Transcending Boundaries: Rethinking Slave Agency in the Ottoman Empire Through Religious Conversion Practices

Abstract

This article explores the religious conversion of slaves in the Ottoman Empire and the Crimea as a profound and transforming event in the lives of slaves. We will analyze the conditions, reasons, and consequences of conversion by studying court records from different cities from the 16th to 18th centuries. It will also explore the relation between religious conversion and the agency of the slaves. The primary research inquiries that this working paper seeks to address are as follows: What impact did religious conversion have on the agency of the slaves? What was the impact of conversion on their lives (as well as the lives of their slave owners) during and after being enslaved? Do the circumstances and effects of conversion differ between male and female slaves? This study aims to elucidate these inquiries in an endeavor to offer a new perspective on the relation between enslavement and conversion.