The administrative, economic and social relations of Sofia in the 18th century: an essay of the spatial analysis

Abstract

In this thesis, Sofia which was the pasha sandjaghi of the Rumelian Eyalet in the 18th century is discussed. The administrative, social and economic relations of Sofia are studied within the context of spatial analysis. The interaction of Sofia with its surrounding rural area and other sandjaks are evaluated with regard to distance in order to analyze these relations properly and the surrounding rural area of Sofia is also addressed as a feeding ground. Since the data about population would enlighten our analysis, population forecasts are made through the available avarız hane defteri. The theoretical frame of our topic is constituted being taken the settlement models that belonged to the pre- industrial period as a basis. In addition, the court records of Sofia dating the first half of the 18th century are used with the aim of supporting our argument empirically. While the research conducted until this time only discussed the administrative and social structure of Sofia in the 16th century, in this thesis the question how Sofia maintained its importance as an administrative unit through centuries is tried to be answered and the relation of Sofia with its surrounding rural area is evaluated as an economic integration field.