Islam in the Ottoman Empire

[clarification needed] Additionally, Sunni clerics had tremendous influence over government and their authority was central to the regulation of the economy.

Additionally, there was a supreme clerical position called the Sheykhulislam ("Sheykh of Islam" in Arabic).

[citation needed] Before the Tanzimat, the ruling institution, also known as the Muslim millet, was known as the Bab-ı Meşihat, the office of the Sheykhulislam.

Other names used were the Bâb-ı Fetvâ, Meşîhat Dairesi or the Şeyhülislâm Kapısı (Gate of the Sheykhulislam).

[5] The Qizilbash of Anatolia found themselves on the "wrong" side of the Ottoman-Safavid border after 1555 Peace of Amasya.