Ottoman Approach to Shi and Sunni State Officers of Syria in the Examples of Fakhreddin Maanoğlu and Ali Canpolad between 1570s and 1630s
Ottoman Approach to Shi and Sunni State Officers of Syria in the Examples of Fakhreddin Maanoğlu and Ali Canpolad between 1570s and 1630s

Summary/Abstract: Some scholars argue that Ottoman Sunni orthodoxy began to take shape following the Ottoman conquest of Syria and Egypt in 1516–1517. According to this view, the conquest of these core Islamic lands replaced early Ottoman perspectives on heterodox Islam with a more orthodox understanding, as the influence of these regions spread to Ottoman peripheries. However, many contemporary academics challenge this traditional narrative, suggesting that the role of Arab ulema in shaping Ottoman Sunnism was minimal or negligible. Others attribute the Ottoman emphasis on Sunni Islam to the establishment of the Safavid Empire in the sixteenth century, positioning Sunni orthodoxy as a deliberate response to Shi’i Iran. Despite differing opinions on its origins, scholars largely agree that the Ottoman Empire increasingly enforced Sunni orthodoxy, particularly from the latter half of the sixteenth century onward. Political, administrative, and localized studies offer promising avenues for examining how this process unfolded. Within this framework, Ottoman Syria—located at the heart of Sunni-Shi’i polarization—serves as an ideal setting for field studies during the period in question. This paper is among the first to focus exclusively on Fakhreddin Maanoğlu and Ali Canpolad—two prominent Ottoman provincial governors from differing sectarian backgrounds, one Shi’i and one Sunni. It seeks to examine the extent to which the "sunnitization" of the Ottoman Empire influenced administrative decision-making in the region between the 1570s and 1630s. Through a comparative analysis of these two contemporaneous figures, this study aims to evaluate the impact of sectarian polarization on Ottoman governance in Syria, addressing a research gap that has either been overlooked or insufficiently explored. Additionally, the paper briefly considers how the Ottoman Empire's principal adversaries interpreted sectarian and identity politics during this period. This exploration serves as a preliminary step toward future studies on the broader implications of sectarianism in the region.

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