An Important Source on the Akıncı Guild: Some Considerations on the Akıncı Register Numbered 625

Abstract

Akıncı guild, which has an important place in the Ottoman vanguard, as well as guarding the border, had had valuable contributions in making ineffective the border forces of the enemy, in Turkification and Islamization of Rumelia, and therefore in the settlement process in those places. Akıncı registers are one of the most important sources about the guild. Up to the present, there is information about only three of these sources. Two of them (dated 1472 and 1560) are in National Library of Sofia, the other one (dated 1586) is in the Office of the Prime Minister Ottoman Archives in Istanbul. In this article, the third register, H.994/M. dated 1586 and kept in the catalogue of the Office of the Prime Minister Ottoman Archives Tapu Tahrir Defterleri numbered as 625 is analysed. The information given in the said register was questioned during the analysis and important information have been revealed concerning the Akıncı guild. Thanks to the result of this analysis, as dwelling units of the Akıncı soldiers in the Rumelian Sanjaks of Niğbolu, Silistre, Kırkkilise, Çirmen, Paşa (Sofya), Köstendil, Vidin and Üsküb has been identified, important information related to the socio-economic lives (their names, occupations, where they came from, etc.) of the Akıncıs and important officials in the guild organization have been revealed, as well. In this respect, the article aims to contribute to the existing research conducted on the Akıncı guild.