A debreceni és a nagykállói náhijék gazdasági–demográfiai viszonyai a Szolnoki szandzsákban a 16. század végén

Fóti, Miklós and Veresegyházi, Béla (2025) A debreceni és a nagykállói náhijék gazdasági–demográfiai viszonyai a Szolnoki szandzsákban a 16. század végén. TÖRTÉNETI FÖLDRAJZI KÖZLEMÉNYEK, 13 (3-4). pp. 26-37. ISSN 2064-390X

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Abstract

This study examines the economic and demographic conditions of the subdistricts (nahiyes) of Debrecen and Nagykálló within the Ottoman sanjak of Szolnok. The research is based on the last Ottoman survey of the sanjak, carried out in 1591–92, focusing on a part of the defter that was previously unpublished. The authors use a different version of the defter than previous scholars, a more reliable copy from the 16th century, to analyze a region that served as the frontier area between the Ottoman Empire, Hungary and Transylvania. Compared to the previous works, the findings showed a fundamental difference concerning the territorial extent of the subdistricts of Szolnok and Balaszentmiklós. The research shows that the nahiye of Szolnok covered a much smaller area than the nahiye of Balaszentmiklós. Presumably, it covered roughly the areas of the former Outer-Szolnok County. The study highlights the precarious security situation in the area due to constant raids and conflicts, which led to a significant decline in the local population. The research demonstrates that a large portion of the revenue came from sultanic has (imperial domains), particularly from the wealthy cities and towns, like Debrecen, which paid a lump-sum tax and was the real economic and transport center of the Tiszántúl region. These imperial revenues accounted for nearly 40% of the sanjak’s total income. The nahiye of Nagykálló was a more unstable part of the sanjak, as the peasantry paid taxes very reluctantly in the vicinity of the Hungarian border fortifications. In addition, at the end of the defter stands a list of 166 villages that belonged to Nagykálló, but paid estimated tax (i.e. without details of their population and tax types). This list displays the main directions of Ottoman expansion, which penetrated into the counties of Bihar, Mid-Szolnok, Kraszna and Szatmár. Here was the disputed frontier region, where the Ottomans sought to establish their territorial claims by referring to the defter of the sanjak of Szolnok. In conclusion, the study provides a detailed picture of a volatile frontier region, showing how continuous warfare and administrative challenges impacted the local population and the Ottoman tax collection system at the end of the 16th century.

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