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According to the reading by Busbecq (attached), what key aspect of the Ottoman social order made the Ottoman empire stronger than European states? Was it simply military power, or did other social factors play a role in distinguishing the Ottomans from Europeans?
![SourcesfromthePast
Ghislain de Busbecq's Concerns about the Ottoman Empire
Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq was a diplomat who traveled to
Istanbul in 1555 as a representative of Habsburg King
Ferdinand of Hungary and Bohemia to negotiate a border
dispute between Ferdinand and Sultan Suleyman the
Magnificent. In a series of four letters to a friend, Ghislain
commented on Ottoman state, society, customs, and military
forces. His observations left him deeply concerned about
the prospects of Christian Europe in the event of conflict
with the Ottoman realm.
be handed down from father to son, but that they are partly the
gift of God, and partly the result of good training, great industry,
and unwearied zeal; arguing that high qualities do not descend
from a father to his son or heir, any more than a talent for music,
mathematics or the like...; Among the Turks, therefore, hon-
ors, high posts, and judgeships are the rewards of great ability
and good service. If a man is dishonest, or lazy, or careless, he
remains at the bottom of the ladder, and object of contempt; for
such qualities there are no honors in Turkey!
This is the reason that they are successful in their under-
takings, that they lord it over others, and are daily extending the
bounds of their empire. These are not our ideals, with us there
is no opening left for merit; birth is the standard for everything;
the prestige of birth is the sole key to advancement in public
The Sultan [Suleyman “the Lawgiver"] was seated on a very low
ottoman, not more than a foot from the ground, which was cov-
ered with a quantity of costly rugs and cushions of exquisite
workmanship; near him lay his bow and arrows ..; The Sultan
then listened to what I had to say; but the language I used was not
at all to his taste, for the demands of his Majesty breathed a spirit
of independence and dignity, which was by no means acceptable
to one who deemed that his wish was law; and so he made no
answer beyond saying in an impatient way, "Giusel, giusel," that
is, "well, well." After this we were dismissed to our quarters.
The Sultan's hall was crowded with people, among whom
were several officers of high rank. Besides these, there were all
the troopers of the Imperial guard, and a large force of Janissar-
ies [the elite infantry corps], but there was not in all that great
assembly a single man who owed his position to anything save
his valor and his merit. No distinction is attached to birth among
the Turks; the respect to be paid to a man is measured by the
position he holds in the public service. There is no fighting for
precedence; a man's place is marked out by the duties he dis-
charge...; It is by merit that men rise in the service, a system
service.
It makes me shudder to think of what the result of a struggle
between such different systems must be; one of us must prevail
and the other be destroyed, at any rate we cannot both exist in
safety. On their side is the vast wealth of their empire, unimpaired
resources, experience and practice in arms, a veteran soldiery,
an uninterrupted series of victories, readiness to endure hard-
ships, union, order, discipline, thrift, and watchfulness. On ours
are found an empty exchequer, luxurious habits, exhausted re-
sources, broken spirits, a raw and insubordinate soldiery, and
greedy generals; there is no regard for discipline, license runs
riot, the men indulge in drunkenness and debauchery, and worst
of all, the enemy are accustomed to victory, we, to defeat. Can
we doubt what the result must be?
For Further Reflection
which ensures that posts should only be assigned to the com-
petent. Each man in Turkey carries in his own hand his ancestry
and his position in life, which he may make or mar as he will.
I What key aspect of the Ottoman social order, according
to de Busbecq, made the Ottoman empire stronger than
European states? Was it simply military power, or did other
social factors play a role in distinguishing the Ottomans
from Europeans?
Those who receive the highest offices from the Sultan are for
the most part the sons of shepherds or herdsmen, and so far
from being ashamed of their parentage, they actually glory in it,
and consider it a matter of boasting that they owe nothing to
the accident of birth; for they do not believe that high qualities
are either natural or hereditary, nor do they thing that they can
Source: Foster, C. T. and F. H. Blackburne Daniell. "Suleyman 'the
Lawgiver." in The Life and Letters of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq.
vol. 1. London: Hakluyt Society, 1881. pg. 152-156.](https://content.bartleby.com/qna-images/question/1fc987c5-12ca-4c73-8eae-20e3fa2ce563/0a17c07b-3715-43a4-ab43-41acb5ffebc9/rgdra5_processed.png)
Transcribed Image Text:SourcesfromthePast
Ghislain de Busbecq's Concerns about the Ottoman Empire
Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq was a diplomat who traveled to
Istanbul in 1555 as a representative of Habsburg King
Ferdinand of Hungary and Bohemia to negotiate a border
dispute between Ferdinand and Sultan Suleyman the
Magnificent. In a series of four letters to a friend, Ghislain
commented on Ottoman state, society, customs, and military
forces. His observations left him deeply concerned about
the prospects of Christian Europe in the event of conflict
with the Ottoman realm.
be handed down from father to son, but that they are partly the
gift of God, and partly the result of good training, great industry,
and unwearied zeal; arguing that high qualities do not descend
from a father to his son or heir, any more than a talent for music,
mathematics or the like...; Among the Turks, therefore, hon-
ors, high posts, and judgeships are the rewards of great ability
and good service. If a man is dishonest, or lazy, or careless, he
remains at the bottom of the ladder, and object of contempt; for
such qualities there are no honors in Turkey!
This is the reason that they are successful in their under-
takings, that they lord it over others, and are daily extending the
bounds of their empire. These are not our ideals, with us there
is no opening left for merit; birth is the standard for everything;
the prestige of birth is the sole key to advancement in public
The Sultan [Suleyman “the Lawgiver"] was seated on a very low
ottoman, not more than a foot from the ground, which was cov-
ered with a quantity of costly rugs and cushions of exquisite
workmanship; near him lay his bow and arrows ..; The Sultan
then listened to what I had to say; but the language I used was not
at all to his taste, for the demands of his Majesty breathed a spirit
of independence and dignity, which was by no means acceptable
to one who deemed that his wish was law; and so he made no
answer beyond saying in an impatient way, "Giusel, giusel," that
is, "well, well." After this we were dismissed to our quarters.
The Sultan's hall was crowded with people, among whom
were several officers of high rank. Besides these, there were all
the troopers of the Imperial guard, and a large force of Janissar-
ies [the elite infantry corps], but there was not in all that great
assembly a single man who owed his position to anything save
his valor and his merit. No distinction is attached to birth among
the Turks; the respect to be paid to a man is measured by the
position he holds in the public service. There is no fighting for
precedence; a man's place is marked out by the duties he dis-
charge...; It is by merit that men rise in the service, a system
service.
It makes me shudder to think of what the result of a struggle
between such different systems must be; one of us must prevail
and the other be destroyed, at any rate we cannot both exist in
safety. On their side is the vast wealth of their empire, unimpaired
resources, experience and practice in arms, a veteran soldiery,
an uninterrupted series of victories, readiness to endure hard-
ships, union, order, discipline, thrift, and watchfulness. On ours
are found an empty exchequer, luxurious habits, exhausted re-
sources, broken spirits, a raw and insubordinate soldiery, and
greedy generals; there is no regard for discipline, license runs
riot, the men indulge in drunkenness and debauchery, and worst
of all, the enemy are accustomed to victory, we, to defeat. Can
we doubt what the result must be?
For Further Reflection
which ensures that posts should only be assigned to the com-
petent. Each man in Turkey carries in his own hand his ancestry
and his position in life, which he may make or mar as he will.
I What key aspect of the Ottoman social order, according
to de Busbecq, made the Ottoman empire stronger than
European states? Was it simply military power, or did other
social factors play a role in distinguishing the Ottomans
from Europeans?
Those who receive the highest offices from the Sultan are for
the most part the sons of shepherds or herdsmen, and so far
from being ashamed of their parentage, they actually glory in it,
and consider it a matter of boasting that they owe nothing to
the accident of birth; for they do not believe that high qualities
are either natural or hereditary, nor do they thing that they can
Source: Foster, C. T. and F. H. Blackburne Daniell. "Suleyman 'the
Lawgiver." in The Life and Letters of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq.
vol. 1. London: Hakluyt Society, 1881. pg. 152-156.
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