Pax Ottomanica: Philosophical Background of the Millet System

This study aims to shed light on the philosophical background of the Ot-toman millet system. First, I will review the nature of collective identity to establish a basis for further identity-related discussions and define the term of “Pax Ottomanica”. Then I will explain diverse and complicated uti-lizations of identity to clarify the scope of the key concepts of this arti-cle. Finally, I will identify the theoretical sources of Ottoman millet system within Islamic philosophy and show how it affected practical implementa-tion. Since al-Fārābı and Ibn Bajjah political theory has reflected theoret-ical approaches to governance that closely parallel the practical usage of Ottoman millet system I will argue that these approaches can reasonably be considered inspirational sources and justifications for the millet system. Especially considering that the millet system maintained a policy of the protection of religious identities through detachment, I conclude that al-Fārābı's and Ibn Bajjah's political theories were highly influential in shap-ing the practical implementation of the millet system.