Arrangements made on the Island of Naxos According to the Tahrir Defter of 1720 and the State of the Christian Subjects

Abstract

It is well known that throughout the empire, Ottomans pursued certain policies with a view to arranging practices in accordance with the demands of the Christian Subjects and by taking into consideration regional peculiarities. The Kanunname in the tahrir defter of 1720 on the Island of Naxos displays a sample of this common approach of the Ottomans. By taking into consideration the truth that this tahrir has been furnished upon the complaints of the Greek people on the Island, it is aimed to emphasize that this tahrir, makes it obvious that prior to the conquest, the Ottomans endeavored to solve problems arising from the superiority of the Catholic Latins, belonging to the ruling class over the Greek folk and to balance the tension between these two people. In this study, by the investigation of the mentioned Kanunname, it is aimed to show that the Ottomans did not display an indifferent attitude towards the demands of the Greeks on Naxos, but arranged relevant regulations and imposed taxes which were much more equitable.