A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF JANISSARY SOCIO-ECONOMIC PRESENCE IN ALEPPO (1700-1760S)

Yıl 2022, Cilt: 8 Sayı: 1, 55 - 77, 14.06.2022

Yahya Araz

https://doi.org/10.30517/cihannuma.1131049

Öz

Focusing on the Janissaries, and covering a period between the early eighteenth century and the 1760s, this study draws on preliminary findings from the Aleppo court records in order to highlight their roles in that city’s socio-economic life. Most of the Janissaries of Aleppo and their families came to the city from the surrounding countryside; they tried to survive and earned their livelihood as ordinary townsmen, a process that signaled their integration into the urban fabric. This process manifested itself in their relations with other social groups, their conglomeration in specific quarters, and their increasing capacity to diffuse into other areas and expand their economic activities. This expansion, however, resulted in a conflict between their interests and those of the eşraf/ashraf, who consisted of members of established merchant families, religious dignitaries, and other people who claimed to be descendants of the Prophet. The competing interests of the two groups, especially after the 1760s, were destined to reshape the role of the Janissaries in Aleppo as well as their interactions with other social groups. These confrontations also strengthened the solidarity and esprit de corps among the Janissaries, who had until then preferred to distinguish themselves by their ethnic, tribal, and country-based affiliations.

Anahtar Kelimeler

eşraf/ashraf, credit relations, guilds, investments, Janissaries, yerliyye

Destekleyen Kurum

European Research Council (ERC)

Proje Numarası

849911

Yeniçerilerin Halep’teki Sosyal ve Ekonomik Varlığına Dair Genel Bir Değerlendirme (1700’den 1760’lara)

Öz

Konu üzerinde devam etmekte olan araştırmaların ilk sonuçlarına dayanan bu makale temel olarak mahkeme kayıtlarını kullanarak 18. yüzyılın başlarından 1760’lara değin Halep yeniçerilerine odaklanmakta, onların ana hatlarıyla kentin sosyal ve iktisadi yaşamındaki rollerine değinmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Büyük bir kısmı kırsal kökenlere sahip Halep yeniçerilerinin ve ailelerinin ifade edilen dönemde çoğunlukla sessiz sedasız bir şekilde çalışarak ve uyum göstererek kente tutunmaya ve burada bir yaşam kurmaya çalışmaları kentlileşme sürecinin bir örneği olarak görülebilir. Bu süreci onların farklı toplumsal kesimlerle kurdukları ilişkiler, kentin belli mahallelerine yoğunlaşmakla birlikte her yerinde var olma kapasiteleri ve iktisadi faaliyetleri üzerinden somut olarak gözlemlemek mümkündür. Ancak etkilerinin genişlemesine paralel olarak kentin yerleşik ticari ve dini kesimlerini temsil eden ve Peygamber Muhammed’in soyundan geldikleri iddiasında olan eşraf/ashraf ile yaşadıkları gerginlikler 1760’lardan itibaren hem kentteki varlıklarının hem de farklı toplumsal kesimlerle ilişkilerinin yeniden tanımlanması sonucunu doğuracaktır. Bu gerginlik kendilerini etnik, aşiret ve coğrafi bağlar üzerinden tanımlamakta ısrar eden yeniçerilerin yeniçerilik kimliği etrafında birleşmelerini ve birbirlerine daha fazla yakınlaşmalarını sağlayacaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

eşraf/ashraf, kredi ilişkileri, loncalar, yatırımlar, yeniçeriler, yerliyye

Proje Numarası

849911

Kaynakça

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