Kütahya in the Eighteenth Century: Transformation or the Persistence of the Old Order? By Murat Dağlı A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Beshara Doumani Professor Edhem Eldem Professor Carla Hesse Professor Victoria Bonnell Fall 2012 Abstract Kütahya in the Eighteenth Century: Transformation or the Persistence of the Old Order? by Murat Dağlı Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Berkeley Professor Beshara Doumani, Chair This dissertation examines the socioeconomic history of Kütahya, an inland town in western Anatolia, with a specific emphasis on the transformation that took place in the Ottoman Empire during the eighteenth century. However, it is not a socioeconomic history of an urban center or of a region in the traditional sense. Rather, it uses Kütahya and the surrounding region as a ground upon which it seeks to answer a series of questions about this transformation. These questions concern the impact of the administrative function of a city on its socioeconomic development; the extent to which a new financial policy implemented at the end of the seventeenth century—the malikâne system—affected power relations in the region surrounding Kütahya; and the role played by the cash requirements of the state at the end of the eighteenth century in the monetization of the economy. The dissertation also examines various aspects of credit relations, changes in consumption patterns, and the relationship between privilege and the accumulation of wealth. The research does not subscribe to any particular perspective on the transformation that took place in the eighteenth century, nor does it focus on one particular framework of interpretation, such as center-periphery relations or the rise of the local notables. Rather, it is intended to provide as much concrete evidence as possible on these issues for a city and region for which there is literally no secondary literature. The findings of this research show that generalizations about the transformation that took place in the Ottoman Empire during the eighteenth century need to be qualified with further research—especially with in-depth studies on different regions of the empire. During this period, local notables emerged, the financial and military crisis took a serious toll on the region, the economy became more and more monetized, credit relations expanded, and some sectors of society accumulated wealth. But, relations of power vis-à-vis the center did not change significantly. The notables that emerged posed no challenge to the central authority, the economy was to a great extent regional, and the accumulation of wealth remained a function of political and economic privilege. The dissertation consists of two parts. The first three chapters are intended to provide a lengthy prelude to the eighteenth century, and draw largely on secondary sources. These chapters present a socioeconomic context for the changes that took place in the eighteenth century, and within which those changes can be assessed. The scarcity of secondary sources, and the highly descriptive nature of the few that exist also made it necessary to include an organized narrative 1 for the period between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries in the first three chapters. The last three chapters cover the period roughly from 1671 to 1820, and are based to a great extent on primary sources—especially on the court registers. These three chapters seek to answer the questions concerning the transformation of the Ottoman Empire during the eighteenth century with the evidence provided by the primary sources. 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Over the course of my unusually long doctoral studies, I have incurred many debts to many institutions and people. I am grateful to the faculty members at the Department of History at Boğaziçi University for the insights and guidance that they provided when I started my first doctoral studies in 1995. Thanks to a fellowship awarded by the Turkish Academy of Sciences, I was able to spend a year of research at the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Harvard in 2000. I was fortunate enough to meet Professor Cemal Kafadar during that year of research. Since 2001, I have learned a lot at the Department of History, University of California Berkeley. I am thankful to the faculty members for providing an enriching intellectual experience, and for providing me with financial support for a year of research. A grant from the University of California Berkeley also made another year of research possible. I would like to thank my advisor, Professor Beshara Doumani. Unlike many academicians who advocate (and practice) disengagement in the name of objectivity, he is living proof that engagement for a just cause makes one a better academician and a better human being. Professor Carla Hesse has always been a source of inspiration for her intellectual clarity, her critical thinking, and also for her commitment to making Berkeley a better public institution. Professor Edhem Eldem has never failed to support me when I most needed it. His intellectual productivity and his generosity are unique. I would also like to thank Professor Victoria Bonnell for her insights and her support. As a research assistant, I also benefitted from the chance to meet and work with Professor Ira Lapidus. While she was visiting and teaching at Berkeley, I was fortunate enough to work with Professor Huri İslamoğlu, whose willingness to discuss history and politics with me for long hours was a source of inspiration. Professor Speros Vryonis, whom I met during a conference was kind enough to send me his articles—a rare gesture of genuine help and humility. I am grateful to him. Another real source of support and inspiration has been the people I can call friends. They have been much more important than any institution. At Boğaziçi University, I would like to thank Mehmet Beşikçi, Günhan Börekçi, Aysel Yıldız, Sema Göksel, and Oya Arıkan. I met Hasan Karataş when he was an undergraduate student at Boğaziçi, and he became my friend at Berkeley. I have been learning from Emre Yalçın and Meltem Toksöz since we first met at Boğaziçi, and I am lucky that I can rely on them without hesitation. At Harvard I would like to thank Danielle Widmann, who luckily for me, has also moved to the West Coast. Ali Yaycıoğlu has always been kind and generous in sharing his work with me. Gülşat Aygen has been a constant source of support ever since we met. At Berkeley, Heather Ferguson, Malissa Taylor, and Alan Mikhail, with whom I started my studies at Berkeley, were dedicated to excellence. It was always a pleasure to be around Leila Yavari, Amer Mohsen, and Shahkar Rahav. Robin Mitchell kindly offered to help with my writing whenever she could. At Berkeley, I would like to thank particularly to Amy Aisen, who finished her studies earlier than most of us, Melanie Tanelian (and Hrair and Nikita) and Osama Khalil (and Dalal and Laila) for their friendship. Especially in the last years of my studies, I could not have survived without Melanie’s and Osama’s help. I am grateful to Shayee Khanaka, my supervisor at the Berkeley Library and the librarian for the Middle East collection, who, despite the budget cuts, tried her best to provide us with all the materials we requested. i No one could have read my dissertation more carefully than Irene Elmer. I am grateful to her for her careful editing and her patience with my writing. I must acknowledge Mabel Lee, our graduate secretary, specifically. She deserves special thanks. She is a guardian angel for many graduate students, but her genuine help and advice have been especially important for an international student like myself. I could perhaps have finished my studies under the supervision of other faculty members, but I could not have graduated without her help. More importantly, she has helped me much more than the Graduate Services and the International Office combined. The negative impact of constant budget cuts and fee increases on the quality of public education is undeniable. A small group of graduate students who were committed to resist these cuts and increases have done much for others, too. I must thank them for their efforts. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the undergraduate students with whom I shared countless hours of discussion sections. Those students gave me some of the most rewarding moments I have had at Berkeley. Back home, I am deeply indebted to Yücel Demirel, whose knowledge of the Ottoman language is unsurpassed among the people I have known so far. I am also proud to have started this journey with Erdem Çıpa, and hope to continue with him. A group of lifelong friends from Galatasaray constantly reminded me that life has more to offer than the academy. Nevertheless, they also bore with me when I neglected them. Burak Hürbaş even offered me refuge in the last months to finish the dissertation. I thank them all. Of course, nothing can compare with the gratitude I feel to my family. My parents, İsmet and Figen Dağlı, and my sister Zeynep Dağlı, made everything possible. What I have learned and continue to learn from them is more than any institution can ever provide. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgments i Abstract iii List of Tables vi List of Maps vii Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Locating Kütahya: Anatolia and Bithynia from the Thirteenth to the Fifteenth 7 Century The Political Context and the