Ottoman population records and the census of 1881/82–1893

International Journal of Middle East Studies

Volumn 9, Issue 2, 1978, Pages 237-274

  Karpat, Kemal H ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MADISON   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84971110262     PISSN: 00207438     EISSN: 14716380     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0020743800000088     Document Type: Article

References (29)

1. There are exceptions to this statement. In addition to O. L. Barkan’s works mentioned later, see M. A. Cook, Population Pressure in Rural Anatolia: 1450–1600 (London, 1971); Ronald J. Jennings, ‘Urban Population in Anatolia in the Sixteenth Century: A Study of Kayseri, Karaman, Amasya, Trabzon, and Erzurum’, International Journal of Middle East Studies, 7, 1 (Jan. 1976), 21–57; Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth and Kamal Abdulfattah, Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century (Erlanger 1977). A survey of the bibliography on Ottoman population in the nineteenth century is in Engin Akarli, ‘The Ottoman Population in the Nineteenth Century’, M.A. thesis, University of Wisconsin (Madison, 1970). See also Marc Pinson, ‘Demographic Warfare: An Aspect of Ottoman and Russian Policy, 1854–1866’, Ph.D. diss. (Harvard, 1970). Source material concerning population figures in the nineteenth century can be found in special statistics published by the Ottoman government in its Yearbooks, Devleti Aliye Salnameleri, or Salname for short, 68 vols., 1847–1918. For further bibliographical information see Kemal H. Karpat, The Gecekondu, Rural Migration and Urbanization (New York, 1976), and idem, ‘Ottoman Immigration Policies and Settlement in Palestine’, Settler Regimes in Africa and the Arab World, I. Abu-Lughod and B. Abu-Laban, eds. (Wilmette, 111., 1974), pp. 57–72. For a general survey of current population studies, see Georges Sabagh, ‘The Demography of the Middle East’, Middle East Studies Association Bulletin 4, 2 (15 May, 1970), 1–19.
2. Nicholas (Nicolas) V. Michoff (Mikhov), Naseleniento na Turtsiia i Bulgarii, prez XVIII-XIX, La Population de la Turquie et de la Bulgarie au XVIIIe et au XIXe siècles, 5 vols. (Sofia, 1915, 1924, 1923, 1935, 1968).
3. W. Eton, A Survey of the Turkish Empire (London, 1799). For another effort to show the Armenian Catholics as more numerous than their actual number, see n. 49.
4. V. Teplov, Materialy Dlya Statistikii Bolgarii, Trakii i Makedonii (St. Petersburg, 1877).
5. Great Britain, House of Commons, Accounts and Papers, vol. 92 (1877), p. 14.
6. The service duration of the last two categories was seven and eight years respectively when the system was first introduced in 1848. See Stanford J. Shaw and Ezel K. Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Vol. II (New York, 1977), p. 100.
7. These communities often paid less than their number would warrant. The number of non-Muslims once established remained unchanged for long periods for lack of proper registers to follow population changes. For instance, Rev. William Jowett mentions the fact that the population of Mount Athos consisted of about 6,000 people but ‘they pay to the Turks as for three thousands’ (Richard Clogg, ‘Two Accounts of the Academy of Ayvalek [Kydonies] in 1818–1919’, Revue des etudes sud-est européennes, 10, 4 [1972], 652).
8. Report of Şuray-i Devlet, Tanzimat Dairesi, No. 438, 21 Cemaziyulevvel 1248 (21 April 1881), BA, Irade, Şuray-i Devlet, 3148.
9. The Ottoman censuses of population and surveys of the land in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries are known from O. L. Barkan’s pioneering works: ‘Tarihi Demografi Araçtirmalarl ve Osmanli Tarihi’, Tarih Mecmuasi, 10 (1953); ‘Essai sur les données statistiques des registres de recensement dans l’Empire Ottoman au XVe et XVIe siècles’, Journal of Economie and Social History of the Orient, ?, ? (Aug. 1957). 9–21 ! and ‘Research on the Ottoman Fiscal Surveys’, in Studies in the Economic History of the Middle East, M. A. Cook.ed. (London, 1970), pp. 163–171. See also Leila Erder, ‘The Measurement of Preindustrial Population Changes: The Ottoman Empire from the Fifteenth to the Seventeenth Century’, Middle Eastern Studies, 11 (3 Oct. 1975), 284–301.
10. I believe that further research in the Ottoman archives may yield substantial information on population figures, even for the later centuries. The existing records on taxation and the distribution of miri (state) land to cultivators could yield excellent figures on the Ottoman population in the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. For instance, the yoklamas, censuses of the timars in 1596, 1606, 1672, 1691, 1694, 1698, and 1715 indicate that the tradition was not abandoned altogether. These surveys show a continuous preoccupation with the size of cultivable lands, at least with those given as fiefs to the sipahis, and with their revenue. See V. P. Mutafcieva-Str. Dimitrov, Sur l’état du système des timars des XVIIe-XVIII’ siècles (Sofia, 1968).
11. Enver Ziya Karal, Osmanli Imparatorlugu’nda lik Nüfus Sayimi, 1831 (Ankara, 1943)
12. ‘Traduction d’un memorandum de la Sublime-Porte, adressé aux missions étrangères à Constantinople, et relatif au recensement général décrété par S. Hautesse’, Le Moniteur Universel, 248 (4 Sept. 1844).
13. A. Ubicini, Lettres sur la Turquie (Paris, 1853). Eugene Bore, Almanack de l’Empire ottoman pour l’année 184g et 1850 (Constantinople, 1849–1850).
14. The census of the nomadic tribes in these two provinces was carried out by army officers belonging to the units stationed in the area (S to M, Letter of 7 Sefer 1268 [2 Dec. 1851], BA, Irade, Dahiliye, 14855). See also F. Kanitz, Donau-Bulgarien und der Balkan, 3 vols. (Leipzig, 1875); idem, La Bulgarie danubienne et le Balkan: Etudes de voyages, 1860–1880 (Paris, 1882).
15. This material, under the serial number PC 79/8, is found in the oriental section of the National Library of Bulgaria in Sofia. For further details see Nicola(i) Todorov, ‘The Balkan Town in the Second Half of the 19th Century’, Etudes Balkaniques, 2 (1969), 31–50.
16. Ibid., n. 3., Todorov, ‘The Balkan Town in the Second Half of the 19th Century’, Etudes Balkaniques, (1969), 31–50
17. N. Todorov, Balkanskiat Grad XV-XIX-vek (Balkan Towns in the XV-XIX Centuries) (Sofia, 1972). An English translation of this book is to be published by University of Washington Press, Seattle.
18. See report of the Suray-l Devlet, Tahriri Niifusun Suret-i Icraiyesini Mutzammin Talimattir (Instructions Concerning the Conduct of Population Census), S to M of 1 Rebiyulevvel 1291 (18 April 1874), BA, Irade, Meclis-i Mahsus, 2089.
19. Ibid., art. 2., Tahriri Niifusun Suret-i Icraiyesini Mutzammin Talimattir, 1874
20. Ibid., art. 8–10. Boys under the age of three, the sick, and others who had valid excuses could be registered by proxy., Tahriri Niifusun Suret-i Icraiyesini Mutzammin Talimattir, 1874
21. See report of the Suray-l Devlet; Tahrir-i Niifus If in Ittihaz Olunacak Üc Türlü Defterin Suret-i Istitnalini Miibeyyin Tarifnamedir (Information [Description] Concerning the Use of the Three Registers To Be Created for Conducting the Population Census), S to M of 1 Rebiyulevvel 1291 (18 Aug. 1874), BA, Irade, Meclis-i Mahsus, 2089.
22. See report of the Suray-l Devlet, Memaliki Mahsusa-i Sahanede Tahrir-i Nüfus Icra Kliman Mahallerde Istihdam Olunacak Niifus Nazirlari ve Kätipleri ile Mukayyiterlinin Suret-i Tertip ve Tayinleri ile Vazifeleri Hakkinda Talimattir (Instructions Concerning the Organizations, Appointment, and Responsibilities of the Population Inspectors, Secretaries, and Registers To Be Appointed in the Localities of the Realm Where Census Has Been Conducted), S to M of 1 Rebuyulewel 1291 (18 April 1874) BA, Irade, Meclis-i Mahsus, 2089.
23. The Ottoman government began to compile regular statistics concerning foreign trade beginning in 1294 (1878). The statistics for 1878–1900 are available in their entirety. The statistics for 1900–13 are sporadic. See Osmanh Imparatorlugunun Ticaret Muvazenese, 1878–1913, No. 123–73, General Directorate of Statistics (Ankara, 1939).
24. I tried to find the names of the individuals who directed the statistical office of the Ottoman Empire. Continuity of directors and their ranks could indicate the degree of professionalism and the importance attached to, and hence, the quality of the statistics. A search through the Salnames of 1310 (1892) to 1334 (1916) with the exception of 1911–1914, when no Salnames were issued, showed that the office of statistics was headed by high-ranking non-Muslim officials and foreigners for about thirteen years out of a total of nineteen for which precise information is available, as shown in the table opposite. It is also interesting to note the effort of the Ottoman officials to disseminate information on statistics. A statistical publication prepared by Mehmet Behiç, showing the demographic economic, financial, and other characteristics of the Ottoman state in 1310 (1894) begins with a general introduction discussing the meaning and importance of statistics. See Sicill-i Nüfus Idare-i Untumiyesi, Yevmiye Kätibi Mehmet Behiç Tarafindan Tenzim Olunan Istatistik Defteri, Istanbul Universités! Kitapligi, Tiirkçe Yazmalar, 9075.
25. See Sicill-i Niifus Nizamnamesi of 8 Saban 1298 (5 July 1881), BA, Irade, Şuray-i Devlet, 3148. All reports and correspondence concerning the census of 1881/82 are in one folio.
26. For a general reference, see Vedat Eldem, Osmanh Imparatorlugu’nun Iktisadi Sartlan Hakkunad Bir Tetkik (n.p., 1970), pp. 49–65. Eldem used some of the figures published in the official publication cited in n. 48. He does mention the fact that the Ottoman government took a census in 1882–84 but does not elaborate further. Vital Cuinet also seems to have relied on the same source. See Syrie, Liban et Palestine: géographie administrative, statistique, descriptive et raisonnée (Paris, 1896). For some information on the population of Palestine, see also Moshe Ma’oz, ed., Studies on Palestine during the Ottoman Period (Jerusalem, 1975).
27. Letter from Premier’s office, 20 Zilkade 1302 (31 Aug. 1885), BA, Irade, Dahiliye 76006.
28. Palace (Yildiz) letter of 9 Rebiyulahir 1304 (5 Jan. 1886) BA, Irade, Dahiliye, 80019.
29. See Devlet-i Aliye-i Osmaniyenin 1313 Senesine Mahstis Istatistik-i Umumiyesi (General Statistics of the Ottoman State for the Year 1313 [1895]), Ministry of Trade and Construction, Istanbul 1316 (1898). This latter publication was compiled by the Statistical office on the basis of information supplied by the Population Administration.