An alternative use of accounting books: Analyzing Ottoman foundations

Abstract

Abstract. In this thesis, accounting books were used as an alternative way to analyzing Ottoman foundations. Although this kind of documents originally were prepared to register foundations’ incomes and expenditures, they had various information about the period they belonged to. Particularly accounting books for the foundations which were built by Ottoman sultans, their family members or government officials have been more crucial. They were usually managed and audited by state officials, supported when they were in need, employed people around the government. In other words these kind of Ottoman foundations were not independent from economic, social or political aspects of the Empire. Moreover accounting books could be benefited understanding the foundations’ structure, management, wealth and public services. In this study Kethuda Canfeda Hatun Foundations to be decided to analyze according to seventeenth century accounting books. She had been in Sultan Murad III.’s (1574-1595)imperial harem as an administrative manager during late sixteenth century. She built foundations in Istanbul, Ottoman Izmit and Egypt. The accounting books belonged to these foundations are in Prime Ministery Ottoman Archive (BOA Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi) in Istanbul, have been used original first hand sources in this study.

Keywords. Accounting books, Ottoman foundations, Kethuda Canfeda Hatun foundations, Ottoman foundation analyzing methods, Seventeenth century, Ottoman Empire.

JEL. F43, N10, O10.