The crisis of feudalism in the 16th century and Ottoman State

In the thesis, it is argued that Ottoman was feudal and experienced the phenomenon of the crisis of feudalism discussed in the literature on the crisis of feudalism in Europe. The original aspect of the thesis is to raise the issue of the crisis of feudalism in the Ottoman state, as an example of the fact that the crisis of feudalism is a historical phenomenon that emerged in different places and time periods, apart from the feudal societies in Europe. The crisis of feudalism is evaluated by looking at the following parameters: The decrease in the land/labor ratio with the increase in population, the expansion towards new and relatively unproductive lands, the fragmentation of the lands and the weakening of the materials necessary for production. Reason for this is the class structure of society, as expressed by the model of social property relations. In the context of social property relations, class structure, as an expression of the dynamic and transforming structure of struggles of social classes, is a historical indicator. As a matter of fact, during the crisis of feudalism in the sixteenth century, Ottoman class structure changed. It is argued that in the trio of the peasant-timar owner-state in the Ottoman, a period in which the timar owner was replaced by Kapıkulu and the weight of Kapıkulu in the administration of the state began. It is stated that the position of the peasant towards subsistence production is continuous.