Imaret
Imaret ( Ottoman عمارت ʿİmāret , German 'building, building' ) is the name for a public kitchen, a socially significant institution in the Ottoman Empire . In Ottoman architecture , Imaret were mostly part of a socio-religious building complex ( külliye ), a group of public buildings that belonged together, each with a specialized function, which included a mosque, schools, libraries, baths, latrines, fountains or market halls. Such charitable institutions were financed and maintained permanently by means of a pious foundation ( waqf , Turkish vakıf ) of wealthy people. The ruling dynasty and members of the sultan's court were among the most important donors.
The scientific examination of the documents of the pious foundations and their kitchens (foundation deeds, registers, income and expenditure items) that have been preserved in large numbers offers detailed insights into the Ottoman social order.
history
The feeding of the poor as voluntary alms ( sadaqa ) goes back to the earliest Islamic tradition.
“And gave (every now and then) a poor person, an orphan or a prisoner something - however dear to them (and desired for their own consumption) - to eat
(with the words): 'Only for the sake of Allah (li-wadschhi llaahi) we give you something to eat. We want neither reward nor thanks from you. '"
Poor or pilgrim kitchens probably existed long before the Ottoman era. In the 11th century there is evidence of an institution in Hebron called simaṭ al-Khal Tafell (Table of Abraham) in Hebron. The foundation of the Persian vizier Raschīd ad-Dīn in 1300 served food to travelers, orphans, students and Sufis.
In the Ottoman Empire, the establishment of the Imarets developed into a politically and socially significant institution. In the course of the expansion of the empire to the west into the Balkans as well as to southern and eastern Anatolia in the 14th and 15th centuries, imarets and dervish lodges ( tekke or zaviye ) were built in almost every larger, newly occupied town. The kitchens were not only used to distribute alms, but also catered for people from diverse economic and social backgrounds on a daily basis. One of the first Imarets was built by Orhan I after the conquest of Bursa in 1326. Originally erected in a suburb, Orhans Imaret moved together with the building complexes of his successors to the center of the newly designed capital of the Ottoman Empire.
During the 16th century, Imaret was understood to be a “public kitchen” in the narrower sense ( Turkish aşhane ). Significantly influenced by the Ottoman master architect Sinan , the construction of the külliye was differentiated ; Each purpose in the building complex was assigned its own type of building. It is estimated that in the 16th century in large cities like Istanbul or Edirne up to 10% of the population was supplied with public kitchens.
The institution of the Imaret is well documented in historical sources, even if only partially researched: Foundation documents ( vakfiye ) have been preserved in large numbers in which dishes, ingredients, servants, salaries and budgets are precisely defined and which can also provide information about the goals, expectations and attitudes of the founders. Regular balance registers ( muhasebe defterleri ) provide information on the income and expenditure of the Imarets, the number of employees and lists of recipients of food or cash benefits from the funds of the foundations.
function
| Office | number |
|---|---|
| Scribe ( katib ) | 1 |
| Accountant ( Vekilharç ) | 1 |
| Cellerar ( Kilerci ) | 1 |
| Cleaner ( Ferraş ) | 2 |
| Servant ( kayyım ) | 2 |
| Supplier of the oil lamps ( Çerağdar ) | 2 |
| Alderman ( Nakib ) | 4th |
| Doorman ( Bevvab ) | 2 |
| Chef ( Aşçı ) | 6th |
| Baker ( Ekmekçi ) | 6th |
| Carrier of meat ( Et hamalı ) | 1 |
| Wheat Washer ( Buğday Yıkayıcı ) | 2 |
| Dishwasher ( Çanak Yıkayıcı ) | 2 |
| Doorman of the store ( İmaret Ahırına Bevvab ) | 2 |
| Head of the warehouse ( Anbarcı ) | 1 |
| Wooden Beam ( Odun Hamalı ) | 1 |
| Wall cleaner ( Duvar Temizlikçisi ) | 1 |
Köç (2015) describes the organization of the Imaret in the Külliye of the Fatih Mosque , founded by Mehmed II : food was served there twice a day, in the morning and in the evening. The registers that have been preserved show that rice soup was served in the morning at Fatih-Imaret and wheat soup in the evening. In addition, 350 okka meat (approx. 450 kg) was consumed daily , 15 okka (20 kg) onions, 100 dirhams (320 g) caraway seeds, 40 dirhams (130 g) pepper, half a bushel of peas, 60 kg pumpkin, 50 kg yogurt, 30 bushels of rice, 10 kg almonds, 10 kg figs, 87 kg butter and 140 okka (180 kg) honey. From this it was concluded that between 1500 and 1800 people a day dined in this Imaret alone. The guests were served according to their rank: first the professors and students of the Sahn-ı Seman (eight universities), founded by Mehmet II, were served, lastly the poor.
See also
literature
- Ahmet Köç: Free Food Distribution in Ottoman Imarets or the Social Aspects of Power of Nutrition . In Metin Ayışığı, Recep Efe, Ömer Düzbakar, Mehmet Arslan (ed.): Turkey at the beginning of the 21st century: . St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, Sofia 2015, ISBN 978-954-07-4001-0 , p. 11-30 .
- Amy Singer: Imaret . In: Christine Woodhead (Ed.): The Ottoman World . Routledge, 2012, ISBN 978-0-415-44492-7 , pp. 72-85 .
- Amy Singer: Serving up Charity: The Ottoman Public Kitchen . In: Journal of interdisciplinary history . tape XXXV: 3 , 2005, p. 481-500 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Timur Kuran: The Provision of Public Goods under Islamic Law: Origins, Impact, and Limitations of the Waqf System . In: Law and society review . tape 35 (4) , 2001, p. 841-898 , JSTOR : 3185418 .
- ↑ Amy Singer: Serving up Charity: The Ottoman Public Kitchen . In: Journal of interdisciplinary history . tape XXXV: 3 , 2005, p. 481-500 .
- ↑ Amy Singer: Soup and 'Sadaqa'; Charity in Islamic Societies . In: Historical Research . tape 79 (205) , 2006, pp. 306-324, here: p. 306 .
- ↑ Amy Singer: Constructing Ottoman Beneficence. At Imperial Soup Kitchen in Jerusalem . Ed .: State University of New York. New York 2002, p. 28 f .
- ↑ Amy Singer: Imaret . In: Christine Woodhead (Ed.): The Ottoman World . Routledge, 2012, ISBN 978-0-415-44492-7 , pp. 72–85, here: p. 73 .
- ^ Astrid Meier: For the Sake of God Alone? Food Distribution Policies, Takiyyas and Imarets in Early Ottoman Damascus . In: Nina Ergin, Christoph K. Neumann, Amy Singer (Eds.): Feeding People, Feeding Power: Imarets in the Ottoman Empire . Eren Yayınları, Istanbul 2007, p. 123 .
- ↑ Aptullah Kuran: A spatial study of three Ottoman capitals Bursa, Edirne, and Istanbul . In: Gülru Necipoğlu (ed.): Muqarnas . tape XIII . Brill, Leiden 1996, pp. 114–131 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ^ Haim Gerber: The Waqf Institution in Early Ottoman Edirne . In: Asian and African Studies . tape XVII , 1983, p. 43-44 . , quoted from Singer (2005).
- ↑ Amy Singer: Imaret . In: Christine Woodhead (Ed.): The Ottoman World . Routledge, 2012, ISBN 978-0-415-44492-7 , pp. 72–85, here: p. 75 .
- ↑ a b Ahmet Köç: Free Food Distribution in Ottoman Imarets or the Social Aspects of Power of Nutrition . In Metin Ayışığı, Recep Efe, Ömer Düzbakar, Mehmet Arslan (ed.): Turkey at the beginning of the 21st century: . St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, Sofia 2015, ISBN 978-954-07-4001-0 , p. 11-30 .