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SAJI, Natsuko
The Importance of “Mâliye Ahkâm Defteri” for Ottoman Mining in the 16 th Century
The Mâliye Ahkâm Defteri are useful sources for Ottoman mining activity. In this paper, I analyze four kinds of
these documents to demonstrate what kind of information they can provide about Ottoman mining.
The objects of analysis are:
1. Bâb-ı Defteri Başmuhâsebe Kalemi Defteri No. 36806 (D.BŞM.d. 36806)
2. Bâb-ı Âsafi Şikayet Defteri No. 979 (A.DVN.ŞKT.d.979)
3. Devâır-ı Evâmir-i Mâliye Defteri No. 26728 (D.EVM.d.26728)
4. Kâmil Kepeci Tasnifi Defteri No. 61, 62, 63 (KK.d.61, 62, 63)
The most important information in the Mâliye Ahkâm Defteri is: (1) the location of the mines developed by the
Ottomans, (2) the period in which the mining industry was the focus of intensive government involvement, (3) what kinds
of problems occurred in mining districts, and (4) the identity of the people who worked in each mine. This information can
be obtained from almost all of these documents. By systematically collating this information, it will be possible to know
what kind of person worked in which mine in which era. In addition, some documents include information such as tax
amounts, details of mining technology, and transaction prices. Traditionally, this information was estimated primarily according
to Kânûnnâme’s analysis; however, it was not previously clear how much this reflected the actual situation of each
mine. Thus, it is important to gather more specific information, such as that in the Mâliye Ahkâm Defteri. I hope to illustrate
this point by introducing relevant information obtained from the four sources listed above.
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