The Waqf of Saruca Pasha in Gallipoli and Agricultural Economy in 17th Century Thrace

Abstract

The waqf of Saruca Pasha in Gallipoli was a medium-size imperial waqf. It derived its income from both urban and rural revenue sources. The largest part of the waqf’s income came from the agricultural revenue sources in the Eastern Thrace. The financial situation of the waqf in the first half of the 17th century can be followed through the account books and correlated with the local agricultural conditions. The present study aims at contributing to the debate on economic crisis in the Ottoman Empire and it is a part of a wider project which analyses the large waqfs financially and examines the local agricultural history in the Balkans. In the first half of the 17th century, the waqf of Saruca Pasha experienced short-term financial fluctuations due mainly to the changes in local conditions. However, a long-term crisis in agricultural economy did not show and the waqf did not fall into a serious financial hardship.

Keywords

• Ottoman
• Waqf
• Saruca Pasha
• Agricultural Economy
• Gallipoli
• Thrace

Gelibolu’da Saruca Paşa Vakfı ve 17. Yüzyıl Trakyasında Tarımsal Ekonomi

Abstract

Saruca Paşa’nın Gelibolu’daki vakfı selatin vakıfları içinde ortaölçekli bir vakıftır. Vakıf gelirlerini kentsel ve tarımsal kaynaklardan elde etmektedir. Tarımsal gelirleri Doğu Trakya bölgesinde yer almaktadır ve vakıf bütçesinin esas gelir kaynağıdır. Vakfın 17.yy’ın ilk yarısındaki mali durumunu muhasebe defterleri üzerinden takip etmek ve yerel tarımsal koşullar ile ilişkilendirmek mümkündür. Bu çalışma Balkanlardaki büyük vakıfların mali analizini yaparak tarımsal koşulları tespit etmeye çalışan kapsamlı bir projenin parçasıdır ve 17.yy iktisadi krizi tartışmasına katkı yapmayı amaçlamaktadır. Saruca Paşa vakfı incelenen dönemde yerel koşullara bağlı mali dalgalanamalar göstermişdir ancak tarımsal koşullarda uzun dönemli bir kötüleşme görünmmektedir ve vakıf ciddi bir mali krize girmemişdir.

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