Kawwases in the Ottoman Empire (With New Documents and Images)

Abstract

The 19th century was when the Ottoman Empire fundamentally adjusted administrative, fiscal, and military issues. The abolition of the Janissaries, which went down in history as Vak‘a-i Hayriye, in 1826 is one of these fundamental adjustments. The problems concerning public order and security which were carried out by the Janissaries in the central and provincial administrations until this date, were reorganized after 1826. This study focuses on the changes made after the Vak‘a-i Hayriye regarding public order and internal security and the officers called kawwas employed in this field. First, this study focuses on the term “kawwas”. Then, kawwases were classified according to the administrative units they were hired in by examining the regulations that determined their job descriptions. In this context, it is aimed to understand how the Ottoman Empire tried to solve the problems concerning security and public order after the Vak‘a-i Hayriye. Following this purpose, it is claimed that before the establishment of modern security units such as the police, gendarmerie, or municipal police responsible for public order and security, the kawwases were employed in these areas and they formed the origin of these organizations, as for that the regulations published by the Ottoman Empire regarding kawwases.