Shops and shopkeepers in the İstanbul İhtisab register of 1092/1681

Abstract

The idea of the administration of economy in the Ottoman Empire was shaped by certain views with historical backgrounds. The Ottoman Sultans viewed their subjects as their dependents that should be protected, and rested on the Islamic principle of hisba in terms of market control and supervision. In this way, market control gained a religious aspect in addition to the fiscal. The official in charge with the market affairs, the İhtisâb ağası, collected taxes in return for his service. The main source and subject of this thesis, the İhtisâb-tax register of Istanbul dated 1092/1681, was prepared for the daily tax, which was collected mostly from victual shops. The register provides information about the kinds of trades, the owners of the shops, and the amount of tax paid daily. With this information, subjects like consumption habits and the ethnic and social identity of the shop-owning class could be understood better.