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Was the Ottoman Empire the good guys?
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Was the genocidal empire good? Brilliant question.
bit idea: a very specialized furniture store called The Ottoman Empire
The reboot of Duck Tales has this as a running bit. They were also a HGTV style reality show where two brothers did Ottoman remodels.
https://ducktales.fandom.com/wiki/Ottoman_Empire
There was a period around the 1600s where, relative to their neighbors , they could be described as a pretty well run and meritocratic state. Social mobility generally existed for men who had valuable skills and were willing to convert to Islam. There was a pretty effective administrative state , general internal stability, and the food supply was generally secure.
Your other options in the region at that time were ;
Europe - saw about twelve million dead in the 30 years war and the wars of religion. Widespread hunger as the falling temperatures of the little ice age lowered the crop yields. Glaciers started expanding again, and the altitude at which wheat could be grown decreased by about 200 to 300 meters. Also widespread religious hysteria and witch hunts as the black plague returns to Europe.
Russia - Absolutely wrecked by climate change. The combination of the little ice age , a bad volcanic winter and foreign invasion sees 30% of the population dead in the Time of Troubles, followed by regular famines afterwards. The general collapse of the old feudal relationships sees an increase in serfdom and more exploitation of the peasants.
Persia - Having problems from the rise of the Ottomans and the disruption of the silk road trade, and with some regions only just then recovering from seeing their cities, infrastructure and population almost annihilated by the Mongols 400 years previously. Though still a pretty ok place to live at this time , all things considered.
My impression is that the early Ottoman Empire was more tolerant of ethnic and religious minorities than early modern Europe, hence why many European Jews took refuge there. The late Ottoman Empire, on the other hand, became increasingly intolerant towards its minorities as it shrunk, to the point where even many Muslims resented the empire.
Regrettably I forgot the source, but I thought that I read somewhere that it became common for (Arab) Muslims to defect from the Ottoman military.ETA: Here it is! (It is somewhat different from how I remembered it, but that is definitely the source.)
