What is Slavery in the Ottoman Empire?
[[File:Slave Markt .tif|thumb|Slave market]] '''[[Slavery]] in the [[Ottoman Empire]]''' was considered an important part of the economy.<ref name=MillerSlaveryAnd>Miller, Joseph C., ed. ''Slavery and Slaving in World History: A Bibliography''. 2 vols. Armonk, NY: Sharpe, 1999.</ref> To control their ownership of slaves, the Ottomans followed the Islamic view of human bondage. They saw themselves as the protectors of the religion while [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]] were under their protection. And the [[sultan]] was seen as a successor to the prophet. In this sense and according to Hanafi Islamic law, a person can have ownership of another, which entitles the owner to the slave' labor, property and sexuality while restricting his freedoms. However, a Muslim cannot be enslaved and if a slave follows Islam, he is to be freed. These rules were introduced in the empire's laws.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hartmann|first=Noga|date=2008-07-01|title=Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.35632/ajis.v25i3.1453|journal=American Journal of Islam and Society|volume=25|issue=3|pages=119–121|doi=10.35632/ajis.v25i3.1453|issn=2690-3741}}</ref> The Slavery in the Ottoman Empire was considered an important and big part of the empire's society. It was estimated that twenty percent of the residence during the 16th century were slaves. The Ottomans tied their economy tightly to owning slaves. Since it was a large country, the vast work they needed required more workers. For this reason they needed slaves to help them with different tasks.<ref name=MillerSlaveryAnd/> ==Tasks== Slaves had different tasks. Some of them were domestic slaves who helped raise children and do household chores. Others had menial jobs. Others were sex workers. Some of the empire's officials were purchased as slaves who grew up as free citizens.<!--Then most of them bought slaves. But the sultan was the one who had the largest number of slaves whom he taught in the palace schools to learn how to serve the sultan and remain loyal to him and acquire the