Religious minorities in Jerusalem and their role in the balance of conflict between the Ottoman Empire and European states: A Study through Ottoman Archival Documents (1517-1916)

Abstract

This study deals with the issue of religious minorities in Jerusalem and its role in the balance of conflict between the Ottomans and Europeans from 1516 to 1916. This study was analysed through two main topics: First, the historical and political circumstances in which Jerusalem was ruled by the Ottomans, and the most important religious minorities in Jerusalem and the position of the Ottoman state towards them. Secondly, the activities and pursuits that these religious minorities and missionary schools practiced in cooperation with foreign countries and their consulates in Jerusalem. Besides the role they played in the conflict between the Ottomans and the European powers from the beginning of the eighteenth century. In our analysis, we relied on the Ottoman archival documents in the Presidential Archives in Istanbul.