Kouloughlis, also spelled Koulouglis, Cologhlis and Qulaughlis (from
Turkish ''Kuloğlu'' "Children of The Empire Servants" from ''
Kul Kul or KUL may refer to:
Airports
* KUL, current IATA code for Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia
* KUL, former IATA code for Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (Subang Airport), Malaysia
Populated places
* Kul, Iran, a village in Kurdistan ...
'' "soldier" or "servant/slave" + ''
Oğlu'' "son of"), but the translation of the word "kul" as slave is misleading since in the Ottoman context, it referred to one’s special status as being in the special service of the sultan.
[Mergen Türk, Nazlı Esim]
"The notion of hassa soldiery and kul identity in the early Ottoman state–example of the janissary corps a comparative study."
PhD diss., Bilkent University, 2022. It was a term used during the period of Ottoman influence in North Africa that usually designated the mixed offspring of Ottoman officials and
janissaries
A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...
, and local North African women.
[Algeria: A Study in Competing Ideologies](_blank)
- Kay Adamson, A&C Black
Definition
The world Kouloughli or Kuloglu referred to children of Janissaries and local women.
While other sources refer to Kouloughlis as children of any Ottoman man and a North African woman, it was only those from acemi ocagi or
devshirme
Devshirme ( ota, دوشیرمه, devşirme, collecting, usually translated as "child levy"; hy, Մանկահավաք, Mankahavak′. or "blood tax"; hbs-Latn-Cyrl, Danak u krvi, Данак у крви, mk, Данок во крв, Danok vo krv ...
that could become Kul or Kouloughli, in fact it had been a rule to not make anyone other than those who were coming from
devshirme
Devshirme ( ota, دوشیرمه, devşirme, collecting, usually translated as "child levy"; hy, Մանկահավաք, Mankahavak′. or "blood tax"; hbs-Latn-Cyrl, Danak u krvi, Данак у крви, mk, Данок во крв, Danok vo krv ...
or acemi ocagi to be the “kul” of the sultan.
[
The title of Kouloughli went from father to child. For example Ahmed Bey of Constantine was the son of a Kouloughli, and thus he himself was a Kouloughli. Because of this, many Kouloughli families independent of Native North African and Turkish ones formed.
]
Migration to North Africa
According to the Turco-Libyan historian Orhan Koloğlu, throughout the 400 years of Ottoman rule in the Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
and more generally North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
, the Ottoman administration ensured that Ottoman soldiers from the Odjak of Tripoli, formed at least 5% of the regions population in Ottoman Tripolitania
The coastal region of what is today Libya was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1551 to 1912. First, from 1551 to 1864, as the Eyalet of Tripolitania ( ota, ایالت طرابلس غرب ''Eyālet-i Trâblus Gârb'') or ''Bey and Subjects of Tri ...
. In other territories such as the Regency of Algiers
The Regency of Algiers ( ar, دولة الجزائر, translit=Dawlat al-Jaza'ir) was a state in North Africa lasting from 1516 to 1830, until it was conquered by the French. Situated between the regency of Tunis in the east, the Sultanate o ...
the number of Janissaries progressively got lower. During the 17th century for example more than 12,000 janissaries were stationed in Algiers, but by 1800 only 4,000 Janissaries were Turks, with the majority of the Janissaries being composed Kouloughlis, renegades, and some Algerians. In the Regency of Tunis, especially during the later era of the Beylik of Tunis
The Beylik of Tunis (), also known as Kingdom of Tunis ( ar, المملكة التونسية) was a largely autonomous beylik of the Ottoman Empire located in present-day Tunisia. It was ruled by the Husainid dynasty from 1705 until the abolit ...
janissaries were less used, and were replaced by more modern infantry units and Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
s. Turkish-speaking Anatolians were considered to be the ideal migrants to ensure the Turkification
Turkification, Turkization, or Turkicization ( tr, Türkleştirme) describes a shift whereby populations or places received or adopted Turkic attributes such as culture, language, history, or ethnicity. However, often this term is more narrowly ...
of the region. Furthermore, the authorities initially placed a ban on Turkish speakers from using the Arabic language
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
; this allowed the Turkish language
Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant sma ...
to remain the prestigious language of the region till the nineteenth century. Koloğlu has estimated that approximately 1 million Ottoman soldiers from Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
, and the Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
migrated to the Regency of Algiers, the Regency of Tunis, and Ottoman Tripolitania, usually departing from the port of Izmir. The majority of these troops arrived during the 16th, and 17th century, and by the 18th and 19th century their numbers were lower.
Ottoman women in North Africa
Although the term "köleoğlu" implied the term "son of", the Turkish population in North Africa was not solely made up of men. Indeed, Ottoman women also migrated to the region, although in much lower numbers than men. There also existed Kouloughlis born of North African men, and Turkish women, such as Ibn Hamza al-Maghribi
Alī ibn Walī Ibn Hamza al-Maghribi ( ar, علي بن ولي بن حمزة المغربي), also known as Ibn Hamza Al-Jaza'iri was a 16th-century Algerian mathematician. He was born between 1554-1575 in Algiers in Ottoman Algeria and died around ...
, an Algerian mathematician. Moreover, the offspring of Turkish men and North African women would have included females too. Up until the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, many upper-class women in Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
were of Turkish origins. This Turkish elite held a deep kinship for the Ottoman state, which increased further during the Italo-Turkish War
The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...
in favour of the Ottoman state.
Legacy
Religion
The majority of Turkish-speaking Ottoman Muslims adhered to the Hanafi school
The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools (maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named afte ...
of Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, in contrast to the majority of the North African subjects, who followed the Maliki school
The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary s ...
. Today the Hanafi school is still followed by the descendants of Turkish families who remain in the region.[.] Traditionally, their mosques
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, i ...
are in the Ottoman architectural style and are particularly identifiable from their Turkish-style octagonal minarets
A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گلدسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally ...
.
Language
Words and expressions from the Turkish language
Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant sma ...
, to varying degrees, are still used in most varieties of the Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
i derja
Maghrebi Arabic (, Western Arabic; as opposed to Eastern or Mashriqi Arabic) is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb region, in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Western Sahara, and Mauritania. It includes Moroccan, Alg ...
s and spoken Arabic
The varieties (or dialects or vernacular languages) of Arabic, a Semitic language within the Afroasiatic family originating in the Arabian Peninsula, are the linguistic systems that Arabic speakers speak natively. There are considerable variati ...
in North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
and the Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
. For example, in Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
an estimated 634 Turkish words are still used today in Algerian Arabic
Algerian Arabic (natively known as Dziria) is a dialect derived from the form of Arabic spoken in northern Algeria. It belongs to the Maghrebi Arabic language continuum and is partially mutually intelligible with Tunisian and Moroccan.
Like ...
. Approximately 800 to 1,500 Turkish loanwords are still used in Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, in Egyptian Arabic
Egyptian Arabic, locally known as Colloquial Egyptian ( ar, العامية المصرية, ), or simply Masri (also Masry) (), is the most widely spoken vernacular Arabic dialect in Egypt. It is part of the Afro-Asiatic language family, and o ...
, and between 200 and 500 in Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
and Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
, respectively in Libyan
Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...
and Tunisian Arabic
Tunisian Arabic, or simply Tunisian, is a set of dialects of Maghrebi Arabic spoken in Tunisia. It is known among its over 11 million speakers aeb, translit=Tounsi/Tounsiy, label=as, تونسي , "Tunisian" or "Everyday Language" to distingu ...
. Turkish loanwords have also been influential in countries which were never conquered by the Ottomans, such as in Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, in Moroccan Arabic
Moroccan Arabic ( ar, العربية المغربية الدارجة, translit=al-ʻArabīya al-Maghribīya ad-Dārija ), also known as Darija (), is the dialectal, vernacular form or forms of Arabic spoken in Morocco. It is part of the Maghrebi ...
. Furthermore, the Turks also introduced words from the Persian language
Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...
to the region, which were originally borrowed for the Ottoman Turkish language
Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...
.
The majority of Turkish loanwords in Arabic are used for private life (such as food and tools), law and government, and the military.
Food
Ottoman rule left a profound influence on the cuisine of North Africa, the Middle East, and the Balkans. Hence, even today, many dishes produced in different countries throughout these regions are derived from the same name, usually a variation of a Turkish word (such as baklava
Baklava (, or ; ota, باقلوا ) is a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey. It was one of the most popular sweet pastries of Ottoman cuisine.
The pre- Ottoman origin of the ...
and dolma
Dolma (Turkish for “stuffed”) is a family of stuffed dishes associated with Ottoman cuisine, and common in modern national cuisines of regions and countries that once were part of the Ottoman Empire. Some types of dolma are made with whol ...
).
Tools
Military
Other words
Arts and literature
The capital of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
(Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
), was the central location where specialists in art, literature, and the scientists from all over the provinces would gather to present their work. Hence, many people were influenced here and would borrow from the masterpieces they came into contact with. Consequently, the Arabic language adopted several technical terms of Turkish origin as well as artistic influences.[.]
Music
The cultural interaction between the Arabs and Turks influenced the music of the Arab provinces significantly. New maqamat in Arabic music emerged (i.e. Makam
The Turkish makam ( Turkish: ''makam'' pl. ''makamlar''; from the Arabic word ) is a system of melody types used in Turkish classical music and Turkish folk music. It provides a complex set of rules for composing and performance. Each makam speci ...
, a Turkish system of melody types), such as al-Hijazkar, Shahnaz and Naw’athar, as well as technical music terminologies.
Theatre
The Turks introduced the '' Karagöz'' puppet show, which concerns the adventures of two stock characters: Karagöz (meaning "black-eyed" in Turkish) and Hacivat (meaning "İvaz the Pilgrim"). Evening performances of the show are particularly popular during Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
in North Africa.[.]
See also
*Turkish minorities in the former Ottoman Empire The Turkish minorities/communities in the former Ottoman Empire refers to ethnic Turks, who are the descendants of Ottoman-Turkish settlers from Anatolia and Eastern Thrace, living outside of the modern borders of the Republic of Turkey and in the ...
**Turks in Algeria
The Turks in Algeria, also commonly referred to as Algerian Turks, Algerian-Turkish Algero-Turkish and Turkish-Algerians were the ethnic Turkish and renegades who emigrated to Algeria during the Ottoman period. A significant number of Turks inter ...
**Turks in Egypt
The Turks in Egypt, also referred to as Egyptian Turks, Turkish-Egyptians and Turco-Egyptians ( ar, أتراك مصر tr, ) are Egyptian citizens of partial or full Turkish ancestry, who are the descendants of settlers that arrived in the reg ...
**Turks in Libya
The Turks in Libya, also commonly referred to as Libyan Turks, Turco-Libyans, and Turkish-Libyans ( ar, أتراك ليبيا; tr, ; it, Turco-libici ) are the ethnic Turks who live in Libya. According to the last census which allowed citizens ...
**Turks in Tunisia
The Turks in Tunisia, also known as Turco-Tunisians. and Tunisian Turks, ( ar, أتراك تونس; french: Turcs de Tunisie; tr, Tunus Türkleri) are ethnic Turks who constitute one of the minority groups in Tunisia..
In 1534, with about 10, ...
*Maghrebis
Maghrebis or Maghrebians ( ar, المغاربيون) is a modern Arabic term meaning "Westerners", mainly referring to the western part of the Arab world and North Africa. Maghrebis are predominantly of Arab and Berber or mixed Arab-Berber ori ...
*Tunisian people
Tunisians ( ar, تونسيون ''Tūnisiyyūn'', aeb, توانسة ''Twensa'') are the citizens and nationals of Tunisia in North Africa, who speak Tunisian Arabic and share a common Tunisian culture and identity. In addition, a Tunisian diaspo ...
*Pied-Noir
The ''Pieds-Noirs'' (; ; ''Pied-Noir''), are the people of French people, French and other White Africans of European ancestry, European descent who were born in Algeria during the French Algeria, period of French rule from 1830 to 1962; the v ...
*Arab-Berber
Arab-Berbers ( ar, العرب والبربر ''al-ʿarab wa-l-barbar'') are a population of the Maghreb, a vast region of North Africa in the western part of the Arab world along the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Arab-Berbers are peop ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
*.
*
*.
*.
*
*.
*
*.
*.
*.
*.
*.
*.
*
*.
*.
{{authority control
People from the Ottoman Empire
Ethnic groups in Algeria
Ethnic groups in Libya
Ethnic groups in Tunisia
Turkish words and phrases
Turkish diaspora in Africa