Dumlupınar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi

Abstract

The Ahi organization and the Bâcıyân-ı Rûm organization, a branch of the Ahi organization, also have the characteristics of a civil society organization in its own period. Having an autonomous character with its political, social and economic aspects and integrating with the society, the Ahi organization appears as a local authority unit. The Bâcıyân-ı Rûm organization, as a branch of the Ahi-order, is an organized structure that stands by the Ahis. The Bâcıyân-ı Rûm organization is composed of Turkish women who adopt the value system of the Ahi-order and engage in trade in line with these values. Bâcıyân-ı Rûm is also a women’s organization where women-specific professions are taught and solidarity with orphaned and needy women is practiced. Having the role of assistance, solidarity and social service undertaker allows us to define Bâcıyân-ı Rûm as a non-governmental organization. On the other hand, Bâcıyân-ı Rûm, as an organization of military women, represents the defense and military support force with the Anatolian Ahis. Bâcıyân-ı Rûm’s organic connection with the Bektashi order also supports the view that it could be a civil society organization. In this study, the Bâcıyân-ı Rûm organization has been examined in the axis of the Ahi organization. The main claim of the study is that Bâcıyân-ı Rûm can be considered as a civil society organization in terms of its period. Due to the limited sources on the period, Bâcıyân-ı Rûm is emphasized with its feature of being a branch of the Ahi organization.