From the Genoese to the Perots: the Genoese Community in Pera after 1453 Genoese presence in Pera had a long history. In return for the support the Genoese gave to the Byzantines against the Venetians, the Byzantine emperor gave Pera to this community and through time the Genoese established a semi-autonomous rule there. Although the conquest of Constantinople changed the status of the Genoese community, some of the families continued to stay in Pera. In 1453 immediately after his conquest of Constantinople, Mehmed II granted an ahidname to the Genoese community in Pera. In this imperial decree, he granted the district some legal privileges, exempt its Genoese inhabitants from all extraordinary taxes and forced conversion, and concede them the freedom to trade and travel in Ottoman domains. In return the Genoese would have to give up their weapons, quiet their church bells and permanent inhabitants were supposed to pay a head-tax. Through such an agreement the Genoese were allowed to live under the Ottoman rule with some security and according to their own laws and religious practices. By analyzing the Genoese notarial documents and Ottoman registers, this paper discusses the status of Genoese community and the way it defined its identity under the Ottoman rule. It is important to examine how the Genoese community handled co-existing with a society of differing faith, language and culture. Moreover, the analysis of the process of accommodation and adaptation of the Genoese community to the Ottoman society and ideology gives an idea about the position of a non-Muslim community and its definition of identity under an imperial Islamic rule.