Passwords in the Ottoman military in the nineteenth century: a political and social analysis

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Özekmekçi M. M.

MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES (London), vol.1, pp.1-14, 2025 (SSCI)

• Publication Type: Article / Article
• Volume: 1
• Publication Date: 2025
• Doi Number: 10.1080/00263206.2025.2468340
• Journal Name: MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES (London)
• Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, IBZ Online, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Periodicals Index Online, Geobase, Historical Abstracts, Index Islamicus, Jewish Studies Source, Linguistic Bibliography, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, PAIS International, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, Social services abstracts, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
• Page Numbers: pp.1-14
• Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

‘Parola’ is a Turkish word of Italian origin. Throughout history, it has been used by various civilizations as a security measure that distinguishes friend from foe, primarily by military units and secret society. The use of passwords in the Ottoman army differed according to periods. In the Ottoman classical period (1300–1600), there are hints about the use of passwords in the army. In the eighteenth century, password usage in the Ottoman army was abandoned or not given enough importance. By the first half of the nineteenth century, the modern Ottoman army, like its European counterparts, began employing passwords as a security measure and password usage even became a reality of social life for a short period. The use of passwords entered the Ottoman Military Penal Code in the second half of the nineteenth century. This study focuses for the first time on password usage in the Ottoman Empire during the nineteenth century.