Haseki Sultan Imaret
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Hasseki Sultan Imaret was an Ottoman public soup kitchen constructed in Jerusalem to feed the poor and the needy during the reign of Sultan Suleiman I, also known as Suleiman the Magnificent. The imaret was actually part of a massiveWaqf Complex established in 1552 by Hasseki Hurrem Sultan (Roxelana), the favorite concubine and then wife of Sultan Suleiman I [1]. Allegedly, this public soup kitchen fed at least 500 people twice a day, everyday [2].
The Hasseki Sultan Waqf Complex
The Hasseki Sultan Waqf Complex was constructed at the height of Ottoman Power. In addition to the huge soup kitchen, the complex consisted of a mosque, a dwelling house with 55 rooms for pilgrams, and an inn (Khan) for travellers. After obtaining consent and authority from her husband, Hasseki Hurrem Sultan dedicated extensive revenues from various assets to fund its construction and long-term maintenance in Jerusalem. These assets include land properties in Palestine and Tripoli, and businesses such as shops, public bath houses, soap factories, and flourmills [3].
Purpose
The Hasseki Sultan Imaret served a variety of functions besides providing basic sustenance to the poor and needy. The existence of the soup kitchen not only fulfilled the religious requirement for charity, but it reinforced a particular social order as well. Moreover, the enormity of the institution helped the Ottoman Empire to project the political image of power and generosity [4].
Religious Implications
Charity is an extremely important aspect for the religion of Islam. In order to secure a place in paradise after death, one must assist those who cannot help themselves. There are two categories of charity in Qur’anic injunctions: Zakat, an obligatory alms tax for Muslims who obtained a certain level of wealth; and Sadaqa, voluntary donations that are highly recommended. One of the most popular forms of Sadaqa was waqfs, or endowments. Waqfs were founded by wealthy individuals, especially members of the imperial family, who donated their properties to permanently benefit a variety of charitable institutions. Public soup kitchens, therefore, were waqfs that provided basic nutritional sustenance for people in need [5]. In the case of the Hasseki Sultan Imaret, Hurrem Sultan strived to build a public soup kitchen in Jerusalem because of the religious significant of the city. Jerusalem, along with Hebron, Mecca and Medina, were holy cities. As a result, she wanted to ensure that all holy citie (Jerusalem, Hebron, Mecca and Medina) had an institution to feed the hungry [6].
Social Implications
Like all the other imarets throughout the Ottoman Empire, the Hasseki Sultan Imaret was a crucial tool to maintain the social order of Jerusalem. For example, the identities of the administrators, the employees and the beneficiaries of the imaret displayed the social hierarchy of the community. The administrators were often members of the local noble families, and they have considerable power to recruit their friends, relatives and free slaves to be the employees of the imaret. The beneficiaries could also be appointed by the administrators, but they were mostly the poor who must defer to those with higher social status in order to receive the sustenance they needed[7].
Furthermore, social status determined the order and amount of food distribution. During each meal, the employees were the first to receive one ladle of soup and two loaves of bread, then the guests received one ladle and one loaf, and the poor were the last to receive the least amount of food. There were even a hierarchy within the poor. For instance, the learned poor usually ate first, followed by the men, and finally the women and children. Consequently, the imaret not only reveal the social hierarchy of Jerusalem, but it was an effective method to keep people in line [8].
Political Implications
Abuse of the Imaret
Conclusion
See Also
Imaret, a general overview of Public Kitchens in the Ottoman Empire
Islam, an overview of the religion
Roxelana, for more information about Hasseki Hurren Sultan
Suleiman the Magnificent, for more information about Sultan Suleiman I
Waqf, a general overview about Islamic charitable endowment
Zakat, a general overview about Islamic alms-giving in
Notes
- ^ Peri, Oded. Waqf and Ottoman Welfare Policy, The Poor Kitchen of Hasseki Sultan in Eighteenth-Century Jerusalem, pg 169
- ^ Singer, Amy. Serving Up Charity: The Ottoman Public Kitchen, pg 486
- ^ Peri, O. pg 170-171
- ^ Singer, A. pg 483-484
- ^ Singer, A. pg 482, and pg 484
- ^ Singer, A. pg 494
- ^ Baer, G. pg 269
- ^ Singer, A. pg 486-487
Reference
Baer, G. (1997). The Waqf as a Prop for the Social System (Sixteenth-Twentieth Centuries). Islamic Law and Society, 4(3): 264-297.
Peri, O. (1989). Waqf and Ottoman Welfare Policy: The Poor Kitchen of Hasseki Sultan in Eighteenth-Century Jerusalem. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 35, 167-186.
Singer, A. (2005). Serving Up Charity: The Ottoman Public Kitchen. Journal of Interdisciplainary History, 35(3), 581-500.
External Links
Dar al-Aytam al-Islamiyya Restoration, for pictures of the Soup Kitchen in Jerusalem
Mavi Boncuk: Haseki Hurrem Sultan, for more information about Hurrem Sultan
Further Reading
Finkel, C. (2006). Osman's Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire, 1300-1923. New York: Basic Books.
Singer, A. (2002). Constructing Ottoman Beneficence: An Imperial Soup Kitchen in Jerusalem. Albany: State of New York Press.