Tax exempt services in Kemah XVI.-XVII. centuries: Guards of gateways (Derbendçilik), stopover, bridge, keeper ect.

The Ottoman' sense of state prioritized the issues of the strength of its army and the security of its citizen. In order to ensure this, it paid special attention to subject of tax collection and had land tahrir made for this purpose. The tahrir registers, which emerged as a result of these serious studies, contain unique data about their periods. According to the studies based on these records, when The Ottoman society is examined on the basis of tax, two groups come to the forefront: military and reâyâ. There was also a group that was outside of these two groups, who were assigned various duties and, in return, were exempted from certain taxes that the state had to collect and assumed strategic duties. Sometimes a few people or sometimes a whole village could be held responsible for such a task. People, who had been working in the same profession such as guards of gateaways (derbentçilik), bridge keeper, salt maker, bird keeper, shovel maker, paddy worker since their ancestors, could be exempted from certain taxes in return for their services to the state and the people. It's particularly remarkable that the servants are competent. Undoubtedly, the fact that these exemptions are more or less is important in terms of reflecting the economic power of the state .It is seen that these duties given to villages or individuals were never random. It is understood that the state holds its people responsible for activities that draw all segments of society into the life by organizing them. In fact, Kemah is a good example in this sense. The abundance of servants and villages in a small eastern town is important f us to see the working of the state affairs. When Tahrir and avarız rigisters, which include the XVI. century and the first half of the XVII. century, are examined, considering the wars and sivil disturbance periods experienced in terms of these service organizations, the data obtained are very valuable. The aim of the research is to bring out on the history of this small city, which is located in the state structure of a huge empire. Keywords: The Ottoman Empire, Kemah, Tax, Exemption, Service, Village