Transcription and analysis of numbered 2788 Reaya Registers of Kars, Şüregel, Kağızman and Zaruşad

Before the 19th century, tahrir records were made for the tax and land records of the Ottoman State. However, these records did not contain sufficient information about the population of the settlements. The first modern census in the Ottoman Empire was conducted in 1831. But, censuses, especially in rural areas, are generally carried out in 1936 and later. The Ottoman State recorded the Muslim and non-Muslim population under its rule in separate registers. These registers are classified as "Muslim Population Register" for Muslims and "Non-Muslim or Reaya Register" for non-Muslims. It contains information about the name of the settlement, neighborhood or village where the census was made, the number of households, the number of men by age, their occupations and their physical conditions. These registers, in which only men are counted, do not fully reflect the real population. In this study, the transcription and evaluation of Kars, Şüregel, Kağızman and Zarushad Reaya Notebooks numbered 2788, which are registered in the Ottoman Archives of the Presidency of State Archives, which contain important information about the demographic structures of Kars and its districts.