ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the status of ethnic and religious communities during the period of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire did not have a single, uniform, organizational structure applied in all imperial territories. Rather, the Empire's organizational structure, which was in most cases determined at the time of annexation to the Empire, varied from area to area, according to their habitual, customary, social and economic circumstances. The mainstream view is that the Empire's classical diversity management system failed chiefly because of the influence of nationalist ideas among non-Muslim and non-Turkish groups, aided by the economic and political interventions of some western powers. Studies of Ottoman pluralism which depend on the Muslim/non-Muslim distinction can also be critiqued because of their implicit portrayal of the Muslim population as a single entity, having the same legal status, being subject to same legal system and laws, and without significant internal differences.
