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TheEarlyRelationsbetweentheOttomanStateandtheOrthodoxChurch:AnInstanceofIstimâlet11
whichearnedhimenormouspopularityamongthecitizensofConstantinople.In1446-
1447,theUnionistPatriarchGregoryIIIoustedhimfromhispositionandforcedhimto
enteramonastery.Asamonk,heremainedthedrivingforcebehindtheanti-Unionist
protests.OntheeveoftheofcialproclamationoftheUnioninDecember1452,he
wroteanddistributedseveralmanifestos,attemptingtopreventit.
ThereislittledoubtthatGennadioswaschosenbythesultanforhisanti-Roman
stance.In1453,GregoryIII,whohadleftConstantinoplein1450,intimidatedbythe
anti-Unionistprotesters,wasstillconsideredbythesupportersoftheUnionasthelegiti-
matepatriarch.Moreover,inthe1450s,thethreatofanalliancebetweenCatholicsand
Orthodoxwasnotatallhypothetical.OnlytenyearsbeforethesiegeofConstantinople,
duringthe1443crusadeledbythePolish-HungariankingWładysławIII/UlászlóI,
theOrthodoxChristiansintheBalkans,despiteallreligiousenmity,hadsupportedthe
advancingCatholicarmies.Bythetimeofthe1444PeaceofSzeged,Mehmed’sfather,
MuradII,hadbeenforcedtocedemostofhispossessionsinthewesternBalkans.
MehmedsawfittoperpetuatetheRoman-Constantinopolitanrivalryandtowinover
theOrthodoxChristiansinhisrealm.Tothisend,makingtheanti-UnionistGennadios
thenewpatriarchwasashrewdmove.Gennadios,whohadbeenheldcaptiveinthe
vicinityofAdrianople,wasbroughttoConstantinople,whereasynodordainedhim
successivelydeacon,priest,bishop,andfinallypatriarch.13
IfGennadioswaschosenaspatriarchforhisanti-Romanstance,thePatriarchate
itselfwasnotrestoredsolelyinviewofthethreatfromtheCatholicworld.Afterthede-
featoftheWesternpowersatthebattleofMohácsin1526,thePatriarchatecontinued
toexistundisturbed.Evenmorerevealingisthefactthatafter1453,notonlytheArme-
nianChurchbuteventheJewishcommunity,withwhichtheCatholicswereunlikelyto
allythemselves,weregiventhesamerightsandprivilegesastheOrthodoxChristians.14
ThemostimportantreasonwhyMehmedIIrestoredthePatriarchatewasthetra-
ditionalIslamicwayofdealingwithnon-Muslimcommunities,establishedbytheearly
ArabkhalifsintheNearEast(or,politicallymorecorrectly,WesternAsia)andNorth
Africa.15Accordingtothistradition,the“PeopleoftheBook”(ahlal-kitâb),Christians
andJews,confessorsofarevealedmonotheisticreligion,werenotforciblyconverted
toIslambutwereallowedaszimmis,beneficiariesofthezimma(fromtheArabicdhim-
mah,“covenant”),tofreelyprofesstheirfaithandlive“accordingtotheirownlaw.”
Inexchange,theyhadtopayaspecialtax,thecizye,andobserveanumberofrestric-
tions,especiallyconcerningtheirpublicvisibility.Theleadersofthethreemilletsor
non-Muslimreligiouscommunities-OrthodoxChristians,ArmenianChristians,and
Jews-oversawtherelationswiththeOttomanauthoritiesandwereresponsiblefor
13Turner,“TheCareer,”439.
14GunnarHering,“DasislamischeRechtunddieInvestiturdesGennadiosScholarios(1454),”Bal-
kanStudies2(1961),242-3.
15ClifordE.Bosworth,“TheConceptofDhimmainEarlyIslam,”inChristiansandJewsinthe
OttomanEmpire.TheFunctioningofaPluralSociety,ed.BenjaminBraude,BernardLewis,Vol.1,New
York:Holmes&Meier,1982,37-51.
