position in the society.This study, which is based on the 16th-17th centuries Bursa and Balikesir Shari'a Court Records, aims to put forward the position of the Gypsies in the Ottoman society and the empire's attitude towards the gypsies.I owe my thanks to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdulmecit MUTAF who helped me have access to Balikesir Shari'a Court Records and to Ismail TORACl who shaped my research with his precious opinions.