Entrepreneurship in the Ottoman Empire: A Study on Classical Period

Entrepreneurship in Ottoman Empire's classical period is not adequately studied from a Business Science perspective. Even in many works, it was ignored or it was the monopoly of non-Muslims. This study states that in the classical period of the Ottoman era Muslim merchants were very active in entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial environment was more flexible than many European states. Social welfare in the Ottoman Empire was seen as a dimension of justice and all economic decisions were taken for this purpose. This approach has a decisive role not only in the Ottoman entrepreneurship culture and practices but also explains the advanced business ethics and advanced social responsibility practices of the Ottomans classical period