Ottoman timar bureaucracy and Ruznamçe Registers (1481-1531)

This study examines the general structure of the Ottoman tīmār bureaucracy and the tīmār bestowal system during the fifty-year period between 1481-1531. In addition to the routine tīmār bestowals which were carried out in Istanbul and the provinces, some information is also provided on the bureaucratic procedures carried out during the military campaigns. In this work, the bureaucratic roles of the various officials who carried out these procedures are also touched upon, and the documents produced in the form of defter (registers) and evrāk (papers) are introduced and their characteristic features are analyzed in terms of the discipline of diplomatics. The workload of the Ottoman timar bureaucracy is also evaluated, to the extent that the available sources allow. Furthermore, the general tahrīr surveys carried out during this period and the effects of the military campaigns, especially during the reign of Sultan Selim I, on the tīmār bureaucracy and the implementation of the Ottoman timar system in the newly conquered countries are also included in this thesis.