The status and importance of the Enderun palace schoolin the Ottoman administrative system

When looking at the political history, it has never been easy to establish states and maintain their existence for many years. Difficult struggles were given during the establishment, a solid state organization and qualified statesmen were needed in its continuity. Finding effective leaders, qualified intendants and raising them has been the most common needs for states. Every state wants to make good evaluation of their human potential and wants to benefit from the intellectual, mental and physical power of these people for the country. For this purpose, state reveals institutions which are need of evaluation, by turning a policy. Prince education in West and Sehzade education in East are making examples for that. Besides, these educations which are personal, there is also a need to educate high level intendant who will manage to rule an extensive organization such as the state. The building of the state on powerful foundations can not happen only by raising one people, it happens when some intendants become qualified. As long as the state raises intendants who are going to serve to the state, also the intendants would administer community and would influence them as a statesmen. Representation of the state will be reached from local to central by raising intedants and will become effective whole owned land. Ottoman State made such critical workings about raising and educating the intedants like every state had made. That caused to occur a palace school called Enderun in Topkapı Palace which is the center of state administration. Because of its unique structure, conventionality and raising virtuos and also qualified intendants, Enderun is different than others. Enderun is an intendant school which includes educational instution and state agency. Enderun, that critically gain ground in history, had become a forceful school because of the care that emperor had, the support of the intendants with the opportunity that state provided and the community's belief to the instutituon. Students that educated there had gained important achievements. From this institution, high level intendants had emerged in both civilian and military fields. Thus, the state had entrusted itself to the raised intendants and had not been erased from the stage of history for many years. The Ottoman State, together with the qualified intendants educated in Enderun. State aimed to maintain its internal dynamics on the one hand and to achieve universal gains on the other hand, by Enderun. Key words: Ottoman, Enderun, education, intendant, administration