This article analyses how the ruling party in Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are tryin... more This article analyses how the ruling party in Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are trying to construct a new Turkish nation on an ideological level through a different reading of Ottoman history. In this process, a special reading of Ottoman history comes to the fore after the Kemalist state tried to undermine its importance. The article studies the importance of the ideological use of history and the instrumentalization of the events of the Ottoman past by the administration in Turkey. This effort is analysed as an attempt to prove the historical continuity of the Turkish nation, which includes the long Ottoman history that the Kemalist state challenged. It is argued that Erdoğan is in essence nationalizing and religionizing the Ottoman Empire as a Turkish and Islamic empire and Ottomanizing the contemporary Turkish nation as one that should rely on the religious aspect of its identity.
Michalis N. Michael, “Ottomanizing Symbols, Projecting Ottoman Political Power. The Archbishops of Cyprus and the Regalia Privileges”, 2020
According to tradition, and not historical sources, the Byzantine emperor Zeno granted to the Arc... more According to tradition, and not historical sources, the Byzantine emperor Zeno granted to the Archbishop of Cyprus, Anthemios, and his successors three important privileges; the right to carry a gold orbed sceptre, to wear a robe in imperial purple and to sign his official documents with imperial red ink. The main argument of this paper is that the use of the archbishop's regalia privileges on a first level and the effort to promote a Greek-speaking civilization in Ottoman Cyprus, from the second half of the 18th century and onwards, are part of an effort to differentiate, but not cancel the Ottoman character of the political power of the clergy and, accordingly, the Ottoman character of the island. In such a framework it seems that these symbols used by the archbishop of Cyprus reproduce the Ottomanand not the non-Ottomancharacter of political power in Cyprus and maintain, if not reinforce, an Ottoman reality for the island.
loannis Tserkezis, born in 1874, in Mazotos, a village in the Larnaca district of Cyprus, came fr... more loannis Tserkezis, born in 1874, in Mazotos, a village in the Larnaca district of Cyprus, came from a poor family and was sent by his father to Smyrna, in 1888, aged 14, to seek employment to strengthen the family's income. The young Greek Cypriot's family was counting on help that would be provided to the young immigrant by his uncle (on his father 's side), who had been living in that multicultural Ottoman city for a considerable length of time. Despite his uncle 's efforts, the search for employment proved fruitless, and thus, after a brief period of time, Tserkezis was forced to return to his native country. He was not disheartened, though. He continued his efforts to find employment abroad during the years that followed. In 1899, he made efforts to settle in Alexandria and in 1902 went back to Smyrna, but both ventures proved unsuccessful. Up until then Tserkezis had chosen to emigrate to the most common destinations for the Cypriots of the time. That is, to Egy...
This article analyses how the ruling party in Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are tryin... more This article analyses how the ruling party in Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are trying to construct a new Turkish nation on an ideological level through a different reading of Ottoman history. In this process, a special reading of Ottoman history comes to the fore after the Kemalist state tried to undermine its importance. The article studies the importance of the ideological use of history and the instrumentalization of the events of the Ottoman past by the administration in Turkey. This effort is analysed as an attempt to prove the historical continuity of the Turkish nation, which includes the long Ottoman history that the Kemalist state challenged. It is argued that Erdoğan is in essence nationalizing and religionizing the Ottoman Empire as a Turkish and Islamic empire and Ottomanizing the contemporary Turkish nation as one that should rely on the religious aspect of its identity.
Michalis N. Michael, “Ottomanizing Symbols, Projecting Ottoman Political Power. The Archbishops of Cyprus and the Regalia Privileges”, 2020
According to tradition, and not historical sources, the Byzantine emperor Zeno granted to the Arc... more According to tradition, and not historical sources, the Byzantine emperor Zeno granted to the Archbishop of Cyprus, Anthemios, and his successors three important privileges; the right to carry a gold orbed sceptre, to wear a robe in imperial purple and to sign his official documents with imperial red ink. The main argument of this paper is that the use of the archbishop's regalia privileges on a first level and the effort to promote a Greek-speaking civilization in Ottoman Cyprus, from the second half of the 18th century and onwards, are part of an effort to differentiate, but not cancel the Ottoman character of the political power of the clergy and, accordingly, the Ottoman character of the island. In such a framework it seems that these symbols used by the archbishop of Cyprus reproduce the Ottomanand not the non-Ottomancharacter of political power in Cyprus and maintain, if not reinforce, an Ottoman reality for the island.
loannis Tserkezis, born in 1874, in Mazotos, a village in the Larnaca district of Cyprus, came fr... more loannis Tserkezis, born in 1874, in Mazotos, a village in the Larnaca district of Cyprus, came from a poor family and was sent by his father to Smyrna, in 1888, aged 14, to seek employment to strengthen the family's income. The young Greek Cypriot's family was counting on help that would be provided to the young immigrant by his uncle (on his father 's side), who had been living in that multicultural Ottoman city for a considerable length of time. Despite his uncle 's efforts, the search for employment proved fruitless, and thus, after a brief period of time, Tserkezis was forced to return to his native country. He was not disheartened, though. He continued his efforts to find employment abroad during the years that followed. In 1899, he made efforts to settle in Alexandria and in 1902 went back to Smyrna, but both ventures proved unsuccessful. Up until then Tserkezis had chosen to emigrate to the most common destinations for the Cypriots of the time. That is, to Egy...
À Chypre, le colonialisme britannique a profondément influencé les relations entre l'Église e... more À Chypre, le colonialisme britannique a profondément influencé les relations entre l'Église et l'État. Lors de la période précédente, sous domination ottomane, les membres du haut clergé remplissaient des obligations administratives et politiques, conjuguant ainsi fonctions religieuses et administratives laïques. À partir de 1856, ils obtinrent même davantage de reconnaissance pour leur fonction politique. Pourtant, dès 1878, l'administration britannique considéra l'Église et l'État comme des organes séparés. Cette perspective entraîna inéluctablement une perte d'autorité politique des membres du clergé. Les autorités britanniques refusèrent la reconnaissance du régime traditionnel de l'Église, qui lui accordait des propriétés et privilèges fonciers, ainsi que la jouissance d'une partie de l'impôt. Les auteurs retracent les implications à long terme de cette redéfinition des frontières entre Église et État au sein de l'Église chypriote. Suite ...
Michaelm N. Michael, “The Church of Cyprus and the Transition from Ottoman Rule to British Modernity. Church Property in its Political Context”, in Rumen Avramov et.al., Monastic Economy across Time: Wealth Management, Patterns, and Trends, Centre of Advanced Study, Sofia 2021, pp. 244-260., 2021
The 19th century could be described as the bourgeoisie century since it is generally acknowledged... more The 19th century could be described as the bourgeoisie century since it is generally acknowledged that the European bourgeoisie, which reached its apex during the third quarter of the century (Hobsbawm 2000:346), was both financially strong and having a political say, and was successful in leading societies and their political states to radical changes. The rivalry of the bourgeoisie against other social groups, and mainly those attached to power or in many cases in power, led to ideological conflicts resulting in power changing hands or in some cases led the traditional aristocratic power being controlled by elements of the bourgeoisie.
loannis Tserkezis, born in 1874, in Mazotos, a village in the Larnaca district of Cyprus, came fr... more loannis Tserkezis, born in 1874, in Mazotos, a village in the Larnaca district of Cyprus, came from a poor family and was sent by his father to Smyrna, in 1888, aged 14, to seek employment to strengthen the family's income. The young Greek Cypriot's family was counting on help that would be provided to the young immigrant by his uncle (on his father 's side), who had been living in that multicultural Ottoman city for a considerable length of time. Despite his uncle 's efforts, the search for employment proved fruitless, and thus, after a brief period of time, Tserkezis was forced to return to his native country. He was not disheartened, though. He continued his efforts to find employment abroad during the years that followed. In 1899, he made efforts to settle in Alexandria and in 1902 went back to Smyrna, but both ventures proved unsuccessful. Up until then Tserkezis had chosen to emigrate to the most common destinations for the Cypriots of the time. That is, to Egy...
This article studies the 1804 revolt in Cyprus and its repression. The protagonists of this revol... more This article studies the 1804 revolt in Cyprus and its repression. The protagonists of this revolt reveal a particularly complex situation in an area of the Ottoman periphery such as Cyprus at the beginning of the nineteenth century. By codifying the realities revealed to us by this revolt we can remark the existence and parallel action of three different Ottoman authorities in Cyprus during this period. The relation of these three authorities is complicated. Competition between them to expand their responsibilities is constant, as well as their forced collaboration in an effort to maintain order on the island. With regard to their power and importance this is even more difficult since during this period the tenure of an official in Ottoman Cyprus could be short (muhassıl), longer (divan tercümanı), or even permanent (archbishop of Cyprus). The questions that the analysis of this revolt tries to answer are many: who are the Ottoman authorities in Cyprus at the beginning of the ninet...
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