Social Structure in Amasya Sanjak According to Sharia Registry Books No. 52 and 53

Abstract

In the second half of the eighteenth century, Amasya Sanjak was no longer governed by princes, and although mutasarrifs were appointed as administrators, they often did not go to their places of duty and sent consuls instead. Administrative inadequacies were reflected to the public, the taxes that were taken temporarily but became permanent afterward, made the people in the provinces uneasy. The bandit group who took advantage of this had no difficulty in finding a man for them. In Amasya Sanjak, it will be tried to determine the approximate population of the sanjak based on the households determined for the avarız and üzül taxes, which are first collected temporarily and then continuously. In addition, the partnerships of Muslim and non-Muslim people in trades and trade, their social lives and social relations, which are frequently mentioned in the registers, will be emphasized. It will be seen that people belonging to different religions live in the same neighborhoods as Muslims, and that no one considers himself different because of religion and that they are integrated in mutual tolerance. For this reason, it will be emphasized that there was no social stratification in Amasya Sanjak, that many madrasahs were opened by the princes and that the city was called the city of scholars because it was a center of science, and that this group did not keep themselves apart by living together with the people. As far as it is reflected in the registers, it will be tried to give nicknames among the people according to the profession, duty, physical characteristics and habits of some families.