The social and ekonomic structure of the Kapidag peninsula and its surroundings in the 17th-18th century (Counties of Bandirma, Edincik, Erdek, Marmara, Manyas and Gonen)

Today, the social ve economic history of the cities in the Kapidag hinterland, such as Bandirma, Gonen and Erdek, which have a highly developed social and economic outlook, at the and of the 17th and 18th tried to be revealed. The fact that the studies on the region are almost none-existent, together with their negative aspects, provide many advantages. That is to say, the records in the Mühimme Registers, which are in the Ottoman Archives and can be defined as the Cabinet decisions, which are now abolished, will be tried to be revealed for the first time in detail the regions of the main group, the history of the 17th and 18th centuries. In addition, provisions related to the region will be used in the studies on mühimme books. Therefore, this study will be supported with published and unpublished sources. The quality and quantity of the relations of the cities around Kapıdağ with other cities on the northern side of the Marmara Sea, and especially with Istanbul, will be discussed in the context of the mentioned sources. We will try to understand how these cities were included in the Ottoman central records, or in other words, what these cities meant for the capital. The reason why Kapıdağ was chosen as a center in this thesis is that in the 17th and 18th centuries, Bandırma and Erdek had village status and were subordinate to the Kapıdağ Regency, and all of them were subordinate to the Galata Judgeship. This situation shows how important the regions are for Istanbul. Other regions maintained their commercial relations with Istanbul via Bandırma. There were also many non-Muslims engaged in shipping and commercial activities in the Kapıdağ Peninsula. This is one of the main examples showing the social and economic structure of these regions. The aim of the thesis is to try to reveal Kapıdağ's place in the Ottoman Archives and its importance in the mentioned centuries within the framework of the findings mentioned above.