The culture of complaint in the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century: The case of Thessaloniki (1749-1750)

This study aims to analyse the 18th century Ottoman culture of complaint over the case of Thessaloniki. Rumelian Record Book of Provisions No. 7 (1749-1751) and the documents from the Office of Complaint were examined. Both the themes of complaints and the applications of Ottoman bureaucracy against the complaints were analysed. A sporadic comparison was made between the 17th and 18th centuries so as to understand the possible changes and developments. The Ottoman State vested its subjects with the right to complain, which engendered a bureaucratic mechanism to handle this right and an active culture of complaint at the social level. The reference point of this culture is that the Ottoman State was a "state of law" and the Ottoman society developed a way of behaviour in accordance with this characteristics of the state. From this point of view, the study firstly elaborates the origins, conceptual aspects, scope and elements of the culture of complaint. The mentioned culture comprises both material and non-material elements. Raison d'état, law, tradition, language and literature are part of the non-material elements, while the authorities, bureaucracy, record books and documents are the material elements. The study examined these record books and documents in terms of causators, channels of communication, ways of solution, procedure of Divan and processes of verdict. Mostly subjects versus subjects, Muslims versus Muslims, and men versus men sued each other. The verdicts of Divan mainly called for in situ trials. The culture of complaint was actively exerted as a behavioural pattern in Ottoman Thessaloniki. The complaints coming from Thessaloniki to Divan-ı Hümayun were lastly examined in terms of their themes and contents. Accordingly, they were mainly related to the administration of sources of income like the right of disposition, tax and oppression. Charitable foundation, inheritance, delictum, larceny and property were also among the themes of complaint. Keywords: Ottoman State, Rumelia, Thessaloniki, Culture of Complaint