Sources For The Waqf Of Sehabeddin Pasha In Plovdiv: The Account Books

Abstract

The Waqf of Şehabeddin Pasha in Plovdiv, holding variety of rural and urban revenue sources and maintaining a large budget, was one of the biggest waqfs in the Balkans. The waqf was endowed villages and urban properties such as shops, bathhouses and a covered bazaar in the district of Plovdiv and in the neighboring districts as well. The waqf performed charitable services and provided employment in its waqf buildings located both in Plovdiv and in the other districts. Its account books show how a large waqf penetrated through their foundation buildings (müessesât-ı hayriye) and endowed properties (akārât-ı mevkūfe) into the economic and social life of a wide region. We believe that publishing a series of transliterated account books of this waqf would cont- ribute not only to the waqf studies but also to many research fields in the Ottoman history.