POSTCLASSICAL DEFTEROLOGY: POSSIBILITIES OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC RESEARCH IN CONTEMPORARY OTTOMAN STUDIES

Abstract

By indicating general problems of the studies of defterology in contemporary Ottoman studies, this paper aims at elaborating the principles of postclassical defterology, which is connected with the transition period of the Ottoman Empire. By presenting the existing scientific achievements and focusing on the very procedure of making inventories, the paper defines the access framework for the study of Ottoman inventory books – the defters. Postclassical defterology is defined through the process of fiscal transformation and specific parameters that characterize the existing historiographical research. The case study of defters for the Smederevo sanjak from 1741 is used to illustrate the classic model of postclassical methodology. Special attention was focused on the issue of credibility which burdens the modern approach to defterology. The problem of fictitious archive material is isolated as the dominant paradigm of all further socio-economic studies of postclassical defterology.

Keywords

• Ottoman studies
• defterology
• tahrir defters
• the Ottoman Empire
• the 18th century
• the Smederevo sanjak