Transformation of a sarraf family in the nineteenth-century Ottoman Empire: The Zambaoğulları

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the entrepreneurial activities of Yorgo Zambaoğlu, a sarraf in the second half of the nineteenth century. As an emerging local sarraf in the rural area, Yorgo gained considerable wealth and a solid reputation through his role as a guarantor in the iltizam contracts. When he relocated his economic operations to Istanbul, he faced a new challenge. The emergence of modern financial institutions led to the loss of the monopolistic position of the sarrafs in internal borrowing. Thanks to his new strategies and investment areas, Yorgo went beyond the classical character of the profession and found a new clientele in the shrinking credit markets. This thesis seeks to highlight how the sarraf profession transformed by analyzing the case of Zambaoğlu Yorgo. In this context, this study aims to shed light on the evolution of Zambaoğlu Yorgo's investments through his clientele. By analyzing the identities and titles of Yorgo's debt cases in the Ottoman archives, this study targets to reveal the prevailing pattern of his investments and client portfolio. In addition, by looking at the material and social heritage of the family, it will also be presented how an entrepreneur made capital transfer possible.