ABSTRACT
The privileges granted by the early Ottoman sultans to the Greek Orthodox monasteries are reported by official documents and by legends; the latter, however, include segments of truth. The sixteenth-century Ottoman historian Munedjdjimbashi narrates that the monks of the Prodromos monastery, near Serres, visited the court of Sultan Orfcfran (1326-62) in order to obtain his protection by getting a firman from him. It is possible that the mention of Orfc/zan is not accurate but it is certain that the monastery was granted privileges by his son and successor Murad I (1362-89). An Athonite tradition reports that Sultan Or/c/zan graciously offered his protection to the Holy Mountain.1
