The migrations to ottoman and Commission of the Refuguees-i-Islamia

As a result of the wars after the expansion period, the Ottoman Empire began to lose some of its territories, which led to the reverse migration of Muslim Turks who lived there. As the Ottoman Empire withdrew from the Crimean, the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Mediterranean-Aegean islands, Muslim communities living in these regions migrated to the Ottoman-dominated lands. Mass migration which began with the capture of the Crimea by Russia in 1783, continued increasingly until the 19th century and lasted until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire without interruption. The settlements of migrants who took refuge in the Ottoman Empire were organized by the state and thus immigrant settlement agencies were set up for this purpose at various times when intensive immigration activities took place. One of these institutions was Refugees-i-Islamia Commission. This commission, chaired by the Ottoman Sultan, continued its activities until its abolition in 1908. This study examines the migrations to the Ottoman territories and the activities of the Refugees-i-Islamia Commission regarding refugees and their settlement.