The rise and fall of an Ayân family in eighteenth century Anatolia : the Caniklizâdes (1737-1808)

Abstract

This thesis examines the rise and fall of the Caniklizâdes within the context of the redistribution of political and economic resources between the center and the periphery in the second half of the eighteenth century Ottoman Empire. The introductory chapter looks at the long-term determinants behind the rise of local dynasties in the Empire. Chapter Two outlines the historical process of the Caniklizâdes’ incorporation into the ruling class of the empire from a small notable background with an attention to their conflicts with the central government and the Çapanoğlus. Chapter Three analyses the revenue sources, the tax-farms (mukata’as), controlled by the Caniklizâdes in northeastern Anatolia by emphasising the network of relationship between the central government and the family mediated by the kapı kethüdas and sarrafs. The next chapter examines the family’s leading household members (kethüdas), and lesser local notables within the context of the redistribution of administrative and tax-collection rights. The last chapter analyses the ways of the Caniklizâdes’ enrichment and their investments as well as their religious endowments.