Accounting books of the imperial waqfs (charitable endowments) in the eastern Mediterranean (15th to 19th centuries)

The history of accounting in the Eastern Mediterranean has not been adequately studied through its primary sources, despite the fact that the Turkish archives house an enormous amount of material for exploring accounting practices in the Ottoman Empire. Ottomanists used the account books as sources for Ottoman socioeconomic and institutional history. They analyzed, fully transliterated and published the account registers of the central treasury, the Istanbul shipyard and the waqf institutions. Nevertheless, accounting historians did not even show interest into published archival sources up until recent years. Owing to a few recent works that were based on the primary sources, nowadays accounting historians are more and more aware of the richness and significance ofOttomanarchives for accounting history and for comparative accounting research as well. This study introduces the account books kept in the Ottoman waqf institutions between the 15th and 19th centuries in order to raise awareness of the Eastern Mediterranean accounting tradition and to spark further in-depth and comparative works focused on the history, functioning, role and change of accounting in the Eastern Mediterranean

Za sobom su ostavili institucije u financijskim neprilikama”: srednjoanadolski vakufi nakon “Velikog bijega”. (Sažetak)

The years of the late 16th into the 17th century were characterized by the harsh Celali rebellions and ensuing social turmoil in the central provinces of Anatolia. The years spanning 1603-1608 saw mass population movements called “The Great Flight”. In fear of rebellions, villagers took refuge in safer locations, such as fortifications, mountain villages and sheltered in conglomerated villages. Some migrated to the western provinces far from the Celali movements. Life and earning the means to maintain that life were certainly difficult for the migrants but it could not have been easy for those who remained in their homelands as well, whether peasant or townsmen. Mass migrations and flights meant a loss of population, including laborers, cultivators and taxpayers. Thus, they brought about a food shortage for the remaining populace and revenue loss for the institutions which drew taxes mainly from the rural population and their products. Among these institutions which experienced financial difficulties in the wake of Celali movements were the waqfs. Since these charitable endowments were provisioning the towns, employing townsmen in various capacities, feeding and giving pecuniary aid to the needy and supporting economic and commercial life in town, their financial troubles affected and spread over the economic and social life of the entire town. Although the Celali rebels and bandits primarily plundered unguarded rural areas and let villagers flee, urban economies and commerce collapsed and living conditions deteriorated in the towns. As the regular functioning of waqf institutions ceased and they fell into financial distress due to mass migrations, the dire straits in daily life were further exacerbated for the townsmen. This paper looks at the effects of Celali-led migrations and flight for the Anatolian waqfs and shows that their effects persisted as some waqfs failed to recover or managed to recover only partially in the following decades.Godine na prijelazu s kraja 16. u 17. stoljeće bile su obilježene žestokim pobunama dželalija i iz njih proisteklim društvenim previranjima u središnjim pokrajinama Anadolije. U razdoblju od 1603. do 1608. godine došlo je do masovnog preseljenja stanovništva znanog kao „Veliki bijeg“. U strahu od pobuna, seljani su se sklanjali na sigurnija mjesta poput utvrda, planinskih sela i zaštićenih seoskih aglomeracija. Neki su odselili u zapadne pokrajine, daleko od dželalijskih ustanaka. Migrantima je zacijelo bilo teško tako živjeti i privređivati za život, ali nije bilo lako ni onima koji su ostali u svojim domovima, bilo na selu ili u gradu. Masovne migracije i bjegovi podrazumijevali su gubitak stanovništva, pa tako i radnika, poljoprivrednika i poreznih obveznika. To je dovelo do nestašice hrane za preostale stanovnike i gubitak prihoda za institucije koje su poreze namicale uglavnom od seoskog stanovništva i poljoprivredne proizvodnje. Među institucijama koje su se nakon dželalijskih ustanaka našle u financijskim teškoćama bili su i vakufi. Kako su te dobrotvorne zadužbine opskrbljivale gradove, zapošljavale građane na različitim dužnostima, davale potrebitima pomoć u hrani i novcu te u gradovima podupirale gospodarstvo i trgovinu, njihove financijske neprilike utjecale su i odrazile se na sve dijelove gospodarskog i društvenog života cijeloga grada. Iako su dželalijski pobunjenici i razbojnici pljačkali ponajprije nezaštićena seoska područja, a seljane tjerali u bijeg, posrnula su i gradska gospodarstva i trgovina, a uvjeti života u gradovima pogoršali su se. Kako su vakufi uslijed masovnih migracija prestali s redovnim radom i zapali u financijske teškoće, nad svakodnevicu stanovnika gradova nadvili su se još crnji oblaci. U ovome članku razmatra se kako su se migracije i bijeg što su ga izazvali dželalije odrazili na anadolske vakufe te se dokazuje da su posljedice bile trajne jer se neki vakufi nisu nikad uspjeli oporaviti ili su se u desetljećima koja su uslijedila oporavili tek djelomice

The financial administration of an imperial waqf in an age of crisis : a case study of Bayezid II's Waqf in Amasya (1594-1657)

Cataloged from PDF version of article.This study examines the economic development of Bâyezîd II’s waqf in Amasya between 1594-1657 and analyses the effect of the agricultural crisis on the financial administration of the waqf in this period. The study also points to a correlation between the changes in the financial situation of the waqf and the agricultural conditions of the period by the examination of the revenue and expenses of the waqf during the period under review through a detailed analysis of the account books of the waqf. As complementary sources, detailed survey (tahrîr) registers, registers of pious endowments (evkâf defterleri), muhâsebe-icmâl registers, the deeds of foundation (vakfiyye) and the court registers of Amasya (şer’iyye sicilleri) are also employed. The examination and analysis of the sources revealed that the waqf faced a serious financial crisis in the first half of the seventeenth century. It also appears that this crisis was closely related to the unstable economic, politic and social conditions of the period of great Celâlî rebellions and terror as well as to the demographic fluctuations, i.e. decline in and displacement of rural population of Ottoman Anatolia at the turn of the seventeenth century.Orbay, KayhanM.S

Financial History of the Waqf of Süleyman Pasha and Agricultural Economy in 17th-century Thrace

The waqf of Süleyman Pasha in Bolayır was among the largest waqf institutions in Thrace. The waqf held urban-based revenue sources. However, it derived the major part of its income from agricultural holdings in the Eastern Thrace. Therefore, rural revenues of the waqf were sensitive to the adverse changes in the regional agircultural conditions. This study examines the waqf account books pertaining to the first half of the seventeenth century and reveals the financial history of the waqf. It is part of a wider project dealing with the economic history of Balkans in the 17th century. The financial analysis of the waqf shows no decline in the waqf revenues or a deep financial crisis in the examination period. However, local developments affecting the agricultural production and natural disasters damaging the waqf properties led to short-term financial distres

The War Financing and Income Transfers Between Waqfs and the Central Treasury

17. yy sonlarında askerî seferler sonucu darlığa düşen Osmanlı Devleti hazinesi, gelirleri artırarak mali rahatlama sağlamak amacıyla, ilk akla gelen vergi düzenlemeleri, sikke basımı, tağşiş benzeri mali tedbirlerin ötesine geçen tedbirlere başvurmuştur. Bir çok sultan ve vezir vakfı benzeri devasa vakfın bütçe fazlalarının merkezî hazineye aktarılmakta olduğunu biliyoruz. Ancak, hazinenin mali darlığı aşmak ve askerî seferleri finanse etmek üzere vakıfların maaş ödemelerine el koymak gibi bir uygulamaya gitmesi, 17. yy sonlarında gerçekleşmiş bir ilktir. Bu durum hem Osmanlı Devleti'nde savaş finansmanı açısından bir yeniliktir hem de vakıfların olağan iktisadi ve sosyal faaliyetleri üzerinde etkisi bakımından dikkate değer bir uygulamadır. Bu çalışma, söz konusu teşebbüsün uygulanma aşamasını, mali boyutunu ortaya çıkarmak ve devletin tahsil edemediği mablağları da defterler tutarak izlediğini göstermek üzere kaleme alınmıştır