Sentencing Jews to work on Ottoman Naval Ships and in Forced Labor at the Imperial Arsenal from the Early 16th Century to 1839
The purpose of the article is to discuss punishments of kürek, i.e., penal servitude on the galleys, and forced labor at the Imperial Arsenal (Tersâne-i Amire), imposed on Jewish men by kadis and Ottoman governors during the 16th-19th centuries in the Ottoman Empire. The kürek (lit. "oar") punishment was inflicted for serious crimes, e.g., adultery, heresy, prostitution, and coin-clipping, as well as other grave offenses for which the Shari'ah/Kanon prescribed the death penalty. At times it was also administered for lesser crimes. We learn that this punishment was administered particularly when the Ottoman navy needed more working hands, mainly after the Battle of Lepanto in October 1571 and during the campaign for the conquest of Crete in the 1660s. This punishment was meted out mainly to Jewish offenders from Istanbul and Izmir. The article discusses the execution of these punishments in light of many sources and draws conclusions in the light of extensive research literature. It devotes extensive discussion to the attitude of Jewish leaders, Jewish courts of law and individual Jews to these penalties both in theory and in practice. ; Ariel University, Israel ; leama@ariel.ac.il ; 421 ; 1 ; 442 ; ABCFM (American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Mission) Annual Report, Boston 1810-1918. ; Abarham ben Avigdor R., Zachor le-avraham, Responsa, Istanbul 1827. ; Barnai J., Izmir, hamarah shel eropa (Smyrna, the Microcosmos of Europe), Jerusalem 2014. ; Bashan E., Sheviya u-pedut bayam hatichon, 1391-1830 (Captivity and Ransom in Mediterranean Jewish Society (1391-1830), Ramat Gan 1980. ; Bashan E., Mehkerei eliezer (Eliezer's researches), Lod 2007. ; Benayahu M., Hayachasim bein yehudei Yavan ve-Italia (Relations Between Greek and Italian Jewry), Tel Aviv 1980. ; Benayahu M., 'Igeret hasofer rabbi Abraham Hassan me-salonika', Sefunot 11 (1971-1977). ; Benbeneste R.H., Keneset hagedola, Hoshen Mishpat, Izmir 1731. ; Benbeneste R.M., Penei Moshe, Responsa, 3, Istanbul 1719. ; Ben-Na'eh Y., Jews in the Realm of the Sultans, Tubingen 2008. ; Bornstein-Makovetsky L., Adultery and Punishment among Jews in the Ottoman Empire, "JLAS" 2014, no 25. ; Bornstein-Makovetsky L., Extramarital Relations among Jews in the Ottoman Empire, "Miscellanea Historico Iuridica" 2014, vol. 13, no 2. ; Bornstein-Makovetsky L., Ottoman and Jewish Authorities Facing Issues of Prostitution and Adultery: 1700-1900, "International Journal of the Jurisprudent of the Family" 2013, no 4. ; Bornstein-Makovetsky L., Protestant Missionaries to the Communities of Istanbul, Salonika and Izmir, Istanbul 2019. ; Bornstein-Makovetsky L., Blood Money and Retaliation in Criminal Law in the Ottoman Empire in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries as Found in Jewish Society, in Fleishman (Joseph), ed., "The Jewish Law Association" 2008, no 18. ; Bosworth C. E., 'Ḳi̊z', [in:] he Encyclopaedia of Islam, New edition, V, eds. C. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, B. Lewis, C. Pellat, Leiden 1986. ; Di Boton M., Responsa, Izmir, Gabai 1660. ; Brewer J., A Residence at Constantinople in the Year 1827 with Notes to the Present Time, second edition, New Haven 1830. ; Cohen A., Pikali E., Yehudim be-bet hamishpat hamuslemi ba-me'ah ha-shesh esre (Jews in the Muslim Court of Jerusalem in the 16th century: Society, Economic and Organization), Jerusalem 1993. ; Cohen A., Pikali E., Yehudim be-bet hamishpat hamuslemi ba-me'ah ha-sheva esre (Jews in the Muslim Court of Jerusalem in the 17th century: Society, Economic and Organization), Jerusalem 2010. ; Crecelius D., Recruiting Egyptian Oarsmen for Ottoman Ships in the Late Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Centuries, "Annales islamigique" 2014, vol. 48, no 2. ; De Medina R.S., Rashdam, Responsa, Lvov, Balaban 1862. ; De Toledo R.E., Mishnat rabbi eliezer, Vol 2, Izmir 1872. ; Faroqhi S., The Millers and Bakers of Istanbul (1750-1840), in Idem and Deguilhem R. (eds.), Craft and Craftsmen of the Middle East, London 2005. ; FO – National Archives, Foreign Office Archives, London 78/4; 78/109. ; Galanté A., Histoire des Juifs de Turquie, 7, Istanbul 1980. ; Goldmann I., The Life and Times of Rabbi David ibn Abi Zimra, New York 1970. ; Grunbaum P., Les Juifs d'Orient, "REJ" 1983, vol. 28. ; Grunhaus N., Ha-misuy ba-qheilah ha-yeudit be-Izmir ba-me'ot ha-sheva ve- ha- shemone esre (The Taxation of Izmir's Jewish Community in the 17th and 18th Centuries), Tel Aviv 1997. ; Hacker J.R., Jewish Autonomy in the Ottoman Empire – Its Scope and Limits: Jewish Courts from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Centuries, [in:] The Jews of the Ottoman Empire, ed. A. Levy, Princeton 1994. ; Hartley J., Researches in Greece and the Levant, London 1831. ; Hathaway J., The Chief Eunuch of the Ottoman Harem, From African Slave to Power-Broker, Cambridge 2018. ; Heyd U., Studies in Old Criminal Law, ed. V.L.Ménage, Oxford 1973. ; Heyd U., Alilot dam beturkiya bame'ot hachamesh esre ve-ha-shesh esre (Blood Libels in Turkey in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries), "Sefunot" 1961, vol. 5. ; Imber C., The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650, London 2002. ; Imber C., The Navy of Suleyman the Magnificent, "Archivum Ottomanicum" 1980, vol. 6. ; Imber C., Studies in Ottoman History and Law, Istanbul 1996. ; Israel R.M., Mas'et moshe, Responsa, 2, Istanbul 1835. ; Isaac b. David R., Diverei emet, Responsa, Istanbul 1760. ; The Jewish Expositor and the Friends of Israel, 12 (1827); 14 (1829). ; Kalderon A.E., Turkish Jews of Istanbul and Missionary Activities during the Reign of Mahmud II, "Turcica" 1991, vol. 14. ; Lewis B., 'al-Ḥaramayn', The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New edition, [in:] B. Lewis, V.L. Ménage, C. Pellat, J. Schacht, 3, Leiden 1971. ; Lewis B., The Privilege Granted by Meḥmed II to His Physician, "Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies" 1952, vol. 14, no 3. ; Marcus S., Misei haqehila u-pinkas ha-aricha be-rodos (Communal Taxation and the Municipal Ledger- Book of Rhodes), "Sefunot" 1956, vol. 1. ; Melamed R.M., Mishpat tzedek, Responsa, 2, Salonika 1795. ; The Missionary Herald at Home and Abroad, American Board of Foreign Missions (Boston: ABCFM Press, 1821-1951). ; Moda'i R.H., Tiv gitin, Responsa, Jerusalem 1875. ; Moda'i R.H., Haim le-olam, 2, Izmir 1879. ; Occident – The Jewish and American Jewish Advocate, Philadelphia, 1843-69. ; Panzac D., La Marine ottomane: de l'apogée à la chute de l'Empire, 1572-1923, Paris 2009. ; Panzac D., The Manning of the Ottoman Navy in the Heyday of Sail (1660-1850), [in:] Arming the State: Military Conscription in the Middle East and Central Asia, ed. E.J. Zürcher, 1775-1925, London 1999. ; Peirce L., Morality Tales: Law and Gender in the Ottoman Court of Aintab, Berkeley and Los Angeles 2003. ; Peters R., Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law: Theory and Practice from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-first Century, Cambridge 2005. ; Refik, A., Onunc u asr-i hicride Istanbul hayati (1495- 1591), 1, Istanbul 1933. ; Rivlin B., Rhodes, [in:] Pinkas Hakehiolt, Yavan (Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities from their Foundation till After the Holocaust, Greece), ed. B. Rivlin, Jerusalem 1998. ; Rozen, M., The Mediterranean in the Seventeenth Century: Captives, Pirates and Ransomers, Palermo 2016. ; Rycaut P., The History of the Turkish Empire from 1623-1677, second edition, London 1680. ; Sariyannis M., Prostitution in Ottoman Istanbul Late Sixteenth - Early Eighteenth Century, "Turcica" 2008, vol. 40. ; Scholem G., Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah, 1626-1676, London 1973. ; Semerdjian E., 'Off the Straight Path': Illicit Sex, Law, and Community in Ottoman Aleppo, Syracuse 2008. ; Shefer Mossensohn M., Medical Treatment in the Ottoman Navy in the Early Modern Period, "Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient" 2007, vol. 50, no 4. ; Smiley W., From Slaves to Prisoners of War, The Ottoman Empire, Russia, and International Law, Oxford 2018. ; SP (State Papers), London, 105-212. ; Tamar D., Mehkarim betoldot eretz Israel ve-artzot ha-mizrach (Studies in the History of the Jewish People in Eretz Israel and in the East Countries), Jerusalem 1982. ; Tarsa R.H.S., Haim shena'im, Responsa, Izmir 1861. ; Toraman C., Güvemli B., Bayramoglu F., Imperial shipyard (Tersane-i amire) in the Ottoman Empire in 17th Century: Management and Accounting, "Revista Española de Historia de la Contabilidad" 2010, no 13. ; Tuğ A., Politics of Honor in Ottoman Anatolia: Sexual Violence and Socio-Legal Surveillance in the Eighteenth Century, Leiden 2017. ; Werblowsky R.J.Z., Lehman M.R., Galut Sefarad be-izmir: ke-chamishim shana acharei me'ora'ot Shabetai Sevi, [in:] Exile and Diaspora, Studies in the History of the Jewish People Presented to Haim Beinart on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday, eds. A. Mirsky et al, Jerusalem 1988. ; Yildirim O., The Battle of Lepanto and Its Impact on Ottoman History and Historiography, "Mediterraneo in armi" 2007, secc. XV-XVIII, vol. 2. ; Zarinebaf F., Crime and Punishment in Istanbul: 1700–1800, Berkeley and Los Angeles 2010. ; 19