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Although influenced by various cultures, the Ottoman State was quite definitely located within the sphere of Islamic civilization. The Islamic heritage, which made itself felt very largely in administrative, political and cultural life, was also manifested in the Ottoman social fabric. Undoubtedly, the most remarkable examples of this heritage consisted in the sayyids and sharifs, for in Ottoman society, the fraternity formed by the sayyids and sharifs occupied a very special place in the Islamic social tradition. In seeking an answer to the question of how people came to be sayyids and sharifs in the Ottoman State, we shall also discuss the limits of the status of sayyid and muteseyyid (the false claimants to descent from the Prophet).
I
In examining any social group it is first of all necessary to consider the terms and concepts by "which it is defined. This is particularly significant in cases like that of the sayyids and sharifs, where these concepts are used in a particular way. The sayyids and shanfs formed a special group based on a nobility of blood accepted by Islamic tradition. As is well known, the terms sayyid and sharif are used in a broad sense in the Islamic world to refer to the members of the Prophet's family and, in a narrower sense, to refer to that of Hasan and Husayn.1 The essential criterion for the right to the title of sayyid or sharif was membership of Muhammad's family tree, i.e., the Ahl al-Bayt. The verse in the Qur'an "Ey, Ahl al-Bayt, God wishes you only to free yourselves from sin and make yourselves clean." (Ahzab/33) is used to indicate the importance of the Ahl al-Bayt in the Islamic community, but the question of who exactly is comprised within the term Ahl al-Bayt is a very important topic that has given rise to discussion throughout the whole of history.2
Undoubtedly, the members of the Ahl al-Bayt regarded as the most noble by birth are the descendants of Hasan and Husayn, but it should not be forgotten that this does not mean that there are no exceptions to this general rule. For example, although members of the family of Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya may not be so illustrious, they are also referred to as "sayyid" because...