Original scientific paper
When Seydi-Hatun and Fatime-hatun owned mills on the Krka river: on the (trans)border economy in the nahiye of Skradin
Snježana Buzov
Abstract
This paper focuses on one important aspect of the economy in the
nahiye of Skradin in the Ottoman province of Klis: the fl our and olive oil milling. Based on the data about milling from the Ottoman tax register (tahrîr defteri) from 1585, various aspects of the frontier economy are analyzed. A large number of fl our and olive oil mills recorded in this register reveal an economic activity in which many different segments of the frontier society participated: Muslims
and Christians, craftsmen, garrison members in the fortress of Skradin, women, notables and peasants. In the frontier zone, where there were no large urban settlements, in the absence of strong trade activity or rich endowments, mills and land properties rented from the state (çiftliks and zemins) became the basis of the economic power of the frontier elites. There is no data about the profi ts from the mills,
since Ottoman administration collected only small fees from this trade. However, the large number of the mills recorded (134 in the nahiye of Skradin), and the structure of their owners indicate the high profi tability. Also, as corroborated by the Venetian sources, these mills served the needs of the population from the other, Venetian side of the border. This cross-border economy was particularly important
in around Skradin, where majority of the mills was located in the close proximity to the border.
Keywords
mills and mill industry; Ottoman tax register/tahrîr defteri; crossborder economy and frontier society; frontier elites and property relations; Muslims and Christians
Hrčak ID:
112089
URI
Publication date:
14.5.2010.
Visits: 1.458 *