The Alien as a Servant of Power: Court Jews and Christian Renegades

When political rulers are greedy for power, when they wish to maximize their autonomy in the face of feudal, bureaucratic and other impediments, they tend to avail themselves of the services of alien groups of men who have no roots in the country they rule. The rootless alien is an ideal servant of power who can easily be bent to the ruler's purposes because he is totally dependent and cannot accumulate autonomous power. Which particular alien groups can be used for these purposes depends on availability and historical circumstances. This paper deals with two historical cases: The Court Jews of Baroque Germany and the Christian renegades who served the Ottoman Empire at its height.