the black death in early ottoman territories - Bilkent University

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that surrounded Istanbul were larger than the city itself. 333 Veinstein argued "that in a state such as the Ottoman Empire, where central bureaucracy played such an important role, it is hard to imagine that anarchy would have ruled when it came to the administration and development of burial sites." 334 If this reason is valid for times of "normal" demise, it should be all the more so in times of epidemics. The number of newly authorized burial sites around Istanbul greatly fluctuated with time: between 1453 and 1512, 167 new sites were put into use; between 1513 and 1595, 110; between 1596 and 1754 only 74. 335 It seems that these figures reflect the high mortality afflicted by the numerous great plague outbreaks that took place until the end of the sixteenth century, whereas the next one-and-half century saw less casualties . Ottoman gravestones and burial monuments display a variety of information and the cause of death is sometimes one of them. No particular reticence exists about mentioning plague as a cause of death. An example is a stone sarcophagus of Ahi Hasan oğlu Ahi Paşa that mentions that he died of plague in the month of Şaban of the year 792 (1389) 336 . But neither was it an obligatory statement to make for each plague victim. Plenty of gravestones and sarcophagi of people who are known to have died from plague do not carry any reference to the disease. For instance, Çirağ Bey, who was a servant of Murad II, is described by Neşri to have died of plague in Bursa during the great outbreak of 832 (1428/29): 333 A statement by Lady Mary Montagu as cited in Veinstein, Les Ottomans et la Mort. Permanences et mutations, 163. 334 Veinstein, Les Ottomans et la Mort. Permanences et mutations, 157. 335 Veinstein, Les Ottomans et la Mort. Permanences et mutations, 163. 336 Demet Karaçağ, Bursa'daki 14. - 15. Yüzyıl Mezartaşları Ankara , 1994, 27. 89
"Ve dahi ol yılda Bursa'da tâ'un-ı ekber olup... Ve Çırak Bey ve Şeyh Fahret-tin Efendi oğulları şems ül-'ulemâ Şemsettin ibn- i Fenarî bu mecmu'u müteveffa oldular..." 337 However, his headstone only mentions: "Bu cami-i şerifi yaptıran Çırağ Bey merhumun ruhuna fatiha." 338 Administrative formalities In spite of the enormous pressure that great epidemics must have caused upon the Ottoman bureaucracy, the latter tried to preserve a degree of normality. Inheritance was an important and complicated issue when whole families succombed to the disease. Moreover, the epidemics did not only affect life in the Ottoman cities, but also was present in its villages, where the sudden death of a great many acemi janissaries required registration in the judiciary records. For the farmers, who had received the boys in their care, were afraid of being held legally responsible for their death and therefore presented themselves at the kadı courts with witnesses to register that the cause of death of their protégés was plague. The following document illlustrates the standardized composition of the documents. Ve şuhûd-ı mezkûrûn şehâdet idüp ayıtdılar ki Yenice köyden Ahmed bin Balaban elinde olan Nasûh nâm buğday enlü, ala gözlü, orta boylu, yalın yüzlü Ulgariyyü'l-asl oğlan tâ'ûn zahmetinden vefât itdi didiler. 17 Cumâde'l-ûlâ 897. 339 These entries in the judicial registers also provide an insight into the prevalence of the disease. It is clear from the registers of the period 1490-1515 that plague never completely disappeared in the area of Bursa, but that it lingered on until it erupted 337 Neşrî, Kitâb-ı Cihan-Nümâ, 609. 338 Karaçağ, Bursa'daki 14. - 15. Yüzyıl Mezartaşları , 139. 339 Çoşkun and Necdet Yılmaz, Osmanlılarda Sağlık. Vol. II, 28. 90
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THE BLACK DEATH IN EARLY OTTOMAN TE
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ÖZET KARA ÖLÜM VE ERKEN OSMANLIL
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TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........
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subject is evident, plague has been
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also consulted. In view of this cla
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CHAPTER II A BIOLOGICAL AND HISTORI
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continents. 15 However, because of
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not. 22 Wendy Orent postulates that
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the disease. 31 During this outbrea
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common during winter, whereas the b
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CHAPTER III HISTORICAL SOURCES AND
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which will be critically examined i
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contested by Zeynep Korkmaz on the
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Ahmedi's Gazavâtname. 64 He lived
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The tarih was written as a way to p
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'Hakk-teâlâ gayûr bir pâdişâh
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Ottoman ruler and his conquests, bu
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and 1460. 106 However, of these, al
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He was captured after Constantinopl
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Latin sources The first category of
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elatives and friends ensured him of
Page 43 and 44: period of one or more seasons, name
Page 45 and 46: Bir hastalık ki halk arasında sar
Page 47 and 48: CHAPTER IV THE OUTBREAK AND THE DIF
Page 49 and 50: that had happened in these lands, s
Page 51 and 52: "What can we not all say about flie
Page 53 and 54: of Pera in 1453, was to become of g
Page 55 and 56: as Karesi, Saruhan, Aydın, Menteş
Page 57 and 58: A possible explanation is that no w
Page 59 and 60: Crete. 209 That the Brachea Chronik
Page 61 and 62: Yusuf's insistence to become a Chri
Page 63 and 64: earthquake that destroyed much of I
Page 65 and 66: of two carboni and a jandusa al sca
Page 67 and 68: CHAPTER V THE RESPONSE TO PLAGUE 5.
Page 69 and 70: Cydones obviously did not appreciat
Page 71 and 72: mention that "... Bursa şehrinde b
Page 73 and 74: Ve dahi ol yılda Bursa'da tâ'un-
Page 75 and 76: travels also allowed him to become
Page 77 and 78: plague on several other occasions,
Page 79 and 80: epidemics, or was at the very least
Page 81 and 82: 5.2. Religious response In times of
Page 83 and 84: in Europe as a response to the epid
Page 85 and 86: the Orthodox believers and many of
Page 87 and 88: Hak te'âlâ'nun fazlı yitişüp k
Page 89 and 90: were implemented at one time or ano
Page 91 and 92: Islamic religious terms, a more pro
Page 93: in heaven's name not to touch the c
Page 97 and 98: quite a few of its regular visitors
Page 99 and 100: notables of Cairo transferred. Whil
Page 101 and 102: his people and the Genoese for thei
Page 103 and 104: death toll to 160 000 or about 1300
Page 105 and 106: suffered great losses through famin
Page 107 and 108: In the above example, the Venetians
Page 109 and 110: while later his brother. They were
Page 111 and 112: prices did occur four years before
Page 113 and 114: asis or had indeed any policy at al
Page 115 and 116: Bertrandon de la Brocquière fulfil
Page 117 and 118: as to whether the Ottomans systemat
Page 119 and 120: present as well in the period under
Page 121 and 122: surprising as both European and Ott
Page 123 and 124: Primary Sources unpublished Ottoman
Page 125 and 126: -----.Les Regestes des Actes du Pat
Page 127 and 128: Tafur, Pero. 1926. Pero Tafur: Trav
Page 129 and 130: Research Centre for Islamic History
Page 131 and 132: Columbia University Press, 2004. Sc
Page 133 and 134: APPENDIX I ENTRIES FROM THE DIARY O
Page 135 and 136: Da Sybinicho, fo leto una lettera,
Page 137 and 138: morto do fioli da peste, pur Idio l
Page 139 and 140: 61. vol. 28, col. 232 Da Constantin
Page 141 and 142: incolorò, dove la saltò la peste,
Page 143 and 144: E venuto nova il magnifico Perì Ba
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Idem, by two slaves who escaped fro
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MDX, APRILE (April 1510) 27. vol. 1
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There is an enormous plague outbrea
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... that there, in Constantinople,
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Paragraph over the statement (made)
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a carbuncle, which is a sort of gia
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From Constantinople, from sir Piero
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