ABSTRACT
The Ottomans did not storm into their newly conquered territories, whether formerly Byzantine, formerly Mamluk, formerly Safavid, or formerly Habsburg, and force the conquered population who were not already Sunni Muslim to choose between conversion and death. Only a few conquering Muslim armies in history have ever taken such action. The Ottoman's promotion of Hanafism did not mean, however, that they tried to win 'converts' to Hanafism; Sunni Muslims adhering to other rites continued to follow those rites, although it was acceptable to turn to a different rite for specific purposes, such as obtaining a more favourable ruling in an inheritance. In the Safavid territories which they occupied in Iraq and north-western Iran, the Ottomans encountered a sizeable Shiite population. The population of the Ottoman Empire was divided into two large and rather nebulous categories for taxation purposes: askeri and reaya.
