Nurbanu Sultan's "Waqf Neighborhood" in Üsküdar: Constructing, populating and governing ma'mûre (16th and 17th centuries)

Following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople and the city's subsequent designation as the imperial capital, Üsküdar gradually developed from a rural village into one of the three boroughs of Istanbul. From the latter half of the fifteenth century, Üsküdar served as the principal transit hub and halting station on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, marking the beginning of the routes leading to Anatolia and the eastern provinces of the empire. Its strategic significance made Üsküdar a focal point for construction projects, many of which were commissioned by the royal women of the imperial household. Among these projects, Nurbanu Sultan's urban initiative transformed the rural outskirts of Üsküdar into a prosperous waqf settlement known as Mahalle-i Ma'mûre. This dissertation examines the socio-spatial formation of Ma'mûre over a fifty-year period (1570-1620), detailing its transformation from a vacant rural area initially into a waqf neighborhood and subsequently into an urban district comprising multiple neighborhoods populated by diverse ethno-religious communities. The study conducts a multidimensional analysis of Ma'mûre's development using an extensive range of textual and visual sources, including court records, tax registers, waqf deeds, imperial orders, travelogs, poems, reports of Venetian diplomats, as well as illustrations, layout plans, and maps. Furthermore, it employs digital mapping tools to visualize the socio-spatial development of Ma'mûre. This dissertation is organized around four central themes, each addressing different facets of Nurbanu Sultan's neighborhood. The investigation begins with a detailed examination of the neighborhood's spatial organization, emphasizing how its physical layout and urban infrastructure were crucial in establishing its function as a way station for travelers. The second theme focuses on the local governance of Ma'mûre, discussing how and why this waqf neighborhood was managed by a different administrative cadre than Üsküdar. The third theme shifts the focus to the social fabric of the neighborhood, analyzing the demographic composition of Ma'mûre, as well as the formation of Üsküdar's first Greek, Armenian, and Kıbtî neighborhoods. Finally, the dissertation discusses the experiences of those who reside in and visit Ma'mûre, providing various perspectives on life within a waqf-governed settlement. In conclusion, this dissertation not only proposes a framework and a methodology for assessing urban settlements established through waqf institutions from multiple perspectives but also uses this framework to analyze the socio-spatial development of Ma'mûre.