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Registers on fran and Adharbiyjin in theOttornan Defter_i Klidqdnt

ScHooL oF oRIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIESUNtvERstTy oF LoNDoN, W.C.l

MUSEUM 2023-4

Mdlanges Massd

Extrait

Tdhdran 1963

Registers on lran and Adharb6yj6n in the

Ottornan Defter-i Kltdqdnt

B. Lewis

I he Defter-i Khdqdnt or tapu registers comprise the great surveys

I of population and revenue of the provinces of the OttomanEmpire, cornpiled from the r5th century onwards, and preserved inIstanbul and Ankara. Formerly in the care of a separate department ofthe government, the registers were housed in the DefterkhAne) near

the SultAn Ahmed mosque in Istanbul. The greater part of them were

transferred to the state archives, the Bashuekdlet Arshiui, in Istanbul,

which now reports thepossessionof rr55 volumes. Another collection,

of about z5o volumes, is to be found in the General Survey Directorate

(Tapu ue Kadastro Umum Miidiirliighii) ilt Ankara. Odd volumes have

also come to light in various places in forrner Ottoman provinces,

and it may be hoped that further search will reveal others(r).

I. For descriptions of this material see O.L. Barkan, ((Les grands recensements

de la population et duterritoire del'empire ottoman,r, in Reuue de la facuttd dzs

sciences dconomiques de l'Uniaersite d'Istanbtil, II, rg4o, zt-g4, 168-79; idem, (.Essai surles donn6es statistiques des registres de recensement dans i'empire ottoman auxXVe et XVI" sidcles,r, in Journal oif the economit and social history of the orient,

I, 1957, 9-36; Midhat Sertoghlu, Muhteaa baktmtndan Bashaekdlet Arshiai, AnkarargSS, Zg-44; B. Lewis, ((The Ottoman archives as a source. for the history of theArab lands,,, in Journal of the RoyI Asiaticsociet2, rg5r, r39-r55; L. Fekete, Die

sidq.m:schrlftinderti)rhischen Finanzuerualtung,Budapest r.955. Brief accounts will belound in the articles .(BashvekAletArshivir, (byB. Lewis) and .(Daftar-i KhAqAni,(byO.L, Barkan) in the new.Encyclopaedia of Islam. A complete register for Georgia

was edited byS.Jikia, Gurjisnnisuilaiethis didi daothari, Tiflis r94r. The eariiest x

,F/'

On several occasions parts of Iran and AdharbAyjAn were

incorporated in the Ottoman Empire, and surveys were conducted to

meet the needs of the Ottoma4 provincial and frscal administration.

The following registers are to be found among the volumes of the

Defter-i Khdqdnt in the archives in Istanbul (r).Ardabil and Tabriz. no 896. 54.5 x 2o.5 crnri. pages unnumbered.

waqf. tr39 A.H..

ArdalAn. no. ro66. 57.5 x 24 cms. pages unnumbered. Mufa;sal

Undated.

Ganja. 'no. 699. 5r.5 x tB.5 cms. pages unnumbered. Ijmdl of

Waqf. keign of Mehemmed III.Ganja. no. go3. 46.5 x 16 cms. pages unnumbered. Mufassal.

r r4o A.H.

Ganja. z vols. numbers gI3 and y+. S+ x r3.3 and 54.5 x rg.5

cms. pages unnumbered. Timar appointments for cam-

paign. r r45 A.H.

HamadAn. a vols. numbers 9o6 & 9o7. 6I.6x29.5 cms. 2Io

& zgz fols. Mufassal. Reign of A[rmed III.Iran Ndhiyeleri. no. 76g. +z x r+.:S cms. 40 fols. fi'dmet & Timars.

Reign of MurAd IV.KermAnshdh. no. gI2. 6r xe3.5 cms. l68f46 fols. Mufassal.

Reign of Ahmed III.Khoy. no. gII. 55.5X2r.5 cms. ez6 fols'. Mufa;yal. Reign of

Ahmed III.NakhtphevAn. no. go5. 53 x 20 cms. page$ unnumbered. Mt4fa4;al.

rI4o A.H.

Tabriz. no. 668. 45 x 16 cnr"si pages unnurnbered. $mAI of Ti'mars.

roo6 A.FL

I.

extant register, one of Albania, was edited by Halil Inalcik, IIicri' $35'Tatihit Surst'i

defter-i sancak-i Aruani.d, Ankara 1954.

My thariks are due to Mr. Midhat Sertoghlu, director-general of the Bashaehdlet

Arshioi,, fot.his courtesy and assistance

J

'Iabriz. z vols. numbers go4&go8. 5+.5x 22 cms. r7g & ers fols'

Mqfa;;al. rI4o A.H.

From this list it will be seen that the surviving registers belong

to threC periods:

r) The reign of Mefemmed III (roo3-rorzf 1595-:6o3). There

are two registers of this reign-an ijmdl (synoptic survey) of timars,

or military fiefs, held by Ottoman sipdhls, in the sanjak of Tabriz,

dated Ioo6/1597-8, and an ijmdl of waqfs in the sanjak of Ganja,

undated but bearing 'the Sultan's name.

z) The reign of MurAd IV (Io3z-ro4gl$zg-fi4o). There is

only one register of this reign-a short list of timars and zi(dmets-large

fiefsjn a group of districts (nAt1i2e) of western Iran.

3) The reigns of A[rmed III (I I r5-r t4gltTog'r1go) and

Mafrmtrd I (rI43-r$BltTgo-r754). Seven registers can be identified

as belonging to this period. Ranging from r rygl17z6-7 to rr49lrTgz'3,

they obviously represent an attempt to organize the new provinces

added to the Ottoman Empire as a result of Turkish intervention

in Persia during the troubles that accompanied the break-up of the

$afavid state and the Afghan invasions. During the years II35-

r4olrTzg-r727 the Ottomans formed a number of new eydlets,

which were however recovered for Iran by NAdir ShAh in r43lr73o. Registers compiled. at this time include comprehensive (mauf;sal)

of the provinces of Ardabil, Ganja, IlamadAn, KermAnshAh, Khoy,

NakhtchevAn, and Tabriz. An undated mufassal register cif ArdalAn al-

most certainly belongsto the sameperiod. Atwo-volume timarregister

of Ganja, dated r r45f r73z'g, refers to appointments made for

the military campaign of that year, and lists the sipdhts and their

fiefs,:Themostimportant type of register is the mufaS;al taltrtr defteri,

or comprehensive survey of population,and revenue. These normally

begin with a"statement of the fiscalrules andusage of the province,

often no more than.arestateinent andconfirmation of the practice of

I.

the previous regirne. This is followed by a description of the chieftown, quarter by quarter and sornetimes street by street, with thenames of all the adult male inhabitants. Each person is indicated as

married or single; if he is exempted form taxation on grounds ofreligious status (irndm, khaltb, mu'adhdhin, etc.) or physical disability, thistoo is shown. Members of the dhimmt cornmunities (Nestorians, Arme-nians, Jews, etc.) are listed separately, according to their communitiesand the quarters they inhabit. After the chief town, the districts andsub-districts of the province are enumerated in order, divid.ed intotowns (if any) and villages, with similar ]ists of inhabitants. For eachunit the register indicates its legal and fiscal status, showing whetherit belongs to the imperial domain @hAg-i shdht), to the appanageof the .governor (khdss-i mtr-i liwd.), to a ftef (timar or qirdmet)

to a. freehold, (malk) or to a pious endowrnent (waqf). If the unit ispart of a fief, rnwlk, or waqf, the name of the owner or beneficiaryis given. For each town or village a list of rcvenues appears, withinforrnation as to the method of assessment, the yield, and. sometimesthe method of collection. where the tax is assessed by muqdsama,

as a share of the crop, the proportion and the amount clairned. arestated, with a monetary equivalent. orchards, ftuit and vegetablegardens in and near the town, detached fields (me4a,a) in thecountry, are listed separately. so too are nomad,ic and serni-nornadictribes.

Apart fror.n the cornprehensive registers, there are separatelists of vario*s kinds of holdings, troth detailed and synoptic (ijmat).Arnong the records..of the rranian provinces we find registers ctf waqfsand of fiefs. The forrner contains lists of pious found.ations, with copiesof the foundation deed and statements of income and expenditure; thelatter lists of tinaarc and zi!6rnets, with the na.rnes of the holders anda statement of the revenue$ attached to each.

The value of these registers for the history of fran andAdharbAy,iAn-for econornic, administrative, and demographic history

4

especially-will be obvious. It is hoped that .these few brief notes on

a new, rich, and untapped source of information may encourage

scholars to undertake the more detailed study that is needed.