Tanzimat Sonrası Gayrimüslim Osmanlı Tebaasının Hukuki Durumu

Throughout its reign, the Ottoman State, which had a multinational structure that brought together citizens of different religions, granted almost the same rights to non-Muslim citizens as Muslim ones. In this paper, some of the rights conferred upon non-Muslims after the Tanzimat are emphasized. The Ottoman State paid attention to matters regarding the social life of non-Muslim citizens such as equality before the law, exemption from military service, freedom of religion, and ending discrimination both in educational institutions and some regulations regarding public service and commercial life. Immediately after the Conquest of Istanbul, by according some privileges to the Greeks at first, it managed to prevent probable sectarian conflicts. After a while, other Christian groups and Jews, were also allowed to benefit from these privileges. Subsequently, citizens of other religions than Islam, namely Christian and Jewish minorities were, for this purpose, granted some privileges. Therefore, the Ottoman State granted the same right to education to the minorities as its Muslim population. Their right to education has been further developed through some edicts and treaties organized after the Tanzimat. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the legal status of non-Muslim citizens after Tanzimat and the effects of some incidents that erupted in 1876 due to the decree of Islahat on non-Muslim citizens. Later, in the Ottoman Constitution of 1876 (al-Qanun al-Asasi) rights granted to non-Muslims and Muslims were made to accommodate the principle of equality before the law. Finally in the study, the legal status of non-Muslims in the period following 1876 by examining the Berlin Agreement and all subsequent treaties and edicts, which aim to grant certain rights to non-Muslims in Ottoman lands, in particular are dealt with.