Celeps, Butchers, and the Sheep

CELEPS , BUTCHERS, AND THE SHEEP: THE WORLDS OF MEAT IN ISTANBUL IN THE SIXTEENTH-SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES BY ĞRFAN KOKDAğ Submitted to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts SabancÛ University Spring 2007 © Ğrfan Kokdaİ 2007 All Rights Reserved CELEPS , BUTCHERS, AND THE SHEEP: THE WORLDS OF MEAT IN ISTANBUL IN THE SIXTEENTH-SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES APPROVED BY: Yusuf Hakan Erdem …………………………. (Thesis Supervisor) Tülay Artan …………………………. Ğzak Atiyas …………………………. DATE OF APPROVAL …………………………. ABSTRACT CELEPS , BUTCHERS, AND THE SHEEP: THE WORLDS OF MEAT IN ISTANBUL IN THE SIXTEENTH-SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES Ğrfan Kokdaİ M.A., History Supervisor: Y.Hakan Erdem Spring 2007 Despite the considerable expansion of studies about the economic and social history of the Ottoman Empire with special emphasis on urban problématiques, we are still far away from understanding simple matters concerning Ottoman urban centers such as the ways in which foodstuffs were brought to the city, or the mechanisms through which they were distributed to urban consumers. By analyzing the meat sector in the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries Istanbul, this thesis aims to partially fulfill this gap. In addition to the supply and distribution mechanisms, this study focuses on the meat consumption patterns of Ottoman Istanbuliots and on the consumption differentiations in a heterogeneous society. It seems that that such heterogeneity mirrored the entire meat sphere in the urban center. Different agents in the sector, which were the consumers, the butchers (the meat contractors), the livestock traders, celeps , and the dynasty members, all with their different roles, reflect this heterogeneity. Such a complex picture at the same time provides a huge opportunity for us in observing the effects of the major economic and political transformations in the 16 th and 17 th centuries on the different groups of the Ottoman Istanbuliots. For this reason, this study also aims to trace the patterns of the economic, social and political changes through one of the economic niches of society, the meat sector, which produced a network of social and political relationships around it. In the first chapter of this study, the geographical provenance and the features of the sheep delivered to the Ottoman capital is taken into consideration. In the second chapter, the methods of the delivery of sheep to Istanbul are analyzed. The third chapter is devoted to the analysis of the Istanbul butchers as the purchasers of delivered sheep. In the fourth chapter, the meat consumption patterns of Ottoman Istanbuliots are presented. i Z/ÖZET CELEP, KASAP VE KOYUNLAR: ONALTINCI VE ONYEDĞNCĞ YÜZYIL ĞSTANBUL‘UNDA ET DÜNYALARI Ğrfan Kokdaİ Yüksek Lisans, Tarih Tez Yöneticisi: Y. Hakan Erdem 2007 Bahar Dönemi OsmanlÛ Ğmparatorlu₣unun sosyal ve ekonomik tahlili üzerine yapÛlan çalÛİmalar, ki bunlardan birço₣u İehir problematiklerine e₣ilmiİ durumda, son zamanlarda artÛİ göstermesine karİÛn, OsmanlÛ İehirlerinin iaİelerinin nasÛl sa₣landÛ₣Û ve getirilen ürünlerin hangi yollarla da₣ÛtÛldÛ₣Û gibi basit ve güncel konularÛ anlamaktan hâla uzak durumdayÛz. Ğİte bu tez, onaltÛ ve onyedinci yüzyÛl Ğstanbul et sektörünü analiz ederek, bu eksikli₣i gidermeyi amaçlamaktadÛr. Arz ve da₣ÛtÛm mekanizmalarÛnÛn incelenmesinin yanÛnda, bu çalÛİma OsmanlÛ ĞstanbullularÛnÛn et tüketim kalÛplarÛnÛ ve heterejon bir toplumdaki tüketim farklÛklarÛnÛ da irdelemektedir. Öyle görünüyor ki bu heterejonlik kendini bir bütün olarak tüm ””et niİi‘‘nin içinde göstermektedir. Tüketiciler, kasaplar (et tüccarlarÛ), canlÛ hayvan tüccarlarÛ, celepler ve hanedan üyeleri niİteki farklÛ rolleriyle bu heterojenli₣i en iyi biçimde yansÛtmaktadÛr. Böylesine kompleks bir örüntü bize aynÛ zamanda 16. ve 17.yüzyÛldaki büyük sosyal ve ekonomik de₣iİimlerin toplumun farklÛ aktörleri üzerindeki farklÛ etkilerini de inceleme olana₣Û sunmaktadÛr. Bu yüzden bu çalÛİma, çevresinde yarattÛ₣Û sosyal ve politik ba₣lantÛlarla, et niİinin üzerinden ekonomik, sosyal ve politik de₣iİimlerin izini sürmeyi de amaçlamaktadÛr. Ğlk bölümde, OsmanlÛ baİkentine gelen koyunlarÛn co₣rafi da₣ÛlÛmlarÛ ve nitelikleri ele alÛnmaktadÛr. Ğkinci bölümde ise, bu koyunlarÛn Ğstanbul‘a getirilme yöntemleriyle ilgenilnilmiİtir. Üçüncü bölüm, koyunlarÛn Ğstanbul‘daki alÛcÛlarÛ olan kasaplarÛn incelenmesine ayrÛlmÛİtÛr. Son bölümde ise, OsmanlÛ ĞstanbullularÛnÛn et tüketim kalÛplarÛ sunulmuİtur. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Chapter I: Geographical Distribution of Sheep Flocks For Istanbul 17 Chapter II: Meat Supply in the Sixteenth Century Ottoman Istanbul 36 Chapter III: Istanbul Butchers: ””Agents of the Structural Change in the System‘‘ 64 Chapter IV: Mutton in Meat Consumption: Changing Diets 87 Conclusion 108 iii LIST OF MAPS AND TABLES Map 1.1. Geographical Distribution of Sheep Types in the Ottoman Balkans Table 1.1. Average Carcass Weights & Separable Mutton per Carcass in the 16-17th Centuries Table 2.1. Price Trends of Mutton in Europe (1500-1579) Table 2.2. Changes in Sheep Stock and Population in the Sixteenth Century Ottoman Regions Table 2.3. Müflisân Celepkeİans in Some Regions Table 2.4. Girihtîgân Celepkeİans in Some Regions Table 2.5. Price Trends of Sheep in Rumelia for the Selected Years Table 2.6. Decline in Average of Registered Sheep per Celepkeİan Table 3.1. The Professions of the Appointed Butchers in the 16th Century Table 3.2. Regional Distribution of Butcher Recruits Table 3.3. Butcher Appointments to Istanbul Table 4.1. Purchasing Power Trends in Ottoman Istanbul Table 4.2. Price Trends of the Selected Consumption Goods in Ottoman Istanbul Table 4.3. Sheep Delivery to Istanbul in the First Half of the 19 th Century Table 4.4. Price Fluctuations of Mutton in Selected Years Table 4.5. Expected Sheep Delivery from Two Principalities Table 4.6. Mutton Consumption of Imperial Kitchens Table 4.7. Estimated Figures for Mutton Consumption in Istanbul circa 1550-1700 Table 4.8. Meat Consumption in European Urban Centers iv ANNEM VE BABAMA, v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I‘d like to thank Hakan Erdem, my advisor, who has read each chapter and made valuable comments on my draft. I am deeply indebted to his encouragement on studying this topic. I also thank Tülay Artan who always supported me in this thesis and also shaped my train of thought with her courses. I also owe thanks to Hülya Canbakal who always supported me during my research. Prof. Halime Do₣ru, Condrea Draganescu, ğevket Pamuk, Mehmet ĞnbaİÛ and Arif Bilgin have very kindly responded to my questions and offered important suggestions on critical matters. I was fortunate to receive their comments. My special thanks go to Sinan Ciddi and Begüm Irmak. They carefully read each chapter and offered valuable comments. I also owe thanks to Salih Ay who kindly helped me in drawing maps. Last but not least, I‘d like thank my parents. Had their continuous support not been to freely given, it would be impossible to complete this thesis. Therefore, this study is dedicated to my loving family. vi Note on Transliteration Modern Turkish transliterations of Ottoman Turkish words have been used throughout this thesis. Long vowels and the letter ” ayn‘ have been shown in the transliteration. During this thesis, the Ottoman Turkish words are italized, while the names of the geopraphical zones and of the individuals are presented in the normal form. For the entire transliterations, Ferit Develio₣lu‘s OsmanlÛca-Türkçe Ansiklopedik Lûgat and TDK‘s Güncel Türkçe Sözlük-Bilim ve Sanat Terimleri Ana Sözlü₣ü are utilized. List of Abbreviations BOA BaİbakanlÛk OsmanlÛ Arİivi (Prime Ministry Archives), Istanbul MAD Maliyeden Müdevver Koleksiyonu (Registers of the Finance Ministry), BaİbakanlÛk OsmanlÛ Arİivi, Istanbul MD Mühimme Defterleri (Book Records of the Imperial Assembly), BaİbakanlÛk OsmanlÛ Arİivi, Istanbul TDK Türk Dil Kurumu (The Turkish Language Association) vii INTRODUCTION There has been a considerable growth in the number of studies about the economic and social history of the Ottoman Empire, with special emphasis on urban problématiques. Even so, we are still far from understanding simple matters concerning Ottoman urban centers such as the ways in which foodstuffs were brought to the city, or the mechanisms through which they were distributed to urban consumers. In the historiography of Ottoman urban supply, the central administration‘s regulations of price and quantity have always held a special place. It is generally argued that providing foodstuffs to urban consumers on a daily basis at a ””reasonable price‘‘ had been a significant concern of the central administration. 1 If we come to the specific issue of feeding Istanbul, the tone of this concern is more pronounced: ””because the sultan perceived feeding Ottoman Istanbuliots as his personal responsibility and authority, the central administration‘s control over prices, quantity and quality greatly increased in the Ottoman capital.‘‘ 2 This is clearly reflected in the tendency of historians, to view the issue of feeding a ””giant city‘‘3 from the perspective of the central administration‘s regulations imposed on the urban guilds and on the special supply mechanisms. No doubt, the meat supply of the city had always been an important part of this discourse. Although Ahmet Refik does not specially focus on the supply-distribution mechanisms of foodstuffs, he is the first researcher interested in meat supply within the context of Istanbul. 4 He has published various mühimme orders

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