Kutahya according to XVI. century dervish lodge foundations

Ottoman cities have been the subject of many research in social, economic, cultural and demographic terms. Research results have revealed that foundations are the leading institutions that play an effective role in the formation of cities and meeting their needs. Kütahya is an ancient and deep-rooted city that served as the capital to the Germiyanoğulları Principality and as the Anatolian Beylerbeyligi Province Center (1451-1833) to the Ottoman State. The foundations have had an important role in the structuring of this city, which has a rich past dating back to the depths of history, and which has maintained its history and culture until present day. It is also very important in terms of the Ottoman urban history to reveal how the Zawiya foundations steered the historical and cultural fabric of the city, its social and economic structure, and its religious and mystical life. In our study, while the functions of the foundations were being discussed, the subject was limited to examining only the 16th century zawiya foundations. A general outline of the social, economic, demographic and cultural effects of the services of the foundations on the city was tried to be drawn. With the examples of Kütahya foundations, it was shown what gains the zawiya foundations in an Anatolian city could bring to social and economic life; thus, it was tried to shed light on the effects of zawiya foundations on the formation of an Ottoman city.