Abstract
Zâims as the Representatives of the Soil-Based Military and Economic Structure in the Ottoman New Age: The Case of Amasya (1700-1740)
While the modern period Ottoman historiography is developing rapidly, it is seen that this momentum has not yet been gained in some topics. Among these issues, the Ottoman timar system can be counted. In this context, the identity of the people those has zeâmet who show signs of being the representatives of the Ottoman "middle class" has not attracted more attention.However, the identities of the zaims, who were among the most active actors of the timar system, which was one of the foundations of the Ottoman economy and military structure, and were welcomed by the viziers; whether they are attempting to gain financial and political influence by increasing their territorial holdings; the reasons for deserving and losing zeâmet or the situations of succeeding/failing to gain local influence are the issues those need to be investigate. This article investigates the mentioned qualities of the representatives of the zaims in Amasya. The 1700-1740 years were based in the study and in this process, the land-using zaims in the city and countryside of Amasya were examined. The study has been prepared with the support of the Tapu Tahrir, Muhimme and Şeriyye Defters and retail documents obtained from the General Directorate of State Archives of the Republic of Turkey, and the existing domestic and foreign literature. While the 81 zeamet records found in these areas reveal that a significant part of the zaims who had lands in the Amasya sanjak were state officials, it can be seen that the central government followed a "controlled growth" policy for them.
Keywords
Amasya, New Age, zâims, economy, soil, army.
