Ottoman Algiers in the 18th Century

Localization and Ottomanization - or "Turkish" Ideology

الملخص

In a recent article. Professor Ehud Toledano proposed a thesis aiming at the explanation of the broad framework in which 18th century Ottoman history should be examined, especially the relationship between the imperial Ottoman center and the Arabic-speaking provinces. Toledano points to a dual process of localization of the Ottoman elites and of ottomanization of local elites, leading to the creation of Ottoman-local elites. This proposition seems logical and converges with the historical trends in most Arabic-speaking regions of the Empire. The Algerian province, however, stands to a large extent as a different case, not conforming with Toledano's explanation. The article aims at highlighing the difference of the vilayet and suggests that it had to do with the Algerian Ottoman elite's ideology that prevented the integration of the local elite into the former. The article traces the formation of that ideology, and points at the various fields of its articulation: recruitment to the Algerian ocak, marriage among Janissaries and local women, the elite's attitude towards the offspring of such marriages and the impact of the ideology on the settlement of the elite's members in the city of Algiers.