Contributions of the Koca-ili Turkomans to Rumeli’s Settlement

Abstract

The Ottoman penetration and settlement in Rumelia started with the capture of the Fortress of Çimbi and continued with the conquest of new regions. The imperial policy of transferring large masses from Anatolia, not only provided a Turkic-Muslim identity to the newly conquered places but also contributed to the flourishing of these regions. These population movements from Anatolia to Rumelia were sometimes on a voluntary basis, but could also be forced migration or exile as a requirement of the settlement policy of the period. The travels of the people who moved from Anatolia to Rumelia can be followed from the places names where they settled down. A survey of the tahrir registers of Kocaeli and Rumelia reveals that there were hundreds of identical village names of some sancaks of both sides, which confirms the observation that the Turcoman population of Kocaeli passed to and settled down in Rumelia. The initial phase of migration from Kocaeli took place at the time of Süleyman Paşa and continued during the reign of Murad I. In both periods, ho- wever, it seems that Kocaeli Turcomans were not subject to forced resettlement but came on their initiative either to participate in the campaigns or to settle in the newly conquered places. The newcomers from this region usually settled around Gallipoli, Edirne-Paşa sancak, Vize and Çirmen sancaks. While their migration contributed to the flourishing of the region they resided in, it also reduced the population pressure in Kocaeli.