ISSN: 0041-4255
e-ISSN: 2791-6472

Kayoko Hayashı

Keywords: Vakfiye of Sultan Mehmed, Ottoman, Istanbul

Abstract

In order to discover the remaking process of Istanbul after the Ottoman conquest, the documents concerning vakıf by Sultan Mehmed have great importance. But usage of these documents as historical sources has been quite limited so far. One of the reasons must be the insufficiency of the textual critique of the documents, some manuscripts of which show considerable difference. Thus, in this paper, I will compare these documents and show how and when each vakfiye was compiled. As a result of the analysis, the following points have become clear. (i) The first assignment of Sultan Mehmed's vakıf was made around 1456 for Ayasofya. (ii) Up to 1472-3, only the Fatih mosque and its medreses had been completed, when a vakfiye of Sultan Mehmed was drawn up. (iii) It is likely that the Fatih complex was completed in 1482, a year after of his death, and a new vakfiye for the complex was written. (iv) After 1482, Ayasofya and the Fatih complex were managed separately. However, a vakfiye of two vakıf institutions were compiled between 1482 and 1496. It is likely that the aim of the compilation was to show that no regal problem exists in vakıf property of Sultan Mehmed.