The Noble Traders: the Islamic Tradition of "Spiritual Chivalry" (futuwwa) in Bosnian Trade-guilds (16th−19th centuries)

• Published in: The Muslim world (Hartford) 2007-04, Vol.97 (2), p.159-173
• Main Author: Aščerić-Todd, Ines
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anatolian languages; Centuries; Children & youth; Croatian and Serbian; History and sciences of religions; Islam; Middle Ages; Towns
• ISSN: 0027-4909; 1478-1913
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1478-1913.2007.00168.x

:  Originally linked to the military associations of the Middle Ages, the Islamic tradition of futuwwa was with time inherited by artisanship associations. The Anatolian Akh?s of the 14th century represent an important link in the evolution of the futuwwa tradition, and it was thanks to them that this tradition survived well into the Ottoman era, this time within the framework of the more centralized, professional trade‐guilds. Together with other Ottoman institutions, administrative, military and economic, Ottoman crafts and their trade‐guilds appeared in Bosnia soon after the final fall of the country to the Ottomans in 1463. Sources which provide information on the organization and activities of Bosnian guilds also give a picture of their religious character and, related to it, the presence of futuwwa tradition within them. The most important of these sources are those that originate from the guilds themselves, the guild defters and their statutes, which are often called fütüvetnames. A number of documents of this kind found in Bosnia illustrate a strong presence of different futuwwa traditions within Bosnian guilds from their establishment well into the 19th century, while some also provide valuable information on the futuwwa tradition in Ottoman guilds in general.