TOPOGRAPHIC DATA IN OTTOMAN REGISTERS AS A RESOURCE FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF VANISHED SETTLEMENTS IN BODROG COUNTY

Abstract

The National Archives of Hungary, the Research Centre for the Humanities, and the Katona József Museum of Kecskemét have collaborated to reconstruct the medieval and early modern period settlement network and administration of the southern part of the Danube–Tisza Interfluve region. During the works, all available medieval sources and Ottoman tax registers (including four sanjak surveys, four poll tax defters, three timar defters, and dozens of daybook registers) were processed. In parallel, a profound analysis of the medieval charters was carried out, as well as the topographic identification of the settlements with the help of historical maps and satellite images. The selected sample area was the nahiye of Zombor and the nahiye of Baja which existed in the western part of the sanjak of Szeged, roughly covering the territory of the medieval Bodrog County. Research has shown that mass analysis of defters results in far more topographic data than the examination of individual defters. Using both medieval charters and Ottoman sources, we can reconstruct a more accurate picture of the settlement network of the sample area.

Keywords

• bačka region
• medieval bodrog county
• ottoman tax registers
• early modern period settlement network