Turkish-Islamic- Ottoman Urbanism and Studies of Halil İnalcık
First part of this article focuses on the researches of Halil Inalcik on urban history. One of the basic archival sources on this topic is Ottoman Court registers (Sijills of Sharia). Prof. Inalcik has begun his early researches on these registers at Bursa. After thorough examination on these material, he published a series of articles. Besides, he discovered certain sultanic decrees of Mehmed II the Conqueror, among these registers of Bursa. After Bursa, İnalcık intensified his studies on demographic, historical, administrative, social structure of Istanbul. Second part of this article emphasises 1. Ottoman-Turkish methods of conquest, 2. Settlements within the cities, and 3. Settlements of various religious and social groups in the cities. Within this context, from early XIVth century onwards, Ottoman methods of conquest, and involvement of Islamic principles were handled. Then, the first measures, taken by the Ottomans after the conquest were examined. In this regard, a physical description of fortresses and cities are given, and military and administrative authorities of the cities are enlisted. Historical development of Istanbul after the conquest in 1453 is also emphasized in the article. Activities on rebuilding and repopulating Istanbul, carried out by the Ottomans are explained with contemporary demographic tables. Within Istanbul, researches on Eyüb, Galata, and Üsküdar constitute another special focus of interest. The artizans, the guild system, and their relationship with the state is also mentioned. The article is concluded with the characteristics and historical development of Frontier (Uc) cities. A bibliography of Halil Inalcik on history of urbanism is given at the end of the article.
HALİL İNALCIK
