District of Azizler (A vertical dimension history research)

The aim of this research is to reveal the socio-cultural characteristics of the Azizler village, which was dependent to Uşak district in Ottoman period. Many different aspects of the Azizler village, such as population and population mobility, economic structure, agricultural activities, personal and family characteristics, which have not been the subject of any independent study before, have been tried to be brought to light by a vertical study. Microhistory studies, which are increasingly popular in the world, on the one hand provide an in-depth research on the studied subject and on the other hand contribute to make a big picture from small pieces. From this point of view, even though this study is considered to be a micro-level study of an Ottoman village, it will also be a trial attempt on the Uşak district and the Ottoman rural life in a broad perspective. Various archive sources have been used to reveal the population structure and changing socio-economic activities between the XVI and XIX centuries of the Azizler village. Archived documents of 438 numbered Muhasebe-i Vilayet-i Anadolu Defteri I-II (Anatolian District's Accounting Book) of the year 1530, 2498 numbered Avarız Defteri (Provisional Tax Registry Book) of the year 1676, 1643 numbered Nüfus Defteri (Civil Registry Book) of the year 1831, 1648 numbered Nüfus Defteri (Civil Registry Book) of the year 1841 and 9440 numbered Temettuat Defteri (Citizen's Land and Property Registry Book) of the year 1844-1845 are the principal sources of this study. By transcribing these documents into modern Turkish, information about the population and socio-economic characteristics of the Azizler village has been revealed. As a result of the study, important details about the average age, birth-death records, economic activities, income and expenses of people who lived in a traditional Ottoman village have been obtained.