RURAL SETTLEMENTS FROM OTTOMAN ANATOLIA: THE CASE OF THE DISTRICT OF KIRELI OF KONYA OF 1845

Abstract

This research article is based mainly on Ottoman archival data of 1845. They are manuscripts, written in Ottoman
 Turkish. Ottoman government needs cash in the years of 1820s due to wars with Russia and Iran. To achieve this,
 the state demands extra taxes from all peasants of Anatolia. In this study, the economic situation of 22 small Muslim
 villages of the district of Kıreli of Konya of Anatolia was examined in outline. Agriculture and livestock were the main
 means of livelihood for the Muslim peasants. However, with the increase of the population, the economic resources
 were not enough for the Muslim peasants and the nomads (Yörük) living in this region. Many men had to leave their
 villages and went to the large cities to earn struggle for life. Ottoman administration founds them there and also
 taxes the labor. This was a very heavy practice for them. In the region, most villages were abandoned. The peasants
 had to be content with only rural resources. The vacant agricultural lands were immediately planted by the surrounding
 peasants.