The Morea Peninsula in the first half of the 18th century

In addition to having fertile lands, the Morea Peninsula holds a strategic location thanks to its natural harbors on its shores. Due to this qualification, the Morea has been the target of attacks and invasions of many states, kingdoms and nations such as Macedonian, Roman, Byzantine, Goth, Slavic, Arab, Catholic Latins and Turks at different time periods. Ottoman interest in the Peloponnese began at the end of the reign of Murad I (1362-1389) and concluded with the conquest of the peninsula by Mehmed II in 1460. After the conquest, the peninsula was subjected to tahrir, the most significant element showing that a region joined the Ottoman administrative system. As a result of the military expeditions during reigns of Bayezid II (1481-1512) and Süleyman I (1520-1566) after Mehmed II, the last castles under the control of Venice were added to the Ottoman lands and full Ottoman domination was established in the Morea. The Ottoman domination in the Morea after this conquest in 1460, continued until 1685, when the peninsula gradually began to come under Venetian hegemony. The Morea Peninsula remained under Venetian rule until 1715. As a result of the military campaign under the command of Şehid (Damad) Ali Pasha, it became the Ottoman lands again and the period called "Second Tourkokratia" began. After the re-conquest of the peninsula, tahrir was carried out for the last time in the Morea and the income sources in the region were determined. After the tahrir Muslim people, who left following the Venetian domination, were tried to be resettled in the region. In addition, religious institutions, one of the main indicators of Ottoman domination, were also revived and officials were appointed to these places. Based on the tahrir, icmal registers were also prepared and dirlik was distributed to the existing guard soldiers in the Morea castles. Thus, Ottoman domination in Peloponnese was established with all its elements. In this study, the administrative structure established in the Morea, which was re-conquered by the Ottomans at the beginning of the 18th century, and the economic structure in the region in the first half of the 18th century are discussed with all its elements such as mukataas, agricultural production, animal husbandry, and trade, using Ottoman archive documents. After these issues, the change in the demographic structure consisting of Muslims, Christians and a small number of Jews in Peloponnese is examined.