Finance in the Ottoman Empire, 1453–1854

For most of its six-century existence, the Ottoman Empire is best characterized as a bureaucratic, agrarian empire. The economic institutions and policies of this entity were shaped to a large degree by the priorities and interests of a central bureaucracy. This central bureaucracy managed successfully to face a series of external and internal challenges through pragmatism and a habit of negotiation. This chapter examines the long-term changes in the Ottoman institutions of private and public finance from such a perspective of pragmatism, flexibility, and adaptiveness.