A Patriarchate in the Ottoman Province: Yakubî Syriac Patriarchate

Abstract

The geography where the Yakubî Syriacs lived came under the Ottoman domination through the Eastern expedition of Yavuz Sultan Selim in the 16th century. In this period, the Yakubî Syriacs lived around the patriarchal organization, which was centralbased in Mardin, as a closed community that which was not very active in contrast to its their historical roles. Yakubi Syriac’s Joining of the geography becoming a part of the Ottoman Empire, where Syriacs lived, to the Ottoman borders also meanst that the Yakubi Syriac Patriarchate was included in the Ottoman system. The statues of the Yakubi Syriacs, which who preserved their traditional structures under the Ottoman rule as a provincial patriarchate away from the center, changed in the late 18th century. The Yakubi Syriacs, who had beenwere subordinated to the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinoplethe Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul in 1782, attempted to rid themselves of this subordination throughout the 19th century. This study, by focusing Based on these attempts, this study examines how the Yakubî Syriac Patriarchate is was organized under the Ottoman administration, how it is recognized/defined by the State and the Ottoman bureaucratic functioning. The main sources of this study e work are Ottoman archives and Syriac church records.

Özet

Yakubî Süryanilerin yaşadıkları coğrafya 16. yüzyılda Yavuz Sultan Selim’in Doğu seferiyle Osmanlı hâkimiyetine girdi. Bu dönemde Yakubî Süryaniler, merkezi Mardin olan patriklik teşkilatı çevresinde tarihteki rollerinin aksine çok da etkin olmayan kapalı bir cemaat olarak yaşıyorlardı. Süryanilerin yaşadığı coğrafyanın Osmanlı sınırlarına katılması aynı zamanda Yakubî Süryani Patrikliği’nin Osmanlı sistemine dâhil olması anlamına geliyordu. Osmanlı hâkimiyetinde geleneksel yapılarını merkezden uzakta bir taşra patrikliği olarak muhafaza eden Yakubi Süryanilerin statüleri 18. yüzyılın sonlarında değişti. 1782’de İstanbul Ermeni Patrikliğine bağlanan, Yakubî Süryaniler 19. yüzyılda bu bağımlılıktan kurtulma çabasına giriştiler.