Palace Bureaucrasy in Ottoman Provinces: Prince Selim's Kazayâ Register

Abstract

There is a dearth of documentation regarding administrative practices of Ottoman princes in provinces where they were sent as governors until the end of the sixteenth century so that they could gain practical experience. Previously, I had located in Prime Ministry’s Archives in Istanbul certain registers (defter) produced in princely courts and made some remarks about their format and characteristics. Belonging to a princely court as well, the register under scrutiny here consists of petitions regarding appointments, promotions and other financial dealings as well as answers to those petitions. It covers Prince Selim’s (future Selim II) first years as governor of Manisa (1544-1546). After the manner they were presented to the sul- tan (kazıyye), I named such registers as kazayâ defteri. Issues included in this register demonstrate us problems that an Ottoman prince had to deal with during his gover- norship and give us an idea about how princely bureaucracy functioned.