The Eighteenth Century: the Traditionalists 373
finds his optimism corroborated by the quick progress the Ottomans made in
fine arts, bringing examples from illustration of books and the fabrication of
furniture. He proposes the appointment of one defterdar for every province,
with the premise that he not be dismissed before three years have passed;
these officials will see to it that local products (yerli mali), especially textiles,
be used instead of ones imported from Europe or India. Officials up to the sul-
tan himself should give the example to the population in this respect (Ç61–64).
Behic gives a detailed list of goods that could be produced in the Ottoman
lands, initially with the help of European technicians; he suggests that textile
factories should be created in a number of towns,83 while factories for goods
such as watches, glassware, and jewelry should be created in Istanbul. Special
manufacturers could be used to produce official uniforms for government
clerks and ulema. These goods should bear the state seal and be sold at fixed
prices; moreover, workers should be well paid, efficient ones should be given
a rise, and those who discover new techniques should even have their own
seal on their products. Behic predicts strong reactions by foreign merchants;
he suggests that a special office (nezaret) be created and that new and spe-
cific regulations for trade and the guilds be introduced, always according to the
needs of the times (Ç68–76).
Behic Efendi’s and Ömer Faik’s views on the state show a vision of central-
ized, absolutist power, with a highly rationalized state, with links to the sultan
but distinct from society. Ömer Faik suggests that courtiers should not let the
sultan be isolated, but instead unite “like one body” to assist him. Moreover,
it should be forbidden for them (as well as to other officials, such as judges,
scribes, and teachers) to meddle with the common people in coffeehouses
and barber-shops, in order to avoid the spread of rumors. In turn, Behic claims
that a major problem in the functioning of the government is the fact that the
top offices of the financial and administrative bureaucracy are overburdened
with work and overcrowded with visitors; he proposes a high committee of
ten select people who would constitute the “heart of the state” (kalb-ı devlet).
They would discuss all matters of government and, after agreeing upon some
measures to be taken, they would present them to the grand vizier (Ç19). His
proposals on provincial administration (Ç22) are of a similar nature: he sug-
gests the appointment of two “general governors”, one for Anatolia (based in
Kütahya) and one for the Balkans (based in Manastir), who would act accord-
ing to special regulations (talimâtnâme) and be aided by a small committee
and a retinue trained in the new camps of the Nizam-i Cedid (the reader may
83 He suggests Bursa, Amasya, Ankara, and Köprü in Anatolia and Edirne, Filibe, Manastir,
and the Danubian coasts in the Balkans.