Political Modernity 59in the Ottoman court and was the chief mufti of the empire, the two follow-
ing ranks were those of the two kadi asker, ‘military’ judges (asker designated the
offi cial as well as the military class) of Rumelia and Anatolia. Under them was
a whole hierarchy of judges, appointed to each major city and province in the
empire. Each titular qadi presided over a hierarchy of deputies and subordi-
nates, carrying out functions of litigation, guardianship over public order and
morality, and, crucially, notary functions of sanctioning contracts and transac-
tions, guardianship over awqaf, guardianship over minors’ property, all lucrative
functions, generating fees, commissions, and opportunities for gain, as well as
employment and patronage. The titular qadi, like provincial governors, was
appointed for a limited period of time from the Porte and was usually foreign to
the city/province. He worked through local judicial offi cials, who acted as his
deputies. For that qadi the position was primarily one of generating revenue for
the limited period of appointment. These institutions, then, constituted another
avenue of power, wealth and infl uence, and as such were crucial to political
functions.^3
Sufi lodges
Every Ottoman city, indeed every Muslim city, contains the shrines of saints, as
centres of organisation of Sufi lodges, of pilgrimage and of charity. They are typ-
ically presided over by a descendant of the founder of the order, the very saint
whose shrine is at the centre. They vary greatly in size, wealth and infl uence,
but in most cases constitute important players in the urban/regional economies
and politics. Typically, they are the benefi ciaries of endowments, some resulting
from the patronage of the mighty: Ottoman sultans and their viziers, Mamluk
commanders and other potentates were particularly prone to the appeal and
the services of the saints and their mystical followers.^4 The shaykhs of the more
popular and plebeian orders had their own role in urban economy and politics,
being in control over particular trade guilds and associated urban quarters.
Some played their part in the political and factional mobilisation of the popu-
lace at times of trouble.^5 The shaykhs of the major Sufi orders (tariqa, pl. turuq)
sometimes held other religious functions as judges and muftis. The relations
between Sufi sm and the ‘orthodox’ religious institutions varied with time and
context, and, while antagonistic and disputatious in certain instances, were, for
the most part, symbiotic and amicable.
The ashraf
The descendants of the Prophet were known as ashraf; this was an institution-
alised religious rank with economic and political privileges. In most cities and
regions, the ashraf constituted corporate groups, sometimes armed, with tax
privileges and access to offi ce. Many of the mashayikh of the major Sufi orders
claimed sharif status. The doyen of the Gaylani family in Baghdad, for instance,