Economic and Social Structure of Boyabat/Boyovası according to the Tahrir Registers in the early Sixteenth Century

Abstract

The district of Boyabat was one of the most important administrative units of the Sanjak of Kastamonu in the early 1500s. The Tahrir Defters (the Ottoman tax registers) which are the most important historical records in the Ottoman Empire show the importance of the district. The tahrir registers were the source of knowledge where it belongs to and these registers keep such information as settlement names, their populations, economic activities and social structure. This study primarily used information obtained from land tax registers (tapu-tahrir registers) and foundation registers. The results of the published sources on the district were also used in this study.