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ELIAS KOLOVOS MÜVELLAS AND NAİBS ON THE ISLANDS OF ANDROS AND SYROS, SIXTEENTH TO EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES As opposed to the so-called “heartlands” of the Ottoman Empire, the histories of the Aegean islands and its coastlines were defined under the Ottomans by their insularities, shaped by multiple environmental, economic, social, and cultural factors.1 Ottoman imperial rule and admin- istration, especially in the smaller islands of the Cyclades, was particu- larly vulnerable in the insular world of the Aegean.2 This paper seeks to investigate in detail, through the available documentation, the intricacies of two key personalities of the Ottoman administration in situ, the kadi, and, especially, the naib,3 in the cases of two neighbouring islands in the Cyclades, Andros and Syros, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. After the death of the Jewish banker Joseph Nasi (August 10, 1579), who was previously given by the Ottomans the tax farming of the islands of the former Duchy of the Archipelago, the Kapudan Kılıç Ali Pasha incorporated them into his Province of the Islands of the White Sea as the sancak of Naxos.4 The island of Naxos became in 1580 the seat of a sancakbey and a kadi; the latter was, according to his own signature, 1. Vatin, Veinstein, Insularités ottomanes; Kolovos, Across the Aegean, p. 9-15. 2. Kolovos, “Insularity and Island Society,” p. 51-68, 84-85. 3. For the kadi and the local societies, see Peirce, Morality Tales, p. 121-125; Ergene, “Local Court,” p. 151-161; for the naib, Veinstein, “Sur les nâ’ib ottomans.” 4. Slot, Archipelagus Turbatus, p. 98-99. Turcica, 51, 2020, p. 349-364. doi: 10.2143/TURC.51.0.3288394 © 2020 Turcica. Tous droits réservés. 350 ELIAS KOLOVOS Mehmed bin Ahmed el-kadi bi-Nakşa ve tevabihi.5 His jurisdiction clearly extended to the islands around Naxos (tevabihi). For the island of Andros in particular, he had a deputy (naib)6 living there, namely Abdülkerim Çelebi. After a complaint of two Christian residents of northern Andros who had traveled to Naxos, the kadi Mehmed sent a letter (mektup) to his naib (a sign also of a personal relationship between the kadi and his naib): he had to protect them from the extraordinary claims of the Chris- tians of the capital settlement of Andros (kala-ı Andra) concerning the distribution of the taxation. The text is not very clear, but it seems that the naib was instructed to punish the instigators of the dispute for some days, until the kadi himself came to Andros and heard the case himself (birkaç güne değin bazı miri hizmet ile mukayyid olup an karibin eğlen- meyip varmak üzere mülahaza ol…).7 We can assume that Abdülkerim Çelebi was living all around the year on the island of Andros, since he issued a tezkere for the distribution of the inheritance of a Christian woman in Andros in December 1583, apparently collecting the inherit- ance fees that should have been part of his income.8 He was also active in the next year, 1584, issuing two hüccets in Andros (as it is rather clear from the names of the witnesses, which are particular for the island of Andros) with his signature, Abdülkerim bin Yakub, en-naib bi-cezire-i Androz.9 From 1585 and until the outbreak of the Cretan War in 1645, the island of Andros became the seat of a kadi. The first kadi was Ali bin Ahmed, issuing two hüccets in February 1585 as the kadi bi-Andra.10 At least from 1590 onwards, the island of Syros became also part of the kaza of Andros: a hüccet dated 1590 is signed by Resul, kadi bi-cezire-i Andra ve Sira;11 these two islands were a pair also in the distribution of the sancak of Naxos in smaller sancaks. From the surviving hüccets in 5. Andros 3. The kadi Mehmed is also mentioned in a Greek translation of a hüccet dated 1581 as “Emet” (=Mehmed). See Zerlentis, Γράμματα Φράγκων δουκών, p. 103-105. 6. For the naib as an official appointed by the kadi see Veinstein, “Sur les nâ’ib ottomans,” p. 250, citing a fetva of the Şeyhülislam Ebussuud: nüvvabın azlı ve nasbı kuzata müfevvazdır. For his responsibilities see ibid., p. 255-259. 7. Andros 4. The kadi Mehmed addresses to the naib as follows: Naibü’ş-şer Abdül- kerim Çelebi el-mükerrem ba’de’s-selâm ve’l-ikram ilâm olınur ki. 8. Andros 5. Many documents of this kind appear in the dossier of Andros. 9. Andros 6-7. 10. Andros 8-9. 11. Andros 25. MÜVELLAS AND NAİBS ON THE ISLANDS OF ANDROS AND SYROS 351 the local archives of the islands of Andros and Syros, we can compile a detailed -- but not complete – catalogue (see Appendix p. 357-362) of the kadis on the island of Andros, as well as of their deputies on these two islands, Andros and Syros. The latter, as Nicolas Vatin has remarked in his paper for this dossier thématique,12 based on the study of the archive of Patmos, issued their documents as a rule with the title müvella hilâfe- ten – not naib as in the case of Abdülkerim Çelebi. The title naib was used however when they were registered among the expert witnesses, as in the case of Musa Halife en-naib, in a hüccet issued by Mehmed bin Ahmed, kadi bi-Andra in 1599.13 As an exception, it was probably the same Musa bin Murad who had used the title naib bi-cezire-i Andra in his signature in a hüccet in 1617.14 Naib as a title in the “signatures- formules”15 appears also in hüccets issued on other islands, in the cases of Derviş Mehmed, naib bi-Sira ve Mikonos in 163316 and Ali Hace, naib bi-cezire-i Sikinos (? or Sifnos?) in 1628.17 Two other exceptions to the rule are the signatures of Nurullah, müvella niyabeten bi-cezire-i Andra in a permission for the restoration of a church on Andros in 1628, and of İbrahim, müvella niyabeten bi-cezire-i Andra in 1646.18 In his paper, Nicolas Vatin has found a similar signature of a müvella niyabeten in 1570: it looks like that niyabeten was used in some cases as a synonym of hilâfeten. On the other hand, another unique case was that of Mehmed bin Osman, who signed a hüccet in Syros in February 1635 as kadi bi-ce- zire-i Sira hilâfeten (!):19 in this exceptional case, Mehmed bin Osman heared the case of Domenico Marengo, the Catholic bishop of Syros (1625-45), who stated in his testimony that he had protected “in his house” the kadi and the Muslims of the island when four corsair ships from Malta and Livorno entered the harbour of Syros and some of the local “bandits” cooperated with them (iki yüz eder müslümanları ve kadısı odasına alıp); at the end of the document, all of the Muslims and infidels of the island of Syros stated before the kadi that were not these local bandits arrested and convicted, it was sure that they will give the 12. Vatin, “Les nâ’ib du ḳaẓâ de Cos,” p. 322-323. 13. Andros 44. 14. Andros 70. 15. Velkov, “Signatures-formules.” 16. Syros f. A, 15-16. In the latter document, among the witnesses, it is mentioned a Mehmed Çelebi, naib-ı sabık (former naib). 17. Andros 109. 18. Andros 107 and 132 respectively. 19. Syros f. A, 17. 352 ELIAS KOLOVOS Muslims to the Maltese in the next opportunity (eğer şekiyân-ı mezburân- ların hakklarından gelinmez ise bunda olan müslümanları Malta hainle- rine vermeleri mukarrer olduğu). Mehmed bin Osman was the naib of Syros, issuing this particular document with the more prestigious title of the kadi (hilâfeten)? We cannot be sure. On the other hand, in some other cases we can locate the term müvella as used maybe by the kadis themselves: we have already mentioned Resul, kadi bi-cezire-i Andra ve Sira in 1590;20 the same Resul signed three other hüccets in 1591 as müvella bi-kaza-ı Andra.21 This was also the case of İsa bin Hacı Nebi, who signed a hüccet in 1589 as the müvella bi-cezire-i Andra and another one in 1590 as the müvella bi-kaza-ı Andra.22 Beyazid bin Murad as well, signed a hüccet in 1596 as müvella bi-Andra and four others in 1595- 1596 as kadı bi-Andra.23 In 1602, two hüccets were issued in Andros by Ali, müvella bi-cezire-i Andra el-müfettiş binefsihi; he also certified a permission for the restoration of the church of the monastery of Pan- tokratoras in Andros issued in 1599 by the kadi of Andros and Syros as the kadi bi-cezire-i Andra ve Sira el-müfettiş.24 Or should we understand these as müvellas who also use the term kadi, as maybe in the case of Mehmed bin Osman in Syros before? Again, we cannot be sure; Nicolas Vatin in his paper suggests that müvella bi- without hilafeten or niyabeten was an expression used both by kadis and naibs.25 In general, kadis did not stay in their seats for more than 20 months.26 Our catalogue for the kadis on the island of Andros corroborates this Ottoman practice of rotation. On the other hand, their deputies have been found active in their posts for longer periods, being members of the local Muslim communities in some cases.27 Our sample (see Appendix), partial as it is, shows in general that the deputies of the kadis of Andros (which could presumably be more than one)28 had short terms as a rule.

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