Abstract
This study has a dual purpose: to assess the extent of modernization through education among the Jews of the Ottoman Empire, and to show the interdependence and common interests manifested by Ottoman authorities and Jewish communities in promoting modern learning. The Ottomans envisioned the modern schools they created and the French-inspired Alliance Israélite Universelle school network as the essential vehicles for reinforcing European-oriented reforms aimed at halting their decline vis-a-vis Europe. The Alliance schools depended on the Ottoman administration to grant them operational legitimacy throughout the empire within the Jewish milieu. The Ottomans, who needed the influence of the Alliance, readily obliged. They regarded the Jews as loyal forces anxious to achieve social mobility, a vital element in furthering Ottoman aspirations.