On the European Silver Coins Circulating in the Ottoman Empire during the 16th and 17th Centuries

Abstract

The import of big silver coins, called piastre, and their fractions into Ottoman territories in the second half of the 16th century continued through the 17th century. This monetary movement, as revealed by native and foreign research, can be seen in Ottoman archival sources and official documents as well. The current research aims to trace some of the fractions and subdivisions of these piastres in the Ottoman sources and to bring into light the terminology of the documents and the chronology of the references. As a result of this research, it was discovered that the traces of some of these coins could be found among the Ottoman sources starting from the second half of the 16th century but can be better followed from the early 17th century onwards. The coins of Central European origin had a substantial place among this coinage. The monetary traffic of the first half of the 17th century continued in the second half of the century with small silver coins of Mediterranean provenance coming into prominence. The picture attained through this research suggests that the Ottoman Empire was affected instantly by the financial and monetary developments in Europe and sometimes failed to eliminate the negative impact of European coins.