The Millet System Of Ottoman Empire And Its Influences

The millet system is a policy of that manage a non-Muslim communities of theOttoman Empire. It had a great influence on the Ottoman Empire historical development.At the height of the Ottoman Empire, the millet system had made great contribution tothe political stability, economic prosperity and cultural development. But with the declineof the Ottoman Empire, the millets became a centrifugal force within the territory of theempire. And foreign forces had managed to swoop in and support different millet fortheir own interests, which directly led to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.This paper consists of three parts. The first part mainly introduces the historicaldevelopment process of the millet system. Millet system as a policy throughout thecourse of the Ottoman Empire, its development had experienced the formation, evolution,reform and decline stage. The second part mainly discusses the millet system existing.Getting from the typical period of the millet system, this part introduces non-Muslimcommunities’ political, economic and living conditions within the territory of the empireunder the millet system. The third part mainly analyzes the historical influences of themillet system. Millet system had a dual effect on the historical development of theOttoman Empire. We can conclude that at the beginning of the empire rulers use milletsystem to stable the non-Muslim communities. But Ottoman Empire didn’t adopt thepolicy of assimilation for the non-Muslim communities.