Orthodox Christian Physicians and Scholars in the Ottoman Court

Abstract

Orthodox Christians were the second biggest group in the multireligious and multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire. It is plausible to suggest that Ottomans, who were in need of well-trained professionals in the early stage of founding their state and building and developing their own institutions, had recourse to Greek physicians and scholars. One of the sons of this family, Istefanaki Efendi, who studied medicine and distinguished himself as a physician, joined at a certain period the Ottoman court in 1827. The first phase – the classic period when both Muslim and Greek Orthodox Ottoman scholars share the same classic traditions of Islamic science and classic ancient Greek legacy; the second phase – when early contacts start with the rising modern science; and the third phase – with the prevalence of modern science and the integration of Greek citizens in Ottoman life after the proclamation of Tanzimat.