Tahrir Defterleri

The Tahrir books are a series of books that are among the most important sources of the Ottoman archive, recording the administrative units and taxpayers of the regions conquered by the Ottomans (Volume 3, p. 18). In terms of Kurdish history, these books are the main sources of detailed information about the socioeconomic situation of Kurds living in the Kurdistan, the main livelihoods, occupation areas and village names, from the 16th century onwards (Volumes 3, p 20.). ## Preparation of the Tahrir emini began with the task of identifying the changes in the situation and income of the landowners by comparing previous editions (Volume 3, p. 19). After the Tahir was completed, the Tımar İcmal Defteres were prepared showing the new conditions of the landlords, the Mufassal Defters showing the details of the area were cleaned and presented to the padişah; a copy of the books was accompanied by a beylerbeyi and a hancakbeyi (Volumes 3, p . (Rev. 19:19) When editing an area, not only were the incomes of the crops, cattle, and livestock recorded, but also the income of the household in the area. - Volume 3, p. 19. ## Kurdish Beyleri and Yurtluk-Ocaklık Records Tahrir records also contain information about the status of yurtluk-ocaklık under the rule of Kurdish lords; the term divan for the flags recommended on the basis of continuity in "hiyn-i conquest in accordance with certain umrah service and obedience" is called "yurtluk and ocaklık" and it is recorded that Kurdistan's beyls and rulers belonged to this tribe (Volume 3, p. 19). The 33rd Mufassal Tahrir Book of the Bayezid flag also gives important information about the names of the Kurdish masters and contains records about the socioeconomic life of the Kurds; according to the book the flag was composed of a total of seven livas, including Eleşkirt, Shelve, Ovacık, Diyadin, Bayezd, Urut and Iskandar Castle (Volume 3, p. 25). Examples from the Regional Books of the Amid Livas of Diyarbekir Province 12 Rebiyulevvel 932 / 27 December 1525 and Public Book No. 134, gives significant information about tribes that are an important element for the socioeconomic and social structure of Kurds; the book contains information about the tribes in the villages of Amid, Hani, Tercil, Kulp, Chiška and Beşika (Volume 3, p. 20). The public ledger number 251 covers administrative units such as Garb-i Amid, Shark-i amid, Salat, Berazi, Savur, Mardin, Zerkan and Viranshir (Volume 3, p. 21). In the Mufassal Tahrir Book of Hınıs, Varto, Bulanık and Malazgirt, the book summarizes the number of mirliva, woman, town, castle, zeamet, sipahi and jebel, villages, mezraa and nefer (Volume 3, p. 24). The introduction to the Haleb Mufassal Tahrir Book of 943/1537 contains the names of the minorities and a legal name (Volume 3, p. 26). ## Boundaries and Commentary Problems Since the taxpayers in the Tahrir are listed only as Muslims and non-Muslims, it is difficult to determine how many of the registered population are Kurdish, Turkish or Arab; however, ethnicity can be inferred by looking at the peoples who live predominantly in geographic regions (Volumes 3, p . 26). In the Tımar Ruznamçe books, which completed the Tahrir books, details are given about the gender and amount of land given to the relatives of the Kurdish lords; the zeam advices made to the son of Palu bey Cemshid Bey in 946/1539 are among these records (Volume 3, p. 27).