TOPOGRAPHIC DATA IN OTTOMAN REGISTERS AS A RESOURCE FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF VANISHED SETTLEMENTS IN BODROG COUNTY
Jan. 22, 2024
Keywords:
early modern period settlement network
Ottoman tax registers
medieval Bodrog County
Bačka Region
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Abstract
The National Archives of Hungary, the Research Centre for the Humanities, and the Katona József Museum of
Kecskemét have collaborated to reconstruct the medieval and early modern period settlement network and administration
of the southern part of the Danube–Tisza Interfluve region. During the works, all available medieval
sources and Ottoman tax registers (including four sanjak surveys, four poll tax defters, three timar defters, and dozens
of daybook registers) were processed. In parallel, a profound analysis of the medieval charters was carried out,
as well as the topographic identification of the settlements with the help of historical maps and satellite images.
The selected sample area was the nahiye of Zombor and the nahiye of Baja which existed in the western part of the sanjak
of Szeged, roughly covering the territory of the medieval Bodrog County. Research has shown that mass analysis of
defters results in far more topographic data than the examination of individual defters. Using both medieval charters
and Ottoman sources, we can reconstruct a more accurate picture of the settlement network of the sample area.
