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The Ottoman Empire became a safe haven for Jews from the Iberian Peninsula fleeing persecution (see Alhambra Decree). By the end of the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire had the largest Jewish population in the world, with 150,000 compared to Poland's and non-Ottoman Ukraine's combined figure of 75,000. [2] [3]
The status of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire often hinged on the whims of the sultan. So, for example, while Murad III ordered that the attitude of all non-Muslims should be one of "humility and abjection" and that they should not "live near Mosques or tall buildings" or own slaves, others were more tolerant.
In marked contrast to Jews in Europe, Ottoman Jews were allowed to work in any profession and could also enter the Ottoman court. Ottoman Jews in Istanbul excelled in commerce and trade and came to dominate the medical profession. [3] Despite making up only 10% of the city population, Jews constituted 62% of licensed doctors in 1600. [1]
Jews have been living on the territory of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey for more than 2,400 years. Initially the population consisted of Romaniote Jews of Greek affiliation, but they were later assimilated into the community of Sephardic Jews who emigrated to the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century from the Iberian Peninsula following persecution by the Spanish Inquisition.
The Jewish community of İzmir (historically known as Smyrna) is situated on the Aegean sea of Turkey, and it was one of the largest Jewish communities within the Ottoman Empire, with a population of around 30,000 at its peak. [2] [3] Today, the community has around 1,300 people. [4]
After the Damascus affair, the Ottoman Empire banned blood libel accusations. Most of the blood libel assucations were initiated by Greek Christians due to historical animosity between Greeks and Jews. [47] During the final chapter of the Ottoman Empire, increasing nationalism and economic hardship lead to anti-Jewish setiment in the region. [47]
Jews in Ottoman Palestine under the Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1917. See related article Old Yishuv. For Jews of the rest of the Ottoman Empire, notably Constantinople and Selanik (Thessaloniki), see Category:Jews from the Ottoman Empire
Photograph of Sephardi Jews in 19th century taken from 1899 book Views from Palestine and its Jewish colonies. From 1360, when Louis I of Hungary had issued a decree of expulsion, Jewish people had sought refuge in the Ottoman Empire. [18]