Di̇vi̇dend Book of Şehi̇r Di̇stri̇ct of Demi̇rci̇ Townshi̇p

There have been many studies on the Ottoman cities and towns . The studies on the history of cities have usually been carried on by using the cadastral books for the 16th century and temettü books (share of profit books ) for the 19th century. Apart from these, there have also been other studies on city histories based on şeriyye records (judgment book) including different centuries. Studies approaching the districts and villages are limited. In our study, we have focused on the social and economic structure of the villages of Demirci district in Saruhan City during the second part of the 19th century. The source of the study comes from Temettuat (Divident book) that relate to the villages. Divident books give insight into the socio -economic set-up of the Ottoman cities in the middle of the 19th century. The assets of the individuals have been recorded in detail in these books. Information on the amount of the land in the region, the area of use of the land, the type of crop growing, obtained crop from these and the amount of tax, professions, earnings of individuals, the number of animals, the distribution of taxpayers with respect to sectors, stock-farming and the income obtained from stock-farming is included in these books. In this study, Divident books that reside in 34 villages and 9 farms that is subordinate to Demirci County which is one of the districts in Manisa have been assessed. The study consists of the introduction and two parts. In the introduction, the geography and history of Demirci have been addressed and the importance of Divident books for the Ottoman socio-economic history and the introduction of Divident books belonging to Şehir district have been defined. In the first chapter, the administrative structure and population of the district, social status of taxpayers have been addressed. In the second chapter, economic structure, stockbreeding, agricultural production in the district and tax issues have been referred. There is a bibliography and conclusion in the final section of the study. At the end of the study, some tables used in the evalution part of the study and the translation of temettuat books that belong to Yassıca village have been included. Key Words: Demirci, Manisa, Dividend Register, Karataş, Rubia Tinctorum.