Portrait of an Ottoman Province: Social and Economic Characteristics of the Population in Diyarbakir Province towards the End of the 19th Century

İngilizce (OpenAlex)

It has been an on-going fact since ancient times to conduct a census, count households and to collect data about the population of the country due to reasons such as imposing taxes, determining the number of men to be recruited for the army and working on road construction. The province of Diyarbakir always maintained its position as one of the most important cities of the Ottoman Empire in terms of commercial and economic aspects as well as being an administrative, military and cultural centre. Diyarbakir is a centre with significant characteristics in terms of ethnic, religious and sectarian diversity. Sunnis, Alevis, Armenians, Şemsiler (Sun Worshippers), Assyrians, Chaldeans, Yazidis, etc. have lived together in Diyarbakir. In this study, primarily the information obtained by scanning British Consulate reports in the National Archives in London, Diyarbakir Annuals, and local and foreign sources related to the subject have been searched and the data have been analysed comparatively. The Muslim and non-Muslim population has been revealed in detail and the social and economic characteristics of the population have been evaluated. Initially, the population of the Ottoman Empire including Diyarbakir, which is the subject of the study and the social and economic characteristics of the population, have been discussed in order to make the assessments accurately.